Archive for the ‘Insurance Company’ Category

PostHeaderIcon How to Choose an Insurance Company



Accidents, break-in’s, natural disasters; if you happen to be affected by any of the these situations, it could cripple you financially, if not emotionally. It is indeed better to be prepared for such eventualities and the best why of doing that is to ensure you have adequate insurance.

Insurance companies sell protection policies to business entities and individuals to protects them against possible misfortunes. The types of insurance policies they sell differ from company to company, and these include short term insurance, long term insurance, life insurance, house hold and car insurance, just to name a few. Regardless of the different types of insurance options, most insurance companies work on the same principles. A client pays a monthly or yearly premium which is invested by the insurance company in highly secure investments such as government bonds.

In return the Insurance Company underwrites specific policies for their clients, stating to pay a certain amount should the eventualities they are covered for befall them. To give a very basic example, a company that specializes in car insurance will underwrite a policy stating they cover cars destroyed in a accident or stolen vehicles. Should a client’s car be destroyed in an accident, the company will pay a certain amount to cover the loss that the client suffered, fully or partially depending on the client’s insurance policy agreements.

How do you go about finding a reputable company best suited to your needs and your budget? There are many different ways, as insurance can either be bought directly, or through an agent/broker. Some of the best ways of choosing a reputable company and obtaining quotes are to use insurance brokers to help you get the best possible deals with regards to the type of insurance you need. You could also ask around. Experienced family members, friends or even business acquaintances would be more than willing to share what they know.

They will be honest about their experiences with regards a specific insurance company, without trying to “pitch” to you just to close a deal. Alternatively you could search online or even in the yellow pages or similar directories. By visiting the company’s website, you can browse through information such as their terms and agreements, the benefits of the policies they offer, or even the “Consumer complaints ratios,” That will give you an idea of how many complaints are received per thousand claims filed.

Once you have a list of all the companies that interests you and their respective quotes, organize the list from lowest premium to higher premiums. Next to each company and quote, make a note of their complaints ratio. It is also advised to get in touch with people in the know and ask if they have any recommendations. For example, you if you’re looking to purchase car insurance, you could contact a body shop, car dealer or even a mechanic and ask which insurance company they would recommend. The company with the lowest premium quote as well as the lowest complaint ratio would most likely be best suited to your budget and needs.

By picking the best Insurance company you would not only save more money in your insurance policy, but you’ll also have peace of mind that should any of the above mentioned disasters befall you, you would be financially able to withstand the blow.

PostHeaderIcon Assurity Life Insurance Company Review



Most people think that Assurity Life Insurance Company is one of the newer companies founded in the United States. Those people however, are completely wrong because what they don’t know is that this company has been helping people like them for over one hundred years! It was in the year 1997 that Assurity was presented as the subsidiary of Woodmen Accident and Life Company (a firm that was established in Lincoln, Nebraska in the year 1890. These two companies acted together until the year 2001 when another “old” company was brought to their ranks.

It was this year that Lincoln Direct Life Insurance Company (founded in the year 1896) joined the other two and the company became known as Assurity Life Insurance Company. Instead of staying stable the company continued is upward momentum and in the year 2005, Security Financial Life Insurance Company (founded in the year 1895) joined Assurity to establish Assurity Security Group Incorporated. It was not until the year 2007 that the two companies completely merged and continued with the name Assurity Life Insurance Company.

Accidents and early deaths are part of every culture. In this country people die everyday and since nobody knows when judgment day is to come; one must be prevented at all times. For this reason the insurance industry has increased drastically in the last couple of years. More and more Americans have turned their attention this business and have started looking around for the best life insurance company possible.

Assurity Life Insurance has continued to grow and it is focused on individuals, families and small businesses. They strive to provide them with excellent services, customer service experiences and flexible policies. The company prides itself in two important achievements they have made in recent years: they received one of the highest rates for life insurance companies by the well known rating company A.M. Best, and they have expanded so much that they just now passed the goal of over $2 billion in assets. With demand for products that will help customers in the late run, Assurity has also expanded to offering other services and not just life insurance policies. The company has started to also offer long term care for people of age that cannot pay for their healthcare, disability income for people who become disabled and cannot pay bills, critical illness and annuities.

