Tips on Insurance Products Marketing
Unique challenges surround insurance marketing. It is a product you cannot feel, taste, smell, touch, hear or visually enjoy. The idea that you need insurance means you are at risk for loss and no one treasures having loss brought to mind. People buy insurance because they recognize a need for it. Here are a few things you can do to be the source that fulfills that need.
Sell Based on Value
Offer your prospects a no-obligation insurance audit. Those solid leads who accept will appreciate your expertise and attention. You will have an opportunity to demonstrate how your insurance product knowledge can help them obtain the most advantageous coverage at a competitive price.
If possible, offer and provide a premium gift as an incentive to book an appointment. Use a premium gift that is related to your product, such as a key ring or map for auto insurance.
If possible, offer a free trial enrollment during which the customer can review the policy without charge or obligation. Phrases such as “send no money” and “you are under no obligation” can be powerful helps toward turning a lead into a sale.
Offer a selection of a limited number of plans with clear comparisons between plan features and their overall costs. This enables your prospective customer to experience freedom of choice.
Additionally, when you offer comparisons to other products, you underscore your credibility and product knowledge. To further highlight your credibility, include testimonials and insurance rating agency commendations and favorable ratings. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Insurance Plans | 
Tags: Homeowner's insurance, Insurance Products Marketing | 
No Comments »
Insurance Company Training
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that health and medical insurance jobs will experience significant job growth during the 2008-2018 decade.
Despite corporate downsizing and technological advances limiting employment in the field, professionals with insurance training should have good job opportunities due to the industry’s high employee turnover rate.
Professional seeking administrative positions must develop training on the job or through a vocational program, while higher level positions and management jobs in insurance companies require university degrees or MBAs.
Function
Insurance company training programs not only help employees and students develop current and relevant skills, but also allows professionals to gain a competitive advantage in the job market.
Insurance professionals often seek continuing education within companies to advance their careers, and develop deep knowledge about the insurance industry.
Formal training programs allow participants to learn about the latest news and trends around specialties, including actuarial calculations, insurance policy insurance and accounting.
Curriculum
The curriculum in insurance company training courses varies according to the professional goals of the student, the organization and program objectives.
For instance, a typical program for an insurance sales agent might include a course on the fundamentals of insurance planning, effective selling, account building, negotiation tactics and retirement planning. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Insurance companies | Tags: Health and medical insurance jobs, Insurance company training | No Comments »
Lawful Interrogation & Detention Act
The Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act of 2009 was an attempt by Congress to shut down an American-leased space in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The 45-square-mile space has been leased from the Cuban government and used for a variety of military-related purposes.
In 2002, it essentially became a prison camp for suspected terrorists. The legislation, which never passed, wanted each prisoner to be charged and tried in the United States or sent elsewhere.
It also made provisions for how the CIA and other agencies could question suspects; the law would also make medical services available to detainees.
Provisions
In January 2009, Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, Ron Wyden, D-OR, John D. Rockefeller, IV, D-WV, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, introduced Senate Bill 147, otherwise known as the Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act.
The bill was part of the Democratic Party’s overall plan to shutter the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after years of controversy and a spate of highly publicized cases of extreme interrogation tactics.
The bill set to close the facility within 12 months and reform the interrogation methods that U.S. intelligence agencies could use by limiting them to 19 approved tactics. The bill called for the prisoners to be charged and tried in the United States or transferred to an internal tribunal.
If they couldn’t be charged and posed no threat, they were to be released. In addition, the bill would ban interrogations from being performed by contractors and allow the Red Cross to provide services to detainees. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Detention policies | Tags: Lawful Interrogation, The Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act | No Comments »
The Average Cost of Travel Insurance
Real life sometimes wreaks havoc on your vacation plans, Lost luggage, canceled flights, inclement weather, or family emergencies can cancel the most well-planned vacation.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks resulted in a 10-percent increase of Americans who buy travel insurance–making the total number of Americans who purchase travel insurance about 30 percent, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association.
The average cost of travel insurance is 4 to 8 percent of your total trip according to Cost Helper.com. The cost of travel insurance depends on what type of coverage you get.
High End Coverage
The higher end of travel insurance pays for the option to cancel your trip for any reason. Some travel insurance companies add the “cancel for any reason” option at an additional cost.
Premium coverage allows you to cancel your trip for any reason and still be reimbursed your travel costs. People who purchase this Cadillac plan like to cover for the unexpected.
