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95-530: Direct Line Insurance Group plc is a British insurance company based in the United Kingdom , formed in 2012 by the divestment of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group 's (RBS) insurance division, through an initial public offering . The company owns a number of insurance subsidiaries, providing various insurance products, including Direct Line and Churchill , Darwin as well as the roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider Green Flag . The group
190-684: A Nerva–Antonine dynasty -era tablet from the ruins of the Temple of Antinous in Antinoöpolis , Aegyptus . The tablet prescribed the rules and membership dues of a burial society collegium established in Lanuvium , Italia in approximately 133 AD during the reign of Hadrian (117–138) of the Roman Empire . In 1851 AD, future U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph P. Bradley (1870–1892 AD), once employed as an actuary for
285-592: A sea captain , ship-manager , or ship charterer that saved a ship from total loss was only required to pay one-half the value of the ship to the ship-owner . In the Digesta seu Pandectae (533), the second volume of the codification of laws ordered by Justinian I (527–565), a legal opinion written by the Roman jurist Paulus in 235 AD was included about the Lex Rhodia ("Rhodian law"). It articulates
380-732: A self-driving car division; Kuiper Systems , a satellite Internet provider; and Amazon Lab126 , a computer hardware R&D provider. Other subsidiaries include Ring , Twitch , IMDb , and Whole Foods Market . Its acquisition of Whole Foods in August 2017 for US$ 13.4 billion substantially increased its market share and presence as a physical retailer . Amazon also distributes a variety of downloadable and streaming content through its Amazon Prime Video , MGM+ , Amazon Music , Twitch, Audible and Wondery units. It publishes books through its publishing arm, Amazon Publishing , film and television content through Amazon MGM Studios , including
475-554: A toxic work culture , censorship , tax avoidance , and anti-competitive practices . Amazon was founded on July 5, 1994, by Jeff Bezos after he relocated from New York City to Bellevue, Washington , near Seattle , to operate an online bookstore. Bezos chose the Seattle area for its abundance of technical talent from Microsoft and the University of Washington , as well as its smaller population for sales tax purposes and
570-492: A 10-year agreement with Amazon, valued at $ 50 million per year plus a cut of sales, under which Toys "R" Us would be the exclusive supplier of toys and baby products on the service, and the chain's website would redirect to Amazon's Toys & Games category. In 2004, Toys "R" Us sued Amazon, claiming that because of a perceived lack of variety in Toys "R" Us stock, Amazon had knowingly allowed third-party sellers to offer items on
665-458: A claim arises on the occurrence of a specified event). There are generally three types of insurance contracts that seek to indemnify an insured: From an insured's standpoint, the result is usually the same: the insurer pays the loss and claims expenses. If the Insured has a "reimbursement" policy, the insured can be required to pay for a loss and then be "reimbursed" by the insurance carrier for
760-448: A claim. Adjusting liability-insurance claims is particularly difficult because they involve a third party, the plaintiff , who is under no contractual obligation to cooperate with the insurer and may in fact regard the insurer as a deep pocket . The adjuster must obtain legal counsel for the insured—either inside ("house") counsel or outside ("panel") counsel, monitor litigation that may take years to complete, and appear in person or over
855-494: A co-branded service. Borders pulled out of the arrangement in 2007, with plans to also launch its own online store. On October 18, 2011, Amazon.com announced a partnership with DC Comics for the exclusive digital rights to many popular comics, including Superman , Batman , Green Lantern , The Sandman , and Watchmen . The partnership has caused well-known bookstores like Barnes & Noble to remove these titles from their shelves. In November 2013, Amazon announced
950-601: A combined ratio over 100% may nevertheless remain profitable due to investment earnings. Insurance companies earn investment profits on "float". Float, or available reserve, is the amount of money on hand at any given moment that an insurer has collected in insurance premiums but has not paid out in claims. Insurers start investing insurance premiums as soon as they are collected and continue to earn interest or other income on them until claims are paid out. The Association of British Insurers (grouping together 400 insurance companies and 94% of UK insurance services) has almost 20% of
1045-455: A company insures an individual entity, there are basic legal requirements and regulations. Several commonly cited legal principles of insurance include: To "indemnify" means to make whole again, or to be reinstated to the position that one was in, to the extent possible, prior to the happening of a specified event or peril. Accordingly, life insurance is generally not considered to be indemnity insurance, but rather "contingent" insurance (i.e.,
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#17327826515681140-505: A fixed price. Publishers can sign up as affiliates and receive a commission for referring customers to Amazon by placing links to Amazon on their websites if the referral results in a sale. Worldwide, Amazon has "over 900,000 members" in its affiliate programs. In the middle of 2014, the Amazon Affiliate Program is used by 1.2% of all websites and it is the second most popular advertising network after Google Ads . It
