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Farm insurance, also known as agricultural insurance saves those engaging in agricultural business, like farmers, from losses caused by fire, flood or hurricanes. They also protect you from injuries you got while doing farm work like, burns, falls and pesticide poisoning or during natural disasters. This kind of insurance is created to safeguard the homestead and its needs. It is very important to small farmers because, their farm is also their home. If their farms are destroyed, they will be left both homeless and penniless. Farm bureau insurance may help a little but there is nothing like a comprehensive agricultural insurance. The ideal farm insurance should cover all the needs of the farm in the event of a catastrophy. But, the usual farm insurance only covers two or three out of a number that should be covered by the insurance. Examples would be crop insurance, homestead insurance and vehicle insurance.

Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.

Insurance fraud can be classified as either hard fraud or soft fraud.

Hard fraud occurs when someone deliberately plans or invents a loss, such as a collision, auto theft, or fire that is covered by their insurance policy in order to receive payment for damages. Criminal rings are sometimes involved in hard fraud schemes that can steal millions of dollars.

Soft fraud, which is far more common than hard fraud, is sometimes also referred to as opportunistic fraud. This type of fraud consists of policyholders exaggerating otherwise legitimate claims. For example, when involved in a collision an insured person might claim more damage than was really done to his or her car. Soft fraud can also occur when, while obtaining a new insurance policy, an individual misreports previous or existing conditions in order to obtain a lower premium on their insurance policy.

The four higher financial security ratings merit the Security Circle icons, showing S&P’s confidence in the future performance of these companies.

An insurer with a BBB rating indicates Good financial security.

An A rating means the insurer has Strong financial security characteristics.

A rating of AA means that the insurer has Very Strong financial security characteristics.

The AAA rating, the highest issued by Standard & Poor’s, reflects the Extremely Strong financial security characteristics of the insurer.

A high rating does not always mean the the insurer will deliver the best service. It is still best to use the combinations of ratings and the experience of other users to decide which policies and companies to purchase.

Insure.com offers these explanations of insurer ratings to make it more accessible to the homeowner. A rating of NR means Not Rated, or there is no opinion given on the financial security of the insurer. A rating of R stands for Regulatory Supervision, at which time the regulators have a say what obligations must be paid over other obligations. We will go over the ratings in ascending order. In this post, we look at ratings considered vulnerable by Standard & Poor’s.

A CC rating signifies Extremely Weak financial security, suggesting that some financial commitments will probably not be attended to.

A CCC rating means the insurer has Very Weak financial security and may only be able to meet financial commitments depending on the business environment.

A rating of B indicates Weak financial security characteristics. If business conditions are not favorable, its ability to fulfill financial obligations will be hampered.

A rating of BB means the insurer has Marginal security characteristics. In case of adverse business conditions, there may be decreased ability to meet financial commitments.

In an industry that looks at the long-term, financial health is important. This is why Standard & Poor’s rates insurance companies. In this Internet age, making sound judgments is more important than ever, many now purchase insurance online. Note that S&P ratings are opinions, not specific to policies, and based only on information from other organizations. Ratings are not endorsements or guarantees.

Before we go into the letter grades, let us look at the ‘pi’ subscript. ‘Pi’ ratings are based on information available to the public and not as in-depth as ratings without it, which were analyzed through more comprehensive information from the management of the insurer.

Letter ratings may be followed by plus or minus signs to show their standing relative to others companies in that category.

Condominium insurance has five coverage areas. Dwelling coverage refers to the interior structure, including paneling and wallpaper. Personal property insurance is separate. Add jewelry, antiques, collectibles and art to the coverage amount. As some items depreciate, the replacement value is higher than the actual cash value. Loss of use coverage is for expenses in case you need to move out of the condo because of damage. Personal liability coverage is for medical and legal costs for bodily injuries or property damage on others while on your property. Medical coverage is for injuries sustained on your property, regardless of your legal responsibility for the injury. No “Fault” Insurance is for natural disaster not covered by standard condominium insurance: earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. There is rarely any insurance coverage for damages caused by pets, pests, termites, and rodents, or for war and nuclear accidents.