In the life insurance portion of the company, Assurity prides itself in offering three types of life insurance policies that are very well received by the public. Perhaps the most famous life policy in their ranks is the Term Life. Term life insurance has distinguished itself from the other two, in that it is not permanent. In other words, a policy holder is only covered for the amount of time specified in the policy. It is important to note that at the moment of purchase a policy holder will have to choose the amount of time he wants to be covered (ten, twenty, or even thirty years) and the amount of life insurance they want to purchase (examples of these are $200,000 and $250,000). Because this type of life insurance policy shapes to what the policy holder needs at the time, it is very liked by customers trying to buy life insurance. This policy is also good for the people that want to pay the lowest premiums, because since the policy is temporary; the premiums wont be as high.

The second type of life insurance policy offered by Assurity is that of Whole Life. This insurance is not temporary, but instead a policy holder is covered through their entire life. Perhaps the best thing about this type of life insurance policy is that it allows your beneficiary to have tax-free money because the amount given to him or her will not be taxed. Keep in mind that this type of insurance also works for small businesses.

Last but not least Assurity allows its customers to purchase what they call Universal Life. Just like Whole Life, this type of insurance is permanent. This means that Universal Life is also for the entire life of the person being insured. The best thing about this insurance policy is that you can make changes to it as time goes by. If you see that your family is getting bigger, that your income increases or that you won’t need as much life insurance as you though you would need; you will be able to make changes to the main things in your policy. Universal Life Insurance by Assurity is what the company thinks is the most dynamic choice for customers. Not only can you change your policy at any time, but your death benefit is also tax-free and you can change premium amounts and the timing of your payments making it easier to manage.

As you can see Assurity Life Insurance Company has come to be a well respected company in the insurance industry. They promote their products knowing that they are designed to bring people the unique services that they are looking for at a lower cost than other insurance companies. It is easy to predict that the company will only become more well-known because the demand for life insurance is increasing and people are becoming aware of the benefits life coverage can bring to them.

PostHeaderIcon Deny, Delay and Defend – How Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It



You have paid you insurance coverage premiums for years without a claim. Now you have a claim, and are confident the insurance company will pay you the value of your claim immediately. The insurance company agent assured you that the policy fully covered you when you purchased it.

Reality versus your assumptions is about to set in. You have reported your claim and have provided all the requested details to your insurer. You wait patiently for confirmation of coverage. Sadly, you may be more likely to receive a letter denying your claim than a check.

Many of the insurance giants instituted a policy of denying claims in an effort to become more profitable. To encourage adjusters to find creative reasons to deny valid claims, some insurance companies started an incentive program where employees were rewarded for finding reasons to deny a claim. Common reasons for denial include paperwork errors and expiration of time periods for submission of documents.

Insurance companies have two major reasons to delay payment of claims. The first is, if the settlement is delayed long enough, there is a chance the policyholder may die before payment is made. If the policyholder dies, the process for collecting the funds becomes more difficult. The second reason is the longer the insurer delays in making payment, the more time the insurance company has to hold onto premiums and earn money on their investments. Not only do insurance companies delay payments, they also attempt to delay court proceedings. The insurer hopes the net result will be you give up because of the stress in continuing the fight or settle your claim for less than full value.

The final component of this strategy, defend, often begins with a low-ball offer. Some insurance companies have presented offers as low as $50 to claimants. Insurance companies have developed effective protocols for dealing with specific claims through experience and case law.

There are certain ways of protecting your claim:

- Read your policy thoroughly and be sure you understand what you are entitled to receive;

- Involve a lawyer as soon as practicable;

- Fill out forms carefully. A honest mistake can be used by the insurance company to deny your claim;

- Write letters or send emails rather than make phone calls to the insurer. Everything you say needs to be on paper as proof if you have to fight for your settlement;

- If the insurance company sends you a check for premium refunds because they are canceling your insurance, do NOT cash the check. If you do, this may be seen as agreement with the insurer’s decision;

- Do not give up. Perseverance may win the day even if it takes a long time.

