This article explains basic travel insurance information. Travel insurance sometimes called holiday insurance should provide these basic things.
1- Cover for canceling or cutting short your holiday, for reasons outside your control;
2- Missed transport or delayed departures for reasons outside your control;
3- Medical and other emergency expenses;
4- Personal injury and death;
5- Damaged, lost or stolen personal property;
6- Accidental damage or injury you cause to someone else.
You can buy annual or single-trip policies.
Most travel insurance policies do not include high risk sports and dangerous activities, such as ski-ing, mountain climbing or scuba diving. So check if you are covered. If not you will have to pay extra.
If you have to cancel or cut short your trip. You must show you had good reason to shorten or cancel it. A list of the reasons will be included in your policy.
It is worth checking your household contents insurance policy. As this may already cover you for loss or damage to your personal belongings, while you are abroad. If this is the case you should ask for a discount. In the event of a claim it simplifies matters,and your claim and pay-out will be quicker, because if there are two insurance companies involved,they will both spend months haggling over who is responsible for the claim.
If you have a credit card it sometimes include free travel insurance. If you use it to pay for your holiday check carefully what you are covered for, as it may not provide full cover for everything.
Some package holiday companies offer their own insurance. However you do not have to accept it. You can purchase your own insurance separately, usually much cheaper. A travel agent must not charge you more for a package holiday,because you did not buy their insurance. If a travel agent tries to do this, you should contact your nearest trading standards department.
MAKING A CLAIM
If you have to make claim, contact the insurance company as soon as possible to request a claim form. They may have an international helpline you can call, usually printed on your policy document or in the handbook. If not phone them as soon as you return home.
You are expected to take reasonable care of your belongings. And your insurer will want evidence of loss or damage. When a crime is involved , you must try to report it to the police within 24 hours, if possible.
Keep receipts for all goods and services that you wish to claim for.
PERSONAL INJURY AND MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
Always get receipts for medication and treatment.
If you need medical treatment on holiday, telephone your insurer as soon as possible to get authorization for the treatment. If possible contact them before agreeing to the cost of the treatment.
Do you have a pre-existing medical condition? This means that, if you already had a health problem or illness before you purchased the policy. You must tell the insurance company, or your claim will be rejected.
Don`t rely on your EHIC card to cover all your medical costs abroad. As those countries that do offer UK citizens state healthcare, will only provide the same care as a citizen of that country would expect to receive.
Always take your insurance information, policy documents or photo copies with you. So you have details of what to do, and who to telephone in an emergency.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Insurance - A Good Thing to Have
It's easy to see why you would insure something of value. Insurance protects you against potential loss. So, why not insure everything? Hmmm ...
If you insure your car, and nothing bad happens to it ... you've still lost the money you paid for the insurance. If you get in an accident and your car is totaled but it wasn't insured ... you lose the total value of the car unless you can get someone else's insurance to pay for the accident. I'm just talking about the "comprehensive" insurance that pays for damage to your car. Liability insurance for automobiles is different and is required by law. The idea for liability insurance is you are protecting other people from loss you might cause them.
Back to automobile comprehensive insurance, though - you want to pay a small amount of money that you can afford - this is a known payment that you can plan on paying without any surprises. What you get for these insurance premium payments is protection from an unexpected sudden financial crisis that would occur if you wreck your car and it becomes useless. This actually works for anything of value that you want to protect - cars, houses, boats, snowmobiles, etc. It also works for life insurance protecting your family from financial problems if the main bread-winner were to die; or health insurance protecting you from unexpected sudden financial crisis when you or someone in your family becomes seriously ill or hospitalized.
Before the insurance company pays you any money, certain things need to happen that cause you a loss. Then you can file a claim to the insurance company that describes the loss and explains how it was covered by the insurance policy. Once the claim is accepted, the insurance company will issue payment to help you financially. Insurance companies get the money for those payments from people who are paying for insurance but aren't making claims on it yet. And if you're paying for insurance and you aren't filing a claim for damages, your payment is going to help the person who needs to file a claim.
The insurance company sets the amount of your payments according to the risk you have for making a claim and the law of averages. Using the car example, if you are a pretty good driver, you might get classified with a group of clients who are expected to have a major accident only once every eight years. This would be your risk category. On average every driver in this category is expected to make premium payments for eight years between major claims. Usually that works out pretty well for everybody.
I've heard people complain about having their premiums increased because they filed a claim against the insurance company. That can happen. If you had car insurance in a risk category expecting the car to be in a major accident every eight years, and the insurance company allowed a high-risk driver into your risk category, how would you like that? Maybe that high-risk driver could expect a major accident every four years. If that driver were allowed into your risk category, you would be paying for their frequent claims; and they would be paying for your infrequent claims. That wouldn't be fair.
To protect clients against higher-risk clients like this the insurance company will keep track of several factors they think might change the frequency or size of damage claims (risk factors). This is done to protect the clients who are not likely to file frequent, or large, damage claims. For car insurance, having an accident might signal a change in your driving capability. So having an accident might increase your premium for a couple of years just in case you are turning into a higher-risk driver. The insurance companies are cautious.
