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OLDWICK, N.J., JUNE 15, 2009 A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of "a" of Oman Insurance Company (PSC) (OIC) (United Arab Emirates). The outlook for both ratings is stable. The ratings of OIC reflect its adequate level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, excellent underwriting performance and established business profile in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) insurance market. An offsetting factor is the company's volatile investment performance, stemming from a weak investment strategy. In A.M. Best's opinion, OIC's risk-adjusted capitalisation remains supportive of the current ratings, despite deterioration of its fair value of investments reserves, resulting from falling equity prices. A.M. Best expects OIC's capital base to benefit from prospective changes in investment policy, which is anticipated to reduce exposure to the volatile equity markets, with a movement into more secure investments. In A.M. Best's view, further deterioration in the company's capital position is likely to increase downward pressure on the current ratings. Furthermore, OIC has established a leading market position in the UAE with a diversified portfolio for both non-life and life insurance, accounting for 15% of gross market premiums. Moreover, the company has expanded its regional profile by establishing operations in Oman and Qatar during 2008. In A.M. Best's view, OIC has experienced excellent underwriting results across all lines of business, with consistently improving technical profits of approximately AED 220 million (USD 60 million) in 2008, supported by an excellent combined ratio of 75%. Conversely, OIC has a weak investment strategy with significant concentration (in excess of 35% at year-end 2008) of investments in the domestic equity markets. In A.M. Best's opinion, it is vitally important for OIC to address its shortcomings in its investment strategy and adopt a prudent approach to investment risk management in order to create a balanced portfolio. OIC's investment performance has suffered, with low returns below 2% in 2008. |
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Oman Insurance Company (PSC)
Best's Credit Ratings
A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating agency dedicated to serving the financial and health-care service industries. It began assigning credit ratings in 1906, making it the first of today's rating agencies to use symbols to differentiate the relative creditworthiness of companies. Best's Credit Ratings are independent opinions regarding the creditworthiness of an issuer or debt obligation. Best's Credit Ratings are based on a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a company's balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile, or, where appropriate, the specific nature and details of a debt security. A complete list of Best's Credit Rating Methodologies is available. A.M. Best assigns the following types of ratings:
For more detailed information regarding each of these types of ratings, read our guides for Financial Strength, Bank Deposit, Issuer Credit, or Debt Ratings. Best's Credit Ratings are not a warranty, nor are they a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any securities, insurance policies, contracts or any other financial obligations, nor do they address the suitability of any particular financial obligation for a specific purpose or purchaser. For complete details, read this Important Notice. Usage of Best's RatingsBest's Credit Ratings are proprietary and may not be reproduced without permission from A.M. Best. A company assigned a Best's Credit Rating should review the Guide to Proper Use, which outlines the acceptable parameters of the use of these ratings. |
Insurance information
The entity, which may be an individual or association of any type, including a government or government agency, that is transferring the risk is called the "insured". The entity accepting the risk is called the "insurer". The agreement between the two by which the risk is transfered is called the "policy". The policy is a legal contract that sets out exactly the terms and conditions of the coverage. The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the "premium". The premium is usually determined by the insurer to fund estimated future claims paid, administrative costs, and profit.
For example, let us assume for a moment a couple buys a home costing $100,000. Knowing the loss of their home would bring them financial ruin, they acquire insurance coverage in the form of a homeowner's policy. That policy will pay them the cost of replacing or repairing their home in the event of a catastrophe. The insurance company charges them a premium of $1,000 a year. Risk of loss has been transferred from the homeowners to the insurance company.
The insurer uses actuarial science to quantify the risk they have assumed. Actuarial science uses mathematics, particularly statistics and probability, which can be applied to many covered risks to approximate future claims with reasonable accuracy.
For example, many individual people purchase homeowner's insurance policies and they each pay a premium to an insurance company. If a covered loss occurs, the insurer pays the claim. For some insureds, the insurance benefits they receive will exceed far more money than they have ever paid to the insurer. Others may never make a claim. When averaged out over all the policies sold, total claims even out should be less than total premiums, with the difference being costs and profit.
Insurance companies also earn investment profits. These profits are generated by investing premiums received from the time they receive it until the time they need it to pay claims. This money invested is called the float. And the insurance company may have profits or losses from the value change in the float as well as interest or dividend on the float. In the United States, property and casualty insurance companies have in the recent past made no profit on underwriting (i.e., selling) insurance, with all profits coming from investments.
