Category Archives: Insurance

How To Take The Stress Out Of Moving House

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In terms of stress and anxiety, psychiatrists claim moving house is actually on par with getting divorced and experiencing bereavement! But some of the strain can be avoided by planning properly. If you organise yourself weeks before the move, your chances of having a smooth ride on the big day increase dramatically!

Packing
Packing all your belongings to move house can easily turn into a nightmare if you’re not organised and prepared. It can take a whole day to pack up a room full of belongings and furniture, so plan in advance and draw up a schedule of what you want to complete to give yourself targets. Packing all of your belongings can seem daunting but don’t struggle on your own; get your family and friends to help you out!

Ensure you have enough packing materials to carry all your stuff, as realising you don’t have enough boxes to carry everything is a sure fire way to increase stress levels on the big day! You should also make sure the containers you use are of good quality as old cardboard boxes have a nasty habit of splitting open at just the wrong moment!

First of all you should try and pack things that you don’t use regularly. As the day gradually gets closer you can begin packing the items you use more often so on move day you should just be able to quickly grab your last few belongings. By the time you’ve finished packing everything it will be nearly impossible to remember the specific items that are stored in each box. So clearly label each one as you fill it. This will make it easier to unpack at the other end as your removal team will know which room to put each box in.

The Garden
If you’re selling your house and you’ve got garden plants you are taking with you, you need to notify your buyers during the conveyancing process.

Before you pack the plants, leave them to dry outside so that the soil won’t be wet when the plants are packed with the rest of your stuff. If your plants are stored in breakable pots put newspaper around the pots to ensure they stay safe during the journey. Leaving the lid off the container your plants are stored in will help prevent anyone putting anything on top of them and will also ensure they get some fresh air and light while they’re in transit.

Paperwork
Filing old paperwork is no-one’s idea of fun but before you move it’s really important. Making sure you’ve securely stored and transported paper work related to your mortgage, car insurance, home insurance etc, will help you avoid falling victim to identify theft as your documents are less likely to fall into the wrong hands. It’s also a good idea to shred documents related to your old home that you don’t need anymore; as ripped up documents can still be pieced together once they’ve been thrown out.

Transport
If you’re going to move yourself using a hired van, work out how many trips back and forth you’re going to have to make. Once you know how many journeys you’ll be doing, you can plan your time on the day more accurately. Also if you’re going to have to travel through a city or town centre to get to your new home, think about how the traffic could disrupt your journey.

Children and pets
If you have children or pets it’s a good idea to organise somewhere for them to be looked after for the day, as they can often get in the way and make the whole process more chaotic. For children, moving can be quite traumatic, especially if they’ve lived in the same house for all or most of their lives. Try to ease their worries and concerns before the big day to minimise the impact the process will have on them. Keep reminding them about their new home and plan some treats once everything is unpacked to raise their spirits.

Cats and dogs become very attached to their familiar surroundings and will need extra attention and care to get used to their new home. On the moving day you should add a tag to their collar with your new phone number and mobile number. If they escape during or shortly after the move this information will make it easier for a stranger or the authorities to return them to you. If your pets have identifiable microchips make sure these are updated by your vet as soon as possible.

Try and stay relaxed!
Which ever way you look at it, moving house is a big deal but it shouldn’t be as stressful as a divorce or bereavement! If you don’t leave everything to the last minute and plan in advance the experience can run smoothly. The key to good planning is pre-empting everything that could happen to delay the process you’re trying to complete. Once you know what could go wrong you can think of solutions to overcome the delays.

Often these kinds of events are a lot easier if you’re relaxed; but if the process does end up getting stressful try to think about how much fun your house warming party is going to be, hopefully this will provide you with enough motivation to keep going!

Explaining The Meaning Of Uninsured Losses

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Car insurance is not merely an important part of protecting yourself financially on the road – its a legal necessity. However if youre trying to make a claim after being involved in an accident that wasnt your fault, you might come across something called uninsured losses. We take a look at exactly what that means for your cover

Uninsured losses can be described as potential financial losses, and they aren’t usually covered by a standard insurance policy. Uninsured losses generally include: injury to yourself or your passengers; loss of earnings; cost of alternative travel arrangements; or recovery of your policy excess from a third party. These are all very common costs incurred as a result of an accident, and you will understandably want to protect yourself against them.

According to the Department for Transport, around 3,500 people are killed and 40,000 are seriously injured on Britain’s roads each year. If youre involved in an accident, it could seriously affect your health or ability to work, and therefore have grave financial implications too. Standard insurance will always cover liabilities to third parties. However, if an accident isnt your fault, you will have to make a case to the other partys insurance provider in order to cover the damage incurred. If the other party does not take responsibility, this could potentially turn into a costly and lengthy legal procedure.

