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Favourite Destinations for Gap Year Students

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comprehensive travel insurance. Besides offering great deals on travel insurance, Patrick also collects and shares the best free travel competitions to help his clients get the most out of their holidays.
“>Taking a gap year before heading off to university or beginning a career can be a great learning experience. Many young people save up and head out into the big wide world to see and do as much as they can before they have to settle down into ‘real life’, which can often mean limited time out for travel and more everyday responsibilities.

If you are planning on taking some time away and joining thousands of other like minded individuals, you might be interested to know which destinations come top of the list for places to spend a gap year, as well as the different options for how to spend a gap year. Of course, wherever you decide to go and whatever you decide to do, make sure you get comprehensive travel insurance so that you can rest assured that whatever happens, you are covered.

Top Gap Year Destinations Revealed by ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents)

An increase in the number of gap year travellers of 10% over the past twelve months is quite a significant one. Most people this year are choosing to travel to Australasia, Southeast Asia, South America and the US. Australia has always been a firm favourite and claims the number one spot in the most popular gap year destinations, and New Zealand has recently taken over from Thailand and now sits at number two. Vietnam has jumped from eighth to fifth, and places such as India, Brazil and Peru are also high on the list.

How Do People Choose to Spend Their Gap Year Travel?

There are several types of gap year travel that can be organised. Many young people enrol on work placements abroad, while others engage in a volunteering programme. It is advisable to book through a recommended and reputable company when volunteering, and make sure to do your research with regards to the benefits of the project and what will be required of you. Always invest in comprehensive travel insurance too.

Another popular way to spend a gap year is to embark on an adventure trip. Trekking, mountain biking, overland tours and other adventures remain great ways to see the world from a different perspective, but all might require a top up clause in a comprehensive travel insurance policy, so check before you go.

Of course, the traditional round the world tickets are still being booked by the more independent traveller, who perhaps is looking to enjoy a little bit of everything on their travels.

Take Heed

While gap year travel is a great way for young people to grow in confidence, gain some independence, make great memories and see the world, it can be a challenging time. Good preparation is key if the experience is going to be a safe and positive one, and a comprehensive travel insurance policy is a must!

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of InsureMore, an award-winning team of specialists in single trip and annual comprehensive travel insurance. Besides offering great deals on travel insurance, Patrick also collects and shares the best free travel competitions to help his clients get the most out of their holidays.

Five Tips for Choosing the Right Health Insurance Plan

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One of the best ways of safeguarding your personal well-being is by having a health insurance plan. Due to the large number of companies that offer this type of insurance policy, choosing the right one can be a daunting task. Here are five tips to help you find the best plan on the market today.
Check the Networks of Different Plans

If you have a select group of doctors whom you prefer, ask them which insurance networks they are part of. You can also use one of the many accredited online directories to know the networks that each plan on your list has. On the other hand, if you just relocated to a new city and you do not have a preferred doctor yet, choose a plan that has a large network of health practitioners.

Know the Maximum Premium Budget

Consider your average monthly expenses to know the amount of money that you can spend on the policy without compromising your financial capability. Low premiums often result in high out-of-pocket costs. Hence, what appears to be the cheapest plan may really be the most expensive, as you will be forced to pay for most of the services. One of the best ways of choosing the right premium is by estimating the total amount of money that you spent on health care last year, including out-of-pocket expenses and premiums. Then, choose a plan that has similar monthly deductibles, copays, and premiums. A high premium plan will save you thousands of dollars on out-of-pocket costs if you require expensive procedures or frequent medical care services.

Look for Additional Benefits

In a bid to attract more clients, insurance companies usually offer policies that have additional benefits apart from medical coverage. Based on this fact, it is wise to check the summary of benefits of each policy on your list until you find one that has your preferred scope of services. For instance, some policies provide better coverage for mental health and physical therapy care while others have more comprehensive emergency coverage.

Research Plan Structure

Once you have an estimate of your monthly premium, your next step is determining your ideal plan structure. Some of the most common plans are HMO, EPO, POS, and PPO. The plan that you select will determine which doctors you can see and your costs. More often than not, plans that have referrals, such as POS and HMO, require that you first consult a primary care physician before booking an appointment with a specialist. If you already have a network of doctors that you prefer to see, eschew plans that they do not take.

