online continuing Education For insurance providers - Economical, efficient, effective

Like many other service professionals, registered Insurance agents and adjusters are required to stay up to date with the latest rules, regulations, and best practices of their industry through regular Insurance Continuing Education (CE) training. While each state has its own unique licensing requirements, all states require some level of periodic Insurance CE to maintain a license in that state.

Typically, a minimum number of insurance CE credits must be earned every two years. The providers of continuing education training must themselves be certified to train in the state in which the insurance professionals are licensed.

Once an exam is passed the results are submitted to the state's licensing board where the credits are recorded. A minimum number of credits must be passed within a two year period in order to renew their license.

There are certain advantages gained by learning in a classroom environment. Most everyone went through school in a similar learning environment and so it is a familiar venue. Insurance agents and adjusters can meet each other, network, compare notes and discuss the lecture. There are some disadvantages to this learning model however, which include:

• The costs associated with this kind of training are high due to the need to rent classroom space and hire a professional trainer, as well as the associated travel and lodging costs.
• Most classes are offered during the week during business hours, causing lost productivity.

Insurance is a very competitive business. Time away from the office may result in lost opportunities or a backlog of work which needs to be attended to. To address these deficiencies, online insurance continuing education courses provide a number of advantages not found in the classroom, including:

• Online insurance CE training is available at any time (including nights or weekends). It's accessible whenever the professional has some spare time in his or her schedule.
• Students can move through course material at their own pace.
• Insurance professionals who are licensed to work in several states can fulfill their CE requirements at one time and place.
• Some online insurance CE providers allow unlimited test re-takes, until the candidate passes.
• Reminders of individual Insurance Continuing Education deadlines are sent via email to ensure timely completion of course requirements.
• Reporting of training credits to the licensing board is done automatically by some online insurance CE course providers upon exam completion (where this is allowed by the individual state).

Online training courses are typically delivered via slide presentation using a computers web browser. Most people know how to use a web browser and therefore require no additional training.

Insurance professionals should choose an online Insurance CE provider that includes audio training as a complement to on-screen slides. For example, the audio can be downloaded as a "podcast" and the insurance professional can listen and learn while driving to an appointment.

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Lifeinsurance continuing Education For insurance agents

Life insurance continuing education classes are offered by most states offline and online, primarily focusing on recent updates on rules/features, business plans and marketing strategies that dictate the sale of Life Insurance policies. The objective of insurance continuing education is to train up the life insurance professionals in a way so that they are equipped to meet all CE requirements related to insurance in the most professional manner.

Life insurance is undoubtedly one of the most lucrative insurance products for insurance companies and yet the most difficult to sell, due to its long-term policies and marginally higher than average premium rates.

Continuing education for insurance has become a mandatory requirement for brokers, agents and insurance professionals who need to renew their license and acquire updated knowledge about insurance and its current operating procedures/terms and conditions/ rules and laws, which are largely variable in nature and keep changing over a certain period of time from area to area. A successful insurance agent needs to keep himself updated about recent changes in the insurance scenario so that marketing the insurance policies in conformation to updated guidelines becomes easier.

Insurance continuing education holds a lot of significance, since this industry is dynamic in nature and is ever evolving with new sets of rules and policies, developed in accordance with the growing demands and requirements of policy buyers. That is why the courses are also amended periodically so that the agent or insurance advisor participating in the course gets to know the most recent guidelines and is better equipped to sell newer policies as well.

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continuing Education For insurance agents And brokers

This is the reason why every state has made it mandatory for insurance professionals to enroll themselves for some stipulated hours of training for earning insurance credits for retention of license. Insurance agent continuing education is available in traditional institutions in classroom style as well as online training centers. Insurance continuing education online is a boon for those professionals who are pressed for time and do not have enough hours free to spend in regular classes. This enables them to gain credentials and education credits without taking the trouble of attending actual classes.

For beginners it's an easy portal from where they can accumulate formal training and become life insurance agent, broker, underwriter or advisor. Insurance agent continuing education is variable from state to state and individual to individual, depending upon the area of existing or required license and the state from which the agent is operating.

Each state has a specific set of guidelines for the same and online certification courses are available for each and every type of training that is targeted. The courses focus on varied field of knowledge, ranging from risk management, managerial services, financial services and so on. The main aim and objective of all the courses remain to hand over the most updated information about guidelines, rules, regulations and laws that operate in the insurance industry, to the participator so that he/she becomes equipped to achieve greater sales target in his career.

