Category: Accountants

Things to Avoid While Buying Online Insurance Policy

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seoeasypolicyBuying insurance online is a big hit these days as they are much more convenient than the old conventional method. By going online you can compare and study various policies from the comfort of your home, in detail. By using the insurance aggregator sites you can compare the various policies even more easily. The premium too is low as the expenses are reduced for the companyHowever, in spite of various advantages, there are important things you must take care while purchasing online life insurance. There are various reasons for this and you can avoid problems later by taking care of a few crucial things. Things to Take Care Of

By taking care of few basic issues, you can ensure that your whole experience of buying insurance online is a smooth one. The following are the most common issues that you need to take care of:

Compare Plans Thoroughly and Buy

You should compare and study various insurance plans thoroughly to buy the best life insurance. Don’t just go by the company’s claims on their websites. For example, all term plans mostly have same features and therefore you should compare various plans for their premiums and other value added features. Health plans on the other hand need more detailed study for features such as exclusion clauses.

Never Miss Paying Premiums on Time

You should take care to neither miss the due date nor the grace period to pay the premium, so that the policy doesn’t lapse and you will not have to renew your policy. Otherwise, the company can reject a claim made by your family if something happens to you during this time. The best way to avoid this situation is to give an ECS payout mandate to your bank.

Never Submit Incorrect Information

Submission of incorrect or incomplete information while purchasing a policy is never wise. For example, if you hide the fact that you or your family member already has an ailment such as diabetes, your claim will definitely be rejected. If you are a heavy drinker, don’t mention that you are only a social drinker.

Don’t Buy a Cover You Don’t Need

Never buy a policy for a very large amount or a very long tenure than what you actually need. Since online policies have low premiums, you may be tempted to go for more than what you need. Also, you might go for policies that extend in duration much longer than your retirement age. This too is harmful in the long run.

Don’t Buy a Policy of Too Less an Amount or Tenure

Take care that in order to save money you don’t buy a policy of too less an amount or tenure. You need to take care to include the effects of inflation into account when you decide the insurance coverage amount. Also, don’t go for a duration that will end much before you retire. Most health issues begin at an age after your retirement, when it will be difficult to get a new policy.

Hence, it is suggested to go in for an online policy only if you can undertake the tasks of filling in the forms correctly, paying premium on time and other policy issues all by yourself. In this case, you are both the policyholder and the agent and must be sure of all the procedures to avoid complications.

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Article Source:

eArticlesOnline.com
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Award-Winner Interview: Belinda Curtis, Qantas

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Jamie Liddell

SSON: Belinda, can you give us some details about Qantas shared services? How long have you been in operation, and what functions does the SSO support?

Belinda Curtis: The Qantas Shared Services (QSS) group was established in 2004 and includes Financial Services, Payroll, Finance Business Support and Group Property Services. The total headcount is just over 600. QSS is located in Mascot [New South Wales]. This is where the majority of our staff and operations are based so it makes sense to be here. Some of our services are delivered face to face (eg learning and development) so this location is ideal for these types of services.

SSON: Can you tell us a little bit about your own experience with Qantas and how you became involved with the companys shared services program? Whats your current role?

BC: I joined Qantas in 2004 in a line HR role before taking on my current role as General Manager People Shared Services (PSS) in October 2007. So I was first a customer of shared services and from this perspective I developed a good understanding of customer requirements.

SSON: Qantas was awarded an Honorable Mention in the category of Best New Process Improvement & Innovation at the 2008 Shared Services Excellence Awards for Australia what do you think set you above and beyond your competitors in this category?

BC: We tackled the problem of shifting from very outdated, manual recruitment processes with an administration focus and within six months we had established a best practice in-house recruitment function which is delivering substantial benefits to the business. Our change program involved all 38,000 Qantas staff and included extensive training of the HR community and line managers who play an integral role in the sourcing and selection of staff. It was a massive task to introduce new technology, a new employment brand, a careers website which gave Qantas Careers a public face and direct access to the candidate market, a new team of specialist recruiters and new business processes, and to build HR and managers confidence and capability to use the new systems and processes.

SSON: Did the shared services leadership intentionally set out to excel in this particular field, or do you think your success has been a by-product of generally high-quality endeavours across the board?

