responsibility at Insurance Online

Today I would like to continue my previous post and tell you about different types of coverage; it means that we pass to the second question from the list:

Coverage: which of them and how much

We do not have the task to pass on all available coverings in the world of car insurance. There are a lot of sources in the network, books where you can find information, and, not in the last instance, your insurance agents. On the contrary, we shall try to see a problem as a whole, not dividing it into details.

Liability Coverage

We speak about this type of covering when somebody brings an action against us or somebody is going to do it, irrespective of validity of claims and irrespective of result of the court examination. 95 % cases do not reach the court, as the parties reach settlement. The insurance company in this case pays (instead of us) not only damage which we have brought to health or the property of other people, it also pays litigation cost. Sometimes it does it without any payment of indemnification to fight tooth and nail against completely absurd claims and spends thousands of dollars on good lawyers.

The person cannot be judged for the sum, bigger, than all his assets (bank accounts are included), equity in the real estate, shares, and, that is very important for beginners - garnishment of wages (deduction from wages during 10 years forward from all members of family at the rate of 25 %). That means that young family without good private means have not so many assets. But, the husband and the wife can earn together, for example, 160 thousand one year. Therefore it is possible to keep 400 thousand dollars within 10 years back.

The important question:

In what situation the court will take away everything from the initiator of traffic accident?

The answer:

The court will take away everything from the initiator of traffic accident in case of death(s), or in case of physical inability of another person.

The amount of damage also depends on the solvency of the victim. The moral damage\spiritual injury (pain and suffering) of a serious lawyer or a doctor costs much more than the same one of a worker.

It is obvious, that we as drivers cannot supervise how many car we shall damage in case of traffic accident, neither their price, nor quantity of drivers and passengers, neither gravity of traumas received by them, nor cost of their subsequent medical treatment. Therefore, we proceed from the worst for definition of the amount of our insurance responsibility.

We should calculate how much it is possible to take away from us if to take away everything, including 25 % from the salary during the next 10 years? So, it is necessary to insure our liability for this sum in the part which is responsible for damage to health of people (Bodily Injury - first two components of our fraction - for more information see the previous post CAR INSURANCE IN THE USA: WHY IT IS NECESSARY TO BE INSURED).

But soon $500,000 of the maximal coverage will be not enough. Then we need an additional coverage in form of Umbrella Insurance. The need for insurance coverage varies from time to time. This implies very simple and important …

The Conclusion:

Insurance coverage should be reconsidered periodically, in accordance with growth of the potential responsibility.

Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) - covers our moral damage and physical injuries in a case, when we have suffered from the not insured (or insufficiently insured) driver. That is, if the initiator of traffic accident has no enough Liability Coverage. Usually we take this covering in the same size as in Liability Coverage and not less. A principle is the following - it is necessary to insure ourselves not worse, than we insure against other people.

Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD) - covers damage to our automobile in similar circumstances that is if we have suffered from the not insured (or insufficiently insured) driver.

If WE have damaged our car the damage will be covered as Collision (collision with machine, the house, a border etc.) or as Comprehensive (the rest cases - collision with an animal, theft, vandalism, hailstorm, flooding and so forth). You can buy such an insurance with different deductible (the sum paid to you before the insurance company starts to pay).

Choosing the large amount of deductible the person saves on cost of the insurance, but loses in case of accident. The person who drives without accidents for a long time (some years) it will be reasonable to think about high deductible on Collision, for example, $1,000. Comprehensive which costs ridiculously a little, and it is possible to take $250 as there is nothing to save.

Medical Coverage

Medical Coverage is rather curious covering . Some thousands of dollars, usually 2-5 thousand, that were bought in this coverage, are spent without examination (in other words you may be guilty or not). In the case of expensive medical treatment the necessary sum will be charged from the Liability of the guilty person.

To be continued…

<:3 )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

Do you remember about new interesting topic “CAR INSURANCE IN THE USA”? In my post about it I told that we will be interested in PAINFUL POINTS and I also listed the most important questions. So, today I would like to answer the first one: Why it is necessary to be insured.

