When looking for auto insurance you will face the huge number of companies both small and large offering their services to drivers all over the country. And choosing the right one can save you a lot of time and money in the future. That is why we have outlined some the key elements you have to pay attention when choosing a car insurance company to go with. So when you consider getting a deal from a company you aren’t familiar with these are the things you should consider:
Licensing
Even if the insurance company is offering its services in your area it can be doing it without a licensed from your state’s authority. It is highly recommended that you choose a company that has a proper license for operating in your state. By doing so you will be able to seek help from your state authorities in case there’s something is wrong and you have problems with the insurer. If you want to know which companies are licensed to operate in your state you should contact your state’s insurance department.
Price
Price is of course the main determinant when you buy something, and with auto insurance the prices can vary significantly from one company to another. The competition is fierce and insurers try to offer the best package they can to attract the customers. So it is recommended to shop around a bit and get at least three of five quotes from different companies – you will see that the prices will be different. Don’t rush with getting the first deal you find. There are probably better offers around the corner. You can get auto insurance quotes online or contact your state’s insurance department, which usually issues corresponding guides containing auto insurance prices throughout the state.
Financial stability
Auto insurance supposes that you have a substantial financial support from the insurance company in case you end up in an accident. Obviously, you should choose a company that has a long history of financial stability and solidity, large funds and the ability to cover even the most intricate claims. You can learn about a company’s reputation by studying the report from independent rating agencies, which are available both online and in specialized consumer magazines.
Service
When dealing with an insurance company you want to make sure that your claims are processed efficiently and any question that may arise are addressed by the company’s representatives on time and with full detail. You can get a clue on what the company’s service is like by speaking to their customers or independent agents. The national claims database is another source of information that will give you a better clue on how efficiently the claims are processed by any particular company. You can also address your state’s insurance department to learn whether there were any complaints from customers on any particular insurance company.
Comfort
When buying an insurance you shouldn’t experience any complications. See if the company or the agent is easy to reach and deal with. This is especially important when having to file a claim – you don’t want to look for your insurance representative for a couple of days after the accident has taken place, right?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
7 Things Seniors (and Everyone Else) Should Know About FDIC Insurance
Older Americans put their money… and their trust… in FDIC-insured bank accounts because they want peace of mind about the savings they've worked so hard over the years to accumulate. Here are a few things senior citizens should know and remember about FDIC insurance.
1. The basic insurance limit is $100,000 per depositor per insured bank. If you or your family has $100,000 or less in all of your deposit accounts at the same insured bank, you don't need to worry about your insurance coverage. Your funds are fully insured. Your deposits in separately chartered banks are separately insured, even if the banks are affiliated, such as belonging to the same parent company.
2. You may qualify for more than $100,000 in coverage at one insured bank if you own deposit accounts in different ownership categories. There are several different ownership categories, but the most common for consumers are single ownership accounts (for one owner), joint ownership accounts (for two or more people), self-directed retirement accounts (Individual Retirement Accounts and Keogh accounts for which you choose how and where the money is deposited) and revocable trusts (a deposit account saying the funds will pass to one or more named beneficiaries when the owner dies). Deposits in different ownership categories are separately insured. That means one person could have far more than $100,000 of FDIC insurance coverage at the same bank if the funds are in separate ownership categories.
3. A death or divorce in the family can reduce the FDIC insurance coverage. Let's say two people own an account and one dies. The FDIC's rules allow a six-month grace period after a depositor's death to give survivors or estate executors a chance to restructure accounts. But if you fail to act within six months, you run the risk of the accounts going over the $100,000 limit.
Example: A husband and wife have a joint account with a "right of survivorship," a common provision in joint accounts specifying that if one person dies the other will own all the money. The account totals $150,000, which is fully insured because there are two owners (giving them up to $200,000 of coverage). But if one of the two co-owners dies and the surviving spouse doesn't change the account within six months, the $150,000 deposit automatically would be insured to only $100,000 as the surviving spouse's single-ownership account, along with any other accounts in that category at the bank. The result: $50,000 or more would be over the insurance limit and at risk of loss if the bank failed.
Also be aware that the death or divorce of a beneficiary on certain trust accounts can reduce the insurance coverage immediately. There is no six-month grace period in those situations.
