Important insurance terms unions workers need to know

The world of insurance can be confusing and full of language you may not understand. It’s a good idea to talk to a financial adviser who can help you make sense of it all, but here are some of the most common insurance terms you should know as a union worker.

Agreed Value

Agreed value is a type of cover where you and your insurance company agree upon the value of your vehicle when you take out the policy. Agreed value policies are usually more expensive than market value policies because even if the market value of your vehicle goes down, you’ll still be covered for the agreed amount.

Assessor

If you need to make a claim, someone from the insurance company will check the details of the claim to see if it’s valid and meets the conditions of your policy. This person is called an assessor.

Claim

A claim is the request you make to be paid out an amount from your insurer if you suffer a loss that is covered by your insurance policy.

Contents

These include your physical personal items, for example bicycles, furniture, computers, equipment, jewellery, business tools, carpets, and curtains.

Duty of Disclosure

When you take out an insurance policy, you are required to tell the insurance provider everything about your situation that is relevant to their decision to cover you - this is called duty of disclosure. For example, for medical cover, you need to disclose any pre-existing health conditions you may have.

Excess

Your excess is the amount you are required to pay if you need to make a claim. For example, if you make a claim for $5,000 and your excess is $250, you will need to pay $250 and the insurer pays the rest.

No Claims Bonus

If you haven’t made any claims in a certain time period, you may be eligible for a no claims bonus. This means you may receive a discount or reduction in your insurance premium.

Non-Disclosure

If you do not tell your insurance company any information that may be relevant to your policy as part of your Duty of Disclosure, this is called a non-disclosure. This may lead to a claim being denied or your insurance policy being invalid.

Policy

Your insurance policy is a document that is issued to you from an insurance company that sets out the terms and conditions of the insurance contract.

Premium

A premium refers to the amount of money you pay to your insurance company to keep you covered if something goes wrong. How regularly you pay your premium will depend on what you and the insurance company agreed upon when you took out your policy.

Sum Insured

Sum insured refers to the total amount your house or contents are covered for. It’s the maximum amount that your insurer will pay in the event of a claim. You can find out more about sum insured and how it works here.

Underwriting

Underwriting is the process an insurer goes through to work out how much insurance cover to offer you based on your level of risk. It helps the insurer to calculate the premiums that will need to be paid to insure that risk.

Is there something we’ve missed? If you have any questions about your insurance policy, get in touch with us today - we’re happy to help!