First of all it’s important to know that that you must insure your car without fail in most states. Otherwise your friend with 4 wheels will not be registered!

The second thing - insurance is adjusted legislatively at states level, not at federal one. This implies very simple and important …

Conclusion №1

You can trust the information received from the experts in insurance from your state only. Any information from other states can be absolutely inapplicable outside these states.

As I have said almost in all states (there are exceptions) car insurance is obligatory regarding LIABILITY (civil liability). The size of required covering varies from state to state.

For example, in California it makes up to $15,000 bodily injury for one victim and up to $30,000 for more than one victim. Moreover, there is the responsibility for damage of other’s property - $5,000. I’ve made all these accounts for one accident only. It means that aggregate payment will be between 20,000$ and 35,000$.

By the way I’d like to mention that experts in insurance usually use fractional record for amount of covering. Record 15/30/5 corresponds to the covering that has each driver in California according to the law of this state.

Driving without the insurance is a serious crime and is punished strictly!

A piece of advice:

You shouldn’t communicate with people who drive without the insurance or argue that it is possible, or they say why this kind of a crime is “nothing terrible”. These people on a way to the big troubles - it is not necessary to keep them the company.

According to the police statistics in California 28-30 % drivers have no any insurance in general. I can add to this still the same percent of people having minimal covering and you will understand, that it will be very difficult to receive money from others (your will have few chances). This implies very simple and important …

Conclusion №2

It is necessary to have your own car insurance policy!

Moreover, there are two types of the states:

- At Fault (for example, California - the culprit pays the insurance to the victim)

- No Fault (for example, Arizona -your damage is compensated with your insurance irrespective of fault)

The conclusion №3

You should known about the system in state, where you live or are going to live.

If the person is very poor and is going to remain poor practically to the end of his days, in this case driving without the insurance is nothing for him. It must be confessed. In all other cases the sum of insurance should protect the driver from requisitioning of his property and incomes (including the future incomes).

Besides arguing about the whys and wherefores of car insurance, we should know, that are no such occupations in our life which is more dangerous then driving (if you are not a policeman, fireman or something like that). Therefore, it is necessary to answer the following question: “Shall I risk life and health of other people to save ten or more dollars a month?”

<:3 )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

So, and there are the descriptions of these INCOTERMS (these descriptions provide the most important information about each term, they are not fun definitions):

Group E (Departure)

EXW    - Ex Works - means that the seller’s only responsibility is to make the goods available at his or her premises. The buyer bears the full cost and risk involved in transporting the goods to their destination.
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Group F (Main carriage paid by the buyer)

1) FCA - Free Carrier (named place) - mean that the seller fulfils his or her obligation when the goods (cleared for export) are handed over to the carrier named by the purchaser. In the case of rail or road transport, delivery is completed when the goods have been loaded. For sea transport, delivery is complete when the seller has taken the goods to the transport terminal.

2) FAS - Free Alongside Ship (named port of shipment) - means that the seller’s obligations are fulfilled when the goods have been placed alongside the ship on the quay. The buyer is liable for all costs and risks of damage from that moment. Unlike Free 0n Board this term requires the buyer to clear the goods for export. The buyer is responsible for obtaining any export or import license.

3) FOB - Free On Board (named port of shipment). The goods are loaded on board by the seller at a port named in the contract. The risk of loss or damage passes to the buyer when the goods pass the ship’s rail. The buyer is responsible for the transport costs from this port to the destination. However, it is the seller who has to obtain any export license or documentation necessary for the goods to leave the country. In the case of roll-on/roll-off or container traffic, when the ship’s rail is irrelevant, it is better to use the FCA term.
—————————————————
Group C (Main carriage paid by the seller)

1) CFR - Cost and Freight - this term can only be used for sea and inland waterway transport. The seller must pay for the transport used to bring the goods to the named port but is not liable for risks from the moment the goods pass the ship’s rail in the port of shipment. In the case of roll-on/roll-off or container traffic, when the ship’s rail is irrelevant, it’s better to use the CPT term.

