‘Read Fine Print, Understand Requirements’ A
nyone who has ever looked into buying an insurance policy knows just how confusing the process can be.
Insurance policies can be long, contain a lot of unfamiliar terms, and contain many clauses about what is included and what isn’t. Tower Insurance General Manager, Veilawa Rereiwasaliwa says that it can be tempting to just run an eye over the document and sign on the dotted line. That is the worst thing a customer can do. “Yes, we’re always keen to see a customer buy an insurance policy, because we know that person is now probably better off than they would have been if something unexpected happens in their life,” Mr Rereiwasaliwa said.
“However, we want to make sure they understand what they are buying, and not only the benefits that the policy offers, but the things that it doesn’t cover too,” he said.
Mr Rereiwasaliwa says the worstcase scenario is a customer thinking they are protected against a large, unforeseen cost, only to find the item or damage either isn’t covered under their policy or they haven’t done what they need to do, to keep the policy valid.
“You really don’t want to find that out at the time you place a claim – it’s a discovery that needs to be made before you buy the policy and tuck it away in a drawer.”
An example in Fiji is when customers insure their houses. Tower Insurance always reminds their clients to check that they have enough insurance in place to cover the true cost of repairing or replacing their house, should it be damaged in a fire.
Issues occur when a customer puts in an insurance claim and finds out that their insurance cover is insufficient to repair or replace the damage caused by a fire or a cyclone for example.
“It is also important that you read the fine print of your policy document, understand what the insurance requirements are, meeting them and keeping your insurance cover valid,” he said.
“Our homes are one of our biggest assets in life,” he said.
“It is important that if we have valid Insurance, that we have fulfilled any insurance requirements; we have enough in place to cover the true cost of repairing or replacing it, should it be damaged. Those details will be in your policy document.” Language used in insurance documents can be different from that of every-day life.
Mr Rereiwasaliwa advises people to get some basic understanding of the terminology used and ask as many questions to get the full picture.
“There are no silly questions, all are important questions – you’re talking about some of the highest value assets you’ll ever own, in the case of your car or house, and other things you’ve worked hard for that you’d really rather not be without. “There are also unexpected costs that can arise if you cause injury to somebody else or damage to their property, and find it’s not covered under your insurance policy.”
The General Manager Tower Insurance says there are some basic terms that apply no matter what kind of policy you are purchasing. “You’ll hear words including Premium, Policy, Excess or Deductible, Exclusions and Special Conditions.
“Other terms that are helpful to know are Third Party, Sum Insured, Claim and Indemnity.
“These are not words that are used often in everyday life, so people shouldn’t feel bad for not knowing what they mean, right away.
“Our staff members take the time to talk people through the policy they are buying or renewing, but only the customer really knows about the risks that they are most concerned about and what they’d most like protection from.”