It’s risky to be in business these days. Business owners face fierce competition, random economic swings and strict government regulations. Besides that, unexpected disasters can hit a potentially successful business. Take these examples: • Fire at a drycleaner. No insurance to pay for customer goods. • A roof collapse at a toy store one month before Christmas. No insurance to re-open. • Insurance on a fire-destroyed building. No insurance to cover pollution cleanup costs. That’s why loss prevention is a crucial part of insurance. Loss prevention means protecting your assets with practical safeguards. That could include: • better door locks • training employees on sexual harassment policies • construction of a fire- and earthquake-proof building. These and similar loss prevention activities can mean reduced insurance premiums for you. Establishing a close partnership with your insurance agent is the best way to ensure that you’re fully protected . Your agent can provide the best and most customized protection for disaster coverage. Know the insurance coverage options for your business. It takes time and premiums, but it’s worth the peace of mind—even if you never file a claim.
Insurance is an integral part of any personal financial plan. The type of insurance and the amount of coverage you obtain all depends on your unique financial and family circumstances, and must be evaluated carefully. When considering purchasing coverage, you should review all the potential risks and the financial impact of these risks on your financial health. This will help you determine what options to look for and what questions to ask. What you need to keep in mind is that you do not want to be underinsured or overinsured, which means you have to do your homework before you buy. And as with any type of financial product, you must read the fine print and consult with a competent advisor.
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/university/insurance/insurance11.asp#ixzz2GmklFXmJLet's review what we've learned:
- Insurance is a form is risk management in which the insured transfers the cost of potential loss to another entity in exchange for monetary compensation known as the premium.
- Insurance works by pooling risks. Because the number of insured individuals is so large, insurance companies can use statistical analysis to project what their actual losses will be within the given class. This allows the insurance companies to operate profitably and at the same time pay for claims that may arise.
- Underwriting is the process of evaluating the risk to be insured. This is done by the insurer when determining how likely it is that the loss will occur, how much the loss could be and then using this information to determine how much you should pay to insure against the risk.
- The insurance contract is a legal document that spells out the coverage, features, conditions and limitations of an insurance policy.
- Property and casualty insurance is insurance that protects against property losses to your business, home, or car and/or against legal liability that may result from injury or damage to the property of others. This type of insurance can protect a person or a business with an interest in the insured physical property against losses.
- An auto insurance policy typically covers you and your spouse, relatives who live in your home and other licensed drivers to whom you give permission to drive your car.
- Homeowners insurance typically covers the dwelling (the structure), personal property and contents, and some forms of personal liability. The policy may cover direct and consequential loss resulting from damage to the property itself, loss or damage to personal property, and liability for unintentional acts arising out of the non-business, non-automobile activities of the insured and members of that insured's household.
- Umbrella insurance helps you protect your assets if you are sued.If you are worried that the liability insurance coverage you have through your auto or property policies is still not enough, you can consider adding an umbrella policy.
- Health insurance is a type of insurance that pays for medical expenses in exchange for premiums. The way it works is that you pay your monthly or annual premium and the insurance policy contracts healthcare providers and hospitals to provide benefits to its members at a discounted rate.
- An indemnity plan, sometimes called a fee-for-service plan, is a type of insurance that reimburses you according to a schedule for medical expenses, regardless of who provides the service.
- The HMO is the most common type of insurance policy people own and the one most frequently provided by employers. HMOs provide a wide range of comprehensive healthcare services to a group of subscribers in return for a fixed periodic payment.
- PPOs are a group of healthcare providers that contract with an insurance company, third-party administrators, or others (like employers) to provide medical care services at a reduced fee.
- A point of service plan is a hybrid plan that combines aspects of an HMO, PPO and indemnity plan. This type of plan is more flexible in that it allows you to decide at the time you need services to elect to use the POS plan's physician to arrange in-network care (HMO feature), or to go outside the network or hospital and pay a higher portion of the cost.
- Disability insurance can replace a portion of the salary you were making before you became disabled and unable to work after a serious injury or illness.
- Disability insurance providers rate their premiums based on your job and the level of risk involved in doing that job.
- The reason to buy long term care insurance is to protect your assets in case you need to pay for assisted living, home care or a nursing home stay.
- Life insurance provides you with the opportunity to protect yourself and your family from personal risk exposures like repayment of debts after death, providing for a surviving spouse and children, fulfilling other economic goals (such as putting your kids through college), leaving a charitable legacy, paying for funeral expenses, etc.
- Whole life insurance provides guaranteed insurance protection for the entire life of the insured, otherwise known as permanent coverage. These policies carry a "cash value" component that grows tax deferred at a contractually guaranteed amount (usually a low interest rate) until the contract is surrendered.
- Universal life insurance, also known as flexible premium or adjustable life, is a variation of whole life insurance. Like whole life, it is also a permanent policy providing cash value benefits based on current interest rates.
- Variable life insurance is designed to combine the traditional protection and savings features of whole life insurance with the growth potential of investment funds. This type of policy is comprised of two distinct components: the general account and the separate account. The general account is the reserve or liability account of the insurance provider, and is not allocated to the individual policy. The separate account is comprised of various investment funds within the insurance company's portfolio, such as an equity fund, a money market fund, a bond fund, or some combination of these.
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/university/insurance/insurance11.asp#ixzz2Gmku2jCN
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