What Makes A Good Insurance Company?
Insurance companies are everywhere these days, you need only do a quick search on the internet to find, a list of insurance companies all offering a variety of insurance products. In the past insurance was mostly only bought by people with lots of assets and by businesses, but these almost everyone is insured for something or the other, whether it be household, car or personal insurance. The insurance industry is big business, even supermarkets are now offering insurance. The insurance industry is big business because, many people pay high insurance premiums for a long time before or if ever they need to claim against it. And if you do not claim, all that money goes to the insurance company. This is why an insurance company will always assess your risk profile, and then work out your monthly premiums based on that. Another way they earn money is by gaining interest on peoples premiums. An insurance company with dishonest practices will try its best not to settle claims. They do this by finding every excuse in the book, to make it seem that the incident was not covered by the contract.
Licensing: It is very important that an insurance company must be licensed and registered with an insurance regulatory board, so that the insurance companies policies can be checked and regulated. This ensure that the insurance company is upholding the rules and ethics of the insurance industry. If you find that the insurance company you are currently dealing with has not been ethical you can report them to the regulatory board.
Transparency: The transparency of an insurance company, is extremely important. Many people have had the horrible experience, of after having had paid their monthly premiums, needed to claim on their insurance and the insurance company refused to pay out. It is important to check whether or not an insurance company has drawn up a contract in such a way that valuable information with regards to the pay out of claims is not hidden. The insurance company needs to clearly state the terms of agreement, such as length of contact, premiums to be paid, type of contract, and the losses covered. There must be no hidden clauses, or omissions. Another aspect of transparency is in the advertising section of the company. Check an insurance company for false advertising. False advertising is a way for insurance companies to lure people in with a good deal, and then one finds out all the other extra costs further down the line.
Reputation: The reputation of a company is a very good gauge for the practices of an insurance company. Many business who are not honest with their clients, forget that reputation and word of mouth advertising are important when it comes to running a sound lasting business. Check online or by people in your community what the general opinion of a particular insurance company is. Online forums are a great way for people to hear first hand experiences. A good insurance company will make timely payouts, and treat customers fairly from the very beginning.
If these 3 requirements are all present, you are most likely dealing with a good insurance company.
For more information about an insurance company visit the website http://www.insurance.co.za