Insurance and The Engineer

The world is no longer right when the two words, Engineer and Insurance are used together, side by side in a conversation. Individually they are words that justify their use, with their own explanations and own meanings as those that compile dictionaries see fit! They each serve their own purpose until such a time as when they are used in the same sentence or even on the same page. Engineer and Insurance cannot be used together anymore, yes there was a time when this topic had no base but here and today it can be seen that the words are not in any sense synonymous with each other.

The dictionary tells us that, insurance is “a thing providing protection against a possible event” or “money paid to insure against something or by an insurance company in the event of damage, injury, etc”. Well, that tells us something although it is a bit confusing.

The dictionary tells us that an Engineer is “a person qualified in Engineering” and also it says that an Engineer is “a person who controls an Engine or a Machine”. And there we have it. It is sad that one cannot now look up “Insurance Engineer” or Engineering Insurance” to gain some valuable insight into what is involved and to shed some light on this matter.

What sadly and inadvertently sparked this subject was by what an Engineering Superintendent once said to a Ships Engineer whilst they supped beer in a bar one night. The Engineer was naturally complaining about the lack of spares that are made available to the ships he was on. NB: This is a frequent grumble of Engineers and probably does have value and meaning the world over, no company liking to part with expensive spares if they can help it. Anyway, the Superintendent, true to form agreed with the ships Engineer and blamed everything on the paper pushing bosses upstairs, current ships budgets and the economy, thus he followed all the usual avenues that Superintendents typically use in this regard. The superintendent unfortunately took one too many sips of his beer and forgetting that he had long since crossed the fence from Ships’ staff to Office staff, let slip a snippet of conversation that he had either been party to or that his big ears had accidentally sounded out.

The statement was relayed like this: “It is not our policy to purchase spares for our vessels, we would rather wait until the equipment fails and then claim it back on Insurance”.

Stunned is the word that comes to mind. Shock, disbelief and outrage could follow close second. The Engineer and the Superintendent naturally turned to other topics like discussing fellow Engineers and their faults before finally retiring to their respective beds and forgetting all about what had been discussed. Except for the Engineer who for some reason or other could never quite rid the Superintendents “slip” from his mind. And can anyone blame him?

Engineers struggle to perform their duties within parameters given and in often harsh and unforgiving environments but given the essential shore back up they invariably perform their duties well and to a high degree of end performance and safety standards. The dictionary states quite clearly that Engineers are qualified persons looking after machinery. Machinery needs both adequate spares and Engineers to provide a safe working environment and to keep the machinery and equipment in satisfactory working order. A machine that is awaiting a future Insurance Claim is not a safe working machine and the Engineer has failed in his duty to keep the Machine or Engine functioning. From an Insurance point of view an Engineer and required spares are the “things” that provide protection against a possible event.

Due to modern systems of communication and the fact that spares are readily available in most ports of the world it is not common practice to build up large stocks of spares on vessels. It is largely entrusted and accepted by Engineers and Office staff alike that when the Engineer orders spares he does so because he needs them. He orders spares through the company whilst retaining the knowledge that they should arrive at the next port of call or at the latest within one month or so. The Engineer furthermore orders them because he predicts a use for them. By placing such an order he is, without his being fully aware of doing so, enacting Insurance on the Machinery that he has ordered spares for. He is providing protection against a probable event, which in this case is his Insurance to keep the machine or engine in a functional and safe working condition - as prescribed by the duties of an Engineer.

To recap in simplified form: The Engineer insures his machinery by replacing worn or used parts as he sees necessary to maintain a certain piece of equipment in a satisfactory working and safe condition.

The Company in this regard have failed in their duty to the Engineer, by not supplying the necessary spares as the Engineer deems necessary to fulfill his duties.

Insurance contributions or money paid to an Insurer is a costly business when considering the size and scale of what is involved. To wait for failure and thus save money on spares and to have the cost attributed to failure, with the subsequent repair of the equipment paid for by the Insurance Company, must seem “great” to the Ship Owner/Manager. There he is having his money returned to him by those who take most out of his budget and into the bargain the Insurance Company pay for all damages invoked by the failure, stoppage times and subsequent replacement of the failed equipment.

