World Only 4u

With a wide range of insurance products available today it is important to understand the differences and benefits to you and your specific situation. A basic portfolio for any person but more specifically for a self-employed person should encompass the 4 following aspects.

Disability

By far one of the most important products for anyone, specifically self-employed people is disability insurance. We all work to handle our weekly and monthly expenses in addition to providing the "little extras" if we have anything left over. Employees of a company for the most part will have benefits provided to them however, being self-employed our livelihood depends on our ability to go to work and earn an income. In the event your ability to work is suddenly removed, disability insurance could be the key to your survival. Your income is the fuel for everything. Remove that and over time all else will fall apart.

Life Insurance

Life insurance has so many uses that it could essentially apply to everyone. However, the general consensus of life insurance is that it is suitable only for people with a family. This couldn't be further from the truth. Life insurance can be used to protect a debt over a period of time, provide for your survivors after final expenses, or give to a charity upon your death. For people who would like the idea of having a benefit as well as a savings or investment vehicle, life insurance could also be an option for you. Life insurance must be carefully evaluated to ensure that it is structured properly based on your specific situation.

Critical Illness

In my experience I have seen this product misunderstood the most. The important thing to understand about CI is that it will pay a lump sum benefit in the event you're diagnosed with a "specific" covered illness. Most CI products will protect against heart attack, cancer, and stroke however, each policy will differ between companies for other covered illnesses beyond these. Do not make the mistake like most do in thinking that this operates like disability insurance. Yes, they are both living benefits but they provide protection in varying ways.

Investments

Within financial circles it is encouraged to have a minimum of 6 months of disposable "liquid" income saved. For most people this is a tremendous feat and some people often throw their hands up in the air and forfeit the idea that they too can have investments. Life insurance can be designed in such a way that not only do you have protection but also an accumulating asset. Outside of life insurance there are many ways to protect and grow your money. The concern for most people is having a large sum of money lying around to be able to invest. If you don't have a large capital to start with always remember that it is better to start somewhere, even small if needed than to not start at all.

Ryan Forrester is a licensed professional in the financial industry, and has participated in the direct-marketing and sales industries since 2001.

Running your own business can be a rewarding experience.

You can make your own decisions, avoid the daily commute and choose to work only with those people with whom you feel compatible.

That is not to say that it is all plain sailing. You may have to deal with unhappy clients or customers, there will always be one or two that don't pay your invoices and you also bear the costs of both buying, maintaining and replacing equipment.

There are several types of insurance that can take some of the potential worry out of being your own boss, depending on the nature of your business and its location.

If you are providing services primarily from an office, are you working from home? Do you have customers or clients coming to see you?

If you are working from home and do have visiting clients, you may have to consider taking out some form of public liability insurance since you might be liable to a claim if they suffer an accident or injury while on your premises.

While you may do your utmost to provide the best service possible for your clients, problems can occasionally arise where a client is dissatisfied with the work. Professional Indemnity insurance is offers professionals with the protection they need against liability as a result of such claims.

Whatever the type of business it is likely that you will have to provide your own equipment to do the job. This can be anything from IT equipment to the tools of a trade. Setting up with the right gear can be costly and if anything is either damaged or stolen the consequences if you are self employed can be considerable if it means you are unable to continue earning a living.

It is particularly important to those whose business means they have to visit customers' premises to carry out work, meaning they will have to have a van and carry their equipment and tools with them.

In some cases loss of or damage to essential equipment can be added to a professional indemnity policy but it may be that the limit on the value of what is covered means that it would be better to take out separate cover for expensive tools and equipment, as well as van cover.

Specialised professional insurance for anyone who is running their own business can take away a lot of the worry and uncertainty that comes with the territory.

A newborn baby brings bundles of joy and happiness in the family. When a baby is born, it is said that the parents are blessed with the baby. This statement in itself is sufficient to explain the importance of a newborn in the family.

It is the prime responsibility of parents to take care of the newborn in the best possible manner. There are times, when a baby requires to go through some immediate medical care in order to adjust as per the world. Sometimes, babies are born with some birth related issues and thus, require treatment.

In India, a large number of people get health plans so that their health care needs are met. If you are working in private sector, then your company may have taken a group insurance policy under which maternity is covered comprehensively.