- Involve your Insurance Commissioner’s office if the problem warrants it.

If your insurance company is utilizing the “deny, delay and defend” strategy against you, it is strongly recommended you contact an experienced insurance attorney to protect your rights.

PostHeaderIcon AmerUS Life Insurance Company Review



AmerUS Life Insurance Company has been a leading provider in life insurance policies in the United States. Their main website lets customers know that the company started in the year 1896 when it was founded as a Central Life Assurance Company. Although the company itself did not grow much from the start, through the span of the years it got the people needed to operate correctly and be successful at becoming a primary life insurance company in the United States. It was not until the year 1996 that the company actually acquired the name AmerUS Life Insurance Company and at that time they actually started to organize as a stock insurance company.

Things continue to grow and after the year 2000 they acquired Indianapolis Life Insurance and finally closed the year with an estimated $21.5 billion in assets. The big news about AmerUS took place in the year 2006 where AmerUS and Aviva Corporation signed an agreement under which Aviva acquired them and paid $69 per share in cash. This meant that all their operations would be combined and the business would have their headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa.

Life insurance in the United States is just starting to be a big thing. In the past nobody thought that life insurance was the right thing to get, and some people actually thought that it would be a waste of money to buy. With present events such as 9/11, Americans have come to their senses and have actually realized that accidents can happen to anyone at anytime and for that reason it is always better to be prepared.

With the market for life insurance increasing, it is not a surprise that more and more life insurance companies are being created. With so many companies it is hard to know which one of them is the best one for you. That is why a customer must always try and shop around either online or in person. If you locate a company that you think might be the one and when you compare its price to other companies you find that it’s not that expensive, and then you will feel much confident in signing with them.

When you try to log into the main website for AmerUS you will be directed to a letter from the Aviva Life Insurance Company. Since both of the companies combined and are being run under Aviva’s name it is important to know about them. Aviva is the world’s fifth largest insurance group and it is the biggest provider of life insurance in the United Kingdom. The company is huge and it employs about 58,000 people that serve an estimated 35 million customers around the globe. They are one of the strongest life insurance and long term service Product Company with assets of over $600 billion and more than $65 billion in sales. The company itself is based in London, England and its history can be traced back to the year 1696. This means that the company is over 300 years old and for this reason it has the recognition and world fame that not many other can claim.

AmerUs Life Insurance Company (now called Aviva Life and Annuity Company) offers many life insurance products that can help someone establish financial security for the future in case of an unexpected death. Some of the products offered by this company in the United States are Indexed Life Insurance, Universal Life Insurance, Single Premium Life, Indexed Survivor Universal Life, Level Premium Term Insurance and Excess Interest Whole Life Insurance.

Indexed Life Insurance: This type of life insurance allows people to have flexible payment options and death benefits. What is good about this type of policy is that it provides cash value accumulation based on how leading market indices grow. It is also good to note that this type of policy also protects the policy from the risks of a downside market and a drop in the indices. If you purchase what Aviva calls the “no Lapse Guarantee Rider” on your “Advantage Builder” part of the policy, the death benefit in the policy can be extended to the entire life of the person insured.

Universal Life Insurance: This type of life insurance is a very common type of permanent life insurance in the American market. This type of policy will actually specify the amount a beneficiary to the policy gets within certain minimum and maximum limits. This will allow the policy holder to actually buy the amount of life insurance that he or she prefers.

Single Premium Life: This type of policy is unique in that the person will only pay a single one time premium for a death benefit that will actually last a lifetime. This is primarily designed for individuals that have savings or that need cash when they have an emergency.

Indexed Survivor Universal Life: This type of life insurance company is one in which two lives are insured (more than likely a couple) and pays the benefit after the second person dies. In other words, if a husband dies before his wife; the policy will not be reimbursed to the beneficiary. It also has the potential to accumulate cash value that in the end will be given to the beneficiary after both people in the policy die.