An Engineer who is working on a vessel where spares will not be sent out upon request becomes a useless Engineer. Now preferably called a Caretaker with no skills or interest in insuring his property simply due to a lack of usable items to effect such. An Engineer is (was) Insurance against equipment failure as long as he has at his disposal the spares necessary - without these he negates any Insurance that goes with the title of Engineer. He is qualified to maintain and look after engines and equipment, but he only becomes Insured (the ‘thing’) if he has the necessary backup from ashore. Take that back-up away and we are left with a qualified yet uninsured Engineer. He cannot perform his duties satisfactorily, he cannot give insurance that his machines will perform well and safely under his care, he cannot fulfill his duties in any shape or form whatsoever and thus is a liability to all concerned.

An Engineer has thus become through no fault of his own an Insurance liability to all concerned and that is why we cannot use Engineer and Insurance in the same sentence - it hurts and badly.

Author and Webmaster of Seamania. As a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy he has sailed the world for fifteen years. Now living in Taiwan he writes about cultures across the globe and life as he sees it.

[tags]insurance,engineers,engineering,sailing,ships[/tags]

Key Person Life Insurance

Small businesses help keep our country going. But a small business needs help to keep going after the loss of someone vital to the company. There are options available you need to know about.

KEY PERSON IS ANYONE WHO IS IMPORTANT

In small to medium size businesses, the key person may be the business owner, a top sales rep or the person who does the financing. What would happen to that company if one of these key people were to suddenly die? There may be a rough period of transition until a replacement is found. If the owner was the one to die, that could mean the resulting death of the company. Losing the top sales person may mean losing some of those accounts that kept the business running.

YOU NEED LIFE INSURANCE ON THE KEY PERSON

The key person is someone who is vital to the company; someone who cannot be easily replaced and whose knowledge is key to the company. By not recognizing the affect the death of this person may have on the organization, a business may be setting itself up for failure. A few simple steps can be taken that will help ensure the business will be prepared for the unexpected.

KEY PERSON LIFE INSURANCE FOR THE COMPANY

Key person life insurance can do several things for a company. It can give them the means to establish a business continuation plan. It can provide the economic means to find a replacement and give them the training needed to fulfill the duties of the person that was lost.

In situations where the death of the owner otherwise means the death of the company, key person life insurance can be used to pay existing debt and allow for an orderly transition to take place.

IS KEY PERSON LIFE INSURANCE IMPORTANT FOR YOU?

The need for key person life insurance depends on your circumstances; maybe you haven’t thought about the need or even considered it. If your business relies on you or key associates, you need to think about what exactly it is that you need to protect.

Ivon T. Hughes of The Hughes Trustco Group is a licensed Insurance Broker. Author of The Life Insurance Handbook. Get a FREE Copy TODAY!
Email: info@trustco.ca Web: http://www.hughestrustco.com

[tags]key person, life insurance[/tags]

Knowing Me, Knowing You Why ID Protection Plans Are Flawed For Fraud

ID theft is a major consumer concern, though there is apparently much confusion about proactive protection initiatives and apparently safe and unsafe spending behaviour. For example, many consumers remain reluctant about shopping online, but they may still give out personal details over the phone in a cold call, or they may have redundant or dormant accounts and financial products which are susceptible to fraud.

If reducing fraud vulnerability wasn’t sufficiently difficult already, consumers are now being offered anti-ID theft services and ID protection insurance by banks, insurance companies and credit reference agencies. There is considerable debate around such policies however, as they do not offer full financial compensation. In The Observer last week, Richard Brown, Chief Executive of consumer finance site moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk ) stated that:

“Few, if any, of them appear to offer insurance protection against actual financial loss in the event that a credit company, for example, refuses to cover the loss - and this is what consumers really need. While ID protection services may have a degree of value, they shouldn’t be used as a reason to take an otherwise uncompetitive product.”

