IN A NUTSHELL

Fee-for-Service (also known as indemnity or traditional) plans generally offer complete freedom to choose your own doctors (including specialists) and hospitals. These plans, however, tend to be more expensive to the consumer. In addition, many employers do not even offer a Fee-for-Service option. (It's expensive!)

Managed care plans, on the other hand, have agreements with certain doctors, hospitals and health care providers to give a range of quality health services at a reduced cost. The secret? Patients have to stay within the plan's network of providers and health facilities to get the best benefits. HMOs, PPOs and POS plans are all types of managed care.

Health Insurance Overview What is health insurance?

he term refers to a variety of insurance policies, ranging from those that cover the costs of doctors and hospitals to those that meet a specific need -- like long-term care or dental coverage. When most of us talk about health insurance, however, we refer to the kind of plan that covers doctor bills, surgery and hospital costs.

You may have heard terms like "managed care," "Fee-for-Service" and "indemnity." These words define different types of coverage or health plans widely used by today's consumers. Confused? Don't worry. HealthInsurance.com will help you make sense of the lingo.

SKY RESCUE

Sky Rescue offers emergency medical evacuation coverage for international travelers. This product provides scheduled coverage for individuals under the age of 65 traveling outside their home country for a minimum of three months. The plan may be purchased for three months, six months or twelve months and can be rewritten for succeeding or subsequent periods. New deductible, eligibility, conditions of coverage and pre-existing condition exclusions will apply, and a new application must also be completed.

GLOBAL MEDICAL INSURANCE

Global Medical Insurance offers worldwide coverage to a wide variety of international clientele, including expatriates, international executives, diplomats, students, entertainers and other international travelers. Global Medical Insurance offers you the choice of three plan options: Silver, Gold and Platinum. You also have the opportunity to select a coverage area: worldwide or worldwide excluding the U.S. and Canada. Simply choose the plan option and coverage area that best fits your needs. Each one offers a full range of benefits suited for individuals and families, provides coverage 24 hours a day, and you have the freedom to choose any doctor or hospital for treatment.

As part of the eligibility requirements for Global Medical Insurance, U.S. citizens must reside abroad or plan to leave the U.S. on their effective date and plan to reside abroad for at least six of the next 12 months. Non-U.S. citizens may reside anywhere, including their country of citizenship, although certain eligibility restrictions may apply to non-U.S. citizens residing in the U.S.

You also have the option of adding Global Term Life Insurance and Global Daily Indemnity to your Global Medical Insurance coverage. Global Term Life Insurance provides protection for your family at the time of a traumatic loss and is available with no additional underwriting. This coverage is available for a standard annual premium of $240 and includes an Accidental Death and Dismemberment benefit. Global Daily Indemnity pays you $100 for each covered overnight hospital stay other than those related to maternity.

Lifetime medical coverage is available if you are enrolled in the Global Medical Insurance plan by your 65th birthday and maintain continuous coverage to age 75. Prior to your 75th birthday you will receive a summary of benefits of a new plan, Global Senior Plan, and an enrollment form for coverage. There is no additional medical underwriting. You simply need to review the benefits and complete and return the enrollment form with your premium.

STUDENT HEALTH ADVANTAGE

As a global student, assurance and peace of mind are a priority when you study abroad. That's why IMG has developed Student Health Advantage, an international health care plan designed to specifically meet the needs of international students involved in long-term educational programs. The plan offers a complete package of international benefits available 24 hours a day.

The following conditions apply to all persons applying for and/or enrolling in Student Health Advantage:

• the group member must be a full-time student or scholar at a college or university
• the group member must be residing outside his/her home country for the purpose of pursuing international, educational activities including but not limited to college course work, conducting research or teaching for a temporary period of time
• must not have obtained residency status in Host Country
• dependents have to be legal dependents, traveling with the group as a dependent of a group member and traveling outside their home country

PATRIOT GROUP EXCHANGE PROGRAM

The Exchange Program Group Plan is designed for those who are:

• actively engaged or participating in an educational or cultural exchange program in the country of assignment through a sponsoring organization or school
• traveling in a group to a destination that is not the home country of any of the traveling members

Obtaining coverage is as simple as:

• filling out the Enrollment Form with information on Sponsoring Organization
• filling out the Census Form with information on each Group Member

PATRIOT GROUP TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE

Patriot Group Travel Medical Insurance is designed for organizations who:

• have a group of 5 or more that will be traveling together, and
• are traveling to a destination that is not the home country of any of the traveling members

Obtaining coverage is as simple as:

• each group must have 5 or more members
• fill out the Enrollment Form with information on Sponsoring Organization
• fill out the Census Form with information on each Group Member
• calculate your premium and select desired payment mode

THE GLOBAL EMPLOYER’S OPTION

GEO is a revolutionary program designed to meet the global health care needs of international assignees, and provide multinational employers with flexible options in both benefits and services. It is a comprehensive yet cost-effective plan designed specifically for employers who need international group medical coverage for their employees around the globe. GEO provides a wide range of customizable benefits that can be modified to suit your specifications, combined with the top-shelf service of an established leader in the international medical insurance arena. IMG focuses solely on the international medical insurance market while performing all administration functions in-house via our service centers in the US and the UK, thus giving us greater control over the quality of our service and helping to keep your costs low.

