Insurance Crackdown by Barry Loughran

Insurance is taken out for piece of mind, if you partake in an activity where there is a possibility that you may lose or damage something of high value or importance then it would be wise to insure that object. With the sheer number of different insurance policies out there for pretty much every product and every event, there is no shock to read that fraudulent claims have rocketed in recent years.

This has resulted in a stamp down on the way in which claims are handled as the insurers struggle to identify a genuine claim from a fraudulent claim. The stamp down has only negative repercussions for most as the border line genuine claims face being rejected due to tighter terms and conditions, higher premiums to make up for lost cash and even reduced policies for certain items.

If you have a claim rejected then you can still claim your money back if you feel that it was an unfair decision. If you fail to achieve any success after making an appeal then you can contact the financial ombudsman to complain about your insurance service.

The financial ombudsman has seen a large number of queries recently with the volume increasing by up to 25% in the past 12 months. This can be down to a number of reasons including stricter policies to people being confused over the wording on the contract.

Insurance is important and you will need to take it out many times in your life so you should ensure you follow the correct procedure when possible when making a claim.

Understanding Insurance by Christian Seemuller

Almost everyone has had some experience with the practice of purchasing insurance, in one way or another. It may be that you were purchasing a home and the mortgage lender required Homeowners Insurance as a requirement of the loan. It may have been required when you purchased a car. Insurance is a device that allows for the transfer of all or part of a risk from one party to the insurance company. Each person pays a small, certain cost, the PREMIUM, to the insurance company, the INSURER. The INSURER, in turn, draws up a legal contract, the POLICY, between you, the INSURED and them, the INSURER.

Any legal contract, and in this case an insurance contract, needs to have certain parts to it to make it a valid contract. These "parts" are competent parties, a legal purpose, an offer and acceptance and consideration.

By definition, RISK is the chance or uncertainty of loss. For a RISK to be insurable it has to be measurable. PURE RISK is measurable. SPECULATIVE RISK is not. SPECULATIVE RISK. An example of SPECULATIVE RISK is investing in the stock market.

Life Insurance, specifically, is a contract that transfers risk of financial loss associated with premature death from the insured to the insurer. The need to cover the obligations that might be left behind upon death is the reason we need to be sure we are covered by a life insurance policy. The policy proceeds are paid by the insurance company to the beneficiary of the policy.