2) CIF - Cost, Insurance and Freight - is the same as CFR except that the seller has to arrange and pay for marine insurance for any risks during transit to the named port of destination.
In the case of roll-on/roll-off or container traffic, when the ship’s rail is irrelevant, it is better to use the CIP terms.

3) CPT - Carriage Paid To - (named place of destination) means that the seller pays for transport to the destination. The risks and costs are then transferred to the buyer when the goods have been given to the carrier. This term is suitable for any kind of transport including multimodal transport.

4) CIP - Carriage and Insurance Paid To (named place of destination) - is the same as CPT but the seller also pays for insurance during carriage.
—————————————————
Group D (Arrival)

1) DAF - Delivered at Frontier    - means that the seller’s obligations are fulfilled when the goods have arrived at the frontier. It is recommended that contracts should specify which frontier, e.g. “Delivered at Franco-Italian frontier (Modane)”. This term is most often used for rail or road transport but can apply to any mode.

2) DES - Delivered Ex Ship (named port of destination) - can only be used for sea or inland waterway transport. The seller makes the goods (uncleared for importation) available to the buyer on board ship and bears all the costs and risks involved in bringing the goods to the port of destination.

3) DEQ - Delivered Ex Quay - is the same as DES but the seller is also responsible for unloading the cleared goods onto the quay or wharf. The contract should make it clear whether or not the seller pays duty, VAT, etc.

4) DDU - Delivered Duty Unpaid - means that the seller’s obligations cease when the goods are made available to the buyer at a named place in the country of destination. The seller pays for customs formalities but not for customs duty. The term can be used for any mode of transport.

5) The term DDP - Delivered Duty Paid - represents the seller’s maximum obligation. All expenses are incurred by the seller until they arrive at destination. The term may be used for any mode of transport but is unsuitable if the seller cannot obtain an import license.

<:3  )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

INCOTERMS are set of international rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, for the interpretation of the most commonly used terms in foreign trade.
The aim is to avoid disagreements resulting from differences in trading practices in various countries by describing clearly the duties of the seller and the buyer. INCOTERMS also regulate responsibility in different insured accidents - that is the most important thing for us!

The terms are grouped in four separate categories:

— E term — the seller makes the goods available to the buyer at the seller’s premises and that is all.

— F terms — the seller has to deliver the goods to a carrier appointed by the buyer.

— C terms — the seller pays for carriage, but does not accept liability for loss or damage after shipment and dispatch.

— D terms — the seller bears all costs and risks in shipping goods to the country of destination.

And now I would like to tell you about these groups in more details.

Group E (Departure)

EXW    - Ex Works
—————————————————
Group F (Main carriage paid by the buyer)

FCA - Free Carrier
FAS - Free Alongside Ship
FOB - Free On Board
FOR - Free On Rail
FOT - Free On Truck
—————————————————
Group C (Main carriage paid by the seller)

CFR - Cost and Freight
CIF - Cost, Insurance and Freight
CPT - Carriage Paid To
CIP - Carriage and Insurance Paid To
—————————————————
Group D (Arrival)   

DAF - Delivered at Frontier
DES - Delivered Ex Ship
DEQ - Delivered Ex Quay
DDU - Delivered Duty Unpaid
DDP - Delivered Duty Paid
DCP - Delivered Carriage Paid

<:3  )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

RESUME
Resume is a vital part of the employment process. Although a resume should give a lot of information about you, you need to determine your main “selling points” and then to select and. order facts in a way that will impress your reader. Here are some guidelines:

- Match your skills and experience to the needs of the organization.
- Stress what sets you apart from the crowd.
- Remember that the primary aim is to rouse’ the employer’s interest, not to provide a biography.

Your resume should include enough information about you for the employer to feel that you are worth interviewing. Here is a list of the most common kinds of resume information. Be prepared to omit, add, or alter according to the job.