PATRIOT STUDENT T.R.I.P.

With Patriot Student T.R.I.P., you may recover non-refundable, unused payments and deposits when a trip is cancelled or interrupted for a variety of reasons. This student travel insurance program is designed specifically for the student under age 26 and enrolled in school or summer camp, who may travel domestically or internationally. Additional insurance benefits include coverage for travel delays, baggage delays, lost/stolen baggage and emergency medical treatment/evacuation. Patriot Student T.R.I.P. is a travel insurance and emergency travel assistance services program designed to provide coverage to full and part-time students for many of those unforeseen events that may force the cancellation of travel plans or interrupt a covered trip.

PATRIOT T.R.I.P. ELITE

To provide superior protection for a picture-perfect vacation, there is Patriot T.R.I.P. Elite, a premier travel insurance and emergency travel assistance services program.  Patriot T.R.I.P. Elite provides coverage for many of those unforseen circumstances that may force the cancellation of your travel plan or interruption of your covered trip.  In addition, benefits may also be provided for travel delays, baggage delays, emergency medical treatment and medical evacuation while you are away from home.  You expect top-notch service if the unexpected should happen.  Make sure you have the premier protection you need with Patriot T.R.I.P. Elite. When you purchase Patriot T.R.I.P. Elite, you automatically become a member of the National Small Business Travel & Health Association (NSBTHA).

PATRIOT T.R.I.P.

With Patriot T.R.I.P., you may recover non-refundable, unused payments and deposits when a trip is cancelled or interrupted for a variety of reasons. Benefits are also provided for travel delays, baggage delays/loss and emergency medical treatment/evacuation. When you purchase Patriot T.R.I.P., you automatically become a member of the National Small Business Travel & Health Association (NSBTHA).  Through this association, members may access travel insurance, emergency travel assistance services, and information about events, legislation, and other matters that affect travel.

PATRIOT TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE

Patriot Travel Medical Insurance is designed for the international traveler. There are two Patriot products available to meet your needs and provide up to $2,000,000 of medical coverage. Patriot International provides coverage for U.S. citizens traveling abroad for a minimum of 5 days up to a maximum of two years. If the plan is purchased for a minimum of three months, coverage may be renewed (without break in coverage) for a total of up to two years. Patriot America provides coverage for non-US citizens traveling outside their home country for a minimum of 5 days up to a maximum of two years. If the plan is purchased for a minimum of three months, coverage may be renewed (without break in coverage) for a total of up to two years.

PATRIOT EXTREME TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE

Patriot Extreme Travel Medical Insurance is designed for the international traveler who engages in extreme sports. Patriot Extreme provides coverage for a large array of extreme sports while providing up to $50,000 of medical coverage. There are two variations of this plan: Patriot Extreme International and Patriot Extreme America. Patriot Extreme International provides coverage for US citizens traveling abroad for a minimum of 30 days up to a maximum of six months. Although the Patriot Extreme International plan is not renewable, it can be rewritten for succeeding or subsequent coverage periods. New deductible, coinsurance, eligibility, conditions of coverage and pre-existing condition exclusions apply to any succeeding or subsequent period of coverage. A new application also must be completed. In addition to the benefits listed on the brochure, Patriot Extreme International for US citizens also provides two benefits outlined below, subject to all conditions of coverage: 

Sudden Recurrence of a Pre-Existing Condition – Up to $1,000 will be reimbursed for the eligible expenses of a sudden and unexpected recurrence of a pre-existing condition while traveling outside of the US. In addition, up to $25,000 will be reimbursed for the eligible costs and expenses of an Emergency Medical Evacuation arising or resulting from a sudden and unexpected recurrence of a pre-existing condition. 

Indemnity – Patriot Extreme International will pay directly to you $100 for each night of a required overnight stay in a hospital. The hospital stay must be covered under this plan in order to receive this benefit. 

Patriot Extreme America provides coverage for non-US citizens traveling outside their home country for a minimum of 30 days up to a maximum of six months. Although the Patriot Extreme America plan is not renewable, it can be rewritten for succeeding or subsequent coverage periods. New deductible, coinsurance, eligibility, conditions of coverage and pre-existing condition exclusions apply to any succeeding or subsequent period of coverage. A new application also must be completed.

Five Ways to Protect Your Health and Wealth With Insurance Against Sickness

If you are unfortunate enough to suffer an illness, sickness or an accident at any time in your life, the consequences can be far reaching and affect your lifestyle and family for perhaps months or years into the future. Primarily you will require immediate treatment and care for the accident or illness. You will also need to consider how to meet your financial commitments during a period of hospitalisation and recovery. Furthermore it is wise to be recompensed for the unfortunate loss of bodily functions or if your contract a chronic or life critical illness.

