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Sabtu, 08 Desember 2007

Insurance - All that you wanted to know about insurance

The general purpose of any insurance policy is to provide protection to the economic value of assets in case of any uncertain event. Whether it is life insurance or auto insurance the basic principle on which it works remains more or less the same. For instance, if you have taken a car insurance policy then it will safeguard you in the form of any damages that you can claim if your car were to meet with an unfortunate accident. Similarly a medical insurance policy can come in really handy helping the policy holder to meet out expensive medical treatment at some point in time, in case of any unfortunate illness. Since insurance protects you against financial ruins you should always choose your insurer and plan with utmost care. This is of vital importance since you never know when something like a health insurance policy will come to your rescue.

This being the case you should carefully consider several aspects before you decide on a insurance policy. The purpose of your taking an insurance policy will of course dictate your choice to a lot of extent. For instance the needs of someone going in for a home insurance will be different from that of someone who wants life insurance coverage and so on and so forth. Similarly a person who often travels abroad may be in need of travel insurance while a businessperson may need to avail business insurance. Whatever may be the case whether it is a house insurance policy or even dental insurance that you are looking at; you need to carefully analyze every aspect of the policy before you sign on dotted lines.

While shopping around for insurance companies try and get in touch with as many of them as possible. Talking to several insurance companies helps in making the right choice. You should talk to their individual company representatives and tell them what exactly your insurance needs are. These professionals will then give you expert advice on aspects such as the kind of charge that the company may want you to pay in order to cover you. While talking to these company representatives you should also remember that these are sales people who are making their living selling insurance polices. It is you who has to make a prudent decision after hearing the sales pitch of several insurance companies.

Doing a little bit of research always helps in choosing the right insurance policy. You should go through the history records of the particular insurance company that you intend to choose. You can find important information such as whether a particular insurance company has a record of refusing to pay claims or if a certain company charges any type of special loadings on premium. All this information will come in really handy and help you in choosing the right type of insurance coverage, whether it is life insurance or any other type of insurance such as auto insurance.

You should remember that the state governments are responsible for regulating American insurance companies. You can always go through the online sources of the state governments and find out more about these regulations. In case of employees they can always get in touch with employers to find out more in detail about the various group insurance schemes that are on offer. One person who can help you out immensely will be an experienced insurance agent. Whether it is cheap car insurance that you are looking for you or rental insurance that you need insurance agent will have comprehensive information. Getting as much information as possible from different sources is the key to choosing the right insurance policy ideally suited to your needs.

Sabtu, 13 Oktober 2007

Size of global insurance industry

Global insurance premiums grew by 9.7 percent in 2004 to reach $3.3 trillion. This follows 11.7 percent growth in the previous year. Life insurance premiums grew by 9.8 percent during the year, thanks to rising demand for annuity and pension products. Non-life insurance premiums grew by 9.4 percent, as premium rates increased. Over the past decade, global insurance premiums rose by more than a half as annual growth fluctuated between 2 percent and 10 percent.

Advanced economies account for the bulk of global insurance. With premium income of $1,217 billion in 2004, North America was the most important region, followed by the EU (at $1,198 billion) and Japan (at $492 billion). The top four countries accounted for nearly two-thirds of premiums in 2004. The United States and Japan alone accounted for a half of world insurance premiums, much higher than their 7 percent share of the global population. Emerging markets accounted for over 85 percent of the world’s population but generated only 10 percent of premiums. The volume of UK insurance business totaled $295 billion in 2004 or 9.1 percent of global premiums.