1.1 Introduction
Insurance is the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment. It is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is an important area of the business service industry. The project is based on implementing a web-based application for insurance services that shows the rates offered by different insurance agencies. The main types of insurance dealt in this project are home insurance, auto insurance, farm insurance, and health insurance. Depending upon the user information, real time quotes are generated from different companies. This project is intended to provide and manage a good customer relationship.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitation of the study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Insurance is a promise of compensation for specific potential future losses such as damage, illness or death in exchange for a periodic payment. It is designed as a risk management mechanism to protect the financial well being of an individual, company or other entities in the case of unexpected loss. Insurance involves posting funds from many entities (known as exposures) to pay for the losses that some may incur. The insured entities are therefore protected from risk for a fee; with the fee being dependent upon the frequency and severity of event occurring. In order to be insurable, the risk insured against must meet certain characteristics in order to be in insurable risk. Insurance is a commercial enterprise and a major part of the financial services industry, but individual entities can also self – insure through saving money for possible future losses.
Some forms of insurance are required by law while others are optional. Agreeing to the terms of an insurance policy creates a contract between the insured and the insurer in exchange for payments from the insured called PREMIUM. The insurer agrees to pay the policy holder a sum of money upon the occurrence of a specific event. In most cases, the policy holder pays part of the loss called the DEDUCTIBLE and the insurer pays the rest.
There are different types of insurance such as life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance, property insurance, travel insurance, etc. This project centers on auto or vehicle insurance. Vehicle insurance is an insurance policy purchased for cars, trucks and other road vehicles. The primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise .
Auto insurance is the most widely purchased type of insurance coverage. It is applicable to all types of automobiles and their drivers. It covers physical damage caused to your vehicle and other vehicles you might come in contact with. It offers liability protection. This means that if you are involved in an accident and another person is injured, your vehicle insurance policy will cover a portion of the person’s medical expenses.
1.3 Statement of Problem
Prior to this period, insurance services involved the physical participation of both the insurer and the insured which is the traditional way of carrying out insurance services. Since work carried out in an insurance company is done manually, clients’ documents may be difficult to store and maintain due to human errors. There is also high risk of fraudulent activities due to freedom of human discretion.
But this research work provides basic insurance services online, thereby reducing the tedium of the traditional method of performing insurance services. It also aids proper storage and maintenance of clients’ documents. Furthermore, it aids structured document representation and eliminates the tedium of performing monotonous transactions.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to Design and Implement a Computerized Insurance Application and Registration System. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to design and implement an application software that will:
- Fully automate insurance application processing and decrease processing time and web application errors.
- Display detailed information about the different types o insurance policies provided.
- Minimize multiple fraudulent claims and provide easy verification of all policies issued.
- Enhance transparency and accountability among stakeholders, thereby restoring confidence in the insuring public.
- Provide authentic, qualitative and comprehensive data on insurance for national policy formulation.
1.5 Significance of Study
The relevance of the study is stated as follows to:
- Allow for effective insurance service monitoring by policy holders over the web without office visitation.
- Do away with the traditional method of using papers as from to fill insurance of policy holder this could easily be misplaced.
- Contribute to the enormous change in information technology.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Design and Implementation of a Computerized Insurance Application and Registration System.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Deductable: Is a fixed contribution that must be paid each time a car in repaired using an automotive insurance police. It is also referred to as
Excess: is a minimum excess payment the insurer will accept on the insurance policy. It varies according to the personal details, driving record and insurance company.
Insurance: A promise of compensation for specific potential future losses in exchange for a periodic payment. Insurance is designed to protect human lives.
