The policyholder is the person or company that owns the insurance policy. This means that physical or a legal entity has signed an insurance contract and are responsible for paying premiums and others fulfillment of conditions in the case of claimed compensation.
For example, a small business called "City Cafe" buys an insurance policy to protect its own the property and other assets in it such as kitchen appliances, furniture and electronics from possible damage such as fire, theft or natural disasters. In this case, "City Cafe" is the policyholder, as it is the company that has purchased the insurance policy and is responsible for payment of bonuses. Even if the company itself is not a natural person, it can still be an insurance the recipient as a legal entity.
The most important thing for the policyholder to know:
- Ownership: The policyholder is the one entitled to the benefits of the policy even if it's not the insured party. For example, a parent can take out a life insurance policy for themselves and be both both the policyholder and the insured person. Conversely, the same parent could sign life insurance policy for your child. In this scenario, the parent is the policyholder and the child is the insured person.
- Premium payments: The policyholder pays premiums to fulfill the terms of the contract from recipient parties to the insurer, thereby ensuring that the policy is active. Not done in time premium payment or current payment, if the policy was purchased with split payment, then the policyholder risks that the insurance company may be entitled to one of the insured risks refuse payment of compensation because the policyholder has not fulfilled his commitment to pay for the policy within the period provided for it.
- Policy changes: The policyholder has the right to make changes to the policy, such as updating benefit beneficiary's name or title, change coverage limits or add additional insured persons or, for example, the territory of the policy, as well as several other policy conditions in agreement with of the insurer for these changes and additional premiums, if applicable, when increasing the insured range or amount of risks.
- Indemnity claim: If an insured event occurs that is mentioned in the policy cover, insurance the beneficiary submits a compensation claim to the insurance company that issued the specific policy. After the endorsement fee is paid based on the policy terms and the insured risk limits. Depending on the type of insurance, compensation can be received by the policyholder, the insured person (if different from the policyholder) or named beneficial owner.
- Types of insurance: The term "policy holder" refers to different types of insurance, be it health insurance, vehicle insurance, life insurance, property insurance and any other type of insurance.
- Beneficiaries: In certain insurance policies, especially life insurance, the beneficiary the winner is established to receive the agreed compensation in the event of a specific event (for example, the death of the insured). While the policyholder controls the policy, the beneficiary is the one who receives the payout. The policyholder is generally entitled to change the beneficial owners as long as the particular policy or policies unless otherwise stated in the regulations.
Rights of the policyholder
- Right to information: Policyholders can request complete information about their policy, including terms, restrictions, coverages, limits, exclusions, premium payment information, and everything information about the policyholder available to the insurer.
- Right to receive documents: The policyholder after purchasing an insurance policy or renewals are the right to receive the policy document, which is the legal proof of the contract.
- Right to privacy: Insurance companies have a duty to protect the policyholder persons and sensitive data. The policyholder has the right to know what data is being collected and how it will be collected used.
- Right to appeal: If the policyholder is not satisfied with the service received or adjusted compensation, it can file claims and seek resolution. Disputes between policyholders in Latvia and insurance companies are regulated by Ombudsman.
- Right to cancel the policy: Depending on the type of policy and its terms, policyholders may to be A policy cancellation period is available during which you can cancel the policy and receive a refund (often less administrative fees). The only exception is the OCTA policy, where based on OCTA Act Article 10, Part 3 may be terminated before the deadline only in certain cases.
Obligations of the policyholder
- Principle of good faith: Insurance contracts are based on the principle of good faith (from the Latin uber rim fides), which means that the policyholder, when providing information about himself, the insured object or person, be honest and not hide details. Any concealment or misrepresentation of information may lead to upon unilateral cancellation of the policy or refusal to pay compensation.
- Obligation to pay premiums: Policyholders must pay the policy premium on time before payments expiration date for the policy to be valid. Late payments may result in the policy being vacated canceled or payment of compensation is refused.
- Duty to report changes: Certain changes may affect the terms of the policy. For example, if a person, which is covered by an accident insurance policy, starts a high-risk occupation, that's about it must inform the insurer to make the necessary additions to the policy, otherwise the specific occupations or injuries sustained during a hobby may not be covered by a previously issued policy.
- Obligation to comply with policy conditions: Many policies have certain conditions, such as safety measures or security systems when buying a home or vehicle insurance. The policyholder must comply with the conditions so that the risks mentioned in the policy would be insured.
- Obligation to report other compensation costs: If the policyholder or beneficiary for insurance case has already received compensation from another insurance company or bank, it is mandatory for the policyholder to inform the insurer to whom a new indemnity is applied for submitting all necessary information and documentation related to the specific case and others costs that a person has received or applied for in another company.
- Obligation to cooperate: In the process of submitting the compensation, the policyholder must cooperate with the insurer, providing access to the damaged property or property, documents and circumstances for explanations.
- Duty to prevent loss: Even with an insurance policy, policyholders have indirect the obligation to take possible security measures to prevent or reduce damage to one's own or to the health and property of third parties.