Insurance - All The Basics
What is insurance? Insurance is a means of providing protection against financial loss in a great variety of situations. It is a contract in which one party agrees to pay for another party?s financial loss resulting from a specified event. Insurance works on the principal of sharing losses. If you wish to be insured, against any type of loss, agree to make regular payments, called premiums, to an insurance company. In return, the company gives you a contract, the insurance policy. The company promises to pay a certain sum of money for the type of loss stated in the policy. History Insurance is thousands of years old. The Code of Hammurabi, a collection of Babylonian laws of 1700BC, is believed to be the first form of credit insurance. A borrower did not have to repay a loan if personal misfortune made it impossible to do so. Insurance as we know it today can be traced to the Great Fire of London in 1666, which devoured 13,200 houses. In the aftermath of this disaster, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. Types of Insurance Insurance generally covers situations involving pure risk ? that is, situations in which only losses can occur. Such situations include fire, floods and accidents. People also buy insurance to cover unusual types of financial losses like, a dancer might insure her legs against injury. There are mainly three types of insurance policies sold: 1. Life Insurance A life insurance policy provides that the insurance company will pay a certain amount when the person dies. This may be paid in a lump sum or in installments to the beneficiary [people named by the policyholder to receive the death benefit]. Some types of life insurance policies also enable policyholders to save money. Such policies have a cash value. A policyholder may borrow money against the cash value or surrender the policy for its cash value. Annuities These are savings plans sold by insurance companies to provide a fixed and regular retirement income. If the annuitant [owner of the annuity] dies before receiving the guaranteed number of payments, the insurance company must continue the payments to the beneficiary. Dividends Some insurance policies refund part of the premiums in the form of dividends. Such policies are called participating policies. An insurance company pays dividends if the money it collected in premiums exceeds the amount needed to pay benefits and administrative costs. Dividends may also include a share of the profits the company earned on investments made with premium funds. Dividends are most commonly paid on life insurance. 2. Private Health Insurance Health insurance pays all or part of the cost of hospitalization, surgery, laboratory tests, medicines, and other medical care. The rising cost of medical care has increased the need for adequate health insurance. You could suffer a major financial hardship without such coverage, especially in case of a serious illness or accident. Dental insurance is one of the fastest-growing types of health insurance. It helps pay for a wide variety of dental services. 3. Property & Liability Insurance Individuals and businesses buy property and liability insurance to protect their assets against financial loss. Property insurance provides direct compensation if a policyholder?s possessions are damaged, destroyed, or lost as a result of perils. Liability insurance protects individuals and businesses against possible financial losses if their actions result in bodily injury to others or in harm to property owned by others. The main types of individual coverage are: ? Homeowners Insurance This provides protection against losses from damages to an owner?s home and its contents. ? Automobile Insurance This is the most widely purchased and most important kinds of insurance. Drivers are legally responsible for any costs arising from accidents they cause. This insurance protects a policyholder against financial losses from accidents. Financial viability of Insurance Companies Financial stability and strength of the insurance company should be a major consideration when purchasing an insurance contract. An insurance premium paid currently provides coverage for losses that might arise many years in the future. For that reason, the viability of the insurance carrier is very important. In recent years, a number of insurance companies have become insolvent, leaving their policyholders with no coverage (or coverage only from a government-backed insurance pool with less attractive payouts for losses). How Insurance Is Sold Most insurance companies sell policies through agents. Exclusive agents are employees of an insurance company who sell only that company?s policies. Independent agents sell policies for several companies. David Dugan is a contributing author to the insurance information site <a href="http://insurance.divinfo.com/">http://insurance.divinfo.com/</a>, a site that has information on auto, homeowners, life, pet and all kinds of insurance as well as the retirement site <a href="http://retirement.divinfo.com">http://retirement.divinfo.com</a>.
