Before purchasing insurance, one must know how insurance works. The process of underwriting involves selecting risks and deciding the premium to pay in return for the risk. Insurance premiums are paid to cover the costs of the risk as well as the insurers’ discretion to accept or reject the risk. This is the most complex part of insuring. Insurers use probability and statistics to calculate the probability of future claims, but their discretion still matters. A well-functioning insurance company has the capacity to adjust the premium based on these factors.
A common insurance policy is all-risk coverage, which pays for losses except for those excluded by the policy. Examples of excluded perils are earthquake, flood, nuclear radiation, and certain types of theft. Other excluded properties include airplanes, automobiles, and pets. The insurance policy will also specify the amount of deductible the insured must pay. It is critical to read the fine print of the policy to ensure that you understand exactly what is covered and what is not.
Another materialized utility of insurance is claims handling. Insurance companies can handle a claim by either dealing directly with the insured or arranging through an agent or broker. Some insurers require filing on proprietary forms, while others will accept industry standard forms. By choosing the right insurance policy for your business, you’ll be covered during any disaster. Once a claim has been filed, the insurance company pays the costs incurred by the insured. For the insured, this means the insurer can focus on their core business while the insurer handles the claim.