Brown continued that consumers could actually take out simple, cost effective measures against ID theft such as buying a shredder and checking credit reports regularly. The National Consumer Council ( http://www.ncc.org.uk/ ) takes a similar approach, advising consumers to avoid becoming a victim of credit card and identity fraud by:

* Not giving personal information away too easily

* When passing details over the phone, do ensure it’s to a legitimate business. Ask friends and family for recommendations

* Shred all documents with sensitive personal data

* Choose your bank security details carefully and avoid obvious passwords

* Avoid carrying around details of your address with your credit cards

* Close any accounts you no longer need

* Check your credit file at the credit reference agencies on an annual basis

Callcredit states warning signs of identity theft and identity fraud could include:

* Bank or credit card statements start disappearing or fail to appear in the first place

* Some of your mail goes missing

* Items on your credit card bill which you did not purchase

* A debt collection agency contacts you about goods you did not order or even an account you did not open

* You receive phone calls for accounts you know nothing about

* Royal Mail writes to your address about a mail redirection order you did not request

However, by just incorporating some of the measures above and keeping a regular check on your finances (e.g. don’t activate that second credit card and then put in a box for a year!), a great deal of financial protection is already set in place and you don’t have to pay a penny.

Examples of standard protection within English law encompass:

* Protection from forged signatures on cheques

* Protection from forged signatures in documents which enforce an action (the prosecution has to prove that you made the signature, rather than you prove that you didn’t)

If your credit card is stolen (or lost), you should be fully protected providing you report the missing credit card within 24 hours of the loss or theft.

If you have never had your credit record checked why not give it a go?

* Callcredit offers a service from http://www.mycallcredit.com/home.asp starting from

The Life Insurance Policy and What You Need to Know Before You Buy

Are you looking to buy a life insurance policy? Well, be careful. Life insurance can be difficult to understand and it’s easy to be conned into buying something under false pretenses.

Recently a prominent life insurance company together with several of its agents paid a huge fine because it permitted the sale of a life insurance policy disguised as a retirement plan. There was little attention given to what a life insurance policy is truly designed to provide.

Life insurance is not an investment for your benefit. It’s guaranteed income tax-free cash paid to someone you designate in the event of your death. If you love someone and want to protect them, then buying a life insurance policy makes sense.

As primary bread winner in your family, your lost income could jeopardize the ability of those you love to continue to enjoy their standard of living.

The only way to guarantee an immediate replacement of this money is with the intelligent purchase of a life insurance policy.

Notice I didn’t say term life insurance, low cost life insurance, or whole life insurance.

To your loved ones … this doesn’t really matter.

Over the years I’ve delivered millions of dollars of life insurance benefit to the families of deceased bread winners. And you know what?

No one ever asked me what type of life insurance policy it was. They were just extremely grateful to get the money.

Term is the cheapest, but it’s unlikely the death benefit will be paid since the life insurance policy will probably lapse before you actually die. Right now the premium may seem cheap compared with other types. But what happens when you’re older?

Term life insurance premiums can be level for a specific number of years, but when that number of years is up the price will skyrocket to the point you won’t be able or willing to pay.

Whole life insurance provides a lifetime level premium until the policy is paid-up. This can be 10 years, 20 years … or when you reach age 65, 85 or 100. One big advantage is you don’t have to worry about your policy expiring before you do.

One type of life insurance policy is not necessarily better than another. But it’s critical you understand what you are buying, how it works and your net cost.

After all, if the policy isn’t in force when you die you have thrown your premium dollars right down a rat hole.

By the way, don’t fall for that line about buy term and invest the difference. Anyone who cons you with this bunch of malarkey has absolutely no idea how to intelligently evaluate the purchase of life insurance.

An excellent life insurance policy to consider is universal life. This guarantees the death benefit up to age 115 regardless of the performance of the underlying investment.

Although more expensive then term life insurance, universal life is far less costly than a typical whole life insurance policy. But be careful because some universal life policies are sold by focusing on projected interest rates rather than contractual guarantees.

If you are considering the purchase of a whole life insurance policy from a mutual company that declares annual dividends, ask the agent for a hypothetical illustration using a dividend forecast at least one percent less than the current rate.

In the past, when long-term interest rates were higher, mutual companies credited very handsome dividends to their policies. But today with long-term rates still depressed, it’s unlikely a life insurance policy will perform as illustrated.

In summary, pay close attention to the guarantees of whatever life insurance policy you decide to buy. Also, make sure you know the credit rating of the life insurance company.