Apart from this, registering online can help the applicant to save on time as he does not need to be physically present at the place at any stipulated hour. It is also convenient as it can be continued as per one's own convenient time and schedule. The internet is full of resources on insurance agent continuing education and hence you can get ample material to study for the field or topic you need certification for. The popularity of continuing insurance education online can be seen in the surge of participants enrolling in such programs for taking new courses or switching over from classroom courses to these ones in the virtual world.

All specialty areas are covered in the programs which cover commercial as well as personal lines. Every state makes it mandatory for the agent to conform to its set guidelines and rules, while selling insurance products or receiving Insurance CE and hence the course needs to be approved by the particular State Department of Insurance.

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Basics of 'Lemon Law'

What is Lemon Law

A "Lemon Law" is a state law that protects purchasers of motor vehicles. Lemon Laws define the rights and remedies that a consumer has if he has purchased a defective motor vehicle. In certain states, the Lemon Law only protects consumers who have purchased brand new personal use cars, trucks, vans and SUV's, while in other states, the Lemon Law protection extends to used vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles (RV's) and more.


Why 'Lemon' Law?

A "Lemon" is term that is used to reference a defective product. State Lemon Laws set forth the particular terms that define what a lemon vehicle is, but there are general parameters that are found in all states' Lemon Laws. 

Basis of Lemon Law

Generally, a vehicle is considered a Lemon if it exhibits defects or non-conformities that substantially impair the use, value or safety of the vehicle.  As stated, that means that the defect or non-conformity must be serious in nature.  Examples of such include Transmission, Engine, Braking, Steering, Electrical and other assorted problems.  Please know that this is not an exhaustive list.  Once your vehicle suffers such a defect, all state Lemon Laws require that the Manufacturer must be given a reasonable opportunity to repair the problems.  This number varies from two (2) to five (5) depending upon your state Lemon Law.  If the dealer cannot repair the defect after the appropriate number of attempts, your vehicle may be considered a Lemon. 

Benefits of Lemon Law

Most State Lemon Law statutes provide that the consumer is entitled to choose either a free replacement vehicle or a full refund of the purchase price of the vehicle.

• A free replacement vehicle means obtaining a vehicle which is substantially identical to the defective vehicle, of like make, model and options, at no additional cost.
•  A full refund of the purchase price includes obtaining all funds that were used to purchase the vehicle, including any down payment, trade-in equity, financing payments (including interest) taxes, title fees and documents costs.
•  In most states, the consumer is also entitled to an award of reasonable Attorney Fees for prosecution of the Lemon claim.

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Insurance financing vehicles

• Fraternal insurance is provided on a cooperative basis by fraternal benefit societies or other social organizations.
• No-fault insurance is a type of insurance policy (typically automobile insurance) where insureds are indemnified by their own insurer regardless of fault in the incident.
• Protected self-insurance is an alternative risk financing mechanism in which an organization retains the mathematically calculated cost of risk within the organization and transfers the catastrophic risk with specific and aggregate limits to an insurer so the maximum total cost of the program is known. A properly designed and underwritten Protected Self-Insurance Program reduces and stabilizes the cost of insurance and provides valuable risk management information.
• Retrospectively rated insurance is a method of establishing a premium on large commercial accounts. The final premium is based on the insured's actual loss experience during the policy term, sometimes subject to a minimum and maximum premium, with the final premium determined by a formula. Under this plan, the current year's premium is based partially (or wholly) on the current year's losses, although the premium adjustments may take months or years beyond the current year's expiration date. The rating formula is guaranteed in the insurance contract. Formula: retrospective premium = converted loss + basic premium × tax multiplier. Numerous variations of this formula have been developed and are in use.
• Formal self insurance is the deliberate decision to pay for otherwise insurable losses out of one's own money. This can be done on a formal basis by establishing a separate fund into which funds are deposited on a periodic basis, or by simply forgoing the purchase of available insurance and paying out-of-pocket. Self insurance is usually used to pay for high-frequency, low-severity losses. Such losses, if covered by conventional insurance, mean having to pay a premium that includes loadings for the company's general expenses, cost of putting the policy on the books, acquisition expenses, premium taxes, and contingencies. While this is true for all insurance, for small, frequent losses the transaction costs may exceed the benefit of volatility reduction that insurance otherwise affords.
• Reinsurance is a type of insurance purchased by insurance companies or self-insured employers to protect against unexpected losses.Financial reinsurance is a form of reinsurance that is primarily used for capital management rather than to transfer insurance risk.
• Social insurance can be many things to many people in many countries. But a summary of its essence is that it is a collection of insurance coverages (including components of life insurance, disability income insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, and others), plus retirement savings, that requires participation by all citizens. By forcing everyone in society to be a policyholder and pay premiums, it ensures that everyone can become a claimant when or if he/she needs to. Along the way this inevitably becomes related to other concepts such as the justice system and the welfare state.