Name and Address
Usually this information is placed at the top of the page. Resume, unlike CV, Curriculum Vitae, is limited by one page only. Be sure to include the full mailing address with a postal code. You may also add a telephone number. If you are a student with a different mailing address for winter and summer months, give both addresses and the dates when you will be at location.

Present Employment
This information helps the reader to grasp quickly the basis of your experience and the level of your responsibility.

Job Objective
This category is useful if you are a student trying to suggest that you have definite career goals. It may also be useful if you want a specific job in a large organization with a number of vacancies. In any case, it’s better to give not the position you would like (for example, a sales manager), but the area and the general level of responsibility (for example, «a management position in marketing» or «management trainee»).
On the other hand, if you are willing to try a variety of jobs, it’s better not to include this category.

Summary of Qualifications
Some consultants recommend to place a capsule “Profile” of one or two sentences before the more detailed listing of your experience or qualifications. This summary is your chance to hit the reader directly with your most important attributes for the job, for example, “an energetic and skilled communicator”, “a specialist with the ability to analyze needs and implement solutions”, “full of entrepreneurial spirit”.

Education
For students whose job experience is scanty or nonexistent, this section usually comes first. Educational qualifications are most often the primary selling point. Begin with your most recent educational attainment or your most advanced degree or diploma.
If you have a post-secondary education, it’s not necessary to include your high (secondary) school, unless you have a particular reason for doing so. Be sure to give the date you obtained any degree or diploma, along with the name of the institution that granted it.
If courses you have taken are a selling point, list those relevant to the job you are applying for. (This is especially important for students seeking their first permanent job.)

Work experience
In most resumes, this information is the major focus: In a standard resume, it is given in reverse chronological order. Students should include all volunteer and part-time jobs.

However you arrange the section, follow this guide:

1. Make the information action-oriented. For example, write:
- reviewed customer service procedures;
- organized employee training seminars;
- prepared budgets for the promotion department;

2. Stress accomplishment. Instead of listing your duties for each job, tel1 what you have achieved. Rather than say that your “duties were to supervise customer accounts and keep the books”, say that you “supervised the customer accounts and kept the books.”

3. Be honest. A small lie in resume is enough to wipe out the employer’s trust in you, even if it is discovered wel1 after you have the job. Integrity is an attribute never worth sacrificing. This advice does not mean that you should write about all your faults and draw attention to errors. But you should not misinform the reader.

<:3  )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

Part of the current debate over national health insurance is rooted in two conflicting visions of how the cost of health care should be shared. We can designate one as the casualty insurance model and the other as the social insurance model.
Casualty insurance, which usually refers to automobile collision, residential fire, and similar risks, is premised on the idea that premiums should (to the extent feasible) be set according to expected loss. Other things being equal, policyholders with better driving records or with smoke detectors in their homes pay lower premiums; poorer risks pay higher premiums.
Social insurance, which is the basis for national health insurance, provides for extensive cross-subsidization among different risk groups; it ignores expected loss in allocating costs.
Advocates of the casualty approach argue that, as applied to health insurance, it is more efficient and more equitable than the social insurance model. They assert that use of care depends, to some extent, on personal behavior and choice. If premiums vary with expected use, individuals have an incentive to choose healthier behavior and to make more cost-conscious decisions about their use of care for any given health condition. A clear example is charging cigarette smokers higher premiums than those charged to nonsmokers. This may decrease the number of smokers, and even if it does not, advocates of the casualty model argue, it is fair for smokers to bear the extra cost of their unhealthy habit.
Even when there is no possibility of altering behavior, and even if use of care is unrelated to insurance coverage, the casualty model still offers an efficiency advantage in any system of voluntary health insurance. The alternative - a uniform premium for all individuals, including those with major health problems -will discourage purchase of insurance by those without such problems because the premium would be unreasonably high.
Advocates of the social insurance model rely heavily on arguments that appeal to one’s sense of justice or collective responsibility. In earlier times, these feelings of mutual responsibility were often evident within families and within religious communities. In modern times, many countries have extended the concept to encompass the entire nation. The philosophical foundations for such arguments can be discerned in John Rawls’s discussion of making choices behind a veil of ignorance.
For example, suppose that before you were born you did not know if you were going to be rich or poor, sick or healthy; you might (assuming some risk aversion) prefer to be born into a society that would provide health care on the same basis for, say, persons born with a genetic disease as for those born without such a problem. Advocates of the social insurance model also point to efficiency arguments. Because everyone must participate, there can be savings in sales and administrative costs that offset other efficiencies achieved through the casualty approach.
Whether one model or the other is more conducive to an efficient health care system is primarily an empirical question (interwoven with value judgments) that cannot be answered a priori. Which approach is more just is primarily a value question (individual versus collective responsibility), but empirical information concerning the reasons for variation in use of care is relevant.
In my experience, the same audiences that overwhelmingly approve charging smokers a higher premium because they use more care strongly oppose a premium surcharge for individuals whose high use is attributable to genetic factors. If cigarette smoking should turn out to have a significant genetic component, opinions concerning the smoker surcharge would presumably change. One consequence of the genetics revolution may be to shift public sentiment toward the social insurance model.