4. No depositor has lost a single cent of FDIC-insured funds as a result of a failure. FDIC insurance only comes into play when an FDIC-insured banking institution fails. And fortunately, bank failures are rare nowadays. That's largely because all FDIC-insured banking institutions must meet high standards for financial strength and stability. But if your bank were to fail, FDIC insurance would cover your deposit accounts, dollar for dollar, including principal and accrued interest, up to the insurance limit. If your bank fails and you have deposits above the $100,000 federal insurance limit, you may be able to recover some or, in rare cases, all of your uninsured funds. However, the overwhelming majority of depositors at failed institutions are within the $100,000 insurance limit.
5. The FDIC's deposit insurance guarantee is rock solid. As of mid-year 2005, the FDIC had $48 billion in reserves to protect depositors. Some people say they've been told (usually by marketers of investments that compete with bank deposits) that the FDIC doesn't have the resources to cover depositors' insured funds if an unprecedented number of banks were to fail. That's false information.
6. The FDIC pays depositors promptly after the failure of an insured bank. Most insurance payments are made within a few days, usually by the next business day after the bank is closed. Don't believe the misinformation being spread by some investment sellers who claim that the FDIC takes years to pay insured depositors.
7. You are responsible for knowing your deposit insurance coverage.
Know the rules, protect your money.
Keywords:
accounts, insurance, bank, insured, fdic, $100000, deposit, account, ownership, funds, coverage, insurance coverage, fdic insurance
1. The basic insurance limit is $100,000 per depositor per insured bank. If you or your family has $100,000 or less in all of your deposit accounts at the same insured bank, you don't need to worry about your insurance coverage. Your funds are fully insured. Your deposits in separately chartered banks are separately insured, even if the banks are affiliated, such as belonging to the same parent company.
2. You may qualify for more than $100,000 in coverage at one insured bank if you own deposit accounts in different ownership categories. There are several different ownership categories, but the most common for consumers are single ownership accounts (for one owner), joint ownership accounts (for two or more people), self-directed retirement accounts (Individual Retirement Accounts and Keogh accounts for which you choose how and where the money is deposited) and revocable trusts (a deposit account saying the funds will pass to one or more named beneficiaries when the owner dies). Deposits in different ownership categories are separately insured. That means one person could have far more than $100,000 of FDIC insurance coverage at the same bank if the funds are in separate ownership categories.
3. A death or divorce in the family can reduce the FDIC insurance coverage. Let's say two people own an account and one dies. The FDIC's rules allow a six-month grace period after a depositor's death to give survivors or estate executors a chance to restructure accounts. But if you fail to act within six months, you run the risk of the accounts going over the $100,000 limit.
Example: A husband and wife have a joint account with a "right of survivorship," a common provision in joint accounts specifying that if one person dies the other will own all the money. The account totals $150,000, which is fully insured because there are two owners (giving them up to $200,000 of coverage). But if one of the two co-owners dies and the surviving spouse doesn't change the account within six months, the $150,000 deposit automatically would be insured to only $100,000 as the surviving spouse's single-ownership account, along with any other accounts in that category at the bank. The result: $50,000 or more would be over the insurance limit and at risk of loss if the bank failed.
Also be aware that the death or divorce of a beneficiary on certain trust accounts can reduce the insurance coverage immediately. There is no six-month grace period in those situations.
4. No depositor has lost a single cent of FDIC-insured funds as a result of a failure. FDIC insurance only comes into play when an FDIC-insured banking institution fails. And fortunately, bank failures are rare nowadays. That's largely because all FDIC-insured banking institutions must meet high standards for financial strength and stability. But if your bank were to fail, FDIC insurance would cover your deposit accounts, dollar for dollar, including principal and accrued interest, up to the insurance limit. If your bank fails and you have deposits above the $100,000 federal insurance limit, you may be able to recover some or, in rare cases, all of your uninsured funds. However, the overwhelming majority of depositors at failed institutions are within the $100,000 insurance limit.
5. The FDIC's deposit insurance guarantee is rock solid. As of mid-year 2005, the FDIC had $48 billion in reserves to protect depositors. Some people say they've been told (usually by marketers of investments that compete with bank deposits) that the FDIC doesn't have the resources to cover depositors' insured funds if an unprecedented number of banks were to fail. That's false information.
6. The FDIC pays depositors promptly after the failure of an insured bank. Most insurance payments are made within a few days, usually by the next business day after the bank is closed. Don't believe the misinformation being spread by some investment sellers who claim that the FDIC takes years to pay insured depositors.
7. You are responsible for knowing your deposit insurance coverage.
Know the rules, protect your money.
