Employers Liability This is required by law and it covers personal injuries sustained in the course of their employment by your employees. It will also cover an employee (current or former) if they become ill as a result of their work. Failure to take out an employer’s liability policy can result in fines of up to
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Liability Insurance Explained
April 11th, 2010Why Is Insurance Good To have?
April 11th, 2010
Perhaps you are wondering why you need to have insurance. After all, you may be young and healthy, so why pay the money for an insurance policy? The answer to this question varies depending on the type of insurance your considering, but as a whole insurance is an important part of your financial plan.
First, some types of insurance are required by law or by lenders. If you have a mortgage, for instance, your lender will require you to have homeowners insurance. Lenders and state laws require auto coverage as well. For this reason, you really do not have a choice about purchasing auto insurance.
Insurance protects you from the things that you cannot anticipate. Accidents, natural disasters, or unexpected illnesses can strike without warning. The medical bills, repair bills, and other expenses caused by these events could wipe out your finances completely. Consider, for instance, if your home were to catch on fire. If you did not have insurance, you would have to pay for all of the repairs and replace all of your belongings out of your own pocket. Chances are you do not have this type of money.
Health insurance is one of the most common types of insurance to ignore, particularly for those who are in good health. Health insurance is expensive, but if you end up with cancer or some other devastating illness, you will not be able to afford the necessary treatment without health insurance. Cancer treatment, for instance, can cost millions of dollars. Without insurance, you would not be able to get access to the treatment that could potentially save your life.
Life insurance is another product you may not want to purchase. However, if you die without it, those you leave behind will have to pay thousands of dollars for your funeral expenses. You can purchase a small policy for an affordable price and be able to protect your loved ones after your death. As you can see, insurance is important for a variety of reasons, and living without it is a dangerous gamble that you should not make.
By: Cary Bergeron
Product Liability Insurance
April 10th, 2010
Product liability insurance guards businesses against claims from people who allegedly suffer illness, injury, or loss due to the product the business supplies. In product liability insurance, a product is defined as a tangible item that is given away or sold. Under the Consumer Protection Act of 1987, the manufacturer or supplier of the product is responsible for the damages that his product may cause to the consumer.
Should a product cause damage, the supplier is liable to be hit with a claim, even if he is not the one manufacturing the product. For example, if you are running an eatery and the food you serve results in the case of food poisoning to seventy-five people, the claim will be great. Though conventional logic suggests that the liability should fall on the heads of the food manufacturers, it would be difficult to prove so.
The magnitude of the risk as well as the claim and the premium are determined by various factors, like the people who purchased the product, the way it was used and the kind of warning labels provided on the product.
Product liability insurance coverage guards you against unanticipated circumstances. If an individual is to manufacture an inferior product then insurance does not protect him. For a manufacturer, this kind of coverage is of massive importance. A tiny defect can make him a target for huge claims.
It is prudent to look for a coverage that protects you against manufacturing quality, safety claims, indemnity costs, et al. Also, you can decrease the premiums by taking measures in advance. Of course, you should let the insurer know about these measures.
By: Steve Valentino
How To Seek Private Unemployment Insurance
April 9th, 2010
There are some people who extend their unemployment benefits by using private unemployment plans. There are several private companies that offer unemployment insurance. You can receive a pay out for a small monthly fee should you become unemployed through no fault of your own. In this article we will discuss the pitfalls and things you need to look out for when you purchase private unemployment insurance.
Before taking out a private unemployment insurance policy check to see what their claim recovery rate is. If they only ever pay out on 30 percent of their claims then you should look elsewhere. They are legally obligated to give you this information so do not be afraid to ask for it.
Think twice before signing a policy that has a lot of pages. You may want to have someone you trust go through it with you. A lot of pages in a policy could be an indication that there are hidden things in the Unemployment Insurance Agreement. There is no reason why you cannot be given a short document with everything outlined in layman’s terms.
Many times companies will only pay out if you were laid off, not fired. Make sure you understand the conditions in which your company will pay out. Some companies will try to hide this with clever language. If full comprehensive unemployment insurance is what you want then make sure this is what you are getting. There are several companies that offer this and will pay out provided you did not quite your job or were not fired for gross misconduct.
