Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individual's or individuals' death or other event, such as terminal illness or critical illness. In return, the policy owner agrees to pay a stipulated amount at regular intervals or in lump sums. There may be designs in some countries where bills and death expenses plus catering for after funeral expenses should be included in Policy Premium. In the United States, the predominant form simply specifies a lump sum to be paid on the insured's demise.

As with most insurance policies, life insurance is a contract between the insurer and the policy owner whereby a benefit is paid to the designated beneficiaries if an insured event occurs which is covered by the policy.

The value for the policyholder is derived, not from an actual claim event, rather it is the value derived from the 'peace of mind' experienced by the policyholder, due to the negating of adverse financial consequences caused by the death of the Life Assured.

To be a life policy the insured event must be based upon the lives of the people named in the policy.

Insured events that may be covered include:

* Serious illness

Life policies are 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 suicide, fraud, 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. A common form of this design is term insurance.
* Investment policies - where the main objective is to facilitate the growth of capital by regular or single premiums. Common forms (in the US anyway) are whole life, universal life and variable life policies.

TATA AIG Travel Insurance, overseas travel insurance coverage

Travelling abroad is an exciting and mind broadening experience, however it is cautious to be always covered with proper health insurance. While leaving one’s home country travelers should get covered under overseas travel medical insurance, as their domestic insurance usually does not cross national borders. TATA AIG has designed travel insurance specially to provide coverage for those going overseas. TATA AIG travel insurance covers costs that incur both due to medical as well as non medical reasons during an emergency. The premium for the TATA AIG travel insurance plans vary according to the age group and destination of the traveler. The travel insurance plans offered by TATA AIG are;

TATA AIG Travel Guard Insurance

The TATA AIG Travelguard insurance is for all overseas travelers up to the age of 70. There are 3 policy maximums available, the Silver plan for $50,000/-, the Gold plan for $200,000/- and the Platinum plan for $500,000/- . This policy is available up to 180 days initially, but can be later renewed for another 90 days. The renewal is however not guaranteed and is contingent on approval.

TATA AIG Asia Guard Travel Insurance

Your holiday in Asia will be more enjoyable and memorable covered with TATA AIG Asia Guard. Travelers going to Asian countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Maldives… can purchase TATA AIG Asia Guard and get covered. Those who are travelling to Asia for any purpose will find TATA AIG Asia Guard affordable than any other travel insurance plans. Only Japan and Korea are Asian countries that are excluded in Asia Guard travel insurance. However the Asia Guard policy is available for a maximum of 14 days only. For travel within Asia but for more than 14 days, travelers should purchase the TATA AIG Travel guard insurance policy.

TATA AIG Annual MultiTrip Travel Insurance

Travelers who make multiple trips to foreign countries annually can purchase TATA AIG Annual MultiTrip travel insurance for medical coverage. TATA AIG Annual MultiTrip insurance is available as Gold plan and Platinum plan. The Gold Plan in Annual MultiTrip provides maximum coverage of $250,000 and Platinum plan offers maximum sum of $500,000 respectively. Travelers with the Annual Multi trip cannot exceed a single trip overseas for more than 30 or 45 days depending on the plan purchased.

TATA AIG Domestic Guard Travel Insurance

Those who travel within India should not ignore the importance of travel insurance policy. TATA AIG Domestic Guard travel insurance plan covers specific risks that are encountered by the travelers in case of an emergency. TATA AIG Domestic Guard insurance can be purchased according to one’s age group.

TATA AIG Student Travel Insurance

Students going abroad for education also require medical insurance and TATA AIG Insurance plans are available for them also. TATA AIG Student medical insurance provides coverage for students between the age of 16 to 35 years who are enrolled and attending full time college outside of India. TATA AIG Student Guard insurance is available for the customers as Plan A, Plan B and Ultimate. The policy maximum will be $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000 respectively in Student Guard medical insurance by TATA AIG.

TATA AIG Senior Citizen Travel Insurance

TATA AIG travel insurance plans are available for senior citizens as well. Senior citizens who are between the age of 70 and 79 are eligible for TATA AIG travel insurance policy coverage. The maximum duration of coverage will be 120 days for Senior Citizen travelers between 70 and 79 and the maximum benefit maximum is limited to $10,000 in insurance plan.

These are some of the travel insurance plans offered by TATA AIG and are available online. Customers can purchase insurance from outside India for family members who are traveling from India. A son or a daughter living in the United States or the UK can purchase TATA AIG Travel insurance for their parents who are traveling from India. Insurance customers can free quotes of TATA Travel insurance and get covered quickly and conveniently. Travelers who are already outside of India can fill online traveler outside India application and request for TATA AIG travel insurance policy coverage. Travelers already outside India can purchase the policy on getting approval. The purchase process of TATA AIG health insurance plan can be completed using a credit, a debit card or a cheque. The coverage of TATA AIG insurance plan will begin as per the start date requested by the insurance customers. TATA AIG travel insurance provides coverage for hospitalization expenses, checked baggage loss, baggage delay, loss of passport, personal liability, personal accident, trip delay etc.

The Hunt for Health Insurance Part 1: Being uninsured sucks!

I looked over my COBRA papers and stifled a chortle. $430 a month for a plan that has a $2,000 deductible? Yikes. Life was so good when I paid $70 a month for that bad boy and my employer put $1,000 in the HSA. I got an annual physical and chiropractic work and not a dollar came directly from my pocket.

Oh well.

So I read some news articles on shopping for insurance and talked to my cousin who had run his own business and worked as a contractor, so he was well-versed in shopping for his own coverage (plus he has a wife and children, so it was even more crucial).

I've been to ehealthinsurance.com (which both a Washington Post article and my cousin recommended) and applied for two plans -- both with CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield. They've got low monthly premiums because the deductibles are high, but I think that will work for me because I rarely go to the doctor (even when I have health insurance I only go for annual physicals and when I'm super sick, otherwise I don't mess with them fools... always wanting to push some drugs on ya. I once had a doc write me a prescriptions for Tylenol. What?). I figure most of the money I'd be saving on one of these plans vs. COBRA I'll stick in my emergency fund so if and when that deductible has to be paid out, I can do it in cash and the plan can cover the rest.
Now... that means I actually have to save the money and not go buy shoes or something.

Do me a favor blogger fam: tell me about your coverage, how you acquired it and what plans you're working with. I'm curious how many people prefer HMO, PPO, High Deduc with HSA or what. And any other suggestions you have for searching out decent coverage, let me know. Thank you!