Compare Out-of-Pocket Costs

Your preferred health insurance plan should clearly indicate the services that you will be required to pay for and the amount. The sum amount includes coinsurance, co-pay, and deductible. A plan that has low out-of-pocket costs is an ideal choice if you regularly need emergency services, take expensive medications, have scheduled upcoming surgery, or were recently diagnosed with a chronic condition such as cancer or diabetes.

Finally, make sure that the health insurance company is legally accredited, reputable, and reliable to cushion yourself from any inconveniences.

Increase Operations Efficiency in the Insurance Industry

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After the economic challenges of the past decade, many companies are looking to streamline processes but are often not reaching their expected savings or fully commit to their proposed changes.

Operational efficiency is integral to maintaining profitability in a volatile market and economic climate, but it also responds to increased calls for transparency and faster access to important information. As communications become more dependent on the Internet over in-person calls, operational efficiency can also help companies meet their clients where they are at: online and researching their next major purchases.

Today’s insurance consultants strive to make insurance companies more profitable and agile, here’s how to do this with employee and operations management.

Four Effective Ways to Manage Your Employees
Operational efficiency starts with your employees. That makes operational management dependent on how you manage your employees. The right management can encourage your staff, get them better equipped for change and increase your profitability.

Encourage idea management: Your staff are your most knowledgeable and immediate resource into your business’ ins and outs. The best ideas will often come from your own staff. Working to ensure that your employees feel comfortable and encouraged to bring their ideas forward is a key to modern success, a strategy that has led to important changes in organizations like Toyota and GE.

Prioritize motivation and engagement: Employees who feel heard and engaged often show a 15-20 per cent increase in performance. So how do you engage employees? Focus on motivation, incentive programs and, of course, clear and open communication.

Incentivize your staff with fair and motivating rewards: Monetary compensation is just one way in which you can motivate your employees, but never underestimate the power of a pizza party and mentions of success in the company newsletter. These are often more cost effective and always appreciated by your team.

Change cost allocation: Flat, equal cost distribution is one of the least effective ways to improve operations, yet it is still a popular strategy. Instead, allocate costs based on consumption. It encourages people to use the resources in the organization and it saves money on expensive third-party solutions.

Four Ways to Achieve the Most Productive Organizational Structure
Look for inside hires: It pays to bring in an outside perspective, but always promoting from without instead of from within the company will leave your team feeling like they need to go elsewhere to grow. Growing leaders in-house and taking the time to mentor promising employees can help you retain valuable assets just when they may look to move, and will save you on hiring a more expensive expert from outside.

Streamline compensation: What people earn is quickly becoming more common knowledge and, with it, tensions around compensation. By streamlining your levels of compensation, you can ensure equal pay for equal work while rewarding those who deserve more for their efforts.

Reduce management layers: Modern businesses need to be flexible, agile and quick to respond to change. Having multiple levels of management can lead to the opposite: bureaucratic inefficiencies and communication structures that lose vital information. By reducing levels of management, you can increase your efficiency and better plan for those quick changes.

Get the right number of people: Too few or too many employees both present problems. One will burn out your staff, increase turnover and lead to operational “bottlenecks.” Too many employees unnecessarily increases costs while insufficiently leveraging your collected talent. This is where operations, contact centre and back-office benchmarks can drive operational efficiency.

The Assessments & Benchmarks Insurance Companies Need
If you are curious about how your company is operating and want to understand how to better streamline your operation, The Burnie Group has may assessments and benchmarks that can help your organization run better. They are even available across multiple channels, including:

Call/phone (including IVR)
Online (including chat and bots)
Mobile
Branch
Insurance benchmarks and assessments are also available across different business lines, such as:

P&C insurance
Individual life insurance
Group life insurance
Retirement
Investments
Insurance benchmarks and assessments can also help across different functions, including:

Sales
Services
Claims
Complaints
Loyalty and retention
Shared services (e.g. Workforce management)
Contact The Burnie Group today to learn more about how to drive operational efficiencies in your company to achieve better profit, happier employees, and streamlined process.

