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Life insurance is a mystery to many people. Knowing when to get a policy and how much cover you may need often stump those looking to help protect their family’s financial future. There seem to be no shortage of insurance companies to choose from, so how can anyone know that they’re getting the best deal?

For many people, the cost of life insurance is important. Research presented by the Financial Services Council in June 2019 found that 28% of New Zealanders felt life insurance policies were too expensive. With household budgets already stretched thin, this comes as little surprise.

Though the cost of life insurance may be important, it’s only one factor to consider. The policy with the lowest premiums may not be the right fit for your needs. For many Kiwis, finding flexible cover that’s backed by a trusted and caring life insurer may be just as important as price.

Other factors when choosing life insurance

There are many factors that may come into play when you choose a life insurance policy. After price, the company selling the policy could be the most important.Going with a trusted insurance company may play just as a big a part in your decision making as finding the right price point.

When comparing life insurers, you may want to look at these four factors:

1.Who issues the policy?

Life insurance in NZ can be sold directly by the insurer themselves or through a distribution partner. This information is often found on the company’s website and in the policy wording. You could also learn this through news items or press releases (such as this one, announcing that Momentum Life had received their life insurance licence).

This information may matter, as it could affect the amount of money your family can claim in the future. Insurers often limit how much cover you can have with them, even if you bought the policy from two different brands. If you have more than one life insurance policy that’s backed by the same insurer, the benefit paid under one of those policies may be reduced.

2. What’s the insurer’s Financial Strength Rating?

Choosing a life insurance company may feel like an exercise in trust. You’re paying money now and trusting that the business will be there in the future. How can customers know the company they pick will be there when they need them?

A Financial Strength Rating is an indicator of how healthy an insurance company is, including how well placed they are to pay future claims. This rating is provided by independent financial reviewers and can help give customers more confidence when taking out a life insurance policy. In New Zealand, this information must be placed on the company’s website by law and in the policy wording.

3. Independent awards or quality marks

Life insurance companies typically aren’t shy about singing their own praises. However, this could help you decide who to go with. Awards can give customers important information about a life insurance company.

Industry awards may be a good indicator of how well an insurance company is performing, as well as how innovative or forward-thinking their business is. Insurers may also receive awards from independent companies recognising their strong customer service or community involvement. NZ insurers can also receive quality badges, such as the WriteMark, that demonstrate their commitment to customer care.

4. Customer reviews

Word of mouth can be great for all types of businesses, and life insurance is no exception. Reading customer reviews could help you get a better sense of the service you might expect after taking out a life insurance policy.

Customer reviews can vary depending on where you find them. A Google review could be left by anyone (even someone who’s never held a policy with the company), while reviews on Feefo only come from real, verified customers. You may also want to take some negative feedback with a grain of salt. Customers are much more likely to voice a complaint than sing a company’s praises. However, if the feedback for an insurer is overwhelmingly positive or negative, then this could be a good signal of how well they treat their customers.

Finding the right life insurance policy can be tricky, but knowing what to look for could help you make this decision. The above tips could help you narrow down your options and find cover that works for you and your family.

Founded in 1984 through a joint venture between Hero Cycles and the Honda company of Japan, Hero Honda (now known as Hero MotoCorp) is today the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world with a market share of more than 46% in the two-wheeler bike category. It is also listed at the 108th rank in the Forbes List of the 200 World’s Most Respected Companies. It is also ranked as the 7th most trusted brand in India and has received various awards in the two-wheeler category.

Despite the quality of their bikes and the experience offered by Hero Honda, it is not exempt from bike insurance. Bike insurance is mandatory for any two-wheeler on the road and not having one is a punishable offence. Most importantly, a bike insurance can protect you from a range of liabilities such as accidents, theft or even natural disasters that might lead to loss and/or damage to your two-wheeler. While till some while ago, getting a new bike insurance or renewing an already existing insurance policy involved a tremendous amount of paperwork and documentation, you can now get your two wheeler insurance online with a few easy steps. Below, we will see how to get insurance for your hero bike online.

How to get your Hero Bike Insurance Online

Getting a Hero Bike insurance online, today is not a big matter at all. You can get the best bike insurance policy for your Hero bike with the minimum amount of paperwork through various online portals. The insurance also makes you eligible for road-side assistance, provides engine protection coverage, coverage for personal accidents and against third-party liability. In any case, there are a few factors that determine the premium for your bike insurance policy such as:

1. The age of the two-wheeler.
2. Already existing add-on insurance covers.
3. The cubic capacity (cc) of a vehicle.
4. The depreciated value of a vehicle.
5. The discounts that have been availed.
6. The model of the Hero two-wheeler.
7. Already existing insurance policy

To buy a Hero Bike insurance online, you need to follow the steps below:

1. Submit details of Bike: You will firstly need to submit the details of your bike including the make and model number with details such as the cubic capacity etc.

