The complex patchwork of legislation and guidance governing work equipment risks in the UK is an administrative monster that many businesses struggle to wrestle with successfully. It takes significant levels of technical expertise and resources to understand and effectively navigate the maze of legal requirements, and this problem grows increasingly unwieldy for smaller organisations with limited manpower and finances.
The company already offers motor, travel, health and personal accident insurance online. The online facility will be helpful for new and existing buyers. One can buy a new policy or renew an existing one through this channel.
A buyer can choose comprehensive cover for his home and its contents against fire and allied perils, burglary and theft. While a comprehensive policy covers the building, appliances, furniture and fixtures against damage and theft, though there is a Rs 10,000 cap on the cover for jewellery and cash is not covered. However, one can also take terrorism cover.
The company claims it offers very competitive premium rates. A house with a built up area of 2,000 sq ft will be covered for Rs 30 lakh and its contents for roughly Rs 4 lakh for an annual premium of Rs 3,676. The buyer also has the choice of converting the premium into three easy EMIs.
HDFC Ergo, a 74:26 joint venture between the housing finance major HDFC Ltd and Ergo International AG, a German insurance group, has been investing substantially in developing its technology platform. Over the past year, it has seen a substantial increase in the online sale of policies.
CHICAGO, June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- A first time homeowner can find buying a new home exciting and overwhelming. When going over the insurance checklist using HomeownersInsurance.net, be sure to consider a complete policy that includes liability and personal property protection. When shopping for quotes, there are five areas that are especially important. Here are tips to get the best coverage at the most affordable price.
Know the difference between the replacement cost and the market value. Depending on how much was originally paid for the property, the cost of rebuilding can be higher or lower than the market value. Rebuilding a home is usually cheaper than buying an existing structure unless the original property bought was a foreclosure in which case rebuilding might be more expensive. The key is to accurately determine the cost of rebuilding when finalizing the details on a homeowners insurance policy.
Take a home inventory and determine the proper amount of personal property protection. Generally, policies cover 50-75% of the replacement value of the house. However, this may not be enough to cover certain valuables such as jewelry, fine art, collections, electronics and other expensive items. A separate rider may be needed and this should be discussed with an agent.
Have enough liability protection. This protects a homeowner if they are sued for an injury that takes place on their property. Many policies will even cover a policyholder if an incident happened away from the house. Depending on their assets, some may want to consider an additional umbrella policy if they are worried about ever being sued for an amount in excess of what their coverage offers.
Know what is not covered. Carefully study the exclusions section of the homeowners insurance policy. This is important to be aware of so additional coverage can be purchased. For instance, if one lives in an area prone to flooding, they may need to buy additional flood protection.
Consider additionally living expenses if ever forced from the dwelling. If a house becomes unlivable due to a flood, earthquake, fire or other disasters, a family will need to pay for living accommodations, may need additional money for food and transportation, and other expenses. This coverage is "additional living expenses" (ALE) and is a benefit that is usually worth about 20% of the home's replacement value. Be aware of the benefits, limitations and exclusion.
When shopping for home insurance quotes, be sure to find a company that is financially stable and has a high customer satisfaction rating. Two resources to check these qualities are A.M. Best for financial strength ratings and J.D. Power and Associates for their annual customer service rankings.
HomeownersInsurance.net:
HomeownersInsurance.net provides a free service that connects homeowners with agents who offer free quotes. The homeowner can review rates and choose the policy that is right for their family. Shopping online for home insurance is the best way to compare prices and policies to find the most comprehensive and affordable choice. Take the first step in choosing the right carrier for your homeowners insurance by contacting HomeownersInsurance.net.
Contact:
Mark OrwellMedia Relations SpecialistHomeownersInsurance.net admin@homeownersinsurance.net
This press release was issued through eReleases® Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com .
