Life Insurance Basics

Many of us buy life insurance because we want to make sure that our loved ones, especially dependents, remain financially secure after we die. Income replacement is the No. 1 reason people buy life insurance.
Non-earning caregivers also have an important - and often overlooked - economic value that should be covered by life insurance.
Life insurance is also purchased by those interested in achieving specific business or estate-transfer goals.
There are many types of life insurance policies depending on your goals, and there are huge price differences among different companies offering identical coverage. Policies are available from hundreds of life insurance companies in the United States. Most financial planners recommend that each family income provider carry no less than 10 times their annual income in life insurance.
Here's an orderly way to go about shopping for life insurance:

• 1) Assess your needed life insurance amount..
• 2) Decide on the most appropriate policy type for your goals.
• 3) Choose possible companies by setting high standards for financial stability ratings.
• 4) Shop until you find the best price.
• 5) Look at ways to get the best possible life insurance rate.

Life insurance is a long-term proposition, so you should pay particular attention, at time of purchase and throughout the life of the policy, to the financial stability ratings of your life insurance company. Ratings indicate a company's ability to pay claims.
Assessing your life insurance needs
The first step in life insurance planning is to analyze your life insurance needs - meaning the economic needs of dependents left behind. A great way to determine your coverage needs is to use an online calculator like Insure.com's Life Insurance Needs Estimator Tool.

• Before purchasing a life insurance policy, consider your financial situation and the standard of living you want to maintain for your dependents or survivors. For example, who will be responsible for your final medical bills and funeral costs? Would your family have to relocate or otherwise change their standard of living after losing your income? The assumption of immediate death is necessary to determine the current life insurance needs for a family or individual.

• Add in the longer term financial needs of the remaining family members, such as: children's expenses, income for the surviving spouse, mortgage and other debt payoffs, college education funds and an additional emergency fund.

Because life insurance needs change over time, your life insurance amount should be reevaluated periodically. We recommend a review at least once every five years or whenever you experience a major life event such as a change in income or assets, marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, or a major purchase such as a house or business.
In theory, you should have a declining need for life insurance as you age because fewer people remain dependent upon you for income support. Exceptions would be protecting a business entity or paying taxes on a large estate for heirs. If the purpose of buying life insurance is to pay estate taxes, then you'll need permanent life insurance, which is in-force as long as you live and pay premiums.

21+ Useful Insurance Terms You Should Know

INSURED - A person or a corporation who contracts for an insurance policy that indemnifies (protects) him against loss or damage to property or, in the case of a liability policy, defend him against a claim from a third party.
NAMED INSURED - Any person, firm or corporation specifically designated by name as an insured(s) in a policy as distinguished from others who, though unnamed, are protected under some circumstances. For example, a common application of this latter principle is in auto liability policies wherein by a definition of "insured", coverage is extended to other drivers using the car with the permission of the named insured. Other parties can also be afforded protection of an insurance policy by being named an "additional insured" in the policy or endorsement.
ADDITIONAL INSURED - An individual or entity that is not automatically included as an insured under the policy of another, but for whom the named insureds policy provides a certain degree of protection. An endorsement is typically required to effect additional insured status. The named insureds impetus for providing additional insured status to others may be a desire to protect the other party because of a close relationship with that party (e.g., employees or members of an insured club) or to comply with a contractual agreement requiring the named insured to do so (e.g., customers or owners of property leased by the named insured).
CO-INSURANCE - The sharing of one insurance policy or risk between two or more insurance companies. This usually entails each insurer paying directly to the insured their respective share of the loss. Co-insurance can also be the arrangement by which the insured, in consideration of a reduced rate, agrees to carry an amount of insurance equal to a percentage of the total value of the property insured. An example is if you have guaranteed to carry insurance up to 80% or 90% of the value of your building and/or contents, whatever the case may be. If you don't, the company pays claims only in proportion to the amount of coverage you do carry.
The following equation is used to determine what amount may be collected for partial loss:
Amount of Insurance Carried x Loss
Amount of Insurance that = Payment
Should be Carried
Example A Mr. Right has an 80% co-insurance clause and the following situation:
$100,000 building value
$ 80,000 insurance carried
$ 10,000 building loss
By applying the equation for determining payment for partial loss, the following amount may be collected:
$80,000 x $10,000 = $10,000
$80,000
Mr. Right recovers the full amount of his loss because he carried the coverage specified in his co-insurance clause.
Example B Mr. Wrong has an 80% co-insurance clause and the following situation:
$100,000 building value
$ 70,000 insurance carried
$ 10,000 building loss
By applying the equation for determining payment for partial loss, the following amount may be collected:
$70,000 x $10,000 = $8,750
$80,000
Mr. Wrong's loss of $10,000 is greater than the company's limit of liability under his co-insurance clause. Therefore, Mr. Wrong becomes a self-insurer for the balance of the loss-- $1,250.
PREMIUM - The amount of money paid by an insured to an insurer for insurance coverage.
DEDUCTIBLE - The first dollar amount of a loss for which the insured is responsible before benefits are paid by the insurer; similar to a self-insured retention (SIR). The insurer's liability begins when the deductible is exhausted.

Insurance In Tort Laws

INTRODUCTION
This project has been an eye opener for me. It is extremely relevant to the modern times and as the future of India we should understand that it is the common mass that runs the country. Consumer protection rights are an important issue in modern days. The law can be effectively used to stop any abuse of the common people especially illiterate masses who do not understand the rules and regulations which is to be followed while buying particular item. It is law, the controller of the entire society which can stop this abuse from taking place. It can place effective standards guiding a product's genuinity and the proper verification of its price. No extra taxes should be issued according to the seller's wish. I have proceeded by referring to the books written by Avtar Singh, Venkat Rao and others. It has been a wonderful and educational delight in going about this topic and making a project which is of greatest importance in the present day scenario.
DEFINITION OF CONSUMER
The words "consumer", "consumed", "consumption" is all cognate, and when one is defined, the contents of the definition go into all of them wherever they occur in the same act.
Section 2 of the act wherein 'consumer' is defined. According to him, the definition of the consumer will not take a client who engaged the advocate for professional services.
Consumer means any person who-
- Buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised or under any system or deferred payment and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or partly promised or under any system of deferred payment when such use is made with the approval of the person, but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose
- Hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised or under any system of deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who hires or avails of the services for the consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised or under any system of deferred payment when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person but does not include a person who avails of such services for any commercial support
In Black's Law Dictionary it is to mean:
One who consumes. Individuals who purchase, use, maintain or dispose of products and services. A member of that broad class of people who are influenced by pricing policies, financing practices, quality of goods and services, credit reporting debt collection and other trade practices for which the state and federal consumer laws are enacted.