subject: Untold Insurance Secrets [print this page] Untold Insurance Secrets
If not managed correctly, your insurance can turn into a total nightmare. If you do not know what you're doing when taking out insurance, you can easily be taken for a ride by insurance companies. Luckily this is more the exception rather than a rule, but some companies are only out there to make money. They might be charging you a ridiculous amount for a below-standard policy. This can be avoided by asking insurance companies a couple of simple questions:
It is important to know exactly what your policy will cover. Never ever assume that you will be completely covered, regardless of the type of insurance you take out! If the company knows that you are looking for the cheapest car insurance policy available (just to use an example) the might offer you a liability insurance or a third party insurance policy. This might sound very good to you, but do you realize that liability insurance only covers injuries and not damages? And third party insurance covers the other party's costs, not your damages and expenses! To avoid unpleasant surprises it is crucial to ensure that the company explains your policy to you in easy to understand terms!
Who do I contact when I'm involved in an accident? Some insurance companies try to make the claiming process as difficult as possible so that clients in the end just throw in the towel and forget about claiming. Make sure that you have the direct contact details for the person who will be responsible for handling your claim. Don't accept the "we will tell you once you've made your first payment" sales pitch. Insist on these details before spending a penny.
Do you offer value added services of discounts? Some companies offer value added services such as cash back bonuses if you don't claim for a certain period of time or discounts when you are a new customer or buy more than one insurance products from the same company. Companies are however not obliged to inform you about these special offers, so make sure that you enquire about it!
If you are offered a better policy by another company or you want to cancel your existing policy for any other reason, you should know what the procedure will be. You might be charged a percentage of your remaining premiums or you could be penalized with a hefty cancellation fee. Some insurance companies can even build in a clause which will not allow you to switch or cancel your policy before the end of your policy's term. This could result in a lot of money being thrown in the water as you will in effect be paying for something that you are not using or which doesn't exist anymore! Never allow insurance companies to keep you prisoner. It is your money; therefore it should be your decision!
Enquire about the restrictions on the policy. If we take car insurance as an example again, some companies will not cover you if you have standard car insurance and you are in an accident while on your way to see a client. They might come up with the excuse that you actually need business insurance in this case. The same goes for medical insurance. You should know if any conditions or procedures are excluded from the policy. This will have to be paid out of your own pocket and can be quite catastrophic if you are caught unaware!
If you're not happy with an insurance company's answers to these questions, rather take your business somewhere else!
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