These are probably the types of things our moms would tell us. The simple steps to make a part of our routine, which are also the things we are likely to forget in a hurry. Many of us do not follow these simple steps that could make it tougher for burglars to break into our houses. For example, many people let their absences be obvious or do not remember to lock doors and windows, both of which are signals to thieves. In addition to house safety, it’s always a great idea to be insured. A home insurance policy could save you the financial burden of losing possessions due to a theft or a mishap. Following are tips for homeowners on how to protect your home and family.

• It is always a good idea to change the locks on your new home when you move in. You never know who might have keys to your house. If your new home does not have deadbolts on all ground level doors, think about installing them. If a sliding glass door is easily accessible, it is a good idea to put a strip of wood in the lower tract to keep outsiders from getting the door open.

• You may also want to install an alarm, that is if the house doesn’t already have one. If you move into a new house with an alarm, make sure you get accurate directions on how to operate it.

• Even if you step out for just a few minutes, keep the doors locked. Especially remember to lock all doors at night and when you go on vacation. Similarly, keep your windows locked. Check that all windows have locks when you move into a new house. If they don’t, install them or replace the window.

• Leave a key with a very trusted neighbour in case anything happens to your house while you are away, or in case you get locked out. It’s usually not a good idea to leave a key hidden outside your house, especially in urban areas. It is also a good idea to leave at least one visible light on, if not more.

• Don’t give repairmen a key, and don’t give people fixing your car your whole set of keys. Your house keys can be easily duplicated and your address can usually be obtained or you may be followed.

• Don’t let strangers into your home; always check through a peephole or via intercom. If you question someone’s identity, ask to see ID. Deliverymen and people on legitimate business will not have a problem showing you their ID. This is especially important to remember when you are home alone.

Just like buying a house or car, shopping for business insurance is an important purchase too. Comparing prices, features and quality become essential. That said, it is not easy to evaluate business risks, determine insurance needs and weigh options. We recommend the following steps for best results.

• Evaluate Business Risks

The first step is to assess your business risks. Key considerations for this assessment include understanding the nature of your business, property (including inventory and equipment) and employees. This information will help an insurance provider recommend the right coverage.

• Compare Rates

As it is always good to look around before you shop for your new favorite shoes, it is recommended to get business insurance quotes from at least three different companies. To ensure an ‘apples to apples’ comparison, ensure that the identified policies offer similar coverage.

• Evaluate Insurers, Policies and Services

When purchasing business insurance, price is just one consideration. You’ll also want to make sure a potential insurer has a good reputation and is trustworthy. In addition, review policies in depth to understand key differences and exemptions.Also, don’t forget to consider the level of service you will receive from your insurer.

• Review Your Risks and Insurance Policies Annually

It is important to analyze and adjust your coverage on an annual basis. If your business is expanding, you may have new or greater liabilities that require greater insurance coverage. Talk to your insurance provider before each year’s renewal to determine the adjustments to your business insurance policies.

• Lower Your Premiums

Lastly, there are several ways to reduce insurance costs. For example, choosing a higher deductible can lower your premiums considerably, as can setting up a risk management/loss reduction program. Insurers will often lower your rates if you introduce a program that will minimize losses from fire, theft and employee and customer injuries.

Once you’ve weighed these options, you’re ready to make your purchase —and with your business insurance purchased, you can operate your company with greater peace of mind!

Have you heard about these before?

Insurance as an area gives you surprises every day. Having newly stepped into this subject, you can never really know everything. Here are a few types of insurance that I came across today.

Umbrella Insurance Policy
An umbrella insurance policy is extra liability insurance coverage that goes beyond the limits of the home or auto insurance. It provides an additional layer of security to those who are at risk for being sued for damages to other people’s property or injuries caused to others in an accident. It also protects against libel, vandalism, slander and invasion of privacy. An umbrella insurance policy is very helpful when the insurance owner is sued and the pula limit of the original policy has been exhausted. The added coverage provided by liability insurance is most useful to individuals who own a lot of assets or very expensive assets and are at significant risk for being sued. If you are bound to be of any harm to someone’s property or car, this is the policy you should be looking at. Not.
The premium for an umbrella insurance policy may be less expensive if the policy is purchased from the same insurer that provided the original auto or home insurance.