2. Comparing the Premium: You can choose the premium for your bike from a variety of plans that are available and compare these prices with the add-on coverage.

3. Payment of Premium: After you have chosen the right insurer for you and submitted the bike details, you need to pay the reflected premium. You will also need to check the applicable GST and can pay by net-banking services, credit card, debit card or any of the e-wallets.

4. Policy: After completing the above steps, you will be given an online payment receipt to your registered email address and will receive confirmation of your approved policy.

Now, you can also get a multi-year bike insurance policy for your Hero bike up to a period of 3 years. This is especially helpful for many who are unable to renew their insurance annually.

Fitness professionals, gym owners, and personal trainers work with clients to help them be fit, lose weight, and get rid of their chronic injury. Although a job that provides a lot of value in the client’s life, being a personal trainer or a gym owner comes with significant risks.

Fitness training requires lifting of weights and utilizing the strength of the body to its maximum potential. Clients might get injured, or may claim of not being satisfied with your training, and services. This condition can lead them to file a legal suit against you. Trainers in the gym working for you may get injured at your gym premises, and you being the owner of the gym will be held responsible. Moreover, some clients will not be satisfied with your services and may demand compensation.

If any such thing happens, you will have to face a significant loss in your assets and can turn out to be disastrous for your business. While some of these conditions can be avoided by being extra careful, there are a few situations which are not under your control. To avoid such problems, gym owners and personal trainers should always buy personal trainer insurance and a group health insurance.

Although none of these insurances are mandatory to buy, there is no good reason to avoid them.

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance is one of the most critical insurance fitness professionals should buy. People working out in the gym may get injured. This injury can be as small as a muscle strain and can be serious conditions like fractures, and dislocations. Although the trainer is not always responsible for the injury, if the client files a lawsuit against you for being responsible for the injury, you will need to spend a lot of money while defending yourself. Public liability insurance covers the cost and expenses you will incur while going through the legal and court proceedings.

Having public liability insurance gives you mental peace while working because injuries in the gym are common. And, a minor looking muscle pull can turn out to be some serious muscle tear.

Employers Liability Insurance

Insurance liability insurance is a type of group health insurance that covers the cost of injuries that can happen to your employees in the gym. If you are a personal trainer or a gym owner with no employees, you might not need employers liability insurance. But, if you have a few employees in your gym working for you, group health insurance is vital.

Employers Liability Insurance covers the cost you might incur if any of your employees get injured or fall ill while working for you in the gym. The employer’s liability insurance also provides coverage if any of your employees get into a quarrel with a client or sudden events in which your employee gets assaulted by a client in your gym.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Your clients may not feel satisfied with your services. Or, your clients may claim they have not noticed the desired progress that was promised. In some cases, your clients can sue you for not providing adequate services.
Professional indemnity insurance is important because no matter how good a trainer you are, or how effectively you manage your gym, there will be some clients who will not achieve their goals.

Some of them will accept that it is their responsibility to stick to their routine and recommended diet; some of them may file a lawsuit against you for not working properly with their regime. Therefore, professional indemnity insurance covers the cost of defending yourself in the costs and providing your clients with their compensation payments.

James Eckardt is the founder of Peak Advisors Inc., a boutique insurance brokerage on Long Island, NY. The firm has a stellar record of service with three decades of experience in health insurance coverage and hundreds of clients including small businesses, commercial enterprises, sole proprietor-ships and seniors.

While one takes a holiday to relax and get away from the grind of everyday life, unexpected can happen anywhere. Therefore, it is important that you invest in a good travel insurance policy before you fly out for the well-deserved holiday. But a lot of jargon associated with travel insurance can leave you confused. Worry not, here is a quick glossary to help you with the most common terms.

Annual multi-trip cover: A policy that is valid for a period of one year from the policy start date, and covers multiple overseas trips taken during this period. Typically, these policies have a limit on how long each trip can be, and they should start and end in India. If a medical condition arises during the policy period, the insurer needs to be informed even if it was when the insured was not on a trip.

Baggage and belongings: A baggage and belongings (or baggage and personal effects) cover protects you against loss, damage or theft of your belonging either while you are on holiday or during transit. Check your policy document to be sure of the maximum coverage provided. There could also be a single article limit. You should check this if you are carrying any expensive items (like a camera) with you.

Cancellation and curtailment: Two of the important events covered by travel insurance policy. If for any reason you have to cancel your travel plans or have to cut short your trip, the insurer would refund all your prepaid expenses. The cancelation/ curtailment can happen due to a number of reasons like a family member falling sick or your leaves at the office being canceled. Do check the policy wordings to be sure of the scenarios that may not be covered.