SOURCE HomeownersInsurance.net
Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
DENVER--()--Due to huge equity losses that homeowners have suffered over the past six years and continued uncertainty surrounding the housing market, the economics of home ownership will make sense only if equity can be protected, Scott Ryles, CEO of Home Value Insurance Company, told the nation's leading real estate journalists attending the 46th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
"Homeowners and today's home buyers cannot safely assume their home's value will appreciate."
"The financial impact of the loss of equity has been devastating, both to the national economy and to millions of homeowners who rely upon their home's equity to finance their next home purchase or their retirement. According to the Federal Reserve this month, household net worth declined 40 percent from 2007 to 2010 due to housing price declines, and prices have declined further since 2010. Clearly the days when housing was a safe investment are over," Ryles said at the opening day of the NAREE National Conference, attended by hundreds of real estate journalists at the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in Denver.
"Local housing market performance has always varied considerably, with numerous examples of 10 percent, or even 20 percent, downturns in the past 40 years. Looking forward, population shifts will be a prevailing force. Baby Boomers with insufficient retirement assets will be forced to sell their homes to realize their savings to cover living and health care expenses, creating an oversupply that won't be filled by new entrants to the housing market," said Ryles. "Homeowners and today's home buyers cannot safely assume their home's value will appreciate."
Home Value Protection provides homeowners an affordable solution to insure their equity.
"Many Home Value Protection policyholders live in areas where housing prices continue to decline," said Ryles. "These homeowners have experienced an average loss in value of $5,507 since taking out a Home Value Protection policy. Homeowners in Georgia have been especially hard hit, with an average decline in home value of nearly $12,000 among policyholders with a loss. Without Home Value Protection, policyholders' home equity would be at risk, potentially putting them underwater on their mortgage. Instead, policyholders have financial protection and peace of mind knowing they are insured against a housing market that continues to prove difficult to predict."
About Home Value Protection
Home Value Protection is the only insurance that takes the risk out of home ownership, providing financial security for today's homeowners. Home Value Protection is property and casualty insurance and is currently available in Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma and Ohio. Home Value Insurance Company, which is licensed and regulated by the Department of Insurance, is the nation's sole provider of Home Value Protection insurance.
Take a deep breath and imagine this scene: You walk into a shop, see what you want on the shelf, but notice that there aren't any prices. Confused, you ask how much the item costs.
In South Carolina, your personal risk of suffering a loss in a hurricane is much less than insurance companies talk about.
Computer models, dubbed "black boxes," have a huge impact on rates, but we know little about how they work in South Carolina.
Shoppers are frustrated with rising rates.
For previous stories in the series, go to postandcourier.com/storm-of-money.
"Well, it depends on whether we're selling it today," the clerk says.
Year Total premiums Increase over Number of
year before insurers
2000 $548,135,864 7% 143
2001 $594,371,403 8% 138
2002 $654,943,787 10% 135
2003 $728,171,854 11% 130
2004 $831,931,463 14% 124
2005 $908,567,317 9% 115
2006 $989,535,852 9% 108
2007 $1,071,902,394 8% 110
2008 $1,124,766,993 5% 109
2009 $1,164,742,541 4% 118
2010 $1,211,841,261 4% 122
"And by the way, do you have a good credit score, and would you tell me your education level? And would you mind answering other questions so we can decide whether to sell this to you?
South Carolina's insurance commissioners:
Ernst N. Csiszar, 1999 to 2004, appointed by former Gov. Jim Hodges, previously with Seibels Bruce Group, a publicly traded insurance carrier.
Eleanor Kitzman, 2007, founded a small insurance company in 1999.
Scott Richardson, 2007-2011, former owner of Carswell of Carolina Insurance.
David Black, 2011, former CEO of Liberty Life Insurance.
Gwendolyn Fuller McGriff, Dec. 28, 2011-present, acting administrator after Black's resignation.
"Oh, and we calculate prices with computer models that we're not allowed to talk about. The price sure depends on a lot of things, doesn't it? And it will cost even more tomorrow!"