Some people consider insurance a type of wager or bet that executes over the policy period. The insurance company bets that you or your property will not suffer a loss while you put money on the opposite outcome. The difference in the fees paid to the insurance company vs the amount they can be held liable for if an accident happens is roughly analogous to the odds one might expect when betting on a racehorse, i.e 10:1. For this reason, a number of religious groups including the Amish avoid insurance and instead depend on support provided by their communities when disasters strike. In closed, supportive communities where others will actually step in to rebuild lost property, this arrangement can work. Most societies could not effectively support this type of system and the system will not work for large risks.
Contents [showhide]
1 History of insurance
2 Types of insurance
3 Types of insurance companies
4 Life insurance and saving
5 Criticisms of the insurance industry
5.1 Insurance insulates too much
5.2 Lack of knowledge of policyholders
5.3 Redlining
5.4 Health insurance
6 External links
7 See Also
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History of insurance
Insurance has been an institution of human society for thousands of years, having been practiced by Babylonian traders as long ago as the 2nd millennium BCE. Eventually it was given legal mention in the Code of Hammurabi, and practiced by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. The Greeks and Romans had "benevolent societies" which acted to care for the families and funeral expenses of members upon death. Guilds in the middle ages served a similar purpose. The Talmud deals with several aspects of insuring goods. Insurance became much more sophisticated in post-Renaissance Europe, and specialized varieties developed. In America, Benjamin Franklin helped to popularize and make standard the practice of insurance, particularly against fire.
In the United States, the insurance industry is highly regulated, primarily by the states, who operate both individually and in concert through a national insurance commissioner's organization.
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Types of insurance
Any risk that can be quantified probably has a type of insurance to protect it. Among the different types of insurance are:
Automobile insurance, also known as auto insurance, car insurance and in the UK as motor insurance, is probably the most common form of insurance and may cover both legal liability claims against the driver and loss of or damage to the vehicle itself.
Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance or boiler insurance.
Casualty insurance insures against accidents, not necessarily tied to any specific piece of property.
Liability insurance covers legal claims against the insured. For example, a doctor may purchase insurance to cover any legal claims against him if he were to be convicted of a mistake in treating a patient.
Financial loss insurance protects individuals and companies against various financial risks. For example, a business might purchase cover to protect it from loss of sales if a fire in a factory prevented it from carrying out its business for a time. Insurance might also cover failure of a creditor to pay money it owes to the insured. Fidelity bonds and surety bonds are included in this category.
Title insurance provides a guarantee on research done on public records affecting title to real property, usually in conjunction with a search done at the time of a real estate transaction, such as a sale, or a mortgage.
Health insurance covers medical bills incurred because of sickness or accidents.
Life insurance provides a benefit to a decedent's family or other designated beneficiary, to replace loss of the insured's income and provide for burial and other final expenses.
Annuities provide a stream of payments and are generally classified as insurance because they are issued by insurance companies and regulated as insurance. Annuities and pensions that pay a benefit for life are sometimes regarded as insurance against the possibility that a retiree will outlive his or her financial resources. In that sense, they are the opposite of life insurance.
Credit insurance pays some or all of a loan back when certain things happen to the borrower like unemployment, disability, or death.
Terrorism insurance
Political risk insurance can be taken out by businesses with operations in countries in which there is a risk that revolution or other political conditions will result in a loss.
Worker's compensation insurance replaces all of part of a worker's wages and accompanying medical expense lost due to a job-related injury.
A single policy may cover risks in one or more of the above categories. For example, car insurance would typically cover both property risk (covering the risk of theft or damage to the car) and liability risk (covering legal claims from say, causing an accident). A homeowner's insurance policy in the US typically includes property insurance covering damage to the home and the owner's belongings, liability insurance covering certain legal claims against the owner, and even a small amount of health insurance for medical expenses of guests who are injured on the owner's property.
Potential sources of risk that may give rise to claims are known as perils. Examples of perils might be fire, theft, earthquake, hurricane and many other potential risks. An insurance policy will set out in details which perils are covered by the policy and which are not.
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Types of insurance companies
Insurance companies may be classified as
Life insurance companies, who sell life insurance, annuities and pensions products.
Non-life or general insurance companies, who sell other types of insurance.
