SCAM: Beware of Online Paluwagan!

It is horrible to hear the story of a housewife who is a victim of this online paluwagan system in Facebook. According to the ABS-CBN news video below, she invested 500,000 pesos of hard earned money from her OFW husband to this online paluwagan scheme without her husband’s knowledge and even permission. At first she received money from this online paluwagan and because she was happy with the profits she received, she invested 500,000 pesos with the promise of getting huge returns. Just after investing the money, the online paluwagan administrator just disappeared or could not be reached. I think they did not even meet each other in person. Because of the scam she had difficulties paying her children’s tuition fees as well as paying utilities and house expenses. This led to her eventual separation from her husband. It is clear that this new online scam is destroying families.

Another lady, sold her jewelry and properties (at a lower price) to invest in this online paluwagan system. She even used her family savings only to find out she has been duped. As of the moment, 15 people have sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime division. In my opinion, it is impossible for these victims to  get their money back judging  from past cases of investment scams like the Aman Futures scam. These cases may also take years in courts until the victims are  no longer interested to pursue  the cases.

The online scam is all done online. Members communicate through Facebook chat and groups. Members are asked to deposit their investment in a bank account provided by the paluwagan administrator. They received promises of  100% return which will be deposited to their bank accounts after few weeks. The investors did not receive any proof of investment like receipts or investment certificates. Everything is done based on trust and false promises. Unfortunately, the paluwagan admins could not be trusted from  the start but the victims had no idea how bad are the people they are transacting with.

There are many investment instruments in the market that are legal including mutual funds, UITFs, stocks, bonds and VUL products.  Returns are not guaranteed and may take time to get a good return of investment but you are confident that you are not being scammed! Study first before you invest to avoid being a victim of scams. Expect that there would be more related scams in the future with the popularity of social media and internet technologies.

Source: http://www.moneytalkph.com/scams/beware-of-the-online-paluwagan-scam/

The Importance of Having an Emergency Fund

Whenever I do financial planning to my clients, I always discuss the importance of building an emergency fund, which is the money set aside to cover emergencies or life’s unexpected events such as unemployment, medical expenses, home repairs, natural disasters, vehicle repairs etc. The fund should easily be accessible, meaning it can be withdrawn from the bank or kept at home.  The recommended amount for emergency fund is at least 3 months worth of expenses. For me,  the ideal is 6 months to 1 year worth of expenses.

It surprises me that many of our fellow Filipinos don’t have emergency funds. Their emergency fund is their credit cards, money borrowed from friends/relatives, money from loan sharks (5-6 loans), etc. Borrowing money for emergencies is not an ideal practice because of the big interest rates. It also destroy relationships when you borrow from friends/relatives then you did not pay the loaned money back.
When a person becomes unemployed, it may take few months before he could find another job. Of course, bills don’t stop coming in when a person becomes unemployed. With adequate emergency fund, his bills and other expenses will be paid up until he finds a new job.
Many Filipino families commonly face medical emergencies and majority of them do not have money set aside to cover the expenses. Borrowing money is inevitable; finding people to lend money is another problem. With adequate emergency fund, medical expenses could be easily covered and no need to borrow money from other people. It is a painful reality that many hospitals require downpayment before they will admit a patient. With no money, where do a sick person go?  Many sick people in the Philippines die before they even meet a doctor or admitted in a medical facility. It is really sad to hear stories of sick people dying because they do not have money to pay medical expenses.
I am the type of person who cannot sleep at night when my emergency fund go below a minimum level. I fear that an emergency could happen anytime and as the bread winner of the family I am obliged to pay the expenses. I always feel that I should have enough money to cover unexpected expenses.
I always tell my clients that before they get an investment or insurance plan, they should have at least an emergency fund. Without an adequate emergency fund, they will sacrifice their investment or insurance plan when they face a financial emergency. They will be forced to prematurely sell their investments at a loss or they will be forced to surrender their life insurance policies resulting to loss of coverage. When clients surrender their life insurance policies, they would not only lose coverage but also they will not get all their money back because of the insurance fees collected by the insurance company.
Start building your emergency fund today. If you already have an emergency fund, I recommend you even increase it to cover more months.  I suggest you have a separate bank account to put your emergency fund. Do not mix it up to your regular bank account. Also, with will power, fight the temptation to use your emergency fund to pay for unnecessary things. Remember that your emergency fund is intended for emergencies only. Using it for travel expenses and mall shopping is a big NO!