Some insurance providers may recommend that you take out optional additional cover, often from as little as 20, to boost your protection and cover uninsured losses. With Greenbee Legal Protection, for example, you would have up to 100,000 towards legal expenses to help recover these potential losses. Just make sure you contact your insurance provider immediately after an accident, as there may be time limits that apply.

The Government is currently investing in a road safety strategy, which is aiming for a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents by the end of 2010. We can all do our part to make Britains roads safer by driving carefully at all times. However, even if you are a safe and conscientious driver, you cannot always guarantee how other people may behave on the roads. By taking out comprehensive insurance you will give yourself great financial protection from accidents and as a result hopefully feel a little safer behind the wheel.

Importance Of Shipping Insurance

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Insurance for health, home, and life insurance are frequently heard of but shipping insurance is new type of protection for the items you are shipping. Regardless of whether the items to be shipped are cheap or valuable, protecting them in the transit is important. Though shipping companies are reliable and try to protect the goods, the conditions are not always predictable. There are chances that your shipped items could be damaged or lost, thus, it is wise to choose the right cover and opt for shipping insurance.
Shipping insurance covers insurance parcel coverage for shipments of all shapes and sizes for both domestic and international shipments. When you purchase single package insurance youll be assigned a unique ID for your package that will let you be sure your package gets their safely. Insurance is provided for the full value of your package to protect against everything from damage to theft to the package being lost in shipment. Insurance companies offer various solutions to help your business with shipping insurance for businesses shipping large or small volumes on a daily basis. The shipping insurance will insure each item in your shipments so youll be protected against lost or damage items. These shipping insurance services are offered on both domestic and international cargo shipments.
Given below are tips to help you select the right cover for your shipping items:
1.Diverse shipping covers have varied forms of rules and regulations. Shipping companies offer insurance cover on various types of items. You need to know what is included in loss or damage policy. You must know the time frame in which you can file a claim.
2.You should never assume that automatic shipping cover is enough as at times shipping companies will add a small charge to the total shipping costs, which provides cover for the item but it is not safe option if you’re shipping a high-value item.
3.You should have a solid proof of an item’s value that is insured. Because while filing insurance claim, you are required to furnish the documentation. Receipts are provided for most of the items however you need to have other documentation for other items, including photographs and certificates of authenticity.
4.It would be wasteful investment if you buy too little cover, to avoid such a situation it is good to determine the exact values of the item that you are shipping.
5.Don’t overpay for cover in case the cost of insuring a shipped item is equal to the value of the item itself it would prove to be wasteful investment again.
At InsureShip you will find very attractive rates on single package shipping insurance and custom policies to meet your needs. InsureShip provides insurance services for many companies in different industries like Ecommerce, direct response, retailers, ebay sellers, etc.

Impact Of Health Care Legislation Hr 3962 On The Outsourcing Industry

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President Barack Obama had a hard won victory on Saturday night (the 7-8th day of November 2009) when the landmark health care reform legislation (HR 3962) was passed with 220-215 votes. Now if everything goes the Obama way, then by the end of the year 09 Affordable Health Care for America Act would apply as a law impacting almost fifty million US lives. But what does this Act actually imply? How does it stand to impact an average US life? How does the Act affect the outsourcing industry at large? Through my article below I endeavor to answer these and many more questions.
Ab-initio we will refresh the fundamentals of federalism, stating the Roles, Duties, Nature, Scope and Restrictions on the government in a written federal constitution. Next we proceed to see whether the above attempt by the federal government to accede healthcare legislation is ultra-vires the powers granted by the US Constitution.

What is Federalism?

According to the traditional classification followed by the political scientists, constitutions are either unitary or federal. In a unitary constitution, the powers of the government are centralized in one government viz., the Central Government. In the federal constitution, on the contrary, there is a division of power between the federal and the state governments in a way that they are both inter-dependent and independent at the same time.
As we all know that Constitutions are organic documents which operate as fundamental law. The governments and their organs owe their origin to the constitution, derive their authority from the constitution and discharge their responsibilities within the framework of the constitution. The judiciary has the power to declare a law unconstitutional if the law is found to have contravened any provision of the constitution. The American Constitution is the oldest and a well praised example of federalism.

What are the powers granted by the US Constitution to the State Government?

Powers reserved for State Governments are:
Establishing local governments
Issuing licenses (driver, hunting, marriage, etc.)
Regulating intrastate commerce
Conducting elections
Ratifying amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Providing for public health and safety
Exercising powers which are neither delegated to the Federal Government nor were prohibited from the States by the Federal Constitution (residuary powers)
Framing other domestic law (for example, setting legal drinking and smoking ages etc.)