There is nothing wrong with term life insurance, but understand your options about converting to a permanent plan. This could be critical if you become uninsurable before the policy expires.

Don Adams is a 24 year veteran financial consultant who provides easy to understand personal finance advice on a wide variety of money matters.

[tags]life insurance policy, term life insurance, whole life insurance, life insurance company[/tags]

Affordable Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance provides you with a more affordable opportunity to ensure you mortgage payments in the unfortunate event of your death. Even though they are offered for a limited time-period, but you can always match them up with your mortgage payment cycles of 10 or 20-year contracts. For the budget conscious, this definitely seems to be a smarter alternative for a low cost death benefit.

Insurance companies offer cheap term life insurance policies with different contract time periods, conversion credit during the first five years and transferable waiver of premium.

Affordable alternatives are available through comparison-shopping at various online insurance intermediaries’ websites. Other than being a cheaper option, term life insurance is better in other aspects when compared to a mortgage life insurance. There are much personalization options available for a term life insurance policy. The proceeds from a term life insurance go directly to the beneficiaries instead of the lender, so the money can be used by your dependents as desired which could be even to pay off other debts. Term life insurance also pays a death benefit. According to NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners), the companies pay almost 90 cents to the dollar in benefits for term life insurance policies. Typically the whole life insurance will be 2 to 3 times costlier than a term life insurance.

Term life insurance offers the cheapest alternative to provide insurance coverage for your dependents. It has allowed individuals under budget-crunch situations to buy policies with larger payout amounts due to the limited term of the coverage. So, if you can renew your term life insurance regularly during your lifetime, you have actually found an affordable alternative to expensive whole life insurance.

Term Life Insurance provides detailed information about term life insurance, group term life insurance, and more. Term Life Insurance is affiliated with Dental Insurance Plan.

[tags]term life insurance, group term life insurance[/tags]

Homeowner Insurance Rates

Given the amount of expenses involved in purchasing a house, it makes great sense to safeguard it against any damages that may result due to any disaster such as floods, earthquakes, lightening and fire. Then again, your property may be damaged as a result of acts of vandalism or riots; calamities come uninvited and without warning. Safeguarding against them is a necessity one cannot afford to ignore.

There are many homeowner insurance policies available in the market. Check out the Internet, yellow pages, newspapers and talk to your friends. You will come across companies offering homeowner insurance policies at competitive rates. Most will offer attractive discounts. Yet discounts will vary from company to company and from state to state. Whatever the case, get a few quotes from reputable companies and do a comparative study of the coverage that is offered and also the associated rates.

Plan judiciously and you can keep the rates of the policies in check. In fact, one way to keep the rate of the premiums low is to protect your home against natural disasters such as fire, theft and other calamities. For example, you can add storm shutters, reinforce the roof, install a burglar alarm, and maintain your plumbing and heating. All these measures will help reduce the cost of your premiums.

Another option would be to opt for higher deductibles. Deductibles are the costs that you have to pay before the insurance company moves in to settle the claim. The higher the deductible, the lower will be the cost of the premiums. Other factors to consider are if you are 55 years of age, retired and stay at home most of the time, you will be eligible for a higher discount. This is because then there are fewer chances of the home being burglarized or damaged by fire if you are at home. Also, you can further bring down the rates of your premiums if you buy multiple insurances from the same agent. For example, you’ll get a better discount if you purchase your auto and homeowner insurance policy from the same agent.

Home Owners Insurance provides detailed information about home owners insurance, home owners insurance faq, homeowner insurance companies, homeowner insurance policies and more. Home Owners Insurance is the sister site of First Residential Mortgage.

[tags]home owners insurance,home owners insurance faq,homeowner insurance companies[/tags]

Why Third Party Administrators (TPA’s) Use Independent Review Organizations (IROs)

In today’s competitive health care environment, third party administrators (TPAs) turn to Independent Review Organizations (IROs) to assure fast and cost effective claims decision making on the most expensive and complex treatments for the patients they are administering benefits to. Third party administrators lack fundamental medical decision making that’s required to successfully administer health care benefits. Many TPAs have a part-time medical director. The director may be part time or come into the office for an hour or two a week to look at the most difficult treatments. But for TPAs administering patient populations of any size, it’s difficult for a part-time medical director to keep up with the workflow necessary to adjudicate claims quickly and cost effectively.

