MUMBAI: Insurance is the art of factoring in the probability of an event and then taking a call on it.
And, when it comes to actor Salman Khan — he was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment in a 2002 hit-and-run case on Wednesday — the industry seems to have stayed ahead of Bollywood.
And, when it comes to actor Salman Khan — he was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment in a 2002 hit-and-run case on Wednesday — the industry seems to have stayed ahead of Bollywood.
The judiciary may have taken 13 long years to come up with its verdict on Khan, but insurers had factored in his possible arrest while insuring his movies. In fact, insurance companies had denied non-appearance cover for the actor in case he didn't turn up for his shoots.
Analysts reckon that Rs 200 crore is riding on his unfinished films, Dabangg 3 and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. Insurers also said that they would not honour third-party claims since Salman was driving without a licence and w ..
Insurance policies do not pay third-party motor claims when the person who is driving is under the influence of alcohol. "Salman Khan was driving without a licence and insurance policies do not kick in such a case," said a senior executive of a general insurance company.
Two of his films which are nearing completion — Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Suraj Barjatya's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo — would be the worst affected, but would not raise any claims.
"Insurance companies would not insure actors accused in criminal acts," said Sanjay Datta, head of insurance ICICI Lombard.
"Insurance companies would not insure actors accused in criminal acts," said Sanjay Datta, head of insurance ICICI Lombard.
Insurance companies charge a premium of up to 3-5% of the sum assured, which depends on the Budget of the film.
Production houses, which are trying to bring in professionalism into the film industry, have started buying insurance cover for their ventures. So, in case of a cancellation or postponement, an insurance company reimburses the losses.
"Other than traditional event cancellation cover, insurance companies insure losses arising out of trouble in movie release in certain cities," said the executive.
"This cover was introduced in Fanaa, which could not be released in Gujarat," said the executive.
Kim Kardashian has allegedly insured her butt for $21million.
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star is famous for her killer curves, which include a pert bottom that she often shows off in figure hugging clothes.
And sources say that Kim's fiancé Kanye West thought her behind was so important, it deserved its own insurance policy.
"People have always been obsessed with Kim's bottom. Kanye encouraged her to take out the policy to safeguard it in future," an insider divulged to British magazine Grazia.
And it isn't just Kim who's considering safeguarding one of her best assets.
Kanye, who's due to wed Kim later this year, is reportedly also taking steps to look after his voice.
"He is currently in the process of having his voice insured, but thinks it is worth far more than any valuations he's been offered yet.
"Kanye got their broker to value Kim's bottom. Various factors were taken into account, including how much her work is based on her behind and how it would be impacted if it were to be damaged," the source added.
Kim isn't the first celebrity to take measures in insuring a body part.
Reports surfaced in 2006 that David Beckham insured his body for £100million.
Dolly Parton supposedly covered her breasts for $600,000 while Mariah Carey reportedly thought her legs were worth a cool $1billion.
Kim has openly talked about her killer curves in the past, and finds it slightly odd that people are so fascinated by her backside.
"It's kind of weird that people are obsessed with [my bottom] but I embrace it. It's flattering," Kim previously said
Directors of Standard Life are preparing to issue a coded warning next week on the dangers of Scotland’s tax regime diverging from the rest of the UK as business leaders fret over the fallout from the Scottish National party’s landslide victory.
While executives and investors in much of the UK cheered the victory of a business-friendly Conservative government, their counterparts in Scotland were warier of the outcome after the left-leaning SNP won 56 out of 59 seats north of the border.
Directors at Standard Life, the FTSE 100 insurer, are expected to highlight the importance of retaining a “single market” in UK financial services at the insurer’s annual meeting next week, City sources said, although the comments are likely to be carefully worded.Several business and financial services leaders raised concerns about the chances of a more onerous, more fragmented and more complicated tax regime. David Cameron pledged on Friday to hand Scotland “important powers” over tax.
Standard Life declined to comment on Friday.
Douglas Connell, senior partner at Turcan Connell, one of Edinburgh’s best-known legal firms, said: “In Scotland there is a leftwing agenda that may now be part of the culture. The long-term direction of travel is that Scotland will become a more highly taxed country.”
Alasdair Humphery, an Edinburgh-based director at the property group JLL, said: “It’s difficult to see how a second referendum isn’t closer than it was when this election campaign began. Uncertainty over the future of the union will once again create some hesitation over investing in Scotland.”
