Insuring Your Fish and Chip Shop

During the 1980's, the insurance industry developed packages specifically for fish and chip shop owners. Given that many retailers were interested in purchasing the most dollar-conscious policies, there became known something called the "bundle" policy. This type of insurance policy puts a number of types of coverage together specific to the takeaway fish and chip shop industry.

The product available is far more attractive to the purchaser and sold at a much more competitive rate. Regardless, the most important factor to consider is that given the inherent potential risk to goods and property on the site of a fish and chip shop, some insurers will only offer limited coverage. The following will therefore provide a breakdown of this particular type of insurance and where one may purchase same.

Specific to a policy for a fish and chip shop is coverage for damages to store materials and property. This damage can come in the form of theft, fire, loss or other accidental damage. The most important item to make sure has substantial coverage attached to it is the deep fast frying fish range. Since fires are most common around these ranges, a significant portion of the policy will focus in on the potential risks of this mechanism. And dependent upon the street value of the frying range, the cost of the policy can swing dramatically higher or lower depending.

Further, your Fish and Chip Shop insurance should include the following specifications:

Coverage for all the contents and stock against potential fire, storm and flood damage;

Coverage should the proprietor experience any sort of business interruption, such as would occur following a valid claim against the policy. One would want to be sure business was not interrupted during this period of time;

Coverage towards any records that could conceivably be lost due to any potential fire, flood or other disaster. The policy should adequately cover for money that is owed you. These records clearly could not be accessed because of this damage.

Coverage against profit loss after the potential loss of an alcohol license for uncontrolled reasons.

Coverage for any damage or injury to the public while on the premises.

After all research has been accomplished as to which insurance policy to purchase, the most important factor is to be assured that the type of policy purchased is one specific to the fish and chip retailer. Although this seems to be an obvious point, it bears repeating. Fish and Chip Shop insurance is a specific package. Standard retail business insurance will simply not suffice. Given the built-in risks to customers and employees both, you will need to be sure to protect everyone and everything on the premises. This will aid in fostering a healthy enterprise for many years to come.

How Do You Settle With Rental Car Damages?

Receiving damage to a car that you have rented can be a very stressful experience. Those who do not have the appropriate collision and liability insurance can find themselves in the middle of a serious financial crisis. When settling rental car damages, there are a number of considerations that one should be aware of to ensure a trouble free resolution.

When you rent a car, you will usually have insurance through your own car insurance policy, or insurance that is available through your credit card, or you will have obtained insurance through the car rental company. It is important to be aware of the limitations that may be attached to a credit card's car rental insurance policy. As well, some rental car insurance policies will include comprehensive coverage, but there may be limits imposed on what and how much they will cover.

The process of submitting a claim requires completing a number of actions as outlined in your insurance policy. The process can vary, but generally, you need to do the following:

1. If your insurance is provided either by your credit card company, rental car insurance company, or your own car insurance company, you will have to contact them directly.

2. Each company will have their own form that you will have to fill out. You will have to send the form and all appropriate documents to the company. Some insurance companies have online forms that can be downloaded and filled out.

3. To claim for loss or damages to the rental car, you will need to provide the following:

• Proof of the rental agreement. (submitting a copy)
• Rental car inspection report prior to renting the car. This includes the walk around report that the car rental companies use to identify any scratches, dents, and other damages before you rented the car.
• A copy of the police report
• A copy of the damage inspection after the car was returned to the rental company
• A copy of the repair invoice or damage estimate from the rental agency. It will include an itemized repair list
• A receipt for repairs

4. To pursue your claim for losses resulting from rental car damage, you will be provided with a contact mailing address where you mail your claim. Once costs and damages have been determined, the insurance company will provide the coverage.

There may possibly be a dispute over repair charges. An insurance company has the right to send a claims adjustor to inspect the damaged car before it is repaired or disposed of. If you don't have insurance, a rental company can make repairs without an inspection.

It is important to be aware that if you are not adequately covered, you may incur some expenses. Some rental car agreements may require that one reimburses for the full value of the car. You should check to make sure you have the appropriate coverage. As well, some agreements require immediate reimbursement for damages, so they may immediately charge your credit card.

