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Thursday 14 July 2011

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Wednesday 13 July 2011

Insurance Claims Management With New Software Programs

The Role of Insurance Companies in Capital Markets
The insurance industry is a vital part of financial markets. Companies promote risk mitigation by offering individuals and organizations various types of insurance products. These products fall under two basic categories - life and non-life/general.
Proceeds from insurance products are converted to long-term investments on behalf and for the benefit of stakeholders, particularly insurance policyholders. These investments can be in the form of corporate stocks, government bonds, and other financial instruments that later earn a projected profit either upon a policyholder's death or at a specified period of time for the insured and his/her beneficiaries. Thus, aside from national and global economies, the insurance industry is essential to personal well-being as well.
Insurance Claims Management: Challenges and Good Practices of Client Service
Unlike life insurance, general assurance protects people and businesses from economic losses caused by natural disasters and human-made injuries, as well as related legal liabilities. In both cases, however, insurers are aware that it is imperative for them to satisfy policyholders with company services. With this context, some companies have developed software programs designed to assist client insurance providers in their claims management needs, such as producing timely and high-quality reports.
R. Qaiser's "Claims Management in General Insurance - Issues & Concerns" (n.d.) specifies underwriting and claims settlement as an insurance firm's key functions. The article notes that the latter "can be used as a marketing tool" and helps retain customers. It also states how necessary it is for insurance companies to "manage" the nitty-gritty aspects of claims processing that includes determining the "Average time being taken for the settlement of a claim and the claim settlement ratio and how it compares with other operators in the market." Moreover, "a corporate claims management philosophy" should be adopted to inspire insurance claims personnel in serving clients efficiently, including providing them with compensatory approaches, if applicable.
In 2004, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) adopted a set of guidelines for good practice for insurance claim management. The OECD Insurance Committee defined these guidelines that serve as a benchmark for insurance companies in its member countries, including the United States (US). Such measure is aimed to improve the industry's public image, to sustain its marketability, and to reduce losses. Adequate information and assistance to policyholders, good claim filing methods, and expeditious claim settlement were among the cited standards.
Providing Efficient Insurance Claims Service with New Software Programs
To help maintain a client base and achieve efficient claims management set by OECD, many companies have started developing software programs for insurance companies and professionals. With committed personnel and reliable IT (information technology) facilities that ensure confidentiality of data and are compatible with mobile communication gadgets like iPhone, some reputed companies have developed software tools that can document and help analyze critical insurance narratives, financial, and statistical information. Let us take a look at some of them.
• Claims Management Software programs generally cater to insurance and risk claims departments, third party claims administrators, and risk managers, especially those involved in legal cases. They feature an advanced search mechanism that easily finds one or more needed files, information, and transaction records for general insurance claims. They can produce reports that can be exported to spreadsheets, Microsoft Office applications, and ASCII text files.
• Some software programs track financial information relevant to construction defect litigation procedures. Data including payments, insurer shares, and other expenditures, are stored in a virtual repository that can be accessed anytime and anywhere by vendors, lawyers and claims handlers.
• Some software programs equip insurance claims professionals with activity documentation, organized notes, and database references. They also provide billing techniques that instantly monitor time-bound tasks. These include work periods and communication with clients through phone calls, faxes, and mails, among others.

Home Insurance

Everybody dreams of owning their own house someday. And once you achieve your dream you cherish it and take good care of it. You just can't help but feel proud of being able to live in a house of your dreams. But the dream does not end in there; you need to secure it by protecting it from any untoward incident, unexpected calamities, and disasters. One way of protecting your house is by having a good home insurance plan for it. A good home insurance plan does not cover only the structure of the house but it goes beyond that. It also covers the personal loss, medical expenses incurred, animal loss, and mental stress among others. In cases of fire, your home insurance plan covers burned down houses and all its personal properties and belongings. Even in situations where your house is hit by a falling aircraft your home is still covered by the home insurance plan.
Home insurance is expensive compared to other kinds of insurance. Since the value of home properties are higher and it also involves higher risk. You need to insure your home at its replacement cost, how much it would cost you to rebuild your home if it were destroyed. Being able to choose the right home insurance for your home is very important. Remember insurance may cost a lot but having no insurance cost more. So how do you choose the right insurance company without deplete your finances. First thing to do is to know the value of your property. Have a local contractor give you estimates for rebuilding your property so that you will know the replacement cost of your house. Search for not only one insurance company but at least six. So that you will be able to compare their quotes and choose who among them offers the best deal for you.
Know the company's background and reputation especially in situation regarding claims. They may be slow in giving claims. Check too the financial capabilities of the insurance company. Are they stable enough to be able to pay claims at a short notice, You don't want to insure your home to a company who might not be stable enough to last for a very long time.
Know what you are getting in to. Take note of every detail that is in the insurance contract. You owe it to yourself to scrutinize every detail of what is covered and what is not. The exclusions section must also be read carefully. Information is the best protection you can give to your self. Always keep records, and photos concerning the house and events that transpired that may have affected in one way or another home. In cases of robbery get police report if needed.
Insuring your home will give you peace of mind. As long as you have chosen the right home insurance plan you cannot go wrong. Have your house safeguarded and protected by insuring it. You can never go wrong in protecting your most valuable asset, your house