There are other factors that signal increased risk to the insurance company. These factors can also cause you to be placed in a category that requires a higher premium. For auto insurance, you don't need to file a claim to have your premium payment increased. All you need to do is get a ticket for a moving violation. If your credit score drops, it might signal the insurance company that you aren't paying attention to things low-risk customers would. They can interpret this to mean that you aren't attentive in your driving skills, or you might park you vehicle in a place where it could be damaged. Also, if you buy a more expensive car you are likely to have larger claims. All these things can indicate the insurance company might lose money on you if they don't adjust your risk classification.
This change in risk classification also works in your favor. Insurance claim records indicate that drivers under the age of 25 are more likely to be involved in accidents than middle-aged drivers. So, when you have your 25th birthday, your car insurance premiums are reduced. If you go three years without a moving traffic violation you will be seen as improving your risk classification and your rates will drop. The insurance company also sees less risk if you buy a less expensive car (with cheaper repair costs), or start parking in a private garage instead of on the street.
The calculation of risk is also considered for house insurance. That is why you can get reduced insurance premiums for having a security system, deadbolts, and fire extinguishers. For houses, they consider the neighborhood you live in and the types of claims the insurance industry has received from your neighbors. A neighborhood with a lot of vandalism can increase the cost of your insurance.
Similar calculations are used for analyzing risk factors for life insurance and health insurance. The claims history on smokers, people who are overweight, and the elderly shows them to be a higher risk for the insurance company. People who exercise regularly, have regular preventive health care, and eat a healthy diet are seen as lower risk than other people their own age who do not follow those practices.
You buy insurance for the times you will be filing a damage claim. Until that time comes, insurance will cost you a small amount of money. But when the time comes to file a claim, insurance is a good thing to have and you will be glad you have been paying for it.
If you insure your car, and nothing bad happens to it ... you've still lost the money you paid for the insurance. If you get in an accident and your car is totaled but it wasn't insured ... you lose the total value of the car unless you can get someone else's insurance to pay for the accident. I'm just talking about the "comprehensive" insurance that pays for damage to your car. Liability insurance for automobiles is different and is required by law. The idea for liability insurance is you are protecting other people from loss you might cause them.
Back to automobile comprehensive insurance, though - you want to pay a small amount of money that you can afford - this is a known payment that you can plan on paying without any surprises. What you get for these insurance premium payments is protection from an unexpected sudden financial crisis that would occur if you wreck your car and it becomes useless. This actually works for anything of value that you want to protect - cars, houses, boats, snowmobiles, etc. It also works for life insurance protecting your family from financial problems if the main bread-winner were to die; or health insurance protecting you from unexpected sudden financial crisis when you or someone in your family becomes seriously ill or hospitalized.
Before the insurance company pays you any money, certain things need to happen that cause you a loss. Then you can file a claim to the insurance company that describes the loss and explains how it was covered by the insurance policy. Once the claim is accepted, the insurance company will issue payment to help you financially. Insurance companies get the money for those payments from people who are paying for insurance but aren't making claims on it yet. And if you're paying for insurance and you aren't filing a claim for damages, your payment is going to help the person who needs to file a claim.
The insurance company sets the amount of your payments according to the risk you have for making a claim and the law of averages. Using the car example, if you are a pretty good driver, you might get classified with a group of clients who are expected to have a major accident only once every eight years. This would be your risk category. On average every driver in this category is expected to make premium payments for eight years between major claims. Usually that works out pretty well for everybody.
I've heard people complain about having their premiums increased because they filed a claim against the insurance company. That can happen. If you had car insurance in a risk category expecting the car to be in a major accident every eight years, and the insurance company allowed a high-risk driver into your risk category, how would you like that? Maybe that high-risk driver could expect a major accident every four years. If that driver were allowed into your risk category, you would be paying for their frequent claims; and they would be paying for your infrequent claims. That wouldn't be fair.
To protect clients against higher-risk clients like this the insurance company will keep track of several factors they think might change the frequency or size of damage claims (risk factors). This is done to protect the clients who are not likely to file frequent, or large, damage claims. For car insurance, having an accident might signal a change in your driving capability. So having an accident might increase your premium for a couple of years just in case you are turning into a higher-risk driver. The insurance companies are cautious.
There are other factors that signal increased risk to the insurance company. These factors can also cause you to be placed in a category that requires a higher premium. For auto insurance, you don't need to file a claim to have your premium payment increased. All you need to do is get a ticket for a moving violation. If your credit score drops, it might signal the insurance company that you aren't paying attention to things low-risk customers would. They can interpret this to mean that you aren't attentive in your driving skills, or you might park you vehicle in a place where it could be damaged. Also, if you buy a more expensive car you are likely to have larger claims. All these things can indicate the insurance company might lose money on you if they don't adjust your risk classification.
This change in risk classification also works in your favor. Insurance claim records indicate that drivers under the age of 25 are more likely to be involved in accidents than middle-aged drivers. So, when you have your 25th birthday, your car insurance premiums are reduced. If you go three years without a moving traffic violation you will be seen as improving your risk classification and your rates will drop. The insurance company also sees less risk if you buy a less expensive car (with cheaper repair costs), or start parking in a private garage instead of on the street.