Hire a Perfect Professional to Capture Your Marriage Ceremonies

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Among all the plannings of the wedding event, hiring a photographer to capture all the ceremonies in a beautiful way is very important. The couples always prefer to choose a luxury destination to celebrate their special event of life. Of course they desire to get the beautiful memories of this occasion in the form of pictures. These photographs can keep their memories alive for the whole life.
What need to be considered before hiring a luxury destination wedding photographer? When you want to celebrate your marriage day on a special destination, then you should prefer that photographer who can offer services on that place and will be within your budget range.

The photographers are those who capture the images in such a way that when a person looks at them, feel enjoying the event where that picture was clicked. The photographers add effects in the pictures to make them more enhancing. When it comes to celebrate an event on a luxury place, the couples like to choose Miami the best place. Here they can find several beautiful places to make their marriage event unique and luxurious.

In Miami, the couple likes to celebrate the ceremonies in accordance with the tradition and culture of the people living there. The Miami wedding photographers know all about the ceremonies and will be easy for him to capture the special ceremonies in an attractive way.

To make the photographs more attractive and unique, the couple can choose a particular photography style to get their memories in that style. It will give an enhanced look to the pictures when captured in a style. In accordance with the photography style, the event can be beautifully narrated in the album. From the starting of the day to the end, all the ceremonies are uniquely captured.

Hiring a luxury wedding photographer is difficult. If the couple has knowledge that how they want their pictures, then they can easily hire a professional in accordance with their needs. These days, most of the couples prefer to hire the photographers online. This is because they can easily find the professionals with particular skills to capture the beautiful event.

While searching a photographer online with particular photography style skills, they can easily get numerous options. Of course to get services in a particular place, then search can be more specific. Among all the professionals offering services at a particular place with specific photography style, the couple can choose the best one in terms of many factors.

Of course while hiring Miami wedding photographers, the couple checks that if he can serve at a particular destination. Is that professional specialized in the photography style that you choose for your marriage photographs,? Is hiring him for your marriage event in your budget? This is very important to know.

To check the skills of the professionals, they update their portfolio on their professional websites. If you are looking for a photographer to capture the event in a unique and special style, hire a photographer online. This will be affordable to you as well as offer the services in the form of beautiful memories.

Spread Your Business Globally with the help of Creating Genuine Website

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There are many players in the market who are selling the same products and services. It means the number of competition is much more. There are many new players who are entering the same market; it means the competition is increasing day by day. So the question strikes in the mind if you want to become the king of market or monopoly in the market, then what to do? There are many options if you really want to capture the whole market. Firstly you should have thorough knowledge of products, services, pricing, discount and coupon schemes and the rate of your competitors. The genuine and effective points are mentioned below.
Hire a professional Information Technology company: – If any businessman wants to spread his business in international market or globally or universally, then he has to hire a professional Information Technology company. The I.T. company provides many services like creating website, developing, designing, hosting, E – commerce, industrial training, SEO and SEM.

Different mode of advertising: – There are many mode of advertising like newspaper ad , FM Radio , hoardings , sign boards , banners , wall paints , road shows , distributing excess of small gifts on the occasion of festivals , social networking websites like face book, orkut , Google plus , Twitters ,you tube etc. All these marketing and advertising modes are still used in India and worldwide. If any company is very financial strong, they also hire Bollywood, Hollywood or sports celebrity to promote the business products or services.

Online advertising private companies: – These companies also promote your business. They charge some amount and spread your business as per your desire either it is at national level, city level, state level or globally or universally.

Today website is the best way to promote any business or trade. Many business communities are hiring SEO team to get their website at top position of search engine like yahoo, Bing and Google. When people will visit your website, you will automatically get positive response and excellent business. Inetweaver is the best information technology company in Jalandhar, Punjab, India which are providing many genuine and effective services like designing, developing, SEO and many more services. The team of inetweaver is very qualified and highly experiences in their field. The specialty of our company is mentioned below:

• We deliver the best results to our clients. • We are dealing with foreign clients and they are fully satisfied. • Our team always provides quality work. • First we listen to customers and then we provide any better suggestion if required as per the projects.

So if you are from India or any other country just contact us we will provide you such a positive results that you cannot think in your dream. So from this article it is very clear that all the I.T. services are provided under one roof, so no need to visit different office for different services. Thus spread your business globally with the help of creating genuine website from inetweaver.