In order to solve this problem, many third party administrators are turning to Independent Review Organizations (IROs). TPAs can easily send questionable cases requiring special medical knowledge to their IRO outsourcing partner for speedy decision making, knowing that each member getting fair, objective and unbiased attention. Third party administrators that use IROs get high speed decision making, lower costs for adjudicating complex claims and meeting regulatory compliance for any approval or denial of benefits. Many third party administrators use IROs not only to look at their most complex cases but also to provide fractional medical director services. AllMed has several clients who not only use us to do independent medical reviews but also use our medical director staff to attend regular utilization review meetings and claims adjudication meetings as a part of the TPA staff function. TPAs that use IROs this way greatly benefit from having a strong, integrated working relationship with the medical staff that only an IRO can provide cost effectively.

About AllMed Healthcare Management
Founded in 1995, AllMed is a URAC-accredited Independent Review Organization (IRO) serving insurance payers, providers, TPAs and claims managers nationwide. Reviews are conducted by board-certified physicians in active practice. AllMed’s growing customer base for its independent medical review and hospital peer review services includes premier organizations, such as Educator’s Mutual Life, IMS Managed Care, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, HealthGuard, several Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Allianz and many other leading healthcare payers. Read the AllMed Medical News Blog and the Independent Review Organization Blog.

[tags]medical, medicine, healthcare, insurance, hospital, health[/tags]

Payment Protection - What’s All The Fuss

In recent months you’ll have seen lots of comment in the UK press about the evils of Payment Protection Insurance. In our view, the problem is not so much about what the insurance does, but more about how it’s sold.

Payment Protection Insurance protects borrowers who fear they’d be unable to maintain their debt repayments if they lost their income due to illness, accident or unemployment. The basic idea of the insurance is sound but the problem is that to make a valid claim, you have to satisfy certain criteria and quite a few people fail to do this. For example, if your job is seasonal or casual, or your illness was due to back pain, you won’t be able to claim. In fact only 4% of policyholders make a claim and one in six of claims are rejected.

However, the worst aspect is that lenders have clearly pressurised some people into buying Payment Protection Insurance when they really didn’t need it - either because their employer will continue to pay them if they’re off ill or they already have other types of insurance that provide similar benefits or the nature of their employment would disqualify them from claiming. Indeed, according to Defaqto the financial researcher, 60% of online credit card companies and 30% of loan providers fail to show you the terms and conditions for the insurance before signing you up. It’s these terms and conditions that tell you when you can’t claim.

Only a few months ago FSA’s published the results of its mystery shopper investigation into Payment Protection Insurance. This concluded that around half of the lenders shopped failed to explain the details and exclusions to customers or ensure the insurance was suitable for their clients. Whilst the investigation didn’t conclude that lenders were compulsorily selling PPI, they found it was frequently added to loan quotations without it being explained that the insurance was optional.

And even worse in our view, many lenders do not explain the full cost of the insurance. In many cases the full cost of the insurance (for the entire period of the loan), was being added to the loan as a lump sum at the outset rather than being paid as a monthly premium. This effectively means that the borrower cannot cancel the insurance without paying off the entire loan - and interest is charged on the insurance premium!

Now after months of deliberation the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has at last shown its teeth. It’s told Banks, Building Societies and other lenders that they could be forced to cease selling Payment Protection Insurance alongside loans and mortgages if they fail to clean up their act.

In a confidential letter sent to the Council of Mortgage Lenders leaked to the National Press, the FSA threatens to bring in “corrective actions” if Payment Protection Insurance continues to be miss-sold. The memo goes on to indicate that the FSA would prefer the lenders to put themselves in-order, but if necessary, the FSA threatens action. Its most likely directive would be that sales PPI must be made quite separately to the sale of the loan or credit facility. This will clearly hit lenders profits as last year alone they earned over

Budget for Closing Costs Loan Origination Fees and PMI

Once you reach an agreement on the purchase of a home, things start moving quickly. In the chaos, it is important to remember to budget for closing costs.