Publicly, business groups including the CBI struck a neutral tone on the SNP’s success, with some executives saying the prospect of Britain leaving the EU was a bigger concern.
But even though the SNP will not be in power in Westminster, some Scotland-based financial services groups that serve customers across the UK are nervous at the possibility of diverging tax regimes for pensions, savings and investments.
Owen Kelly, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise, which represents the financial services industry, said full-blown fiscal autonomy for Scotland could “raise some of the questions that came up in the independence referendum”.
A wholesale transfer of tax powers would be likely to have “clear consequences for business. They’d have to serve two separate markets, and that would be more costly for customers.” However, he added: “We’re going to wait and see how things pan out.”
One senior Edinburgh-based banker put it more bluntly. He said the “unholy alliance” of the Conservatives and SNP was “a nightmare outcome if you are a Scottish unionist”.
However, Barney Reynolds, head of financial institutions advisory at the law firm Shearman & Sterling, said that compared with the potential implications of a Yes vote in the independence referendum last year, the SNP’s Westminster gains were a “very small deal” for the sector.
“It clearly affects the political backdrop, and that in time could lead to other things, but for now it’s not something that affects financial services location per se.”
Alastair Ross, an Edinburgh-based public policy expert at international law firm Pinsent Masons, said claims that the SNP was “anti-business” were ill-founded. “The party’s track record in Holyrood shows it’s keen to work with business,” he said.
He added that neither London nor Edinburgh could “afford to be dragged into continual dispute. They need to demonstrate that the UK [including Scotland] remains a viable and attractive market place for investment”.
Insurance has many functions and benefits, some of which we may describe as primary and others as ancillary or secondary, as follows:
Primary functions/benefits: Insurance is essentially a risk transfer mechanism, removing, for a premium, the potential financial loss from the individual and placing it upon the insurer. The primary benefit is seen in the financial compensation made available to insured victims of the various insured events. On the commercial side, this enables businesses to survive major fires, liabilities, etc. From a personal point of view, the money is of great help in times of tragedy (life insurance) or other times of need.
Ancillary functions/benefits: Insurance contributes to society directly or indirectly in many different ways. These will include:
(i) employment: the insurance industry is a significant factor in the local workforce;
(ii) financial services: since the relative decline in manufacturing in Hong Kong, financial services have assumed a much greater role in the local economy, insurance being a major element in the financial services sector;
(iii) loss prevention and loss reduction (collectively referred to as ‘loss control’): the practice of insurance includes various surveys and inspections related to risk management (see 1.1.3(b) above). These are followed by requirements (conditions for acceptance of risk) and/or recommendations to improve the ‘risk’. As a consequence, we may say that there are fewer fires, accidents and other unwanted happenings;
(iv) savings/investments: life insurance, particularly, offers a convenient and effective way of providing for the future. With the introduction of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes in 2000, the value of insurance products in providing for the welfare of people in old age or family tragedy is very evident;
(v) economic growth/development: it will be obvious that few people would venture their capital on costly projects without the protection of insurance (in most cases, bank financing will just not be available without insurance cover). Thus, developments of every kind, from erection of bridges to building construction and a host of other projects, are encouraged and made possible partly because insurance is available.
Take steps to re-set your passwords but only once the provider has patched.
Keep a close eye on your online transactions (credit card, bank account, and other financial statements).
Moving Forward
Heartbleed is also a clear reminder that you must have a strong ongoing ID/Password policy:
Change your passwords on a regular basis – every 60 days is recommended.
Do not use the same password on multiple sites.
Use strong passwords – Containing 8+ characters, including both upper and lower case letters and numbers, and special characters if allowed (“!”, “$”, etc.).
Continue to be vigilant – Watch for more news on Heartbleed and viruses.
This overview contains summaries from an article created by Steve Anderson, hosted on his ‘Tech Tips’ website
At our 8th annual Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council Meeting, we had some great conversations about data, both as part of the formal event agenda and also via informal discussions during breaks or meals. Many of the trending or future technologies being discussed (Internet of Things, wearable devices, social media) from an insurer perspective are really just more and bigger channels of data. And just in case you think insurance data is lacking in thrills: my favorite story of the day was about auto insurers looking for fraud or stolen vehicles by integrating data feeds from the license plate scanners used by bounty hunters.
