Home or Medical insurance, the paper work and documentation are nerve-wrecking exercises, not just for people soliciting insurance policies, but also for insurance companies that prepare these policies. An insurance executive based in Philadelphia, spent six to seven hours at an average preparing documents for the company, leaving very little time for him to sell policies, for which the company actually hired him in the first place.
Another executive based in Milwaukee had to stay back two hours to complete the motor insurance documents of his clients. It was frustrating he said, to find everyone leaving the office when it closed, but he had little choice and had to stay back for completing the documents. Many executives work over-time to complete the documentary obligations, leaving them little time to spend on other important issues.
The Health Insurance documentation requires a lot of effort running into several pages, so also the auto insurance, business insurance, home insurance, and life insurance. The insurance claim documents mainly consists of checklists, crash reports, diagrams, forms, general reference notes, legal references, letters, maps, medical references and policy forms etc.
Many insurance companies now use online typing services; they hire offshore companies on the internet to provide documentation related to insurance claims. The insurance company executives use a digital voice recorder and record the dictations into them and through a USB cable transfer the recording to a computer, and through the email send the voice file to the off shore vendor for documenting the narrations. Some use the microphone on the computer for recording the dictations, instead of using a portable voice recorder.
This saves them valuable time from typing the documents themselves, besides saving them costs. The offshore companies most of which that are located in India provide the service at one third of the costs, because of the difference in time zones the insurance executives send the dictations to their Indian counterparts in the evening, just before closing time and the following morning the documents arrive into their email. The company executives are relieved now, no one stays back anymore to complete the insurance documentation, its all sent offshore.
Posts Tagged ‘ Insurance Business ’
The importance of insurance cannot be over-emphasized and neither can the danger of paying for insurance you don’t need. It is strongly recommended you solicit the advice of an in-dependent business insurance agent. Don’t forget to SHOP! Talk to three or four independent agents and compare notes and prices. An insurance agent will lay out a vast array of insurance coverage much of which you simply may not need. Your situation will be unique and you must consider each insurance element carefully to ensure comprehensive coverage.
Whatever your final insurance program looks like, you should review it at least every six months. Your business can change rapidly, especially in the first few years and insurance needs change with it. Keep your program up to date by calling in your agent and reviewing your coverage. Make changes where necessary.
LIABILITY INSURANCE
This is probably the most important element of your insurance program. Liability insurance provides protection from potential
losses resulting from injury or damage to others or their property. Just recall some of the big cash awards you have read about that have resulted from lawsuits concerning liability of one kind or another and you will understand the importance of this insurance. Your insurance agent can describe the various types of liability insurance coverage that are available. If you will end up with a comprehensive general policy, make certain that the general policy does not include items you don’t need. Pay for only the insurance you need. For example, your business may not need product liability insurance.
Do not confuse business liability coverage with your personal liability coverage, both of which you need. Your personal coverage will not cover a business-generated liability. Check to be certain.
Compare the costs of different levels of coverage. In some cases a $2 million policy costs only slightly more than a $1 million policy. This economy of scale is true with most forms of insurance coverage. That is, after a certain value, additional insurance becomes very economical.
KEY PERSON INSURANCE
This type of insurance is particularly important for the sole proprietorship or partnership where the loss of one person through illness, accident, or death may render the business inoperative or severely limit its operations. This insurance, although not inexpensive, can provide protection for this situation. Key person insurance might also be necessary for others involved in your business.
SGC was a small firm run by three partners, a software programmer, marketer, and a general manager. Their product was a complex computer program used by aerospace firms. Al, the programmer, was involved in a severe automobile accident, became totally disabled, and SGC lost their programming capability. The problem was that the computer program written by Al was essentially the company’s sole product. Modifications to accommodate the customer became impossible and the time to bring another programmer up to speed was excessive. SGC lost considerable business as a result of this situation. These losses could have been offset by key person insurance.
DISABILITY INSURANCE
You, as a business owner, should be covered by disability insurance whether or not you decide on key person insurance. This insurance, along with business-interruption insurance, described below, will help ensure your business will continue to operate in the unfortunate situation where you are unable to work. Your disability insurance policy needs to provide satisfactory coverage. Particular attention should be paid to the definition of “disability,” delay time until payments start, when coverage terminates, and adjustments for inflation.
FIRE INSURANCE
Fire insurance, like all insurance is complicated and you should understand what IS and IS NOT covered. For example, a typical fire insurance policy covers the loss of contents but does not cover your losses from the fact that you may be out of business for 2-months while your facility is rebuilt. Fire insurance is mandatory whether you’re working out of a home office or you have a separate facility. You should discuss a comprehensive policy with your agent. Take the time to understand the details. For example, will the contents be insured for their replacement value or for actual value at the time of loss?
Consider a co-insurance clause that will reduce the policy cost considerably. This means that the insurance carrier will require you to carry insurance equal to some percentage of the value of your property. (Usually around 85%.) With this type of clause it is very important that you review coverage frequently so you always meet the minimum percentage required. If this minimum is not met, a loss will not be paid no matter what its value.