1235-590: A global chat on the livestream. In 2019 Amazon launched an integrated platform into the Amazon website and application . In 2023 roughly a billion total viewers watch Amazon Live across the United States and India. The platform has also been integrated into Amazon Freevee and Amazon Prime Video . Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on
1330-564: A guide of general interest for the customer and not definitive sales information for publishers—we assume you have this information regularly from your distribution sources In November 2015, Amazon opened a physical Amazon Books store in University Village in Seattle . The store was 5,500 square feet and prices for all products matched those on its website. Amazon opened its tenth physical book store in 2017; media speculation at
1425-466: A metered pay-as-you-go basis. These cloud computing web services provide distributed computing processing capacity and software tools via AWS server farms . As of 2021 Q4, AWS has 33% market share for cloud infrastructure while the next two competitors Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have 21%, and 10% respectively, according to Synergy Group. Audible is a seller and producer of spoken audio entertainment, information, and educational programming on
1520-413: A minimum, the following elements: identification of participating parties (the insurer, the insured, the beneficiaries), the premium, the period of coverage, the particular loss event covered, the amount of coverage (i.e., the amount to be paid to the insured or beneficiary in the event of a loss), and exclusions (events not covered). An insured is thus said to be " indemnified " against the loss covered in
1615-453: A more active role in loss mitigation, such as through building codes . According to the study books of The Chartered Insurance Institute, there are variant methods of insurance as follows: Insurers may use the subscription business model , collecting premium payments periodically in return for on-going and/or compounding benefits offered to policyholders. Insurers' business model aims to collect more in premium and investment income than
1710-869: A notification if it detects something unusual. In January 2023, Amazon announced the launch of RXPass, a prescription drug delivery service. It allows U.S. Amazon Prime members to pay a $ 5 monthly fee for access to 60 medications. The service was launched immediately after the announcement except in states with specific prescription delivery requirements. Beneficiaries of government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid will not be able to sign up for RXPass. Amazon owns over 100 subsidiaries, including Amazon Web Services , Audible , Diapers.com, Goodreads , IMDb , Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics ), One Medical , Shopbop , Teachstreet, Twitch , Zappos , and Zoox . Bezos separately owns The Washington Post (through Nash Holdings, LLC), Blue Origin , Bezos Expeditions , Altos Labs , and other companies. Amazon Live
1805-617: A partnership with the United States Postal Service to begin delivering orders on Sundays. The service, included in Amazon's standard shipping rates, initiated in metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and New York because of the high-volume and inability to deliver in a timely way, with plans to expand into Dallas , Houston , New Orleans and Phoenix by 2014. In June 2017, Nike agreed to sell products through Amazon in exchange for better policing of counterfeit goods. This proved unsuccessful and Nike withdrew from
1900-961: A plan was adopted for Jeff Bezos to sell approximately 50 million shares of the company over the next year (the deadline for the entire sales plan is January 31, 2025). The first step was the sale of 12 million shares for about $ 2 billion. On February 26, 2024, Amazon became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Amazon.com is an e-commerce platform that sells many product lines, including media ( books , movies, music, and software), apparel, baby products, consumer electronics , beauty products , gourmet food, groceries, health and personal care products, industrial & scientific supplies, kitchen items, jewelry , watches, lawn and garden items, musical instruments, sporting goods , tools, automotive items, toys and games, and farm supplies and consulting services . Amazon websites are country-specific (for example, amazon.com for
1995-631: A premium paid independently of loans began in Belgium about 1300 AD. Separate insurance contracts (i.e., insurance policies not bundled with loans or other kinds of contracts) were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, as were insurance pools backed by pledges of landed estates. The first known insurance contract dates from Genoa in 1347. In the next century, maritime insurance developed widely, and premiums were varied with risks. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment,
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#17327826515682090-401: A range of Booths branded products for home delivery in selected areas. In November 2018, Amazon reached an agreement with Apple Inc. to sell selected products through the service, via the company and selected Apple Authorized Resellers. As a result of this partnership, only Apple Authorized Resellers may sell Apple products on Amazon effective January 4, 2019. On November 7, 2024 Amazon
