Insurance - A Helping Hand at Unforeseen Events

Written by: Adam Sheppard

Why insurance, an Introduction:

Human life is full of risk and uncertainty, which may involve various unforeseen events like physical injuries, threat to life, financial losses etc. Insurance gives you the confidence to deal with these unexpected situations and bear these emergency losses and expenses against a set of payments called insurance premiums. Read on carefully to learn more about the various types of insurance and some of the benefits associated with them.

Types of Insurance:

Insurance can, in simple terms, be defined as the transfer of your (policyholder) risk or a loss to the insurer (insurance companies) in return for your premium. Insurance has over the years spread its wings to almost all areas of human life to cover all damages and losses incurred. Examples below:

• Life insurance: To protect against the loss of life.
• Health insurance: To cover the medical expenses and emergencies incurred through illness or injury.
• Home insurance: To protect your house against the damages caused by unforeseen events, e.g. theft or fire.
• Travel insurance: To cover the type of risk that may occur while traveling.
• Income Protection: Useful in repayment of loans in case of unemployment, disability etc.

Some of the major insurance types, which compensate you at times of unforeseen events, are discussed below.

Life Insurance:

Life insurance guarantees that in your absence, your family members are at least financially secured as per the terms of your life insurance policy in spite of the personal loss associated with your death. They can to meet the financial cost of the crisis if you were the main earner of the family. As laid out in the terms of the life insurance policy the policyholder has to pay a set of payments known as a premium and in turn the insurer will compensate the policy beneficiary in the event of insured’s accident or death. Life insurance comes in different types, e.g. Mortgage Protection, Level Term, Convertible Term, Whole of Life, Section 60 Life Cover and serious illness cover.

Nowadays life insurance is essential for everyone to provide financial assistance and peace of mind in their most difficult times.

Health insurance:

Health insurance will help you to get your chosen level of medical care and cover you and your family against health related issues, surgeries, medical expenses etc.

You should keep the following points in mind before choosing your health insurance.

• You should look for total health coverage given by the policy rather than the total cost of the insurance.
• You should be familiar with the terms and conditions of the policy to know about the Conditions, diseases, ailments, events and the body parts which are covered in the policy and the conditions, diseases, ailments, medical conditions and events which are excluded from the policy etc.
• You should also carefully compare the coverage, deductibles, premium and the compensation against the claim paid to pay a lower premium and to avail of as broad a cover as possible.
• You should decide what type of coverage you require based on your personal circumstances.
• If you invest early in health insurance, it may reduce your financial burden in the inevitable situations and medical emergencies of the future.

Home insurance:

Home insurance will help you to safeguard your home and personal belongings against theft, accidental damage and damage cause by the natural calamities. The basic home insurance policy can cover against damage from lightning, fire, smoke, theft, snow, windstorm, volcano etc. Some policies cover against losses caused by the heating system malfunction, flooding due to leaky plumbing, freezing of plumbing and the factors against the loss of belongings and property etc. One should always ensure that the home insurance policy covers the events that you feel need to be covered to the value that is needed. It is important to familiarise yourself with the terms of your home insurance policy and ensure that you are adequately covered for the events that you feel you need.

Travel insurance:

It’s a good idea to have travel insurance whether or not you expect to travel in hazardous environments. Basic travel insurance usually covers loss of luggage, theft of belongings and some flight issues. You should check your travel insurance to know what the policy covers in case of evacuations, military conflicts, acts of nature, theft, and health issues etc. especially if you are traveling overseas frequently. Getting your travel insurance can provide you a complete peace of mind while traveling.