What are the powers granted by the US Constitution to the Federal Government?

Under the Constitution, powers reserved for the Federal Government are:
Printing of money
Declaration of war
Establishing the armed forces
Entering into treaties with foreign governments
Regulating commerce domestically and internationally
Establishing post offices and issuing postage
Making laws necessary to enforce the Constitution

What are the powers shared by Federal and State Government?

Under the Constitution, the shared, or “concurrent” powers are:
Setting up courts
Creating and collecting taxes
Building highways
Borrowing money
Making and enforcing laws
Chartering banks and corporations
Spending money for the betterment of the general welfare
Acquiring private property with appropriate compensation

What is the HR 3962 Act ?

The HR 3962 Act conceptualizes a new, voluntary, public, long-term care insurance program to help purchase services and support for people who have functional limitations. The Act endeavors to form a new national program to provide affordable coverage for those who cant get health insurance today because of pre-existing conditions. Under this, the insurance companies must spend 85 cents out of every premium dollar on medical services, thereby fostering the expansion of Medicaid and improving the Medicare. Under this, the young adults, till the age 26, are covered within their parents policies.

The Obama administration intends to attain this by creating mandates. As a self-sustaining public insurance option (that is financed not by tax dollars but by insurance premiums), this provides an alternative to and competes with private health insurance companies, on a level playing field. Additionally, the Act intends to eliminate the antitrust exemption for health insurers and medical malpractice insurers thereby fostering competition thus targeting the existing monopolies in the health insurance market. It aims to establish a new mandatory essential benefits package that shall become the minimum quality standard for employer plans, with the passage of time. The package places a cap for annual out-of-pocket spending, at a maximum of $5,000 per individual and $10,000 per family to prevent bankruptcies from medical expenses.

This Act requires the employers to either provide insurance to their employees or contribute to the cost of their coverage through the public plan/exchange, though the small businesses are exempted from this requirement.

Arguments regarding Constitutionality of HR 3962

The legal fraternity is divided between two schools of thought about the constitutionality of the Act. First school believes that the Act is unconstitutional and places reliance on Articles I 8 and V of the US constitution and on Tenth Amendment. They claim that their argument is supported by the celebrated case of MARBURY v. MADISON, 5 U.S. 137 (1803) and some federalist opinions. The second school of thought places reliance on Article I 8 and the celebrated case of McCulloh v. Maryland, 4 Wheaton 316 (1819); Steward Machine Co. v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548 (1937); United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936) and some federalist opinions. An in-toto analysis of these school of thoughts would conclude that the true interpretation of the word general welfare in Article I 8 of the U.S. Constitution can only determine the constitutionality of an Act like HR 3962. Till date the court opinions have been more inclined towards Hamilton (Federalist 33, 83 etc.) and Story rather than Madison (Federalist 41, 45 etc.).
Simply put, when the government mandates welfare as a quid-pro-quo for premiums collected, such welfare translates to nothing but a tax liability for the country men. Such an attempt by the government to regulate insurance sector by masquerading as an industry player is inspired from socialism. I personally feel that socialism is a Marxian concept and may not go well in an economy with capitalist foundations. The good thing is that people all over the world should buy insurance; this however turns bad when the government forces people to do so.

What are the implications of HR 3962 on the Outsourcing industry?

The object clause to the Act states that it is meant to provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending.

In reality, the act is a victim of haste. Ideally if the intention of the Obama administration and the object clause of the Act were actually in-sync then the administration should have awaited a confirmed indication of the end-of-recession. The administration should have first looked at strengthening the fundamentals of the economy, by:
better regulating the existing insurance sector,
improving the US agrarian culture and making the country self sufficient regards its food requirements,
checking the cost-of-living index and
creating more jobs in the private sector.
But if the intention is to make more and more Americans dependant on Federal Government for basic requirements, then the attempt is bang on.

Impact on the outsourcing industry:

Prima-facie it may seem complex but there are clear indications for the outsourcing industry to benefit once the HR 3962 is implemented. The benefit roots from the fact that the employees will become expensive for the employers post this Acts applicability. Now given the very competitive market scenarios, thin profit margin and the inability of the employer to transfer this increased cost to the end consumer, the employer is forced to search for the less costly alternatives. It is needless to say here that the Act magnifies the already existing labor arbitrage opportunities internationally. To appreciate the existing labor arbitrage opportunities you can refer to my older blog post.