2185-697: A relatively few claimants – and for overhead costs. So long as an insurer maintains adequate funds set aside for anticipated losses (called reserves), the remaining margin is an insurer's profit . Policies typically include a number of exclusions, for example: Insurers may prohibit certain activities which are considered dangerous and therefore excluded from coverage. One system for classifying activities according to whether they are authorised by insurers refers to "green light" approved activities and events, "yellow light" activities and events which require insurer consultation and/or waivers of liability, and "red light" activities and events which are prohibited and outside
2280-556: A separation of roles that first proved useful in marine insurance . The earliest known policy of life insurance was made in the Royal Exchange, London , on 18 June 1583, for £383, 6s. 8d. for twelve months on the life of William Gibbons. Insurance became far more sophisticated in Enlightenment-era Europe , where specialized varieties developed. Property insurance as we know it today can be traced to
2375-399: A staff of records management and data entry clerks . Incoming claims are classified based on severity and are assigned to adjusters, whose settlement authority varies with their knowledge and experience. An adjuster undertakes an investigation of each claim, usually in close cooperation with the insured, determines if coverage is available under the terms of the insurance contract (and if so,
2470-649: A tradition of welfare programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as in the 1840s. In the 1880s Chancellor Otto von Bismarck introduced old age pensions, accident insurance and medical care that formed the basis for Germany's welfare state . In Britain more extensive legislation was introduced by the Liberal government in the National Insurance Act 1911 . This gave the British working classes
2565-534: A turnaround plan aimed at saving £50 million ($ 64 million) in 2025. The reductions would eliminate about 6% of its roughly 9,000 employees. The group owns a number of general insurance brands operating within the United Kingdom, including Direct Line, Direct Line for Business, Churchill , Privilege, Darwin and Green Flag . Direct Line is a company that specialises in selling insurance and other financial services, sold directly to consumers by telephone and
2660-572: A univariate analysis could produce confounded results. Other statistical methods may be used in assessing the probability of future losses. Upon termination of a given policy, the amount of premium collected minus the amount paid out in claims is the insurer's underwriting profit on that policy. Underwriting performance is measured by something called the "combined ratio", which is the ratio of expenses/losses to premiums. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while anything over 100 indicates an underwriting loss. A company with
2755-507: Is Lehigh Valley region's third-largest employer. In August 2019, Amazon applied to have a liquor store in San Francisco , as a means to ship beer and alcohol within the city. In 2020, Amazon Fresh opened several physical stores in the U.S. and the United Kingdom . Amazon has a number of products and services available, including its digital assistant Alexa , Amazon Music , and Prime Video for music and videos respectively,
2850-580: Is a " social cataloging " website founded in December 2006 and launched in January 2007 by Otis Chandler, a software engineer, and entrepreneur, and Elizabeth Khuri. The website allows individuals to freely search Goodreads' extensive user-populated database of books, annotations, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. They can also create their groups of book suggestions and discussions. In December 2007,
2945-445: Is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management , primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss. An entity which provides insurance is known as an insurer , insurance company , insurance carrier , or underwriter . A person or entity who buys insurance
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3040-438: Is an American video e-commerce live-streaming service created by Amazon Inc. to compete with live-streaming services. The service allows users to stream live videos promoting or sponsoring products. Users (mainly celebrities or Internet influencers ) have the option to livestream on Amazon and add tags to additionally add context to the products they're selling or promoting. Other users can join in and type in messages to send to
3135-492: Is frequently used by websites and non-profits to provide a way for supporters to earn them a commission. Associates can access the Amazon catalog directly on their websites by using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) XML service. A new affiliate product, aStore, allows Associates to embed a subset of Amazon products within another website, or linked to another website. In June 2010, Amazon Seller Product Suggestions
3230-494: Is known as a policyholder , while a person or entity covered under the policy is called an insured . The insurance transaction involves the policyholder assuming a guaranteed, known, and relatively small loss in the form of a payment to the insurer (a premium) in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate the insured in the event of a covered loss. The loss may or may not be financial, but it must be reducible to financial terms. Furthermore, it usually involves something in which
