The policies can be categorized into standard cover and accidental damage (or all risks). If you have standard cover, you need to compare any loss you have with the list of ‘peril’s that you are insured for. If you can’t match your particular claim to one of the risks on the list, you are not covered. The ‘onus of proof’ is with you. In other words it is you that has to provide proof to the insurer that the cause of loss is covered.

If you have accidental damage cover, you effectively have the equivalent of a fully comprehensive policy on a motor car. Here you are covered for every possible risk, except those listed in the policy exclusions. With this type of product The ‘onus of proof’ rests with your insurance company. That means that they have to prove that you are not covered against that risk.

Standard Cover
You should be able to find in the policy document a list of risks covered plus another list of exclusions that apply only to that peril. It could look similar to this:
- Fire, Earthquake, Explosion, Lightning, Smoke – excluding damage caused gradually
- Aircraft plus articles or parts falling from them
- Impact by animals, vehicles or falling trees or branches – excludes damage caused by felling or lopping trees
- Theft or attempted theft – excludes losses that happen if left unoccupied for more than thirty days or left unfurnished or caused by a tenant or paying guest or lodger.
- Malicious Persons – identical exceptions as for theft
- Burst Pipes – some exclude frozen pipes, others include it
- Storm or Flood – except for damage by frost and damage by storm to fences, gates and hedges
- Civil Commotion, Strikes, Riot, Political Disturbances or Labour Disturbances
- Oil Leakage
- Radio receiving aerials, TV Aerials, Mast breakage or collapse, Satellite dishes
- Subsidence – A long list of exclusions not detailed

Let’s run through each of these in greater detail.

FIRE – Fire damage will normally only be paid for where there has been actual flames. Smoke damage from the fire is also covered. You cannot claim for the smoke damage to your fixtures and fittings caused by the continual smoking of cigarettes and so on. That is not an accident, it is something over which you have control. Hence the exclusion. There are further exceptions to the rule that there must be ignition but they vary greatly from one insurance company to the next, so you ought to check them carefully in your policy.

LIGHTNING STRIKES – you are fully covered against any damage to your building caused by a lightning strike. If it hits your aerial, sorry but that is a contents claim! Although aerials are listed as an insured peril, they do not appear in the definition of a building. They do appear in contents. So damage to aerials necessitates a contents claim. Similarly with earthquakes and explosions. Fortunately these are few and far between here in Britain.

AIRCRAFT – This covers any object dropped from anything that flies. Again, luckily for us, a rare occurrence.

IMPACT – The intention here is that if your home is hit by a vehicle or an animal, you are protected. Concerning trees, if you have arranged to have your tree cut down or branches taken off, you need to make sure that every care is taken to stop it hitting your home (or sheds. garage etc). Where you have an outside contractor doing this type of job, and they cause damage to your property, then you are entitled to seek payment for the damage from them. However your policy will still exclude this damage so you cannot claim from your insurance company.

THEFT – Cover is fairly comprehensive, that is the exclusions do not take much away from you. Where your home is left unoccupied for any length of time (e.g. thirty days or more), then cover is restricted as the property is recognised as a juicier target for thieves. Indeed, if your home is to be left unfurnished or unoccupied you should inform your insurance company anyway! Similarly with a lodger or tenant. The chances of the lodger or tenant being involved in the crime is such that your insurance company does not want to insure against that particular risk, hence the exclusion. And again, if you are doing this, you should inform your insurance company.

MALICIOUS PERSONS – In many ways this is the same as for theft.

BURST PIPES – Insurers position on this has improved in the last few years. A good company will pay for any leak, from any tank, pipe or water apparatus, even if it has been leaking over a period of time. Some companies will also now include damage caused by frozen pipes defrosting. When I first started working in this industry, it was always the case that the pipe itself was not covered, only the resulting water damage. Where there is overwhelming evidence that the pipe has failed due to rust then your insurance company might still use this argument. Should a nail make a hole in a pipe, say whilst fitting a carpet, then you will need accidental damage cover for the repair to the pipe but the resultant water damage to your building is covered under this peril.

FLOOD OR STORM – The definition of a storm varies from one insurance company to the next – check the policy wording. Damage from frost is excluded although snow damage is covered. A frequent area of disappointment is that damage caused to hedges, gates and fences is not covered. Some fences appear to blow down with the lightest puff of wind! There is at least one insurance company offering additional cover, at a premium, for storm damage to these items.

RIOT, CIVIL COMMOTION etc. – Happily, it is rare for such activities to cause damage to your property, but if it does, you are covered. In certain circumstances, your insurers will be within their rights to recover their costs from the local police.

OIL LEAKAGE – For those with oil fired boilers, any damage to your home caused by leakage of oil is covered.