Five ways to protect yourself and your family against sickness with Insurance:

1. Protect your personal health with Private Medical Insurance

Medical or Health Insurance is often called Private Health Insurance, Private Medical Insurance or PMI in the UK. This type of cover provides quicker access to specialist consultants, hospital treatment and rehabilitation services, and is designed to cover the costs of and arrange remedies for treatable short term or acute accident or sickness. It is however often restricted to hospitals owned by the particular insurance group. PMI is primarily bought  to receive quicker treatment in nicer surroundings than is offered by the state system. Many policies allow you to top up cover should you require additional treatment. Levels of indemnity or cover limits are quite often determined by the price you pay as a premium. Policies are often sold with varying levels of cover under banners such as Silver, Gold and Platinum cover, and covers are extendable to other members of the immediate family.

Many UK employers provide what is known as Group Health Insurance plans as health care and medical cover for their employees, however this practice has declined since this became a taxable benefit. It is important to note that nearly all of these types of medical insurance policies exclude pre-existing conditions and are designed for treatable conditions only.

2. Protect your body with Personal Accident Insurance Cover

Personal Accident Insurance or PAI as it is known covers the loss of various body parts and pays out a lump sum designed to help ease your immediate suffering. Each limb or organ is priced and if you are unfortunate enough to lose for example an eye, you will receive the commensurate agreed benefit amount for the loss of the eye. Many policies also pay out a lump sum on death.

3. Protect your lifestyle and wealth with Personal Accident and Sickness Insurance

Often known as ASU, these products provide a lump sum of money each month if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident or be sick, whether hospitalised or not, allowing various expenses and costs of your life style to be protected while you are ill and recovering. These include income protection for your earnings, mortgage and loan protection for your debts and monthly  outgoings and the more encompassing lifestyle insurance to protect all your finances, when you are sick. These type of policies pay out an agreed monthly benefit commensurate with the amount of cover required.

 4. Protect your future with Critical Illness Insurance

Basic medical insurance is designed to cover short term illness only. Critical Illness or dreaded disease polices are a recent innovation in the UK Health Insurance market, having originated in South Africa. You are covered under this type of policy if you are struck by one of a number of specified diseases, many of which are terminal and for that reason critical illness insurance is often sold as a bolt on cover with a life insurance policy. Examples of the types of critical illness covered are Cancer, Heart Disease, Strokes, Parkinson's, and Multiple Sclerosis, to name but a few.In the event of a claim, as with personal accident and sickness cover, you will receive a lump sum to help with the costs of the illness. When sold as part of a life policy the lump sum payable on death is often reduced if there has been an earlier critical illness claim.

 5. Protect your family with a hospital bed with Health Cash plans

Health cash plans where you make regular payments into a specific medical fund which entitles you to claim if the need occurs. These cash plans have been available for some time in the UK and have been particularly popular in the areas of optometry and dentistry which are mainly privately funded outside of the NHS. Recent innovative more affordable health insurance hospital cash plans are becoming very popular, mainly because they allow access to all the hospital services that are available under a standard medical insurance policy except that you are not tied to one hospital provider of medical supplier to provide that service.

As with all Insurance products it is now very straightforward to shop around and compare prices on the Internet. Each individual will have varying cover needs and it is important to compare insurance covers as well as premium prices. It is very important  with all health and personal protection insurance policies to read the small print and online documents to be sure that you understand the exclusions to each particular health care coverage.

For more information and advice on all aspects of medical insurance visit  Compareand various plans online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2697279

The Primary Functions Of Insurance As A Service Industry

There are three primary functions of Insurance which determine how Insurance companies operate and how the public interacts with these companies.

The first is as a risk transfer mechanism, whereby the individual or business can shift some of the uncertainty of life onto the shoulders of others. In return for a known premium, usually a very small amount compared to the potential loss, the cost of that loss can be transferred to an insurance company. Without Insurance there would be a great deal of uncertainty experienced by both the individual and the enterprise, not only as to how and whether a loss would occur, but also to the extent and size of the potential loss.

The second primary function is the establishment of the common pool. The Insured's premium is received by the Insurer into a fund or pool for that type of risk, and the claims of those suffering losses are paid out this pool. Applying Bernoulli's 'Law of Large Numbers', because of the large number of clients that any particular risk fund or pool will have, Insurance companies can predict with high accuracy the amount of claims or losses that might be suffered over a period of time. The will be some variations in losses over different years and Insurance companies include an element of premium to build up a reserve, to pay for additional losses in bad or catastrophic years. Therefore in principle, subject to the limitations of the type of cover bought, the client should not have to pay additional premiums into the common fund after a loss or claim.

The third primary function of Insurance is to provide fair and equitable premiums. Assuming that a risk transfer mechanism has been set up through a common fund or pool, the contributions paid into the fund should be fair to all parties participating. Each party wishing to insure and paying into the fund will bring with it varying degrees of risk. To avoid adverse selection and provide equitable premiums each risk is broken down into various components and rating factors that can be priced individually on a statistical scale of probability determined by Actuaries. Therefore those who present the greater statistical risk will pay more into the common fund for the same cover, when their individual premiums are calculated.

Insurance companies employ underwriters to reduce the problem of adverse selection and protect the fund. The underwriters will determine parameters of the hazard and value of a risk that is acceptable for the fund, and decline risks that fall outside these parameters. In fixing a fair level of premium they must also take into account the contributions made by others into the common fund and price accordingly.