Level Premium Term Insurance: Perhaps the most famous type of life insurance in the United States because it is not permanent. This type of insurance simply allows a policy holder to have protection for a specified period of time. In AmerUS (now Aviva) people can purchase 10, 15, 20 or 30 year term policies based on the needs that they have. This type of policy does not accrue cash value, but it will pay the beneficiary the amount that the policy holder purchases in case of the policy holder’s death.

Excess Interest Whole Life Insurance: There products are made to ensure that professionals, business owners, individuals and executives get what they need from the life insurance industry. What this type of policy does is give you fixed premiums and guarantees you death benefits.

As you can see AmerUS has gone far beyond what many life insurance companies have achieved. With the joint help of Aviva of North America, these two companies have taken the life insurance market in the United States to a whole new level. To decide if AmerUS and Aviva may be a good life insurance choice for your needs then be sure and carefully research your options with a licensed Aviva life insurance agent.

PostHeaderIcon Insurance Company Failed to Pay Life Insurance Claim Scandals



One of the things that concern most insurance policy holders is the fact that there are claims that insurance company failed to pay life insurance. The insurance basically consists of those that people invest into in order to make them feel secured that by the time that emergencies or difficult situations come, they know and are sure that there is something which will back them up. However, not all insurance companies are able to live up to their commitments in the insurance policy. There had been a number of complaints in the past about the failures to pay the policy or non compliance on the terms and conditions of the policy by insurance companies.

In several companies in the past, the insurance business is not an exemption to the long list of firms that were charged of frauds associated by the fact that an insurance company failed to pay the life insurance. Some of these scandals became too publicized that there were big insurance companies who suffered great losses and tremendous business set backs due to their slight failures that turned out in a disaster. There are insurance companies though which innocently commits mistake in their failure to pay the insurance claim though there are also those who willfully want to evade their signed undertaking by circumventing the stipulations under the polices which cunning insurance companies can actually do.

Recently in Japan, an in house investigation revealed that the errors in data processing are one of the causes for which the insurance company failed to pay life insurance claim. Some firms, which are also amongst the biggest firms in Japan, such as the Nippon Life Insurance Company, the Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company, and the Sumitomo Life Insurance Company faced suits for failure to pay medical treatments that were under the special contract that were paid out by the life insurance policy of holders.

While there are a number of companies that face the same scandals that happened to these insurance companies in Japan, there are also a number of reputable companies out there which are able to live up to their commitments and conform with their obligations in the terms and conditions of the policy contract that is entered into by them and their client. As such, every individual who wants to avail of an insurance policy should also look into the background of the company.

PostHeaderIcon How to Make an Insurance Company Pay You For Your Personal Injury Claim



How do you make an insurance company pay you for your personal injury claim? I am not trying to be absurd, but there is only one way. And that is to obtain a legal judgment.

When you suffer a personal injury, you can offer to settle your claim for a low amount. If the amount is real low, the insurance company will likely decide that since the amount is so low, it has to settle. However, even if the offer is low, an insurance company may still refuse to pay your
claim.

No, the only way to make an insurance company pay is to file suit and obtain a legal judgment.

In case you are not familiar with the process, in a nut shell, here is how it works.

- You are injured in a car accident.

- You receive medical treatment.

- Either you contact the other driver’s insurance company or the insurance company contacts you.

- After you have reached maximum medical healing, you try to settle your personal injury claim.

- If you cannot reach a settlement, you sue (file a legal action against) the other driver.

- The other driver’s insurance company hires a lawyer.

- You and the other driver’s lawyer conduct what is called discovery (find out all about the facts of the case and what the other party claims).

- A trial is held.

- If you win, you are given a legal judgment against the other driver.

- If the other driver’s insurance company does not pay the legal judgment, then you try to collect
from the other driver.

As you can see, the entire process can take several years. Also, because law suits are very technical and detailed oriented, you need to have a personal injury lawyer represent you. Some people think that they know personal injury law. And they might. But, in addition to applying laws, courts operate by rules of civil procedure and rules of evidence. If you do not know these rules and how they apply to your case, you will be lost and very probably you will lose your personal injury claim.

This is general information only. If you have any questions whatsoever, talk with a lawyer licensed in your state.

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