Personal Lines Insurance
Personal insurance lines protect individuals from potential losses they can’t afford to cover on their own and make it possible to do things like drive a car and own a home without risking financial ruin. Personal lines insurance and commercial lines insurance each make up about half of the overall insurance market.
Personal lines insurance include products such as homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, renters insurance, automobile insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, umbrella insurance and health insurance. That is most of insurance market. These products protect individuals and families against potentially crushing financial losses caused by fire, theft, natural disasters, death, accidents, lawsuits and illness.

Commercial Lines Insurance
Commercial Lines Insurance helps keep the economy running smoothly. It protects businesses from potential losses they can’t afford to cover on their own, which allows businesses to operate when it might otherwise be too risky to do so. Commercial Lines Insurance and personal insurance lines together make up the overall insurance market.
Commercial Lines Insurance include products such as commercial auto insurance, workers compensation insurance, federal flood insurance, aircraft insurance, ocean marine insurance and medical malpractice insurance. Commercial lines protect businesses against potentially devastating financial losses caused by accidents, lawsuits, natural disasters and other adverse events.

Assigned Risk
Assigned risk is a risk that an insurance company is required to provide coverage for by law. An assigned risk is typically a risk that may be difficult to find coverage for in the general market place. Regulators deal with assigned risks by requiring insurers to pool together to provide coverage.

Fire insurance covers damage or loss to a property because of fire. It is a specific form of insurance in addition to homeowner’s or property insurance, and it covers the cost of replacement and repair or reconstruction above what the property insurance policy covers. Fire insurance policies cover damage to the property, and may also cover damage to nearby structures, personal property and costs because of not having the capacity to live in or use the property if damages occur.

The policy typically includes additional coverage against smoke or water damage due to a fire. A fire insurance policy is usually set up for one year. The policyholder may renew the policy according to the terms of the policy.

Some standard homeowner’s insurance policies include fire coverage, but some may not. In such a case, coverage needs to be purchased separately, particularly if the property contains valuable items that are excluded from coverage. The insurance company’s liability is limited by the policy value and not by the extent of damage or loss sustained by the property owner.

Policy Coverage

Fire insurance covers a policyholder against fire loss or damage brought about by the ignition of fire, electricity, lightning or explosion of gas and natural disasters.

Most policies cover a home regardless of whether the fire originates from within the home or from outside the home. Coverage limits are dependent on the cause of the fire. The policy reimburses the policyholder on a replacement-cost basis in the event the property is lost, or on an actual cash value basis for damages.

If the home is considered a total loss, the insurance company may reimburse the owner for the current market value. If most of the possessions were destroyed in the fire, typically the insurance company offers a market value compensation for each item. Many policies limit the amount insurance companies pay for items such as luxury paintings, diamond rings or fur coats.

Coverage Assessment

A policyholder should check his home’s value every year to determine if he needs to increase coverage. He can set coverage limits using factors such as the value of the home and its contents. However, a policy may offer lower coverage limits for certain items, in which case it helps to purchase additional coverage for luxury items such as jewelry, art and other assets.

Almost all of us have insurance. What do we do when our insurer gives us the policy document? All we do is glance over the decorated words in the policy and pile it up with the other bunch of financial papers on our desk, right? If you spend thousands of Pula each year on insurance, don’t you think that you should know all about it? In this article, we’ll make understanding your insurance contract easy. Read on to take a look at a few basic ideals and terms of insurance contracts and how they are put to use in daily life.

• Utmost good faith
All types of contracts of insurance depend upon the contracts of utmost good faith. Both parties (insurer and insured) in the contract must disclose all material facts for the benefit of each other. False information or non-disclosure of any important fact makes the contract avoidable. So the conditions to show utmost good faith are very strict on the part of the insured.

• Insurable Interest
The insured must possess an insurable interest in the object insured. It may be defined as a financial interest in the subject matter of contract. When you insure your belonging, you should take it to be worth the money being spent on it. The presence of insurable interest is a legal requirement. So an insurance contract without the existence of insurable interest is not legally valid and cannot be claimed in Court. The object of this principle is to prevent insurance from becoming a gambling contract.