Keywords:
accounts, insurance, bank, insured, fdic, $100000, deposit, account, ownership, funds, coverage, insurance coverage, fdic insurance
Thursday, June 25, 2009
5 Tips to Finding the Right Dental Insurance Company
With so many dental insurance plans to choose from it can be a daunting task to determine which plan is best for your needs or the needs of your employees. And to note, these needs are extremely important, as the dental care should never be overlooked. There are five tips that may help you discover which plan is right for you.
1. Consider Online Comparisons - While a trusted broker can provide you with several options to choose from, an online comparison of companies and dental insurance options can provide a means of insuring the greatest flexibility and price. The available plan types are extremely varied and an online comparison can allow you to see what a plan will and will not be able to do.
2. Price Comparison - It may be easy to make a quick decision based on a simple query, however, if you are working with a broker there may be other options they can present that may decrease the overall cost. Again by using an online comparison, you may be able to view all options and all price ranges. This information can provide information that can help you select a plan that fits your budget.
3. Benefit Comparison - There are several questions that you should consider when purchasing a dental insurance plan. Here are a few samples to consider.
Ÿ Will I be able to select my own dentist?
Ÿ Are there select dates and times that a dentist may restrict visits by individuals that are a part of a particular plan?
Ÿ Do I need insurance with co-pay?
4. Determine Personal Needs and Objectives - No one likes change, but you must ask yourself if certain components in a dental insurance plan are really a need or a want. You should determine what your objective is in obtaining dental insurance. When you understand your motivation and needs you’ll be better able to select a plan.
5. Understanding the Importance of Coverage - Once you understand that a dental insurance plan removes the barrier to oral health and that improved oral health is linked to improved physical health, a dental insurance plan begins to make sense.
Like major medical insurance, dental insurance provides a means of managing the rising cost of dental care. In certain cases premiums for dental insurance is tax deductible.
1. Consider Online Comparisons - While a trusted broker can provide you with several options to choose from, an online comparison of companies and dental insurance options can provide a means of insuring the greatest flexibility and price. The available plan types are extremely varied and an online comparison can allow you to see what a plan will and will not be able to do.
2. Price Comparison - It may be easy to make a quick decision based on a simple query, however, if you are working with a broker there may be other options they can present that may decrease the overall cost. Again by using an online comparison, you may be able to view all options and all price ranges. This information can provide information that can help you select a plan that fits your budget.
3. Benefit Comparison - There are several questions that you should consider when purchasing a dental insurance plan. Here are a few samples to consider.
Ÿ Will I be able to select my own dentist?
Ÿ Are there select dates and times that a dentist may restrict visits by individuals that are a part of a particular plan?
Ÿ Do I need insurance with co-pay?
4. Determine Personal Needs and Objectives - No one likes change, but you must ask yourself if certain components in a dental insurance plan are really a need or a want. You should determine what your objective is in obtaining dental insurance. When you understand your motivation and needs you’ll be better able to select a plan.
5. Understanding the Importance of Coverage - Once you understand that a dental insurance plan removes the barrier to oral health and that improved oral health is linked to improved physical health, a dental insurance plan begins to make sense.
Like major medical insurance, dental insurance provides a means of managing the rising cost of dental care. In certain cases premiums for dental insurance is tax deductible.
5 Tips to Finding the Right Dental Insurance Company
With so many dental insurance plans to choose from it can be a daunting task to determine which plan is best for your needs or the needs of your employees. And to note, these needs are extremely important, as the dental care should never be overlooked. There are five tips that may help you discover which plan is right for you.
1. Consider Online Comparisons - While a trusted broker can provide you with several options to choose from, an online comparison of companies and dental insurance options can provide a means of insuring the greatest flexibility and price. The available plan types are extremely varied and an online comparison can allow you to see what a plan will and will not be able to do.
2. Price Comparison - It may be easy to make a quick decision based on a simple query, however, if you are working with a broker there may be other options they can present that may decrease the overall cost. Again by using an online comparison, you may be able to view all options and all price ranges. This information can provide information that can help you select a plan that fits your budget.
3. Benefit Comparison - There are several questions that you should consider when purchasing a dental insurance plan. Here are a few samples to consider.
Ÿ Will I be able to select my own dentist?
Ÿ Are there select dates and times that a dentist may restrict visits by individuals that are a part of a particular plan?
Ÿ Do I need insurance with co-pay?
4. Determine Personal Needs and Objectives - No one likes change, but you must ask yourself if certain components in a dental insurance plan are really a need or a want. You should determine what your objective is in obtaining dental insurance. When you understand your motivation and needs you’ll be better able to select a plan.
