Have you ever thought what will happen to your liabilities in case of your untimely death? Will your survivors bear the burden?Why not insure your life? Put simply, life insurance is a contract between the policy holder and the insurer where the insurer agrees to pay a pre-determined sum of money in case of the holder’s death or any other event such as terminal illness or critical illness.How do you insure life? The policy holder agrees to pay a set amount known as premium at regular intervals or in lump sums. In fact, one can also insure the death to cater for after funeral expenses that are included in policy premium.Life insurance policies can either be protection plans or investment plans. While the former gives benefit in case of the occurrence of a specific event. The latter is designed to facilitate the growth of capital by regular or single premiums. A common form of protection policy is term insurance while that of investment policies are whole life and universal life.However, there is a difference between the insured and the policy owner (policy holder), although the holder and the insured are more often than not, the same person.If A buys a policy on his own life, he is both the owner and the insured. If A’s wife ‘B’ buys a life insurance policy for her husband, she is the owner and he is the insured. This simply means that the insured is a participant in the insurance contract, but not necessarily a party to it.In case of a life insurance policy, the beneficiary receives policy proceeds in case of the death of the insured. In cases where the policy owner is not the insured (also referred to as the cestui qui vit or CQV), insurance companies seek to limit policy purchases to those with an ‘insurable interest’ in the CQV.Life insurance contracts are based on utmost good faith. The individual for wishing to be insured and the insurer both accept that the other party is acting in good faith. Exclusions in case of life insurance policies are death in event of suicide, fraud, war, riot and civil commotion.
Teleseminars and Purposeful Evil Disruptors Considered
Let’s face it anyone who has ever given a number of teleseminars knows there can be some rather unruly and combative guests who attempt to interrupt or disrupt the question and answer period. Indeed, if you have experience here you know exactly what I mean, and thus, my first advice to any new comer in this sector or using this type of informational marketing or perhaps for training and education – is to remain strong and in control. If you sound wishy-washy or unsure of yourself, you are bound to embolden such purposeful or even downright evil disruptors.Worse, you may find yourself in a situation where your investors, best customers, regulators, and competition lose faith in you, your company, and your ability to perform. If you do not handle yourself properly you could lose decades of credibility in a 30 minute teleseminar with a 10-15 minute minimum Q and A at the end. Now then, I’ve been on both sides of this game. That is to say I’ve been an evil disruptor, a competitor, and really given the speaker and presenter a hard time.And indeed, as paybacks are always a “witch” well, I’ve had my share of hard to deal with disruptors myself. Sometimes politically diametrically opposed, other times competitors who were ruthless to a Machiavellian fault trying to get me to flinch first. Now then, don’t assume everyone that asks you a question point blank is a disruptor, they very well be a buyer in the market for your products or services, and only need a little nudge or answer to their objections prior to closing of the sale.In fact, I’ve had what I thought were disruptors call me back personally, or emailed and later become my best customers – most loyal and best source of future referrals, so remember that. Next, I recommend killing everyone with kindness, often this will diffuse even a hard-nosed, hard-to-deal-with competitor trying to make you look like an imbecile. Another great tactic is to refer the disruptor to a follow-up conversation on that particular topic after the teleseminar, and stating what a “great question” they’ve asked.Now then, always expect disruptors, and try to shield such questions in advance. Always control the Q and A, and when you get an SOB be sure to follow-up, because sometimes the most hostile folks turn out to be your best future customers. Indeed, it is my sincere hope that you will consider all this and think on it. Then act appropriately during your teleseminars.
Dynamic Packaging for Travel and Hospitality Industry
The concept of Dynamic Packaging is to bundle all the components chosen by the aspiring traveler and create one reservation. Regardless of where the inventory originates, the package that is created is handled seamlessly as one transaction, and requires only one payment from the consumer.
To a traveler, there is nothing better than a one stop shop for his traveling needs. The Dynamic Packaging Engine uses a travel component inventory and prices. Regardless of where the inventory originates, the package that is created is handled seamlessly as one transaction, and requires only one payment from the consumer. It automatically applies rules defined by the suppliers and the travel marketer to build and price travel packages. This package configuration process determines which components are used, what combinations of components are allowed or required, and handles inclusions such as taxes, fees or additional package features. Rules also determine how the final retail price is computed.
