When you travel, you want to be sure you are equipped with the right insurance to meet you needs should an emergency arise. Even when you are traveling with a group, you need to be sure you have the proper coverage, as you just never know what can occur. Before leaving for your trip, research the travel policies available to you and make sure you will be provided with the features and services you need in your policy. Be sure to include all medical conditions and information that will be necessary for your eligibility before signing any forms and accepting a policy.The benefit of purchasing group insurance is that it is designed to protect groups of people who are traveling on the same itinerary, while helping to meet specific needs. If your group consists of ten or more people all traveling to the same destination, purchasing a group insurance plan may be your best choice and may even prove to be the most economical for you and your travel companions.There are two types of group programs, voluntary and mandatory. Voluntary plans means that it is not necessary for everyone traveling in a given group to be included on a particular plan. A mandatory plan would require all persons traveling in a given group to be included in the coverage. It is even possible to obtain a customized group travel plan. Check with various companies to obtain quotes and get further information.It is also a good idea to compare the various plan available to you to be sure your group is getting the best coverage for the money. You will most likely come out better in the long run to purchase a group plan, as it is often cheaper than purchasing separate travel insurance plans for each traveler in the group.Most comprehensive group travel plans are not age graded so you get the same benefits at the same price no matter the age mix of your group. Another consideration to give to your group insurance plan is whether or not it includes trip cancellation or delay. Another question to ask if what happens if one or more person in your group cancels at the last minute. Be sure to research different companies and plans to find the one that will best fit your needs and the needs of everyone in your group.

Life insurance or life assurance

Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured's death. In return, the policyowner (or policy payer) agrees to pay a stipulated amount called a premium at regular intervals.
As with most insurance polices, life assurance is a contract between the insurer and the policy owner (policyholder) whereby a benefit is paid to the designated Beneficiary (or Beneficiaries) if an insured event occurs which is covered by the policy. To be a life policy the insured event must be based upon life (or lives) of the people name in the policy.
Insured events that may be covered include:
death,
diagnosis of a terminal illness,
diagnosis of a critical illness,
disability due to ill health,
permanent disability,
accidental death
requirement for long term care. (This list is not exhaustive).
Life policies are typically presented as types legal contracts and the terms of the contract describe the limitations of the insured events. Specific exclusions are often written into the contract to limit the liability of the insurer; for example claims relating to war, riot and civil commotion.
Life based contracts tend to fall into two major categories:
Protection policies - designed to provide a benefit in the event of specified event, typically a lump sum payment.
Investment policies - where the main objective is to facilitate the growth of capital by regular or single premiums

Parties to contract

There are three parties to a life insurance transaction: the insurer, the insured, and the policy owner (policy holder), although the owner and the insured are often the same person. For example, if Joe buys a policy on his own life, he is both the owner and the insured. But if Jane, his wife, buys a policy on Joe's life, she is the owner and he is the insured. The policy owner is the grantee and he or she will be the person who will pay for the policy.
The beneficiary receives policy proceeds upon the insured's death. The owner designates the beneficiary, but the beneficiary is not a party to the policy. The owner may change the beneficiary unless the policy has an irrevocable beneficiary designation. With an irrevocable beneficiary, that beneficiary must agree to any beneficiary changes, policy assignments, or cash value borrowing.
In cases where the policy owner is not the insured (also referred to as the cestui qui vit or CQV), insurance companies have sought to limit policy purchases to those with an "insurable interest" in the CQV. For life insurance policies, close family members and business partners will usually be found to have an insurable interest. The "insurable interest" requirement usually demonstrates that the purchaser will actually suffer some kind of loss if the CQV dies. Such a requirement prevents people from benefiting from the purchase of purely speculative policies on people they expect to die. With no insurable interest requirement, the risk that a purchaser would murder the CQV for insurance proceeds would be great. In at least one case, an insurance company which sold a policy to a purchaser with no insurable interest (who later murdered the CQV for the proceeds), was found liable in tort for contributing to the wrongful death of the victim (Liberty National Life v. Weldon, 267 Ala.171 (1957).

Contract terms

The policy, like all insurance policies, is a legal contract specifying the terms and conditions of risks assumed. Special provisions may apply, such as suicide clauses wherein the policy becomes null if the insured commits suicide within a specified time (usually two years after the purchase date; some states provide a statutory one-year suicide clause). Any misrepresentations by the insured on the application is also grounds for nullification. Most contracts have a contestability period (also usually a two-year period); if the insured dies within this period, the insurer has a legal right to contest the claim and request additional information before deciding to pay or deny the claim.
The face amount on the policy is the initial amount that the policy will pay at the death of the insured or when the policy matures, although the actual death benefit can provide for greater or lesser than the face amount. The policy matures when the insured dies or reaches a specified age (such as 95 years old). The most common reason to buy a life insurance policy is to protect the owner's financial interests in the event of the insured's demise. The insurance proceeds may then be used to pay for funeral and other death costs; they may be invested. Other purposes include estate planning and retirement