But, most of the times, medical insurance including the group insurance policies do not cover a newborn baby. The reasons are quite apparent. There are lot of possibilities that a newborn requires medical treatment immediately after birth and thus insurance companies do not want to spend their revenues on such well-recognised possibilities.

Is there any way out? Yes, of course, if your employer's group health insurance policy does not cover newborn baby, do not worry. There are some specific health plans, which cover newborn babies right from the birth.

In order to avail this facility, you have to buy a separate policy. Star Comprehensive Insurance, for instance, is one such policy which covers delivery related complications as well as the newborn baby.

The plan covers delivery whether it is normal or caesarean plus all the pre-natal and post-natal expenses are also covered up to a certain limit. This limit is ascertained as per the amount of premium you pay.

The plan also covers vaccination of the child. Yes, only a handful of plans cover vaccination because that is a sure shot expenditure one must incur.

The only thing which you have to take care is that you have to be the policy holder for at least thirty six months prior to taking the above benefits.

Religare also offers a health insurance plan called 'Joy', which covers maternity as well as newborn baby without any condition on a specific period.

If you have any other Medical plan, then you must check its conditions. Most of the times, policies provide coverage to newborn babies after 90 days of delivery. This way, a health insurance companies saves itself from settling claims arising out of health care for the newborn baby.

Comparing health insurance plans is a cake walk, today. Just visit a credible insurance comparison portal and shortlist the best-possible plans. The best part is that you can buy your insurance plans online and make payment through credit card. This provides you benefits of cash back and credit period offered by credit cards.

Plus, you become eligible for better coverage and facilities since your health insurance company does not have to pay hefty commission to an insurance agent. This benefit is passed on to you, in many ways.

So, what are you waiting for? If you are expecting a baby in your family, go for a health insurance plan and bury the worry!

Don't invalidate your fire insurance policy.

I find this a very strange case but it just shows how important it is to read the small print as if you ignore the conditions of the policy your policy could be invalidated.

In this case it was a condition of the FIRE insurance that the SECURITY Alarm was maintained and monitored. Times had been tough for the insured and he let the maintenance of the security alarm lapse and as the ARC had not been paid for 6 months they stopped monitoring the site.

Vandals broke in and set fire to the factory. It was a furniture company and they incurred losses of over £750,000.

The case went to the High Court, the judge had nothing but sympathy for the Directors of the Company and he took 'no pleasure' in ruling that as it was a condition of the combined insurance policy that alarm was to be monitored by an external firm, the Insurers did not have to meet the claim.

There are often conditions attached to the insurance policies we take out which relate directly to the risk. We need to make sure our cars have valid MOTs in order not to invalidate the policy. We are required to notify the insurance company if we get a speeding fine but, to my mind oddly, you do not have to tell them if you decide to do the Speed Awareness Course rather than pay the fine.

I have just come across a case, now in front of the insurance Ombudsman, where an insurance company voided the policy and returned all the premiums because the policy holder had unwittingly exceed the value of the 'valuables' within their contents insurance. They had insured the contents of their house for £60,000 but there was a clause stating that the value of the valuables should not exceed 66% of this.

They had to rush their daughter to hospital, and while they were out the thieves struck taking goods and damaging the property to the value of £70,000. When assessing the claim the loss adjusters calculated that the value if the valuables in the house exceeded £40,000. Normally claims would be 'averaged' to reflect the under insurance, but the insurance company in this case argued that the under insurance voided the policy. As I said this case is in front of the ombudsman as I write.

Back to case in hand where a fire insurance claim was dismissed as a security alarm and monitoring were allowed to lapse. Clients of ours run a hotel and there is someone on reception all the time so if the fire alarm is activated there was always someone on duty to respond. We came round to the time when the annual contract with the ARC [monitoring station] needed to be renewed. The Hotel Manger wanted to cancel it as it was considered an unnecessary expense. I said I agreed but asked him to check with his insurers to make sure they had no objections. The Insurers confirmed; monitoring was a condition of the policy.

Often with in the insurance policy there is a clause that the fire alarm is maintained in accordance with British Standards. It would be interesting to know whether a similar claim has been dismissed as the Fire Alarm has not been adequately maintained.