Source: http://www.moneytalkph.com/money-management/the-importance-of-having-an-emergency-fund/

Over 40 Ways to Decrease Your Auto Insurance Costs

There are multiple articles titled "7 ways to save on car insurance" or "5 Tips to lower your auto insurance costs" etc, but would it not be great to have all those saving tricks and discounts at one place? Below you will find such a list for Auto insurance. This list is a comprehensive overview of all opportunities to save on car insurance in Canada, and was compiled based on the results of numerous discussions with insurance brokers and through analyses of different insurance offerings.

1. Shop around: Search, Compare, and switch insurance companies. There are many insurance providers and their price offerings for the same policies can be very different, therefore use multiple online tools and talk to several brokers since each will cover a limited number of insurance companies.

2. Bundle: Do you need Home and Auto Insurance? Most companies will offer you a discount if you bundle them together.

3. Professional Membership: Are you a member of a professional organization (e.g. Certified Management Accountants of Canada or The Air Canada Pilots Association)? Then some insurance companies offer you a discount.

4. Students: Being a student alone can result in a student discount.

5. Alumni: Graduates from certain Canadian universities ( e.g University of Toronto, McGill University) might be eligible for a discount at certain Insurance providers.

6. Employee / Union members: Some companies offer discounts to union members.

7. Seniors: Many companies offer special pricing to seniors.

8. Direct insurers: Have you always dealt with insurance brokers / agents? Getting a policy from a direct insurer (i.e. insurers working via call-center or online) often can be cheaper (but not always) since they do not pay an agent/broker commission for each policy sold.

9. Annual vs. monthly payments: In comparison to monthly payments, annual payments save insurers administrative costs (e.g. sending bills) and therefore they reward you lower premiums.

10. Loyalty: Staying with one insurer longer can sometimes result in a long-term policy holder discount.

11. Annual review: Review your policies and coverage every year, since new discounts could apply to your new life situation if it has changed.

12. Welcome discount: Some insurers offer a so called welcome discount.

13. Benchmark your costs: Knowing how much other consumers similar to you pay for their insurance can help you identify the most cost-friendly insurance providers.

14. Car Insurance Deductibles: Increase your car insurance deductibles if you believe that you are capable of incurring higher payments for damages in case of an accident. This is especially suited for more experienced car drivers.

15. Being a second driver: Driving a car only occasionally? Become a second drive instead of being a principal driver

16. Minimal coverage: Driving an old car without large value? Get a minimal coverage required by law (mainly liability) w/o collision damage (you are still protected if you damage somebody's car but damages on your car will not be covered)

17. Minimal Coverage: Driving an old, inexpensive car? Then only get a minimal coverage plan which is required by the law (mainly liability) without collision damage coverage (does not cover damage costs for your vehicle)

18. Leverage your Credit Card: Check if your credit card insurance includes rental car protection. Paying with a card that has insurance for rental car protection can you save you around $20 per day in Collision Damage Waiver fees.

19. Leverage rental car coverage: If you frequently rent cars and have an auto insurance policy, you should check if your own auto insurance policy actually covers the rental car. If it is the case, you can save on all Collision Damage Waiver costs for rental vehicles.

20. Rental car rider: If your existing auto insurance policy does not cover your rental car, you can often add it as a rider (policy extension) for $20-30 dollars a year. Compared to $20/day you would pay when renting a car, it's not a bad deal!

21. Location, location, location: Car insurance costs are different from one province to another (e.g. moving from Ontario to Quebec will surely reduce your insurance costs by half). If you move within a province, you should check for any changes in car insurance costs, and ideally you should move to where costs are lower (e.g. Burlington, Ontario has one of the highest car insurance rates in Ontario)

22. CAA member: CAA Members: Are you a member of the CAA? Some insurance providers will reward you with lower insurance premiums, including, of course, the CAA.

