Updates from Allison Ryan RSS
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03:56:43 pm on October 14, 2009 |
The type of policy you choose and the amount of coverage you are looking for will have an impact on the cost of the premiums in the homeowner?s insurance quotes you receive. When you start shopping online for home insurance by requesting free quotes from different home insurance companies, you should make sure you enter the same information on all the sites you visit. This will enable you to do an accurate comparison and feel confident that the policy you choose to buy is the cheapest one for your individual circumstances.
The main elements of homeowner?s insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/ranchosantafe.cfm) lie in what the policy covers. A standard policy will cover damage to the exterior of your home due to fire, lightning, wind or ice. As a homeowner you are responsible for ensuring that your home is properly maintained because damage due to poor maintenance is not covered under an insurance policy.
While a standard insurance policy does cover water damage inside the home if the source of the flooding occurs within the home, such as in broken water pipes. Floods originating outside the home are not covered and if you need this type of coverage, you will have to pay extra, which will increase the price of the quote. Damage caused by earthquakes and acts of terrorism are not covered under any type of home insurance.
Homeowner?s insurance quotes also include coverage for the loss of your personal belongings. This includes your clothing, furniture and appliances. However, there may be a limit on how much you can claim if you incur a total loss because the amount of this coverage is limited to half the coverage on the home. If you have expensive items of furniture or clothing, you may need to request an additional quote for insurance on these items.
If you own your home and rent it to others, then this involves a different type of homeowner insurance policy. Because of the increased risk to you and the insurance provider, homeowner?s insurance quotes of this nature are higher than if you were living in the home. Such insurance, though, does not include contents insurance because it is the responsibility of the tenant to purchase his/her own policy to insure the contents they have in the home.
It is important to have the maximum amount of personal liability included in homeowner?s insurance quotes that you request. This covers the expenses incurred if a person is injured on your property, even if he/she is bitten by your dog. If you do have a dog, the insurance company will want to know the breed of the dog because some dogs that are known to be dangerous, such as Pit Bulls, will cost you more in insurance. In some cases, insurance companies will not sell you a policy if you have one of these animals.
You also need to make sure that the home insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home) you are considering include a loss of use clause. This means that if your home is completely destroyed or damaged to the point where you cannot live in the home until it is repaired, you have the coverage you need to pay for your living expenses in another location. This coverage would reimburse you for the cost of staying in a hotel or renting another home as well as the cost of your meals in a restaurant. There are daily limits on the amount of money you can spend in such situations, though.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in finance, business, and different types of homeowner insurance. For free home insurance quotes, please visit http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/.
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03:55:21 pm on October 14, 2009 |
The type of policy you choose and the amount of coverage you are looking for will have an impact on the cost of the premiums in the homeowner?s insurance quotes you receive. When you start shopping online for home insurance by requesting free quotes from different home insurance companies, you should make sure you enter the same information on all the sites you visit. This will enable you to do an accurate comparison and feel confident that the policy you choose to buy is the cheapest one for your individual circumstances.
The main elements of homeowner?s insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/ranchosantafe.cfm) lie in what the policy covers. A standard policy will cover damage to the exterior of your home due to fire, lightning, wind or ice. As a homeowner you are responsible for ensuring that your home is properly maintained because damage due to poor maintenance is not covered under an insurance policy.
While a standard insurance policy does cover water damage inside the home if the source of the flooding occurs within the home, such as in broken water pipes. Floods originating outside the home are not covered and if you need this type of coverage, you will have to pay extra, which will increase the price of the quote. Damage caused by earthquakes and acts of terrorism are not covered under any type of home insurance.
Homeowner?s insurance quotes also include coverage for the loss of your personal belongings. This includes your clothing, furniture and appliances. However, there may be a limit on how much you can claim if you incur a total loss because the amount of this coverage is limited to half the coverage on the home. If you have expensive items of furniture or clothing, you may need to request an additional quote for insurance on these items.
If you own your home and rent it to others, then this involves a different type of homeowner insurance policy. Because of the increased risk to you and the insurance provider, homeowner?s insurance quotes of this nature are higher than if you were living in the home. Such insurance, though, does not include contents insurance because it is the responsibility of the tenant to purchase his/her own policy to insure the contents they have in the home.