Underwriters and insurance companies will employ many techniques to deter or price adverse selection out of the risk pool. These typically include exclusions to cover in the form of policy wordings and additional conditional clauses, exempting the risk under certain conditions. They will employ all types of mechanisms and devices to install fear into the population to increase the size of the risk pool and attract the niche or sector of the market that they are aiming for. For example large marketing campaigns aimed at the 'safe' sector e.g. women drivers who are statistically less likely to claim. On the Internet, Insurance companies employ automated underwriting that excludes cover to everything that does not fit the desired risk pool parameters.

Ultimately the Government can in certain cases decide the size of the risk pool through leglislation and compulsory insurance as is the case for  where it is illegal to drive without cover and  where it is illegal to trade without liability insurance cover.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6292397

There’s a lot more to Health Insurance than just Medical Costs!

So what’s left for the IFA’s to sell us then?

Mortgages – only if you’ve got 30% to put down!

– people are only looking to downsize covers!

Loans? You’ll be lucky!

 a product that should be selling well during the current economic times, is dead in the water due to bad publicity and PPI Claims farmers.

Health Insurance?

Hmm Maybe?

Health Insurance is in the limelight at the moment thanks to a bunch of redneck yanks using the NHS as an example of everything that is wrong with the State interfering with healthcare.
However, like it or not we will soon see a swing to the right in UK Government and with this will inevitably come cutbacks in State funded healthcare.
Many savvy Health Insurance compamies are well aware of this window of opportunity for selling ‘new’ health insurance products – expect to see ads on the TV very soon!

However as pointed out in a recent ezine article there is a lot more to wholistic personal insurance protection than just medical expenses cover…..

Five Ways to Protect Your Health and Wealth With Insurance Against Sickness

If you are unfortunate enough to suffer an illness, sickness or an accident at any time in your life, the consequences can be far reaching and affect your lifestyle and family for perhaps months or years into the future. Primarily you will require immediate treatment and care for the accident or illness. You will also need to consider how to meet your financial commitments during a period of hospitalisation and recovery. Furthermore it is wise to be recompensed for the unfortunate loss of bodily functions or if your contract a chronic or life critical illness.

Five ways to protect yourself and your family against sickness with Insurance:

1. Protect your personal health with Private Medical Insurance

Medical or Health Insurance is often called Private Health Insurance, Private Medical Insurance or PMI in the UK. This type of cover provides quicker access to specialist consultants, hospital treatment and rehabilitation services, and is designed to cover the costs of and arrange remedies for treatable short term or acute accident or sickness. It is however often restricted to hospitals owned by the particular insurance group. PMI is primarily bought to receive quicker treatment in nicer surroundings than is offered by the state system. Many policies allow you to top up cover should you require additional treatment. Levels of indemnity or cover limits are quite often determined by the price you pay as a premium. Policies are often sold with varying levels of cover under banners such as Silver, Gold and Platinum cover, and covers are extendable to other members of the immediate family.

Many UK employers provide what is known as Group Health Insurance plans as health care and medical cover for their employees, however this practice has declined since this became a taxable benefit. It is important to note that nearly all of these types of medical insurance policies exclude pre-existing conditions and are designed for treatable conditions only.

2. Protect your body with Personal Accident Insurance Cover

Personal Accident Insurance or PAI as it is known covers the loss of various body parts and pays out a lump sum designed to help ease your immediate suffering. Each limb or organ is priced and if you are unfortunate enough to lose for example an eye, you will receive the commensurate agreed benefit amount for the loss of the eye. Many policies also pay out a lump sum on death.

3. Protect your lifestyle and wealth with Personal Accident and Sickness Insurance

Often known as ASU, these products provide a lump sum of money each month if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident or be sick, whether hospitalised or not, allowing various expenses and costs of your life style to be protected while you are ill and recovering. These include  for your earnings, mortgage and loan protection for your debts and monthly outgoings and the more encompassing lifestyle insurance to protect all your finances, when you are sick. These type of policies pay out an agreed monthly benefit commensurate with the amount of cover required.

4. Protect your future with Critical Illness Insurance

Basic medical insurance is designed to cover short term illness only. Critical Illness or dreaded disease polices are a recent innovation in the UK Health Insurance market, having originated in South Africa. You are covered under this type of policy if you are struck by one of a number of specified diseases, many of which are terminal and for that reason critical illness insurance is often sold as a bolt on cover with a life insurance policy. Examples of the types of critical illness covered are Cancer, Heart Disease, Strokes, Parkinson’s, and Multiple Sclerosis, to name but a few.In the event of a claim, as with personal accident and sickness cover, you will receive a lump sum to help with the costs of the illness. When sold as part of a life policy the lump sum payable on death is often reduced if there has been an earlier critical illness claim.

5. Protect your family with a hospital bed with Health Cash plans

Health cash plans where you make regular payments into a specific medical fund which entitles you to claim if the need occurs. These cash plans have been available for some time in the UK and have been particularly popular in the areas of optometry and dentistry which are mainly privately funded outside of the NHS. Recent innovative more affordable  hospital cash plans are becoming very popular, mainly because they allow access to all the hospital services that are available under a standard medical insurance policy except that you are not tied to one hospital provider of medical supplier to provide that service.

