riot and civil commotion insurance

Coverage for damage to property resulting from riot or civil commotion. Riot is defined by most state laws as a violent disturbance involving three or more (in some states two or more) persons. Civil commotion is a more serious and prolonged disturbance or violent uprising. Losses from riots in major cities during the 1960s caused insurers to stop writing this type of coverage in certain urban areas. In response, Congress enacted legislation creating the federal crime insurance program and providing riot reinsurance in states that established acceptable pooling plans.

Government and disaster insurance

Indonesia is preparing a disaster insurance scheme to cover financial losses and provide for emergency needs as the country constantly faces strings of natural disasters causing heavy social burdens.
Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said Thursday the insurance was important as natural disasters have caused increasing financial losses and emergency needs to handle the aftermath of such disasters.

The most recent natural disasters of an earthquake-triggered tsunami in Mentawai, West Sumatra, and the eruption Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta, have rallied people to show stronger support for the establishment of disaster insurance.

“I have asked the Indonesia Capital Market and Financial Institution Supervisory Agency chairman to conduct a study on the establishment of disaster insurance,” Agus told reporters at the Finance Ministry.

He added disaster insurance was a very common initiative for developed countries but not developing countries, including Indonesia. Agus said the government would soon reveal the study results in a meeting with stakeholders at the ministry.  “In principle, we have reached an agreement on the need to establish disaster insurance,” he said. “The insurance may be similar to other forms of life insurance,” he added without elaborating.  He only said the premium would be taken from the state budget although he was not sure whether it would be included in the 2011 State Budget.  Agus said the initiative needed careful arrangement including the insurance form, risk calculation and disbursement process.

Disaster and Insurance

While many of us don't like the idea of paying our insurance premiums each year, we're always glad we did when we need to file a claim.  But how many of us even think about buying insurance against disasters?  We might even be lulled into complacency because we're thinking that our existing homeowners policy insures us against natural disasters.  But as we'll soon explain, that's not necessarily the case.

In this article we're going to explain what coverage you can expect from a "standard" homeowners insurance policy.  We're also going to talk about events that might not be covered under an existing policy that can lead to devastating losses.  With those two pieces of information, you can then make an educated decision as to whether or not you need to purchase disaster insurance.

Life insurance, an investment

LISTEN TO AN INSURANCE SALESPERSON FOR EVEN A few minutes and you'll come away convinced of one thing: Life insurance is so insanely complicated you couldn't possibly understand it, so you better just buy some quick. Self-employed people, in particular, are targeted by an industry that would have us believe that its policies are the tax-favored ticket to comfortable retirement, college funds, and the orderly transition of family businesses. They'd like to sell you a policy without even mentioning the words death benefit.

But don't invest in life insurance unless you need that death benefit. Life insurance carries commissions, fees, and charges (including the so-called mortality charges that pay for the death benefit) that most mainstream investments do not.