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Credit Insurance

Credit insurance repays some or all of a loan when certain circumstances arise to the borrower such as unemployment, disability, or death.

• Mortgage insurance insures the lender against default by the borrower. Mortgage insurance is a form of credit insurance, although the name "credit insurance" more often is used to refer to policies that cover other kinds of debt.
• Many credit cards offer payment protection plans which are a form of credit insurance.

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Liability Insurance

Liability insurance is a very broad superset that covers legal claims against the insured. Many types of insurance include an aspect of liability coverage. For example, a homeowner's insurance policy will normally include liability coverage which protects the insured in the event of a claim brought by someone who slips and falls on the property; automobile insurance also includes an aspect of liability insurance that indemnifies against the harm that a crashing car can cause to others' lives, health, or property. The protection offered by a liability insurance policy is twofold: a legal defense in the event of a lawsuit commenced against the policyholder and indemnification (payment on behalf of the insured) with respect to a settlement or court verdict. Liability policies typically cover only the negligence of the insured, and will not apply to results of wilful or intentional acts by the insured.

The subprime mortgage crisis was the source of many liability insurance losses

• Public liability insurance covers a business or organization against claims should its operations injure a member of the public or damage their property in some way.
• Directors and officers liability insurance (D&O) protects an organization (usually a corporation) from costs associated with litigation resulting from errors made by directors and officers for which they are liable.
• Environmental liability insurance protects the insured from bodily injury, property damage and cleanup costs as a result of the dispersal, release or escape of pollutants.
• Errors and omissions insurance is business liability insurance for professionals such as insurance agents, real estate agents and brokers, architects, third-party administrators (TPAs) and other business professionals.
• Prize indemnity insurance protects the insured from giving away a large prize at a specific event. Examples would include offering prizes to contestants who can make a half-court shot at a basketball game, or a hole-in-one at a golf tournament.
• Professional liability insurance, also called professional indemnity insurance (PI), protects insured professionals such as architectural corporations and medical practitioners against potential negligence claims made by their patients/clients. Professional liability insurance may take on different names depending on the profession. For example, professional liability insurance in reference to the medical profession may be called medical malpractice insurance.

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Property Insurance

Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. This may include specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance,earthquake insurance, home insurance, inland marine insurance or boiler insurance. The termproperty insurance may, like casualty insurance, be used as a broad category of various subtypes of insurance, some of which are listed below:

US Airways Flight 1549 was written off after ditching into the Hudson River

• Aviation insurance protects aircraft hulls and spares, and associated liability risks, such as passenger and third-party liability. Airports may also appear under this subcategory, including air traffic control and refuelling operations for international airports through to smaller domestic exposures.

• Boiler insurance (also known as boiler and machinery insurance, or equipment breakdown insurance) insures against accidental physical damage to boilers, equipment or machinery.

• Builder's risk insurance insures against the risk of physical loss or damage to property during construction. Builder's risk insurance is typically written on an "all risk" basis covering damage arising from any cause (including the negligence of the insured) not otherwise expressly excluded. Builder's risk insurance is coverage that protects a person's or organization's insurable interest in materials, fixtures and/or equipment being used in the construction or renovation of a building or structure should those items sustain physical loss or damage from an insured peril.

• Crop insurance may be purchased by farmers to reduce or manage various risks associated with growing crops. Such risks include crop loss or damage caused by weather, hail, drought, frost damage, insects, or disease.

• Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that pays the policyholder in the event of an earthquake that causes damage to the property. Most ordinary home insurance policies do not cover earthquake damage. Earthquake insurance policies generally feature a high deductible. Rates depend on location and hence the likelihood of an earthquake, as well as the construction of the home.

• Fidelity bond is a form of casualty insurance that covers policyholders for losses incurred as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals. It usually insures a business for losses caused by the dishonest acts of its employees.