23. Dashboard camera: Get a dashboard camera for your vehicle. Even though installing a dashboard camera does not result in direct savings (insurance companies do not offer any insurance discount related to dashboard cameras) but it can prove you not-at-fault when it is the case in an accident. It results in you avoiding unfair premium raises.

24. Driving Course: Successfully completing a driving course is sometimes recognized by some insurance providers and could help you reduce your premiums.

25. Improving your driving record: Do you have a bad driving record? Every three years previously incurred tickets are removed from your insurance history and your insurance premiums can go down.

26. At-Fault Accidents: Have you been in a couple of accidents in the past where you were at fault? With a little patience (six years with no accidents), your risk profile will improve allowing you to once again enjoy reasonable insurance premium rates.

27. Age: Senior drivers enjoy lower auto insurance premiums. Thus in several years your premiums can go down.

28. Car Make and Model: Wisely choose your car, as some car models are more susceptible to theft or even have a history of more risky drivers (e.g. Toyota Camry, Acura MDX, Toyota RAV4, and Honda Civic are usually quite expensive to insure)

29. Good Student: Yes, having good grades can have many positive impacts, and even on your auto insurance rates! E.g. one insurance company rewards students who are younger than 25 and have good grades (grade average of B or higher) with a discount up to 25%.

30. Multiple-cars-bundle: Bundle several cars on one policy and your rate can go down

31. Anti-theft system: Installing a certified anti-theft system in your car results in a lower risk of theft and thus can lead to insurance discounts.

32. Winter Tires: Having winter tires is important for driving safety during the winter, but can also help reduce your insurance premiums.

33. Repair costs: Choose a car that would cost less to repair in case of damage. The repair costs for certain cars (e.g. Mini Cooper or BMW) are higher than other (e.g. Ford Focus) and insurance providers are aware of that.

34. Claim History: Keeping a clean claims history can sometimes be more financially feasible than submitting claims for small damage repairs which could result in increased premiums. Contacting an insurance provider/broker could help you find out what makes sense.

35. Being married: In most provinces your marital status affects your insurance premiums (except in Nova Scotia)

36. Short distance to work: Finding a house close to your place of work reduces the distance that you need drive daily to work and thus results in lower insurance premiums.

38. Drop glass coverage: For cars with inexpensive windshields, it can be more economical to drop the glass coverage since in combination with the deductibles to be paid in case of an accident you'd pay more. It is up to you to calculate.

39. Retiree Discounts: Some insurance companies will offer different retirement discounts for drivers.

40. Disabilities: Some companies offer discounts for people with disabilities.

41. Hybrid vehicles: Many companies award driving a hybrid vehicle with lower insurance premiums.

42. Private Garage: Parking your car in a safe location (e.g. private or secure garage) normally results in lower insurance premiums with auto insurance providers.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7422169

40+ Home Insurance Savings Tips

Your dwelling is often your most precious asset that you need to protect. We created a list of all savings opportunities associated with Home insurance. This list is the most complete perspective on home insurance savings tips. Numerous insurance brokers contributed to this list. So, let's start!

1. Change your content coverage: Renting a Condo? You can often lower your content coverage. No need to insure your belongings to up to $250,000 if you only have a laptop and some IKEA furniture!

2. Renovations: Renovating your house can result in lower home insurance premiums, as home insurance premiums for older, poorly maintained dwellings are usually higher. Additionally, renovating only parts of your dwelling (e.g. the roof) can lead to insurance savings.

3. Pool: Adding a swimming pool to your house will likely lead to an increase in your insurance rates since your liability ( e.g. the risk of someone drowning) and the value of your house have increased.

4. Pipes: Insurers prefer copper or plastic plumbing - maybe it is a good idea to upgrade your galvanized / lead pipes during your next renovation cycle.

5. Shop around: Search, Compare, and switch insurance companies. There are many insurance providers and their price offerings for the same policies can be very different, therefore use multiple online tools and talk to several brokers since each will cover a limited number of insurance companies.

6. Wiring: Some wiring types are more expensive or cheaper than others to insure. Make sure you have approved wiring types, and by all means avoid aluminum wirings which can be really expensive to insure. Not all insurers will cover houses with aluminum wirings, and those that would, will require a full electrical inspection of the house.