At the analytics breakout session I had the opportunity to sit around a table with CIOs from a variety of insurers of different sizes and lines. One thing that struck me was how much big data and big data technology is part of the conversation. Novarica typically urges caution when asked about big data, stressing that insurers shouldn’t go looking for a use case to fit a technology. But it seems that more insurers are finding the use case which leads them towards a big data approach, and it raises questions about the future of the enterprise data warehouse.
Building a data warehouse with a single data model that supports the whole business is notoriously difficult, with a success rate that drops as the amount of data and number of lines of business get larger, until becoming a near impossibility. A big data approach allows bringing together many different data sources with different structures without having to go through the normalizing and cleansing process that often derails EDW projects. While both approaches have value, larger insurers are discovering the big data route may be their only option for cross-business analysis. And some smaller insurers see this as a way to rapidly gather and review data as well, often running side-by-side with an existing data warehouse. In fact, in at least one case, an insurer’s big data lake has become the first step in the data workflow, with a data extraction from it feeding the older data warehouse as a way to maintain legacy processes.
We’re currently reaching out to the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Councilwith a survey about analytics and big data, so will be reporting soon on just how many insurers have taken a big data approach. But even though we expect the percentages to remain small, it’s clear the growth will continue. The tools and options around big data are increasing and more vendors are providing services that make it easier for insurers to leverage big data tech without having to build it from scratch themselves. In time, I expect to see more insurers running a big data project alongside an enterprise data warehouse, and, in some cases, taking over as the hub of that insurer’s data.
This blog entry has been republished with permission.
Readers are encouraged to respond using the “Add Your Comments” box below.
The opinions posted in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of Insurance Networking News or SourceMedia.
Savvy listeners to this morning's Allstate earnings call heard a lot more than just financial-performance numbers. The company's executive leadership demonstrated that technology innovation is driving strategy at a high level.
Not only did CEO Tom Wilson cite the opportunity in the "connected consumer" in noting that Allstate has "three-quarters of a million" DriveWise and DriveSense customers (the former is the Allstate-branded telematics offering, while the latter is Esurance's), but he also said: "We continued laying the foundation to reduce low value added tasks by our agencies while increasing their ability to provide trusted advice to customers."
Translated: We are going to take minor administrative tasks out of our agents' hands and let them focus on more valuable relationship-building. That was confirmed later by company president Matthew Winter, who said, "We are trying to use data analytics, emerging technologies, and centralized support services to pull [certain tasks] out of the agencies."
It's an example of how technology strategy has matured at insurance companies over the past decade or so. Rather than disintermediating agents, the increased ability to use direct contact with customers to automate certain tasks frees up agents' ability to focus on customer acquisition. And, of course, they're getting technology tools to do so on that end.
Another key insight came from Don Civgin, president of emerging businesses for Allstate. In response to a question about raising premium rates on customers, Civgin showed how Allstate made a data-driven decision to identify the source of increased claims frequency and adjust accordingly.
"We did a very intense, deep dive into our business to ensure that the increases in frequency that we’ve seen were proportional across the business. We looked at new and renewal business, higher and lower growth states, and across different rating plans," he said. "All of that review showed that this trend is externally driven by miles driven."
In fact, miles driven were 3.9% higher than normal for the period across the board, according to externally sourced data, Civgin said. And, Allstate was able to use its own data to confirm that because of its telematics initiatives.
"Because we keep our DriveWise device in the car, we’re able to look at that data on an ongoing basis. So we have our own specific proprietary data that shows the trend" toward more miles being driven in a period and corresponding upticks in claims, Civgin explained.
The upshot is that from distribution to pricing, analytic excellence is helping Allstate and other large insurers drive their strategies, confirming that insurance is positioned to become a leading industry for leveraging the full potential of analytics
Low on cash? Always behind on your bills? Interested in starting to save up for a big purchase or investment? Here are 30 tips for your personal financial life:
1. Spend less than you have
In a world of easily-available credit, this is perhaps the most important and overlooked rule. Spending less than what you have allows for all the other maneuvering of financial success because you can start saving money on the side. The sum that you save, over time, will become the money that you either invest or play with in order to make even more money.
2. Emergency management
Your first concern should be a stash of readily-available emergency cash for that moment in life when an unexpected event leaves you in need of a large sum of money. Such unfortunate events could be anything from identity theft to medical emergencies or a hostage situation. Start building up a savings account by scheduling automatic transfers form your checking account – that way you don’t even have to think about it.