Hurricane Katrina caused over $80bn of storm and flood damage

• Flood insurance protects against property loss due to flooding. Many insurers in the U.S. do not provide flood insurance in some parts of the country. In response to this, the federal government created the National Flood Insurance Program which serves as the insurer of last resort.

• Home insurance, also commonly called hazard insurance, or homeowners insurance (often abbreviated in the real estate industry as HOI), is the type of property insurance that covers private homes, as outlined above.

• Landlord insurance covers residential and commercial properties which are rented to others. Most homeowners' insurance covers only owner-occupied homes.

Fire aboard MV Hyundai Fortune

• Marine insurance and marine cargo insurance cover the loss or damage of vessels at sea or on inland waterways, and of cargo in transit, regardless of the method of transit. When the owner of the cargo and the carrier are separate corporations, marine cargo insurance typically compensates the owner of cargo for losses sustained from fire, shipwreck, etc., but excludes losses that can be recovered from the carrier or the carrier's insurance. Many marine insurance underwriters will include "time element" coverage in such policies, which extends the indemnity to cover loss of profit and other business expenses attributable to the delay caused by a covered loss.

• Supplemental natural disaster insurance covers specified expenses after a natural disaster renders the policyholder's home uninhabitable. Periodic payments are made directly to the insured until the home is rebuilt or a specified time period has elapsed.

• Surety bond insurance is a three-party insurance guaranteeing the performance of the principal.

The demand for terrorism insurance surged after 9/11

• Terrorism insurance provides protection against any loss or damage caused by terrorist activities. In the U.S. in the wake of 9/11, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act 2002 (TRIA) set up a federal Program providing a transparent system of shared public and private compensation for insured losses resulting from acts of terrorism. The program was extended until the end of 2014 by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act 2007 (TRIPRA).

• Volcano insurance is a specialized insurance protecting against damage arising specifically from volcanic eruptions.

• Windstorm insurance is an insurance covering the damage that can be caused by wind events such as hurricanes.

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Burial insurance

Burial insurance is a very old type of life insurance which is paid out upon death to cover final expenses, such as the cost of a funeral. TheGreeks and Romans introduced burial insurance circa 600 AD when they organized guilds called "benevolent societies" which cared for the surviving families and paid funeral expenses of members upon death. Guilds in the Middle Ages served a similar purpose, as did friendly societies during Victorian times.

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Life Insurance

Life insurance provides a monetary benefit to a descendant's family or other designated beneficiary, and may specifically provide for income to an insured person's family, burial, funeral and other final expenses. Life insurance policies often allow the option of having the proceeds paid to the beneficiary either in a lump sum cash payment or an annuity.

Annuities provide a stream of payments and are generally classified as insurance because they are issued by insurance companies, are regulated as insurance, and require the same kinds of actuarial and investment management expertise that life insurance requires. Annuities and pensions that pay a benefit for life are sometimes regarded as insurance against the possibility that a retiree will outlive his or her financial resources. In that sense, they are the complement of life insurance and, from an underwriting perspective, are the mirror image of life insurance.

Certain life insurance contracts accumulate cash values, which may be taken by the insured if the policy is surrendered or which may be borrowed against. Some policies, such as annuities and endowment policies, are financial instruments to accumulate or liquidate wealth when it is needed.

In many countries, such as the U.S. and the UK, the tax law provides that the interest on this cash value is not taxable under certain circumstances. This leads to widespread use of life insurance as a tax-efficient method of saving as well as protection in the event of early death.

In the U.S., the tax on interest income on life insurance policies and annuities is generally deferred. However, in some cases the benefit derived from tax deferral may be offset by a low return. This depends upon the insuring company, the type of policy and other variables (mortality, market return, etc.). Moreover, other income tax saving vehicles (e.g., IRAs, 401(k) plans, Roth IRAs) may be better alternatives for value accumulation.

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Casualty

Casualty insurance insures against accidents, not necessarily tied to any specific property. It is a broad spectrum of insurance that a number of other types of insurance could be classified, such as auto, workers compensation, and some liability insurances.

• Crime insurance is a form of casualty insurance that covers the policyholder against losses arising from the criminal acts of third parties. For example, a company can obtain crime insurance to cover losses arising from theft or embezzlement.
• Political risk insurance is a form of casualty insurance that can be taken out by businesses with operations in countries in which there is a risk that revolution or other political conditions could result in a loss.

