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UNIT 15. Small business and insurance

In ancient times, merchant ships were sometimes captured by pirates and held for ransom¹. Merchants began to contribute to a common fund which was used to pay the ransom. After a time, the merchants saw the advantage of extending this system of sharing² risks to take care of the loss of cargo from fires and storms, in addition to piracy.

When a person takes out insurance, these same principles of sharing losses are followed.

Competition is a risk to the business owner and can be met by ability, knowledge, and imagination. There are other risks that are not insurable³. These include the effects of a business depression, changes in styles and public tastes, and population changes from one part of the city or country to another.

There are risks that are insurable, and a business owner can guard against⁴ them. These are risks for which the possible great fi­nancial loss can be transferred all or in part to an insurance company pool⁵. It should be noted that only the financial loss can be trans­ferred. The annoyance and inconvenience caused by damage, loss of property, or personal injury still remains.

There are several insurance terms⁶ which should be known. You must have an insurable interest in something in order to ensure it. A financial loss must occur, and only property or relationships which are valuable to the insurer⁷ can constitute an insurable interest. For instance you could not insure the life of your competitor. You must be able to prove a loss or the insurance company will become suspicious.

The policy is a contract between the insured and the company. It gives the exact details of the property to be insured, terms of the policy, amount of premiums⁸, and other specific information.

The premium is the amount of money which is paid to keep the policy in force. If the period covered by the policy passes and another policy is not issued, the policy is said to lapse⁹. Policies insure for only a specified period of time and losses which occur only during that period are covered.

Insurance for your business can be divided into six classes. These classes include liability insurance, property insurance, business interruption insurance, fidelity bonds¹⁰ business life insurance, and special insurance.

Insurance is a service which business purchases from either an insurance broker or an insurance agent by paying premiums. An in­surance broker is an independent business owner who sells insurance for several different insurance companies. An insurance agent is a representative of usually one insurance company and sells only that company's insurance. Both of these business persons must meet cer­tain standards before they are licensed to sell insurance. As a rule, they can be counted on to give you good service and advice on the types and amounts of insurance needed for your particular business. Insurance companies must be approved by each state in which they sell policies.

When insurance is purchased, it is important that you get the best protection for the money paid. The best value is not always the policy with the lowest premium. Usually, the longer the term of the policy, the lower the premium is each year. A policy for five years would have a lower annual premium than a policy for one year. Busi­nesses save money by purchasing a blanket policy¹¹ instead of indi­vidual policies. However, these are money-saving practices only if they provide needed insurance.

Most owners of small businesses do not have extra money to cover emergencies. If adequately insured, the proprietor of a small business cannot be forced out of business by a fire or large liability claim. Adequate insurance is important because many business owners are underinsured¹².

The insurance policy is a contract between the insured and the insurance company. Therefore, it is important that the buyer read, un­derstand, and fulfill the obligations of the agreement.

The business owner is urged to seek legal advice for business problems. You may feel that getting a lawyer is too expensive. If you make a mistake that a lawyer could have prevented, however, the loss could easily cost you a great deal more than the lawyer would have charged you. Whether it is buying insurance, getting an accountant, seeking legal aid, or buying merchandise, you should never be ashamed of asking for help. All business owners need help in making decisions.

1) What can you say about the history of insurance?

2) What principles are followed by insurance?

3) What kind of loss can be transferred to an insurance company pool?

4) What is an insurance policy?

5) What is meant by a policy lapse?

1) An insurance dividend is

a. the amount paid by the policy holder for the policy

b. a part of the profit that a stock company returns to its policy holders

c. the amount an insurance company pays when there is a loss

d. a part of the profit that a mutual company returns to its policy holders

2) A contract between the insured and the insurance company is called a

a. premium c. dividend

b. policy d. lease

3) Which one of the following is an insurable risk?

a. style changes c. competition

b. theft d. economic depression

4) The amount paid regularly to keep an insurance policy in force is called a

a. binder c. dividend

b. premium d. commission

5) A policy lapses when

a. it is not renewed c. the premium is not paid on time

b. it is extended temporarily d. it is terminated by the company

6) Which one of the following best describes the philosophy of insurance?

a. gambling c. protection against loss

b. sharing of risks d. everyone for themselves

7) An insurable risk is your

a. partner c. spouse

b. merchandise d. all of these

8) The maximum amount that an insurance company will pay out in the event of a claim is called the

a. rate c. dividend

b. premium d. face value

9) An insurance company that pays dividends to policy holders is a

a. mutual company c. stock company

b. family company d. premium company

10) A type of insurance that protects a business owner against financial loss due to dishonest employees is

a. business interruption insurance

b. malpractice insurance

c. a fidelity bond

d. customer insurance

WORD STUDY

3. Match the words with their definitions.

ransom, competition, depression, pool, insurer, lapse, premium, insurance agent, lawyer, blanket insurance

1) A professional person, trained in the law and authorized to advise clients on legal business and represent them in courts of law.

2) The party or parties, usually an insurance company who take upon themselves the risk of paying for losses in accordance with the conditions of an insurance contract.