Costs, insurability, and underwriting

The insurer (the life insurance company) calculates the policy prices with an intent to recover claims to be paid and administrative costs, and to make a profit. The cost of insurance is determined using mortality tables calculated by actuaries. Actuaries are professionals who employ actuarial science, which is based in mathematics (primarily probability and statistics). Mortality tables are statistically-based tables showing average life expectancies. The three main variables in a mortality table are age, gender, and use of tobacco. The mortality tables provide a baseline for the cost of insurance. In practice, these mortality tables are used in conjunction with the health and family history of the individual applying for a policy in order to determine premiums and insurability. There are two mortality tables currently being used by life insurance companies in the United States. One was developed in the 1980's and the other is based on calculations made in 2001.[citation needed]
The 1980's mortality table assumes that roughly 2 in 1,000 people aged 25 will die during the term of coverage.[citation needed] This number rises roughly quadratically to about 25 in 1,000 people for those aged 65.[citation needed] Consequently, in a group of one thousand 25 year old males with a $100,000 policy, all of average health, a life insurance company would have to, collect approximately $200 a year from each of the thousand people to cover the expected claims. (2 expected deaths x $100,000 payout per death / 1,000 policies = $200 per policy)
The insurance company receives the premiums from the policy owner and invests them to create a pool of money from which it can pay claims and finance the insurance company's operations. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the money that insurance companies make comes directly from premiums paid, as money gained through investment of premiums can never, in even the most ideal market conditions, vest enough money per year to pay out claims.[citation needed] Rates charged for life insurance increase with the insured's age because, statistically, people are more likely to die as they get older.
Given that adverse selection can have a negative impact on the insurer's financial situation, the insurer investigates each proposed insured individual unless the policy is below a company-established minimum amount, beginning with the application process. Group Insurance policies are an exception.
This investigation and resulting evaluation of the risk is termed underwriting. Health and lifestyle questions are asked. Certain responses or information received may merit further investigation. Life insurance companies in the United States support the Medical Information Bureau[citation needed], which is a clearinghouse of medical information on all persons who have ever applied for life insurance. As part of the application, the insurer receives permission to obtain information from the proposed insured's physicians.[citation needed]
Life insurance companies are never required by law to underwrite or to provide coverage to anyone, with the exception of Civil Rights Act compliance requirements. Insurance companies alone determine insurability, and some people, for their own health or lifestyle reasons, are deemed uninsurable. The policy can be declined (turned down) or rated.[citation needed] Rating increases the premiums to provide for additional risks relative to the particular insured.[citation needed]
Many companies use four general health categories for those evaluated for a life insurance policy. These categories are Preferred Best, Preferred, Standard, and Tobacco.[citation needed] Preferred Best is reserved only for the healthiest individuals in the general population. This means, for instance, that the proposed insured has no adverse medical history, is not under medication for any condition, and his family (immediate and extended) have no history of early cancer, diabetes, or other conditions.[citation needed] Preferred means that the proposed insured is currently under medication for a medical condition and has a family history of particular illnesses.[citation needed] Most people are in the Standard category.[citation needed] Profession, travel, and lifestyle factor into whether the proposed insured will be granted a policy, and which category the insured falls. For example, a person who would otherwise be classified as Preferred Best may be denied a policy if he or she travels to a high risk country.[citation needed] Underwriting practices can vary from insurer to insurer which provide for more competitive offers in certain circumstances.
Life insurance contracts are written on the basis of utmost good faith. That is, the proposer and the insurer both accept that the other is acting in good faith. This means that the proposer can assume the contract offers what it represents without having to fine comb the small print and the insurer assumes the proposer is being honest when providing details to underwriter.[citation needed]

Death proceeds

Upon the insured's death, the insurer requires acceptable proof of death before it pays the claim. The normal minimum proof required is a death certificate and the insurer's claim form completed, signed (and typically notarized).If the insured's death is suspicious and the policy amount is large, the insurer may investigate the circumstances surrounding the death before deciding whether it has an obligation to pay the claim.
Proceeds from the policy may be paid as a lump sum or as an annuity, which is paid over time in regular recurring payments for either a specified period or for a beneficiary's lifetime

Insurance vs. assurance

The specific uses of the term "insurance" and "assurance" are sometimes confused. In general, the term insurance refers to providing cover for an event that might happen while assurance is the provision of cover for an event that is certain to happen.
When a person insures the contents of their home they do so because of events that might happen (fire, theft, flood, etc.) They hope their home will never be burgled, or burn down but they want to ensure that they are financially protected if the worst happens. This example of Insurance shows how it is a way of spending a little money to protect against the risk of having to spend a lot of money.
When a person insures their life they do so knowing that one day they will die. Therefore a policy that covers death is assured to make a payment. The policy offers assurance on death; even if the policy has a prescribed termination date the policy is still assured to pay on death and therefore is an assurance policy. Examples include Term Assurance and Whole Life Assurance. An accidental death policy is not assured to pay on death as the life insured may not die through an accident, therefore it is an insurance policy.
A policy might also be assured for other reasons. For example an endowment policy is designed to provide a lump sum on maturity. Under certain types of policy the lump sum is guaranteed. Therefore, this may also be called an assurance policy.
The test of whether a policy is assurance or insurance is that with an assurance policy the insured event will definitely occur (at some point) whereas with an insurance policy there is a risk the insured event might occur.
With regard to Whole Life policies, the question is not whether the insured event (in this case death) will occur, but simply when. If the policy has nonforfeiture values (or cash values) then the policy is assured to pay.
During recent years, the distinction between the two terms has become largely blurred. This is principally due to many companies offering both types of policy, and rather than refer to themselves using both insurance and assurance titles, they instead use just one.