Standard Coverage
Travel insurance typically covers medical expenses should you require medical help during your stay. Travelers who purchase medical coverage like the peace of mind of knowing that they can seek medical attention in a far away destination without having out of pocket expenses, according to the U.S. Traveler Insurance Association. Standard coverage costs 4 to 5 percent of the entire cost of your trip.
Other Benefits
Travel insurance offers coverage for lost or stolen baggage, medical evacuation costs, and financial protection should your trip be interrupted, A little known gem called “excess valuation” available from airlines provides an additional $5,000 coverage should the airlines lose your bags. That’s better than the $9.07 per pound they offer with a limit of 40 pounds. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Travel Insurance | Tags: Cost of travel insurance, The average cost of travel insurance | No Comments »
Calculate Travel Insurance Cost
Travel insurance helps cover the cost of travel-related incidents such as lost luggage, medical expenses while traveling and even the cancellation of a trip.
This insurance can be purchased from travel agencies or directly from insurance companies. Many insurance companies provide free quotes online. The cost of travel insurance varies depending on the situations and the services included.
1. Find out from the insurance company the average rate or percentage it charges. The cost of the basic travel insurance is generally a percent of the total price of the trip — anywhere from 4 to 12 percent is typical.
The basic travel insurance covers the cost of the trip in the event of cancellations (for specific reasons) and medical emergencies. Multiply the total price of the trip times the estimated insurance quote rate to get the cost of the insurance.
2. Add any extra travel medical insurance. Since the basic travel insurance covers medical emergencies, you may want to add to the policy to include non-emergency services as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Travel Insurance | Tags: Basic travel insurance covers medical emergencies, Travel Insurance | No Comments »
Travel Insurance Requirements
The last thing you may think about when planning a relaxing vacation is illness and natural disasters, but unfortunately events like these sometimes happen. To avoid adding insult to injury by losing money in addition to dealing with the emergency, travel insurance can help.
Travel insurance provides coverage for flight delays, medical expenses and medical evacuation. Some policies will cover you if you cancel the trip for any reason at all.
Cancel for Any Reason Insurance
Most travel insurance providers allow trip cancellation due to a “covered reason” such as trip interruption, travel delay or missed connections. Special policies that allow you to cancel for any reason provide some coverage if you cancel for other reasons.
Typically travel insurance will reimburse you from 75 percent to 90 percent of these trip costs.
To be eligible to receive reimbursement on this basis, travelers must meet plan requirements such as purchasing the plan within 15 days of the initial trip deposit, and canceling the trip at least two days prior to the scheduled departure time.
This type of insurance may provide benefits for such situations as missed connections, emergency assistance and baggage delay.
Medical Travel Insurance Plans
Medical travel insurance plans provide you with medical coverage during your trip. Travelers are advised to check their own health insurance policy to see what coverage they have already. Many people find that their own policies restrict coverage to a limited geographic area, and cover emergencies only outside of that area.
Plans differ in their requirements for coverage. Many medical insurance plans have a pre-existing condition period. In this case, you will not be covered for an illness or injury for which you are seeking treatment if you were advised to see a doctor for the condition, had symptoms or were taking medication for the condition within a defined length of time. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Travel Insurance | Tags: Medical Travel Insurance Plans, Travel Delay Insurance, Travel Insurance | No Comments »
Travel Insurance: Yes or No?
Before going on a trip, perhaps you wonder whether you should buy travel insurance coverage or not. This is an overlooked form of insurance that can provide you with some valuable benefits. At the same time, for some, it may be an unnecessary expense.
Company Failure
One of the issues that is often overlooked when purchasing travel arrangements is company failure. The airline or travel company that you worked with may go out of business.
If this happens after you buy your tickets, you could miss out on the entire purchase price of them.
Travel insurance can reimburse you if this happens when you’re ready to travel. If you’re buying from a smaller, relatively unknown company, it might be to your advantage to have this protection.
Review Other Coverages
In some cases, buying travel insurance might be redundant because you’re already covered by other policies. For example, if you have homeowners insurance, you may be covered against theft even when you’re away from home.
Many credit cards also offer free travel coverage for cardholders. You can check with your credit card company to see if you’re already covered. Some people buy travel insurance so that they’re covered for medical emergencies while on vacation.
Check with your medical insurance company to determine whether you’re covered in another country before buying a travel insurance policy. Most regular health insurance policies won’t pay for hospitalization in a foreign country.
Travel Delays
One area in which travel insurance can come in very handy is in covering you against delays. If your flight gets delayed by a few days, you may have to come up with additional money to pay for a hotel room to stay in a random city.
