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Celebrating one month of KDE 3.3 out in the wild, userinstinct put together a usability review with user testing. "Based on feedback from our test group, the default settings for a number of KDE parameters differ from what is usually expected and desired by users. Providing better defaults would reduce the time users spend looking for configuration settings and would provide a better "out-of-the-box" experience."
Really nice read. KDE is *this close* to be just absolutely amazing. All it needs is to hide advanced options and reorganize options in menues and toolbars with one idea in mind: NOT overwhelm the user. The Konqueror Settings Dialog is a good example. It is just way too cluttered.
I love the way they handle these issues on Mac OS (for what I peeped other people using it). I also like the simplicity of XFCE-4. It replaced GNOME as a secondary desktop on my machines. It really is a pleasure to use (although it lacks most of the KDE features, but it's worth a look).
All in all, KDE is an outstanding DE. But if I were to vote for one direction of improvement, it would be usability, in the sense discussed in the article. Simplicity in the design, and sensible default values.
A little time ago I read here in the dot that a few professional usability experts joined the project ? This will be terrific. Are hey working for Novell ?
> A little time ago I read here in the dot that a few professional usability experts joined the project ? This will be terrific. Are hey working for Novell ?
Yup, the lead usability guy at SUSE, Dr. Siegfried Olschner, spends half of his time in writing the new human interface guidelines for KDE. I think Novell has a couple other people in their suse usability group working mostly on KDE-related suff as well. Other people would know more, of course.
The OpenUsability folks work mostly at relevantive, a usability firm in Germany.
Is this SUSE guy backed by the KDE core developers?
I think should be annoying if Novell force his work into KDE.
After all, one reason most of us use KDE and do not use Gnome is that all this nice and smart guys are in charge and corporations can provide resources but do not steer the project vision and direction.
Very sad if we have our own "KoneME" in a year or two.
Besides this concerns, I want to rise find a different (but connected, and larguely discussed already) question:
Is KDE willing to ease things for new users from the Windows world in spite of fellow user (KDE 1.0 myself) who likes KDE as it is, who likes its defaults and the clever way it is constructed? Should their developers simply drop their vision about how things should work because most people is not used to this and do not care if there are better things to do this? This happens already. I love the original vision of Konqui, but if I have to customize it from scratch, I already have to set MIMEs to open into Konq all the way despite the fact this is a strong paradigm in its design!
I hope the answer could be a very KDE-like one: A new step in the customizing wizard, asking for sensible defaults for (at least) die-hard KDE users, for Windows users, for Mac users, and for Gnome users.
> Is this SUSE guy backed by the KDE core developers?
yes. he gave a good presentation at aKademy, discussed a lot of usability related things with various people and was invited to join in on our guidelines rewrite. he requested and was given the go-ahead to do so by his SUSE/Novell managers, which is really cool on their part. he's now working alongside the rest of the guideline writers to help make it a success.
> Is KDE willing to ease things for new users from the Windows
> world in spite of fellow user (KDE 1.0 myself) who likes KDE
> as it is, who likes its defaults and the clever way it is
> constructed? Should their developers simply drop their
> vision about how things should work because most people
> is not used to this and do not care if there are better
> things to do this?
speaking only from my own personal perspective, i don't think these two goals are at logger-heads. we can make KDE a comfortable place for newcomers and retain our vision. we don't have to become a clone to become usable and adopted. we do have to become more usable to be more widely adopted, however, just as we need more capabilities/features to be more widely adopted.
some of the reasons Konqi doesn't reach its full potential is not so much because it needs to be tailored to new user expectations, but rather because of usability problems that create collateral damage effects. for instance, right now when you view a file in Konqi, how do you move to edit it? it's not apparent to the user, so we need to open it in a new window by default more often. this is completely solvable, however, and it will be one day =)
many other similar issues exist. as we improve the ergonomics and interaction mechanisms in KDE, we will actually be able to promote our vision more clearly and effectively.
erm, i think it's "half a day a week", not half his time ;-) still, it's awesome and i personally really appreciate his and SUSE/Novell's commitment in this regard. Siggie is a great guy, and he's brilliant to boot. like a lot of the people in KDE, it seems =)
People really should not comment on OS X unless they've actually used it for some time. It is really not the shining example of usability everyone holds it for. Some niggles I have found over a year and a half of OS X usage:
* Inconsistent design and use philosophies between apps derived from the Next heritage (Mail) and apps derived from OS 9 (iTunes).
