Insurance Agents – Getting Started in a Career in Insurance
Posted by in Insurance Career on September 17, 2011
An insurance career, like any career in sales, has the potential for great rewards with a bit of luck and hard work. At the same time, as most agents are for the most part independent and paid entirely based on commission, there is no salary to fall back on and no one to carry you when times get hard.
Although many insurance companies will require that new agents they hire have a college education, this is not required by the state and many independent agents set up private brokerages and sell coverage and policies from various companies without actually working for any individual company. In general, if you are just getting started in your insurance career, it is easiest to start out with a company or brokerage of some kind, where you can work with and learn from your fellow agents.
For more information about how to obtain an insurance license in your state (each state has rules and regulations that are specific to that state, even though these are usually similar across different states), contact your state Department of Insurance, or contact the National Insurance Producer Registry, an organization that works hand-in-hand with many states to help new agents get licensed.
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How Can You Trust An Insurance Company?
Posted by in Insurance Companies on September 17, 2011
With insurance costs on the rise, selecting the right income protection insurance or other insurance company right for you can be a little confusing. It is important to remember that insurance companies are like any other and they are selling products and services to make profit. Too many people pay money for years only to find out that their insurance company finds a way to not honour their payment in a time of need. So how do we deal with this issue?
Get over the marketing. Insurance companies have a million and one ways to try and convince us they are reliable and will always be there for you. With names like ‘Trust’, ‘Care’, ‘Life Long’ (disclaimer – these are only examples and do not refer to any particular company) you have to understand that they will use all the possible tools of marketing to get your business. When it comes to paying out your claim they have an entirely different approach. Ignore names, branding, images and the like. Understand that it is all marketing and not making legal promises. What counts is what you pay and what you get – nothing else.
Get real about them not paying. Many insurance companies, including life insurance, home and contents etc, have particular people that are employed not to pay you. This has been exposed a number of times in the media and you need to get real about it. Individuals or organisations that increase their income to find ways to knock back claims. Insurance companies would not make money if they paid out more than they earned. So not paying is something that they must take seriously. They must investigate situation and protect themselves against fraudulent claims, and this will mean many measures inside their company to investigate your claim. Because of the competitive nature of business, you can naturally expect those in the business of investigating claims to be paid incentives when finding legal reasons not to pay – this is just the nature of any modern business today.
Read their claims. Understand when you see a statement made by any company it does not mean they are making a legally binding agreement with you. Many statements are not legally binding agreements and are purely marketing. Don’t be fooled by what is what.
Understanding contracts. The reality is that contracts are made up of many definitions and terms. You must refer to the definitions of these terms. The reason why a claim is not paid is often based on the definition of a word used in the contract. Do not take words in a contract to mean what they normally do in plain language.
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Types of Security Guard Insurance Coverage
Posted by in Insurance Coverage on September 17, 2011
Security guard insurance is vital in today’s business environment. It protects both security guard agencies and the companies they safeguard. There are various policy endorsements available to security guard companies and adding some or all of the following available options can provide the full protection needed in this high risk industry.
Assault & Battery
Security guard insurance can include clauses to cover guards in the event they are accused of assault and battery while in the course of their duties. Assault and battery is a crime whereby a person makes physical contact with another while also threatening that person in some way. For guards this could be a person alleging the use of unreasonable, physical force.
Broad Form Property Damage
Broad form property damage is the general commercial liability portion of security guard insurance. It is the principal form of insurance coverage and provides extended protection over basic potential causes of loss or property damage to a client’s property or even the inability for client to use that property.
Error & Omissions (Professional Liability)
Error & omissions insurance is also known as professional liability insurance, and it is an important coverage option for security guard insurance. It protects the company against claims of financial loss due to failure or negligence while delivering professional security services. In particular, this insurance feature protects the business with regard to legal defense fees and any settlement expenses incurred.
Personal Injury
Security insurance should also include protection for personal injury risks including libel, slander and false arrest. Some policies now specifically exclude false arrest claims. Personal injury endorsements will indemnify the security company from accusations of false arrest or detention by a hired guard as well as libel or slander claims.
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