People turn to insurance companies in search of financial protection in case of various unforeseen situations. In this article we will understand in detail who the insurers are, what their role, essence and what responsibilities they have. It will also provide tips on choosing the most reliable company to conclude an insurance contract.
Concept and essence
Insurers are legal entities that have a license to carry out insurance activities, enter into agreements with insurers and assume the obligation to provide financial assistance to them in the event of an insurance event.
In simple words, you can say that the insurer in relation to you is the company in which you came to insure life or property (or any other value).
In Russian, the meaning of the word “insurers” comes from the word “fear”. On a subconscious level, a service with that name is scaring. Abroad, the opposite is true: in English, insurance is called insurance from the word sure, which translates as confidence.
Some marketers associate this with the level of development of insurance companies abroad and in the Russian Federation.
Given the scope of the legislation of the Russian Federation, the insurer (insurance company) must have one of the following legal forms:
- limited liability company;
- with additional responsibility;
- Open Joint Stock Company;
- closed joint stock company.
Registered capital
But not every “OJSC” or “LLC” can become an insurer. First of all, the owners of a legal entity should have enough funds to form an authorized capital that meets the requirements below.
The calculation of its size is formed from a minimum of 30 million rubles. And then this amount is multiplied by certain coefficients, which depend on the future activities of society. The grid of coefficients is divided in the following directions:
- Insurers who will deal with life or health risks, providing medical care.
- As paragraph 1, but together with property insurance related to ownership, liability, as well as business risks.
- Insurers who plan to insure the life of citizens or surviving to a specified age.
- Insurance companies that plan to deal with life insurance against accidents and medical insurance.
- Insurers who want to do reinsurance.
Types of Insurers
According to the law, Russian insurers are divided into:
- insurance organizations;
- mutual insurance companies.
It is clear that insurance organizations are directly insurers who conduct their business activities, providing services to individuals or legal entities in taking risks.
That is, the main goal of such organizations is to profit from the services provided, which is then redistributed between their shareholders and owners.
Mutual insurance companies , meanwhile , cannot do business. They are an organization, which includes several interested participants, and also reinsure each other's property interests on the basis of mutual insurance.
That is, such organizations are created by insurers and operate at the expense of their contributions. Their goal is to satisfy the needs of participants in insurance services at the best price. In the event of overpayments, all money remains in such organizations, that is, with the insurers themselves.
What should be an insurer?
Insurers are not just commercial organizations that make money from the air. They should be fully responsible for their obligations. Not every one of them can boast of a good level of insurance payments.
First of all, the responsibility of the insurer is that the organization must guarantee its customers who have concluded an agreement with it a certain level of financial protection in the situations specified in the agreement.
When choosing an insurance company, be sure to pay attention to its reputation. You also need to focus on the following qualities of the insurer:
- rating positions in the insurance market;
- amount of insurance premiums ;
- the presence and description of situations in which insurance payments are not made;
- Membership in international insurance groups;
- customer reviews.
Rights of insurance companies
When studying insurers, you need to pay attention to the contract that a company proposes to sign to its customers. It clearly spells out the obligations and rights of the insurer, as well as its clients.
Of course, it all depends on the type of insurance product and the conditions on which it is provided. But you can highlight the main points about the rights of the insurer, which are found in most insurance companies:
- demand from the client timely payment of insurance payments specified in the contract;
- receive information about the client in agreement with him, which is not a commercial secret;
- by agreement with the second party to the contract, amend it;
- unilaterally early terminate the contract in the manner prescribed by the document;
- upon the occurrence of an insurance event, send requests to the appropriate authorities to find out the causes and circumstances of the accident;
- check the fulfillment of the contract by the policyholder;
- to refuse compensation for damage after the occurrence of the insured event due to violations by the insured of the terms of the contract and failure to take actions to prevent, localize the circumstances that led to the loss.
Each insurance company can add or remove the items listed above. It depends solely on its policy, which should not violate the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Which commitments do you make?
It should also be noted and the obligations of insurance companies, which are found in all contracts:
- upon occurrence of insurance events specified in the contract, to pay insurance compensation to the beneficiary in case of non-violation of all clauses of the contract;
- to issue an insurance policy (contract) to the policyholder at the time of its conclusion;
- keep secret about the personal information of the client obtained in the process of its service;
- reimburse the expenses incurred by the insured to reduce the consequences of the occurrence of the insured event.
There may be other conditions. Read the contract carefully before signing it. Otherwise, you risk being left with nothing even when an insurance event occurs.
Opinions of people
There are different opinions and impressions about the need to let an insurance company into your life. There are superstitious people who believe that insurers are messengers of something bad. That is, by buying insurance, you automatically contribute to the fact that trouble will happen to you.
There are opposing views on such services. A lot of positive reviews about insurance companies. For example, there are many people who have encountered lending. As you know, taking a loan is very expensive. But insurance companies recommend insuring the life of a breadwinner, otherwise in this case you can be left without the possibility of paying interest.
Decide for yourself
The people who suffered the loss believe that insurers are financial security and confidence in the future. Only in this way can you guarantee yourself assistance in difficult times. Of course, you will need to cover the risks of the insurer by paying the contractual payment. But in any case, its size is much smaller than the financial difficulties that may arise in a tragic event or accident.
What to do just for you, you need to decide for yourself. No matter how we want, but in life there are situations that do not depend on our caution or attentiveness. There is always a chance of a random event.