* Inconsistent look & feel (brushed metal, Cocoa, Carbon -- won't complain about the legacy OS 9 apps or the X11 apps)
* It's hard to discover the "advanced" options. No Mac user I know knows you can switch between documents in the same application with apple-tilde, and everyone is delighted to hear about it. I only knew because I've read the OS X HIG from cover to cover.
* The new finder is completely unpredictable in when it will show itself in which way.
* The font rendering is really quite bad, compared to Freetype.
* OS X has no package management, meaning it can be hard to uninstall software that doesn't keep to the everything-in-one folder concept. There are a myriad ways of installing software, too.
Of course, there are good points, too, like the quality of iTunes or iPhoto. But in the end, in my experience, OS X isn't much better than KDE as a Unix shell.
Exactly. I tried MacOSX too and found it terrible that you can choose between 2 minimize-animations but cannot switch off minimize animations. So it slows you down all the time.
But that's not the point. The point is that Apple isn't good as usability or ergonomy (they aren't. Just look at the "puck-mouse") they are good at marketing. (way better than Microsoft, BTW) If it's from Apple, it "must be" easy, intuitive and user-friendly.
Apple has had a good usability back in the days of Mac OS 7 (including hard user interfaces: keyboard and mouse). This is what Gnome tries to copy / build on today.
while this is quite true, the desktop computing world has moved on and is almost nothing like it was back then. our interfaces must evolve in response to the growing amount of data, number of sources and diversity of interaction requirements involved in a modern computing/communication environment.
Also while back computers were limited in processing power, so you couldn't multitask as easily as you can now, so the UI must adapt to allow efficient multitasking for the user..
On this topic, my pet peeve is that "Splashscreen should DIE", they steal the focus (prevent multitasking), some can removed by clicking on it, some can't which is even more annoying.
If you activated by mistake an app or you change your mind, there is no way to close the app because splash screen can't be closed nor minimised..
IMHO "splash Window" would be *MUCH* better: I call splash window the same thing as a splash screen but embedded inside a window frame with the normal minimize/close button.
Now this is more an OOo problem than a KDE problem fortunately..
Except, of course, in the Kontact App...
Kontact loads quite fast for me in the 3.3 series !
kontact --nosplash
> On this topic, my pet peeve is that "Splashscreen should DIE",
> Now this is more an OOo problem than a KDE problem fortunately..
Wow, there's a blast from the past. I'd forgotten just how annoying the open office splash was. Anyway, you don't need to suffer unless you really want to:
That said, this definitely falls within the realm of sane defaults, and I agree that "Splashscreen should DIE" is a sane default.
Hopefully the Kontact splash will be disable-able at some stage, but at least like all KDE splash screens you just have to click on it to make the damn thing go away.
> People really should not comment on OS X unless they've actually
> used it for some time. It is really not the shining example of
> usability everyone holds it for.
Point well taken :-) Ant thanks for sharing your experience. But I still think that a quick impression to a new interface is important. I have shared work with Mac OS X users, where we sit in front of their laptop, and we collaborate on research. And the interface does look clean, context menues seem reasonable, etc. You are not presented with lists of dozens options. Just a few, well thought options. I am not saying we have to go OS X. Or that everything they do in terms of usability is just perfect.
However, companies like Mac and the Redmond monopolists do invest a lot of money on usability, and they come up with software that doesn't scare a user with no technical inclination. And we can learn a few tricks from peeping at their UI's eveyonce in a while.