There may be other expenses that you are not covered for that can include: administrative fees, towing expenses, storage fees, and inspection and appraisal fees. It is important to read the fine print of your insurance policy to make sure you are comfortable with your coverage.

Purchasing the right insurance for a rental car can make all the difference if you suddenly find yourself in a potentially expensive car accident. When you pick up your car from the car rental company, make sure you inspect the exterior for damage. Being prepared will provide you with peace of mind when you are on the road. In the event of an accident, it will be a lot less stressful if you know exactly what steps have to be taken to settle any damages.

About ULIP

The expensive cover policy.

A few decades back, only money back and endowment policies used to be sold by LIC agents. The enterance of new private insurers marked the regime of new unique policies that suited individual needs. Now-a-days, except for LIC all other companies are busy selling ULIP's. Unit Linked Insurance plans as provide you with a cover along with the benefit of enhanced returns on the principal. Lets have a look at the features of this policy:

1. One can invest a fixed amount monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

2. Amount saved in a ULIP plan (net of charges) is invested at the applicable Net Asset Value (N.A.V) and denoted in units.

3. Every month a certain amount goes towards charges like the fund management charge or premium allocation charge and so on.

4. The cover provided is generally 5 to 10 times of annual premium.

5. The investor has to choose from a range of sub-options or plans provided by the company. For example a risk averse person can opt for a Protector type fund where 90 to 100 % of the investment is made in Gilts and Money market instruments which are risk free. Similarly an investor with a greater risk appetite can invest in Aggressive fund where 60 to 100% will be invested in equity and equity related instruments.

6. The term of the policy can be between 3 to 60 years with minimum and maximum age at entry and exit differing from policy to policy.

7. Different types of bonuses are declared during the term and on maturity of the policy that either increases the fund value or additional units are added to the policy.

8. You can opt for a single premium or regular premium ULIP plans.

9. In case of death of the investor during the term the company pays out the fund value + bonuses (if applicable) or the Sum Assured (cover) or both. This too differs from policy to policy.

10. Tax benefit u/s 80C for premiums paid upto Rs. 1 lakh p.a. Also surrender value or maturity benefit is exempt from taxes.

11. One can surrender the policy after three years of policy existence and can redeem the fund value as on that date.

Samir Kunvaria

Cheap Life Insurance Quotes

To ensure that you have the right insurance plan that you can afford, its important for you to know the correct life insurance quotes. You can go to the insurer's website for the same, or look for their brochures. But we recommend that you call them personally for this purpose.

If you think that you are not able to gather the correct and sufficient information, then you should fix up a meeting with a licensed agent and clear up the things. Fixing a meeting does not make you bound to purchasing an insurance plan. If you happen to find a cheap term quotes, then make sure the plan does not oblige you for any other plan.

Before you opt for a life insurance plan, we recommend you to study the following points carefully.

1. There are different types available in the market. While they may have different names in different companies, generally they hold the same concepts. Do not be confused by the different names and in fact, as you go from one company to another, put together a list in columns of each type - for instance, all term life insurance in one column regardless of their names and all whole life plans in another. That way, you know the basic benefits from each plan in every company. Comparison will be easier.

2. There are three basic types - Whole, term and universal life insurance. Term life insurance will have no cash value and you cannot take a loan against it. Whole one gives you more returns than what you have paid. Universal also builds up its cash value and in addition allows you to take a loan against it.

3. One kind of a policy can be converted to other kind of a policy with respect to some of the deciding factors. In such cases, your health plays a major role. For instance, another company is offering you a cheaper life insurance rate, but your health does not allow you to qualify for the same, so you have to stick to the present company.

4. Even term allows riders so if you need a rider to attach to your current term life insurance plan, do so. Riders available include spouse and child term riders which mean your precious ones are protected as much as you are with a negligible increase in premium.

5. If you think that you are into some risky job in which you are prone to occupational hazards, the you can ease your tension by adding a "waiver of cost" rider. This would mean that if at any time during the policy term, you get disabled, then all the costs of the policy would be paid by the company itself.