If you are working out of your home, your existing homeowner’s policy may not cover business property. If this is the case, have your insurance agent to add a home-office rider to your policy.
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
You probably already have automobile insurance but it might not include business use of your vehicle. Make sure that it does.
WORKER’S COMPENSATION INSURANCE
If you make the decision to hire employees, you will be required, in most states, to cover them under worker’s compensation. The cost of this insurance varies widely and depends on the kind of work being performed and your accident history. It is important that you properly classify your employees to secure the lowest insurance rates. Work closely with your insurance agent.
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE
This protects against loss of revenue as the result of property damage. This insurance would be used, for instance, if you could not operate your business during the time repairs were being made as a result of a fire or in the event of the loss of a key supplier. The coverage can pay for salaries, taxes, and lost profits.
CREDIT INSURANCE
This will pay for unusual losses as the result of nonpayment of accounts receivables above a certain threshold. As with all policies, you must thoroughly understand the details so discuss it with your insurance agent. One of the largest providers of this coverage is American Credit Indemnity, Baltimore, MD. (800) 879 1224.
BURGLARY/ROBBERY/THEFT INSURANCE
Comprehensive policies are available that protect against loss from these perils, including by your own employees. Make certain you understand what is excluded from coverage.
RENT INSURANCE
This policy covers the cost of rent for other facilities in the event your property becomes damaged to the extent that operations cannot continue in your normal location.
DISABILITY INSURANCE
This insurance will pay you an amount each month slightly less than your current salary in the event you become disabled and are unable to work. Cost for this coverage varies considerably depending on your profession, salary level, how quickly benefits start, and when they end. Benefits paid are tax-free only if you, not your company, pay the premiums.
This list could be continued since it is possible to purchase insurance for just about any peril you can imagine … if you can pay the premium! When considering your insurance coverage, use the following checklist:
INSURANCE COVERAGE CHECKLIST:
o Can you afford the loss?
o What coverage is required by Federal, state, or local law?
o What SPECIFIC items are covered by the policy?
o Are items to be insured for their replacement cost or original value?
o What SPECIFIC items are EXCLUDED by the policy?
o If there is a co-insurance clause, do you have adequate coverage?
o Have you chosen deductibles wisely in order to minimize costs?
o Do any of the policies you are considering duplicate or overlap one another?
o Do you need any insurance based on location, e.g., flood, earthquake?
Use the following checklist to review your insurance plans:
INSURANCE PLAN CHECKLIST:
o Employ an independent insurance agent rather than going to individual insurance companies. Ensure the agent shops for your insurance.
o Talk to and get quotations from at least THREE agents and pick the best one for you.
o Use money saving comprehensive policies, if possible.
o Perform periodic (every 6-months) reviews of your insurance program.
o Have business assets professionally appraised to determine coverage needs.
o Ensure existing personal insurance coverage includes business-related activities and add riders as necessary or obtain additional coverage.
Ask any auto insurance agent or broker about their business and they will tell you that there’s nothing like the competition you face in this domain. Forget about the good old days when only a couple of agents could work with an entire town, giving everyone the type of insurance they need. Today there could be a hundred of insurance agents fiercely competing for clients even in a smaller town, not to say a big city. The economic recession has made its adjustments in the insurance business too, forcing a large part of insurance agents to work twice as hard in order to make a living out of insurance. Having such a large number of providers and such a few customers willing to purchase insurance, how can an insurance agent stay afloat?
The answer is quite simple – having multiple car insurance leads at your disposal. Of course, it’s not as easy as it sounds, taking the simple fact that you’ll need some time after advertising will take effect and people will start calling you. But you will still need leads to sell policies. Luckily for most agents, the things aren’t that bad as they may look. There are millions of drivers out there on the road and almost all of them need insurance. They are looking for auto insurance quotes on a regular basis and this means that they still want to purchase new policies or switch companies for better rates.
So the smartest thing for an insurance agent to do is to get in touch with those drivers who are looking intensively for insurance rates. That’s what leads are all about, and the more of them there are on an agent’s desk the higher is the chance that he or she will have a good number of sales to makes the ends meet. And just like buyers look for auto insurance quotes with different services, there are services for insurance agents to get their customer leads, based on the information on who was searching for auto insurance quotes both online and through other means.
So keep in mind that every time you submit a quote inquiry in order to get quotes on the vehicle you want to insure, this information may end up at your local car insurance agent’s desk. Which is not a bad thing either, because you can receive any services without even bothering about contacting the insurance provider. It’s a win-win situation for both the customers and insurance agents. Buyers receive qualified assistance from an experienced agent who needs more deals to stay afloat. And agents give the buyers the right insurance quotes from providers they were searching for online.
Of course, this may sound like invasion of privacy to some, but there’s nothing illegal about it. Insurance agents and brokers were using this scheme well since the days there was no Internet to search for insurance quotes. You just didn’t know about it. So the next time you search for quotes online get ready to be called by an insurance agent in a short time and who knows, maybe you’ll find just the right policy for insuring your vehicle this way. Does it really matter how you will get a good policy?