We are getting better in the FS world. Some Linux distros are making things look more end-user friendly. KDE is helping a lot. But there is still a gap to cross unless we want to mostly target techies.
A point in case: Configuration layout in Konqueror (KDE 3.2.3). Imagine a non-techie. Someone who just wants to search the web and manage files. She/he opens "Konqueror -> Settings": 17 freaking option categories. Seventeen. Names like "crypto", "stylesheets", "Proxy". This is not end-user friendly. Don't get me wrong. I love to fool around with these options. But an end user freaks out. Just because they don't care. The same way I don't care about lawyer-talk, fashion and so many other things.
But what if you opened "Konqueror -> Settings" and you had 2 options:
"configure file management" or "Configure web browsing". Maybe a third category for common options. And then within "Configure web browsing", just a few understandable categories. "Look and Feel", "Plugins", "Pop-up blocker", "Advanced Options". I think that this is the sort of approach the article is trying to encourage. And I think it is the way to go.
In the meantime, I choose to use Mandrake linux with KDE as a default DE, and my whole family does. Things are good, they just could be better :-)
Cheers !
"A point in case: Configuration layout in Konqueror (KDE 3.2.3). Imagine a non-techie. Someone who just wants to search the web and manage files. She/he opens "Konqueror -> Settings": 17 freaking option categories. Seventeen. Names like "crypto", "stylesheets", "Proxy". This is not end-user friendly."
I know quite a couple of people like that. And guess what, it's completely irrelevant how many options are there because they never see them because they never change the defaults in the first place.
"But what if you opened "Konqueror -> Settings" and you had 2 options:
"configure file management" or "Configure web browsing". Maybe a third category for common options. And then within "Configure web browsing", just a few understandable categories. "Look and Feel", "Plugins", "Pop-up blocker", "Advanced Options". I think that this is the sort of approach the article is trying to encourage. And I think it is the way to go."
So instead of a couple of options you want to have more options (= when you split up everything in "normal" and "advanced" you have twice as much and put the whole thing in a tree instead of a flat structure. It's got a lot more complicated.
Human beings are not computers. It takes extra processing for them to ignore irrelevent information. Say someone opens up a control panel with 17 options, vs one with 5. If something only has 5 options, the user can take it in at a glance, and immediately find the one she wants. If it has 17, she has to scan through each one (and make a decision about whether it's the one she wants or not), before getting to the one she wants. Humans are built to recognize and process small sets quickly. That's why you can easily group things in threes or fours, but not in tens. If you ignore this "feature" of the brain, the speed at which your UI can work suffers.
So which 5?
I recently installed firefox, replacing mozilla on my linux box. My wife prefers mozilla to konqueror because it prints legibly.
Right off, she asked where is the print icon on the toolbar?
This move to minimizing the user interface reminds me of 'nouveau cuisine', where you sit at an expensive establishment, the plate comes with a couple of slivers of carrots and a tiny piece of fish, all presented elegantly. Everyone talks about how wonderful the meal was, how exquisite the service. And on the way home you pick up a pizza because you are still hungry.
You should have just told her to use File -> Print. That's what the menu is there for --- it's a canonical listing of all of a program's features. A toolbar is just an optimization. Specifically, it is one whose usefulness is couched in two principles:
1) Human beings are good at processing small sets, with the maximum number for comfortable recall being 5-7 (from psychological studies).
2) Human beings are good at recognizing distinctive visual objects.
If your toolbar contains elements that cause it to violate (1) or (2), then it is no longer useful as an optimization.
Given a large sample population of users, you can develop a rank-ordering of how often each icon is used. The decision of what to put into the toolbar, then, becomes a matter of filling the toolbar in rank-order, subject to the constraints of number and distinctiveness.
Things should be in the toolbar because they are used often, not because people expect them to be there. People will learn, with use, to know where to expect things. They cannot learn to deal with more items at a glance than their brain allows.