Budget for Closing Costs - Loan Origination Fees and PMI

Closing costs are fees associated with miscellaneous events associated with a home purchase, things such as property inspections. Even if you are purchasing a home for the first time, you are probably aware there are closing costs that have to be paid. Rarely, however, are you aware of just home much and how fast the can accumulate. If you have not budgeted for them, they can put a kink in the closing or even cause you to lose the home.

A couple of closing costs to keep in mind are origination fees for home loans and private mortgage insurance. The mortgage related costs are only a small part of the overall closing costs you can face, but deserve a closer look.

Origination fees for home loans can be a shock to first time buyers. Few realize they are going to have to pay such things. Origination fees are costs charged by a lender for services used to determine if the lender should give you a loan in the first place. For example, a lender will charge you fees for obtaining a copy of your credit report, having an appraisal done for the property. Infuriatingly, the lender will also charge you fees for processing the loan and preparing the loan documents. You may also have to pay points, which represent a percentage of the total loan, often one or two percent. On a $300,000 loan, the origination fees can quickly add up to thousands of dollars.

Private mortgage insurance, often called PMI, can also be a nasty little surprise. The magic number when considering PMI is 20 percent. If you make a down payment on the home that is less than this amount, you are almost certainly going to have to pay PMI. PMI is simply insurance that protects the lender should you default on the loan. The cost can add up to hundreds of dollars, so make sure you know what is expected of you.

Closing costs are aggravating, particularly when you feel like you are being nickel and dimed to death. Budget for them up front, and you will feel less aggravation.

Sergio Haros is with Great Western Mortgage - San Diego Mortgage Brokers - providing San Diego home loans. Great Western Mortgage is a San Diego mortgage company writing San Diego mortgages and San Diego refinance and home equity loan.

[tags]closing, closing costs, escrow, loan origination, pmi, private mortgage insurance[/tags]

The Importance of Mortgage Life Insurance

Let’s face it - mention things mortgage life insurance - in fact anything personal finance related - and we all know that it is as dull as dishwater. However, without things like mortgage life cover - life could be a lot harder financially.

So, what is mortgage life insurance and what is so great about it?

In a nutshell, in the event of you or your partner dying, mortgage life insurance can mean that the difference between keeping a roof over your head or ending up having your home repossessed - a frightening thought.

And while many of us find organising something like life insurance a sombre business as it makes us face our mortality, it is the fair and right thing to do for your partner and any next of kin to make sure that your finances are in order in the event of your death.

So why do you need mortgage life insurance cover? A mortgage life insurance policy runs for a fixed policy term - most people take it put to run concurrent with their mortgage. Should you die before the end of the term period, the policy can help pay off outstanding balance of the mortgage on your home. This will be in the form of a cash sum.

This means that your dependants will not have the financial worry of trying to find the mortgage repayments in the event of your death. Neither will they have to worry about selling up and maybe downsizing in order to keep a roof over their heads - the last things that you would want to put them through.

The good thing about mortgage life insurance is that you only pay for the cover that you need - so as the amount outstanding on your mortgage decreases, you are only paying out for the level of cover you require.

Mortgage life policies are available on a single or joint life basis. If you have a joint life policy, the amount is paid out on the first claim only. You can decide how long you want the policy to run for - and as we mentioned before, most people have it to run concurrent with their mortgage - and in most cases you can have additional benefits such as critical illness cover for an additional premium.

With critical Illness benefit the policy pays out either on death or on the diagnosis of a specified critical illness (such as certain cancers, triple artery bypass) - whichever occurs first. Check with your chosen insurance provider as to what illnesses are covered, as they can vary from insurer to insurer.

If the policy is paid out before the end of the policy term, it ceases. And if the policy is in force at the end of the term, it will have no cash in value.

If you are looking for mortgage life insurance, then do shop around and do not automatically accept the first quotation you get. Premiums as well as terms of the policy and other benefits can vary wildly from provider to provider and you could be surprised just how cheap mortgage life insurance can be, without any compromise on cover.

Jason Hulott is Business Development Director of Protection Insurance. Protection Insurance is an internet based insurance business dedicated to getting consumers the very best insurance rates and the best products. Visit our Life insurance section and get a quote for mortgage life insurance

[tags]life insurance ,critical Illness cover, life cover, mortgage life insurance[/tags]