3. Cancel cards
If you have more than one or two credit cards, you’re clearly spending more than you should be and more than you have. Start canceling the extra cards and paying off the debt with saved money. Also, with multiple accounts in different places, you’re very likely to miss errors that companies make or potential account breaches.
4. Eliminate debt
Being in debt can often mean that no matter how much you earn, you’re actually making no profit because your debt is costing you a high interest rate. After starting your savings fund, your next focus should be on eliminating costly debt. Make double payments each month – not minimum payments – to start reducing the debt itself. Start with whichever loan has the highest interest rate.
5. Retirement fund
We often ignore the eventuality of old age and the fact that we’ll need a lot of money for care at that point. Open up a retirement fund, sooner rather than later – either a 401K through your place of employment, or a Roth IRA account – and start saving. Contributing a small fraction of your salary each week will make a small dent in your budget and pay off in the end.
6. Balance a checkbook and build a budget
The process of balancing a checkbook or bank statement is becoming a lost art in the digital age. Similarly, building a budget can teach you valuable lessons about financial responsibility. It will be helpful to know how much you actually spend each month and on what, versus what you make on an hourly or weekly basis. This can put many purchases and expenditures into perspective.
7. Slim down
Look over all of the monthly bills that you usually ignore. Do this every month, checking for mistakes and cutting them down where possible. This could involve canceling cable altogether and starting to watch TV online or simply turning off more lights at home to reduce your electric bill.
8. Figure out your hourly wage.
If you don’t know this outright, figure out how much you make per hour and use this figure as a reference point when making purchases from now on.
9. Set goals
What do you want your future life to look like? What do you want it to consist of? A house? Vacations? Start planning for your goals in terms of time and money and they will become more realistic and attainable.
10. Rent your house
You should not own a house unless the total monthly cost of keeping and funding it (utilities, etc.) is less than what you would be paying for rent. While the idea of home ownership is attractive, it should be approached only after you’ve saved enough money. The money that you save while renting can eventually go to a down payment on a home.
11. Obey traffic laws
It’s shocking how much money people throw away on parking and traffic tickets. Start obeying traffic laws and eliminate this expense from your life. Driving slower also saves gas, one of the biggest expenses in a person’s daily life.
12. Rate reduction
Whatever loans you have outstanding could have their interest rates reduced, depending on the bank or company that lent you the money. Be sure to explore the options they offer for rate reduction. Sometime debt consolidation can achieve the same outcome.
13. Don’t touch
Once you have a retirement fund, keep your hands off of it. It can be tempting to dip into these savings to pay for big purchases, but it’s a slippery slope.
14. Invest
Once your savings start adding up, you should start to think about investing, where your money could be making a lot more returns for you than if it stayed in your savings account, where it earns a low amount of interest. For long-term investments, safe stocks are usually a wise choice. Don’t be bothered by temporary volatility – if you hold for the long term, they usually offer good returns. It could also benefit you to have some money invested in United States bonds and Treasury notes. These are very safe investments, although they only show significant returns after long periods of time.
15. 401K matching
Many employers offer to match their employee’s contributions to an individual retirement fund. Read up on the rules of such arrangements and make sure that you are getting every penny you could be form your employer’s matching program. This is free money – take it.
16. Shop the list
Go grocery-shopping with a list – it will prevent you from wandering aimlessly and picking up unnecessary food items along the way. It will also allow you to incorporate your weekly food expenses into a budget and try to reduce it with time.
17. Weekly review
Once a week, review what you’ve spent, saved and how you’ve done so. Think about your work week, its achievements and mistakes. Plan your next week and what you would like to take care of in the coming days. This is a very beneficial practice for people with solid goals.
18. Start your own business
Almost all of us have some kind of career dreams – a job we have always wanted to try. Start spending some of your free time learning or planning whatever needs to be done to eventually open up your own venture. Don’t be afraid to start small and slow: a website or YouTube vlog or local group related to whatever your passion is.
19. 30 days of thought
Before making very large purchases, think about the product you’re considering for 30 days. This will let the excitement dissipate and give you time to evaluate whether you REALLY need this item in your life. This time can also be used to research cheaper options and competitor’s prices.