Inetweaver is a leading Indian IT company providing business solutions in collaboration with US based company. We help all business units to turn their ideas into remarkable web solutions. We have been offering excellent web services like Web Development, Web Designing, CMS, E-commerce solutions, SEO and custom application development.

Social Media Web Design for Small Business

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How important is social media marketing to the small business owner? Well it depends on what you want to achieve with social media. If you are looking to take your brand to a national or global marketplace then yes – invest in social media marketing. If you are a small business whose products and services are primarily geared to servicing your local area, then the question needs to be asked: ‘How much time do you have to dedicate to raising your social media profile and what return on investment will it provide in terms of sales or market growth?
Websites versus Social Media – what to focus on?

Websites make sales, social media pages generally do not. Establishing good search engine rankings for your website should be the first goal for new start-ups so potential customers can find you. Great content and the ability to convert visitors into sales create a successful online campaign.

Building a list should be the prime focus of tapping into the potential of your site traffic, otherwise opportunities are lost. You have the three time convincers, those people who need to connect with you more than once to be convinced to invest in your product or service. List building provides the opportunity to stay in touch with customers that have yet to purchase and gives them a chance to get to know you more.

Social media can help connect at a deeper level with potential customers and used well can drive traffic to your website via promotions and competitions. Integrated with your blog; social media pages can create a coordinated online marketing campaign with your website to build your brand. Most people using social media are doing so for the same purposes as you – to promote themselves and for its social aspect. That means sharing photos, videos, music, humour, inspiration, information, advice and connecting with stars, media and people of interest.

When embarking on an integrated social media campaign you will need to think about what it is that you are going to share (that’s not directly selling) with your followers? What have you got to offer that other people and businesses will find intriguing, inspiring, entertaining or useful?

Building Your Brand – Facebook, Twitter and Blogging

One thing I know is that people want to connect with you personally, they want to see your face on your social media profile not a logo. The exception to this is if you own a well-known magazine, trade journal or charity. Otherwise, my advice is to post a good photo.

Social media web design provides the opportunity to build your brand through images, slogans and profile information. Important is your by-line, if people get what you are about in an instant through the use of visual media and a one liner, the light goes on…connections can be made. When creating your slogan or by-line ask yourself ‘What is your higher purpose’ for doing what you do. Think in terms of how your products and services create value for people, ultimately what is it you are trying to achieve for them?

Transfer that message and branding through your Facebook page, Twitter page and Tumblr blog and when integrated with your website you have created a coordinated online social marketing campaign. Social media web design gives the ‘wow’ factor to your social media pages.

Let’s talk about Blogging

Blogging if used cleverly can boost your search engine rankings and establish you as an expert in your field. To save time, write your blog posts all at once and queue them for release at set times each day with automated posting to your Twitter and Facebook pages. EBusiness Courses offers an integrated social media web design package that does all of this for you, except for writing the blog content. Writing a blog takes commitment on your part and if you are using the medium to establish yourself as an expert, no one knows your business like you do. The rise of social media marketing is only going to get bigger and changes the way we connect with each other and our customer base. I guess at this point, the question is can you afford not to have a social media profile?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rosemary Burnett, CEO EBusiness Courses is based in Perth, Western Australia and has 9 years’ experience in web design, internet marketing and SEO, expert content development and building customer bases online. EBUSINESS Courses provides affordable web design packages for small business start-ups, local trades and services. Plus small business courses and coaching to help you become the best you can be!

Dog Training Tips – Point To Point Finding an Item

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During the initial stages of the training, each exercise must be planned so that the wind carries a smell to the dog, enabling him to detect it very shortly after the exercise begins. This is done by placing the retrieving dummy, with attached smell, on the ground in an open area, and concealing it in very light cover such as grass or other vegetation. Next, at least two other small piles of the same material or cover, not containing a retrieving dummy or smell, should be placed about three metres away on each side of the smell. All three of these piles should be in line. The two piles not containing smell will serve as distractions, since some dogs will instinctively examine an area that has been freshly disturbed. The starting and ending point should be established so as to point the dog to pass approximately six metres downwind from the hidden smell and retrieving dummy. The smell odour will be carried directly toward the line of patrol.
After the exercise is prepared, the dog should be brought to the starting point. Here a routine is established with the dog which is called the ‘starting sequence’. Through this starting sequence, the dog learns to associate detecting a smell, and consequently will begin hunting for it as soon as an exercise begins. This sequence, the dog learns to associate detecting a specific smell, and consequently will begin hunting for it as soon as an exercise begins. This sequence will eventually result in an attitude change and will be used at the beginning of each training and utilisation exercise hereafter.

