Insurance Term - A

1. Accelerated Death Benefits: It is a benefit provided to life insurance owners where they can receive a significant portion (say 80%) of the death benefits in advance of the insured's death. This can pay for medical bills, or nursing home costs and other commitments so that others are not left with this responsibility.
2. Accident and Health Insurance: Coverage for accidental injury, accidental death and to bear the associated health expenses. The insured might be rewarded with limited benefits in the form of preventative services, medical expenses, and catastrophic care.
3. Accrual Taxation: A form of federal income taxation wherein a person who holds a life insurance policy gets taxed periodically on certain parts of the cash value accumulation of his policy.
4. Actual Cash Value: A common method by which the amount for reimbursement for a loss is determined. It is the cost of replacing an item after loss minus the depreciation value.
5. Auto insurance score: Similar to credit score there is an auto insurance score. A number used by auto insurance companies to determine how much premium you must pay. It is based generally on your driving record and also your credit score. Other important factors that influence the auto insurance costs are age, marital status, the type of car you use and whether you reside in a rural or urban society.

Why Dental Insurance

Good dental hygiene requires regular cleanings and check ups. Dental insurance helps you afford to keep your teeth in top condition and looking good for years to come.

About Dental Insurance

Different plans cover different needs. You can find plans that will cover everything from check ups to root canals, or plans that offer an across-the-boards discount for most dental services.

Choosing Your Coverage

Decide what type of coverage you need. For example, do you need coverage for braces and orthodontia or just straight dental? Do you already have a dentist and what to make sure he or she is part of any network you might choose. Then shop and compare to find the right plan or program for your specific needs.

More Reasons to Sign Up Now

It only takes a few minutes. You won’t find a better choice with more options anywhere else. And you’ll find the affordability of these plans something to smile about.

Using Dental Insurance

Dental insurance is rather unique. First, its low cost makes it highly affordable for individuals and families. Second, because dental insurance encourages and generally pays for regular check-ups, many people who purchase protection start to benefit immediately.

Finally, the price of maintaining a healthy mouth can cost hundreds ... even thousands of dollars. Should you ever need costly care, from filings and crowns to periodontics and orthodontics, your dental insurance will be there to provide benefits when needed.

So, if you buy dental insurance, you will probably use it. And, like millions of Americans who have protection, you'll probably be glad you did.

Using Dental Discount Plan

Discount cards are offered as a way to lower the cost of dental care. These cards are especially attractive for people who do not have insurance coverage for these services or who have inadequate coverage. Discount cards allow for unlimited use of services by using a dental network and are based on a discounted fee schedule. The cost of your membership card is small compared to the potential savings for you and your family.

IS an insurance policy which compensates lenders or investors for losses due to the default of a mortgage loan. Mortgage insurance can be either public or private depending upon the insurer. The policy is also known as a mortgage indemnity guarantee (MIG), particularly in the UK.

For example, Mr. John decides to purchase a house which costs $150,000. He pays 10% ($15,000) down payment and takes out a $135,000 ($150,000-$15,000) mortgage. Lenders will often require mortgage insurance for mortgage loans which exceed 80% (the typical cut-off) of the property's sale price. Because of his limited equity, the lender requires that Mr. John pay for mortgage insurance that protects the lender against his default. The lender then requires the mortgage insurer to provide insurance coverage at, for example, 25% of the 135,000, or $33,750, leaving the lender with an exposure of $101,250. The mortgage insurer will charge a premium for this coverage, which may be paid by either the borrower or the lender. If the borrower defaults and the property is sold at a loss, the insurer will cover the first $33,750 of losses. Coverages offered by mortgage insurers can vary from 20% to 50% and higher.

To obtain public mortgage insurance from the Federal Housing Administration, Mr. John must pay a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) equal to 1.75 percent of the loan amount at closing. This premium is normally financed by the lender and paid to FHA on the borrower's behalf. Depending on the loan-to-value ratio, there may be a monthly premium as well. The United States Veterans Administration also offers insurance on mortgages.