7. Home Insurance deductibles: Like auto insurance, you can also choose higher home insurance deductibles to reduce your insurance premiums.

8. Bundle: Do you need Home and Auto Insurance? Most companies will offer you a discount if you bundle them together.

9. New Home: Check if insurer has a new home discount, some insurers will have them.

10. Claims-free discount: Some companies recognize the fact that you have not submitted any claims and reward it with a claim-free discount.

11. Mortgage-free home: When you complete paying down your house in full, some insurers will reward you with lower premiums.

12. Professional Membership: Are you a member of a professional organization (e.g. Certified Management Accountants of Canada or The Air Canada Pilots Association)? Then some insurance companies offer you a discount.

13. Seniors: Many companies offer special pricing to seniors.

14. Annual vs. monthly payments: In comparison to monthly payments, annual payments save insurers administrative costs (e.g. sending bills) and therefore they reward you lower premiums.

15. Annual review: Review your policies and coverage every year, since new discounts could apply to your new life situation if it has changed.

16. Alumni: Graduates from certain Canadian universities ( e.g University of Toronto, McGill University) might be eligible for a discount at certain Insurance providers.

17. Employee / Union members: Some companies offer discounts to union members ( e.g. IBM Canada or Research in Motion)

18. Mortgage insurance: Getting mortgage insurance when you have enough coverage in Life insurance is not always necessary: mortgage insurance is another name for a Life/Critical Illness / Disability insurance associated with your home only but you pay extra for a convenience of getting insurance directly when lending the money. For example a Term Life policy large enough to pay off your home is usually cheaper.

19. Drop earthquake protection: In many regions, earthquakes are not likely - you could decide not to take earthquake coverage which could lower your premiums. For example, in BC earthquake coverage can account for as much as one-third of a policy's premium.

20. Wood stove: Choosing to use a wood stove means higher premiums - Insurance companies often decide to inspect the houses with such installations before insuring them. A decision to get rid of it means a lower risk and thus lower insurance premiums.

21. Heating: Insurers like forced-air gas furnaces or electric heat installations. If you have an oil-heated home, you might be paying more than your peers who have alternative heating sources.

22. Bicycle: You are buying a new bicycle and thinking about getting extra protection in case it is stolen when you leave it on the street e.g. when doing your groceries? Your Home insurance might be covering it already.

23. Stop smoking: Some insurers increase their premiums for the homes with smokers as there is an increased risk of fire.

24. Clean claim history: Keep a clean claim record without placing small claims, sometimes it makes sense to simply repair a small damage rather than claim it: you should consider both aspects: your deductibles and potential raise in premiums.

25. Rebuilding vs. market costs: Consider your rebuilding costs when choosing an insurance coverage, not the market price of your house (market price can be significantly higher than real rebuilding costs).

26. Welcome discount: Some insurers offer a so called welcome discount.

27. Avoid living in dangerous locations: Nature effects some locations more than others: avoid flood-, or earthquake-endangered areas when choosing a house.

28. Neighbourhood: Moving to a more secure neighbourhood with lower criminal rate will often considered in your insurance premiums.

29. Centrally-connected alarm: Installing an alarm connected to a central monitoring system will be recognized by some insurers in premiums.

30. Monitoring: Having your residence / apartment / condo monitored 24 hour can mean an insurance discount. e.g. via a security guard.

31. Hydrants and fire-station: Proximity to a water hydrant and/or fire-station can decrease your premiums as well.

32. Loyalty: Staying with one insurer longer can sometimes result in a long-term policy holder discount.

33. Water damages: Avoid buying a house which may have water damage or has a history of water damage; a check with the insurance company can help to find it out before you buy the house.

34. Decrease liability risk: Use meaningful ways to reduce your liability risk (e.g. fencing off a pool) and it can result in your liability insurance premiums going down.

35. Direct insurers: Have you always dealt with insurance brokers / agents? Getting a policy from a direct insurer (i.e. insurers working via call-center or online) often can be cheaper (but not always) since they do not pay an agent/broker commission for each policy sold.

