Site Terms Provide Valuable Insurance Information
Unless you're an insurance agent, a writer or someone who enjoys reading dictionary
definitions term by term, you probably don't understand half the information your
insurance policies contain. In fact, if you're like most people, those policies
may as well be written in Greek.
One glance at your insurance company's Web site and you're probably even more confused.
Populated with sales jargon and insurance terms, it's often difficult to weed through
the reams of information when you really just want the bottom line-information such
as:
- How much coverage do I need?
- Where's the best place to find it?
- How much will it cost me?
- How do I file a claim?
Though they do their best to keep things simple, insurers sometimes overdo the lingo,
forgetting that their customers don't understand insurance terms instinctively.
But visit a site like InsureMe.com for insurance quotes, and you'll get the insurance
education any layperson needs-and none of the confusion.
Terms You Can Understand
If you visit a dictionary site online and search for the meaning of the word "term,"
you'll see it defined something like, "a word or group of words that refer to something
in a particular field."
Though terms from some fields, like insurance, can be more complicated than others,
once you understand the basics, you can decipher the language in your insurance
policies and get all your questions answered quickly and easily.
To that end, we've provided the information below about basic site terms, and we've
divided them up by insurance type to make things easier. We recommend reading them
over so you'll gain a simple understanding of each one and what it may mean for
your insurance coverage.
As always, feel free to access our
insurance glossary if you'd like more details and information.
- Auto insurance quotes - Competitive bids proposed by various insurance companies
that sell the type of car insurance coverage you need. - Car insurance coverage - Financial security designed to protect you and others on
the road. - Collision - Coverage for damage to your vehicle resulting from an accident.
- Comprehensive - Non-accident-related coverage for your vehicle that protects against
situations and terms out of your control. - Liability - Auto insurance that pays for bodily injury (BI) or property damage (PD)
you cause another person. - Medical payments - Reimburses you and others for medical or funeral expenses as
a result of an accident, regardless who's determined to be at fault on site. - Uninsured coverage - Covers the damage you suffer when involved in an accident with
another driver who doesn't have insurance.
- Actual cash value - Under the terms of your insurance contract, pays you what it
costs to replace your home, minus a deduction for depreciation. - Depreciation - Normal wear and tear your home incurs that causes it to lose value
over time. - Earthquake insurance - A separate peril that can be attached to your
home insurance policy to protect your home against earthquake damage. Not part of
a standard homeowner's policy. - Floater - Insures moveable property, such as
antiques, furs and art collections, not covered under your regular homeowner's site
policy. - Flood insurance - A rider to your homeowner's policy that protects your
home from flooding due to natural disaster or other cause. Must be purchased through
the National Flood Insurance Program, and subject to its terms and conditions. -
Home insurance quotes - Competitive bids proposed by various insurance companies
that sell the type of homeowner's insurance coverage you need. - Replacement cost
- Pays you what it costs to replace your home on-site, with no deduction for depreciation.
- Co-pay - A fee you pay for a doctor's office visit or other specific treatment.
-
Exclusions - Medical treatments that your healthcare provider either doesn't cover
at all or only covers partially. - Health insurance quotes - Competitive bids
proposed by various insurance companies that sell the type of health insurance coverage
you need. - HMO (health maintenance organization) - You choose a physician from
inside a predetermined network of providers, and your insurance company pays for
your care, all but your co-pays. However, you must ask your primary care physician
for specialist referrals when needed, and no services performed out of network are
covered, per your insurance terms. - HSA (health savings account) - Interest-earning,
tax-favored savings accounts used to cover medical expenses at the site they're
incurred. The savings account is paired with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). -
POS (point of service) - You choose a primary care physician from an established
network of doctors, and your health insurance plan pays a set percentage of your
healthcare bill, usually 80 to 90 percent. You may also choose to go out of network,
at a cost of 50 to 80 percent plus co-pays and deductibles. - PPO (preferred provider
organization) - A group of doctors provides services to only a specific group or
association, which you must be a member of. You choose a doctor and pay for treatment
as you receive it under your own terms, and your insurer or group plan provider
then reimburses you for the charges, minus your co-pay. You may go out of network
and choose your own doctor, but the reimbursement amount is reduced when you do
so.
- 1035 exchange - Cash value transferred from one life insurance policy to another
without paying tax on the original contract. - Accelerated benefits - Life insurance benefits made available to you before you
die, per the terms of your contract. - Accidental death benefit - Also called "Double Indemnity." A life insurance policy
feature that triggers a double payout to the beneficiary when you die from an accident
or dismemberment. - Adjustable life insurance - A life insurance plan that allows you to vary your coverage
based on your needs as they change. - Life insurance quotes - Competitive bids proposed by various insurance companies
that sell the type of life insurance coverage you need. - Term life insurance - A life insurance policy meant to protect you for a certain
number of years, usually 10 to 20. Builds no cash value and may be purchased up
until your 80th birthday. Can sometimes be converted to a whole life
policy. - Whole life insurance - Also known as permanent or cash-value life insurance. Insures
you forever, no matter how long you live, as long as you pay your premiums by mail
or on your insurer's Web site. Insurers invest your premiums to help cover the cost
of insuring you as you get older, and rates stay steady for life.
Making Insurance Easy
Learning the ins and outs of insurance may seem difficult-but it really isn't rocket
science. So take a few minutes to learn these basic site terms, and get to know
what your policies are all about. You might be surprised how uncomplicated insurance
can be!