CAPABILITIES
A typical dynamic packaging application will need the following capabilities:
1. Search and Availability
2. Memberships
3. Shopping Cart
4. Booking and Reservations
5. Payments
6. Cancellations
SEARCH AND AVAILABILITY
A traveler always seeks a destination. Even though he may well be aware of where he needs to go to, he will search for the most appropriate place to stay and enjoy his visit. The search starts with a Transportation and Travel components, Hotel Property, Leisure Components. The search therefore has to be divided geographically to include destinations and neighboring destinations that meet the search criteria. An example search could be travel to New York City, stay at Stamford, Connecticut, Golf at upstate New York. Clearly the Dynamic Packaging engine needs to know the dates of travel, from and to destinations, closest airport to hotel, rental car or other desired ground transportation from selected airport to hotel and access to tee times at the neighboring golf courses. Like the traveler, businesses also seek travel related information.
Travel Agents, Call Centers, and Meeting Planners need packaged information on behalf of their clients. Such a search is riddled with rules and complexity. Besides, the customer needs to have choices that can vary from comfort to price and everything else in between.
1. Proximity: The search uses parameters that can narrow down possibilities yet offer extended possibilities. In our search example, Westchester Airport would have been the best choice. La Guardia airport would be an ideal choice. JFK and Newark and Teterboro are the next choices from a distance to Hotel point of view.
2. Fare and Rates: The traveler will look for the best fare. In our example though Westchester is close to the hotel, offers limited Airlines and perhaps not the best fares. Some fares maybe very attractive, however when it comes to flexibility and cancellation they are not the best. Flexibility of change, penalties associated with change and cancellation are important factors to include in the search results.
3. Travel Times: That’s another important factor for the business traveler. How many flights are there to the airport and at what intervals. Check in times and total time to travel also helps in determining his choice. Therefore non-connecting and connecting flights with layover times need to figure in the search.
4. Accessibility: Another key factor often not paid attention to is accessibility. Physically impaired travelers, people who need meals on a flight, wheelchair access, and quick access to rental cars or trains or ground transportation play a very important role in travel. Do the hotel(s) have wheelchair access? Is it possible to get ground transportation to destined hotel that has wheelchair access?
5. Amenities: Does the hotel offer standard amenities like restaurants, swimming pool, health parlors, spa, fax and printing, broadband Internet access etc? Similarly does the rental car come with GPS, insurance, inter state travel? Does the Golf Course allow only cart access? Are ski rentals available near the resort? The inclusion of amenities in a search result ensures the traveler is not in for surprises at the first lap of travel.
6. Prepackaged: You want to travel, stay in a semi luxury hotel, play golf, why search for each individually. A prepackaged deal would also be more attractive than customizing the travel. Perhaps cheaper.
Travel should be far from being hostile. It is after all a home away from home. A home is a pivotal source for living and entertainment. One uses the home and its peripheral surroundings to make the best of living. The travel destinations and the mode of travel should be as non hostile and as hospitable as is possible. A dynamic packaging should offer a wealth of choices to the traveler yet not inundate the traveler with so much information that he/she is nervous wreck at the end of an itinerary creation.
ACTORS
From the above description one can determine who the obvious actors are in this case.
1. The Traveler
2. GDS (Airlines and Hotels Rate Distribution)
3. Airlines
4. Car Rental Companies
5. Hotel Central Reservation
6. Tour Operators (Buses, Ground Transportation)
7. Proprietary Aggregators (like Golf, Ski etc.)
MORE ACTORS
The Dynamic Packaging should be capable of extending the services for business-to business operations. Which would imply that our actors now are?
8. Travel Agents and Meeting Planners
9. Call Center Agents.
SHOPPING CART
The key item in dynamic packaging is the Shopping Cart. The results of search can be selected and added as line items in the shopping cart. It bundles all the components chosen by the traveler to create one reservation. This shopping cart based vacation builder allows comparison shopping of packages that can include plane tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, insurance, attraction tickets and other features. Regardless of where the inventory originates, the package that is created is handled seamlessly as one transaction, and requires only one payment from the consumer. It automatically applies rules defined by the suppliers and the travel marketer to build and price travel packages. This package configuration process determines which components are used, what combinations of components are allowed or required, and handles inclusions such as taxes, fees or additional package features.