Insurance packages from Royal Sundaram

Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Ltd has launched Health Shield Online and Travel Shield Online, two online insurance packages for the Indian customer.
The online policies are in addition to Hospital Cash Online, Accident Shield Online, Home Shield Online and Home Content Online policies. These policies can be bought through the InstaBuy facility. Apart from buying new products, existing Royal Sundaram customers can renew their policies online through the InstaRenew facility. Policy documents are made available within five minutes of transaction through an e-mail attachment.
Ajay Bimbhet, managing director, Royal Sundaram, said, “I believe that the future of our business is going to be largely defined by our presence in the online space. The introduction of the internet into our traditional marketing mix will not only allow us to engage actively with our customers, but also enhance communication, and gain better customer insight. We have ensured that we provide a safe and secure transaction experience for them.”

Media Bloggers:- Offers Blogging Insurance

The Media Bloggers Association (MBA) announced today that it has launched a comprehensive program to provide bloggers access to the same sort of legal and financial resources long available to traditional media organizations including BlogInsure, a first of its kind liability insurance program for bloggers which provides coverage for all forms of defamation, invasion of privacy and copyright infringement or similar allegations arising out of blogging activities.

The cornerstone of the new program is an online course in media law developed by the Media Bloggers Association in partnership with The Poynter Institute's News University. The course, Online Media Law: The Basics for Bloggers and Other Online Publishers, was co-authored by David Ardia of the Citizen Media Law Project, which is jointly affiliated with Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society and the Center for Citizen Media and Geanne Rosenberg of the City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism and Baruch College. Scott Swift of Media/Professional Insurance created an assessment to evaluate the student's understanding of the material.

Britain's first sharia-compliant insurance firm launched

Britain's first sharia-compliant insurance company was launched Monday, offering motoring policies in line with the Islamic legal code.

Salaam Halal insurance uses Takaful principles, whereby the risk is spread between all policy holders. In contrast, conventional insurance policies shift the risk from the policy holder to the insurance firm.

People taking out a policy with Salaam Halal pay contributions into a pool, with that money then put into sharia-compliant investments -- avoiding companies that are involved in alcohol or pay interest.

The central pool of funds is used to pay any claims that arise, and at the end of the year, if the pool is over-funded, the excess will be distributed back to policyholders through a discount on their next premium.

The policies are aimed at Britain's 1.6 million Muslims, who constitute 2.7 percent of the total population, according to the 2001 census.

"The launch of Salaam insurance -- the first independent, fully sharia-compliant Takaful operator available in this country -- is a significant step for the growth of Islamic finance in the UK," said Abdulaziz Hamad Aljomaih, the chairman of Salaam insurance.

The group, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, an independent watchdog, hopes to launch home insurance policies later this year.

Their call centres in Britain can take calls in English, Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati or Urdu.

In 2004, Britain authorised a 100 percent Islamic bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain. And the traditional bank Lloyds TSB last year launched Islamic finance products targeted at businesses, and offered sharia-compliant bank accounts.

Low minimum credit card repayments push down repayments

A study by the University of Warwick reveals the presence of a minimum repayment level acts to reduce how much people pay back – and so extends the length of a debt.

The research by psychology researcher Dr Neil Stewart reveals the psychological phenomenon of 'anchoring', where arbitrary and irrelevant numbers bias people's judgments.

He found those people who make only partial repayments of the outstanding balance - about 35 per cent of card holders - the suggested minimum payment on the credit card statement acts as an anchor and lowers the actual repayments people choose to make.

Those with higher minimum repayments, and who don’t stick with the minimum but pay off a partial amount, tend to make higher repayments.

Dr Stewart said: "Although minimum payments are a good idea in principle, because they protect the small number of people who would otherwise make no repayment at all, minimum payments do seem to have an adverse effect on those who repay only part of the bill, even those repaying a large fraction of the bill.

"From the psychology of anchoring, we know that people are less susceptible to its effects when they have greater knowledge. So helping people understand how much different possible repayments will cost them in the long term should help protect them from anchoring on minimum payments."

During experiments with volunteers, having a minimum payment led to 23 per cent deciding to pay a full bill, while no minimum payment led to 40 per cent paying a whole bill.

Dr Stewart added: "It is hard to estimate the cost of minimum payment information.

"For a particular individual the effect depends on their level of debt and on their repayments, and could be much larger or could be much smaller."

