Marita Blindeman
Marita Blindeman, the woman who worked at the day-nursery was killed by Kim De Gelder. Because she was working while she got murdered, the surviving dependants and her family can make an appeal to the work accident insurance. This means that the costs of the funeral will be covered and that the family will receive a compensation.
The children
The family members of the murdered and wounded children can count on the insurance of the day-nursery. The insurance company will cover the medical costs and pay a compensation to the surviving dependants. The family can also claim for damage.
The surviving dependants
The moral damage from which the surviving dependants suffer, is fully for Kim De Gelder his account. Family members that can claim for a moral damage compensation including brothers, sisters, parents and grand-parents, but even witnesses of a horrible crime can claim a remuneration.
If Kim De Gelder doesn’t have enough money to pay all these claims, the legal aid insurance of the victims can come in between.
According to Wauthier Robyn, an insurance agent, it is impossible that the parents of De Gelder will be held responsible for all the payments. Kim De Gelder is older than 18 and doesn’t live at home anymore.
I can conclude that every act has its consequences. Kim De Gelder has murdered and injured several people and has to take full responsibility. Since he is over the age of 18, and should be able to recognize the difference between right and wrong, he will judged as an adult.
Ruth Blommaert
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/3484/Drama-Dendermonde/article/detail/646993/2009/01/28/Ouders-De-Gelder-moeten-financieel-niet-opdraaien-voor-bloedbad.dhtml
zaterdag 28 februari 2009
vrijdag 27 februari 2009
Builders and buyers for free insured against loss of job
Some time ago, the Flemish government introduced an “insurance guaranteed living”, with little success. The government insures loss of income eg. when disabled or loss of job. With this principle, the government wants to reduce the fear to build or buy houses.
The “insurance guaranteed living” has some limitations. There is a maximum of 500 euro per month for the first year, 400 euro per month for the second year and 300 euro per month for the third year. The insurance is restricted in time with maximum 2 terms of 18 months. Not everyone will be taken in consideration for the insurance. Only people whose mortgage loan dates ever since 1 January 2008, can hand in their appeal.
The government will cooperate with the insurance company Ethias. They estimate about 7500 Flemish people will appeal to the insurance. The total cost for the government is about 6,5 million euro.
Real estate has risen enormously in value this preceding period. The decision to buy or renovate property has become more arduous these days than before the financial crisis. The financial crisis has harmed the confidence of people in the economy.
In my opinion real estate as an investment is still a good choice. But people are more reticent about buying a property. Not only because of the enormous costs but also of the big risk. Current prospects show that the value of property will continue to rise.
The “insurance guaranteed living” has some limitations. There is a maximum of 500 euro per month for the first year, 400 euro per month for the second year and 300 euro per month for the third year. The insurance is restricted in time with maximum 2 terms of 18 months. Not everyone will be taken in consideration for the insurance. Only people whose mortgage loan dates ever since 1 January 2008, can hand in their appeal.
The government will cooperate with the insurance company Ethias. They estimate about 7500 Flemish people will appeal to the insurance. The total cost for the government is about 6,5 million euro.
Real estate has risen enormously in value this preceding period. The decision to buy or renovate property has become more arduous these days than before the financial crisis. The financial crisis has harmed the confidence of people in the economy.
In my opinion real estate as an investment is still a good choice. But people are more reticent about buying a property. Not only because of the enormous costs but also of the big risk. Current prospects show that the value of property will continue to rise.
Fact is that the interest rates fluctuate all the time. Two problems can occur :
- There is a chance that a person subscribes a mortgage loan at a certain interest rate and sometime later, the interest rate is lower.
- A person has subscribed a mortgage loan with variable interest rates depending on the evolution of the market.
In these uncertain days, candidate builders and buyers need an encouragement. The government lends these candidates some support. The financial crisis has already made a lot of victims. People get fired, companies go bankrupt and thousands of people lose their jobs ... I think that the “insurance guaranteed living” is a fantastic idea. It gives people hope and it reduces the risk that when there is a loss of income their house would be confiscated. It is a pity though that it is only for people who have their mortgage loan dating since 1 January 2008. It seems that other people, who got their loan before 1 January 2008 and still paying off their debts, are neglected.