3325-579: Is listed on the London Stock Exchange , and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index . The company was originally established in 1985 by Peter Wood and Martin Long , as the insurance division of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS). It was the first telephone only insurance company in the United Kingdom. In September 2012, the group's then chief executive, Paul Geddes , announced the business
3420-409: Is paid out in losses, and to also offer a competitive price which consumers will accept. Profit can be reduced to a simple equation: Insurers make money in two ways: The most complicated aspect of insuring is the actuarial science of ratemaking (price-setting) of policies, which uses statistics and probability to approximate the rate of future claims based on a given risk. After producing rates,
3515-583: Is reportedly discussing a second multi-billion dollar investment in AI startup Anthropic, following its initial $ 4 billion investment. Amazon sells many products under its own brand names , including phone chargers, batteries, and diaper wipes. The AmazonBasics brand was introduced in 2009, and now features hundreds of product lines, including smartphone cases, computer mice, batteries, dumbbells, and dog crates. Amazon owned 34 private-label brands as of 2019. These brands account for 0.15% of Amazon's global sales, whereas
3610-573: Is the second-largest private employer in the United States and the second-largest company in the World and in the U.S. by revenue as of 2024. As of October 2024, Amazon is the 12th-most visited website in the world and 84% of its traffic comes from the United States. Amazon is also the global leader in research and development spending, with R&D expenditure of US$ 73 billion in 2022. Amazon has been criticized on various grounds, including but not limited to customer data collection practices,
3705-426: Is the materialized utility of insurance; it is the actual "product" paid for. Claims may be filed by insureds directly with the insurer or through brokers or agents . The insurer may require that the claim be filed on its own proprietary forms, or may accept claims on a standard industry form, such as those produced by ACORD . Insurance-company claims departments employ a large number of claims adjusters, supported by
3800-447: Is the world's largest online retailer and marketplace , smart speaker provider, cloud computing service through AWS, live-streaming service through Twitch, and Internet company as measured by revenue and market share . In 2021, it surpassed Walmart as the world's largest retailer outside of China, driven in large part by its paid subscription plan, Amazon Prime , which has close to 200 million subscribers worldwide. It
3895-538: The Amazon Appstore for Android apps, the Kindle line of eink e-readers, Fire and Fire HD color LCD tablets. Audible provides audiobooks for purchase and listening. In September 2021, Amazon announced the launch of Astro , its first household robot, powered by its Alexa smart home technology. This can be remote-controlled when not at home, to check on pets, people, or home security. It will send owners
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3990-680: The Great Fire of London , which in 1666 devoured more than 13,000 houses. The devastating effects of the fire converted the development of insurance "from a matter of convenience into one of urgency, a change of opinion reflected in Sir Christopher Wren 's inclusion of a site for "the Insurance Office" in his new plan for London in 1667." A number of attempted fire insurance schemes came to nothing, but in 1681, economist Nicholas Barbon and eleven associates established
4085-583: The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, which was acquired in March 2022, and owns Brilliance Audio and Audible, which produce and distribute audiobooks, respectively. Amazon also produces consumer electronics —most notably, Kindle e-readers , Echo devices, Fire tablets , and Fire TVs . Amazon has a reputation as a disruptor of industries through technological innovation and aggressive reinvestment of profits into capital expenditures. As of 2023 , it
4180-742: The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company , submitted an article to the Journal of the Institute of Actuaries . His article detailed an historical account of a Severan dynasty -era life table compiled by the Roman jurist Ulpian in approximately 220 AD that was also included in the Digesta . Concepts of insurance has been also found in 3rd century BC Hindu scriptures such as Dharmasastra , Arthashastra and Manusmriti . The ancient Greeks had marine loans. Money
4275-539: The Nielsen BookScan service to verified authors. While the ASR has been the source of much speculation by publishers, manufacturers, and marketers, Amazon itself does not release the details of its sales rank calculation algorithm. Some companies have analyzed Amazon sales data to generate sales estimates based on the ASR, though Amazon states: Please keep in mind that our sales rank figures are simply meant to be
4370-525: The Whole Foods Market supermarket chain in 2017. It is the leading e-retailer in the United States with approximately US$ 178 billion net sales in 2017. It has over 300 million active customer accounts globally. Amazon saw large growth during the COVID-19 pandemic , hiring more than 100,000 staff in the United States and Canada. Some Amazon workers in the U.S., France, and Italy protested
