The insurance industry is one of the industries which has experienced big growths in size and profits. You can insure anything that you can think of, and you will find that any particular insurance company can offer you a wide variety of insurance products. There has been for many years the big question of whether or not we need all this insurance. In fact many sectors of society feel strongly against the insurance industry, many religious societies, are against it claiming that insurance is a type of financial gambling. Then there are other people who may not be religious yet, find that the insurance industry exploit people’s fears to make money off of them. The insurance industry spends lots of money, on advertisements which blatantly exaggerates people’s fears, and then offer them piece of mind or the solution by buying their product. Which is a lot how organised religion works mind you, but that is a different topic all together.

Another problem with the insurance industry, is that insurance companies, or an insurance company in particular may not always live up to their side of the bargain, with dishonest practices such as refusing to pay out a claim, or trying to prolong the pay out of a claim, stating insufficient evidence, or saying that people do not have the proper documentation to settle the claim. False advertising is also another dishonest practice which an unethical insurance company or dishonest insurance agent may partake in. Drawing up contracts in such away, that the policy holder may think that he is receiving a certain benefit when reality, a small clause somewhere in the contract excludes him/her from that benefit.

The other side of the coin, is that when an insurance company is ethical and sticks to their code of conduct, then insurance can help people overcome what could have been a huge financial burden caused by some unforeseen event. Many people are able to put the loss behind them and move on quickly when a claim is paid out and the person can then replace what has been lost in the case of material objects, or where families can move on and sustain themselves in the cases of disability or death in the family. It is also worth mentioning that both parties need to be honest, as many people also claim to have lost more than they actually have so that they get more out of the insurance company.

Some people feel justified in their actions if they have been paying premiums for many years yet have not gotten anything back in return. A very progressive insurance company started the practice of offering a cash back bonus for those who do not claim over a period of time. They are then given a portion of their premiums back.

Before signing up with an insurance company, check their code of conduct and ethics, as well as speak to people who have had experiences with the insurance company. Always read and reread your contract before signing anything to be sure that you understand what you are getting.

For more information getting an insurance quote, go to http://www.afi.co.za