Sofie De Cooman
Source: http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=5726REHH&word=verzekering
donderdag 26 februari 2009
Institute sees more Americans losing insurance
According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine, a lot of Americans will lose their health insurance due to the weak economy and the expensive health care. They also say that safety-net services like charity care cannot meet the needs of people without insurance.
A member of The Institute went to the White House and Congress and said it was time to take urgent steps. Steps that guarantee that all Americans have coverage. According to the government 15 percent of the Americans had no private or public health insurance in 2007. There will be a further increase of people without health insurance because of the rising unemployment. And it is known that people without an health insurance wait longer to get important medical care, this due to the high costs.
On Monday, President Barack Obama decided to make a priority of health care. The government will spend $2.5 trillion on health care this year! A big difference compared with $912 billion in 1993.
Just a small part of the Americans (160 million) receives a health coverage from his employer. First of all it is due to the surging health care costs and on the second place comes the change of contracts, full-time jobs with contract become part-time and temporary jobs. And when the employers do offer a health insurance, more and more employees are refusing it because they cannot permit the premiums. The average premium for a family coverage rose in ten years time from $1,543 to $3,354!
In my opinion I think it’s really necessary that the government helps these people to get a coverage. Cause health care is a necessity of life! It’s a shame some people cannot afford the right medication for their children or that people die because they couldn’t afford help… In this case America should take a look at Belgium, our medical system is really great compared to their system. The fact that the government will spend $2.5 trillion says enough!
De Ridder Steffie
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE51N4JV20090224
A member of The Institute went to the White House and Congress and said it was time to take urgent steps. Steps that guarantee that all Americans have coverage. According to the government 15 percent of the Americans had no private or public health insurance in 2007. There will be a further increase of people without health insurance because of the rising unemployment. And it is known that people without an health insurance wait longer to get important medical care, this due to the high costs.
On Monday, President Barack Obama decided to make a priority of health care. The government will spend $2.5 trillion on health care this year! A big difference compared with $912 billion in 1993.
Just a small part of the Americans (160 million) receives a health coverage from his employer. First of all it is due to the surging health care costs and on the second place comes the change of contracts, full-time jobs with contract become part-time and temporary jobs. And when the employers do offer a health insurance, more and more employees are refusing it because they cannot permit the premiums. The average premium for a family coverage rose in ten years time from $1,543 to $3,354!
In my opinion I think it’s really necessary that the government helps these people to get a coverage. Cause health care is a necessity of life! It’s a shame some people cannot afford the right medication for their children or that people die because they couldn’t afford help… In this case America should take a look at Belgium, our medical system is really great compared to their system. The fact that the government will spend $2.5 trillion says enough!
De Ridder Steffie
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE51N4JV20090224
woensdag 25 februari 2009
Show me the money!
This famous quote from the movie "Jerry Maguire" is known all around the world, sadly enough it's not a sentence many of us get to say, in fact it is more a sentence we're hearing more. In the current financial crisis we all face difficult times, people are losing their jobs, their homes and their hopes. Everyone is craving for a bit of good news, though it does not seem to come.
Neither in this blog, although not for the moment. When I was reading the newspaper I stumbled upon an article that said that in the near future the prices for insurance will rise. Like many others, I really don't enjoy paying them, but they do seem to offer peace of mind, the belief that when something bad happens we have buffer to lean on to.
It seems that the financial crisis has struck the insurance companies too. For that there's quite a logical explication, people who lost their job and who are facing financial problems, try to cut the costs and do so by stop paying their insurance premiums. This means that the insurace companies receive less income and gain less profit.
But do not fear, the management and CEO's of the insurance companies have found a truly brilliant solution. Why not squeeze the money out of the people who can still afford insurance. Ingenious plan!
But best of all is that these companies portray themselves as the victim in the crisis. They lost capital because of the financial crisis, premiums were low during the past three years, etc... I personally believe they can go "bleep" themselves, each individual knows that what goes up essentially must come down. So when you make a lot of money, save some for a rainy day.
But what can we do about it? Nothing! I know that when the bills come, I'll pay them, because I need my peace of mind. I need to be sure that everything is arranged and so does everyone!
Nathalie COUDEVILLE
Source: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=GAP26MMRK
zaterdag 21 februari 2009
ING Belguim has to cut down
In ING bank Belgium there are another 315 employees who have lost their jobs. And there were already 135 who have lost there jobs.