20. Bad habits
Start eliminating the completely unnecessary habits that cost a lot of money: parties, alcohol, fancy coffee, cigarettes, taxis, etc.
21. Compare
Start visiting supermarkets you wouldn’t usually go to and compare prices in your area. You’d be surprised how much you can save over time, simply by shopping at stores with cheaper prices for the exact same products. Many times you’re paying for a store’s real estate and ad campaigns rather than the products you need.
22. Get on the bus
While initially unthinkable to many people, using public transportation or carpooling can eliminate a lot of expense and stress from one’s daily life. Think of all the gas money you’ll save! Do you even know your neighborhood’s bus routes and schedules? The commute to your place of work might be as simple as one bus line.
23. Realize
It’s time to come to the realization, if you haven’t already, that “stuff” will not make you any happier, more popular, loved or successful. This knowledge allows you to stop wasting a lot of the money many people do on stuff that will never retain its value. The real way that money can improve your life is by reducing stress and providing security.
This budding Zone 2 hotspot in east London holds plenty of appeal for young buyers. We take a look at the new homes available for first-time buyers...
Rebranding: new-build properties and cafés line Regent’s Canal, dubbed the Haggerston Riviera. Image: Alex Lentati
A remarkable wave of regeneration and gentrification has transformed the East End over the past five years. Areas that buyers might once have dismissed are today too expensive to consider.
Which is why the chance to buy a share of a one-bedroom flat in Haggerston for just less than £130,000 is a great opportunity for first-time buyers.
Its location makes it perfect walking distance to Brick Lane, Broadway Market, Hoxton or London Fields.
READ MORE: LONDON HOMES FOR UNDER £300,000
L&Q has 48 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes for sale on a shared ownership basis at The City Mills development on Haggerston Road. Later in the year, another 74 homes, including two houses, will be launched.
Each property at The City Mills has its own balcony or terrace and some come with parking spaces. Prices start at £129,500 for a 35 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat with a full market value of £370,000.
Priority will be given to people who live in Hackney and north-east London. For more information, call L&Q on 0844 406 9800.
There are many advantages to life at The City Mills. It is a five-minute walk to Haggerston station, which has services to either Moorgate or King’s Cross in less than 30 minutes.
It’s on the East London Line with direct services to Canary Wharf and, for those who prefer the Tube, Hoxton station is about half a mile away.
There is also green space nearby, such as Haggerston Park, which is home to Hackney City Farm, and masses to do within a short walk. Perfect chance: prices for shared ownership apartments at The City Mills start from £129,500 for a 35 per cent share Its only downsides are that, as yet, Haggerston is mainly a residential area, which means there is not a real centre. So you may have to walk for 10 minutes to reach your morning shot of caffeine.
And it is not the most beautiful place on earth, being a target of Second World War bombing and shameful Sixties and Seventies cheap and poorly designed social housing.
On the bright side, it has many attractions including the fabulous Geffrye Museum and Columbia Road Shops & Flower Market.
Nick Robinson, of estate agents Blake Stanley, says that the housing market here is “nice and strong, but not nutty” and he believes that over the next few years annual price growth will be healthy but not dramatic — between five and 10 per cent.
His typical buyers are 25- to 35-year-olds on good salaries and backed by financial assistance from their families.
“A lot of parents are dragged here by their kids and have never been here before — they are quite surprised that they are in east London,” adds Robinson.
There are few family houses so it is a young buyers’ market.
As well as London professionals, Robinson is also seeing overseas buyers helping to stimulate the market by investing in new-build homes along Regent’s Canal. First-time buy: a good-sized (646sq ft) two-bedroom flat in a modern development on Celandine Drive is with Currell (020 3318 7460) for £479,000
THE KNOWLEDGE: HAGGERSTON
Past: when the Domesday Book was being written, Haggerston was a tiny, rural hamlet.
Future: two of Haggerston’s post-war estates — Haggerston West and Kingsland — are in the throes of a £110 million regeneration, which will include 761 new homes.
Trivial pursuit: Edmond Halley, who discovered that comet, was born in Haggerston.
What it costs: average property prices stand at £438,977, up 4.69 per cent in the past year. Two-bedroom flats typically rent for £2,015pcm.
Landmarks: Haggerston School, designed by Ernö Goldfinger of Trellick Tower fame.