In most countries, life and non-life insurers are subject to different regulations, tax and accounting rules. The main reason for the distinction between the two types of company is that life business is very long term in nature - coverage for life assurance or a pension can cover risks over many decades. By contrast, non-life insurance cover usually covers shorter periods, such as one year.
Insurance companies are also often classified as either mutual or stock companies. This is more of a traditional distinction as true mutual companies are becoming rare. Mutual companies are owned by the policyholders, while stockholders, (who may or may not own policies) own stock insurance companies.
Reinsurance companies are insurance companies that sell policies to other insurance companies, allowing them to reduce their risks, and protects them from very large losses. The reinsurance market is dominated by a few very large companies, with huge reserves.
There are also companies which are known as Insurance Brokers. Like a mortgage broker, these companies are paid a fee by the customer to shop around for the best insurance policy amongst many companies.
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Life insurance and saving
Certain life insurance contracts accumulate cash values, which may be taken by the insured if the policy is surrendered or which may be borrowed against. Some policies, such as annutities and endowment policies, are financial instruments to accumulate or liquidate wealth when it is needed. See life insurance.
In many countries, such as the US and the UK, tax law provides that the interest on this cash value is not taxable under certain circumstances. This leads to widespread use of life insurance as a tax-efficient method of saving as well as protection in the event of early death.
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Criticisms of the insurance industry
[edit]
Insurance insulates too much
By creating a "security blanket" for its insureds, an insurance company may inadvertently find that its insureds may not be as risk-averse as they should be (since the insured assumes the risk belongs to the insurer). To reduce their own financial exposure, insurance companies have contractual clauses that mitigate their obligation to provide coverage if the insured engages in some kind of behavior that grossly magnifies their risk of loss or liability.
For example, liability insurance providers do not provide coverage for liability arising from intentional torts committed by the insured. Even if a provider was irrational enough to try to provide such coverage, it is against the public policy of most countries to allow such insurance to exist, and thus it is usually illegal.
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Lack of knowledge of policyholders
Insurance policies can be complex and some policyholders may not understand all the fees, regulation and coverages included in a policy. As a result, people could buy policies at unfavorable terms. In response to these issues, governments often make detailed regulations that set down minimum standards for policies and govern how they may be advertised and sold.
Many individuals purchase policies through an insurance broker. The broker can councel the policyholder on which coverage to purchase and limitations of the policy. A broker generally holds contracts with many insurers which allows the broker to "shop" the market for the best rates and coverage possible.
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Redlining
Redlining was originally denial of insurance to any area because of the area.
Risk determines premium. Evaluation of risk by the insurer considers every available, quantifiable factor, including location, credit scores, gender, occupation, marital status, and education level. However, some people consider all or some of these factors to be "unfair" and hurl unproven claims such as racist. So, for political reasons, governments may limit the factors that may be used.
An interesting refutation to this is that the job of an insurance underwriter is to properly categorize a given risk as to the likelihood that the loss will occur. Any factor that causes a greater likelihood of loss should in theory, be charged a higher rate. This is a basic principle of insurance and must be followed for insurance companies or groups to operate properly, even for non-profit groups. Thus, discrimination of potential insureds by legitimate factors is central to insurance. Therefore the only thing that can be considered legitimately "unfair" are practices that discriminate against a given group without actual factors that show that the group is a higher risk. So, eliminating real factors discriminates against other insureds by forcing them to bear part of the cost of the disallowed perceived factors.
Health insurance
Health insurance, that is coverage for individuals to protect them against medical costs, is a highly charged and emotional issue in the United States. In theory, it should work as any other insurance policy but the skyrocketing costs of health coverage has polarized the issue. Please see health insurance elsewhere in Wikipedia for a discussion of this category.
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Top 10 Things to Know About Life Insurance
We all recognize the importance of life insurance. After all, we want to make sure that our loved ones are taken care of when we die. But before you run out and purchase a policy, do some research ahead of time. That way, you'll be sure to get the best possible coverage at the right price. Here are some helpful tips to get you started:
1. Shop around
2. Never buy more coverage than you need
3. The healthier you are, the better the rates
4. Buy sooner rather than later
5. Realize the importance of periodically reviewing your coverage
6. You don't necessarily have to pay a commission
7. You may be paying more for monthly premium payments
8. Don't rely solely on the life insurance offered by your employer
9. Tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth
10. Buying more is sometimes cheaper
Term Life Insurance Texas: Should you get a term life or whole life policy?
