Insurance policies are subject to the standard law of contracts but beyond simple contract law, insurance contracts are bound by unique provisions and requirements specific to insurance. An understanding of these unique legal characteristics is necessary to understand the insurance contract.
Six “costs” in addition to the premium combine to develop the insured’s true total cost of risk: 1) Deductibles or Self-Insured Retentions; 2) The cost of uninsured or self-insured losses (intentional or unintentional); 3) Legal costs; 4) Loss control and safety costs; 5) Claims management costs; and 6) Opportunity costs. Do your clients understand these…
Every insurance practitioner knows what happens when there is an ambiguity in policy language, the insured is supposed to win. But what makes a provision ambiguous? Is an ambiguity created simply by disagreement, or is more required? Guess what, creating ambiguity requires more than simple disagreement over a policy provision.
Ethics is a rather irrelevant CE topic. Knowing the difference between theoretical and applied ethics does not help the insured avoid a catastrophic financial loss because the agent didn’t understand coverage. Yes, the agent could have the most “ethical” intent, but if he/she has no coverage knowledge, the insured suffers. This article explores the concept…