Shopping for homeowner's insurance is like learning calculus or Portuguese; it takes time but is possible. Here are some tips:
1Shop around with several agents to make sure they are coming up with the best deals for you.
2Look at postandcourier.com/storm-of-money for a comparison of companies offering insurance in your county. Call them to determine if they are writing policies in your area.
3Visit the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website, naic.org, to determine which companies have the most complaints. Drop companies with lots of complaints.
4Investigate whether you could save money by strengthening your house. Visit South Carolina Safe Home's website, scsafehome.sc.gov for information about grants and tax credits.
Appalled, you threaten to call state regulators. "Good luck," the clerk says.
When it comes to property insurance, homeowners face a similar set of hurdles:
Unlike agencies in other states, South Carolina's Department of Insurance doesn't offer the public simple ways to help consumers find deals or learn about rate increases.
South Carolina lawmakers enacted laws that enable insurance companies to increase rates without prior approval or public hearings as long as rate hikes are lower than 7 percent.
Meanwhile, they eviscerated budgets of two government agencies charged with monitoring rates.
Insurance companies are using controversial computer models to calculate rates, but South Carolina has yet to examine these models in depth.
Is the playing field level for consumers? "Definitely not in South Carolina," said Robert Hunter, a former insurance commissioner in Texas now with the Consumer Federation of America. "You have very weak regulations."
Limited help
Homes, like people, have their quirks. In calculating a premium, an insurer may ask about a building's wiring, roof type and/or age. The company may hire an inspector to look at the water heater and take pictures of the paint job.
Many also calculate rates using credit scores and education levels of customers, a move insurers say identifies people likely to make more claims. Critics say these practices unfairly affect the poor.
All these variables are buried in rate filings sent to the S.C. Department of Insurance and other states, which can be good news for consumers.
Using this information, for instance, Texas crafted a website where consumers quickly plug in information about their homes and lives. In seconds, they get a list of companies, rates and contact information, along with a roster of potential discounts for alarms, sprinklers and other options that can help consumers shop for better rates.
And South Carolina?
The Insurance Department has a brochure on its website, along with a spreadsheet that lists sample rates from just 20 companies. (The Post and Courier made this information searchable by county at postand courier.com/storm-of-money.)
The agency spreadsheet also is limited to rates for a recently built house; rates for older homes can be much higher.
The Insurance Department also fails to let consumers know about looming rate hikes in any useful way, even though insurers send them notices about rate hikes months in advance.
Agency spokeswoman Ann Roberson said the information about rate-hike proposals is on its website, but acknowledged that it's difficult to find. The department is working on ways to make these rate changes more visible and user-friendly and hopes to roll it out this fall.
In the meantime, homeowners are more likely to learn about rate hikes in a letter, such as the one recently sent by Allstate to a Mount Pleasant homeowner.
It came with the friendly headline: "We want to help you manage your insurance costs," and then the less friendly sentences: "As you are aware, we've seen severe storms over the past few years in the state of South Carolina. Because of this and other contributing factors, a premium increase is needed. ..."
Free-market stance
Elected leaders and the courts long have recognized the importance of insurance and the vulnerability of consumers. People who have suffered losses are especially sensitive to insurers that hold up claims or try to pay less than what customers truly lost, and communities hit by disasters depend on insurance to get their economies rolling again.
A century ago, insurance companies argued that they should be free from government regulation, but the U.S. Supreme Court settled the debate in 1914. "The business of insurance is so far affected with a public interest as to justify legislative regulation of its rates," the court said.
In South Carolina, the Insurance Department is responsible for making sure companies are solvent and set rates that are fair to insurers and property owners alike.
Hunter and other insurance experts said South Carolina's approach shifted in the late 1990s. As insurance companies pulled out of coastal areas in droves, a succession of commissioners — all former insurance company executives — worked hard to reduce regulations.
They argued that a free-market stance would draw more companies to the state and increase competition, an approach that had some success in the auto insurance business.