If you want accident or sickness coverage with your policy again make sure you understand the terms and conditions. Some companies will only pay out with a very expensive specialist diagnosis. Try to find a company that will pay simply by seeing your doctor.
By: Leonard Garrett
Insurance – Home Owners Insurance
April 8th, 2010
We never know just what we will have to pay out for next on our most precious of possessions – our home; it would be easy to plan for tomorrow if we could all see into the future, but that doesn’t mean we cannot prepare for these events. There are always going to be problems and we all have to do our best to protect what is valuable from natural events and also from people who want to cause us and our homes damage. Homeowners insurance is a contract between a homeowner and an insurance company where you agree to pay the premiums, and the insurance company to pay a set amount should a covered loss occur.
The virtues of house insurance are many; from protecting the exterior or building proper to the likes of possessions to utilitarian products like the freezer or washing machine that might break down. The amount that a normal policy will pay out is quite high and most likely the average person would not reach this limit but they will invariably have to pay a deductible first.
To make arranging homeowner’s insurance simple, many websites now exist to deal with protecting the home and personal possessions by insurers that may not even have a ‘real’ presence. All you need to do is visit their website to obtain quotes, preferably from as many good sites as you can, to get a good idea as to what is there on offer and choose the one that suits you the best.
Whilst you compare the insurance quotes, which should help you to understand which policy will offer the best benefits, it is important to consider the flexibility of the policy rather than be tempted merely by a low premium. There is also a requirement to have homeowner insurance if you have a mortgage so that the finance company will have a guarantee in the event of a large claim.
However, if you want to save money, shop around between the different local insurers to see what offers they have on. Many homeowners have learnt they can reduce their monthly insurance premiums by raising their deductible limit, often by two or three times the amount on the policy so this is worth considering.
Replacing personal and household possessions requires a policy that will pay for new replacements and not pay out on the original cost of the products. Replacement Value policies should really be standard but many people are reduced to trying to find replacements for insured possessions from garage sales or thrift shops because they overlooked this important aspect.
Your home probably cost a great deal as did the possessions inside and the sentimental value should not be overlooked either. To ensure you have full homeowner’s insurance cover, ensure you have included everything that needs to be protected, although most plans cover a variety of situations.
By: Ray Lam
What Is Meant By Automobile Insurance Standard Coverage?
April 4th, 2010
Automobile insurance standard coverage is the basic amount of insurance coverage that is required by law in order for an individual to legally operate a motorized vehicle. You can simply it even further with the blanket statement as being the mandatory amount of auto insurance coverage a driver must possess.
The most important part of anyone’s car insurance policy is the liability coverage. This coverage protects the consumer against the cost of damages and injury that is a direct result of that same consumer if they are the cause of a vehicular accident. For instance if you’re driving down the road and accidentally run into another person’s car this insurance coverage will pay for the damages that result due to the accident.
The liability coverage is further broken down into two subsections. The first is bodily injury liability. This covers and personal injury inflicted by yourself upon others during a car accident. The second subsection is property damage liability. As you may have guessed this is your insurance protection against any damage you cause to another individuals property, usually their car.
Although coverage amounts can vary it is generally suggested that a good baseline of automobile insurance standard coverage should be 100/300/100. This can be read as $100,000 worth of bodily injury caused to another person, $300,000 towards bodily injuries for everyone involved and $100,000 for property damage. With rising medical costs and outrageous car prices this would be the absolute minimum insurance protection I would personally carry in my automobile insurance standard coverage. However, each state is different and you will need to check to see what their car insurance laws constitute as a minimum coverage amount.
If you are in a financial crunch and need a way to save money on your insurance policy try to avoid retaining only the minimum amount of coverage required by your state. Instead try raising your deductible amount (the amount you pay first in the event of an accident before your insurance company kicks in with its payment). You will find that by raising the amount $500 or $750 will significantly lower the monthly costs of your automobile insurance standard coverage.