4465-617: The general average principle of marine insurance established on the island of Rhodes in approximately 1000 to 800 BC, plausibly by the Phoenicians during the proposed Dorian invasion and emergence of the purported Sea Peoples during the Greek Dark Ages (c. 1100–c. 750). The law of general average is the fundamental principle that underlies all insurance. In 1816, an archeological excavation in Minya, Egypt produced
4560-447: The Amazon website and this may lead to an increase in sales. In particular, products that experience large jumps (up or down) in their sales ranks may be included within Amazon's lists of "movers and shakers"; such a listing provides additional exposure that might lead to an increase in sales. For competitive reasons, Amazon does not release actual sales figures to the public. However, Amazon has now begun to release point of sale data via
4655-579: The CEO. In January 2023, Jonathan Greenwood become acting chief executive after James agreed with the board to step down after two successive profit warnings and a dividend cancellation. In February 2024 it was reported that the Belgian insurer, Ageas , was considering a bid of around €3.1bn for the company. In March 2024, Ageas announced no offer would be made. In November 2023, Direct Line Insurance Group announced that they set to cut about 550 jobs as part of
4750-485: The Internet. Audible sells digital audiobooks , radio and television programs, and audio versions of magazines and newspapers. Through its production arm, Audible Studios, Audible has also become the world's largest producer of downloadable audiobooks. On January 31, 2008, Amazon announced it would buy Audible for about $ 300 million. The deal closed in March 2008 and Audible became a subsidiary of Amazon. Goodreads
4845-509: The U.S. and amazon.co.uk for UK) though some offer international shipping. Visits to amazon.com grew from 615 million annual visitors in 2008, to more than 2 billion per month in 2022. The e-commerce platform is the 12th most visited website in the world. In February, 2024, Amazon announced its first chatbot was first “Rufus” in the US and in July, it was widely available to all customers in
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#17327826515684940-565: The US. “Rufus” is now available in the US, India and the UK which helps the shoppers get product recommendations, get shopping list advice, compare products and see what other customers have responded to their specific questions. Results generated by Amazon's search engine are partly determined by promotional fees. The company's localized storefronts, which differ in selection and prices, are differentiated by top-level domain and country code : In 2000, US toy retailer Toys "R" Us entered into
5035-409: The United Kingdom and Germany. In the subsequent year, it initiated the sale of a diverse range of products, including music, video games, consumer electronics, home improvement items, software, games, and toys. In 2002, it launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), which initially focused on providing APIs for web developers to build web applications on top of Amazon's ecommerce platform. In 2004, AWS
5130-595: The average for other large retailers is 18%. Other Amazon retail brands include Presto!, Mama Bear, and Amazon Essentials. Amazon derives many of its sales (around 40% in 2008) from third-party sellers who sell products on Amazon. Some other large e-commerce sellers use Amazon to sell their products in addition to selling them through their websites. The sales are processed through Amazon.com and end up at individual sellers for processing and order fulfillment and Amazon leases space for these retailers. Small sellers of used and new goods go to Amazon Marketplace to offer goods at
5225-481: The comments feature on customer reviews was rarely used ." The remaining review response options are to indicate whether the reader finds the review helpful or to report that it violates Amazon policies (abuse). If a review is given enough "helpful" hits, it appears on the front page of the product. In 2010, Amazon was reported as being the largest single source of Internet consumer reviews. When publishers asked Bezos why Amazon would publish negative reviews, he defended
5320-463: The company has been led by Jasvinder Gakhal, who has been the director since 2014. The company appointed Claire Sadler as marketing director in October 2017. Direct Line for Business used PricewaterhouseCoopers to improve their product, and in July 2018, the firm launched a new advertising campaign, with Saatchi and Saatchi London. In the summer of 2019, Direct Line for Business announced that it
5415-518: The company originally started as an online marketplace for books but gradually expanded its offerings to include a wide range of product categories, referred to as "The Everything Store". Today, Amazon is considered one of the Big Five American technology companies, the other four being Alphabet , Apple , Meta , and Microsoft . The company has multiple subsidiaries , including Amazon Web Services , providing cloud computing; Zoox ,
5510-653: The company's decision to "run normal shifts" due to COVID-19's ease of spread in warehouses. In Spain, the company faced legal complaints over its policies, while a group of US Senators wrote an open letter to Bezos expressing concerns about workplace safety. On February 2, 2021, Bezos announced that he would step down as CEO to become executive chair of Amazon's board. The transition officially took place on July 5, 2021, with former CEO of AWS Andy Jassy replacing him as CEO. In January 2023, Amazon cut over 18,000 jobs, primarily in consumer retail and its human resources division in an attempt to cut costs. On November 8, 2023,