It is important to have the maximum amount of personal liability included in homeowner?s insurance quotes that you request. This covers the expenses incurred if a person is injured on your property, even if he/she is bitten by your dog. If you do have a dog, the insurance company will want to know the breed of the dog because some dogs that are known to be dangerous, such as Pit Bulls, will cost you more in insurance. In some cases, insurance companies will not sell you a policy if you have one of these animals.
You also need to make sure that the home insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home) you are considering include a loss of use clause. This means that if your home is completely destroyed or damaged to the point where you cannot live in the home until it is repaired, you have the coverage you need to pay for your living expenses in another location. This coverage would reimburse you for the cost of staying in a hotel or renting another home as well as the cost of your meals in a restaurant. There are daily limits on the amount of money you can spend in such situations, though.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in finance, business, and different types of homeowner insurance. For free home insurance quotes, please visit http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/.
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01:40:48 am on September 5, 2009 |
When you start shopping online for home owner insurance, there are ways of getting the most affordable home owner insurance quote possible. You will find that the possibilities are virtually limitless with the numerous insurance providers that have an online presence and offer free quotes to consumers. You can feel safe shopping in this manner because you are not under any obligation to purchase any quote you receive and no one will contact you to try to persuade you to purchase a particular home insurance policy.
The home insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/homeowners-insurance-claim.cfm) you receive will depend on several homeowner insurance factors. There are different rates that apply to different states and you will get a cheaper rate if you live in a city than if you live in a rural area where you live some distance away from a fire department of a fire hydrant. The size of your home and its age and condition will also play a part in determining the cost of the quote. This will factor into the amount of coverage that you will need to have on your home and your personal belongings.
Requesting quotes from multiple insurance companies will help you find an affordable home owner insurance quote. You will receive the quotes by email and then you can take your time and compare what each policy offers. The key to this is to request the quotes far enough in advance of the date when your current policy is set to expire so that you can do a comparison of the rates and the coverage.
You should make sure that you provide the same information to each home insurance provider from whom you request free home insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/homeowners-insurance-coverage.cfm). The process of requesting a home insurance quote is quite simple. You have to provide answers to questions online about the measurements of your home, the type of heating your use, the types of built-in appliances you have and the types of safety features you have in the home. By having safety features installed, such as smoke detectors, deadbolts on the doors and locks on the windows, you will receive a discount on the premium.
Don?t forget to request a home owner insurance quote from the same insurance company with whom you have your car insurance. By having two or more policies with the same company, you will get a discount. When you receive a quote that seems agreeable to you, you must make sure that it includes everything that you need to have for total coverage.
There are named homeowner insurance perils included in all standard cheap homeowner insurance (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/homeowners-insurance-settlement.cfm) policies, but you need to read the policy’s fine print to make sure they are included in the quote you choose. If you need insurance against flooding from a source outside your home, you will have to request that this be included and it will cost you extra.
It is important to have replacement cost in the home owner insurance quote so that you will have enough money to completely rebuild the home should you incur a complete loss. The prices you paid even five years ago are far less than what building the same home will cost today. You have to keep this in mind when you determine how much coverage you need to have.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in financial planning, real estate, and cheap homeowner insurance. For free home insurance quotes, check out http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/.
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01:35:51 am on September 5, 2009 |
When you shop online for home owner insurance it is important that you focus on getting the right amount of coverage for your needs. While the price of the insurance policy is important, home insurance is something that you can?t afford to be without.
If you have a mortgage on your home, you will have to show proof that you have insurance, even if it just a cheap homeowner insurance (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/buying-homeowners-insurance.cfm) policy, to satisfy the terms of the mortgage. Since such a policy is an annual one, you cannot just take out insurance to get the mortgage. You do need to provide proof of insurance every year as long as you are repaying the money you borrow.
If your home was to be either partially or completely destroyed, would you be able to afford to replace it on your own? Ninety-nine percent of homeowners are unable to do this even if they built or purchased a home without a mortgage. This is why it is important to have enough coverage in your home insurance policy to cover the cost of replacing your home and your possessions.