• Principle of indemnity
All types of contracts except life and personal accident insurance are contract of indemnity. According to them, the insurer undertakes to indemnify or compensate the insured against a loss of the subject matter of insurance due to insured cause. In life insurance the question of indemnification does exist. This is because the loss of life cannot be estimated in term of money. If no event happens, the insured does not receive any amount, and in such a case the premiums paid by him become the profit of the insurer.

• Doctrine of subrogation
This principle applies to the contract of indemnity only i.e. marine and fire. It lays down a principle which is quite equitable. According to this doctrine, when a loss occurs and the insurer pays as for a total loss, he is entitled to all the rights and remedies which the insured has against a third party in respect of loss so paid for. It prevents the insured being indemnified from two sources in respect of the same loss. Suppose ‘A’ has damaged ‘B’s motor car negligently. If ‘A’ pays ‘B’s loss in full. ‘B’ cannot collect the same from the insurance company. On other hand if ‘B’ applied to his insurance company for indemnity under policy, he will not be permitted to collect the damages from ‘A’. And the latter case the insurance company will be entitled to collect the amount.

Car Insurance is invariably what you do not want to omit. How many times have you wished that there was ‘SALE’ at your insurance company, just like the one at Zara. We all want to pay less and get more. Here are four Car Insurance Cost-Cutters that are probably better than the sale at Zara’s.

• Insure Multiple Cars/Drivers

If you obtain a quote from an auto insurance company to insure a single vehicle, you might end up obtaining a higher quote for your vehicle, per vehicle. But if you inquired about insuring several drivers and/or vehicles with that company, you may be able to obtain a lower quote. This is because insurance companies will offer what amounts to a bulk rate because they want your business, and under some circumstances, they are willing to give you a deal if it means you’ll bring in more of it.

To obtain a discount, ask your agent/insurance company to see if you qualify and get a quote. Generally speaking, multiple drivers must live at the same residence and be related by blood or by marriage. Two non-related people may also be able to obtain a discount; however, they usually must jointly own the vehicle.

• Pay Attention to Where You Live

The writer is not asking you to move to a new place because it gives you lower car insurance rates and it is unlikely that you will move to a different location for the same reason too. However, when planning a move, the potential change in your car insurance rate is something that you will want to keep in mind and add into your budget.

• Drop Unnecessary Coverage

Dropping certain types of coverage can be a very slippery slope. After all, nobody can predict if or when an accident will occur. However, if an individual is driving an extremely old automobile that’s on its last legs, it may make sense (depending on the cost, the individual’s driving record and other factors) to drop collision coverage. The reason for this is that were the vehicle to be involved in an accident, the insurance company would likely total the car. If the value of the car is only P10,000 and the collision coverage costs P5,000 per year, it may not make sense to buy it.

In any case, before making any such decision, consider speaking to your financial adviser and your agent/insurance company. You should remember that every situation is different and the decision is up to you.

• Install Anti-Theft Devices

You can also lower your insurance amount by installing anti-theft devices. Your agent or insurance company should be able to tell you specifically which devices, when installed, can lower premiums. Car alarms and LoJacks are two types of devices that you might want to inquire about. If your primary motivation for installing an anti-theft device is to lower your insurance premium make sure to consider whether the cost of adding the device will result in a significant enough savings to be worth the trouble and expense.

With ‘international travel’ moving from a luxury to what middle class does for a holiday, lifestyle has come a long way. So has the need to be safe when you are travelling. Travel insurance can help cover medical expenses or financial losses you might incur while travelling. It’s often pitched as the best protection for those travelling domestically or overseas. This article will explain what kind of coverage you need before you sign on the dotted line and start paying for protection against the unforeseen and unpredictable.
Before you even begin looking into travel insurance, you need to have an understanding of what type of coverage you need and whether it is even necessary to begin with. Following are the types of travel insurances.

• Trip Cancellation Insurance
As its name implies, trip cancellation insurance (sometimes known as trip interruption insurance or trip delay insurance) covers you in the event that you or your travelling companions need to cancel, interrupt or delay your trip. The cancellation of the trip could be due to delay in processing of your visa or passport, sudden business conflict, illness or injury, or even health issues. This insurance covers your expense in these cases.