36. Plumbing insulation: Insulating your pipes will prevent them from freezing in winter and reduce or even avoid insurance claims.

37. Dependent students: Dependent students living in their own apartment can be covered by their parents' home insurance policy at no additional charge.

38. Retirees: Those who are retired can often get an additional discount - since they spend more time at home than somebody who works during the day and thus can prevent accidents like a fire much easier.

39. Leverage inflation: Many insurers increase your dwelling limit every year by considering the inflation of the house rebuilding costs. Make sure this adjustment is in line with reality and that you are not overpaying.

40. Credit score: Most companies use your credit score when calculating home insurance premiums. Having a good credit score can help you to get lower insurance rates.

41. Stability of residence: Some insurers may offer a stability of residence discount if you have lived at the same dwelling for a certain number of years.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7422262

Understanding Your Insurance Contract

Almost all of us have insurance. When your insurer gives you the policy document, generally, all you do is glance over the decorated words in the policy and pile it up with the other bunch of financial papers on your desk, right? If you spend thousands of dollars each year on insurance, don't you think that you should know all about it? 




Your insurance adviser is always there for you to help you understand the tricky terms in the insurance forms, but you should also know for yourself what your contract says. In this article, we'll make reading your insurance contract easy. Read on to take a look at the basic principles of insurance contracts and how they are put to use in daily life.

Essentials of a Valid Insurance Contract


Additional Factors
There are some additional factors of your insurance contract that also need to be considered, including under-insurance and excess clauses that create situations in which the full value of an insured asset is not remunerated.

Under-Insurance
Often, in order to save on premiums, you may insure your house at $80,000 when the total value of the house actually comes to $100,000. At the time of partial loss, your insurer will pay only a proportion of $80,000 while you have to dig into your savings to cover the remaining portion of the loss. This is called under-insurance, and you should try to avoid it as much as possible.

Excess

To avoid trivial claims, the insurers have introduced provisions like excess. For example, you have auto insurance with the applicable excess of $5,000. Unfortunately, your car had an accident with the loss amounting to $7,000. Your insurer will pay you the $7,000 because the loss has exceeded the specified limit of $5,000. But, if the loss comes to $3,000 then the insurance company will not pay a single penny and you have to bear the loss expenses yourself. In short, the insurers will not entertain claims unless and until your losses exceed a minimum amount set by the insurer.

Not all insurance contracts are indemnity contracts. Life insurance contracts and most personal accident insurance contracts are non-indemnity contracts. You may purchase a life insurance policy of $1 million, but that does not imply that your life's value is equal to this dollar amount. Because you can't calculate your life's net worth and fix a price on it, an indemnity contract does not apply. (For more information on non-indemnity contracts, read Buying Life Insurance: Term Versus Permanent, Long-Term Care Insurance: Who Needs It? and Shifting Life Insurance Ownership.)

Insurable Interest
It is your legal right to insure any type of property or any event that may cause financial loss or create a legal liability to you. This is called insurable interest.

Suppose you are living in your uncle's house, and you apply for homeowners' insurance because you believe that you may inherit the house later. Insurers will decline your offer because you are not the owner of the house and, therefore, you do not stand to suffer financially in the event of a loss.

This example demonstrates that when it comes to insurance, it is not the house, car or machinery that is insured. Rather, it is the monetary interest in that house, car or machinery to which your policy applies.

It is also the principle of insurable interest that allows married couples to take out insurance policies on the lives of their spouses - they may suffer financially if the spouse dies. Insurable interest also exists in some business arrangements, as seen between a creditor and debtor, between business partners or between employers and employees.

Principle of Subrogation
Subrogation allows an insurer to sue a third party that has caused a loss to the insured and pursue all methods of getting back some of the money that it has paid to the insured as a result of the loss.

For example, if you are injured in a road accident that is caused by the reckless driving of another party, you will be compensated by your insurer. However, your insurance company may also sue the reckless driver in an attempt to recover that money.