5605-446: The demand for marine insurance . In the late 1680s, Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house , which became the meeting place for parties in the shipping industry wishing to insure cargoes and ships, including those willing to underwrite such ventures. These informal beginnings led to the establishment of the insurance market Lloyd's of London and several related shipping and insurance businesses. Life insurance policies were taken out in
5700-791: The early 18th century. The first company to offer life insurance was the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office , founded in London in 1706 by William Talbot and Sir Thomas Allen . Upon the same principle, Edward Rowe Mores established the Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorship in 1762. It was the world's first mutual insurer and it pioneered age based premiums based on mortality rate laying "the framework for scientific insurance practice and development" and "the basis of modern life assurance upon which all life assurance schemes were subsequently based." In
5795-695: The event of general average. In 1873 the "Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations", the forerunner of the International Law Association (ILA), was founded in Brussels. It published the first YAR in 1890, before switching to the present title of the "International Law Association" in 1895. By the late 19th century governments began to initiate national insurance programs against sickness and old age. Germany built on
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#17327826515685890-706: The first contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment. This system was greatly expanded after the Second World War under the influence of the Beveridge Report , to form the first modern welfare state . In 2008, the International Network of Insurance Associations (INIA), then an informal network, became active and it has been succeeded by the Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA), which
5985-472: The first fire insurance company, the "Insurance Office for Houses", at the back of the Royal Exchange to insure brick and frame homes. Initially, 5,000 homes were insured by his Insurance Office. At the same time, the first insurance schemes for the underwriting of business ventures became available. By the end of the seventeenth century, London's growth as a centre for trade was increasing due to
6080-419: The float method is difficult to carry out in an economically depressed period. Bear markets do cause insurers to shift away from investments and to toughen up their underwriting standards, so a poor economy generally means high insurance-premiums. This tendency to swing between profitable and unprofitable periods over time is commonly known as the underwriting, or insurance, cycle . Claims and loss handling
6175-447: The insurance carrier can generally either "reimburse" or "pay on behalf of", whichever is more beneficial to it and the insured in the claim handling process. An entity seeking to transfer risk (an individual, corporation, or association of any type, etc.) becomes the "insured" party once risk is assumed by an "insurer", the insuring party, by means of a contract , called an insurance policy . Generally, an insurance contract includes, at
6270-774: The insurance company. Insurance scholars have typically used moral hazard to refer to the increased loss due to unintentional carelessness and insurance fraud to refer to increased risk due to intentional carelessness or indifference. Insurers attempt to address carelessness through inspections, policy provisions requiring certain types of maintenance, and possible discounts for loss mitigation efforts. While in theory insurers could encourage investment in loss reduction, some commentators have argued that in practice insurers had historically not aggressively pursued loss control measures—particularly to prevent disaster losses such as hurricanes—because of concerns over rate reductions and legal battles. However, since about 1996 insurers have begun to take
6365-529: The insurance policy is called the premium . If the insured experiences a loss which is potentially covered by the insurance policy, the insured submits a claim to the insurer for processing by a claims adjuster. A mandatory out-of-pocket expense required by an insurance policy before an insurer will pay a claim is called a deductible (or if required by a health insurance policy, a copayment ). The insurer may hedge its own risk by taking out reinsurance , whereby another insurance company agrees to carry some of
6460-413: The insured has an insurable interest established by ownership, possession, or pre-existing relationship. The insured receives a contract , called the insurance policy , which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insurer will compensate the insured, or their designated beneficiary or assignee. The amount of money charged by the insurer to the policyholder for the coverage set forth in
6555-409: The insurer will use discretion to reject or accept risks through the underwriting process. At the most basic level, initial rate-making involves looking at the frequency and severity of insured perils and the expected average payout resulting from these perils. Thereafter an insurance company will collect historical loss-data, bring the loss data to present value , and compare these prior losses to
6650-551: The internet. Darwin was founded in 2019 and led by Sumit Bahukhandi. The company only sells through price comparison websites, initially Moneysupermarket , and is built in the Amazon Web Services cloud . It uses a different pricing model to other companies in the group, and acts as a test bed for new ideas. Direct Line for Business was founded in Leeds in September 2007, and as of December 2020 has 811,000 customers. Since 2010,