Make sure that you do not risk your future for saving a little money. There might be a number of cheap term life insurance rates available in the market, but they might offer you a limited cover and benefit. So, don't go for the price, look if the policy is fulfilling your needs or not.

Never be fooled by companies, agents or plans that boast of cheap or super affordable life insurance quotes. Your life insurance plan is meant to be something that protects and helps you when you need it most - basically, if it does not serve your needs, rethink the plan and start all over again.

The Greatest Sales Secret You Could Ever Learn

If you learn the secret I'm about to share with you, you'll be able to close more sales quicker and easier than your wildest dreams.

On the other hand, if you don't study and master this particular sales skill, then no matter how many closing techniques you've acquired, you can achieve only a tiny fraction of the profit potential your business could generate for you.

Here's a well-known proverb you've probably heard of:

"No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care."

This statement has been heard by many, and quoted countless times by speakers, educators, and trainers for many decades. Yet, as recognized as it is, salespeople in all types of businesses, industries, and professions still violate it every day in an untold number of situations.

Failing to follow its basic premise can be a deadly mistake when it comes to selling insurance or financial products.

I'm sure you've seen selling situations (perhaps you've even been in one yourself) where the salesperson tries to impress their prospect with how much they know about their products or services, instead of figuring out what their prospects' needs or wants are.

What usually happens is, either the salesperson tries to sell their prospect the wrong product, or the prospect, sensing the salesperson cares more about a sale than satisfying his or her wants, terminates the interview and goes elsewhere to look for a salesperson who will listen and help them find the product most suitable for their particular need.

The most important thing an agent or advisor can do during the first meeting with a prospect is to discover what his or her needs or wants are, and then figure out a way to satisfy those needs or wants.

Here's an important point that needs to be indelibly etched in your mind: If your prospect's needs or wants can be satisfied through the products or services you sell, that's great. Both you and the prospect will benefit.

But if the products or services you offer are not the best solution for your prospect's problems (and you know it), you will do a disservice by trying to sell them to that person. In this case, you should refer the prospect to another agent who can better serve his or her needs (even if you won't make any commission on the sale).

In order to determine whether the products or services you offer will be in the prospect's best interest, you must be customer-focused, and not product-centered. This means, you must ask questions and listen carefully to what they say.

As an example, let's say Helen Prospect walks into your agency. The very first thing you want to do is to acknowledge her presence. There are several ways to do that.

If it's appropriate, you might get up out of your chair, look directly at her as you approach her, smile, shake her hand firmly, and then enthusiastically say...

"Good morning, Helen! Welcome to our agency. How's your day going?"

If you're on the phone and can't get up right at the moment, at least look at her, ask the person on the phone to excuse you for a moment, then say to Helen, "I'll be right with you. Please sit down." Then proceed with your phone conversation.

From the first moment you lay eyes on Helen, your goal should be to build rapport with her. (Rapport is a pleasant feeling of mutual trust and friendship established through verbal and nonverbal means.)

In his book, Silent Messages, Dr. Albert Mehrabian suggests...

"You can influence people about 7% through the words you use (what you say), 38% through your voice quality, speed, tone, and pronunciation, (how you say it), and 55% through physiology or how you look, or what you do (your body language)."

Because most agents try to influence or motivate their prospects to purchase by using words alone, they have to work extremely hard to close just a small percentage of the sales.

If you want to improve your closing ratio, rather than learning more closing techniques, which is what to say, learn to improve your voice quality. Or, even more important, your body language.

Four Simple Ways To Improve Your Body Language:

1. Always sit (or stand) erect, leaning slightly toward the prospect.

2. Never fold your arms (doing so indicates you're keeping the prospect out).

3. Never cross your legs (doing so indicates you're holding back information).

4. Watch the prospect attentively, carefully listening to what he or she is saying.

Of these four gestures, the last one is the most important.

Most sales are lost because of two reasons: First, either the agent talks too much without listening to the needs and wants of the prospect, who turns off the conversation in his or her mind. Or second, the agent talks himself out of the sale by speaking too much.

Always keep this important fact in mind...