As these exercises begin, the starting sequence is accomplished by the owner, who while controlling his dog with the leash in his left hand places the dog in the sit position on his left side and facing the starting direction. The handler should restrain the dog in that position in a controlled position while he places the collar around the dog’s neck and attaches the lead. After this he should physically and verbally stimulate the dog to a high degree of excitement. When the dog has reached his peak of excitement, the handler should quickly give the verbal and hand command ‘FETCH’, while hastily stepping out with the dog.

The handler should walk at a fast pace with the dog at full leash, along the route of patrol, constantly observing him. As the dog enters the smell area there should be a physically notable attitude change. He may react or alert in various ways. Normally, his body will become tense and he will turn into the direction the smell is coming from, while straining on the leash to trace the smell Also, his panting may cease to some degree while he inhales the odour through his nose. The owner must not hesitate to follow the dog as he traces the smell to its origin.

When the dog approaches the pile of grass containing the smell he will normally ‘nose’ or scratch through it and pick up the retrieving dummy. When this occurs, the owner should excitingly grab one end of the dummy and play the tug of war game with the dog while praising him.

5 Advantages of Mobile POS Systems for your Business

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Have you ever imagined a retail store without the space-clog of a checkout counter? In most cases, people rarely foresee a retail setup that doesn’t house a traditional point of sale system. But, in effect, mobile POS solutions have deemed greater amount of benefits for retail owners exercising mobility in their check-out procedures.
It all, basically, boils down to the key segment of any retail business setup – maximum customer satisfaction. It’s not about replacing the conventional POS system, but seizing a meaningful opportunity through the incorporation of mobile point of sale software. As is the case with a renowned electronics store, where reps conduct retail transactions on the spot itself, we bring you the five imminent advantages that you can benefit from as a retail businessman from mobile POS systems.

1.Enhanced Customer Experience

Firstly, on the spot transactions eliminate the chances for errors vastly. It, thus, reduces time to check out as the customer and sales representative equally transact faster from the same standing point. Data entry and wrong pricing errors are hugely mitigated in this process. The customer is saved from the harrowing experience of standing in long queues indeed. Ultra-fast checkouts let the customers leave the store the soonest, but leave as a happy customer only to be welcomed again soon. Dining and takeaways greatly benefit from this. Mobility breeds agility in business.

2.Heightened Secured Transactions

Unlike traditional point of sale software, mobile POS solutions are free of software maintenance. If you are driving your mobile POS transactions through an iPad, you won’t have to periodically update or re-install the point of sale software. In fact, latest iOS is always available for users to upgrade as per their convenience. Security threats and breaches lurk around for devices connected through a server. You certainly not want a hacker to tamper with your proceedings and money. As opposed to regular POS systems, these can be upgraded to the latest security requirements instantly, in accordance with the EMV guidelines.

3.More Efficiency Is More Sales

In ways more than one, mobile point of sale systems brings in opportunities for retailers to encash on. For example, since the POS setup space is freed a restaurant manager has more estate to chip in an extra table. That’s an extra source of income. More customers, faster transactions, more sales; this scene typically reflects in all business setups. Across multiple locations, when one site particularly faces an influx of customers for a reason you can easily transport few mobile POS systems from one less-required site to another buzzing site. Such flexibility in business operations, inevitably, breathes in more economy for a biz setup; especially, in the case of a retail store.

4.Save on the Money factor as well

Point of sale systems not just help you in encashing more but actually let you save a lot as well, on an average. Unlike conventional systems, the mobile POS systems don’t make you necessarily shell out that much of money in buying, installations and maintenance. Besides, POS software for mobile point of sale systems is now encrypted with SAAS technology for secure, faster and cheaper cloud operations. Replacing mobile POS solutions in awhile isn’t that big an issue, whereas the same replacement for traditional POS systems would be counted expensive.