3) A price demanded or paid to obtain the release of a person held as a prisoner, or of a valuable object that has been stolen.

4) That part of a trade cycle that is marked by a large fall in output, high unemployment, low prices.

5) The amount which is paid for a stock or share over and above its nominal or face value; a sum of money paid on a lease in ad­vance of signature and over and above the rent.

6) Rivalry between business concerns in the same market.

7) A person who introduces insurance business to an insurance company in return for a commission.

8) An insurance contract which has not been renewed and is no longer effective.

9) An association of producers who agree to share between them the output needed to meet the market demand at a certain fixed price.

10) Any insurance that covers a group of different kinds of risk, such as fire, theft, storm, etc.

4. Supply the sentences with the missing words

contributed, insurance policy, terms, premium, effect, emergency, to take out, to lapse, save, liability

1) Advanced technology has directly ... to the excessive growth of cities.

2) This measure would ... the government £185 million.

3) He pulled hard, but without any noticeable ... .

4) We must find out if there is any ... covering the mortgage.

5) He allowed his membership of the union ... .

6) Investors were even more willing to pay a ... for companies that offered such a potential for growth.

7) I want ... a mortgage.

8) They would never surrender this territory, on any ... whatever.

9) We have personnel and facilities for any ... .

10) There are limitations to the contractors ... .

5. Match the verb with an appropriate preposition.

Verbs	Prepositions
1) to put money	a. with
2) to invest	b. in
3) to carry	c. up
4) to locate	d. out
5) to feed	e. over
6) to pick	f. for
7) to move	g. into
8) to experiment
9) to ask
10) to mark

1) to contribute to ...

2) to take care of ...

3) property of value to the insurer can constitute ...

4) the policy is ...

5) insurance is ... which business purchases

6) ... the amount of money paid to keep the policy in force

7) insurance companies sell ...

8) businesses save money by purchasing ...

9) ... insurance is important

10) business owners need help in ...

7. The verb to insure has many derivates. Look through the following extract and complete it using one of them.

An … risk – one that an … company will cover – generally meets the following requirements:

a) The peril … against must not be under the control of the … . This means that … do not pay for losses that are intentionally caused by the … caused at the … direction, or caused with the … collusion. For example, a fire-… policy excludes loss caused by the … own arson. It does, however, include loss caused by an em­ployee's arson.

b) Losses must be calculable, and the cost of … must be eco­nomically feasible. To operate profitably, … companies must have data on the frequency and severity of losses caused by a given peril. If this information covers a long period of time and is based on a large number of cases, … companies can usually predict accu­rately how many losses will occur in the future. For example, the number of people who will die each year in the United States has been calculated with great precision, and … companies use this in­formation to set policyholders' life-… premiums.

1) We might ignore market segment differences.

2) A marketing program can be designed to appeal to most buyers.

3) You can keep transportation costs low by a single product line.

4) Several market segments may be targeted.

5) More total sales are created by differentiated marketing.

6) A company may broaden its base.

7) Many examples of concentrated marketing can be found.

8) The segment may be attacked by larger competitors.

9) Many factors must be considered when choosing a strategy.

10) Down-market products could have been added to the product range.

9. Choose either the adjective or the adverb in each of the sen­tences below.

1) The first task for the interviewer is to make the candidate feel comfortable/comfortably.

2) In a panel interview the candidate may look at the interviewer nervous/nervously.

3) This approach proves clear/clearly the importance of a well-prepared strategy.

4) Well-prepared interviewers are usually good/well at interviewing.

5) In a good interview the candidate seems hard/hardly to notice the time.

6) If the atmosphere becomes tense/tensely, the interview leader should take charge.

10. Rewrite the following sentences using the verb in brackets in the correct form. The first one has been done for you.

1) There are two types of faulty product: those to be discarded and those to be reworked. (divide into) Faulty products are/can be divided into those to be discarded and those to be reworked.

2) Worker involvement and management participation are two of the quality-improvement initiatives. (consist of)

3) Both quality and productivity are parts of one single process. (involve)

4) A manager makes two kinds of quality-control decision: strategic decisions and tactical decisions. (break down into)

5) Steps to plan and improve quality are strategic-quality decision-making. (fall into)

6) The types of quality-control procedure are acceptance-sampling and process-control. (make up of)

7) Finding a new supplier or overhauling a worn machine may be steps in the control of quality. (consist of)

8) Decisions about regular quality inspections are tactical decisions. (involve)

DISCUSSION

1. Determine different types of insurance you will need for your business.

2. Discuss risks that are/aren't insurable.

WRITING

1. Write a summary of the text.

2. Write a short report on the role of insurance service for business.

2. 
   Strategic-quality decision-making falls into planning and improving quality.
   
3. 
   Quality-control procedure is made up of acceptance-sampling and process-control.
   
4. 
   The control of quality consists of finding a new supplier or overhauling a worn machine.
   
5. 
   Tactical decisions involve decisions about regular quality inspections.
   

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