• Travel Medical and Major Medical Insurance
Both of these types of insurance provide medical protection if the policyholder becomes ill or is injured while travelling. The difference between these two types of insurance is the duration of coverage: Travel medical insurance provides only short-term medical coverage; the duration can be anywhere from five days to up to one year, depending on the policy. Major medical insurance is for travelers who are planning to take longer trips of six months to one year or longer.
These types of insurance can help you cover medical expenses and locate doctors, hospitals, healthcare facilities and foreign-language services if you become ill or injured while travelling overseas. Whether you purchase medical insurance separately or you already have it, find out if you will need prior approval from your insurance company for any type of medical care.

• Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance
This type of insurance provides coverage for medically necessary evacuation and transportation to medical facilities. This becomes extremely useful should you become stranded in a remote rural area without easy access to needed facilities.

• Specialized Coverage
There are also more specialized forms of travel insurance. For example, some focus on the needs of business travelers, extreme athletes or expatriates. So, if you are planning to participate in high-risk or extreme sports while away, selecting an insurance that is made specifically to cover you in case of a sports-related injury might be more cost-effective and needs-specific than selecting an insurance policy that provides more general coverage.

Learn it before you do it. This article will put you through the various types of insurance in the market so, the next time you will know what you are talking about.

Property and Casualty Insurance

Casualty insurance
Covers financial loss or liability risk as a result of actions towards others

This broadly encompasses insurance not directly concerned with life insurance, health insurance, or property insurance. It is mainly liability coverage of an individual or organization for negligent acts or omissions. However, the term has also been used for property insurance for aviation insurance, boiler and machinery insurance, and glass and crime insurance. It may include marine insurance for shipwrecks or losses at sea or fidelity and surety insurance. It may also include earthquake, political risk insurance, terrorism insurance, fidelity and surety bonds. One of the most common kinds of casualty insurance today is auto insurance. In its most basic form, auto insurance provides liability coverage in the event that a driver is found “at fault” in an accident. This can cover medical expenses of individuals involved in the accident as well as restitution or repair of damaged property, all of which would fall into the realm of casualty insurance coverage.

Property insurance
Covers financial loss from property owned that may be damaged

This provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways that is, open perils and named perils. Open perils cover all the causes of loss not specifically excluded in the policy. Common exclusions on open peril policies include damage resulting from earthquakes, floods, nuclear incidents, acts of terrorism, and war. Named perils require the actual cause of loss to be listed in the policy for insurance to be provided. The more common named perils include such damage-causing events as fire, lightning, explosion, and theft.

Life Insurance
Life covers risk of premature death

Life insurance is a protection against the loss of income that would result if the insured passes away. The named beneficiary receives the proceeds and is thereby safeguarded from the financial impact of the death of the insured. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policy holder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. Other expenses (such as funeral expenses) can also be included in the benefits. Life policies are legal contracts and the terms of the contract describe the limitations of the insured events. Specific exclusions are often written into the contract to limit the liability of the insurer; common examples are claims relating to suicide, fraud, war, riot, and civil commotion.

Health Insurance
Covers risk of medical bills and loss of income from injury and / or sickness

Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care and health system expenses, among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is available to pay for the health care benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization such as a government agency, private business, or not-for-profit entity.

Reinsurance
Insurance coverage for insurance companies to enable them to spread the risk they have written

Reinsurance, also known as insurance for insurers or stop-loss insurance, is the practice of insurers transferring portions of risk portfolios to other parties by some form of agreement to reduce the likelihood of having to pay a large obligation resulting from an insurance claim. The party that diversifies its insurance portfolio is known as the ceding party. The party that accepts a portion of the potential obligation in exchange for a share of the insurance premium is known as the re-insurer.

There is the usual home insurance, auto insurance and business insurance. I thought these were the only kinds of insurance (other than Kim Kardashian’s butt). It was surprising to find out other interesting and out-of-the-box things that could be insured. Here are a few things that you could be insured for.

• Weight Loss
As a result of the Affordable Care Act, you may be able to receive free weight-loss counselling under your health insurance plan. This is one of the several free preventive-care services made available through Obama care. I wonder what other counselling or preventive innovations Trump would bring!

