Insurance – Principles

Insurance is a contract between two parties. Here, in this contract, the two parties involved are the insurer and the insured. The one who is covered under insurance is the insured, and the company which provides insurance is the insurer. The insurer collects a certain amount from the insured, known as premium and gives financial assistance to the insured for any risk or uncertainty occurring in future.

Insurance can be done for anything, be it life, vehicles, properties, health, etc. 

Principle of Insurable Interest

The principle of insurable interest is required for life insurance. The person who is covered by the contract must have a personal connection to the policyholder. You must have a personal and economic stake in the other person’s life in order to obtain insurance on their life. A person who buys life insurance on the life of a stranger is essentially investing in the death of that individual. If this were to happen, and if their contracts were to be exploited for unethical or criminal purposes, such as obtaining a life insurance policy on someone and killing them or having them killed, life insurance companies would be unable to reliably anticipate mortality rates.

Risk Transfer

Life insurance relies on the transfer of risk. Our life insurance coverage does not include the risk of death. Instead, the risk is shared among all policyholders with whom the insurer has contracts. The general account is funded by all of the insurance company’s clients. When a member of the group dies, the money is invested, and claims are paid out.

The principles of insurance

Risk distribution among a group of people is the concept of insurance. As a result, insurance is based on cooperation.

To ensure the correct functioning of an insurance contract, both the insurer and the insured must adhere to the following seven insurance principles:

1. Utmost Good Faith
2. Proximate Cause
3. Insurable Interest
4. Indemnity
5. Subrogation
6. Contribution
7. Loss Minimization

Each principle of insurance in details discussed below: –

• Utmost Good Faith: The fundamental principle is that each of the parties in an insurance contract ought to act in honestness towards one another, i.e. they have to offer clear and sententious data associated with the terms and conditions of the contract.

The insured ought to offer all the data associated with the topic matter, and therefore the insurance company should provide precise details concerning the contract.

• Proximate cause: ‘Causa Proxima or closest cause is another name for proximate cause. When a loss is caused by two or more causes, this principle applies. The insurance company will investigate the most recent cause of loss. The insurer must pay compensation if the proximate cause is the one for which the property is insured. If it is not a cause for which the property is insured, the insured will not be compensated.

The proximate cause is the cause that was genuinely accountable for the loss.

If the peril chosen as the proximate cause is covered, the loss is considered to have been caused by the covered peril, and the loss is considered covered.

• Insurable Interest: Insurable interest simply means that the contract’s subject matter must give some financial benefit to the insured (or policyholder) by simply existing and would result in a financial loss if damaged, destroyed, stolen, or lost.

The insured must have an insurable interest in the insurance contract’s subject matter.

The subject’s owner is said to have an insurable interest until they no longer own it.

• Indemnity: Indemnity is a promise to return the insured to the position they were in prior to the unforeseen event that resulted in a loss. The insured is compensated by the insurer (provider) (policyholder).

The insurance provider promises to reimburse the policyholder for the amount of the loss up to the contract’s maximum limit.

Essentially, this is the most important portion of the contract for the insurance policyholder. It states that they have the right to be compensated or, in other words, indemnified for their loss.

• Subrogation: Subrogation occurs when one creditor (the insurance company) takes the place of another (another insurance company representing the person responsible for the loss).

After the insured (policyholder) has been reimbursed for a loss on an insured piece of property, the insurer gains possession of the property.

• Contribution: Contribution creates a symbiotic relationship between all of the insurance contracts engaged in an incident or dealing with the same subject.

Contribution permits the insured to seek indemnity from all of the insurance contracts involved in their claim to the amount of real loss.

• Loss Minimisation: This establishes an insurance contract, which is perhaps the simplest. In the event of an unforeseen occurrence, it is the insured’s responsibility to take all reasonable efforts to reduce the loss to the covered property.

Insurance policies aren’t supposed to be about getting free items if anything horrible happens. As a result, the insured has some responsibility for taking all reasonable steps to reduce the property’s loss.

Types of insurance

There are numerous sorts of insurance policies available, and practically anyone or any business may find an insurance company willing to insure them for a cost. The most common types of personal insurance plans include auto, health, homeowners, and life insurance. Car insurance is required by law, and most people have at least one of these types of insurance.

• Insurance is a contract (policy) in which an insurer compensates a third party for losses caused by particular occurrences or risks.
• Insurance coverage comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most prevalent types of insurance are life, health, homeowners, and vehicles.
• The deductible, policy limit, and premium are the three main components of most insurance policies.

The three main components of most insurance policies—the deductible, premium, and policy limit—must be considered when choosing the best policy for you or your family.