6745-470: The investments in the London Stock Exchange . In 2007, U.S. industry profits from float totaled $ 58 billion. In a 2009 letter to investors, Warren Buffett wrote, "we were paid $ 2.8 billion to hold our float in 2008". In the United States , the underwriting loss of property and casualty insurance companies was $ 142.3 billion in the five years ending 2003. But overall profit for the same period
6840-620: The late 19th century "accident insurance" began to become available. The first company to offer accident insurance was the Railway Passengers Assurance Company, formed in 1848 in England to insure against the rising number of fatalities on the nascent railway system. The first international insurance rule was the York Antwerp Rules (YAR) for the distribution of costs between ship and cargo in
6935-443: The loss and out of pocket costs including, with the permission of the insurer, claim expenses. Under a "pay on behalf" policy, the insurance carrier would defend and pay a claim on behalf of the insured who would not be out of pocket for anything. Most modern liability insurance is written on the basis of "pay on behalf" language, which enables the insurance carrier to manage and control the claim. Under an "indemnification" policy,
7030-612: The losses that only some insureds may incur. The insured entities are therefore protected from risk for a fee, with the fee being dependent upon the frequency and severity of the event occurring. In order to be an insurable risk , the risk insured against must meet certain characteristics. Insurance as a financial intermediary 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. Risk which can be insured by private companies typically share seven common characteristics: When
7125-540: The partnership in November 2019. Companies including IKEA and Birkenstock also stopped selling through Amazon around the same time, citing similar frustrations over business practices and counterfeit goods. In September 2017, Amazon ventured with one of its sellers JV Appario Retail owned by Patni Group which has recorded a total income of US$ 104.44 million ( ₹ 759 crore ) in financial year 2017–2018. As of October 11, 2017 , AmazonFresh sold
7220-414: The policy. When insured parties experience a loss for a specified peril, the coverage entitles the policyholder to make a claim against the insurer for the covered amount of loss as specified by the policy. The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the premium. Insurance premiums from many insureds are used to fund accounts reserved for later payment of claims – in theory for
7315-423: The popularity of a product sold on any Amazon locale. It is a relative indicator of popularity that is updated hourly. Effectively, it is a "best sellers list" for the millions of products stocked by Amazon. While the ASR has no direct effect on the sales of a product, it is used by Amazon to determine which products to include in its bestsellers lists. Products that appear in these lists enjoy additional exposure on
7410-432: The practice by claiming that Amazon.com was "taking a different approach ... we want to make every book available—the good, the bad and the ugly ... to let truth loose". There have been cases of positive reviews being written and posted by public relations companies on behalf of their clients and instances of writers using pseudonyms to leave negative reviews of their rivals' works. The Amazon sales rank (ASR) indicates
7505-406: The premium collected in order to assess rate adequacy. Loss ratios and expense loads are also used. Rating for different risk characteristics involves—at the most basic level—comparing the losses with "loss relativities"—a policy with twice as many losses would, therefore, be charged twice as much. More complex multivariate analyses are sometimes used when multiple characteristics are involved and
7600-603: The private equity firm Lysanda in February 2014. In September 2014, it was announced that Mapfre would acquire the Italian and German businesses of Direct Line, for a sum of €550 million. The company also made a number of tough financial decisions in 2014, including abandoning some lines of business, making redundancies, and closing 14 of their 27 offices in the United Kingdom. In February 2019, Direct Line announced it would be appointing chief financial officer Penny James as
7695-731: The proximity to a major book distribution warehouse in Roseburg, Oregon . Bezos also considered several other options, including Portland, Oregon , and Boulder, Colorado . The company, originally named Cadabra, was founded in the converted garage of Bezos's house for symbolic reasons and was renamed to Amazon in November 1994. The Amazon website launched for public sales on July 16, 1995, and initially sourced its books directly from wholesalers and publishers. Amazon went public in May 1997. It began selling music and videos in 1998, and began international operations by acquiring online sellers of books in
7790-411: The real name of the reviewer (based on confirmation of a credit card account) or which indicates that the reviewer is one of the top reviewers by popularity. As of December 16, 2020, Amazon removed the ability of sellers and customers to comment on product reviews and purged their websites of all posted product review comments. In an email to sellers Amazon gave its rationale for removing this feature: "...