Firecall Ltd

Protecting People and Property From Fire

Protection for You

You've got a state-of-the-art child daycare built around a warm, clean and safe atmosphere. The teachers are handpicked professionals that give kids undivided attention, stimulation and fun learning. Children are happy. Staff is fulfilled. Parents are proud. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, a lot of things - that your general business liability insurance does not cover.

Childcare Claim Examples that Really Occurred!

• Third Party Liability: After a Montessori School stated they could not admit a child due to licensed limited capacity, the parents sued for racial discrimination. The parents insisted that the school had a non-admission policy for African American children and mentioned the fact that the student body did not contain even one African American. Defense and Settlement costs totaled: $67,000.

• Internet / Email Liability: An administrative assistant for a childcare facility sent an email to all employees instead of her intended single recipient. The email contained an embarrassing inappropriate joke. The center's director instructed the employee to send a subsequent apology email to everyone. Just 2 months later, an employee that was laid off due to company downsizing, sued because of a hostile work environment and cited the inappropriate email as proof of an atmosphere that did not respect her religious principles. The facility was discomfited and uninterested in having this lawsuit revealed to the parents.

• Retaliation: An Indian childcare employee objected to the racial insults directed at him by some of his fellow workers. As a result, the owner assigned him to another room where there was less of a staff presence. The new situation warranted less work-time and therefore his hours were reduced. The slighted employee sued the childcare center for discrimination and retaliation for relating the discrimination. Defense and Settlement costs totaled: $125,000.

• Wage and Hour: A Non-Exempt head teacher was covertly tracking hours as she worked the overtime that was requested of her. As a salaried worker, this teacher never mentioned any grievance about the additional workload. When the owner was served a wage-and-hour lawsuit by the teacher, he was caught by surprise. Although there was no way to discern if the teacher's calculations regarding her work hours were precise, the center was guided by their lawyer to settle for the presented amount rather than take the risk of other present and past employees joining the lawsuit.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employee-related claims come at a steep price. Protect your childcare center from a lawsuit with an EPLI plan that's tailored to you.

EPLI

An EPLI policy protects you against lawsuit claims made by current, past and possible employers, as well as visitors. It's coverage for a wide range of suits that stem from:

1. Wrongful termination

2. Discrimination

3. Sexual harassment

4. Service refusal

5. Other employee claims

You are working so hard to meet the needs and desires of your family. You have high hopes for their future. All your efforts are sincerely driven so that they lead a good life and occupy respectable positions in the family. But as we all know about the uncertainty of life in this mortal world, things don't seem that bright once we are not there with them. They would miss our care, our guidance and of course the money that we bring in to sustain them. There comes the role of life insurance, specifically term insurance. Term plans are designed with the intension to replace your income and make your loss to your family easier to some extent. A fixed sum is agreed to be paid by the insurer at the commencement of the plan, which is in fact a considerable amount of money and proportionately very huge compared to the premium paid.

Why compare term plans? This question is very important. The answer is not just difference in premium or different claim settlement ratios of companies. But different companies provide various other features that add to the basic term plan. Be it monthly income or extra coverage for some critical diseases, some companies hire a specialist team to provide claim assistance to the nominee etc. Thus, when purchasing a term plan one must be aware of the different features or riders (added benefits) provided by the insurer. Each person has a different type of requirement. Thus, one must be clear which company provides those features in their term plans that suit their requirements best. Thus, comparing term plans before just buying is a wise thing to do and all experts recommend it.

Now another question comes, how to compare? This is a very relevant question because nowadays you find insurance companies in every nook and corner. LIC is no more the sole player selling life insurance. With so many companies offering term plans with different features, it is havoc to even dare to think of comparing. These agents would do anything in their capacity to make you believe that only their company's plan is the best. So, you don't get the right information. We cannot expect you to study websites of all the insurance companies and chart out the best plan for yourself.

That problem is now addressed to a great extent by the rising capacity these insurance web aggregators are assuming in the insurance space. They intend to provide unbiased comparison in a very consumer friendly way. Thus, it is a good initiative taken by IRDA to promote Insurance Web Aggregators that provide healthy comparison in the best interest of the consumer.

Akanksha is expert in insurance sector. She has 10 year experience in insurance as well as investment field. Currently she is working with a reputed company and shares her experience through the blog and article. And she is very helping nature, so you can ask /put the questions regarding insurance and investment. She will definitely provide solution of all questions regarding compare term insurance or investment.

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