There are two types of coverage included in standard home insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/home-insurance-companies.cfm). You have coverage on your property, which includes your home, any outbuildings and your personal belongings. If you incur loss due to theft, fire or a peril named in the policy, the insurance provider will pay out the amount of money specified in the policy either as a lump sum payment or as payment to the builder you hire to do the repairs or rebuilding.
Another type of coverage that you have in a standard insurance policy for your home is that of liability insurance. This will help pay court costs and medical expenses if someone is injured on your property and sues you for damages.
In order to determine how much coverage you need, you should look at what it would cost you to replace your home and belongings at the current prices. You cannot look at what it cost you when you purchased or built because the prices have risen since then, even if it was only a year ago. This is the amount of money you will need to replace your home and is the minimum amount of coverage you should look for in home owner insurance.
As a rule, typical free home insurance quotes (http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/home/homeowners-insurance-adjuster.cfm) state that your personal belongings have coverage equal to half of the coverage on your home. To get a handle on the amount of coverage you actually need, it would be helpful to take inventory of all your possessions.
This includes your clothing, appliances, furniture, electronics, jewelry, furs, artwork and anything else you have that you value. The total amount could mean that you have to increase the amount of coverage on your home so that you do get what you need to replace these items.
A standard home owner insurance policy does cover certain events that can cause damage to your home, such as broken water pipes. However, if you live in a region where floods occur on an annual basis, you may have to look at paying extra for specific coverage if you sustain damage as a result of such an occurrence. Usually damage from wind, lightning and snow or ice is covered as a normal peril, but it is unlikely that you will be able to receive earthquake insurance.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in financial planning, real estate, and how to get cheap homeowner insurance. For free home insurance quotes, please visit http://cheap-insurance-rates.com/.
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09:11:14 pm on September 4, 2009 |
Most ordinary contracts are bona fide or good faith contracts. Insurance contracts, however, are contracts “uberrimae fidei,” or contracts of the utmost good faith. The greatest degree of good faith is needed in the negotiations preceding the issuance of the contract. This requirement has a long and interesting history.
In the earliest days of marine insurance the contracts were entered into in places remote from the ships and cargoes covered by the policies. It was necessary for the insurer and insured to bargain on a level of good faith above that required in the usual commercial intercourse of the day. This requirement is the foundation upon which the doctrines of warranty, representation, and concealment are based.
It has been said that the best life insurance (http://equote.com/info/life-insurance-info.html) contract is as personal as a wedding contract. Both the insured and the insurance company, in dealing on a plane of utmost good faith, take notice not only of the contract being negotiated but also of the character, conduct, and credit of each other. In common parlance a certain piece of property is spoken of as being insured. Actually, it is the owner who is insured.
The insurance contract is not attached to the property and does not pass with it to a new purchaser. The assent of the insurance company is necessary to assign any contract of insurance except a life insurance policy. The life insurance contract is not, strictly speaking, a personal contract; and it may be assigned without the permission of the company.
Once a loss has occurred under any contract of property insurance, the contract is reduced to a mere money claim; and it becomes freely assignable as a debt or any other intangible property right. Life insurance policies (http://equote.com/li/term-life-insurance-quote.html), on the other hand, may not be assigned after the insured has died unless the company approves the assignment.
The insurance contract is a contract in entirety, although this feature has now been affected by statute. This means that, even though the object insured is destroyed by one of the hazards named in the policy (or by one not named, for that matter) before the expiration of the policy, no portion of the premium is refundable. The entire premium is gone the moment the contract becomes effective and the risk attaches. If for some reason the risk never attaches, the entire premium is refundable.
Several examples may clarify these statements. Suppose you buy a three-year fire policy on your house for a premium of $50. Two days afterward a tornado rips through the house, leveling it. You still have a fire policy with nearly three years to run but no house to be protected.
Nevertheless, you will not be entitled to a refund under common law. This nature of insurance contracts proved so harsh in application that the laws and insurance regulations of all states now require insurance companies to make refund of premiums in cases in which the insured decides he no longer has need for the policy.