Delay: If your flight is delayed by over 6 hours, your travel insurance would pay you a compensation. The delay is typically calculated based on scheduled arrival time at the destination, and not based on departure times. The minimum delay for which the insurance cover is invoked varies from policy to policy. Some travel insurances also cover incidental costs resulting from the delay, so make sure to keep any spending receipts you get during the delay.

Geographical limit: This is the destinations for which your travel insurance policy is valid. For example, if the geographical limit for your policy is the United States of America, the policy will only cover loss events in the country and travel to and from the country. Make sure the geographical limit for your policy includes all the nations you plan to travel to. A dependable insurance provider such as Bharti AXA GI helps secure trips to more than 130 countries.

Hazardous activities: Any activities that increase the risk of injury to yourself or to others. Such activities are typically excluded from travel insurance policies. Before you book any such activity, check with your insurer if it is covered or not. You can always invest in an add-on to cover such activities include any adventure sports activity.

Maximum policy coverage: This refers to the maximum compensation that a policy would provide towards a given expense. Make sure you are comfortable with the limits put by the policy you choose.

Personal liability cover: This term is common across many different kinds of insurance policies. In the context of travel insurance, it means that if you cause damage to someone else on your trip the insurer will cover the costs if they make a claim against you.

Pre-existing medical condition: Any medical condition that was diagnosed or treated before you purchased the travel insurance is called a pre-existing medical condition. It is important to declare such conditions to your insurer as hiding them may lead to claims being rejected.

Repatriation: Repatriation means arranging for your return home for any reason. If you get injured or fall ill during your trip, the insurer will arrange for repatriation, if required.

Usual, customary and reasonable charges: The insurers typical refund only “usual, customary and reasonable charges”. This is nothing but the prevailing amounts charged for a service at a given location in a similar facility.

When people turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare, they are sometimes surprised to learn that Medicare doesn’t cover all of their healthcare expenses and services.

On average, Medicare covers around 80% of your inpatient and outpatient services. There are also some items which are not covered by Medicare at all.

Learning what Medicare covers ahead of time will certainly help you not to experience any unwelcome surprises. doesn’t cover will help you be better prepared for your enrollment ahead of time.

Items That Medicare Doesn’t Cover

When Medicare was first rolled out in the 1960’s, it was designed to cover hospital services and medical services. There are several things that fall outside of these that are not covered by Medicare at all.

These include routine dental, vision, hearing and foot care. Original Medicare also does not cover cosmetic surgery, most medical care in foreign countries, or long-term care like nursing home or assisted living facility care.

Medicare also did not cover any outpatient prescription drugs for many years. However, in 2006, Congress rolled out a voluntary program to help with outpatient medication expenses called Medicare Part D.

For many years, Medicare didn’t cover preventive care, but in 2010 this was changed and now Medicare offers an annual physical as well as a number of other preventive care procedures.

Fortunately, there are also many individual insurance policies on the private marketplace to help with some of the other items, such as dental, vision and hearing insurance or long-term care insurance.

Covering the Gaps

We mentioned that Medicare covers only about 80% of your medical expenses. You pay the rest in the form of deductibles, coinsurance, and copays.

You can purchase insurance coverage that helps you to pay these expenses when they arise. There are two primary types of additional coverage that you can choose.

You can choose to enroll in a Medigap plan or you can opt to get your Original Medicare benefits through a private insurance program instead, called a Medicare Advantage plan.

Medigap plans are sometimes called Medicare supplements. These plans pay after Medicare first pays its share. The plans help to cover the deductibles, copays, and coinsuranceon your behalf. There are ten standardized plans to choose from in most states, and there are several plan options provide a foreign travel emergency benefit up to $50,000 as well.

You can use your Medigap plan at any Medicare provider nationwide and you never need to get a referral.

Medicare Advantage plans are also called Medicare Part C plans. These private insurance plans typically involve treating with the plan’s network of providers. Typical networks include HMO-style networks where you must choose a primary care doctor or PPO networks where you can see any doctor in the network and even treat outside the network at additional costs.

You will pay copays for various medical services as you go along, and these expectations will be outlined in the plan’s Evidence of Coverage booklet.

Part C Medicare Advantage plans can also build in some extras that Original Medicare doesn’t usually cover, such asdental care, vision exams, and eyeglasses, hearing aids, and even gym memberships. Each plan must cover all of the same medical services as Original Medicare, but how you pay for your share of these services is different. Approximately 30% of Medicare beneficiaries enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan.

Prepare Ahead of Time

Though Medicare isn’t free, you can work with a financial planner or Medicare insurance broker to estimate your costs for Medicare ahead of time. This will help you avoid any unwelcome financial surprises and also help you to fully understand how your coverage will operate.

Danielle Roberts is the co-founder at Boomer Benefits, where she and her team help new Medicare beneficiaries to learn about their coverage and benefits. You can visit her website to learn more about your eligibility for Medicare.