Recent Posts
What Determines My Trip Cost?
Trip cost is a major factor in determining the price of travel insurance. As a result, travelers should understand what to include to keep premiums down.
Trip cost should only include pre-paid and non-refundable expenses. Airfare is typically pre-paid and therefore, should be included. Travelers should also include any excursions or tours that are non-refundable.
Examples of refundable trip costs include hotels that allow cancellations and car rentals. When using travel award reservations, customers would only include change or cancellations fees when determining their trip cost, and not the value of the reward booking, as travel insurance providers will only reimburse actually cash loss.
Policies with the Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption benefits reimburse travelers for loses if a trip is canceled for covered reasons, such as death or illness, etc.
read moreLawmaker in Colorado seeks to snuff out drivers who are stoned
A Colorado lawmaker wants to send a message to drivers: Don’t toke and drive.
In February, Colorado state Sen. Steve King introduced a bill that would limit the amount of marijuana that motorists can have in their blood before they’re considered too stoned to drive.
In a Denver Post article, King, a Republican, was quoted as saying, The privilege of smoking marijuana should stop at the vehicle door. He added that stoned drivers have been the cause of several traffic deaths in recent years.
How many dead is the number that will cause us to act?
Real Words from the Real World: National Flood Safety Awareness Week
Flooding is a risk that affects Americans from coast to coast, and it’s important to be informed about what you can do to protect your home and your family.
National Flood Safety Awareness Week is intended to highlight the ways that floods occur and provide tips on how to be prepared in case of a flood emergency. To help spread the word, FEMA and the Ready campaign have teamed up to provide Ready.gov, a great resource of information and emergency planning tools.
Check out the site for more info on what to do before, during, and after a flood, as well as details on how and why flooding occurs.
Don’t let floodwaters catch you off guard.
read moreSmall Business Insurance For Motor Trades and Traders
Thousands of people are employed in motor trades in the UK from car washers to mechanics, used car dealers to mobile car tuners, garage owners to coachbuilders, and the list goes on
The number of motor trades is expanding as fast as the technology. Insurers now have to cope with motor trades as diverse as telematics black box fitters to remote crypton tuners. However complex it may seem to a new mobile mechanic looking for cover, commercial motor trades insurance is actually a straightforward and optional component based risk as Dave Healey explains.
If you work in trades associated with cars or the automotive industry there will likely be times when you will need to drive cars that dont belong to you.
read moreIRC: Rate Trends Show Positive Results of Auto Insurance Reforms
A new report from the Insurance Research Council (IRC) claims that three states have seen more affordable pricing, better underwriting results and expanded coverage availability since enacting market reforms over the past 12 years.
The report looks at data from three states: South Carolina (which reformed its system in 1999), New Jersey (which reformed in 2004), and Massachusetts (which reformed in 2008).
“The results of this study show that regulatory reforms have led to a number of positive developments without leading to increases in insurance prices or reductions in availability or service quality,” said Elizabeth A.
read moreMinn. GOP Offers Premium Savings Accounts As Alternative To Exchanges
Minnesota Republicans are offering state-based health premium savings accounts as an alternative to a health care exchange that Democrats in the state want to implement as part of the federal health reform law.
Minn. Legislators Offer Competing Changes To Health Care
Republicans legislators Monday introduced a bill that they say would be a free-market alternative to a state-based health insurance exchange that is being considered by Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration. Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud said the plan would give people access to health premium accounts. Individuals could save money in those accounts to pay for health care costs later.
JLT beats rivals with 7% organic growth
Profit up 13% as emerging markets revenues soar
Broking group Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) achieved 7% organic revenue growth in 2011, beating fellow top-tier brokers Aon, Marsh, Willis and Arthur J Gallagher.
JLT’s Total revenues for 2011 were £818.8m, up 10% on 2010’s £746.3m. The broker’s 2011 profit before tax was also up, improving 13% to £134.5m (2010: 119.4%). Excluding £31.m of one-off costs, which ioncluded an £8.9m restructuring bill, the profit would have been £147.6m.
Profit after tax was down 2% at £88.7m (2010: £90.7m), but this was because a one-off £13.2m tax credit boosted the 2010 result.
“Our emphasis on being a client-first organisation continues to serve us well, as demonstrated by our strong growth record,” JLT chief executive Dominic Burke said in a statement.
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