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_Insurance

Key vocabulary

People buy insurance to protect themselves against the losses that may result from an accident or catastrophe. For example, a company involved in a major construction project may have all the necessary skills for completing the job but there is still an element of risk. Extreme weather conditions or a natural disaster could damage or destroy the work that has been done. To protect itself, the company can pay a sum of money - a premium - to an insurance company who will underwrite the risk or guarantee to provide financial compensation if such an event occurs. The exact details of this insurance are contained in the insurance policy which is a document showing the risks that have been insured against and the levels of compensation that will be paid.

Lead-in

You will hear six people describing the principal risks that they face. Listen and identify the type of risk that each person is most likely to insure against. Choose from the following:

theft	burglary	personal injury
breakage	fire	third party

1

2

3

Reading

1. Read the text on the opposite page and decide to which group or groups the following statements refer. The first one has been done for you.

		Insurance Companies	Lloyd's of London	Insurance Brokers
1	They provide a major reinsurance market.	V	V
2	They deal with most of the UK company business.
3	They earn almost £1 billion per week in premium income.
4	They help people to choose the best insurance.
5	They originally provided insurance for ships.
6	They do most of their business abroad.
7	They can be small operations managed by just one person.
8	They cover many different types of risk.

128

INSURANCE■

_{Insurance Services}

London is a leading centre for international insurance.

The industry in the UK is broadly made up	who look for the best quotation on behalf of
of three groups - insurance companies, Lloyd's	their clients.
of London and insurance brokers.	35 Although its origins lie with marine
The insurance companies and Lloyd's	insurance, Lloyd's now covers almost any risk,
5 combined provide a major reinsurance market.	from oil refineries, aircraft, road vehicles and
London's importance as an insurance centre, as	satellites - even to a wine taster's palate.
well as its comparative freedom from excessive	More than three-quarters of this business
regulation, has attracted many foreign	40 originates from overseas and its premium
reinsurance companies and brokers.	income is approximately £24 million every day.

Lloyd's of London

10 Insurance Companies

There are around 850 insurance

companies authorised in the UK but

approximately one half of them handle

more than 90% of company market

15 business. They provide the full range

of insurance contracts including life,

pensions, permanent health insurance,

marine, aviation, fire, accident, motor,

travel and household insurance.

20 The insurance companies have a