More About Car Insurance Types

People are naturally apprehended by things that are unpredictable, more so, if such can wreak havoc to their physical bodies and investments. Such risks to lives and properties have merited the attention of many scientists, who have put forth great amounts of time and energy attempting to manipulate and predict risks. That risks continue to be unscheduled to this day is somewhat a testament that it has been an exercise in vain.
Perhaps, not entirely, because their efforts have led other sectors and branches of discipline to, at the very least, alleviate the intense losses suffered by those who fall to a risk. The financial industry, for instance, have developed systems of risk management. On an individual level, savings account can be opened for people to prepare for risks and other emergencies. On a corporate level, risks can be shared among members of a group.
Hence, the idea of insurance is born into people's consciousness. Now, The person paying this cost-the insured-has found a way to be protected from the cost of negative risks, by simply anticipating them and paying for the cost little by little. Of course, the insurance provider-or, insurer-also takes risks in the transaction, in that the cost of the risk may be greater, especially if it happens shortly after enforcing the insurance policy.
Of the insurance types available today, car insurance, specifically the Third Party coverage, is perhaps most common and often legally mandated by many governing bodies. The prevalence of car use as a mode of transportation is a strong case for obligating drivers to procure one. Aside from this, people on the wheels have to take into account other relationships besides with their own car and passengers. There are other drivers and passengers on the road, pedestrians, and properties belonging to private individuals and the government.
Some drivers will add other types of insurance coverage besides their existing public insurance policies. One that is often neglected and overlooked is the Underinsured or Uninsured Motorists (UM/UIM) coverage. This is rather important in the event of an accident wherein the party at fault is not covered by any type of insurance, or is covered insufficiently. With UIM coverage, the insurer pays for the hospital bills of the insured and liaisons with the driver-or his insurance provider-faulted for the accident.
Smarter driver often go for full coverage to be hedged from losses incurred as a result of risks, described as 'acts of God', such as severe weather conditions. Other damages as a result of fire, theft, or animal attacks are also covered under such car insurance. Full coverage is a combination of Comprehensive and Collision coverage, both of which are deductibles, paid outside of the premium. Driver who wants to pay a lower premium often choose to just pay these deductibles out-of-the-pocket.
A growing trend in the industry of car insurance is the online process of procuring one. More and more drivers are going to the Internet to acquire insurance according to their needs and type of vehicle.

Dental Insurance

Dental check ups, teeth cleaning, root canals, tooth extractions and teeth fillings are some of the dental care and treatments that one needs to go through at one point in our life. It could be monthly, quarterly or even annually depending on the kind of care and treatment needed. The dental care and treatment mentioned are very expensive now days but one cannot disregard the fact that we need this to take good care of out dental requirements and problems. A solution to this dilemma is to have a dental insurance that will cover the cost of your dental needs but it has to be reasonably priced and at the same time it has the benefits that you really need. Finding the perfect dental insurance for your needs and requirements is not easy thing to do. Decision will have to be based on careful evaluation of your needs and wide-range of research dental insurance plan.
The first step is to study and find out what might be your dental requirements. Are you the type of person who have big dental problems and will probably need to consult a dentist often than normal, or are you the kind who just needs check ups and maintenance from time to time. If you are on the first group then what you need is a comprehensive dental plan since, this kind of plan covers the entire cost of major dental treatments. Although, you have to bear in mind that a comprehensive dental plan would also command a higher premium rate. But on the other hand, if you do not really need more than the normal dental care you could opt for just a maintenance dental plan. It has much lower premium rates than the comprehensive dental plan. Always compare one dental insurance company from another in order to find the cheapest rate with the right dental care policy without having to sacrifice the services and benefits you would get in return.
There are different kinds of dental insurance plan being offered, the indemnity plan, self-insurance plan, closed panel plan, capitation plan, preferred provider organization, direct reimbursement plan, dental care service plan. Indemnity dental insurance plan is a fee for service plan and you are allowed to choose your own dentist. It has co-payment options and an annual limit on the coverage of dental spending and dental procedures Self-insurance plan has similarities to indemnity plan but the distinct difference is. You cannot choose your own dentist. Closed panel plan has limited used of facilities and the number of dentist available to you. Preferred Provider Organization is also limited to a group of dentists who are available to provide dental care at a lower cost.
Direct Reimbursement Plan allows the employer to directly reimburse their employees for dental care and services they received. Lastly, Dental Care Service Plan uses a group of dentist who forms a non-profit organization to provide dental care and services at fixed fees.
There are many options available to you that are suited to your needs and requirements. All you need to do is find the right one by asking people who are knowledgeable in this field, or searching in the internet. You can even ask the advice of you dentist. He might be able to give you some sound advice regarding dental insurance plan.