An insurance company provides a benefit when an event beyond the control of an insured occurs. This may relate to health, life, work, property or housing, etc. Thus, the missions of an insurance company are to create insurance products for policyholders but also to ensure their management and final sale. Year insurance contracts signed between the insurance company and the insured, describing the rights and obligations of each party.
The service is most often financial and is intended for an individual, an association, or a company. To obtain this benefit, the insured must pay a contribution or a premium every month. This payment can be fixed or variable.
There are 2 types of insurance companies
- Société Anonyme: The shareholders are not the insured.
- Mutual insurance company: Non-profit. Members are also policyholders and contribute to decisions at the General Meeting. This is governed by the Insurance Code. Note that insurance contracts can be sold to individuals (insured)
The economic model of the insurance company is based on risk pooling. That is to say that the insured is protected against an event thanks to the subscriptions of all the other insured. It may be that the insurance is taken out when no negative event appears: this is the hazard. For the insurance system to be viable, the event must be rare. Of course, it is impossible to estimate the number of claims that will occur.
To deal with claims, the insurance company can reinsure with another insurance company or even increase the premium (or contribution).
Some examples of exceptional claims cited by Wikipedia:
– In the 1970s, a motorist caused two trains to collide, forcing the SNCF to divert the Paris-Nancy access via Troyes. The phenomenal cost was borne by the insurance company, itself reinsured, the additional cost was not felt.
– The Titanic, let’s not forget, is also an exceptional disaster. Lloyd’s, its insurer, had no difficulty in honoring its commitments.
– The destruction of the World Trade Center towers cost 100 billion dollars, notably in the cost of life insurance for the unfortunate victims.
Car insurance coverage
From the side of the insurance company, even if it’s not written in black and white in your car insurance contract, you can’t expect a refund for that phone or MP3 player stolen from your car.
However, certain goods, more specifically goods permanently fixed in the car, elements used on a seasonal basis as well as belongings specific to the use of the vehicle, may benefit from reimbursement in the event of theft. You can therefore hope to have a refund for the GPS or the baby seat.
Home insurance coverage
If you have home insurance, notify your insurer of the theft. Indeed, with your home insurance, it is possible to have reimbursement for other goods whose use is not exclusive to the car. When we talk about these other goods, we are referring to the smartphone, the laptop, the camera, the coat, or even the stroller.
Even if you are a tenant, it would still be a good idea to take out tenant home insurance. Before signing the contract, take the time to carefully check each clause to have a fairly high level of coverage and reimbursement.
Better understand the situation…
If by misfortune, your roof box is stolen with your skis when you left your car, you can benefit from mixed cover. The insurance company with which you signed your car insurance will consider the trunk as a property permanently attached to the vehicle. In this case, if you warn her, she will have to comply with her obligations and reimburse you.
However, his cover remains there. When it comes to skis, it’s your home insurance that you have to play with. There, you have to make two declarations even if you only have one insurer. You will only have one deductible and the one that is the higher of the two cases will be taken into account.
Even if your insurer did not notify you when signing the home insurance contract, this contract includes some limitations. So you can’t always expect a refund. Indeed, if your phone is high-end, the insurance may refuse to reimburse you. Reimbursement is made up to a certain limit.
You can also be refused reimbursement if your baby’s phone or seat was not declared during the subscription. To benefit from optimal cover, you must always inform your insurer of a change or addition of accessories. It is also an obligation and it concerns both home insurance and car insurance.