5. Understanding the Importance of Coverage - Once you understand that a dental insurance plan removes the barrier to oral health and that improved oral health is linked to improved physical health, a dental insurance plan begins to make sense.
Like major medical insurance, dental insurance provides a means of managing the rising cost of dental care. In certain cases premiums for dental insurance is tax deductible.
1. Consider Online Comparisons - While a trusted broker can provide you with several options to choose from, an online comparison of companies and dental insurance options can provide a means of insuring the greatest flexibility and price. The available plan types are extremely varied and an online comparison can allow you to see what a plan will and will not be able to do.
2. Price Comparison - It may be easy to make a quick decision based on a simple query, however, if you are working with a broker there may be other options they can present that may decrease the overall cost. Again by using an online comparison, you may be able to view all options and all price ranges. This information can provide information that can help you select a plan that fits your budget.
3. Benefit Comparison - There are several questions that you should consider when purchasing a dental insurance plan. Here are a few samples to consider.
Ÿ Will I be able to select my own dentist?
Ÿ Are there select dates and times that a dentist may restrict visits by individuals that are a part of a particular plan?
Ÿ Do I need insurance with co-pay?
4. Determine Personal Needs and Objectives - No one likes change, but you must ask yourself if certain components in a dental insurance plan are really a need or a want. You should determine what your objective is in obtaining dental insurance. When you understand your motivation and needs you’ll be better able to select a plan.
5. Understanding the Importance of Coverage - Once you understand that a dental insurance plan removes the barrier to oral health and that improved oral health is linked to improved physical health, a dental insurance plan begins to make sense.
Like major medical insurance, dental insurance provides a means of managing the rising cost of dental care. In certain cases premiums for dental insurance is tax deductible.
10 key reasons why a person needs life insurance
Insurance is designed to protect a person and the family from disasters and financial burdens. There are many kinds of insurance of which, the basic and most important is considered to be life insurance. It provides for the dependants after your death.
Since there are certain financial commitments you need to meet throughout life and do contribute in some way to the family income, you need to provide something even in death—to secure the home, help the family meet expenses for a while, protect dependant parents, or secure the children or spouse.
Financial obligations could include funeral expenses, unsettled medical bills, mortgages, business commitments, meeting the college expenses of the children, and so on.
How much insurance a person needs would vary, depending on lifestyle, financial needs and sources of income, debts, and the number of dependants? An insurance adviser or agent would recommend that you take insurance that amounts to five to ten times your annual income. It is best to sit down with an expert and go through the reasons why you should consider insurance and what kind of insurance planning would benefit you.
As an important part of your financial plan insurance provides peace of mind for any uncertainties in life.
1. Life insurance correctly planned will on premature death provide funds to deal with monies due, mortgages, and living expenses. It offers protection to the family you leave behind and serves as a cash resource.
2. It secures your hard earned estate on death by providing tax free cash which can be utilized to pay estate and death duties and to tide over business and personal expenses.
3. Life insurance can have a savings or pension component that provides for you during retirement.
4. Some policies have riders like coverage of critical illness or term insurance for the children or spouse. There are certain rules regarding eligibility for riders which you will need to determine clearly.
5. Having a valid insurance policy is considered as financial assets which improves your credit rating when you need health insurance or a home loan or business loan.
6. In case of bankruptcy, the cash value as well as death benefits of an insurance policy is exempt from creditors.
7. Life insurance can be planned such that it will cover even your funeral expenses.
8. Term life insurance has double benefits, it protects and you can get your money back during strategic points in your life.
9. Insurance protects your business from financial loss or any liabilities in case a business partner dies.
10. It can contribute towards maintaining a family’s life style when one contributing partner suddenly dies.
Insurance is vital to good financial planning and security but you would need to assess your personal risk and long term commitments. Insurance stands a person in good stead throughout life and can be used in case of emergencies during a life time by requesting a withdrawal or loan.
Keywords:
insurance quotes, health insurance, home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, travel insurance, medical insurance, insurance company's reports
Since there are certain financial commitments you need to meet throughout life and do contribute in some way to the family income, you need to provide something even in death—to secure the home, help the family meet expenses for a while, protect dependant parents, or secure the children or spouse.
Financial obligations could include funeral expenses, unsettled medical bills, mortgages, business commitments, meeting the college expenses of the children, and so on.