As with all Insurance products it is now very straightforward to shop around and compare prices on the Internet. Each individual will have varying cover needs and it is important to compare insurance covers as well as premium prices. It is very important with all health and personal protection insurance policies to read the small print and online documents to be sure that you understand the exclusions to each particular health care coverage.

For more information and advice on all aspects of medical insurance visit . Compare and various plans online.

Nightclub Insurance Risks – Remembering Summerland

Times have changed, fashions have changed, the music has changed and the dances have changed, even Insurance Blog has changed; but the risks to nightclubs remain as powerful as ever since Britain’s worst ever nightclub disaster, which killed more than 50 clubbers and seriously injured over 80 others, 38 years ago at the Summerland Resort Complex on the Isle of Man in August 1973.

The Summerland complex was opened 40 years ago in May 1971 in Douglas on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
The 3.5 acre resort was cut into the cliff on the promenade and claimed to be the biggest and most innovative indoor entertainment centre in the World, providing artificial sunshine all year round for the holiday resort. 

The aim was to attract British holidaymakers to the Island to compete with the threat posed by the rapid development of package holidays to Spain, that were becoming ever popular with the public.

The Summerland Resort was a spectacular success…..until it’s destruction by fire.

The Resort which was built in modern materials of concrete, steel and plastics, boasted continuous live entertainment, a plethora of restaurants and bars, an Olympic sized indoor heated swimming pool, saunas, massages and Turkish baths, artificial sunshine, a children’s entertainment and theatre,  cascading waterfalls and……..an underground disco and nightclub.

The fire is believed to have been started outside by some smokers next to a plastic kiosk adjoining the main complex building which housed the nightclub. The building was packed with holidaymakers relaxing at the time and the disco was full.

The melting plastic kiosk collapsed against the side of the main complex and rapidly ignited the building that was covered in a damp proofing bitumous material called Galbestos. The fire spread extremely rapidly through the wall cavities which contained flammable materials and quickly engulfed the flammable acrylic see through roof, which came crashing down on the 3000 people inside who were trying to escape the flames.
Many were crushed to death in the ensuing panic or injured by falling flammable debris, however the biggest amount of casualties were in the underground nightclub where the majority of bodies dead through asphixiation were piled against locked security doors.

Following the trage Companies tightened up their cover offerings for nightclub insurance, specialist insurance providers emerged and many new building regulations were put into law. Specifically, building materials of flammable quality were forbidden in construction and many health and safety regulations for nightclubs were introduced. The industry is now very well regulated and the covers offered under a  policy sit well with the establishments legal responsibilities of risk management.
Fortunately the measures have worked in the UK to date which has avoided such a similar nightclub disaster although that cannot be said for other places around the world……

* Rhythm Nightclub fire 23 April 1940; Natchez, Mississippi; 209 dead
* Cocoanut Grove fire 28 November 1942; Boston, Massachusetts; 492 dead
* Club Cinq-Sept fire 1 November 1970; Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France; 146 dead
* Beverly Hills Supper Club fire 28 May 1977; Southgate, Kentucky; 165 dead
* Stardust fire 14 February 1981; Dublin, Ireland; 48 dead
* Alcalá 20 Nightclub fire 17 December 1983; Madrid, Spain; 82 dead
* HappyLand fire 25 March 1990; New York City, New York; 87 dead
* Kheyvis Nightclub fire 20 December 1993; Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 17 dead
* Ozone Disco Club fire 18 March 1996; Quezon City, Philippines; 162 dead
* Gothenburg Nightclub fire 29 October 1998; Gothenburg, Sweden; 63 dead
* Luoyang Christmas fire 25 December 2000; Luoyang, People’s Republic of China; 309 dead
* E2 Nightclub stampede 17 February 2003; Chicago, Illinois; 21 dead
* The Station Nightclub fire 20 February 2003; West Warwick, Rhode Island; 100 dead
* Cro-magnon Republic Nightclub fire 30 December 2004; Buenos Aires, Argentina; 194 dead
* Wuwang Club fire 21 September 2008; Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 43 dead
* Bangkok Nightclub fire 1 January 2009; Watthana, Bangkok, Thailand; 61 dead
* Lame Horse club fire 5 December 2009; Perm, Russian Federation; 149 dead

Insurance Blog thinks it is rather ironic that the Summerland fire was started by smokers outside the building, when the current policy of most nightclubs is to force smokers to outside areas.

FSA To Clampdown On Insurance Selling On The Internet In The UK

he FSA may well have the axe hanging over it’s head, be over-populated by a bunch of pen pushers and bureaucrats, culpable for the restriction in insurance products and markets available and be responsible for failing to avert the recession caused by the banks, but…….

Insurance Blog will be the first to admit that the FSA in it’s swansong is at least trying to do the right thing, with some notable recent successes in prosecutions and forcing the banks to heel over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.

