Insurance World

Lucky applicants for life insurance can be insured within 48 hours and at the premium quoted - but 2 in 3 applicants are faced with delays plus the prospect of having their premium loaded.

So who are the lucky ones? Basically, you’ll have to be as fit as a flea with no family history of serious illness, under 45, in an office type job and probably applying for less than Ј250,000 cover. For everyone else there is going to be some hassle.

When an insurer provides an initial quote for life insurance, all they know is your age, sex and smoking status. They use these details to make an initial prediction of how long you are likely to live and on that basis they give you an initial quotation. They call it their “Standard Terms”.

If you want to progress your application you’ll have a multi-page application to complete. This isn’t as daunting as it may seem, as most online operators take your details over the phone and send you a copy of the completed application for you to check over. But the questions are extensive and if you miss out anything that later turns out to be significant, your insurance may well be invalidated. So be warned and take care!

The insurers use your application details to look out for anything that signals current or future concerns about your health or life style. Besides the obvious questions that reveal health problems, they also evaluate your weight, alcohol and nicotine intake, and any potentially inherited health problems. So if your father died of a heart attack or mother died from breast cancer, they’ll be concerned.

Then there’s your life style. If you’re in a type of job where accidents do happen, construction jobs are a good example, or you are involved in any form of dangerous sport or flying, your premium is in line for loading. They’ll even want to know whether you regularly travel to countries that are known to represent health risks for visitors. And whilst the law doesn’t allow discrimination against same sex relationships, the insurance companies will almost always insist on a medical for these applicants.

Insurers freely admit that the number of questions they ask is increasing. They claim it’s to reduce the number of claims they refuse. Whilst that may be partly true, the trend has also coincided with an increase in the proportion of applicants who are seeing their premiums loaded. Some years ago it was nearer 40% - today’s for some insurers the level is virtually 66%.

How much extra might you be asked to pay? That’s a bit like how long is a piece of string. But to give you a feel, a woman aged 40 receiving medical treatment for post-natal depression was recently faced with a 50% loading on an initial quotation of Ј7.60. A woman whose mother had breast cancer similarly faced a 50 % loading. Seriously overweight people can also expect loadings of 50% to 100% or even refusal.

Faced with a loading what can you do? It’s important to appreciate that the insurance companies giving the cheapest initial quote are also likely to have particularly choosey medical criteria. That’s how they keep their quoted prices low. So if you’re faced with a loading, the best advice is shop around, Try one of the more expensive providers like Friends Provident who are sometimes a bit more lenient.

Whilst this may sound overly complicated, remember that over the years, an extra Ј10 a month on a 25 year policy represents Ј3,000 of your hard earned money. If you don’t have the experience or time to do this, and after few of us do, speak to an online life insurance broker.

Competition is high on the Internet and online brokers will normally reduce your premium by cutting their commission. Their systems are also well versed in finding alternative providers to alleviate loading problems. So keep things simple. Let your keyboard fingers do the walking and let the online broker do all the hard work!

A boat makes any owner proud. One can rule the ocean with ones own boat. Commanding a boat transforms man to pass as the ruler of the high seas and terrible winds. Boats have caught the fancy of man since time immemorial. Possessing a boat however, is costly and has its own perils. Boats are an expensive asset, and they need to be protected. Boat insurance is one such method to protect you as the owner from damage or loss.

Constituents of Boat Insurance:

Boat insurance has two major components; the first one being Legal Responsibility/Security and Insurance, and the second being Property Loss. The insured sum is based either on Actual Cash Value or on the Sum Agreed Over.

A boat insurance policy is based on the agreed value; there is a certain amount of money printed in the policy, which is the sum compensated in the case of a complete loss. Limited damages are provided at new prices, implying that there is no reduction imposed, apart from high wear matter like sails and some machinery. This is the costly form of insurance. An authentic cash value policy is one where if your boat is lost completely, you will get the existing market price, without any deductible and suitable reduction for the age and state of your boat during loss.

Finding an Insurer:

Finding a boat insurer online is extremely easy, with many insurers vying for this market. If you as the boat owner are already familiar with a trustworthy company, then you can just visit the company’s website and buy the insurance online. If you go for online insurance, you may get some discounts as well, especially if you choose to enroll for seamanship training through the Coast Guard classes, or membership in one of the U.S. Power Squadrons groups throughout the country.

A boat insurance policy offers broad navigational limits when a trip to distant ports is on the cards. The agreed or cash value of your boat is covered, along with rig coverage, scheduled tenders, and outboards. Most states require at least the watercraft liability insurance coverage for every boat. An insurance agent can usually help you out with all the necessary legal requirements and insurances. Once you get the required cover, you may buy more as per your convenience or requirement.

Since medical expense due to any boat accident maybe very high, it is wise to buy medical coverage also. Then there is an insurance cover against uninsured boats. This means that if you are hit by an uninsured boat, you will still be able to get compensation for replacing the boat or getting medical treatment.

Boats are great assets, but without proper insurance, they can be quite hazardous to own and sail in.

Most insurers have websites as well as offices. You can just simply click and buy any policy you require, or you can visit the office to speak and discuss with the insurance agents. These agents can assist in fulfilling the legal requirements of insuring your boat as well.