Doctrine of Utmost Good Faith
All insurance contracts are based on the concept of "uberrima fidei", or the doctrine of utmost good faith. This doctrine emphasizes the presence of mutual faith between the insured and the insurer. In simple terms, while applying for life insurance, it becomes your duty to disclose your past illnesses to the insurer. Likewise, the insurer cannot hide information about the insurance coverage that is being sold.

Doctrine of Adhesion
The doctrine of adhesion states that you must accept the entire insurance contract and all of its terms and conditions without bargaining. Because the insured has no opportunity to change the terms, any ambiguities in the contract will be interpreted in favor of the insured.

Conclusion
When purchasing insurance, most of us rely on our insurance advisor for everything - from choosing a policy for us to filling in the insurance application forms. Most people try to stay away from the boring legal terms of insurance contracts, but it is always handy to be familiar with these words and phrases and to become familiar with the terms of the policy you are paying for.

A Beginner's Guide to Insurance

Having the right kind of insurance is central to sound financial planning. Some of us may have some form of insurance but very few really understand what it is or why one must have it. For most Indians insurance is a form of investment or a superb tax saving avenue. Ask an average person about his/her investments and they will proudly mention an insurance product as part of their core investments. Of the approximately 5% of Indians that are insured the proportion of those adequately insured is much lower. Very few of the insured view insurance as purely that. There is perhaps no other financial product that has witnessed such rampant mis-selling at the hands of agents who are over enthusiastic in selling products linking insurance to investment earning them fat commissions.

What is Insurance?

Insurance is a way of spreading out significant financial risk of a person or business entity to a large group of individuals or business entities in the occurrence of an unfortunate event that is predefined. The cost of being insured is the monthly or annual compensation paid to the insurance company. In the purest form of insurance if the predefined event does not occur until the period specified the money paid as compensation is not retrieved. Insurance is effectively a means of spreading risk among a pool of people who are insured and lighten their financial burden in the event of a shock.

Insured and Insurer

When you seek protection against financial risk and make a contract with an insurance provider you become the insured and the insurance company becomes your insurer.

Sum assured

In Life Insurance this is the amount of money the insurer promises to pay when the insured dies before the predefined time. This does not include bonuses added in case of non-term insurance. In non-life insurance this guaranteed amount may be called as Insurance Cover.

Premium

For the protection against financial risk an insurer provides, the insured must pay compensation. This is known as premium. They may be paid annually, quarterly, monthly or as decided in the contract. Total amount of premiums paid is several times lesser than the insurance cover or it wouldn't make much sense to seek insurance at all. Factors that determine premium are the cover, number of years for which insurance is sought, age of the insured (individual, vehicle, etc), to name a few.

Nominee

The beneficiary who is specified by the insured to receive the sum assured and other benefits, if any is the nominee. In case of life insurance it must be another person apart from the insured.

Policy Term

The number of years you want protection for is the term of policy. Term is decided by the insured at the time of purchasing the insurance policy.

Rider

Certain insurance policies may offer additional features as add-ons apart from the actual cover. These can be availed by paying extra premiums. If those features were to be bought separately they would be more expensive. For instance you could add on a personal accident rider with your life insurance.

Surrender Value and Paid-up Value

If you want to exit a policy before its term ends you can discontinue it and take back your money. The amount the insurer will pay you in this instance is called the surrender value. The policy ceases to exist. Instead if you just stop paying the premiums mid way but do not withdraw money the amount is called as paid-up. At the term's end the insurer pays you in proportion of the paid-up value.

Now that you know the terms this is how insurance works in plain words. An insurance company pools premiums from a large group of people who want to insure against a certain kind of loss. With the help of its actuaries the company comes up with statistical analysis of the probability of actual loss happening in a certain number of people and fixes premiums taking into account other factors as mentioned earlier. It works on the fact that not all insured will suffer loss at the same time and many may not suffer the loss at all within the time of contract.

Types of Insurance

Potentially any risk that can be quantified in terms of money can be insured. To protect loved ones from loss of income due to immature death one can have a life insurance policy. To protect yourself and your family against unforeseen medical expenses you can opt for a Mediclaim policy. To protect your vehicle against robbery or damage in accidents you can have a motor insurance policy. To protect your home against theft, damage due to fire, flood and other perils you can choose a home insurance.