Those small insurance brokers, insurance agents, consultants and intermediaries whose rising FSA authorisation costs and annual fees have helped fund the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to pay for the banks mis-selling crimes would be the first to disagree, however their contempt for the organisation might be tempered some if they were aware of the FSA’s latest moves against their largest competitors……

The Insurance price comparison websites and aggregators selling general insurance products on the Internet.

If the FSA’s latest proposals for the regulated are enforced, this could be a good thing for all small insurance intermediaries out there, who collectively currently receive less than 5% of the total internet traffic searching for Insurance.

First in the line of fire has been the Insurance price comparison websites, particularly those that compare car insurance and home insurance, and recommend insurance products to the public. In it’s investigation the FSA found serious breaches of it’s rules on the regulation of giving advice and selling of insurance. It subsequently wrote to 19 firms that it considers are breaking these rules in regards to advice and arranging contracts of insurance.

The letter advised the 19 Price Comparison websites:

· review your regulated activities and ensure you are appropriately authorised or otherwise exempt;

· ensure that you only enter into contracts with firms holding the appropriate authorisation and permissions to conduct that regulated activity (or who are exempt);

· withdraw your assistance from third parties if they are in breach of the general prohibition;

· review your disclosure documentation, sales procedures and your terms and conditions and make sure that these are compliant with all relevant regulatory requirements including our Guidance consultation Principles, ICOBS and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. In particular, you should ensure they comply with  requirements on: customer eligibility, status disclosure, advice suitability, providing a proper statement of demands and needs, and that you do not seek in your terms and conditions to exclude liability for the regulated activities you are undertaking; and
establish, implement and maintain adequate policies and procedures to ensure your firm complies with all relevant obligations under the regulatory system and for countering the risk of furthering financial crime, in particular breaches of the general prohibition and restrictions on financial promotion.

A price comparison firm may be arranging contracts of insurance where its activities involve any of the following:

· the firm provides links to product companies or intermediaries for the purpose of enabling the customer to purchase a chosen insurance product;

· the firm requires a pre-purchasing questionnaire to be completed in order to filter sales (i.e. where the intermediary asks a series of questions and then suggests several specific products.

Under these guidelines it would appear that any website that collects information with the view to arranging insurance or even provides a link, is breaking the FSA rules if not authorised to do so….

The FSA found the folowing types of Insurance websites in breach where they are not FSA regulated:

· the firm provides a comparison of the terms of different policies as opposed to a passive display of the features of different policies;

· the firm runs a website which is funded by one or more insurance or mortgage providers (i.e. it is not ‘independent’); and/or
· the firm offers a special discount on the product to its website users.

. Even where no financial benefit is derived, the firm may still be making arrangements if it brands the comparison service with its own name, endorses the service or otherwise encourages users to respond to it, negotiates special rates for users, or holds out the service as something arranged for the benefit of users.

Advising on insurance
The FSA now considers any type of recommendation as giving advice. In addition where the effect of the firm’s arrangements constitutes a recommendation to purchase a specific product or products, that recommendation is likely to involve the firm giving regulated advice.

Some indicators of where a website or price comparison website may contain advice which is regulated by law include:

· where the name or logo of only one insurance product is displayed on the website in a manner that suggests that the particular product is to be preferred over other products (for example, a particular logo might appear on a webpage containing generic advice on the merits of incapacity insurance contracts);

· where a particular insurance product is recommended as the ‘pick of the best’ product out of a number of other products in its category;

· where a particular insurance product is star-rated by a website, for example, the product is awarded five out of five stars, by contrast to a similar product which is awarded two out of five stars;

· where a scripted questionnaire gives a recommendation or opinion which influences the choice of insurance product and then goes on to identify a particular insurance or regulated mortgage product to which the advice relates;

· where the questioning process has resulted in the identification of one or more particular contracts of insurance based on a non-objective assessment of the product features;

· where the website generally makes any value judgement as to the merits of one or more insurance products or regulated mortgage contracts, by way of scripted questioning or otherwise;

· where generic best buy tables are used and are not populated from specific consumer information this might be advice depending on the consumer’s experience of it. So, for example, a website containing solely generic ‘best buy’ tables explaining the merits of futures as opposed to options would not be advice, but if those tables guide the consumer to a particular insurance product based on the consumer’s personal requirements, this is likely to be regulated advice;

· where generic statements on a website are not dependent on consumer information being populated; this could be regulated advice where they are displayed in such a way that the website operator is making value judgements as to the merits of buying, selling, etc. For example, ‘The products of the month are XYZ, ABC and DEF investments because they offer the best returns’.

Clearly if implemented to the full the following types of insurance marketing would be illegal on the Internet in the UK for all websites that are not authorised and regulated and will have huge ramifications for the way insurance is distributed online in the future:

· Linking of any sort to Insurance Provider or Insurance Comparison website (Text links and Banner ads)
· Distributing Articles and Media that link to or promote insurance products (Article Directories, Video Directories, Social Media, Blogs)
· Affiliate Marketing and Vertical Marketing by non regulated affiliates
· Review Websites
· White Labelled Websites
· Marketing Websites

 thinks that this is a good thing, if it is properly policed as it will remove a lot of the chaff from the Internet, much eminating from unqualified webmasters both inside and outside of the UK. We are of course authorised and regulated under our Insurance Publishing Group owners Insuretec Ltd. FSA no. 422934 and would love to see our FSA fees used in this way! And as a word of advice, when filling out an insurance proposal form online, no matter it’s detail, always check that the website states its FSA number and regulatory status, which can also be found at the FSA’s website.