BC: I think its the latter we didnt treat this initiative any differently to our approach to managing change across shared services. Weve implementing other large-scale business process changes and continue to do so. Its all part of the continuous evolution of our shared services function.

SSON: How do you intend to maintain these high standards in future?

BC: We have put monitoring and measurement systems in place to ensure we are meeting targets weve set for ourselves. Well continually review and stretch these targets consistent with our future direction. We have some very sophisticated dashboards which measure key metrics such as time-to-hire, direct versus agency placement rates and candidate attraction. These are available to the business and enable data to be split by segment and department to give groups good visibility of their performance as well as the overall group performance in best practice recruitment. We are proud of our achievements and regularly communicate the results achieved to maintain the commitment within the business to strive for even better results.

SSON: And how do you plan on expanding your SSC (if at all)?

BC: We are constantly looking for opportunities to take on more in the SSC where this makes sense for Qantas. There are still activities happening in the business that could be done more efficiently in the SSC and its a process of demonstrating our capability in these areas and working with stakeholders to be given the opportunity to take more on. A recent example is bringing the management of Identification Services into People Shared Services. ID Services manages the assessment and issuance of aviation security and general identification cards which govern control over access to Qantas premises. As its an integral part of the new staff on-boarding process, and is fundamentally a governance and processing activity, it made good sense to integrate with PSS. The results have helped streamline on-boarding and improved operational efficiency with better reporting and management of transactions.

SSON: What are the most important targets for your team the ambitions which drive you forward?

BC: The most important targets are those related to meeting our SLAs with our Segment customers. These are a reflection of what is important to our customers in the context of our product and service offering, so ensuring we are focused on these is in reality ensuring we are focused on our customers needs.

SSON: What are the biggest obstacles youve encountered along the way and how have you overcome them?

BC: The biggest obstacles are almost without exception related to change. Centralizing certain activities into Qantas Shared Services has probably proved to be one of the larger obstacles because you are dealing with new organizational structures, establishing new SLAs and charge rate protocols, and in some cases taking resources away from business units that are now carried out by the centralized service.

The most successful way to overcome the issues associated with structuring a shared services operation is to ensure you have a robust stakeholder plan, complimented by a comprehensive communications strategy. Also spending time with the business unit and Segment customers and involving them in structuring the SLAs helps build the foundation for a positive working relationship going forward.

SSON: What do you see as being the biggest challenges youll face over the next year or two, and why?

BC: The biggest challenge will be how to scale the operation to deal with the capacity changes that our business and Segment customers will be experiencing themselves as a result of any economic downturn and subsequent upturn. Providing a scalable product and service offering that is sensitive to the cost constraints of our customers is critical to our future success.

SSON: What is unique about an SSO for an airline Qantas in particular as opposed to for any other kind of organization?

BC: Other than the fact that the airline industry operates on low net profit margins and costs are a constant challenge, the main characteristic that could be used to describe the uniqueness would be complexity. This is particularly true at Qantas which is still a very vertically integrated organization running its own catering, airports, engineering, freight, loyalty, and flying businesses.

Not only is it highly vertically integrated, but it is also a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, global operation with significant numbers of staff geographically removed from their home base.

SSON: What do you see as being the raison detre of your SSO? Are cost savings still paramount or have you truly embraced the value-add agenda?

BC: The SSO was originally structured to exploit the cost benefits associated with centralizing activities of similar type, and taking advantage of the volume-based efficiencies.

The organisation has more recently been focussing on increasing customer value delivery through programs of work that partner with our Segment customers for benefit to them and QSS.

SSON: Finally, what advice would you give to an individual or team just embarking upon a shared services journey?

BC: Focus on mutual benefits to your business unit and your business unit customers.

Ensure you are delivering products and services that create or enable value for your customers, and ensure there is common understanding of this value. SLAs help in articulating value and provide a good platform for future discussions with your customers about product and service offerings, and more importantly performance.

Develop internal communications that are a balance between your organization’s achievements, and customer stories. It is important that all members of the SSO’s teams understand the importance of the customer and the customer value delivery mechanism in their department.

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Award-Winner Interview: Belinda Curtis, Qantas}