Hints On Writing Your Company Vehicle Duty Of Care Policy

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Writing your Vehicle Duty of Care Policy can be a pain! We have written this guide to help you and highlight the important points your policy should include.

We recommend you think of your vehicles as “mobile offices” and download or print an 8 page leaflet by the HSE called “5 steps to risk assessment” from our PDF downloads it will help you to understand the basics of what your policy is all about.

MISSION STATEMENT

Your introduction or mission statement should outline your company/organisations “culture” when dealing with its vehicle fleet with regard to such things as defensive driving, risk assessment, driver’s hours and regular health checks for both driver and vehicle. You should inform people that your policy is a complimentary addition to the main company policy and should be read in conjunction with their contract of employment and a current copy of the Highway Code.

BUSINESS DRIVER

A business driver is anybody who drives any vehicle on Company Business.

In this section you should explain that any driver out on the public roads on the company or organisations business is a company driver and that includes the person that uses an “owned” vehicle on Fridays to collect the fish and chips at lunchtime for the workforce.

Your policy must explain the driver’s responsibilities to the vehicle and respect for it, the limitations and responsibility of use by the driver and others while using a vehicle on business and the management structure authorising a business driver.

Some people use this area to explain driving licences and reporting procedures for them but we prefer this to be included in the LEGAL section.

NB – Reporting structure – Approved Driver List

BUSINESS VEHICLE

The company is responsible for any vehicle, company owned, privately owned or hired with or without driver. When it is used on company business explain your procedure checks for:

Right vehicle for the job
Road worthiness.
Legality
Safe use within the law.

This must be explained clearly in terms of how the company will and will not allow a vehicle on company business to be used e.g. with (trailer) and where (abroad), as they all impinge on the above four.

NB – Reporting structure – Approved Vehicle List – Servicing List

SAFE USE OF A VEHICLE

This is one of the most important sections of any Vehicle Duty of Care policy and you understanding its full implications and how you write it.

It is also where the reporting structure is at is most important and also where it breaks down in a lot of companies.

An example to illustrate what we mean:-

A company driver driving their own car is involved in an accident killing their passenger. The police decide the driver was well above the speed limit both for the road and weather conditions. On further investigation it was found that the driver had been driving to a 4pm sales meeting on the instructions of management and was late. It was also discovered that one of the front tyres was less than 1.6mm. Further investigation by police of company records showed the driver was on a sales bonus scheme related to the number of new customer visits per week.

The Police can lay charges against the driver from driving without due care and attention to dangerous driving and even manslaughter. He will be charged for the illegal tyre, gain 3 points on his licence and receive a fine of up to 2,500.

The Police could also lay charges against the company and its officials for corporate manslaughter if they think they were negligent in their duty of care by the structure of reporting from driver to company and was not actively followed (tyre) and that the sales bonus scheme brought unreasonable pressure on the driver to perform. At the minimum the legal officer of the company, usually the company secretary, will have their licence endorsed with 3 points and a fine (tyre).

NB – No matter how good your Vehicle Duty of Care Policy is with regard to the legality, safe use and clearly stipulates NO work schedule incentives for drivers, if your support structure is not active, problems will occur. Sorry but we will say this again. No matter how eloquent your Duty of Care Policy is written, with all the “do this, don’t do that,” unless – Your Reporting Structure is Robust and Active – You will fail in your Duty of Care!

VEHICLE SECURITY

Sometimes vehicle security is mixed with Insurance or safe use of a motor vehicle. We feel that security is not only that of the vehicle itself but also where it is parked on company premises, customers’ premises and overnight and therefore needs a section of its own.

LEGAL

In this group you base everything your drivers and vehicles need to stay legal on the roads and what happens when they don’t!

You need to clearly outline your company/organizations stance on all things that will stop a person driving legally from drinking, driving offences to non payment of fines and who is responsible for payments both fines & court offences needs to be made clear.

You need to make drivers aware here that they also have a duty of care to keep you informed through the proper procedures which you write of any changes to themselves or the vehicle they drive that could result in legal action. Your main approved lists stem from this section because failure to maintain any one of them can result in Legal Action against the driver and or your company/organisation.

NB – Reporting structure – Driving Licence List – Tax & MOT List – “O” Licence List – Insurance List

INSURANCE

All vehicles used on company business need business cover and it should be made clear to the drivers the position of both the company and insurance company.

ACCIDENTS

The driver is at their most vulnerable immediately following an accident and therefore it is here that you want to be sure that you have done all that you can to support the driver while protecting the company to make sure that the correct procedures will be followed.

NB – Accident forms – for the last time, honest! A strong reporting structure has to be in place for any Vehicle Duty of Care Policy to succeed in your Company/Organisation.