7885-404: The reasonable monetary value of the claim), and authorizes payment. Policyholders may hire their own public adjusters to negotiate settlements with the insurance company on their behalf. For policies that are complicated, where claims may be complex, the insured may take out a separate insurance-policy add-on, called loss-recovery insurance, which covers the cost of a public adjuster in the case of
7980-473: The risks, especially if the primary insurer deems the risk too large for it to carry. Methods for transferring or distributing risk were practiced by Chinese and Indian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, respectively. Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessel capsizing. Codex Hammurabi Law 238 (c. 1755–1750 BC) stipulated that
8075-456: The scope of insurance cover. Insurance can have various effects on society through the way that it changes who bears the cost of losses and damage. On one hand it can increase fraud; on the other it can help societies and individuals prepare for catastrophes and mitigate the effects of catastrophes on both households and societies. Insurance can influence the probability of losses through moral hazard , insurance fraud , and preventive steps by
8170-405: The service in categories that Toys "R" Us had been granted exclusivity. In 2006, a court ruled in favor of Toys "R" Us, giving it the right to unwind its agreement with Amazon and establish its independent e-commerce website. The company was later awarded $ 51 million in damages. In 2001, Amazon entered into a similar agreement with Borders Group , under which Amazon would comanage Borders.com as
8265-579: The telephone with settlement authority at a mandatory settlement-conference when requested by a judge. Amazon (company) Amazon.com, Inc. , doing business as Amazon ( / ˈ æ m ə z ɒ n / , AM -ə-zon ; UK also / ˈ æ m ə z ə n / , AM -ə-zən ), is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce , cloud computing , online advertising , digital streaming , and artificial intelligence . Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington ,
8360-554: The time suggested that Amazon planned to eventually roll out 300 to 400 bookstores around the country. All of its locations were closed in 2022 along with other retail locations under the "Amazon 4-Star" brand. In July 2016, the company announced that it was opening a 1,100,000 ft (335,280.0 m) square foot facility in Palmer Township in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania . As of 2024, Amazon
8455-599: Was "operating as a standalone insurance company", in advance of a future full divestment from the RBS Group. The company was the subject of an initial public offering (IPO) in October 2012. RBS sold a 30% share of the business in the IPO, and sold a further 17% in March 2013, reducing its holding in the business to 48.5%. RBS sold a further 20% in September 2013, and sold the remainder of its holding in February 2014. Direct Line sold its TRACKER Network UK telematics business to
8550-452: Was $ 68.4 billion, as the result of float. Some insurance-industry insiders, most notably Hank Greenberg , do not believe that it is possible to sustain a profit from float forever without an underwriting profit as well, but this opinion is not universally held. Reliance on float for profit has led some industry experts to call insurance companies "investment companies that raise the money for their investments by selling insurance". Naturally,
8645-485: Was advanced on a ship or cargo, to be repaid with large interest if the voyage prospers. However, the money would not be repaid at all if the ship were lost, thus making the rate of interest high enough to pay for not only for the use of the capital but also for the risk of losing it (fully described by Demosthenes ). Loans of this character have ever since been common in maritime lands under the name of bottomry and respondentia bonds. The direct insurance of sea-risks for
8740-458: Was cosponsoring the creation of click and mortar pop up shops at ten locations across the United Kingdom, with cosponsors Amazon , Square , and the small business support network Enterprise Nation. The shops offer twenty small online brands the chance to sell their products, meet customers and experience selling on the High Street for the first time. Insurance Insurance
8835-716: Was expanded to provide website popularity statistics and web crawler data from the Alexa Web Information Service. AWS later shifted toward providing enterprise services with Simple Storage Service (S3) in 2006, and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) in 2008, allowing companies to rent data storage and computing power from Amazon. In 2006, Amazon also launched the Fulfillment by Amazon program, which allowed individuals and small companies (called "third-party sellers") to sell products through Amazon's warehouses and fulfillment infrastructure. Amazon purchased
8930-492: Was formally founded in 2012 to aim to increase insurance industry effectiveness in providing input to international regulatory bodies and to contribute more effectively to the international dialogue on issues of common interest. It consists of its 40 member associations and 1 observer association in 67 countries, which companies account for around 89% of total insurance premiums worldwide. Insurance involves pooling funds from many insured entities (known as exposures) to pay for
9025-402: Was launched to provide more transparency to sellers by recommending specific products to third-party sellers to sell on Amazon. Products suggested are based on customers' browsing history. Amazon allows users to submit reviews to the web page of each product. Reviewers must rate the product on a rating scale from one to five stars. Amazon provides a badging option for reviewers which indicates
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