TELEVISION, SATELLITE AERIALS – As indicated above, your home is protected if any receiving aerial collapses and causes damage. But the items themselves are defined as contents and therefore they are not covered by your buildings policy.

You are left to suffer the heavenly curses while asking yourself what wrong you did to deserve such a horrible punishment. Instead of investigating the reasons, you face the challenge like a brave person, as He wished you to be. Now, you are left with only one choice, give a stiff resistance to it and be well prepared to deal with such an outcome.

Fortunately, Disability Insurance comes to your rescue on such occasions and lends you a helping hand. Several insurance companies are in the fray with stretched hands to help you. Still, it is up to you to study the pros and cons of each insurance policy one after another before arriving at a conclusion. Take your own time and be wise in your endeavor. Listed below are five important things, which you must understand well before you sign up with an insurance policy.

1. There should be enough flexibility in the terms and conditions of the policy. This gives a guarantee that when something unexpected happens seriously, the policy could act as a savior immediately.

2. The policy should give you enough financial coverage to meet all your expenses yourself without losing out on your freedom and honor.

3. The insurance policy you are inclined towards must pay you enough to keep your lifestyle the same as you had been leading before the disaster struck you. To make it clearer, the policy you choose must be able to convince you that there is no financial difference even if you are unemployed.

4. Say goodbye to a policy that has a clause only for security but not any to fulfill your dreams. You may be having your own plans and ambitions about your future. Your search will be completed only with the discovery of an insurance policy that will safely land you in a better career after you regain your fitness.

5. Lastly, make a careful comparison of the amounts to be paid as premiums and confirm whether there is any advantage in paying a higher premium. Never assume that higher premiums will fetch you more coverage.

The amount of disability premium is determined by several factors such as a person’s age, sex and job. Disability Insurance is something that no one likes to think about, but it might produce a big difference in an unexpected eventuality.

People are divided into two groups. One group is comprised of people that think that nothing bad will happen to them. They choose to ignore danger assuming it can only happen to other people or if it will happen it will be in a very long time and they will find a way to somehow cope with it. This group treat insurance as something the government forces them to buy for example you can not drive a car without insurance. They usually will buy the cheapest insurance allowed that provides the minimum limits. They would also just buy mandatory insurance as they see insurance as a total waste of money and time. This group of people is extremely sensitive to the insurance policy cost as they look at any payment paid toward insurance as money lost.

The other group is of people that think that everything bad that can happen will happen to them. They are afraid from the worst and want to be sure that in any situation that arises that will be adequately covered. They prefer to know up front that they have a safety net for whatever bad circumstances they encounter. This group tends to buy insurance with the maximum possible limits. They also tend to buy many insurance products most of which are not optional insurance policies. This group of people is not sensitive to the insurance policy price as they are willing to pay almost anything to feel they are covered against what they think is inevitable.

Most people fall in between these two extremes. They do of course purchase the mandatory insurance but they tend to opt for limits that are a bit higher than the minimum set in the law but they make an educated choice that compromises cost with the benefits and limits. They also tend to buy some extra insurance that is not mandated by law but they do that only when they feel it is a smart thing to do and that the cost justifies the policy. For example many people choose to buy life insurance once they get married and have kids. The reason is that at this point they want to provide their family with a safety net should something happen to them in the future. The price for such a policy is usually pretty low while the benefit is real.

The first group is indeed right in the sense that having too much insurance is a waste of money. For example a single young person without dependents should not pay for life insurance as there is no benefit. Some people usually those included in the second group do buy such life insurance even when they are single and even if they do not have any dependents. They justify it by saying that getting the insurance at a young age when they are still perfectly healthy is cheaper and maintaining the insurance guarantees lower policy fees for the future. They forget to calculate all the years they paid for that insurance for no reason which add up to more than any higher premium they might incur in the future.

The basic idea behind the concept of insurance is also the reason why most people prefer to ignore insurances until it is too late. The idea behind the insurance product is very simple. There are events in life that happen only to a few people or in other words there are events in life that the probability of them occurring to each one of us is less than one. Insurance is basically having everybody who participates in the program contribute a sum of money to a central account. If the insured event occurs to one of the insured members they will get money from the central account to cover the event cost. For most members the event will never happen and they will end up contributing to the central account without ever getting paid.

Not getting paid or not having to file a claim to the insurance in order to get compensated from the central account is actually a good thing. Events are occurrences that are bad health insurance covers illnesses and car insurance covers accidents. So not having to use the insurance or to get money from the central account is a good thing as it means that you were lucky not to suffer a bad event. But many people see that luck the wrong way being upset that they have been paying sometimes all their life without getting paid back.