Term Life insurance ownership has been slowly declining for several decades. According to a survey of U.S. residents in 25 major U.S. cities conducted by Allstate in conjunction with LIMRA International (a leading life insurance marketing association), the average amount of life insurance coverage respondents have is $175,000.
As a multiple of household income, this means the average respondent indicates that they have individual life insurance coverage equal to about four times their household income.
However, according to a recent LIMRA report, the average recommended life insurance need is about $459,0001. Inadequate coverage can put a financial burden on dependents of those who die prematurely. A general rule of thumb is to buy an amount that is equal to seven times your salary. However, each family is different.
The age of your children, the amount of your mortgage, debt and living expenses, and other factors, should all be carefully evaluated as you determine the amount to buy.
Allstate’s survey also revealed that one fourth (25 percent) of respondents felt they needed more life insurance coverage. But why would people need more life insurance?
With the right amount of coverage, a spouse and family can maintain their current standard of living after the passing of a loved one; funds can be used toward a child’s education and the proceeds can cover mortgage payments, debt payments or funeral expenses.
If your employer provides life insurance coverage, keep in mind that it may not be enough for your family to maintain their standard of living and fund their future financial goals. And you may not be able to take your life insurance policy with you if you change jobs.
http://www.texastermlife.com/
Life insurance can be a cornerstone of a solid financial future. Now that you know how important having life insurance can be; what steps can be taken to help build financial security?
Help protect what’s yours
One way to think about your financial needs is to picture a pyramid that you build from the bottom up. Life insurance can play an important role in helping protect your loved ones and to make sure they can have the future you’re working toward – no matter what.
The foundation of any financial strategy should be protection against loss, starting with your car and home. As you build your assets, it’s important to update your policies and further help protect yourself from unexpected events. This is where auto and homeowners term life insurance comes in to play.
Help protect those you love
Consider what your family’s financial future would be without you or your income. Even if you already have life insurance coverage through work, is it enough to help provide for their entire financial future? Individual life insurance and disability or extended care insurance should be considerations.
Also keep in mind the financial impact of an unexpected death of a spouse who does not earn income, but provides care to either children or a sick or older family member.
Reviewing your life insurance coverage each year is a good idea as well. Allstate’s survey found that 37 of respondents claim they “never” review their current life insurance coverage against their current situation. As your life changes, your insurance coverage should change with you.
Prepare for tomorrow
Once you’ve helped protect your family and what you have, an important next step is to determine your goals for the future and how your investments can meet those needs. For example, do you have kids who are college bound? Have you started saving enough for retirement? Do you have an emergency fund? The earlier you start saving, the more your investments can grow and compound interest over time.
Pass it on
After a lifetime of working hard to build your wealth, life insurance as a wealth transfer tool is something to consider if you want to make sure as much possible goes to your loved ones.
When thinking of your family’s financial security, term life insurance shouldn’t be confusing. Buying the right amount of life insurance coverage should be one of the first steps to putting you, and your family, on the right path to a bright financial future.
Allstate Personal Financial Representative Jeffrey Long can be reached at or by visiting his office at 94 East Avenue in Norwalk, CT. For more information, you can also visit www.allstate.com.
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®” slogan, Allstate helps individuals in approximately 17 million households protect what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow through approximately 14,900 exclusive agencies and financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada. Customers can access Allstate products and services such as auto insurance and homeowners insurance through Allstate agencies, or in select states at allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate®. Encompass® and Deerbrook® Insurance brand property and casualty products are sold exclusively through independent agents. The Allstate Financial Group provides life insurance, supplemental accident and health insurance, annuity, banking and retirement products designed for individual, institutional and worksite customers that are distributed through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, financial institutions and broker-dealers.Securities offered by Personal Financial Representatives through Allstate Financial Services, LLC (LSA Securities in LA and PA.) Registered Broker-Dealer. Member FINRA, SIPC. Main Office: 2920 South 84th Street, Lincoln, NE 68506. 877....
Life insurance and fixed annuities issued by Allstate Life Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL and Lincoln Benefit Life Company, Lincoln, NE. In New York, Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York.
The information provided here is for educational purposes only and is not intended as legal, investment or tax advice. We recommend that you consult with an attorney or tax advisor regarding the tax implications of purchasing life insurance.FREE International Income Protection Insurance Quotation
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