Do We Really Need Insurance?

So much have been said about buying insurance, one begins to wonder about it all. There are so many insurance policies out there; one begins to wonder which one is important. Many people go through life being under-insured. Being under-insured has its demerits on its own but when your property gets damaged by an under-insured, then you are dealing with whole new different sets if problem.

If you own a business, you would definitely need to give it all the protection it truly deserves. For instance, putting locks on your doors would help prevent theft and unauthorized entry. What if someone was able to get access into your company and damage or steal items? The locks on the door will not be able to repair or replace the items. A business owner’s policy would be able to cover all the damages.

If you own a car and get involved in an accident, the last thing on your mind is how to repair the car. As a matter of fact, if you were at fault, you would have your car and the other driver car to worry about. With the right auto insurance policy, you will be able to get the car repaired and get covered for injuries, if you have any.

2 Saving Tips: Car Insurance

For most people, their car(s) will be the second most expensive investment they will make. The last thing anyone would want is to have an accident. If there is one thing driving has taught us, it has to be the fact that accident can occur any day. So no doubt, auto insurance policy is a must-have for everyone.

Evaluate Your Insurance Needs

There are several things to add to your coverage. If you are not careful, you will end up including coverage you don’t necessarily need. The limits for auto insurance vary from one state, country, and insurer. It is best you get a good understanding of what your insurer is offering and only select the types you know is suitable for your car(s).

Keep Your Records Clean

This may not seem like it but your credit card record can affect your rates. Insurers use it to determine how much of a risk a client is. If you have a bad credit card record, don’t be surprised if it is reflected as high rate premium. The same can be said of driving records. If you have a bad driving record, insurers consider you as a high risk client too. For this reason they will rate you in the category of high premium.

A Common Gap in Disability Insurance Policy

If you take a close look at what disability insurance stands for, it is clear to see that it is an amazing policy for employees. Not only does it protect the business and business owners, it also helps bears the risk of the employees. As benevolent as this policy may seem, there are also some gaps that arise in the policy. If not properly understood, these gaps could cause a devastating effect on the employee.

Disabilityinsurance pays a part of the salary of employees to them if they are involved in work related injuries. This means as long as they are away from work, they still get to receive a portion of the salary. What most people don’t realize is the fact that a part of your salary may not really be significant to cater for your needs. The policy could pay as high as 60% of your salary but this would only be meaningful if your salary is large.

The policy also doesn’t include bonuses and commissions. So if you get more in commissions and bonuses, you should not expect the policy to pay your any part from. To give a better illustration, let’s imagine you receive an annual salary of $10,000 and commissions of $50,000. The disability insurance is able to pay as high as 60% of your $10,000 but never the $50,000. So if you have expenses calculated with both the $10,000 and $50,000, the 60% would not be enough. To fill this gap, it is advised to take up additional disability coverage; just in case.

You vs Your Insurer vs Uninsured Driver

The sole purpose of purchasing an auto insurance policy is to get protection from damages or losses during a car accident. Most people are yet to see the full benefits of this policy until they are involved in an accident. Car accident occurs every day and can happen to anyone. For this reason, there is no way to totally avoid it; unless you are the only driver on the road.

Usually we are well equipped on the steps to take when you are involved in an accident. Have you ever thought of what you would do if you discover the other driver doesn’t have any insurance policy? Exchanging insurance information is usually one of the foremost steps to take and dealing with an uninsured driver makes this a whole lot difficult. So we decided to ask a professional auto insurance agent to briefly explain how to go about this and what would happen in such a situation.

If the cause of the accident you sustain injuries, your insurer will take full responsibility for your medical expenses. If you have no injury but your car is damaged, then you would only be able to lay claim payments if you have collision insurance. This is usually a type of insurance policy under auto insurance you have the option of including to your policy package. If you have this coverage or anything similar to it, then irrespective of whether the other driver is insured or not, your insurer pays for the damages.

3 Professional Tips for Buying Any Insurance Policy

Buying insurance is one of the smartest financial decisions anyone can make. This is because we live in a world plagued with many uncertainties. It's good to have an insurer that's willing to assist in part or full in times of a loss or damage. Since we cannot dispute the advantages of insurance, we decided to ask insurance professionals for their top 3 tips to anyone looking to buy insurance. Here are the top tips they came up with:

Determine How Much Coverage You Really Need

Before you go about buying any insurance policy, you should have a defined level of coverage you want. There are general insurance policies which will provide the basics for that type of insurance. If you would need specific additions to this general coverage, you would have to pay more in premium. If you do not have a defined coverage you hope to have, you'll easily get confused into buying some policies you don't even need.

Conduct an Extensive Research

We live in an age where information is just right at the tips of your finger. Don't take everything at face value and make decisions with it. Go online and research every new detail you find. If you're uncertain or don't understand any aspect of the insurance, do not proceed any further until all is clear and understood. Many people tend to rush into getting insurance, only to discover when it's too late that they didn't get exactly what they needed.

Know More about the Company

When looking to get insurance, more often than not, you will have several insurers to choose from. Among those you have selected, you should put them through proper analysis of their reputation, experience level, and customer satisfaction. Having a good reputation would speak well of the company's track record and popularity. Experience level should deal with how many insurance they have sold and for how long. Customer satisfaction is the final piece of the puzzle. Even with the best reputation and experience, a good insurance company should have customers that are truly satisfied with the services they render.

How to Handle a Dispute with Your Insurance Company

Sometimes, disputes with insurance companies will occur and you may be finding it hard to fight for your right – or maybe you just don’t know how to. These disputes come as a result of disagreements in paying of claims. If you want to resolve these disputes amicably, here are some steps you may want to consider.

