Insurance Company, Choosing An
Consideration should be given to a company's capacity to underwrite a particular risk, as indicated by its financial standing, claims philosophy, price structure, agent representation, loss prevention and reduction services, and risk analysis expertise. Information can be gained in several ways:
- Reputation a prospective insured can fairly easily learn something about an insurance company through business and professional associates (lawyer, accountant, banker), through conversations with others in the same field, and by discussions with agents and brokers.
- Financial capacity larger businesses and public libraries often have up-to-date reference books, such as Best's Insurance Reports(available in Life-Health and Property-Casualty editions) giving detailed analyses of hundreds of companies.
- State Insurance Department information about specific insurance companies may be available from the insurance departments located in state capitals.
Popular Insurance Terms
Federal law requiring that all pension plan trustees and anyone else who handles pension funds must obtain a fidelity bond. This bond covers the plan in the event of embezzlement and theft. ...
Mortality table used to calculate the legal reserve and life insurance policy cash surrender values. ...
Arrangement by which the insured agrees to incur a given degree of variability in the ultimate total costs associated with financing its losses. ...
Retirement income benefit of a survivor (or survivors) of an insured individual, according to a particular formula. For example, if a retired male worker dies, all or a portion of his ...
Coverage of an employee group whose members receive a monthly disability income benefit, subject to a maximum amount, if illness or accident prevents a member from performing the normal ...
Insured sum paid regularly to a married partner (usually a wife but sometimes a husband) of a retired worker. There are several forms: The Federal Retirement Equity Act mandates a spouse's ...
Financial instrument such as a fixed dollar annuity or bond that pays a minimum periodic income at a minimum guaranteed rate of interest. ...
Legal document that permits the individual to declare his or her desires concerning the use of life-sustaining treatment to be made at the point in time when death is imminent and the ...
Retirement arrangement in which contributions are divided between allocated (insured) and unallocated funding instruments (an uninsured plan). It seeks to combine the advantages of ...

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