The refund of a no medical life insurance (http://equote.com/li/nomedicallifeinsurance.html) premium is not pro rata but is a smaller amount. It should be noted that there are a few coverages, such as riot and rain insurance, in which the right to cancel is severely restricted.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in financial planning and no medical life insurance policies. For the best life insurance quotes, check out http://equote.com/.
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09:03:02 pm on September 4, 2009 |
You cannot assume that when you request a life insurance quote from one insurance company, this will be the same as you will receive from all others. Life insurance rates vary from one company to another and from one state to another. They are also dependent on many factors of your life, such as your age, your gender, occupation and hobbies, health condition, the amount of coverage and in the case of term life insurance, the length of the term of the policy.
When you purchase life insurance at an early age, you will get cheaper life insurance rates. The same is true of females taking out a policy. They pay lower premiums for the same amount of coverage as males in the same age and health category.
In order to understand why this difference exists among the various life insurance policies, you have to think of the life expectancy statistics on which insurance companies rely to determine the possibility that you will outlive the term of the policy. According to these statistics, women tend to live longer than men and this is why they receive low cost life insurance (http://equote.com/info/life-insurance-info.html) rates.
When you purchase a policy when you are young, there is less risk for the insurance provider that you will die at a young age and therefore the company will gain a profit by collecting the insurance premiums without ever having to pay out any money to your beneficiaries. In term life insurance, if you outlive the policy you will not receive any refund of the premiums that you paid during the term.
In whole and universal life policies, you will also get a cheaper rate by purchasing the policy at an early age. the insurance company then has many years ahead in which to collect the premiums, which in many cases will total more than the amount paid out when you beneficiary makes a claim.
There are other factors the best life insurance (http://equote.com/li/termlifeinsurance-quote.html) companies use to determine the life insurance rates you receive when you request a quote for a policy. It may be a trade off in terms of paying the premium costs when you will probably be able to save much more money by putting in a savings account for the same period of time. However, you have no idea when you are going to die and there is a possibility that the insurance benefits could be paid out within a year or two of taking out the policy at any age.
Your occupation plays a part in the life insurance rates you have to pay for term life insurance or whole or universal life insurance. If your career is a dangerous one in which there is a greater possibility of accidental death or events that can lead to illnesses causing death, then the insurance provider will take this into consideration. You may have to pay higher premiums for a policy as a result of your choice of career.
When you take a medical exam to show that you are in excellent health, the life insurance rates are much cheaper than if you opt for term life insurance (http://equote.com/li/term-life-insurance.html) without medical exams. The latter form of policy is available to anyone whether or not you have a pre-existing medical condition.
It is very convenient to purchase with only a few health related questions and you can purchase the policy online without having to wait for the paperwork to be completed. This is why many healthy people who do not want to take the time needed for medical examinations opt for the higher premiums in return for convenience.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in financial planning and term life insurance policies. For the best life insurance quotes online, stop by http://equote.com/!
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08:56:44 pm on September 4, 2009 |
With the convenience of the Internet, an affordable life insurance quote is no farther away than the click of the mouse. You only have to visit the site of one of the many life insurance companies online and choose the name of the state in which you live or enter your zip code to get started.
Next you give your date of birth, your gender and your weight and your weight and height. Choose the amount of coverage you want, which can range from $100,000 to $10 million and the term of the policy to continue getting online life insurance quotes (http://equote.com/li/term-life-insurance-quote.html).
Upon entering this financial and medical information, you will then be directed to a screen where you have to enter your medical information. Since insurance companies are taking a risk in insuring you they do need to know if you are in good health. The answers you provide to the questions help determine the life insurance quote you receive.
The questions ask whether or not you have been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, if you smoke or engage in dangerous hobbies, such as skydiving, the number of traffic accidents and violations you have had as well as your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
This is the typical manner in which you can receive cheap life insurance via an online term life insurance (http://equote.com/li/termlifeinsurance.html) quote without medical examinations. Once you enter the required information about your medical history and that of your family, you will immediately receive notification of how much this policy will cost you.