Eat: at Draughts café, where customers are encouraged to play board games. There are also cafés alongside Regent’s Canal if you can overcome the embarrassment of patronising an area recently rebranded the “Haggerston Riviera”.
Drink: at the Proud Archivist, a quirky bar/restaurant/event space, or at the Haggerston pub, a local institution.
Buy: wonderful mid-century furniture at Two Columbia Road.
Walk: to London Fields and take a dip in its heated lido.
It’s been a wild ride for MESSENGER, the NASA spacecraft that has offered mankind its best insight into the mysteries of Mercury. Just 10 feet long and no heavier than a Friesian cow, the tiny ship has traveled 5 billion miles, flown by three planets and completed the first-ever map of the “first rock from the sun.”
That all comes to a crashing conclusion Thursday, when the ship is due to perish in a massive impact with the planet it so diligently documented, according to the space agency. MESSENGER is about 10 and a half years old.
“It’s like losing a member of the family,” mission head Sean Solomon toldScientific American.
NASA knew this day was coming. The craft ran out of propellant last winter and has been slowly spiraling toward Mercury’s surface ever since.
Since then, the only thing keeping MESSENGER aloft was the creativity of the scientists who run it. After exhausting the liquid propellant used to keep the craft in motion, the team jerry-rigged an alternative source of fuel from the helium used to maintain pressure inside the ship’s gas tanks.
It was the first time anyone had tried to extend a spacecraft’s life this way, Stewart Bushman, lead propulsion engineer for the mission, told Astronomy Magazine. Finding replacement fuel is so rarely necessary, since something else almost always goes wrong on a spacecraft first.
But MESSENGER’s life story has been one of defied expectations.
The spacecraft, whose name stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging, launched in August 2004. It was the first mission in nearly 30 years dedicated to studying the planet closest to the sun. Its predecessor, Mariner 10, was able to photograph just half the planet in a handful of flybys before running out of fuel and losing radio contact with Earth.
This time, scientists said, the spacecraft wasn’t just going to zoom past Mercury and snap some photos. MESSENGER was scheduled to spend a full year in orbit around the little-studied planet, mapping its surface, probing its atmosphere and investigating its interior.
“It took technology more than 30 years … to bring us to the brink of discovering what Mercury is all about,” Solomon said in a State Department press release issued the day of the launch. “By the time this mission is done we will see Mercury as a much different planet than we think of it today.”
Solomon was right, possibly more so than he could have imagined.
After journeying 5 billion miles through space, conducting multiple flybys of Earth, Venus and Mars, MESSENGER pulled into Mercury’s orbit on March 17, 2011. A little over a week later, it sent home the first ever image of Mercury taken from orbit. The photo showed a vast, gray, pockmarked expanse of rock, seemingly even more barren than the moon.
This image, taken March 29, 2011, is the first ever obtained from a spacecraft in orbit around Mercury.But the MESSENGER mission revealed that there was much more to Mercury than meets the eye. Beneath that bland, gray exterior, the planet has a massive, spinning iron core that generates its magnetic field. Unlike Earth’s core, this one appears to be liquid and huge — about 85 percent of the planet’s radius.
That boiling liquid rock is entirely beneath the planet’s surface, but among MESSENGER’s other discoveries was that, in its early years, Mercuryseethed with volcanic activity. Scientists used to think that the planet lacked the “volatile compounds” needed for explosive eruptions, believing that such molecules were either fried or blasted away during Mercury’s formation. But evidence that volcanoes did explode, and that some of those “volatiles” still remain, meant that scientists had to reconsider their assumptions about the planet’s origin.
“This research is revolutionizing our thinking about the early history of the planets and satellites,” Jim Head, a MESSENGER mission co-investigator, said in a press release about the study.
Other surprises from MESSENGER’s four years in orbit include the observation of seasons within its barely-existent atmosphere, the realization that the planet is contracting as it cools and the discovery of unexplained, shallow “hollows” marring the planet’s surface.
One of the mission’s biggest headlines came in 2012, when MESSENGER provided absolute confirmation that there is ice on Mercury. Given the planet’s wispy atmosphere and dangerous proximity to the sun (Mercury’s orbit brings it three times closer than Earth’s and subjects it to solar rays that are 11 times as strong), it seemed a poor candidate for finding water, particularly in frozen form. But for years, telescope observations kept revealing strange bright patches at the planet’s poles.