Insurance however is absolutely needed and ignoring it is a big mistake that some people do. There are some insurances that people tend to ignore more than others. For example many young people ignore health insurance thinking that they are young and healthy and would not get sick. While for most of them this is true for a small number having or not having insurance is the difference between life and death. Not having insurance is an extreme case. Sometimes people do have insurance but they buy the wrong insurance and thus effectively they are in the same or almost the same situation as people without insurance at all. This phenomenon is also known as underinsurance.

Underinsurance is having insurance that is too low to cover the real cost of the rare event that the insurance is supposed to cover. Car insurance is a good example of where many people are underinsured. Car insurance is mandatory by law but the law sets the insurance policy payouts at very low numbers. Many people buy the minimum car insurance required by law since it is the cheapest insurance available. They also assume that since this is what the law dictates then this is what they really need and any more insurance is just a way for the insurance companies to get more money. But having insurance thresholds that are very low mean that if a bad car accident happens god forbid the insurance payouts would not cover the costs for the cars involved and for physical damages if there are any god forbid. It is important to be insured to cover the worst case life events that might happen. Health insurance and good car insurance are a must. Life insurance is also a must if you have dependents.

Some insurance companies have chosen to eliminate the agent and use the mail, the telephone, or the internet to sell their products. The property and casualty companies are always in a battle for market penetration. The insurance companies have to walk a fine line between new acquisitions and expense to do business. This is important information for the consumer because they are the ones making the final decision on who is winning. The best insurance company for you may be completely different than one preferred by your next door neighbor. Time and experience have a way of guiding you to your choice of companies.

Things to Consider

1. Insurance Agent – The car insurance agent has been the single most successful means of insurance distribution in insurance history. The neighborhood agent has ties to the community and is easily accessible. That is a great value to a great many people especially with people who want person to person advice and counsel.

2. Direct Distribution – This is the name that we will give to the insurance companies that sell you insurance with 800 telephone numbers or through the internet and mailing services. They sell direct to you and you are serviced by them through customer service call centers. The direct distributor claims to have lower rates because they have eliminated the agent.

Once you determine how you want to be serviced then you can begin a search for those types of insurance companies.

If you are looking for an insurance quote, or are looking to purchase the plans online, this resource can help you significantly. Insurance quotes are tricky things, especially when considering finding group health insurance quotes. As a result, many people do not know how to find a health insurance online quote, and settle for a quote that is not as competitive as it might otherwise have been. Getting an approximate and affordable health insurance plan is not as difficult as many believe. All it takes is a bit of know how and comparing different plans, however you really need to look at the fine print.

There are a lot of sites for insurance plan information that covers different kind of topics such as:

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Low cost health plan options are out there, though they often have to be unearthed. Large insurance firms are not necessarily the enemy, but it should be said that their premiums are often out of reach for many working families, who ought to pay more attention to the types of insurances that allow certain individuals children, the elderly to pay less for essential services.

Do not wait until you have what is called a pre existing condition since many health policy companies will not cover you in these situations. This resource was designed to help individuals and families find the quote online, because low cost plan options certainly exist.

It is advised to get the insurance as soon as possible to protect not only yourself but also your family. That is why before sign the health policy makes sure that you have read thoroughly the benefit section. Take note of any health care service that is not covered by your insurance policy. Also, pay specific attention to how the insurance policy is worded. Sometimes, insurance companies hide the health insurance coverage exclusion within the definition of words.

Of course, the online insurance business is a booming one. Getting an online health insurance quote is very easy and requires no obligation or someone coming to your home or office to bother you. If you don’t have insurance or you want to supplement your current insurance, going online is a good choice. Online health insurance companies offer a variety of plans for diverse coverage needs, from individuals, to families, to small businesses. You can shop around for the best rate and compare different companies and health insurance plans.

It is a good idea to do a little bit of research on any online health insurance company you re considering. You will want to find out how long they have been in business, how stable their business is, and if they are licensed in your state, which they need to be for you to use their services. The best part about online health insurance is that they must report premiums paid to your state, and this amount is regulated by your state, so you will know that they can’t overcharge you and you can rest assured that someone is making sure they aren’t going to rip you off.

You also need to decide what kind of health care coverage you need. Will you need a prescription card to give you discounts on your prescriptions? Most people do. Will your insurance provide coverage if you are traveling? How about emergency and ambulance coverage? Will you need to have a referral to see a specialist, and can you go to a doctor that is outside of your provider network? It is extremely important to find out about the details of any health insurance plan before you buy.

One thing that is very hot with online insurance health and also with other insurance programs are HS-As. They are health Savings Accounts, and the money you lace in them ca be used for immediate medical expenses, saved for future medical expenses, or invested for medical expenses after retirement. This is just one of many health insurance plan aspects to consider when choosing an online health insurance company. Once you have made your choice based on your needs, sit back and let the online health insurance quotes roll in until you find the one that is best for you.