Most popular insurance forms in India are life insurance, health insurance and motor insurance. Apart from these there are other forms as well which are discussed in brief in the following paragraphs. The insurance sector is regulated and monitored by IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority).

Life Insurance

This form of insurance provides cover against financial risk in the event of premature death of the insured. There are 24 life insurance companies playing in this arena of which Life Insurance Corporation of India is a public sector company. There are several forms of life insurance policies the simplest form of which is term plan. The other complex policies are endowment plan, whole life plan, money back plan, ULIPs and annuities.

General Insurance

All other insurance policies besides Life Insurance fall under General Insurance. There are 24 general insurance companies in India of which 4 namely National Insurance Company Ltd, New India Assurance Company Ltd, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and United India Insurance Company Ltd are in the public sector domain.

The biggest pie of non-life insurance in terms of premiums underwritten is shared by motor insurance followed by engineering insurance and health insurance. Other forms of insurance offered by companies in India are home insurance, travel insurance, personal accident insurance, and business insurance.

Buying Insurance

There are an umpteen number of policies to choose from. Because we cannot foresee our future and stop unpleasant things from happening, having an insurance cover is a necessity. But you need to choose carefully. Don't simply go with what the agent tells you. Read policy documents to know what is covered, what features are offered and what events are excluded from being insured.

1. Know your Needs

Determine what asset or incident must be protected against loss/damage. Is it you life, health, vehicle, home? Next determine what kinds of damage or danger exactly would the assets be most probably be exposed to. This will tell you what features you should be looking for in a policy. Of course there will be losses which cannot be foreseen and the cost of dealing with them can be very high. For instance nobody can predict that they'll never suffer from critical illnesses no matter if they're perfectly healthy at present.

The biggest mistake while it comes to buying insurance, particularly life insurance is to view it as an investment. Clubbing insurance and investment in a single product is a poor idea. You lose out on both fronts because for the premiums you're paying more cover could've been got in a term plan and if the premiums were invested in better instruments your returns could've been several times more.

Be wary of agents who want to talk you into buying unnecessary policies like child life insurance, credit card insurance, unemployment insurance and so on. Instead of buying separate insurance for specific assets or incidents look for policies that cover a host of possible events under the same cover. Whenever possible choose riders that make sense instead of buying them separately. Unless there is a fair chance of an event happening you do not need insurance for it. For instance unless you are very prone to accidents and disability due to your nature of work or other reasons you do not need an Accident Insurance policy. A good Life Insurance policy with accidental death rider or waiver of premium rider or a disability income rider will do the job.

2. Understand Product Features and Charges

The worst way of choosing an insurance product or insurer is to blindly follow the recommendation of an agent or a friend. The good way to do it is to shop around for products that suit your need and filter out the ones offering lower premiums for similar terms like age, amount of cover, etc. All details you need about the product features and charges will be provided on the company's website. Many insurance policies can now be bought online. Buying online is smarter because premiums are lower due to elimination of agent fees. If buying offline in case of life insurance, tell the agent that you're interested only in term insurance.

Before you sign on the contract make sure you have understood what items are covered and what items are exempted from the cover. It would be so devastating to learn in the event of damage or loss that the item you hoped to cover with the insurance was actually excluded. So many people rush to their insurers after being treated for diseases only to realize that the particular disease was excluded. Understand details like when the cover begins and ends and how claims can be filed and losses be reported.

Don't choose an insurance company because your neighbourhood friend is their agent and never let them coax you into buying from them. Insurance premiums run for years and it means a sizeable amount of money. Apart from the premiums charged look for the service provided. When you are faced with a peril you want the claims collection processed to be complicated with non-cooperating staff in the insurance company's office. Seek answers from people who have had previous experience with the company for questions like how customer friendly and responsive the company is when it comes to handling claims.

3. Evaluate and Upgrade in Time

As you walk from one life stage to another or when the asset insured changes your policies must be reviewed. Perhaps your cover will need to be increased (or decreased) or you'll need to top it up with a rider. Some instances when you need to review your cover are when you getting married, when you have children, when your income increases your decreases substantially, when you're buying a house/car and when you're responsible for your ageing parents.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7295420