In Every Interview, You Should Try To Listen Your Prospects Into A Sale...Rather Than Talk Them Into One!

Back to our example with Helen. After your initial greeting, begin by asking her non-threatening questions about herself and her family, and then listening carefully to her answers.

Once you've gained her trust and confidence, gently lead into your fact-finding interview. When you understand what her needs and wants are, analyze her present insurance policy (whether that happens to be life, auto, disability, health, commercial, or LTC) to see if it gives her the best protection for her particular situation, and for the best price.

If your analysis indicates she would be better off with an increase or decrease in coverage, or perhaps a different policy altogether, you can recommend it to her. Conversely, if you can see Helen already has the best combination of policy, coverage and price for her situation, tell her so. In fact, you may even consider complimenting her for choosing the right policy.

Now, to provide Helen with the greatest service, you should offer to analyze her other insurance policies to make sure she has the right coverage, and is paying a fair premium for each one.

If you sell only a single policy, such as life, LTC, or disability, you may not be qualified to analyze Helen's other policies like auto, homeowners, or commercial. In this case, you can refer her to another agent who specializes in these types of policies.

When Helen sees you are concerned about her as a person, and you're more interested in making sure she has the right policies for her needs or wants rather than trying to sell her another one, she'll be more inclined to do business with you, even if your policy is the same as the one she now has.

Let's suppose Helen does have a good policy at a good price, and she doesn't switch to you, what do you do?

Well, because you've developed a relationship with her, and have been honest and up-front with her, even though she doesn't buy from you, she still may refer other people to you. And if she has a falling out or a disagreement with her current agent or company, or perhaps a rate increase, she will remember how well you treated her, and so she will likely do business with you.

During The Interview Process, You Should Talk Only 20% And Listen 80% Of The Time!

By doing so, you'll make Helen feel special, letting her know you care more about helping her get the best insurance protection than the commission you'll make on the policy.

As I mentioned earlier, some agents talk too much during an interview. They try to make their prospects aware of how much they know about their products or about some other topics, and as a result, they end up talking the prospect out of the sale.

If a prospect shows you a picture of their children, it's a natural temptation to take out a picture of yours and show it to your prospect. But that's the last thing you should do. You should avoid any appearance of comparison or competition, or of making your prospect feel inferior in any way.

To make your prospect feel good or special, you must make him or her the center of attention by letting them talk about themselves, their family, and other things that are important to them. And then listen to them attentively, both with your ears, as well as your body language.

Many years ago when I was selling life insurance person-to-person, believe it or not, I closed many sales without even talking about life insurance with the prospects during the first meeting.

Once I was able to get my prospects to tell me about themselves, they'd usually end up not only chatting about themselves, but also their spouse, their children, their job, their hobbies, and a number of other topics for the duration of the meeting. I was always surprised at what they said to me at the end of our meeting...

"Ken, you're one of the most interesting agents I've met. Let's get together tomorrow and write up the application."

Can you guess why they told me I was one of the most interesting agents they'd met when I'd hardly said anything during the meeting?

If you answered, "Because you actively listened to them," you're absolutely right.

In other words, because they felt good talking about themselves and the things that were important to them, they formed a great impression of me, even though I had said only a few words.

Please always remember this statement...

Your Ability To Make Friends With Your Prospects Fast...Will Let You Close More Sales Than Your Ability To Use Every Closing Technique Available On This Planet!

Sales are based on friendship. Your prospects won't buy from you until they're convinced you're their friend and are acting in their best interest.

So before investing more time, effort, and money learning more closing techniques, I suggest you first improve your ability to make friends with your prospects. You'll achieve much better results this way.

In your own frame of reference, you probably know of an agent who has less product knowledge and knows fewer closing techniques than you... but he or she makes considerably more money than you.

One of the reasons this happens is that some agents know how to make friends with their prospects quickly, easily, and almost effortlessly.

In addition to having a positive attitude and outlook, good body language and a winning smile, one of the best ways to make friends with your prospects almost instantly is to develop great listening skills.

Think about yourself for a minute.

Who do you like to be around?

What kind of salesperson do you like to buy from?