The calculation of risk is also considered for house insurance. That is why you can get reduced insurance premiums for having a security system, deadbolts, and fire extinguishers. For houses, they consider the neighborhood you live in and the types of claims the insurance industry has received from your neighbors. A neighborhood with a lot of vandalism can increase the cost of your insurance.
Similar calculations are used for analyzing risk factors for life insurance and health insurance. The claims history on smokers, people who are overweight, and the elderly shows them to be a higher risk for the insurance company. People who exercise regularly, have regular preventive health care, and eat a healthy diet are seen as lower risk than other people their own age who do not follow those practices.
You buy insurance for the times you will be filing a damage claim. Until that time comes, insurance will cost you a small amount of money. But when the time comes to file a claim, insurance is a good thing to have and you will be glad you have been paying for it.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
what is insurance ?
[1] promise of reimbursement in the case of loss; paid to people or companies so concerned about hazards that they have made prepayments to an insurance company.
policy: written contract or certificate of insurance; "you should have read the small print on your policy"
[2] Insurance is the transferance of risk. you have a risk..ex: you might get sick, you might die, etc. insurance TRANSFERS that risk (or rather the financial hardship created by it) from YOU to the insurance comany for a small monthly premium. So for example you MIGHT get sick and need $300,000 worth of medical services...So knowing you could never afford that, you purchase insurance...transferring the risk to the insurance company in exchange for your monthly premium.
[3]Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of potential financial loss. Ideally, insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a potential loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a reasonable fee.
policy: written contract or certificate of insurance; "you should have read the small print on your policy"
[2] Insurance is the transferance of risk. you have a risk..ex: you might get sick, you might die, etc. insurance TRANSFERS that risk (or rather the financial hardship created by it) from YOU to the insurance comany for a small monthly premium. So for example you MIGHT get sick and need $300,000 worth of medical services...So knowing you could never afford that, you purchase insurance...transferring the risk to the insurance company in exchange for your monthly premium.
[3]Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of potential financial loss. Ideally, insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a potential loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a reasonable fee.
The Role of Insurance in Your Financial Plan.
Insurance is an important element of any sound financial plan. Different types of insurance protect you and your loved ones in different ways against the cost of accidents, illness, disability, and death.
What Are Your Insurance Needs?
The insurance decisions you make should be based on your family, age, and economic situation. There are many forms of insurance and, unfortunately, no one-size-fits-all policy. Life insurance, for example, is a virtual necessity if you have a spouse and children, but perhaps is less important for a single person. Disability insurance, which provides an income stream if you are unable to work, is important for everyone.
Forms of insurance people require.
[1]Auto Insurance
[2]Homeowner's Insurance
[3]Liability Insurance
[4]Life Insurance
[5]Disability Income Insurance
[6]Health Insurance
[7]Long-Term Care Insurance
Your insurance needs will vary based on your family, age, and economic situation.
[2]Homeowner's Insurance
[3]Liability Insurance
[4]Life Insurance
[5]Disability Income Insurance
[6]Health Insurance
[7]Long-Term Care Insurance
Your insurance needs will vary based on your family, age, and economic situation.
AUTO INSURANCE
Auto insurance protects you from damage to the often considerable investment in a car and/or from liability for damage or injury caused by you or someone driving your vehicle. It can also help cover expenses you or anyone in your car may incur as a result of an accident with an uninsured motorist.
Auto liability coverage is necessary for anyone who owns a car. Many states require you to have liability insurance before a vehicle can be registered. However, state-required minimum coverage often does not provide adequate protection. Suggested minimums are $100,000 for medical expenses per injured person, $300,000 for the total per accident, and $50,000 for property damage. Collision, fire, and theft coverage is also advisable for a vehicle having more than minimal value. You can cut costs, however, by choosing a higher deductible รข€” the amount of loss that must be exceeded before you are compensated.
The cost of auto insurance varies greatly, depending on the company and agent offering it, your choice of coverage and deductible, where you live, the kind of vehicle, and the ages of drivers in the family. Substantial discounts are often available for safe drivers, nonsmokers, and those who commute to work via public transportation.
Anyone who owns a car should have auto liability insurance. Collision, fire, and theft coverage can protect your investment in a valuable car.
Auto liability coverage is necessary for anyone who owns a car. Many states require you to have liability insurance before a vehicle can be registered. However, state-required minimum coverage often does not provide adequate protection. Suggested minimums are $100,000 for medical expenses per injured person, $300,000 for the total per accident, and $50,000 for property damage. Collision, fire, and theft coverage is also advisable for a vehicle having more than minimal value. You can cut costs, however, by choosing a higher deductible รข€” the amount of loss that must be exceeded before you are compensated.
The cost of auto insurance varies greatly, depending on the company and agent offering it, your choice of coverage and deductible, where you live, the kind of vehicle, and the ages of drivers in the family. Substantial discounts are often available for safe drivers, nonsmokers, and those who commute to work via public transportation.
Anyone who owns a car should have auto liability insurance. Collision, fire, and theft coverage can protect your investment in a valuable car.
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