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Accident, sickness and unemployment insurance

• Disability insurance policies provide financial support in the event of the policyholder becoming unable to work because of disabling illness or injury. It provides monthly support to help pay such obligations as mortgage loans and credit cards. Short-term and long-term disability policies are available to individuals, but considering the expense, long-term policies are generally obtained only by those with at least six-figure incomes, such as doctors, lawyers, etc. Short-term disability insurance covers a person for a period typically up to six months, paying a stipend each month to cover medical bills and other necessities.
• Long-term disability insurance covers an individual's expenses for the long term, up until such time as they are considered permanently disabled and thereafter. Insurance companies will often try to encourage the person back into employment in preference to and before declaring them unable to work at all and therefore totally disabled.
• Disability overhead insurance allows business owners to cover the overhead expenses of their business while they are unable to work.
• Total permanent disability insurance provides benefits when a person is permanently disabled and can no longer work in their profession, often taken as an adjunct to life insurance.
• Workers' compensation insurance replaces all or part of a worker's wages lost and accompanying medical expenses incurred because of a job-related injury.

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Health insurance

Health insurance policies cover the cost of medical treatments. Dental insurance, like medical insurance, protects policyholders for dental costs. In the U.S. and Canada, dental insurance is often part of an employer's benefits package, along with health insurance.

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Home insurance

Home insurance provides coverage for damage or destruction of the policyholder's home. In some geographical areas, the policy may exclude certain types of risks, such as flood or earthquake, that require additional coverage. Maintenance-related issues are typically the homeowner's responsibility. The policy may include inventory, or this can be bought as a separate policy, especially for people who rent housing. In some countries, insurers offer a package which may include liability and legal responsibility for injuries and property damage caused by members of the household, including pets.

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Auto insurance

Auto insurance protects the policyholder against financial loss in the event of an incident involving a vehicle they own, such as in a traffic collision.

Coverage typically includes:

1. Property coverage, for damage to or theft of the car;
2. Liability coverage, for the legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage;
3. Medical coverage, for the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses.

Most countries, such as the United Kingdom, require drivers to buy some, but not all, of these coverages. When a car is used as collateral for a loan the lender usually requires specific coverage.

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Types of Insurance

Any risk that can be quantified can potentially be insured. Specific kinds of risk that may give rise to claims are known as perils. An insurance policy will set out in detail which perils are covered by the policy and which are not. Below are non-exhaustive lists of the many different types of insurance that exist. A single policy may cover risks in one or more of the categories set out below. For example, vehicle insurance would typically cover both the property risk (theft or damage to the vehicle) and the liability risk (legal claims arising from anaccident). A home insurance policy in the U.S. typically includes coverage for damage to the home and the owner's belongings, certain legal claims against the owner, and even a small amount of coverage for medical expenses of guests who are injured on the owner's property.

Business insurance can take a number of different forms, such as the various kinds of professional liability insurance, also called professional indemnity (PI), which are discussed below under that name; and the business owner's policy (BOP), which packages into one policy many of the kinds of coverage that a business owner needs, in a way analogous to how homeowners' insurance packages the coverages that a homeowner needs.

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Insurance

Insurance is a risk management technique primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss that may be suffered by those individuals or entities who have an insurable interest in scarce resources, by transferring the possibility of this loss from one interested person, persons, or entity to another. The scarce resources referred to here fall into three divisions: human resources, financial resources, and capital, or tangible resources. In the context of insurance, scarce resources are also known as "exposures," because they are "exposed" to perils, those things, or forces, which cause destruction or reduction, in the usefulness, or value, of an exposed resource. Human resources are thus exposed to perils such as illness or death; financial resources to legal judements that may result from negligent acts, and capital resources to physical perils such as fire, theft, windstorm, and vandalism, to name but a few. A hazard is the cause of a peril. It is that thing or condition which increases the liklihood of a peril. Thus perils and hazards are identified by the exposure that they threaten. For example a slippery roadway could be viewed as a financial hazard, capital hazard, or human hazard by automobile owners, and rightly so, since this condition increases the likelihood of an automobile accident that might result in an unfavorable legal judgement, automobile damage, and bodily injury.

In the context of commercial trade, insurance is further defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for consideration, payment, in the form of a risk premium. The insurance premium develops at an actuarily-determined rate. This rate is a factor used to determine the amount of premium to charge for a certain limit, and type, of insurance on the scarce resource. The premium can further be viewed as a guaranteed, known, relatively small financial loss to the insured, paid to the insurer, in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate (indemnify) the insured in the case of a loss to the insured resource(s). The insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be indemnified.

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