Two other policies that exist include the medical payments insurance which provides for the immediate treatment of injuries sustained during an auto accident. Anyone riding in your vehicle to include yourself is covered, regardless of who is at fault for the accident. The second policy is commonly known as PIP or personal injury protection, is similar to medical payments coverage, but usually provides broader coverage. Many PIP policies provide compensation for lost wages, funeral expenses, and pain and suffering. Again you will need to check with your state insurance laws for further clarification if you are required to have this additional coverage.
Finally as a safety measure against law breaking individuals who illegally drive without insurance there is uninsured motorist insurance when the other driver has no liability coverage and underinsured motorist coverage which pays for the cost of your injuries that exceed the other driver’s coverage maximum. As before with the PIP coverage you will need to make sure whether or not your particular state requires these forms of coverage as part of their automobile insurance standard coverage.
By: Tim Gorman
General Contractor Liability Insurance
April 3rd, 2010
Normally, it is difficult for general contractors to work without general insurance. General contractor liability insurance is intended to guard operators and owners of companies from claims that may come from a broad spectrum of sources. These exposures could be just about anything, including liability engendered by accidents from the operations of the insured party, contractual liability, products manufactured by the insured party, etc.
The liability you select, whether it is one, two, or three million dollars, determines the cost of general contractor liability insurance. Also factored into the rates the rates are the kind of work undertaken, gross receipts and total payroll expenses. Similar to auto insurance, when it comes to general contractor liability insurance, you will first have to make a down payment and then follow it up with installments. Before buying general contractor liability insurance, it is best to compare the quotes available in the market.
It is the general contractor’s job to make sure that the people working under him are covered by an insurance policy. If for example, a person who is not a part of the project gets injured, the injured person’s lawyer can target just about anyone involved in the project. The more individuals that are involved, the greater the chances of a successful lawsuit.
The General Contractor will have to make sure that all his subcontractors have general liability insurance. If they have the necessary insurance the liability exposure, and the insurance rate, is distinctly reduced. Generally, the subcontractor is not considered an employee; he is an independent worker. So, the contractor is not liable for his subcontractor’s mistakes. Still, a lawyer worth his salt can find ways to charge anybody working on the project with negligence. Thus, liability insurance for everyone becomes imperative.
By: Steve Valentino
Loan Payment Insurance Protects Unemployment and Incapacity
April 3rd, 2010
None of us know what lies around the corner and if we have commitments to payout each month it makes sense to do everything we can to ensure that we would be financially secure. One way of protecting any loan or credit card repayments you have to make is to take out loan payment insurance. A policy can be taken with a standalone provider to give you a sum of money each month so you are able to maintain your outgoings.
Loan insurance has earned a bad name in the past since it was revealed that many policies have been mis-sold and consumers were unable to claim on them when needed. It has also been called over priced with high street lenders raking in
Insurance Agent
April 2nd, 2010
Insurance agents are the insurance company’s front liners to its clients and potential markets. They are the ones who search for customers, aid them in selecting the right insurance products to meet their needs, and provide continuing support.
Often, being an insurance agent is part-time job, something that career people do on the side to earn extra income from commissions. But while it is work that can be done on leisure time, insurance agents are also tasked to reach monthly customer quotas. A person?s sales and marketing abilities come into play.
Most insurance companies train their agents to give them full comprehension of the products they sell. But while seminars and training are available for recruits, insurance companies often prefer to hire college-educated applicants. This is because a background in finance and accounting is necessary to be successful in selling insurance policies.
Previous experience in sales is, of course, a big boost. A working knowledge of the use of information technology, such as the Internet and computers, is necessary to ensure that relationships with clients are kept intact. An applicant who has a background on presentation skills, sociology and psychology, may already have an edge over other applicants.
An insurance agent may have control over his time and schedule, but he has to travel a lot to meet clients. Sometimes, he may have to work weekends and past normal office hours just to be able to present to potential customers. Most often, these presentations do not necessarily result in clients actually buying a policy.
Before insurance agents can get into the field, they must be fully licensed and must have passed the necessary exams to ensure their comprehension of financial policies. There are different exams for different kinds of accreditation.
By: Jennifer Bailey