• Rodent Damage to your car
Are those cursed mice chewed through your car’s wiring again? The good news is that your auto insurance may pay for the rodent damage. Most insurers provide coverage under comprehensive auto policies if animals such as mice or squirrels damage your vehicle’s electrical system. It’s considered an “other than collision” auto claim, and you would not be held at fault for it, she says. Check the language of your policy, though, to make sure it provides this sort of coverage. Some policies don’t. And that is one silly yet important issue to get insured for.

• Dog Bites
If your dog bites someone, your homeowner’s policy should provide coverage to help settle the legal and medical bills. The good thing is one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claims are related to dog bites. Homeowners insurance also provides medical coverage to pay doctors’ bills if someone is injured by your pet or on your property. This insurance is a necessity for all those new-pet-owner.

• Dorm-Room Theft
If Junior’s flat-screen TV disappears from his dormitory, don’t panic. Most parents’ homeowner’s insurance policies provide protection for college students’ belongings while they’re away from home. The rules vary by insurer, but most
require the student to be living on campus, enrolled in school full-time and younger than 26, according to the National Association of Insurance

• Meteorites
I admit the chances are slim that a meteorite, satellite or other falling object will strike you, your home or your car. But slim odds aren’t the same as zero odds. Rest assured, though, that your insurance should provide protection in such an unlikely event.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, damage caused by falling objects usually is covered under standard life, auto and homeowners policies. Homeowners policies cover damage to the home and to belongings inside it. The optional comprehensive portion of an auto policy covers damage to a car, and the liability portion of a policy would kick in if a falling object caused an accident.

While you are at work you surely want to know whether your insurance policy will do the job of building you another, if your house burns down. If you are burgled whilst at the supermarket your peace of mind is in the knowledge that, apart from the trauma of knowing that some strange criminal has had eyes and hands on your personal possessions, your up-to-date insurance premiums will cover the replacement values. Not many people spend too much time in their day thinking about insurance but, when something similar to these examples occurs, suddenly you turn to your policy.
It is time to take control and sort your insurances at the earliest!
Buying direct from an insurance company, either online or over the phone can be a fast and easy way to get insurance.The online quoting process is often faster than purchasing insurance through an agent, so if timing is a factor for you, going direct may be the best option.
Here are the top three reasons why you should go DIRECT with ALPHA DIRECT:
1. REDUCED / DISCOUNTED PREMIUM:
At Alpha Direct, through our call center and our network of in-house agents, clients are able to talk directly to them without needing to go through a middleman. This means no insurance broker fees or commissions are charged and the savings are passed on to their clients in the form of a reduction or discount in their premium.You could save 15% or more on your insurance!
Also, Alpha Direct guarantees your premiums for 12 months whether you claim or not!
2. FOCUSED INDIVIDUAL UNDERWRITING:
With their highly sophisticated underwriting systems, Alpha Direct calculates premiums according to the client’s unique risk profile, meaning low-risk clients would not subsidize high-risk clients. So, if you’re a low-risk client, you can get insured by Alpha Direct for much less than what you’re currently paying somewhere else, and you will most likely save 15% or more on your insurance costs (Roughly 50% of Batswana will). They are the first insurance company in Botswana to implement individual underwriting.
3. FASTER AND EASIER CLAIMS PROCESSING:
Three Insurance salesman were sitting in a restaurant boasting about each company’s service.
The first one said, “When one of our insureds died suddenly on Monday, we got the news that evening and were able to process the claim for the wife and had mailed a check on Wednesday evening.
The second one said, “When one of our insured died without warning on Monday, we learned of it in 2 hours and were able to hand-deliver a check the same evening.
The last salesman said, “That’s nothing. Our office is on the 20th floor of a tall building. One of our insured who was washing a window on the 85th floor, slipped and fell. We handed him his check as passed our floor
At Alpha Direct, they ensure that our customers don’t run around and waste their time getting comparative quotes. When you claim, they do all the work for you.Our advanced systems and highly trained staff are able to ensure the speedy processing of claims.

So Hurry!! Pick up your phone and call us for a FREE Quote 0800 601 029.