The choices in coverage amounts and terms of the policy determine the cost of the premiums as these do affect the quote for term life insurance. If the first quote you receive is too high for your budget, you can then change the amount and the term to request a new quote that will probably be more to your liking.
This method of obtaining a life insurance quote is a convenient way to see how much life insurance you can afford. It is important not to visit only one site and request a free quote. In order to know if you are really getting the most affordable term life insurance, you need to repeat the process on at least three sites and then compare the quotes you receive.
You can also obtain a quote for standard term life insurance in a similar manner but you will have to undergo a medical exam and lab tests. The process is much longer in that you have to wait until all the appropriate paperwork is completed in order to receive the policy and have coverage.
With online, low cost life insurance (http://equote.com/li/life-insurance.html) quotes your coverage is instant as soon as you make the payment for the premium and you can do this online using your credit card. You receive the policy as an email, but you will receive a paper copy in the mail. Then you have 30 days in which you can read the policy in its entirety and if you are not completely satisfied you can cancel the policy for a full refund.
Other choices that you do have in requesting an online life insurance quote include for a return of premium policy in which you will receive all the premiums you paid as a refund when you outlive the term of the life insurance. For many people this is an option where they can save money and have a life insurance policy in place at the same time. Unfortunately not many life insurance companies offer this option so you may have to do a bit of searching online.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in financial planning, business finance, and online life insurance quotes. For low cost life insurance, check out http://equote.com/!
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08:51:14 pm on September 4, 2009 |
The insurance contract is a unilateral contract. This means that with the payment of the premium and the actual taking effect of the contract, only one of the parties promises to do anything further. Only the insurance company has promised certain performance. The company has promised indemnity in case of loss. The company cannot force any action on the part of the insured. The insured has made no legally enforceable promises and cannot be held for breach of contract.
Even the affordable life insurance (http://equote.com/li/term-life-insurance-quote.html) contract is conditional. It is true that the contract becomes completely executed by the insured with the payment of the premium and that only the insurance company is obligated to keep a promise. This is not to say, however, that the insured has no further conditions to meet if he wishes to collect losses.
The difference between promises and conditions is that promises are legally enforceable, whereas conditions are not. The effect of a breached condition is to prevent a person from collecting from the insurance company. Under a contract of fire insurance, for example, the insurance company promises to indemnify the insured for losses caused by fire.
The insured is subject to several conditions relating to filing proofs of loss following a fire. He is not under legal obligation, however, to file proofs of loss as required by the conditions in the policy. He need file them only if he wishes to collect. On the other hand, the insurance company can be forced by law to keep its promise to pay indemnity if the insured has met all the conditions outlined in the contract.
The holder of a term life insurance (http://equote.com/li/level-term-life-insurance.html) policy is not even under obligation to continue premium payments should he wish to discontinue the policy. He is obligated, of course, for the payment of premiums for protection received before the date of cancellation.
If a man orders a fire insurance policy on his house and a month later, when the premium statement is tendered by the agent, tells the agent he has decided the policy is not needed, the house owner will be legally obligated to pay the agent the proper premium for the thirty days of protection he has received. Although in many cases he avoids this obligation.
When a request is received by an agent for a property or low cost life insurance (http://equote.com/li/nomedicallifeinsurance.html) coverage, in most cases the protection starts at once, even though the policy itself may not be delivered for several weeks. This temporary protection is provided by a binder that is issued by the agent to the insured. This is a temporary insurance policy which is just as binding on both parties as a complete, printed policy would be.
If a loss occurs during the life of the binder before the permanent policy is received, no insured would think of challenging the validity of the document. It is surprising, on the other hand, to find so many people whose house does not burn or whose automobile is not wrecked during this period of binder protection who feels that the binder really furnished them no protection and that they owe nothing to the insurance company.
The protection furnished by the binder is identical with that provided by the policy, and the charge for the protection is the same. Use of a binder makes possible the instant application of insurance protection; and it would be too bad if policyholder abuse of binders, through failure to understand their true nature, led insurance companies to force insureds to await the issuance of the regular policy to begin insurance protection.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in financial planning and affordable life insurance policies. For free quotes for low cost life insurance, stop by http://equote.com/.
