Almost all of us have insurance.
When your insurer gives you the policy document, generally, all you do
is glance over the decorated words in the policy and pile it up with the
other bunch of financial papers on your desk, right? If you spend
thousands of dollars each year on insurance, don't you think that you
should know all about it? Your insurance advisor is always there for you
to help you understand the tricky terms in the insurance forms, but you
should also know for yourself what your contract says. In this article,
we'll make reading your insurance contract easy. Read on to take a look
at the basic principles of insurance contracts and how they are put to
use in daily life.
Tutorial: Introduction To Insurance
Essentials of a Valid Insurance Contract
- Offer and AcceptanceWhen applying for insurance, the first thing you do is get the proposal form of a particular insurance company. After filling in the requested details, you send the form to the company (sometimes with a premium check). This is your offer. If the insurance company accepts your offer and agrees to insure you, this is called an acceptance. In some cases, your insurer may agree to accept your offer after making some changes to your proposed terms (for example, charging you a double premium for your chain-smoking habit).
- ConsiderationThis is the premium or the future premiums that you have pay to your insurance company. For insurers, consideration also refers to the money paid out to you should you file an insurance claim. This means that each party to the contract must provide some value to the relationship.
- Legal CapacityYou need to be legally competent to enter into an agreement with your insurer. If you are a minor or are mentally ill, for example, then you may not be qualified to make contracts. Similarly, insurers are considered to be competent if they are licensed under the prevailing regulations that govern them.
- Legal Purpose: If the purpose of your contract is to encourage illegal activities, it is invalid.
Find the Value in Indemnity contractsMost insurance contracts are indemnity contracts. Indemnity contracts apply to insurances where the loss suffered can be measured in terms of money.
- Principle of IndemnityThis states that insurers pay no more than the actual loss suffered. The purpose of an insurance contract is to leave you in the same financial position you were in immediately prior to the incident leading to an insurance claim. When your old Chevy Cavalier is stolen, you can't expect your insurer to replace it with a brand new Mercedes-Benz. In other words, you will be remunerated according to the total sum you have assured for the car. (To read more on indemnity contracts, see Shopping For Car Insurance and How does the 80% rule for home insurance work?)
Additional FactorsThere
are some additional factors of your insurance contract that also need to
be considered, including under-insurance and excess clauses that create
situations in which the full value of an insured asset is not remunerated.
- Under-InsuranceOften, in order to save on premiums, you may insure your house at $80,000 when the total value of the house actually comes to $100,000. At the time of partial loss, your insurer will pay only a proportion of $80,000 while you have to dig into your savings to cover the remaining portion of the loss. This is called under-insurance, and you should try to avoid it as much as possible.
- ExcessTo avoid trivial claims, the insurers have introduced provisions like excess. For example, you have auto insurance with the applicable excess of $5,000. Unfortunately, your car had an accident with the loss amounting to $7,000. Your insurer will pay you the $7,000 because the loss has exceeded the specified limit of $5,000. But, if the loss comes to $3,000 then the insurance company will not pay a single penny and you have to bear the loss expenses yourself. In short, the insurers will not entertain claims unless and until your losses exceed a minimum amount set by the insurer.
Not all insurance contracts are indemnity contracts. Life insurance
contracts and most personal accident insurance contracts are
non-indemnity contracts. You may purchase a life insurance policy of $1
million, but that does not imply that your life's value is equal to this
dollar amount. Because you can't calculate your life's net worth and fix a price on it, an indemnity contract does not apply. (For more information on non-indemnity contracts, read Buying Life Insurance: Term Versus Permanent, Long-Term Care Insurance: Who Needs It? and Shifting Life Insurance Ownership.)
Insurable InterestIt is your
legal right to insure any type of property or any event that may cause
financial loss or create a legal liability to you. This is called insurable interest.
Suppose you are living in your uncle's house, and you apply for
homeowners' insurance because you believe that you may inherit the
house later. Insurers will decline your offer because you are not the
owner of the house and, therefore, you do not stand to suffer
financially in the event of a loss.
This example demonstrates that when it comes to insurance, it
is not the house, car or machinery that is insured. Rather, it is the
monetary interest in that house, car or machinery to which your policy
applies.
It is also the principle of insurable interest that allows
married couples to take out insurance policies on the lives of their
spouses - they may suffer financially if the spouse dies. Insurable
interest also exists in some business arrangements, as seen between a creditor and debtor, between business partners or between employers and employees.
Principle of SubrogationSubrogation allows an insurer to sue a third party
that has caused a loss to the insured and pursue all methods of getting
back some of the money that it has paid to the insured as a result of
the loss.
For example, if you are injured in a road accident that is caused by the reckless driving of another party, you will be compensated by your insurer. However, your insurance company may also sue the reckless driver in an attempt to recover that money.
For example, if you are injured in a road accident that is caused by the reckless driving of another party, you will be compensated by your insurer. However, your insurance company may also sue the reckless driver in an attempt to recover that money.
Doctrine of Utmost Good FaithAll insurance contracts are based on the concept of "uberrima fidei", or the doctrine of utmost good faith.
This doctrine emphasizes the presence of mutual faith between the
insured and the insurer. In simple terms, while applying for life
insurance, it becomes your duty to disclose your past illnesses to the
insurer. Likewise, the insurer cannot hide information about the insurance coverage that is being sold.
Doctrine of AdhesionThe doctrine of adhesion states that
you must accept the entire insurance contract and all of its terms and
conditions without bargaining. Because the insured has no opportunity to
change the terms, any ambiguities in the contract will be interpreted
in favor of the insured.
ConclusionWhen purchasing
insurance, most of us rely on our insurance advisor for everything -
from choosing a policy for us to filling in the insurance application
forms. Most people try to stay away from the boring legal terms of
insurance contracts, but it is always handy to be familiar with these
words and phrases and to become familiar with the terms of the policy
you are paying for.