PS> It is interesting to consider an example of an application where (1) and (2) cannot be fulfilled easily. In that case, a toolbar really isn't very usefull at all. Consider the user-interface of Softimage XSI (which many consider to be the most productive 3D modeler in existance). There aren't really any main toolbars like what you'll see in Maya. Instead, the "toolbars", are just sets of buttons with text-labels. They are more of an extension to the main menu than anything else. The reasoning is that there are too many options to present a scanable toolbar with visually distinct icons. Trying to make a toolbar out of those would just lead to the user linearly scanning a list of cryptic icons (*cough* Maya *cough*), which is slower than using a menubar of text labels.
No you got it wrong.
Mozilla had a print button on the toolbar. Firefox doesn't.
Somebody optimized things alright. Someone decided that there shouldn't be any more than some imaginary number of icons, so they optimized away something that is useful. And used. And requires training to show another way.
You suggest using the menu. You suggest I show her how to do something she knows how to do with another way because it isn't appropriate somehow.
What if there are 6 common uses of a piece of software, where theory suggests that 5 is optimum? Where does usability change from trying to help users into attempting to influence the way they use the tools?
The toolbar in an application serves two purposes:
1. (most important) It removes the overhead of pulling down a menu for items that are used very frequently (more than once per session). Printing definitely does not fall into this category for the average web user. (For exceptional cases, the toolbars are editable).
2. (less important) It guides the user by showing them the *few* most relevant and important actions they can perform at any time. Printing is an action that might fall into this category, but most users will expect that they can print web pages, and when they want to print they will specifically search for the print option, so they do not need to be reminded that it exists by a toolbar button. The number of icons on the toolbar should be kept VERY SMALL to avoid cluttering the interface and intimidating new users. (see the user comments on Konqueror's interface from this study...) So it still seems to me that the print button should not be on the toolbar.
So there are good usability arguments for not having the print icon on the toolbar. However, since the print icon has been there in previous browsers, we also have to consider the impact that removing it will have on those users. This is where usability testing is needed, to tell: 1. how many users will be affected, and 2. how severe the effect will be. In the case of the print icon, though, I think I can predict the outcome: users will easily find the standard print menu option in its standard place in Firefox's menus. Thus, Firefox was justified in removing the print icon.
Often people use bogus "usability" arguments in attempts to push their interface ideas on other people. However, that doesn't mean that doing things in the name of usability is always bad. In this case, it is likely that the users really are better served by removing the print button. (to be absolutely sure requires extensive user testing).
You know, for me, I think the key is, simplicity in the way you suggest, but also a very intuitive customization process. You say only exceptional cases might need to edit the toolbar, but the fact is, everyone is an exceptional case in some feature or another. Maybe not printing, or whatever, but maybe some other thing. So intuitive editing of toolbars and interface in general should be there. Like dragging the "Print..." option right off the menu and putting it in the toolbar. (or dragging the whole menu and dropping it as a toolbar). Not hiding the "Edit the toolbar" feature somewhere in the menus (there's nothing wrong with having it in there as well of course, EVERY feature that an app can do should be represented somewhere on the menu -- people use them as documentation for an app). Grabbing things with the mouse and putting them where you want should be a universal, system-wide feature that works with EVERYTHING. That way the user can just expect that when the drag something around it's going to do something rational with it.
It's not a hard limit. That's why I said 5-7. That means that 8 could be okay, 15 is probably bad. It's not some imaginary number, you can crack open any psychology textbook and find it. A printer icon in the toolbar is *not* useful. It takes up to a minute to complete a print-out. You can't possibly use the print feature often enough to warrent it being in the toolbar instead of the menu. A "go to google" icon would probably be much more efficient.
Where does usability change from trying to help users into attempting to influence the way they use the tools?