Reinsurance means one insurance company purchasing coverage from a second insurance company for a risk that the first insurance company is insuring. The best way of explaining this is through an example. Big City Life Insurance Company has written a $10 million life insurance policy on the life of Mr. Moneybags, the industrial tycoon. Big City is concerned that Mr. Moneybags’s death would have a material impact on Big City’s profits from the $10 million claim. So, Big City buys coverage on the life of Mr. Moneybags from Country Cousin Mutual Insurance Company. Big City decides to buy $3 million of coverage from Country Cousin.

If Moneybags dies in a plane crash, Big City will have to pay his beneficiary $10 million, but Big City can in turn collect on the coverage it obtained from Country Cousin. The two insurance companies will share the loss, with Country Cousin bearing $3 million of the loss and Big City $7 million ($10 million paid to the beneficiary less the $3 million collected from Country Cousin). Of course, both companies share in the premiums and profits of the coverage as well as the losses.

In the above example, Country Cousin is called the reinsurer. Country Cousin is not the insurer that wrote the original coverage. They are instead standing behind the original insurer. Big City is called the ceding company or cedant (sometimes spelled cedent). Big City has ceded some of its life insurance business to Country Cousin through the reinsurance arrangement.

There are a wide variety of reinsurance coverages that Big City can purchase. For example, if Big City believes Mr. Moneybags’s health is fine, but is worried that he might die from an accident, they can purchase reinsurance coverage only for death via an accident. In that arrangement, if instead of a plane crash Mr. Moneybags dies of a heart attack, Big City would still have to pay his beneficiary $10 million, but Country Cousin would not owe anything to Big City. Naturally, Big City would pay less premium to Country Cousin for accidental death reinsurance coverage than for comprehensive life reinsurance coverage.

Rather than Big City buying reinsurance only for accidents, Big City and Country Cousin can agree to more of a partnership reinsurance arrangement. Country Cousin could agree to pay half of any and all deaths Big City covers, in exchange for half of the premiums Big City collects.

Any reinsurance arrangement Big City and Country Cousin make does not affect the insurance policies that Big City writes for its policyholders. Mr. Moneybags will most likely not even be aware that Country Cousin has reinsured a portion of his coverage from Big City. Big City is still liable to pay its policyholders for insured losses regardless of the reinsurance coverage.

Reinsurance allows the insurance industry to spread its losses among more companies, lessening the impact of claims on any one company. This helps assure that a few big claims will not affect the solvency of an insurance company. An example of the value of reinsurance is the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York. Many insurance companies will contribute a share of the losses because of the reinsurance agreements in place. If one insurance company had to pay the tens of billions of dollars in losses alone, it might face bankruptcy. There are many different reasons why insurance companies might choose to buy reinsurance, but spreading of losses is the primary reason.

In the past, reinsurance of life insurance policies was sometimes called reassurance, but the distinction is largely a matter of history and has no substantive significance today. Still, the term can be found in the names of several life reinsurance companies, including our own (Munich American Reassurance Company).

It's amazing how quickly you get used to the silence. And yet, the absence of engine noise - apart from a fan-like whirr - is the main difference between driving the Nissan Leaf and, say, an automatic diesel Golf. Or maybe more pertinently, a Prius. Which is pretty amazing given how utterly unlike they are.

I've just been driving the Leaf around Bedfordshire, in suburbs and lanes and A-roads. Obviously it isn't a performance car, even though it steps off smartly from rest. It gets sluggish beyond 60mph, and top whack is just 90.

But it's meant as an econo-car so its cornering is, shall we say, unambitious, although to be fair the steering is direct and accurate. Instead Nissan has dialled in a nice, soft, stable, quiet ride.

The idea being you drive in a more stately and saintly way than you would in a petrol or diesel car, because range is more critical.

If you drive your ordinary car harder than the people in the official mpg tests do, you'll run out of fuel sooner. But then you just buy some more and get on your way.

Whereas in an electric car, if you run out of juice early, you've got to wait several hours to recharge.

There's actually fun to be had in the act of stretching range, by conserving momentum, thinking ahead, and avoiding the brakes. And it doesn't necessarily mean being glacially slow.

The Leaf doesn't only drive like a normal car, it does everything else you might need. Normal boot. Five seats (although the rear floor is a bit high because there's a battery underneath).

It looks odd in pictures, but on the road its range-enhancing low-drag curves aren't at all hideous. The cabin is full of fancy displays and electronics to coach you to eke out the miles.