MESSENGER gave scientists the first opportunity to examine those patches up close. What they found surprised them: Because the planet doesn’t tilt on its axis, there are pockets at the poles that never see sunlight. In those pockets, researchers found clumps of ice accumulated beneath a layer of dark, organic material. Not life, but something on the way to it.
“I don’t think anybody could count Mercury as habitable,” Solomon told Scientific American. But that organic material — “the ingredients for habitability,” as Solomon called it — must have come from somewhere. How it wound on Mars is a mystery space researchers are itching to solve.
“Those polar regions, I think, are calling out to people … and saying, ‘Send us another spacecraft, we have more stories to tell,’” Solomon told the LA Times.
All the while, MESSENGER took more than 270,000 images of Mercury’s surface, helping NASA to produce the first-ever complete map of the planet.
The year-long orbital mission was so successful that NASA extended it in 2012. The use of helium to propel the craft helped extend its lifespan even further, allowing scientists to collect more data. Even now, as the craft hurtles toward its doom, MESSENGER is beaming data to researchers back on Earth.
In this undated photo provided by NASA, technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Titusville, Fla., prepare the MESSESNGER spacecraft for a move to a hazardous processing facility in preparation for loading the spacecraft’s hypergolic propellants. (NASA via AP)
One of the last transmissions was a series of spectrometer images showing variations in the minerals that make up the planet’s crust.
Since Mercury has an insubstantial atmosphere, MESSENGER won’t burn up as it descends. Instead, it’ll crash into Mercury at a speed of about 2.5 miles per second, according to Scientific American, adding its own small impact crater to the hundreds that pock the planet’s surface.
It’s a bittersweet end for the researchers who have spent over a decade following the spacecraft from afar.
“We’re at the end of a really successful mission, and we can’t do anything anymore to stop it from doing what it naturally wants to do,” Thomas Zurbuchen, a member of MESSENGER’s science team, said in a statement. “The sun is pulling on it. The planet is pulling on it. It’s just physics. It has to crash.”
Low mileage discount is the reduced premium for annual mileage, which comes under a certain cap. They vary with every provider. Typically, the mileage cap is between 7500-15000 miles per year. You must ask your auto insurance company for low mileage discount, if your annual mileage does not exceed this range.
How to get low mileage discount
First, you need to estimate your mileage as some insurers go through verification. According to a comparative data gathered, savings from these discounts will be in an average about 2 %
nationwide, if annual mileage is below 7000. It can be at maximum 20 % in some states where laws consider low mileage to be a rating factor.
You can also let the insurance company measure your annual mileage. Pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) program is also offered by several insurance companies that provides you a small discount at renewal time. Here many drivers save up to 30-50 %, if they are not regular drivers. You can also check some more insurance programs like what is collision insurance.
You can get a low mileage discount by a pure pay-by-the-mile, which is offered by some companies in very few states where your next month’s bill is affected by the factor of how much a person drives.
Pay-as-you-drive policies
The pay-as-you-drive models are very beneficial for low mileage drivers. Several insurance companies provide a good amount of introductory discount that vary from 5-10 %. This offer applies only until the incoming data is used to compute the discount of your future renewal. The amount may change at every renewal period once the data is used to compute your discount.
There are also many other advantages of PAYD devices rather than just to record mileage. They can also measure speed, acceleration, braking and location through current plans that do not compute discounts based on GPS data.
When to ask about low mileage discounts?
You can consider a low mileage discount even if you are unsure about annual mileage. You can ask for mileage discounts in following situations.
If you are retired and a senior driver
If you join a car pool that reduces your number of days of driving
If you purchase a second car for running errands
When you are not driving to work and it lessens your annual mileage.
Usage based programs and discount
“Pay-as-you-drive” or “pay-as-you-go” is some of the insurance programs that are offered by many car insurance companies. By reviewing your driving habits by car insurance company, you can also get a personalized premium. The discount may also go up to 50 % based on your driving skills. The costumer can also get a customized discount. The better a person drives the more he can save.
You can also get a discount just for signing up the program and also to install the device in some cases. A small telematics device is attached to your vehicle when you sign up the usage-based insurance program. It monitors.
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Low mileage discount is the reduced premium for annual mileage, which comes under a certain cap. They vary with every provider. Typically, the mileage cap is between 7500-15000 miles per year. You must ask your auto insurance company for low mileage discount, if your annual mileage does not exceed this range.