Know Your Right!

Irrespective of the state or country that you may be in, the insurance industry is usually well regulated. An insurance company cannot misrepresent your policy or change the policy you both signed without informing you. They are legally bound to pay your claim if and when you meet the policy requirement – which is available to you to verify. They cannot delay you on purpose by giving you unnecessary forms to fill.

Use an Insurance Broker or Agent

This is why it is always advisable that you invest in a professional insurance agent or broker. These professionals are well-equipped with the right knowledge with all things pertaining to insurance. They usually have a relationship with insurance companies and can easily help you broker a good deal with the insurer.

Involve a Third Party

If things are still not going as you expect them to, then you may need to involve a third party. You can involve an independent agent or broker to help fight your cause. You could also get your state’s insurance department involved.

Usually these would resolve whatever issue is on ground. If it doesn’t, then your last step would be to take a legal action on the insurance company. There is no need jumping these steps. Just follow these steps and you will get your claims paid.

Understanding the Basics of Insurance Contracts

An insurance contract can also be called an insurance policy. It is a written contract between you (known as the insured) and the insurance company (insurer). Insurance contract contains clauses or agreements pertaining to the level or extent of coverage to be given. All of these clauses or agreements will be met and provided for after payment of a premium. Paying of this premium gives you entitlement to file for a claim if you have a loss or damage. The amount of coverage in an insurance policy is always well spelt out in the contract. Ensure you do well to understand it.

Usually the first page of the insurance contract is where you find the agreement summary. This initial page is known by different names, depending on the type of policy. It is also known as a Declaration page, benefit summary page, etc. This page will contain who is covered, what is covered, the effective dates of coverage, and the amount of the premium. The number of the policy will be listed, along with your name and address and your insurance agent's name and address.

The contract will contain all the clauses and limitations of the policy. Most people either become weary of reading or do not fully understand the policy provision before appending their signature. Do well to go through each agreement or clause. If you do not understand any clause, meet with insurance experts to help breakdown that aspect of the policy. Never assume things!

Insurance Company - GNG review

Toward the end of last year I left my previous employer who actually provided a good health insurance for me. The most painful part of it all was me thinking I would never be able to afford the entire coverage on my own. This also doesn’t put into perspective the fear of undergoing through a very stressful process. Luckily for me, I had a car insurance policy with the Greater National Group. In my confused state I reached out to them to see if they could help me with the entire process.

The guys at GNG took away all of my worries and fears. I never knew filling of such forms could be painless and less stressful than I had imagined. The company offered to cover me privately and the premiums cots far less than I was thinking they would charge. Words would fail me to genuinely appreciate Rob Sinclair and the team for the great work they are doing. It is good to know you guys take joy in putting smiles in the faces of your clients.

Tips on Reducing Workplace Injuries

Workplace injuries can have a devastating effect on the overall productivity of the business, especially if it is a small business. Small businesses usually have less number of staffs and an absence of one would be felt by others. While injuries are sometimes beyond our control, we can still take steps to prevent most of them. Greater National Group insurance experts gave out some tips for businesses to use in reducing workplace injuries.

Management and Employee Relationship

Workplace injuries can be prevented at most when there is a good and cordial collaboration between the business management and its employees. When it comes to safety, everyone is responsible and should take steps to prevent it. Management can assign managers whose responsibilities would be to ensure all safety components are in place.

Analyze Workplace Operations and Equipment

Make a detailed inspection of all of your equipment and operations. Ask employees about how they see the operations and if they have concerns about their safety in any of their operations. Equipment should be inspected to ensure proper safety measures are put in place. When new operations and equipment are added to the business, proper safety measures should be put in place too.

Train Workers

For workplace hazards and injuries to be curtailed, workers should be trained on how to use equipment properly. First aid training should also be included in case there's an sustained injury. These safety measures activities should be an ongoing process to ensure workplace injuries are reduced to its barest minimum.

Common Mistakes People Make with Insurance

Most people really do not know the value of insurance until they've had a loss or damage. For this reason, they usually have this lackadaisical approach to it all. An insurance expert at Greater National Group says it’s shocking to see the number of people who take on insurance that doesn't fully cover their businesses. More shockingly surprising is the fact that many entrepreneurs don't even bother with insurance altogether.

One Insurance Covers All

This is the attitude that many people use in taking insurance. As a matter of fact, issues that arise between insurance companies and some of their insured is as a result of misinformation and misunderstanding. There are different types of insurance with different coverage abilities. If you're uncertain about your insurance, there are more than enough insurance experts to help with better explanation. Just stop assuming!

Invincibility Effect

While this may seem a bit funny to some, many business owners often think their business somehow is invincible to any possible loss or damage. Some go as far as stating how they've survived for years without such loss. While no one prays for such, no business is invincible to losses or damages. Natural disasters, for example, cannot be controlled or prevented by any human abilities. Rather than stay rooted in this catastrophic belief, equip your business with the right insurance.

GNG Review - Good Support and Care

Thank you GNG for all the support and care. It's always good to know someone out there truly cares. I was involved in an accident sometime last year. A drunk driver ran into my car at a traffic light. Before I could pull myself together and get out of the car, the driver drove off. Luckily for me I was able to get the plate number. At the time I was terrified because I didn't have much cash and didn't get insurance details of the driver. I put a call across to GNG and the customer representative helped calm my nerves a bit.

Filing for a claim wasn't as stressful as I had imagined. The staff adjuster explained everything in details on why eat information was needed. They were able to identify the driver later on but GNG paid fully for my car damages. For a student heavily in debt at that time, it was a great relief for me. Thanks guys!