I find this statement hilarious. Usability should be about influencing the way they use the tools. The tools should be used as efficiently as possible, and the interface should be designed so that the easiest thing to do is use the interface efficiently. Look at it this way: if somebody types improperly, shouldn't you "influence" them to type using the proper form? Further, when your reluctance to influence the user causes you to make a toolbar with 15 entries, then not only do you not encourage them to use the application efficiently, you prevent everyone else from using the application efficiently.
PS> To follow up my other comment, let me clarify the thing about the rank-ordering. People will often say "yeah, 90% of users use only 10%, but it's a different 10%." It is highly unlikely this is the case. If such a statement were true in other fields, industrial design would become nearly impossible. There are lot's of assumptions every designer and engineer makes about the users using his products, and the fact that most of us find our cars comfortable to sit in and use (for example), is a testament to the level of homogeneity of peoples' behaviors. Now, the analogy is a bit off, because computers themselves are multi-purpose tools while cars are special-purpose tools, but applications themselves are essentially special-purpose tools, so it's close.
I really doubt most of people find all cars comfortable to sit in and use right after changing a model or manufacturer, it's always a question of adaption and taste as well as both the object's aand the user's flexibility. With computers it's one level worse since it's even more abtract and the expectation can only be related to prior experience (using KDE as an absolute beginner is easier than after switching system).
That's not really the point. The point is that industrial design (cars, etc) has to take into account a huge range of user preferences and behaviors. If all behaviors and preferences were equally likely (which is implied by the "each user uses a different 10%") then industrial design would be impossible. You couldn't physically design a car to take all those things into account. In reality, people's behaviors and preferences tend to fall into clumps, with surprising homogeneity within clumps. That allows industrial designers to to design for a few combinations of behaviors, and it works quite well in practice.
Odd you mention cars.
I drive an early 90's subaru, and a ford ranger pickup.
One is standard transmission, the other automatic. One has the wipers on the left of the column, the other on the right.
I am always getting things mixed up.
Homogeneity is due to our ability to learn, rather than any natural reflexes.
Industrial design has more to do with keeping the product simple and economical to produce. Or marketing. The goal of most human interface design is to remove unnecessary options so that processes are repeatable and predictable.
I hope this isn't the goal of the usability effort.
I think you've missed the point about this whole usability issue. If you look in most modern cars they have a steering wheel (rather than many other possible alternatives). In addition, in most cars the ignition is in exactly the same place and by god you'll curse if you climb in a different car and you cannot find the windscreen wiper control.
The point is that most people expect to find things in certain places. In addition there is the HSE aspect (you probably want to avoid constantly clicking on the mouse) and if you have used some poorly designed Windows you'll know what I mean...
Now I'm with you when you say that configurability does not need to be sacrificed. But when I've talked to usability consultants in the past I've never heard "you should remove this". However, we did get plenty of advice like 90% of users found this confusing perhaps if you organize like this it will be less confusing.
You can then right-click when your mouse is in the toolbar, click on "Customize" and drag&drop your print icon where you want it to be.
I prefer to have few icons in my toolbar (I use print once or twice each month, so in the file menu is the correct place for that option; but I used "open a new tab" very often so put it there) and be able to have the URL adress box in the same bar in order to avoid loosing place.
Having less options by default and be bale to add them is better than having lots of icons by default and be able to remove them.
That's my thought (and only mine :)
The problem with usability studies is that they take beginners, put them for 30 minutes in front of the system and derive the conclusions out of that 30 minutes.
The problem with following that advice is that you get a system that is great for the first 30 minutes of computer usage, but which will suck for **YEARS** of computer usage that follow.
Browser-tabs are an excellent example. Did anybody use browser-tabs in their first 30 minutes of browsing the web? No, almost certainly not. In a usability study, browser-tabs would be categorized as completely useless and would land on the "remove-because-too-complicated"-list. Another example would be multiple desktops and yet another would be keyboard shortcuts. (Nobody uses keyboard shortcuts in the first 30 minutes of use - THEY MUST BE USELESS!)
While I agree that defaults should be targetted at beginners **when possible** (= without removing or destroying useful features), it's just stupid to remove options and settings.
