Taxi Fleet Insurance – Car Saves Life

Taxi fleet insurance claims must be varied and sometimes interested reading, and here’s one that will make the reader check the facts.

A waiting fleet taxi outside a hotel saved a woman’s life as she fell from a 23^rd storey. Great news for the woman, less so for the driver who will have to fill out the taxi fleet insurance form.

The incident has just occurred in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the 30-year-old woman is being treated in hospital for serious injuries.

The roof of the taxi broke her fall. She apparently threw herself off the roof of the Hotel Crown Plaza Panamericano in downtown Buenos Aries and witnesses were horrified as she hit the vehicle, in a sitting position. Thankfully the driver had just left the vehicle, as the woman landed on his side of the car. The taxi will likely be written off as it’s suffered substantial damage to the roof and windscreen.

The driver explained to police that he had seen people looking up, so got out of his cab to have a look himself. This was just before the woman, in an apparent suicide attempt, hit his car, moments after he got out. It’s said the woman jumped from the restaurant on the 23^rd floor.

Now, we can all imagine the poor driver having to complete the taxi fleet insurance claim form and the wry smile that might spread across the face of the assessor. That will cause quite a few conservations to go back and forth between taxi firm and insurance company.

Unoccupied Property Insurance – The Chinese Bubble to Burst?

Those with unoccupied property insurance on properties which can’t sell might have some sympathy with what some economists see as the impending housing market collapse in China.

Often it’s falls in the housing markets which leave houses empty, giving rise to the need for unoccupied property insurance, and many believe that China is heading for a major crash.

Others are more sanguine about China’s housing market, saying that although some correction might be in the offing, the crash has been predicted for many years now and, inevitably, doomsayers will one day be proved right. Housing markets cannot keep rising at the pace that China has achieved over the last decade.

But China’s housing market is mirroring the fortunes of the general economy. The country is still achieving double digit growth – compare that with most Western economies which struggle around the 2% market – with economists saying that this cannot be sustained.

That’s true, but China is still a developing economy, so although some slack will have to come, it is still a country some way off yet from a major slow-down. And whereas it used to be a one-way street with China exporting far more than it ever imported, the aspirations of the growing Chinese middle class mean that China is starting to need true trading relationships with many developed economies.

Nevertheless, unoccupied property insurance will undoubtedly become major business in China, because even though it might not be a major disaster, just the threat of a housing bubble burst will be enough to send many owners running to their brokers.

Business Insurance – Apple Boss Takes Medical Leave

There are many parts to a business insurance policy, including a clause of key-man cover and this point will undoubtedly be a subject of quite a few Board meetings as news is leaked that the spiritual leader of Apple, Steve Jobs, has once again taken medical leave.

Business insurance to one side, investors and watchers of the mighty Apple – the leading world tech company which recently outgrew even the software giant Microsoft – accepted the news with some trepidation. The company’s share price fell and the news rocked the US NASDAQ market, mainly because Apple’s shares make up such a huge volume of its capitalisation.

It might seem odd that one man can have such an impact, especially for a company that employs thousands of people and should have management talent in abundance. But Jobs has a special place in the hearts of Apple customers, as well as in the pockets of its investors.

He is seen as the company’s spiritual head, the man who saved the company from oblivion when it lost its way and the man who is a steady hand on the tiller.

A recent email from Jobs to his workplace explained that he had to take a break to focus on his health. He took six months off between late 2008 and early 2009 to have a liver transplant. It is understood that Jobs has suffered from pancreatic cancer since 2004.

Jobs remains as CEO, with operational responsibilities passing to Tim Cook.

Many companies will now be casting a worried glance over their business insurance policies.

Business Insurance – Apple Boss Takes Medical Leave

There are many parts to a business insurance policy, including a clause of key-man cover and this point will undoubtedly be a subject of quite a few Board meetings as news is leaked that the spiritual leader of Apple, Steve Jobs, has once again taken medical leave.

Business insurance to one side, investors and watchers of the mighty Apple – the leading world tech company which recently outgrew even the software giant Microsoft – accepted the news with some trepidation. The company’s share price fell and the news rocked the US NASDAQ market, mainly because Apple’s shares make up such a huge volume of its capitalisation.

It might seem odd that one man can have such an impact, especially for a company that employs thousands of people and should have management talent in abundance. But Jobs has a special place in the hearts of Apple customers, as well as in the pockets of its investors.

He is seen as the company’s spiritual head, the man who saved the company from oblivion when it lost its way and the man who is a steady hand on the tiller.

A recent email from Jobs to his workplace explained that he had to take a break to focus on his health. He took six months off between late 2008 and early 2009 to have a liver transplant. It is understood that Jobs has suffered from pancreatic cancer since 2004.

Jobs remains as CEO, with operational responsibilities passing to Tim Cook.

Many companies will now be casting a worried glance over their business insurance policies.

Landlords Insurance – Rent Guarantee Cover

Landlords insurance policies are multi-facetted, but there is one area which is becoming increasingly important. Rent guarantee insurance is being recommended to many commercial landlords who are nervous about their residential tenants ability to pay.

Landlords insurance does not necessarily include this type of cover and it can be expensive, but in certain areas, say property experts, it would be an expedient move.

And these experts are also recommending that in areas where there is low demand for rented property, landlords should actively consider reducing letting charges. This, they argue, might make charges cheaper and thereby help the problem of defaulting.

But most of the experts reckon that in areas of high demand – which recent studies have shown to be buoyant and doing well despite the economic troubles – it most probably is not necessary to bring down letting charges.

Landlords taking on new tenants are advised to check references carefully before agreeing to take on new agreements, but also, should seriously consider getting rent guarantee insurance cover.

Landlord insurance experts believe that 2011 will be a crunch year as the austerity cuts bite and the spectre of inflation haunts the country. If tenant defaults are likely to increase, then this will be the year that it happens. Once the worst is over in 2011, then most of the country is likely to enjoy a gradual, but sustainable recovery out of the gloom.

The irony is, that in these harsher conditions, more first-time buyers are being refused mortgages and therefore have to turn to the rental sector. Once things improve, these will then turn back to hopes of arranging a mortgage.

Unoccupied Property Insurance – How To Guard Against The Weather

Unoccupied property insurance policies are there to guard against such things as burst pipes, break-ins and all manner of other nasties that can befall an empty house.

But with December being the coldest on record since records began over 100 years ago, all owners and landlords will have to keep an eye out to help ensure that they are doing their best not to test their unoccupied property insurance.

In the domestic sector especially, it is so easy to let properties go and see them as ‘empty’ whilst between tenants, or before they are sold. But like motor cars that just sit in the same place for weeks on end, houses are physical structures that don’t do well being ignored and neglected.

An empty house for example usually doesn’t have any heat during the winter; this, as this last cold snap has proved, can cause all manner of problems. Now, when energy prices weren’t the preoccupation of the nation, landlords and owners could arguably afford to leave the heating on low, so helping to maintain the natural rhythm of a property and guard against cold snaps. Now, with oil, gas and electricity competing with gold as the most expensive commodities, few people can afford to heat empty houses.

So, therefore, if a property is likely to be left for some time, it has to undergo a mothballing procedure, which helps protects it against such things as snow and ice.

And if done properly, this will usually count in the owner’s favour when arranging unoccupied property insurance.