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Unemployment Insurance Fraud
If you loose your job due to accident or injury, quite often your company s disability policy is not enough. The state and federal governments do offer some temporary compensation to help with job loss but what happens when it runs out. This is where unemployment insurance comes in handy. Many are looking to private companies to top up what the government or their employers currently offer. However, with the growing number of unemployment insurance policies being sold, there unfortunately are a growing number of fraudulent insurance policies on the market. Fraud can mean someone telling a little white lie to extend their benefit or it can be very serious and include actual bogus policies being sold. Fraudulent insurance policies are widespread across the insurance industry and the cost is overwhelming. Many who think they can depend on their policies suddenly find they have to use their life savings just to cover expenses. Sometimes homes and other valued possessions are lost when there are no savings to help them survive. Insurance companies and those who sell fraudulent policies realize it will likely be some time before you actually collect on your policy. This makes it very easy for them to take your money and run. By the time you actually claim on your policy they are long gone. When purchasing unemployment insurance take the following advice. If you see a company advertising on line, make sure they have a fixed address and phone number. If they have neither of these then don t purchase from them. This company could be here today and gone tomorrow. Do not give any personal details over the internet. Once they have your account numbers they can do far more damage than a fake insurance policy. See if this company is registered in your state, if not then don t purchase anything from them. Finally, it is best to purchase policies from large companies. They may be more expensive but their reputations are sound. About The Author: Leonard Garrett provides information on work at home opportunities. Visit his site at: http://www.workathomeopportunities.biz
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Car Accident - Skyrocket Your Injury Claim
If you ve ever been involved in a car accident that wasn t your fault, you should consider requesting a car accident injury claim. The sad fact is that almost every auto owner has been involved or at least witnessed an auto accident. With over a million persons killed and 40 times that the number of persons injured in auto accidents each year, the road is a pretty hazardous thing to be on. The most frequent cause of car accidents is the human error, which accounts for over 90 % of the cases. Drinking, which leads to misjudging speed or distance is a known cause of accidents. Also, talking on the mobile phone while driving drastically increases the chances of having an accident. Distracting noises, speed and fatigue are also important causes for accidents and injuries. So try to avoid all these for safer driving. Beside the human error, other issues include car failure and bad roads. Whatever the case may be, if you get involved in one of these situations and the accident isn t your fault, you should go for it and claim. The good news is that the greater part of car accidents don t have fatal consequences. But what do I do if I get involved in an accident? That s a question which will be answered next. The first thing you need to do is exchange names with the other person(s) involved. Of course, not only name, but also phone number addresses, even mail, everything that is going to help you get in contact in the future. You also need to write down the insurance company name and number. Then, when you ve got all these details, write down the other person s car details, everything from what car it is to color, even the damage to the car that resulted from the collision. If you have a camera, photograph it. Do the same procedures with the exact accident place (writing it down and photographing it if you have this option). After that, try not to discuss with the other person involved in the accident anything about who is to blame or anything. If there are any witnesses, write down their details (names, addresses, ways to contact them). Then, the only thing left to do now is informing the police and the insurance company. The good news is that it doesn t necessarily have to go to Court. In fact, it usually doesn t. That s because your attorney will be agile enough to reach an agreement with the other party. And this is the part which I am going to stress next: finding a good attorney. This may not be that hard, as there are lawyers who deal with these kinds of cases and are experts. If you don t know such a person, ask your family and friends. If you still have no luck, look no further than the internet. There are literally dozens of companies which will gladly help you and appoint you an attorney. Now, as a person who requests a claim, you are the claimant. The party which injured you, either a person or a company, is called the defendant. There is no easy way around when going to Court. It is a pretty complicated process, it will take a lot of your time and involvement, and it is going to be stressful. However, the medical bills need payment. How big your compensation will be is impossible to predict from the start, as complications may arise during the investigations. Still, an approximate figure will be given by your lawyer at the start of the case, as he will probably have encountered cases like yours before. Once you ve found a good attorney who has a relevant experience in auto accident claims, just step back and let him do his thing. You will have a few medical appointments and a few interviews. Answer all the questions honestly, because that s when your attorney is the most efficient. He will gather as much evidence as he can to support your case. So, with your attorney doing everything he can to provide you with his best services, you can step back, relax, and wait patiently for your car accident injury claim. It's easy to proceed with a <a href="http://100percent-compensation.co.uk/car-accident/">car accident</a> and gain maximum results without the hassle, costs and confusion. Discover how to finish 50% of your claim in 7 days or less at http://www.100Percent-Compensation.co.uk
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