Most of the people who are fired are interims, people that are almost on retirement or persons who want to leave the company voluntarily.
The insurance company also wants to save a 110 million euro because of the financial crisis. So they have cut down on the premiums of the direction next to firing 315 employees. They also decided to economize by not making an appeal on external companies and using informaticians from the company itself. These savings are part of a bigger saving plan.
The results of ING are 30% decreased from 2007 to 2008. The CEO of the company, Erik Dralans, declares that commercially it was a good year but because off the financial crisis the results are pretty good seen the situation.
In my opinion I think ING Belgium is doing good seen the circumstances. They are prepared to cut down on the premiums and economize on the operational costs. But it is a pity that some many jobs are perished. There is already a financial crisis and now these people are on the street, with no job.
Source: http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF19022009_052&kanaalid=9
Ruth Blommaert
Most of the people who are fired are interims, people that are almost on retirement or persons who want to leave the company voluntarily.
The insurance company also wants to save a 110 million euro because of the financial crisis. So they have cut down on the premiums of the direction next to firing 315 employees. They also decided to economize by not making an appeal on external companies and using informaticians from the company itself. These savings are part of a bigger saving plan.
The results of ING are 30% decreased from 2007 to 2008. The CEO of the company, Erik Dralans, declares that commercially it was a good year but because off the financial crisis the results are pretty good seen the situation.
In my opinion I think ING Belgium is doing good seen the circumstances. They are prepared to cut down on the premiums and economize on the operational costs. But it is a pity that some many jobs are perished. There is already a financial crisis and now these people are on the street, with no job.
Source: http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF19022009_052&kanaalid=9
Ruth Blommaert
The one Fortis isn't the other one
There is a financial crisis in the whole world: products become more expensive and the banks don't give any more credits, lots of people lose their jobs, ...
One of the most important banks, Fortis, in our country (Belgium) knows all about the negative consequences. The Belgian government didn't have any money left to help the bank and so they had to sell it. But there came a lot of critic to this fact. There were negotiations with BNP Paribas and they actually bought a part of the bank. But it's more complicated than that... Lots of shareholders don't know anymore what is in Belgian hands and what is controlled by BNP. Perhaps our government had to take more measures to protect the bank and to prevent the bank from being sold. The shareholders aren't happy with the cooperation between BNP and the Belgian government.
There are 4 different parts we can notice. First we have the Fortis Holding, which is the part that's stock market listed. If the shareholders approve all the transactions, this will become an entire insurance group.
The second part is the Fortis Bank. Here we can obviously see that three quarters of this part is sold to BNP Paribas. The Belgian government only has 25% of the bank left in their power, which include a part of "Bank van de Post" and "Fintro". Our government didn't have any money left to keep the bank completely in their own hands. They had to accept help from France. Internationally seen there are influences from Turkey and Pollen.
As third part we have Fortis Insurance Belgium. This segment is for now totally controlled by the Belgian government and is the market leader on the Belgian insurance market.
The last segment, we can describe as Fortis Insurance International. This part is active in 16 countries over the whole world. It's not clear who owns this part of the bank. On the internet there is not much information available about the subject, because it's very delicate to treat.
Nathalie COUDEVILLE
vrijdag 20 februari 2009
Assuralia warns for higher premiums
Assuralia, the fraternity of insurance companies, has announced an increase of the premiums, due to the current financial crisis.
The income of the insurer is going to suffer a descent because of the declining interest rate due to the terrible situation at the stock market. A life insurance offers a guaranteed return of 3,25 per cent at the end of the running time. On the other hand the results of the investments done by the insurance companies are less than 3,25 per cent. The conclusion? The insurers find it very difficult to stay lucrative.
Besides the decrease of the income, the insurance companies face a disappointing sale of some of their life insurance policies. People don’t want to invest money for a long period, but they want it to be always and immediately available. This happens when a crisis appears because people are very anxious.
The increase of the insurance premiums will probably carry through on the hospitality insurance policies and the car insurance.