How much insurance a person needs would vary, depending on lifestyle, financial needs and sources of income, debts, and the number of dependants? An insurance adviser or agent would recommend that you take insurance that amounts to five to ten times your annual income. It is best to sit down with an expert and go through the reasons why you should consider insurance and what kind of insurance planning would benefit you.
As an important part of your financial plan insurance provides peace of mind for any uncertainties in life.
1. Life insurance correctly planned will on premature death provide funds to deal with monies due, mortgages, and living expenses. It offers protection to the family you leave behind and serves as a cash resource.
2. It secures your hard earned estate on death by providing tax free cash which can be utilized to pay estate and death duties and to tide over business and personal expenses.
3. Life insurance can have a savings or pension component that provides for you during retirement.
4. Some policies have riders like coverage of critical illness or term insurance for the children or spouse. There are certain rules regarding eligibility for riders which you will need to determine clearly.
5. Having a valid insurance policy is considered as financial assets which improves your credit rating when you need health insurance or a home loan or business loan.
6. In case of bankruptcy, the cash value as well as death benefits of an insurance policy is exempt from creditors.
7. Life insurance can be planned such that it will cover even your funeral expenses.
8. Term life insurance has double benefits, it protects and you can get your money back during strategic points in your life.
9. Insurance protects your business from financial loss or any liabilities in case a business partner dies.
10. It can contribute towards maintaining a family’s life style when one contributing partner suddenly dies.
Insurance is vital to good financial planning and security but you would need to assess your personal risk and long term commitments. Insurance stands a person in good stead throughout life and can be used in case of emergencies during a life time by requesting a withdrawal or loan.
Keywords:
insurance quotes, health insurance, home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, travel insurance, medical insurance, insurance company's reports
Thursday, March 26, 2009
What you need to know about life insurance
aschael Egerue, managing director, Afribank Insurance Brokers Limited and an insurance expert of over two decades, in this interview with Modestus Anaesoronye, outlines the benefits of life insurance to individuals and the society. Excerpts.
Consider a life insurance today The benefit of life insurance is in several respect and we start from the individual, which is a basic component of the society. By taking life assurance, the individual assures his estate or dependants that should anything happen to him they would have something to fall back on.
Should you also be alive, you have something to fall back on. That alone in a country like Nigeria where there is no social welfare scheme, where there is no plan for the aging, is a lot of advantage for any with life assurance.
Now, you talk of mobilisation of funds through life assurance. Cheap funds are mobilised by life insurance companies and these are cheap deposits in the sense that the multiplier effect of the deposits far outweighs the little interest that is paid on what is declared on the policies.
These deposits are mobilised and channelled into a lot of areas, such as estate development and other long-term investments.
Getting an insurance policy
Basically, when you want to take a life insurance policy the first step is to approach your broker, your agent or go directly to the insurance company. What is required is one: your interest in taking a life policy, and secondly, be prepared to declare your health status to let the insurance company know the state of the person’s health, which determines the premium to be paid and collected in case of any eventuality.
This can either be by mere deceleration if the sum assured is small or through medical examination. And once you have done the medical examination and the result is okay, the insurance company goes ahead to issue and explain to you the terms of the policy, and it starts running.
Amount for life insurance policy
As it is said, there is no specific value for life unlike property insurance, where over insurance is morally hazardous. On life, if you can afford to take a life policy of N1 billion and comfortably pay the premium, nobody questions why you are doing that.
So, there is no limit to how much you can take. If what you can afford is N5, 000.00 for 10 years, that is okay and if your salary improves you can also take life polices in addition to this or expand the one you already have.
Life insurance in Nigeria
Despite a number of advantages to individuals and the society, as well as the contribution of life premium to the economy in terms of mobilisation of fund for long-term economic development, life insurance has not fared well in this country at all.
There are a number of reasons why it is so and therefore, we look at it from various perspectives.
On the target market, there are people who should to take the life cover, why are they not taking it?
There are some people whose reasons are largely religious and for such, “it is God that gives and it is God that takes” and so they would not want to intervene personally by taking life assurance.
There are others too who are acting out of ignorance. This group are ignorant of the benefits of life insurance and since they don’t know, they have nothing to do with it. There are also others who are mentally biased because of their source of income. In our society today, some people come into cheap money and because of how they made their money they think it will continue to flow ceaselessly, and as such, life policy is nothing to consider.
When you tell them to save through life insurance for a period of 10 years, they tell you it does not worth their while. This is not made better because we have a currency risk here and so the naira has not been appreciating as it should, so, it makes it somehow unattractive for many people to take the policy, amid alternatives.