A Brief History of Insurance: Part 5 Post Renaissance Europe

More today from Insurance Blog for you scholars of Insurance as we take you into Post Renaissance Europe and the Great Fire of London in part five of A Brief History of Insurance:

In previous articles within this series we have discovered that forms of risk management have existed for well over seven thousand years with the ancient Chinese cultures kicking things off, before the Babylonian King Hammurabi laid down the first recorded insurance laws.

These laws, grounded in solid economic common sense spread across the trading nations of the time to land in the Mediterranean where they refined by first the Greeks and then the Romans. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, once again it was a sea faring merchant empires that shaped the further development of Insurance.

That empire was the merchant empire of Genoa, which had risen from being a small fishing port to perhaps the leading commercial empire of the Mediterranean Sea within a relatively short period, that we see insurance first appear as a stand alone product, separate from both the Guilds and investments.

However, as we jump just a relatively few years forward now to Post-renaissance Europe, we enter perhaps the most important and exciting period within the history of insurance, as we begin to see modern insurance policies which now very much resemble the sophisticated products we expect to see today.

Whilst the sixteenth century was a century dominated by artists and explorers, the seventeenth century was where the mathematicians, scientists and the economists entered into the spotlight.

Throughout the renaissance, Europe had begun to rediscover its hunger for knowledge, re learning many of the forgotten skills and remastering them(renaissance literally means rebirth). By the time the seventeenth century arrived the questions had become more complex and therefore so did the sciences that developed to answer them.

Europe was no longer remembering, Europe was now learning and this was to have a profound impact upon the development of insurance as an economic product.

The practice of wealthy business men providing business insurance policies for merchants and the like had become reasonably common place by the middle of the seventeenth century. It is widely documented that in his will notable poet and colonist of the time, Robert Hayman, had in fact held two separate insurance policies.

Both referred to in his will dated 1628, these were personal arrangements held with a wealthy Londoner Arthur Duck, a lawyer and member of parliament. However, it was just a matter of decades before these personal arrangements were to become replaced with the emergence of the world’s first true Insurance companies.

The emergence of these companies was encouraged by a combination of scientific and mathematic advancements and tragic circumstance. It was 1666 when the tragedy occurred. We know it today as the great fire of London.

The fire started at some time shortly after midnight Sunday 2nd September 1666 in Pudding Lane in the heart of the city and raged across London for three whole days. It is suggested that over 70,000 of London’s 80,000 population lost their homes in this tragic blaze. It was from the shock and devastation caused by the fire that England’s first ever fire insurance company arrived ‘The Fire Office’ which is regarded by many to be the world’s first insurance company.

This was the beginning of a hugely important period of development for insurance and in the next article within this series we will discover how insurance went through a phenomenal period of transformation in the final decades of the seventeenth century

HealthCare International International Health Insurance

HealthCare International capitalising on more than 35 years experience in the Global International Health and Private Medical Insurance area.

Throughout the world, the demand for first class International Health Insurance has never been greater. As social health insurance services that could once be relied upon are no longer able to keep pace with the ever increasing cost of medical treatment, so the need to make alternative arrangements has become of crucial importance, particularly to the expatriate.

For those expats living and working abroad, accessing the right kind of health insurance cover can turn out to be a nightmare, with the cost of medical treatment often expensive and difficult to arrange particularly in an emergency.

HealthCare International is a specialist provider of global private health and related personal insurances, designed to provide not just the basic health cover, but also a wide range of benefits providing peace of mind for you, your family or your personnel.

World Insurance

Insurance

 is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or an uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment.

An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured or policyholder is the person or entity buying the insurance policy. The

insurance

 rate is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage, called the premium.

Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.

An insurance contract promises to make good to the insured a certain sum in consideration for a payment in the form of premium from the insured. The insured receives a contract called the

insurance

policy which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be compensated.

Market integration among the world has largely benefited the financial market. Congruously, the Insurance industry over the world has grown very rapidly. The statistics on the world insurance conducted by Swiss Re show that world insurance premium reached $3.4 trillion in 2005. Premium collections from both life and non-life sources have increased by 3.9 and 0.6 percent respectively. Developed countries over the world have better insurance coverage. But in recent years the developing nations have captured a better market share in the insurance business. In leading countries the insurance business and premiums for 2005 include:

Countries	Non-Life Premiums	Life Premiums	Total Amount
U.S.	$625,838	$517,074	$1,142,912
Japan	100,523	375,958	476,481
U.K.	100,629	199,612	300,241
France	68,162	154,058	222,220
Germany	107,026	90,225	197,251
Italy	47,453	91,740	139,194
South Korea	24,085	58,848	82,933
Canada	44,267	34,456	34,456
Netherlands	29,159	31,914s	61,073
Spains	34,757	25,518	60,275
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 5/2006

insurance sector in Morocco

The insurance sector in Morocco has experienced a better development after the adoption of new reform policies. The U.S.-Moroccan Free Trade Agreement has created many opportunities for the country's finance sector.