Like most people, I bet you also enjoy associating and buying from people who like you and show an interest in you, right?

Your prospects feel the same way. They also are put off by salespeople who don't listen, who talk about themselves, who have their own selfish interest at heart, and who care more about the next commission than helping them solve their problems or fulfill their needs and wants.

Avoid being that kind of salesperson or agent at all costs. Instead, take a consultative role with your prospects. Let them tell you their needs or wants, and then do your best to help them achieve their goals.

Of all the sales skills I've learned in the last three decades, being able to listen well is the most important skill by far. So, as I've mentioned, if you were to learn to become a great listener, you'd be able to close more sales quicker and easier than your greatest expectations.

Ken Varga was in the insurance business for 33 years and created an agency that had 459,182 policyholders. He sold his business in 2001 for more than $100 million. He's written a book called, "How To Make A Fortune In The Insurance Profession," which shows insurance agents and financial advisors how to build their million-dollar agency or practice in record time. Best of all, you can get it absolutely free.

Check out what some agents and advisors have said about his strategies and systems...

"One idea alone has helped me make an extra $93,400.00 in new commissions, both from cross-selling additional products and generating new referrals!"
~ Walter Dobrowolski, San Marcos, CA

"It's been about five weeks since I downloaded your book, and so far I have received 68 referrals!"
~ Victor M. Lastra, Boca Raton, FL

"I doubled my insurance production last year thanks to your strategies."
~ Barbara Boyce, Dallas, TX

"I've had your program for about two and a half years. And during this period, my income has more than doubled."
~ Mark Brady, Roseburg, OR

"I can't thank you enough for the Referral Course. I implemented the program last week and the referrals are rolling in. I had no idea getting referrals was so easy."
~ Craig Peters, Bellevue, WA

"Bring in about 10 new clients a week."
~ Ron Martinez, Aurora, CO

"The book is probably the most practical and fundamentally sound book I've read that pertains primarily to the insurance industry and I've searched!"
~ Joseph Hall, Matthews, NC

This is the greatest insurance selling program I have seen and used in 10 years of being in the business! Very client centered! My financial agency's retention rate is over 97%."
~ Andy Zurbuch, Bloomington, IN

Get Varga's free book and take your business to the next level fast.

Profit From Hiring Insurance Sales Assistants

To insurance agents, time is capital. To successful insurance agents, time is never enough.

On a busy day, an insurance agent may spend a few hours on the phone. The nature of the calls may vary from a simple enquiry to complicated requests. There are also probably hundreds of emails that need to be answered before the end of the day. As far as insurance agents are concerned, time is always a scarcity.

Insurance producers can look at other avenues to help them become more productive. One of the greatly untapped resources is sales assistants. Your insurance sales assistant is someone you can depend on to help you grow your business.

The role of sales assistant today involves a lot more than just answering phones and mailing correspondence, the job scope is very much expanded to meet the dynamic business needs and higher expectation of the customers.

Insurance sales assistants should not be confined to performing administrative functions but to step up to shoulder more responsibilities. Their ability to take on new and complex duties helps them acquire new skills and makes them appreciate them job much better.

An effective sales assistant can help an agent build profitable business by performing the following functions:

(a) Follow up

Sales assistants can help you compile and keep track of the clients' latest information such as weddings, divorces, child births, deaths, etc. Such information can translate into sales opportunities.

Serving as another pair of your eyes or ears, your sales assistant helps to make sure the information you have is accurate and most up-to-date. He or she can also be another pair of your arms or legs to juggle a number of tasks that may otherwise disrupt your concentration on sales generating activities.

(b) Paperwork

To insurance agents, sales happen in the field. The more they spend time meeting up with their customers, the more sales they generate. Sales assistants free up insurance agents' time so that the agents are not bogged down with mountains of paperwork.

It is an opportunity cost to you when the time you could have spent on prospecting and meeting up with your customers is used in sorting information or input account data. Your sales assistant can take these tasks off your plate.

(c) Better customer service

Sales assistants are the first contact point with the customers in the event you are not available to attend to customers' requests or complaints from the customers. With the help of sales assistants, your customers get prompt advice and services and this enhances your service quality.