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02:40:20 pm on July 11, 2009 |
Interest rates in the United States have tended to move in cycles. There have been three major movements involved in these cycles: a downward trend from 1870 to the turn of the century, an upward movement from about 1900 to 1924, and another down swing which continued into the 1940s. The rate of interest earned by the Metropolitan passed through the same three periods of rise and fall. In the first few decades of the company?s history the amounts available for investment were relatively small, with the result that the earnings fluctuated rather widely from year to year.
Yet it is clear from the data available that the general tendency was toward a decreasing yield. This might be due to a large portion of the United States being unable to buy even the most affordable life insurance that Metropolitan Life Insurance Company offered. With the reversal of the trend, the net interest earnings by the company increased quite steadily from 4 percent in 1900 to nearly 5.5 percent in 1924. Thereafter, however, the return on investments has tended to drop.
During the latter half of the 1920?s the fall was gradual, declining from 5.4 percent in 1924 to 5.2 percent in 1929 and 1930. During the early years of the depression there was a greatly accelerated drop, and by 1935 the net income on Metropolitan investments was slightly less than 3.7 percent. Then, the decline leveled off. In 1941, the interest earned was 3.4 percent. The interest rates for each of the major classes of investment have followed the same course as that for all types combined. Their respective net returns, however, have differed.
They also differed between different types of life insurance, from the more affordable term life insurance to the long lasting whole life insurance. Considering the two major classifications of life insurance investment, we find that mortgage loans on city and farm property have yielded a higher return than has the bond portfolio. For 10 years prior to 1929 the interest earned on mortgage loans, deducting investment expenses and asset losses, was 5.5 percent, as against 5 percent for bonds and stocks.
However, at least a portion of the higher yield on mortgage loans represents a risk element for possible future losses and reduced return on real estate acquired through foreclosure. During the period from 1929 to 1941, inclusive, the corresponding net yield on mortgage loans and foreclosed real estate combined was 3.4 percent, as against 3.5 percent for bonds and stocks. The marked increase in government bonds in the company?s portfolio, coupled with the decrease in investments such as mortgage loans, contributed toward lowering recent interest earnings.
The average rate on bond purchases during 1941 and 1942, excluding short term bonds, was only 2.7 percent. This demonstrated the serious impact of economic trends and current investment conditions on the cost of life insurance to the policyholders. Even though they didn’t have to ask, “What is term life insurance?” or research the best whole life policy, they still could not afford much. In addition to considerations of safety and interest yield, life insurance company investments were made in accordance with the principle of diversification.
Neither law nor careful administration could absolutely eliminate the risk of loss and, in order to minimize it, life insurance companies spread their investments as widely as possible. The old adage of “not to put all of one?s eggs into one basket” is a fundamental investment policy. Metropolitan funds, invested in more than 100,000 separate items which were widely diversified in character, and spread over many communities and enterprises throughout the United States and Canada. In fact, these investments covered every state and every Canadian Province.
Wide geographic distribution minimized the effect of adverse business or agricultural conditions in particular localities. Not only were the funds spread over a great variety of categories, but within each class as wide a distribution as possible is made. With the large sums of money held by the company, and with the experienced staff available, the Metropolitan could and did carry the practice of diversification to an extent which is impossible for an individual investor. The principle of diversification is also applied to maturity dates of investments.
Life insurance companies could predict with a fair degree of accuracy the amounts they will be called upon to pay in future years, and, therefore, could select their investments to mature over a period so that when such funds are needed there will be a constant flow of maturities. Care was taken, too, to provide a proper balance between long and short term investments, so that assets would neither be frozen nor require too frequent reinvestment. A diversified portfolio with reference to maturity dates will not only bring a steady income, but in case of emergency will provide securities which can be sold in a ready market without sacrifice.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in term life insurance and how to find affordable life insurance policies. To answer the question “what is term life insurance?” stop by http://equote.com/.
