Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) shows the fall in the life insurance sector in the forth quarter. The down has been noted in the collection of life insurance premium about 6%.

The major player in the sector Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) whose share was about 60% to 63% has gone about 10% down. According to the officials it is being said that sale of new policies and collection of old policies premium has gone tremendously down this year.

The forth quarter new policy premium collection is Rs 34,814.55 crore against Rs 39,413.16 crore of previous year. With the data it is assumed that for the full fiscal year amount collection for life insurance will be Rs 87,107.62 crore against Rs 92,988.71 crore of previous fiscal years.

In the fiscal year of 2008 Bajaj Allianz has reported that in the General Insurance premium its income is Rs 2,578 crore which is comparatively up by 43% with the previous fiscal year. In the forth quarter of 2008-09 the company has collected gross premium of Rs 733.53 crore against Rs 573.73 crore in the previous year. The growth is about 28%.

This year Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has shown data that all the private and public insurance companies has earned growth in premium Rs 30,601 crore against Rs 28,052 crore of last year.

ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Alliance, Bharti AXA General and Shriram General which are major player in general insurance sector, have reported growth this year.

In the forth quarter of this year only LIC is in loss in the life insurance sector and Reliance is in the loss in the general insurance sector.

By the data and report we can say now, insurance companies will vary from policy to policy not from sector to sector. Overall in the insurance sector in the time of recession are in the growth. It is basically for Indian insurance sector’s companies.

One of the most interesting facts about the Irish Construction industry is that there is no legal requirement for a construction company to hold any from of construction insurance! In fact, the only insurance an Irish contractor is legally obliged to have is basic motor insurance on his/her motor vehicles!

Although there is no legal requirement under Irish law for a contractor to hold adequate Construction Insurance it is extremely important that adequate cover is in place.

One of the most important reasons is the high injury & mortality rate on Irish Construction sites. One major positive of the recent construction boom is the fatality per thousand ratio has fallen in recent years although it is still at an unacceptable level.

For example, in 2001 28% of workplace fatalities were Construction related and the Irish Construction industry is consistently second only to the Irish Agriculture& Forestry Industry.

As many primary contractors require their subcontractors to hold Construction Insurance the reality is that although Construction Insurance is not a legal requirement it is usually a prerequisite to obtaining work on the majority of the countries construction sites so the need for construction insurance is a necessity in everything but law!

Although Construction Insurance is quite a complex field the four main areas of cover are as follows:

• Public Liability Insurance

• Employers Liability Insurance

• Contractors All Risks

• Personal Accident

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance [PL] provides cover in the event that the policyholder is sued by a third party who feels that they have suffered injury or loss as a result of the policyholders negligence (lack of care).

Consider the following examples where Public Liability Insurance will provide cover:

• You run a plumbing company. One day you are called to an office to sort out a problem in their kitchen. Accidentally, you burst a pipe, and flood the office. Your client then makes a claim against you for the damage to their carpet and computer systems which have been damaged by the water.

• You are a building contractor. While walking along scaffolding one of your men drops a piece of equipment which falls to the street, injuring a passing pedestrian. The pedestrian makes a claim against your firm.

Obviously these are very simplified examples and we haven’t discussed the complexities of Products Liability/Liability Law/Duty of Care etc however it should provide a basic understanding of Public Liability Insurance.

Employers Liability Insurance

Employers Liability Insurance [EL] provides cover if any of your employees suffer physical injury or death, and it is proven that as an employer you acted negligently and subsequently could have prevented their loss. If they then decide to pursue you for compensation the insurer will pay the cost of the claim.

Consider the following examples where Employers Liability Insurance will provide cover:

• You run a carpentry company. One of your employees loses a finger while using a chop saw and decides to claim against you for his injury

• You are a scaffolding contractor and are erecting scaffolding around an apartment block. While erecting the scaffolding one of your employees falls and suffers severe bodily injury. He decides to claim against your firm.

Please note that Public & Employers Liability is offered ‘hand in hand’, that is when arranging construction insurance you will need to arrange both Public Liability & Employers Liability Insurance together [Also known as Combined Liability Insurance] as Employers Liability Insurance is not available on a ‘Stand Alone’ basis..

Contractors All Risks Insurance

Contractors All Risks insurance (also known as Contract Works insurance) is an insurance policy specially designed for builders and a number of other trades working at a contract site. Contractors All Risks insurance can include cover for contract works, own plant, hired-in plant and employee’s tools. The main part of the contractors all risks insurance is the contract works section which provides cover for the property being worked on (e.g. new house, etc.). However, cover for the existing property is excluded (e.g. the existing structure when building an extension) and must continue to be insured under its own insurance cover.