The situation came to a head in 2007 as insurance companies threatened to pull out of even more areas along the coast. Fearing that homeowners might not be able to get coverage at all, the General Assembly in 2007 expanded the "wind pool," zones near the ocean where homeowners were guaranteed limited and expensive wind hazard coverage with the S.C. Wind & Hail Association.
Lawmakers also allowed insurance companies to increase their rates without first seeking state approval as long as those increases averaged less than 7 percent.
Since then, insurance companies have pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2007, private insurers collected about $987 million in premiums from property owners. By 2010, it was more than $1.2 billion, according to a Post and Courier analysis.
A handful of insurance companies have entered the market — today, the state has more than 120 companies writing home insurance policies, up from 108 in 2006.
The industry, however, continues to be dominated by a few insurance company groups. Eleven corporations, including State Farm and Allstate, control more than 70 percent of the state's home insurance market.
Meanwhile, the two agencies that monitor these corporate juggernauts have seen their budgets and staffs whacked.
Last year, the Insurance Department handled the credentials of more than 170,000 licensed agents, adjusters and other insurance professionals, fielded more than 60,000 telephone and written complaints, and processed more than 10,400 rate filings. To do all this, the agency has about 80 employees, down from 145 five years ago.
Lawmakers not only cut the Insurance Department but also de-fanged the Department of Consumer Affairs, which had saved homeowners buckets of cash by challenging rate hikes.
In 2003, for instance, State Farm sought a 29 percent statewide increase. The Consumer Affairs Department fought the increase until State Farm agreed to a 19 percent hike.
But, like the Insurance Department, Consumer Affairs is a shell of its former self, with just 32 employees, down from 72 in 2007. It received about $620,000 from the state's general fund last year, down from about $2 million in 2007.
The agency has only two lawyers to study insurance cases and no support staff, and almost no money for hiring experts with insurance expertise. "At the lowest point, we had only 28 people," said Carri Grube Lybarker, acting administrator.
South Carolina insurance industry officials argue that the insurance climate here is much healthier than other states.
"South Carolina has promoted competition in the voluntary market as the answer to coastal issues where many states have suppressed rates and made the market of last resort the most competitive organization providing coverage," said Justin Tomczak, spokesman for State Farm.
Homeowners may not feel the same way, said Hunter, of the Consumer Federation of America. "Is (the insurance climate in South Carolina) great? Yeah, it's great if you don't have to pay the premium."
DENVER, Jun 20, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Due to huge equity losses that homeowners have suffered over the past six years and continued uncertainty surrounding the housing market, the economics of home ownership will make sense only if equity can be protected, Scott Ryles, CEO of Home Value Insurance Company, told the nation's leading real estate journalists attending the 46th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
"The financial impact of the loss of equity has been devastating, both to the national economy and to millions of homeowners who rely upon their home's equity to finance their next home purchase or their retirement. According to the Federal Reserve this month, household net worth declined 40 percent from 2007 to 2010 due to housing price declines, and prices have declined further since 2010. Clearly the days when housing was a safe investment are over," Ryles said at the opening day of the NAREE National Conference, attended by hundreds of real estate journalists at the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in Denver.
"Local housing market performance has always varied considerably, with numerous examples of 10 percent, or even 20 percent, downturns in the past 40 years. Looking forward, population shifts will be a prevailing force. Baby Boomers with insufficient retirement assets will be forced to sell their homes to realize their savings to cover living and health care expenses, creating an oversupply that won't be filled by new entrants to the housing market," said Ryles. "Homeowners and today's home buyers cannot safely assume their home's value will appreciate."
Home Value Protection provides homeowners an affordable solution to insure their equity.
"Many Home Value Protection policyholders live in areas where housing prices continue to decline," said Ryles. "These homeowners have experienced an average loss in value of $5,507 since taking out a Home Value Protection policy. Homeowners in Georgia have been especially hard hit, with an average decline in home value of nearly $12,000 among policyholders with a loss. Without Home Value Protection, policyholders' home equity would be at risk, potentially putting them underwater on their mortgage. Instead, policyholders have financial protection and peace of mind knowing they are insured against a housing market that continues to prove difficult to predict."