according to the article «National Health insurance» by Victor R. Fuchs (the journal «THE SENIOR ECONOMIST») Read the rest of this entry »

All insurance is a form of risk management. To deal with the unforeseeable risks to health through accident or illness, various types of health insurance programs have been devised. Health insurance is offered to individuals in two forms:

• individual plans
  
• group plans.
  

The insurers may be private companies or governments. Since the early 1970s another type of health-care coverage has become prominent:
 

the health maintenance organization, or HMO.

In some countries no insurance companies offer health care because governments have taken over the entire responsibility. China is a primary example. The United States has a combination of private and government-sponsored insurance. Some government programs are limited to specific groups within the population, such as veterans, members of the armed forces, and government employees. Others, specifically Medicare and Medicaid, are open to most of the population.

The purpose of health insurance is to provide protection against loss of income and to cover the expenses of hospitalization and some of its associated costs. Some policies also carry disability provisions, which will pay insured individuals, should they be unable to work because of extended illness or permanent physical disability. (Temporary disability is usually covered by workmen’s compensation.)

Accident insurance covers sudden and unexpected injuries, while sickness insurance applies to illness or disease. There are policies that cover accidents only, while normal health insurance covers accidents as well as illness.

Some policies are designed only to provide extra income during hospitalization. Many of these are known as mail-order policies, because they are sold to individuals who answer mailed solicitations or reply to ads in newspapers and magazines or on television.

The worldwide Insurance Industry will engage in a series of bold transformations over the next 15 years, creating a dramatically different set of products, services and business process, all in the name of value creation and long-term growth, according to a newly-released IBM global study.
Pay-as-You-Live Insurance — which deals with life ‘as it happens,’ Active Risk Management — reducing claims management and costs by placing emphasis on preventive actions, and new business processes that lower costs and broaden product appeal, will replace the decades-old insurance models. Long-held industry standards are about to reach the point of diminishing returns and will fail to deliver lasting value. These new scenarios leverage today’s emerging technology as well as technology anticipated in the near-term future.
These concepts and others were unveiled in a year-long global study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), “Insurance 2020: Innovating Beyond Old Models,” that provides a new perspective on the challenges insurers will confront in 2020 and strategies for successful innovation. The findings are the result of discussions with more than three dozen global insurance industry executives, who run the world’s premier Insurance organizations as well as other influential stakeholders from around the world.
The research examines disruptive forces that will influence the industry over the coming years, including technology, complex regulation, and competition from an increasing number of sources. In addition, changes in customer demographics, the proliferation of online information sources, and the impact of globalization are creating a host of new industry challenges. Study participants overwhelmingly agreed that the industry must evolve to meet the needs of a changing customer base — and that current modes of operation would threaten the industry’s ability to innovate.
The pursuit of a new model is actually the opening of a new era, or at the very least, it is the undertaking of a new course for the industry. The task ahead is as much a battle for a change in direction as it is a battle for a change in mind-set among the industry’s existing players.
Optimizing the current business model, although an important strategy for many insurers, can no longer be the proxy for innovation that matters to the insurance industry. The industry is evolving toward an era of experimentation and innovation - tomorrow’s insurance value proposition will be based on the ability to provide financial services and risk mitigation in ways that are adaptive and customized to meet individual needs.