There are also another set of people who see it from the angle that the premium is expensive. Their argument is that there is a lot of bias in the actual computation of the life of a black man, because of the presumption that life is very hazardous here and that people can die easily.
So, the premium rate here tends to be higher than normal because the life expectancy here tends to be lower, which is a constraint. Again, people believe that there are other alternatives instead of life insurance. Life insurance is competing with real estate, money market, capital market and all that, and so people have choices on where to put their money.
These are some of the competing factors with life insurance that have made it stagnant.
I think what is necessary is that all the stakeholders, particularly government, should have high interest in the development of the life market because the fund from the market is very durable.
Look at what has happened to the pension sector. Who knew that within this short period of pension reform, the sector would be able to mobilise as much as N900 billion in assets?
Nobody also knew that such money was in this country and life business could as well do so.
This money is not going outside this country; it would be used to finance venture capital issues and other long-term investments.
BY: Modestus Anaesoronye
Consider a life insurance today The benefit of life insurance is in several respect and we start from the individual, which is a basic component of the society. By taking life assurance, the individual assures his estate or dependants that should anything happen to him they would have something to fall back on.
Should you also be alive, you have something to fall back on. That alone in a country like Nigeria where there is no social welfare scheme, where there is no plan for the aging, is a lot of advantage for any with life assurance.
Now, you talk of mobilisation of funds through life assurance. Cheap funds are mobilised by life insurance companies and these are cheap deposits in the sense that the multiplier effect of the deposits far outweighs the little interest that is paid on what is declared on the policies.
These deposits are mobilised and channelled into a lot of areas, such as estate development and other long-term investments.
Getting an insurance policy
Basically, when you want to take a life insurance policy the first step is to approach your broker, your agent or go directly to the insurance company. What is required is one: your interest in taking a life policy, and secondly, be prepared to declare your health status to let the insurance company know the state of the person’s health, which determines the premium to be paid and collected in case of any eventuality.
This can either be by mere deceleration if the sum assured is small or through medical examination. And once you have done the medical examination and the result is okay, the insurance company goes ahead to issue and explain to you the terms of the policy, and it starts running.
Amount for life insurance policy
As it is said, there is no specific value for life unlike property insurance, where over insurance is morally hazardous. On life, if you can afford to take a life policy of N1 billion and comfortably pay the premium, nobody questions why you are doing that.
So, there is no limit to how much you can take. If what you can afford is N5, 000.00 for 10 years, that is okay and if your salary improves you can also take life polices in addition to this or expand the one you already have.
Life insurance in Nigeria
Despite a number of advantages to individuals and the society, as well as the contribution of life premium to the economy in terms of mobilisation of fund for long-term economic development, life insurance has not fared well in this country at all.
There are a number of reasons why it is so and therefore, we look at it from various perspectives.
On the target market, there are people who should to take the life cover, why are they not taking it?
There are some people whose reasons are largely religious and for such, “it is God that gives and it is God that takes” and so they would not want to intervene personally by taking life assurance.
There are others too who are acting out of ignorance. This group are ignorant of the benefits of life insurance and since they don’t know, they have nothing to do with it. There are also others who are mentally biased because of their source of income. In our society today, some people come into cheap money and because of how they made their money they think it will continue to flow ceaselessly, and as such, life policy is nothing to consider.
When you tell them to save through life insurance for a period of 10 years, they tell you it does not worth their while. This is not made better because we have a currency risk here and so the naira has not been appreciating as it should, so, it makes it somehow unattractive for many people to take the policy, amid alternatives.
There are also another set of people who see it from the angle that the premium is expensive. Their argument is that there is a lot of bias in the actual computation of the life of a black man, because of the presumption that life is very hazardous here and that people can die easily.
So, the premium rate here tends to be higher than normal because the life expectancy here tends to be lower, which is a constraint. Again, people believe that there are other alternatives instead of life insurance. Life insurance is competing with real estate, money market, capital market and all that, and so people have choices on where to put their money.
These are some of the competing factors with life insurance that have made it stagnant.
I think what is necessary is that all the stakeholders, particularly government, should have high interest in the development of the life market because the fund from the market is very durable.
Look at what has happened to the pension sector. Who knew that within this short period of pension reform, the sector would be able to mobilise as much as N900 billion in assets?
Nobody also knew that such money was in this country and life business could as well do so.
This money is not going outside this country; it would be used to finance venture capital issues and other long-term investments.
BY: Modestus Anaesoronye
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