Are all insurance companies the same?
Answer: All insurance companies are not the same. When sourcing insurance,
carefully compare and review offers from the various insurance providers. Choosing a good, established company will ensure that your insurance will be there when and if it is needed.
One difference between insurance companies is the types of insurance they offer. Of course, many companies offer a variety of insurance products, but they may have one speciality that they offer. It is always a good idea to choose a company with an established reputation. Using a newer company may lead to problems in the future. For instance, if a health insurance is purchased from a brand new insurance provider, it may happen that the cost of the premiums starts increasing year after year as the new provider experiences that medical care costs much more than originally anticipated. With an established company it is less likely that the company will experience financial problems
Insurance is confusing and sometimes complicated; an insurance provider who will assist the insured entity to understand the coverage and policy should be selected.
For insurance of demining personnel it is important to review and compare the insurance coverage offered, regarding medical and repatriation expenses, since this may vary from company to company.
Question and Answer 2
What kind of information is required in order for an insurance broker to provide a quotation for insurance coverage?
Answer:
> Type of work
> Locations of work
> Numbers of personnel international and national staff
> Duration of projects
> Levels of funding
> Level of wages or payments to staff
> Standards working to
> Specific limits/sums insured to meet insurance requirements under contracts received from donors
> Types and values of machinery used
> Details of previous claims histories
There may be further information required depending on contract type.
Question and Answer 3
What are the appropriate amounts for coverage?
Answer: It is worth suggesting that many limits will be dictated by the terms
of donor contracts. Most personal accident sums insured are subjected to no pre-set limit depending on the personnel insured. Brokers are often able to make suggestions.
Question and Answer 4
What should be reviewed in particular when reviewing an insurance policy for personal accident and medical expenses for demining staff?
Answer:
> Levels of sum insured
> Definition of operative time
> Definitions of what constitutes capital disability and what will trigger payment of a capital benefit
> Excluded territories
> Excluded activities such as high risk demining in hostile environments
> Exclusion of war and terrorism perils
> Can the policy be extended to accommodate project overruns?
> Which countries’ laws governs dispute between the mine action operator and the insurer
> Language in which the policy is written
> Is the premium refundable in full or in part in the event of early cancellation?
> Does the policy include cost of medical repatriation to an insured person’s home country?
> Is there any cover in force for expenses incurred after repatriation?
> Does cover operate for claims arising while personnel are in transfer to and from country where they are working?
> Does the policy cover cost for treating unforeseen illness?
> Is there a policy excess or deductible?
> Does the policy have a pre-existing medical condition exclusion?
> Are there any inner limits applicable for different types of treatments?
1 For more examples see www.mineactionstandards.org/national-standards/about-nmas/. 2 Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance that provides compensation and medical
care for employees who are injured in the course of employment, in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence.
3 Subrogation in its most common usage refers to circumstances in which an insurance
company tries to recoup expenses for a claim it paid out when another party should have been responsible for paying at least a portion of that claim.
4 Hold harmless means to indemnify someone or something.
5 The process of restoring to profit a provision for bad or doubtful debts previously made
against profits and no longer required.
6 In probability theory, the law of large numbers is a theorem that describes the result of
performing the same experiment a large number of times. According to the law, the average of the results obtained from a large number of trials should be close to the expected value, and will tend to become closer as more trials are performed.
7 Global catastrophic risks are risks that seriously threaten human well-being on a global
scale. An immensely diverse collection of events could constitute global catastrophes: potential factors range from volcanic eruptions to pandemic infections, nuclear accidents to worldwide tyrannies, out-of-control scientific experiments to climatic changes, and cosmic hazards to economic collapse.
8 Ibid.
9 In general, employers may be held liable for an accident arising out of the general course
of employment. In some jurisdictions, it is possible for the employee to take legal action against the employer to recover damages for harm caused by the employer’s negligence.