An organized sales assistant is an integral part in your insurance business. While you are in the field working hard to bring in business, your sales assistant makes sure your customers' service needs are met. Your role and that of your sales assistant are mutually complementary and interdependent.

(d) Sales tools support

Sales assistants can also, with the advice from insurance agents, conduct research, develop prospecting materials and create sales presentation. This is a win-win arrangement where the sales assistants pick up new skills when working on the assignment and you perfect your sales presentation scripts.

With proper delegation, sales assistants will not view a new task an additional burden but an opportunity to better themselves. On the other hand, you can focus your energy to do things that you have been professionally trained to do such as preparing complicated estate planning or retirement planning for your clients.

(d) Improve persistency

Generally an insurance company sends policyholders reminder notice to inform them that their premium payments are due. A sales assistant can call the customers on personal level and this helps promote better business relations with the customers that lead to better persistency.

Sales assistants may be the first ones to receive complaints from customers. Having the first hand information regarding the customers' concerns, they are the first line of defense to defuse customers' complaints. You need good persistency to have profitable business.

Finally, competent sales assistants are valuable assets to your business. Their efforts and contributions should be appropriately recognized and rewarded. They should also be encouraged to go for professional development in correspondence with business or industrial changes. Investing in your sales assistants is investing in your business.

What Every Historic District Resident Needs to Know About Buying Homeowners Insurance

Isn't there something truly awesome about knowing every time you step out onto your front porch you're looking at a little piece of history? Living in a historical district can be like capturing a moment in time over and over again, every day of your life. The catch is, part of enjoying the serenity and the mystery of living in a historical district is doing what you can to preserve the authenticity of your own home. That's where your homeowners insurance steps in.

See, buying homeowners insurance on a historic home isn't as easy as hopping on the web, filling out a questionnaire and getting quotes from companies all over the country. Wouldn't it be nice if it was? When you're insuring a home in a historical district you're probably going to need to work with a professional that specializes in that type of thing to make sure you're preserving the sanctity of both your checkbook AND the little part of history you call home.

Why Buying Insurance in the Historic District is Such a Pain

When you're insuring your historical home it usually isn't because you don't have anything better to do with your cash. It's because you don't want to have to pay out of pocket to repair it if the antiquated wiring should suddenly combust or your septic tank finally gives up the ghost! Most of the homes in the country's authentic historic districts have a replacement cost of over $1 million, often much higher than their estimated market value, simply because it's going to cost your homeowners insurance so much to find the right kind of materials and the right craftsmen to put it back together again.

Did You Know Most Homeowners Insurance Companies Won't Insure Houses Over 100 Years Old?

Yes, it's shameless age-ism, but there you have it. No one ever said the insurance industry had to be politically correct. At least, not as far as inanimate objects go. Guess nobody ever told them that history was alive!

But seriously folks.

Because of the expense of rebuilding a historical home, especially one that's in a historic district and therefore strictly governed by the laws of historical accuracy, most homeowners insurance companies choose to pass those contracts off to insurers who specialize in "that kind of thing". These companies work almost exclusively with high value historical homes and know exactly how to give you the best deal possible on your potential rebuilding costs without sacrificing the sanctity of your home.

But First, the Inspection...

Owning a historic home is one of the very few times you can almost guarantee you're going to have an insurance agent standing on your front steps sooner or later. Why? Because the difficult part of any historical renovation isn't rebuilding the house. It's getting it right, down to the last slime covered toadstool.

The beauty of living in a historic district is that you want to be authentic, not just close to authentic. That means if you had a slate roof and it burned up in a fire you have to build another slate roof. And that slate may even need to be from the same quarry as the original. The wood is going to have to be the same type, and properly aged. And you're going to going to need to find a craftsman that knows how to work with both.

Since that all costs money your homeowners insurance is going to want a comprehensive list not only of what's in your home but also what it's made of, and they're not going to trust you to make that list. They're probably going to send out a qualified appraiser to poke around, make a list, toss around a few numbers and set the stage to give your home the top notch homeowners insurance it deserves.