Consider the following examples where Contractors All Risks Insurance will provide cover:

• You are a building contractor and are building a house for resale. So far you have spent €200,000 on materials and labour. The property catches fire and is destroyed before it has been completed. • You are groundwork’s contractor and are presently digging foundations for a new housing development. Naturally you leave your excavator on site until the contract is completed however one night your excavator is stolen.

Personal Accident Insurance

Personal Accident Insurance [Also known as Income Protection Insurance] is highly recommended for a sole traders, business partners and company directors as a combined liability policy does not cover any injury caused to a sole trader/business partner while it is extremely difficult for a company director to sue his/her own company. A policy can be tailored to your exact needs and policies include a tax free monthly benefit, a lump sum [capital benefit] and hospital cash.

Consider the following examples where Personal Accident Insurance will provide cover:

• You’re a self employed carpenter with no employees. You cut your hand and are unable to work for eight months. As you have Personal Accident cover you receive a tax free benefit of €1,500 after one month and continue to receive this amount until you return to work.

• Although Personal Accident/Income Protection insurance is no substitute for full time earnings it will provide you with an income if you are unable to earn and it will reduce your financial worries at a time when your recovery should be your number one priority.

Machinery & Plant Insurance

Machinery & Plant Insurance is normally arranged on a case by case basis and provides Accidental Damage Fire & Theft Cover on Machinery. This policy is normally taken by contractors who wish to cover a specific number of items.

Health & Safety Executive

In Ireland the HSE [Health & Safety Executive] have the ultimate authority over Construction Sites and have the ability to close a site if they feel it is a safety hazard. Their primary initiative is the ‘Safe Pass’ – a one day site safety training programme.

Who needs to do Safe Pass awareness training?

Safe Pass is a one-day safety awareness programme aimed at general construction workers, craft workers and “on site” security personnel in the construction industry. The aims of the programme are to:

• raise the standard of safety awareness in the construction industry

• ensure that site personnel after completing the one day awareness programme can make a positive contribution to the prevention of accidents and ill health while working on the site

• maintain a register of personnel who have received training

• provide participants with a FAS Safe Pass registration card, indicating that the holder has attended a formal course in health and safety awareness

Under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006 Safe Pass / Safety Awareness Programmes applies to -

(a) craft and general construction workers,

(b) persons undertaking on-site security work, and

(c) persons or classes of persons as may be prescribed by the Minister.

For more information on Irish Site Safety please visit the website of the Health & Safety Authority www.hsa.ie while for more information relating to Irish Construction Insurance please visit the website o

f Keystone Insurance www.keystone.ie, Ireland’s premier supplier of Construction Insurance

Sports cars are specialized machines made keeping in mind the speed of car and security of one who drives. Sportsmen mostly have tendency of driving fast and it is also the requirement of their profession to drive as fast as they can, if they want to win the game. So in these situations it becomes very essential for sportsmen to take sports car insurance. As sports car insurance helps them to cope with any mishaps which might happen during driving.

The number of insurance companies providing Sports car insurance is very less because due to dangers associated with sports car generally insurance companies avoid facing any risk by giving sports car insurance. Even if insurance companies offer sports car insurance they give it at higher premium. Sports car has very powerful engine so that sports car could run fast. Sports car is very expensive due to its complicated design and engine. Sports car is used for sports and racing mainly and therefore catches the eyes of car thieves more easily in comparison of other cars. These cars are used mainly for sports and professional racing; hence they become more vulnerable to risks such as accidents, mishaps, injuries etc. All these factors make it difficult to get sports car insurance at lower premium and that is why insurance companies generally charge high premiums on sports car insurance.

But you can reduce your premium by taking some measures like-

*Get installed an approved alarm system

*Get installed anti-theft device

*Keep your car in garage

*Drive securely

As sports cars are very prone to danger so while selecting any policy of sports car insurance it is better to choose a policy which should provide for both comprehensive coverage and collision coverage. As much coverage you will get with the policy of sports car insurance, it will give more security to your sports car. Comprehensive coverage provides cover against fire, riots, earthquake, and other natural calamities. Collision cover provides for repairs of sports car in case your car is damaged due to any accident.

Generally there are very few insurance companies which provide sports car insurance and so you have fewer options but if you will search online then you can find wide range of insurance companies giving sports car insurance. Online you can research about many quotes of sports car insurance which will help you in making the right decision about the selection of policy sports car insurance.