This could also require you to change your entire itinerary. Travel insurance will kick in as a result of this delay and reimburse you for your extra expenses. Read the rest of this entry »
How Does Insurance Work?
Introduction
Insurance provides people and companies with protection against major financial losses due to damage or loss of property. In exchange for a periodic payment or premium, individuals and companies are guaranteed to be compensated or reimbursed under the terms of the insurance policy.
Insurance is a part of daily life. Car insurance and homeowner’s insurance are two of the most common forms of insurance. Health insurance and workmen’s compensation are also well-known types of insurance. While insurance is a part of most people’s lives, not everyone understands how it works.
How Insurance Works
There are always risks in life such as fire, theft or earthquake. Many people hope to avoid the financial consequences of replacing personal property that is lost or damaged. Insurance is a way to protect your personal finances from undue burdens.
Insurance is really a form of risk management in which the risk is transferred to the insurance company in exchange for payments or premiums. When a person purchases insurance, he gets an insurance policy which is a legally binding contract.
This policy describes in detail all the rights, responsibilities and obligations of both the insured and the insurance company. If a person suffers losses covered in the policy, he files a claim. A claim is a detailed account of what is lost or damaged and its value.
The amount of money a person is reimbursed is based on the amount of the policy. If the policy is for $5,000 that is the maximum amount the insured person can get.
When individuals or companies purchase insurance policies, all the money from the premium is combined into what is called the insurance pool. Insurance companies use statistics to predict what percentage of insured people or businesses will actually suffer a loss and file a claim.
The statistics also help to determine the amount of the premium. Other factors such as credit scores and previous claims are also taken into consideration.
Because the vast majority of insured people do not suffer losses or only small losses, the insurance companies make a huge profit which enables them to pay out the occasional huge claim. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Life Insurance | Tags: health insurance, How Insurance Works, Types of insurance | No Comments »
Problems With Dental Insurance Plans
Dental insurance plans assist people with paying for the costs of dental services. However, since many dental insurance plans only cover 50 percent of the dental care costs, consumers must carefully weigh a plan’s benefits with its costs.
By understanding some of the common problems with dental insurance, a consumer can determine whether a specific dental insurance plan will meet her needs.
Premium Cost
The premium cost of dental insurance varies widely, depending on the specific coverage provided by the policy.
Consumers should look back at their total dental spending for the past year and compare that against the yearly cost of the dental insurance premium for the policy under consideration.
Consumers should also consider factors — such as needed dental work — when making a purchasing decision about dental insurance.
Limited Coverage
Many consumers seek to buy dental insurance when they have a pressing need for dental work. However, many dental insurance policies limit the amount of coverage during the first year the policy is in place.
For example, a policy may pay 50 percent of the costs of some services, but it will only pay 20 percent for these services during the first year. Consumers should carefully review the documentation provided with the insurance plan to determine what limitations are initially in place.
Even beyond the first year, dental insurance plan coverage amounts will vary greatly. Consumers should determine how much the policy will pay for a variety of services to determine how much benefit they will receive from the coverage. Read the rest of this entry »
Individual Health and Dental Insurance
If you work for a large employer, you may have the option of participating in a group health or dental plan. These plans can be helpful, but if you do not have access to one, you can always buy the coverage on your own. While similar, individual health and dental insurance plans are a little different than group plans.
No Subsidized Premiums
When switching from a group health insurance plan to an individual plan, the first thing you may notice is that the premiums are no longer subsidized. When you work for an employer, you typically get all or part of your health insurance premiums paid for.
Once you make the switch to an individual health insurance plan, you will have to pay the entire bill for your insurance premiums. This can lead to premiums that are much higher than what you pay with a group plan.
High-Deductible Plans
When you get an individual health insurance plan, one of the options that you have is to purchase a high-deductible health insurance plan. With a high-deductible plan, you can participate in a health savings account.
This allows you to set aside money on a pretax basis for your out-of-pocket medical expenses. In addition to gaining access to a health savings account, you can also lower your insurance premiums by taking a higher deductible on your policy.
Individual Dental Plans
Many people who do not work for an employer that offers dental coverage end up avoiding coverage because of the high cost. Premiums for regular dental coverage can be prohibitive, which may lead you to explore some other options when it comes to getting dental care.
You could get an indemnity plan, which allows you to choose your own dentist and simply pay a discounted fee for each service. Another option to consider is a dental preferred provider organization (PPO). With this option, you can access a select network of dentists. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Dental Insurance | Tags: health insurance, Individual health and dental insurance | No Comments »