About Home Value Protection
Home Value Protection is the only insurance that takes the risk out of home ownership, providing financial security for today's homeowners. Home Value Protection is property and casualty insurance and is currently available in Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma and Ohio. Home Value Insurance Company, which is licensed and regulated by the Department of Insurance, is the nation's sole provider of Home Value Protection insurance.
SOURCE: Home Value Insurance Company
Harden Communications Partners Kim Kellogg, 510-635-4150 or 510-325-3195 (cell) kkellogg@hardenpartners.com
Copyright Business Wire 2012
20/06/2012
Though Bulgaria is situated in a seismically active region, less than 10% of homes in the country are insured against earthquakes.
By Svetla Dimitrova for Southeast European Times in Sofia -- 20/06/12
 Neighbours Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania have all suffered catastrophic quakes. [Reuters] |
The recurring debate about making home insurance mandatory flared again with the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the town of Pernik, about 30km southwest of Sofia, last month.
The May 22nd tremor, the strongest near the capital since 1858, damaged 56 municipal buildings in Pernik and neighbouring villages, along with scores of homes.
About ten days after the quake and its hundreds of aftershocks, Bulgarian Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova called for legislative changes to make home insurance compulsory. Currently, insurance is required for state and municipal properties only.
Nearly 98% of all properties in the country are privately owned, making Bulgaria unique in that sense, according to Pavlova. "As owners, we must take care of our … property," she said in a June 2nd interview with Sofia-based private Darik Radio. Pavlova wants all homes insured. At this point, only those who financed their mortgage through a bank had to get insurance, as is the case in Croatia and Albania.
Sofia-based lawyer Maya Zlateva agreed, in principle.
"I'd be the first to insure my property, but not until the legislative framework covering that system has been improved to guarantee that the interests of both sides are equally protected, not only those of the insurance companies," she told SETimes. "Most of them now only care about how to make you purchase a policy. But when an insurance event occurs, they are reluctant to pay."
Avgustina Assenova, 40, a jobless Sofia resident, supported Pavlova's idea.
"Yes, I have insured my home, including against earthquakes," she told SETimes. "With the little pay I used to get, I wouldn't be able to cover the cost of any significant damage myself. Obviously, the state cannot afford to help everyone in the event of a major calamity, either."
Bulgaria has been struck by 11 quakes measuring at least 6.0 on the Richter scale since the second half of the 19th century. A tremor on September 18th 1858 in Sofia, more than 30 years before systematic monitoring began in Bulgaria, is described as the most devastating, and is believed to have measured around 9 on the Richter scale.
According to official statistics, there were a total of nearly 3.9 million dwellings in Bulgaria in 2011. Yet insurers estimate that less than 10% of them are covered by homeowner's policies for damage caused by a host of natural disasters, such as flooding and torrential rains, but not earthquakes.
"Earthquakes were listed among the natural disasters during communist times," Anelia Angelova, manager of the Viara insurance brokerage in Sofia, told SETimes. "That's why many people still believe that when they buy a homeowner's policy, they have insured their property against earthquakes too. But, that's a separate policy now."
Citing Financial Supervision Commission data, the Sofia-based private television station bTV reported recently that only 8.5% of all properties in Bulgaria are currently insured against earthquakes.
The Pernik quake reportedly also prompted a discussion within the cabinet about the possible creation of a disaster insurance pool, similar to those in neighbouring Romania and Turkey, where quakes are common.
Turkey's Catastrophe Insurance Pool was established after the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck western Turkey on August 17th 1999, killing more than 17,000 people. Parliament passed legislation making earthquake insurance compulsory for all registered residential buildings within municipality boundaries, yet enforcement is spotty at best.
Romania's Catastrophe Insurance Scheme, established in 2008, also made insuring dwellings against earthquakes, landslides or flooding mandatory.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
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