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.