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12:56:20 am on July 11, 2009 |
It is in both the interest of the public and the policyholders to prevent insurance fraud, even at an expense greater than the amount of the particular claim involved. During its peak, Metropolitan Life Insurance frequently appeared as a litigant in the appellate courts. This is for two reasons: one, the volume of the company’s business is so large that even the fractional percentage of rejected claims results in a substantial number; the other, the tradition of the Metropolitan against compromise of claims believed fraudulent, once rejection is decided upon.
This policy fully justified itself in the discouragement of unwarranted litigation. The company?s percentage of victories in contested claims was excellent. The juries were not infallible, so controversies were often carried to higher courts. Once case of note dealt with a disappearance claim in which one jury decided the insured was alive, another disagreed, and a third found he was dead. The final testimony revealed that since his “death” he had married, raised a family, and at the end signed a full confession of his attempted fraud. Cases like this are common in even the top auto insurance and the best life insurance companies, even if they provide nothing but term life insurance.
But these are exceptions. The great bulk of death claims received were, at one time, paid almost automatically, there being no question as to their regularity, and genuineness. In order to meet the policyholder?s needs as fully as possible the company found itself constantly liberalizing its practices in claim payment. As early as 1893, the Metropolitan offered liberal terms of revival to those whose policies had lapsed because of the severe economic depression, and many claims were paid in that year on policies where death had occurred after the expiration of the grace period.
Two years later, the pulmonary and consumption clauses were removed from industrial policies. All previously issued policies were put on the same basis. In the early days, when death occurred from tuberculosis or pulmonary trouble within a year after the issuance of the policy, only half of the amount was payable. Another step in granting additional benefits was the removal of “ratings” on industrial policies which had been issued on substandard lives. Lower classes did not have access to affordable dental insurance, but generally preferred affordable life insurance combined with affordable medical insurance.
Up to 1894 it was customary to “rate” industrial policies on lives not up to the usual standard by advancing the age five or ten years and giving only the benefit provided in the tables for the advanced age. In 1913 all such policies still on the books were put on the same basis as standard risks. Another liberalization with regard to claim practice was the application for many years of a one-year contestable period in the industrial branch, even though the policy provided for a two-year period. Thus, policyholders in the Metropolitan have received not only all their insurance contracts called for, but often substantially more.
Mortuary and maturity dividends, varying in amounts, have constituted an important feature of the company’s extra claim payments over the amount guaranteed by the policies. The first mortuary dividends were declared in 1906 on all industrial claims where the policy at date of death had been in force more than five years. These dividends amounted to more than $1,000,000. They might have made more if they had provided, along with their whole life insurance plans, an option of the cheaper term life insurance for customers asking for a life insurance quote.
In 1941 the company paid $12,760,574 in mortuary, maturity, and settlement dividends on ordinary and industrial policies. Since the various dates on which the company began paying mortuary, maturity, and settlement dividends, the aggregate amount of such dividends paid through December 31, 1941 was $191,490,084. In time of emergency and catastrophe the Metropolitan?s claim division was known to have met severe tests with credit, and rendered extra service to help suffering policyholders or their beneficiaries, even though they could not provide online life insurance quotes.
Back then, the claim division was as accurate a disaster recorder as the seismograph. The Metropolitan, through its ties with all classes of the population in every geographic area, shared in the losses which accompanied all national disasters of the decade. Within a few hours after a disaster by fire or flood, the amount of Metropolitan policyholders who suffered in the disaster was already reported. Thus, when the news came of the St. Louis tornado of 1896, a telegram was sent to every Superintendent with orders to pay claims without waiting to send proofs to the Home Office, and a special envoy was sent to expedite these payments.
Within a few days death claims had been paid on 68 policies. During the San Francisco fire of 1906 and during the Mississippi Valley floods of 1937, special field arrangements were made not only for the payment of claims, but for keeping policies in force when the insured was unable to meet premium payments. As the result of the catastrophic fire in a well-known Boston night club on November 28, 1942, the company paid 199 claims totaling $408,003.95.
Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer specializing in affordable life insurance from the best life insurance companies around. For online life insurance quotes or for affordable term life insurance, stop by http://equote.com/.