Mega Trends

Survey respondents and data analysis revealed four mega-trends that underscore the need for innovation and will pave the way to consistent value creation for stakeholders by the year 2020:

– Technology virtualizes the value chain and lowers barriers to entry.
The rising tide of technology will enable an increasing number of niche
service providers from inside and outside of the traditional value chain.
Within the 15-year timeframe, a number of partial and even totally virtual
companies will surface to meet the needs of consumers and businesses.

– Active, informed consumers across demographic groups reward non-
traditional operators. The impact of modern information networks and the
ongoing transfer of financial responsibility to end customers will drive
attitudes regarding increased services and convenience. Applicants and
policy holders from a range of demographic groups will shift loyalties to
carriers that consistently meet their expectations.

– Mainstream insurance products are dynamic and provide more consistent
business performance. Dealing with a global population that eagerly
consumes and thrives on communication and personalization will drive
carriers to develop products that are flexible and adaptable. Technology
will empower insurance companies to bring their products closer to real
time interaction via sensor networks and enlightened privacy regulations.

– Regulatory coordination and the use of affirmed industry standards
broaden to global scales. The globalization of all industries and the need
for efficiency will drive the coordination of consumer and business
protection across geographies, increasing automation and underscoring the
demand for industry standardization.

Survey participants noted that they could achieve success by sticking with today’s modes of operation, which have served them well for decades, but that these systems will hamper growth moving forward. Industry innovations that address changing customer demographics, new technology, regulatory changes and other factors that will arise in the years ahead will be the basis for growth.
They predict that over the next decade there will be a significant increase in the flexibility of insurance products, and that increased use of pervasive computing technology will make this a reality. Calculating the cost of a specific risk will make use of inexpensive sensors tied into the next generation internet. Data provided by these sensors will support real-time calculation of risk, and keep a running tally of premium costs based on the actual risk presented — serving both life and property policies.
Similar technology will also support a broad range of policy duration products such as “just-in-time-insurance,” where each step of a journey would represent a different risk, such car-to-train-station, train-to-city, station-to-office, etc. A “pay-as-you-live” scenario would trade some location and time of day privacy data for lower insurance bills overall. And in the spirit of active risk management, the same network of sensors could also provide convenient information, i.e. avoiding an overloaded expressway, relayed on the appropriate device such as the car audio system, a phone, and then in email or as a phone call in the office.

Technology is creating a new playing field for this industry. Customers have access to virtually unlimited information - once the domain of the carrier. They’re savvy and informed, and know they have choices. These same information sources are enabling niche players to enter the game from a variety of sources and they are creating an interesting competitive landscape.
Another imperative identified in the research is a switch to customer versus product centricity. In the highly connected world of 2020, policyholders will have much greater access to products and the ability to make decisions on their own. The concept of agency will eventually succumb to the power of advocacy, so individuals will look to financial services advocates to provide advice as they navigate insurance and financial services markets. The traditional agency channel will not be gone by 2020, but it will look different in the face of smart software and the salaried advocate model.
Today, it’s crucial to work as a team with the individual customer’s best interests as the goal. With so many options and choices - many just a mouse click away - it is critical to provide the user with a personalized experience including innovative products and services. Bringing the customer into the equation helps eliminate some of the old myths and perceptions about the industry. Technology, demographics and other factors will change, but one constant remains - focus on the customer will always be key.

The full research results and whitepaper are available at: http://www.ibm.com/bcs/insurance2020

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