Christian Defrancq, president of Assuralia, is completely honest about the situation at the insurance market. The decision to increase the premiums is not yet made but according to me it is good because people are informed and they know what can happen. With the financial crisis, people lost their faith into every company that manages and invests its money. One of the reasons of losing their faith into finance companies is that no one has told them what was going on till it was too late and banks went bankrupt. So it is logical that panic broke out.
At this moment, in this terrible economical situation, people want their money nearby. They want to feel their money in their pocket. So it is logical that people will only invest in brief term products than in long term products. Maybe when this crisis is dissolved, they would have more the intention to invest in long term products.
Sofie De Cooman
Source:
http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DG26M3AT&kanaalid=9
The income of the insurer is going to suffer a descent because of the declining interest rate due to the terrible situation at the stock market. A life insurance offers a guaranteed return of 3,25 per cent at the end of the running time. On the other hand the results of the investments done by the insurance companies are less than 3,25 per cent. The conclusion? The insurers find it very difficult to stay lucrative.
Besides the decrease of the income, the insurance companies face a disappointing sale of some of their life insurance policies. People don’t want to invest money for a long period, but they want it to be always and immediately available. This happens when a crisis appears because people are very anxious.
The increase of the insurance premiums will probably carry through on the hospitality insurance policies and the car insurance.
Christian Defrancq, president of Assuralia, is completely honest about the situation at the insurance market. The decision to increase the premiums is not yet made but according to me it is good because people are informed and they know what can happen. With the financial crisis, people lost their faith into every company that manages and invests its money. One of the reasons of losing their faith into finance companies is that no one has told them what was going on till it was too late and banks went bankrupt. So it is logical that panic broke out.
At this moment, in this terrible economical situation, people want their money nearby. They want to feel their money in their pocket. So it is logical that people will only invest in brief term products than in long term products. Maybe when this crisis is dissolved, they would have more the intention to invest in long term products.
Sofie De Cooman
Source:
http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DG26M3AT&kanaalid=9
Funds expect 2009 growth in life insurance trading
Fund managers expect a great year for the life insurance policies. This is because people are looking for alternatives. They are all looking for a steady and good investment because a bank account, property, equity and bonds aren’t delivering anymore. Before investors of the bull market found the returns to low, but now the security of this ‘low’ return looks very attractive.
The system of the traded life policies is that the insured party, this is most of the time a person over the age of 65, sells the policy to a buyer at the market for a sum. This gives the buyer the right to collect the death benefit. The average policy value today is $728,000 but they expect a decrease to $500,000 by the end of 2009.
A study tells us that the traded life policies would duplicate in the year 2012, this compared to 2007. At the year 2009 MPL expects a growth of $250 million! But they warn that it is important you buy high-quality policies. You need to look for information and buy at the right price.
My opinion is a bit divided. I think indeed an investment in life insurances is a very good idea. You have to think at later, when you are retired. The legal pension won’t be enough to keep the same living standard. So you really need an extra. The life insurance is here a good decision. But I think it’s a bad idea to invest all our money in a life insurance. In this time of economical crisis, the economy needs a push. The people are scared and look for safer investments. But the companies need us. When we all going to put our money in safe investments and won’t be playing on the stock exchange anymore, the companies will lose more and more money… money they really need!
De Ridder Steffie
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssInvestmentServices/idUSLG52187120090218?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10452
The system of the traded life policies is that the insured party, this is most of the time a person over the age of 65, sells the policy to a buyer at the market for a sum. This gives the buyer the right to collect the death benefit. The average policy value today is $728,000 but they expect a decrease to $500,000 by the end of 2009.
A study tells us that the traded life policies would duplicate in the year 2012, this compared to 2007. At the year 2009 MPL expects a growth of $250 million! But they warn that it is important you buy high-quality policies. You need to look for information and buy at the right price.
My opinion is a bit divided. I think indeed an investment in life insurances is a very good idea. You have to think at later, when you are retired. The legal pension won’t be enough to keep the same living standard. So you really need an extra. The life insurance is here a good decision. But I think it’s a bad idea to invest all our money in a life insurance. In this time of economical crisis, the economy needs a push. The people are scared and look for safer investments. But the companies need us. When we all going to put our money in safe investments and won’t be playing on the stock exchange anymore, the companies will lose more and more money… money they really need!
De Ridder Steffie
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssInvestmentServices/idUSLG52187120090218?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10452
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