Insurance World

About 87 percent of the residents of Germany have statutory health insurance, i.e. GKV. As of May 2005, the GKV relied on 321 non-profit sickness funds to collect premiums from their members and pay health care providers according to negotiated agreements. Those who are not insured this way, mainly civil servants and the self-employed, receive health care through private for-profit insurance.
An estimate of 0,3 percent of the German population (around 250,000 people) has no health insurance at all. Some of them are so rich that they do not need it  but most of them are poor and receive health care through social assistance.
Statutory health insurance
There are three different categories of sickness funds: primary funds, substitute funds and “special” funds. Some workers are required to be members of the primary funds, e.g. if they earn less than the than the income ceiling (2006: EUR 3,937.50 per month / EUR 47,250.00 per year). Those earning more than that ceiling may be members on a voluntary basis, or they may have a choice of funds. Some of them automatically become members of a particular fund for example because of their occupation (company-based funds) or place of residence (local sickness funds). Some occupations have their own “special” funds, e.g. farmers or sailors.
Substitute funds are divided into two kinds: they provide health insurance to both white collar workers and blue collar workers earning more than the income ceiling. Membership is voluntary.
Both, employers and employees pay half of a member’s premiums, which in 2006 averaged between 13 and 14 percent of a worker’s gross earnings up to the contribution assessment ceiling (2006: EUR 3,562.50 monthly / EUR 42,750.00 p.a.). Premiums are fixed according to earnings rather than risk and are unaffected by the respective member’s marital status, family size, or health. Premiums are the same for all members within a particular fund with the same earnings.
Private health insurance
About eleven percent of Germany’s residents pay for private health insurance provided by some 40 for-profit insurance carriers. Many of those choosing private insurance are civil servants who want to secure percentage of their medical bills not covered by the government. Some sickness-fund members buy additional private insurance to cover such extras as a private room or a choice of physicians while in a hospital. Otherwise, the medical care provided to the publicly and privately insured is identical. In both cases the same medical facilities are used. Self-employed persons earning above the income ceiling must have private insurance. Members of a sickness fund who leave it for a private insurance carrier are not allowed to return to public insurance.
As opposed to the statutory heath insurance, contributions to the private insurance depend on the member’s age, gender, occupation and health status, that is, the individual risk. Although private insurance companies pay health care providers about twice the amount paid by the primary sickness funds, private insurance is often cheaper than statutory health insurance, especially for younger policyholders without dependents. As is the case for members of sickness funds, employees who have private insurance have half their premiums paid by their employers.

Disputes, especially when it comes to settling insurance claims, are not new scenarios. In fact, they take place every day. Just what causes these disputes? Well, one of the obvious reasons is most policy holders think that they deserve to be paid a larger settlement than what they receive. Second, claims are slow to process. And third, claims are denied.

There are various ways to deal with your auto insurance company. First, is the aggressive approach, which I am not encouraging since I am a peace-loving individual, and believe that everything should be settled in a peaceful and civilized manner. There are actually several peaceful options which a policyholder may undertake depending on the degree of insurance dispute.

For cases wherein your insurance agent is unable to solve your problem, it is advised to get the name and then the phone number of your insurance company’s claims department. Afterwards, call the consumer complaint department and never hesitate to tell them your problem because they may be able to help you. And don’t forget to get the name of the person whom you talked with in the consumer complaint department.

The next step is to send all documents to the consumer complaint department to back up your complaints. Send it to the person whom you talked with in the consumer complaint department. But be sure not to send the original copies of your documents. Have your documents photocopied because you need the original copies in case you have to take the matter to court.

Another option that you have is to ask for reassessment of your claims from the appraisal service or the arbitration service of your insurance company. If the result still has not satisfied you there is always your own state’s insurance department that may be able to help you.

However, if you still feel that you have not been given a satisfying solution to your insurance problem you may call 1-800-942-4242 which is a toll free consumer information service that is sponsored by the insurance industry. They have trained personnel that are available to assist and answer queries relating to various auto insurance complaints. They are available Monday to Friday, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Nevertheless, if you still feel that after you have applied all the above-mentioned options and yet you feel that you have not been given the appropriate solution you want, you can always take the matter to court. You can hire a lawyer, preferably one who is an expert in handling auto insurance cases.

There are many qualified lawyers out there who may be able to help you. According to studies, insurance claims have a much better chance of being settled if it is done with the assistance of an auto insurance expert lawyer. This is because your auto insurance lawyer knows every miniscule detail there is to know regarding auto insurance claims. Protect your rights; hire an auto insurance lawyer to help you.