A large number of banking and insurance companies of United States have started their operations in Morocco.
Ministère des Finances et de la Privatisation has been working as the regulatory body in the country's insurance sector.

Morocco Insurance Companies

Leading Life and non-life insurance companies in Morocco on the basis of their gross written premiums are as follows:

Morocco Life Insurance Companies

Major life insurance companies in Morocco is as follows:

• RMA Watanya Insurance
• AXA Assurance Maroc Insurance
• Marocaine Vie Insurance
• CNIA Insurance

• Wafa Insurance
• Atlanta Insurance
• Zurich Insurance
• Sanad Insurance

Morocco Non-Life Insurance Companies

Major Non-Life Insurance companies in Morocco is as follows:

• Wafa Insurance
• Essaada Insurance
• Sanad Insurance
• Atlanta Insurance
• CAT Insurance
• Zurich Insurance
• MAMDA Insurance

Get registered now: Healthy Action peer coaching

In order to increase the financial and organizational sustainability of its partners, the Healthy Action team is providing services helping employees of partner organisations reach their full potential in resource mobilization and advocacy.

Different skills and talents are dispersed across our networks. All employees, regardless of the level at which they work in the organization, can contribute more to organizational productivity if their talents are recognized and nurtured. DSW helps improve its partners’ performance by facilitating a peer coaching system.  Get more information about this coaching scheme

Application of compulsory health insurance for residents

This health system Balvashl describe as quoted from a newspaper today (and the local press are all one under the news) Anzero identified as red (the Ministry of Health supports the insurance companies to compensate losses of the past years, Look at who should compensate for loss of insurers they business people, business owners and companies,,, The question is where will the businessman (or institutions) or companies???? They will pay the manpower working in this country!!!! Why do you describe a system that held by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with insurance companies!!! Played no clear link between the Ministry of Health and insurance companies!!!

Individual Health Insurance Quotes

International Health Insurance plans are the best way to guarantee the highest quality protection for you and your family while away from your home country. International Health Insurance is a global leader in providing some of the best international health insurance plans available to expatriates

Group Health Insurance

Group health insurance is employer-sponsored health coverage for business owners, employees and often .

A majority of Americans have group health coverage through their own or a family member's employer-sponsored group plan. Employers and employees can share costs and there are special tax incentives available to businesses that provide group health insurance

How does insurance work?

Depending on what you are insuring against, the insurer agrees to pay you money to help cover costs if that thing happens. For example, if your laptop was stolen from your home, and you had insured it against theft, you could make a claim with your insurer to help cover the costs of getting a new laptop.This is called a ‘transfer of risk’ because the insurer is taking the risk of meeting the cost of the loss. Without insurance, you are taking the risk that you will have to wear the financial loss if things go wrong.

What is insurance?

Insurance helps protect you from financial loss when things go wrong. For example:
• your mobile phone could fall out of your pocket and break while you’re travelling (and you need a new one)
• you might be injured in a car accident (and you have to pay for treatment and the cost of repairs to your car).
While having insurance can give you peace of mind, it’s not like a savings account, where any money you pay in belongs to you. What you can claim back from the insurance company depends on what’s covered in your insurance policy. Italicised words can be found in the Glossary, Insurance Fact Sheet 8.

EXAMPLES OF INSURANCE

Some readers of this note may already have used insurance to reduce economic risk. In many
places, to drive a car legally, you must have liability insurance, which will pay benefits to a person
that you might injure or for property damage from a car accident. You may purchase collision
insurance for your car, which will pay toward having your car repaired or replaced in case of an
accident. You can also buy coverage that will pay for damage to your car from causes other than
collision, for example, damage from hailstones or vandalism.
Insurance on your residence will pay toward repairing or replacing your home in case of damage
from a covered peril. The contents of your house will also be covered in case of damage or theft.
However, some perils may not be covered. For example, flood damage may not be covered if
your house is in a floodplain.
At some point, you will probably consider the purchase of life insurance to provide your family
with additional economic security should you die unexpectedly. Generally, life insurance provides
for a fixed benefit at death. However, the benefit may vary over time. In addition, the length of
the premium payment period and the period during which a death is eligible for a benefit may each
vary. Many combinations and variations exist.
When it is time to retire, you may wish to purchase an annuity that will provide regular income to
meet your expenses. A basic form of an annuity is called a life annuity, which pays a regular
amount for as long as you live. Annuities are the complement of life insurance. Since payments
are made until death, the peril is survival and the risk you have shifted to the insurer is the risk of
living longer than your savings would last. There are also annuities that combine the basic life
annuity with a benefit payable upon death. There are many different forms of death benefits that
can be combined with annuities.
Disability income insurance replaces all or a portion of your income should you become disabled.
Health insurance pays benefits to help offset the costs of medical care, hospitalization, dental care,
and so on.
Employers may provide many of the insurance coverages listed above to their employees.