Qantas selects Amadeus to power online insurance service

Qantas has chosen Amadeus, global distribution and technology company, to power their online insurance service on qantas.com, enabling customers to conveniently purchase travel insurance.

The service, provided by Australian insurance company QBE, aims to ensure that more Australian travellers are protected when going overseas by allowing customers to efficiently pay for their insurance policy, whilst booking airline tickets.

“By being part of a streamlined online booking process, we are now able to efficiently meet and fulfill the needs of the traveller” said Peter Andrew, Travel Insurance Manager at QBE Insurance for Asia Pacific.

“This is the first application of this particular technology for Amadeus in Asia Pacific. Customers visiting qantas.com can now purchase insurance as part of the flight booking process, which means it is quick and easy, with no additional input of information required” said David Brett, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific.

The Amadeus service will feature a first time XML direct connect technology that connects to QBE Insurance which searches the insurance provider’s product database and then provides accurate and up-to-date information on insurance policies to customers.

Qantas Frequent Flyer members are entitled to special offers if they use the service, with the purchase of QBE insurance policies giving one point per AUD dollar and the purchase of Annual Multi Trip insurance allowing extra earnings of Frequent Flyer points

US Insurance Online Helps Consumers Weather the Recession -- Insurance Review Can Ease Family Budget

Austin, TX (PRWEB) July 25, 2008 -- US Insurance Online today announced a new Web site that helps consumers save money on insurance costs.

With gas prices skyrocketing, a review of insurance coverage and premiums could save substantial dollars -- enough to take a weekend getaway or buy that new gas barbeque. Since most insurance is a fixed monthly cost, consumers can save money every month.

www.USInsuranceOnline.com makes it easy for consumers to compare price quotes online from different insurance companies and brokers. The site also has a wealth of tips on discounts and deals for health, home, auto and life insurance.

Health Insurance
In 2007, Americans spent over $2 trillion on health care, nearly $7,500 for each person in the country, according to the National Coalition on Healthcare (www.nchc.org). Here's how to get the most for your health insurance dollars:

Check www.usinsuranceonline.com/health-insurance/articles/health-insurance-coverage.php to see a checklist of all the items you may need your insurance to cover. Then go ahead and start comparing your policy with others and do your research online.

Make a comparison chart of your two final choices, listing the following:
1. Each individual's deductible
2. Total family deductible
3. Co-payment
4. After deductible is met, percentage of fees paid by insurance company for network providers and out-of network providers
5. Maximum limit on each claim
6. Maximum limit over a lifetime
7. Uncovered medical expenses that will be out-of-pocket
8. Total annual costs

Auto Insurance
Don't shop by price alone. It's easy to compare price quotes from various companies online, but make sure the company as a whole satisfies you. Do they answer your questions properly? Check with friends, family and co-workers to see if the company handles claims efficiently and fairly. Check consumer magazines and consumer watchdog websites such as www.clarkhoward.com. State insurance departments also provide consumer complaint ratios for various companies.

Home Insurance
Check your credit rating. A good credit rating can help you obtain a good rate for homeowners insurance. Start by acquiring copies of one or all of your credit reports (free at the Federal Trade Commission's website at www.ftc.gov). Make sure your report is accurate, and correct any mistakes immediately. Take steps to improve your scores, and you're on your way!

Life Insurance
Consider net cost index. The net cost index is "a standard method for collapsing (premiums and cash value) into one number" according to the Insurance Information Institute (www.iii.org). The index allows you to compare a low premium/low cash value policy with a high premium/high cash value policy. The insurance agent or company you're considering can provide these numbers.

A host of other useful tips and considerations is provided on the USInsuranceOnline.com Web site for the benefit of consumers, including how to check your potential insurers' reputations by plugging their names into Web sites like A.M. Best Company (www.ambest.com) or Moody's Investors Service (www.moodys.com).

About USInsuranceOnline.com
USInsuranceOnline.com serves consumers who want the best insurance policy for their needs at the lowest price -- without spending their whole lives doing it. Active families, busy singles, businesspeople and seniors all benefit from the site's wide product selection and well-organized consumer education sections.

The site has been in operation for more than three years and has recently been re-launched with a new look, more insurance companies to choose from and a host of useful, easy-to-read articles about every facet of insurance. Company founders Ryan Patterson and Jim Waltrip are based in Austin, Texas.