For what it's worth, I think the KDE-way of usability (watching bugs.kde.org for wishlist items and implementing the good ones) is way superior to any "usability study".
About tabbed interfaces, you may like to read what happened with the usability studies when Microsoft started experimenting with them:
Nice and very interesting read.
Thanks for the link.
Not necessarily gospel, but certainly an informative read.
>The problem with following that advice is that you get a system that is great
>for the first 30 minutes of computer usage, but which will suck for **YEARS**
>of computer usage that follow.
I completely agree. Hope the KDE usability experts will take in consideration not only the user's "first impact" with KDE but also its daily usage (which IMHO is far more important).
>>The problem with following that advice is that you get a system that is great
>>for the first 30 minutes of computer usage, but which will suck for **YEARS**
>>of computer usage that follow.
>I completely agree. Hope the KDE usability experts will take in
>consideration not only the user's "first impact" with KDE but
>also its daily usage (which IMHO is far more important).
I would agree if the conditions were mutually exclusive. But I don't think this is the case. A cleaner, leaner interface would benefit everyone. Unless you take some of the options and features off the picture. But the idea is not to do that. The idea is to present information to the user in a cleaner way. Advanced options and tools should be always accessible for whoever is interested on exploring them.
The trick is prioritize. If 90% of the users use 10% of the options most of the time, make sure these 10% options are highly visible. And the rest are acessible but not on the way.
"I would agree if the conditions were mutually exclusive. But I don't think this is the case. A cleaner, leaner interface would benefit everyone. Unless you take some of the options and features off the picture. But the idea is not to do that. The idea is to present information to the user in a cleaner way. Advanced options and tools should be always accessible for whoever is interested on exploring them. "
Well, I'd say it depends a lot of the feature wether it's mutually exclusive or not. In lots of cases, both can be achieved (and that's of course great) but in other cases you will have to decide between short-term and long-term usability.
There is a probability of 0% that 90% of the users use exactly the same 10% of options, rather they may each use a different set of 10%, so such an approach is complete humbug.
As I said elsewhere --- if this pessimistic idea was true, industrial design would be impossible. If you consider the set of options and actions 90% of users use, there is going to be a large amount of overlap between these sets. It's not going to be exact, but there will be lot's of overlap. Since KDE is configurable, it makes sense to take the intersection of these sets, and let users add the few that are missing from the default configuration, instead of taking the union and making each user live with the behaviors of every other user.
Of course, because there is a big confusion about learn and use.
Of course, we all know (and sometimes love) lots of tools that are easy to use after you use them along a few years (decades?).
Of course, thinking about promoting these as mainstream tools is nonsense, KDE should be replaced with terminal windows and a nice bunch of guru software.
But thinking that something is good if the user can figure it out by himself when you make him sit and ask him to achieve tasks with no further clue is nonsense as well. Lots of nice features simply will not be so obvious nor attractive at first sight.
You did not obviously bother to read the articles since none of the users were beginners:
User #1
Occupation: VP Software Development
Education: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
OS Experience: Mostly Windows, some Linux, TRS-80
Hobbies: Games, Web Development
User #2
Occupation: Information Technology
Education: Masters in Geology, Geography
OS Experience: Exclusively Windows
Hobbies: Computer Games, Perl Programming
User #3
Occupation: Director of Development
Education: Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering
OS Experience: Mostly Windows and Macintosh, some SCO Unix
Hobbies: Games, Graphics, Coding in ASP
Even if those people were beginners, it is a stated goal of KDE to address the beginners as well as the advanced users, so the result of a study of beginners behaviour in front of KDE is very important.
> it's just stupid to remove options and settings.
It is much more complicated than that. Sometimes it is stupid, sometimes not. Most of the time, improving usability goes far beyound adding and cutting options.
> I think the KDE-way of usability (watching bugs.kde.org for wishlist items and
> implementing the good ones) is way superior to any "usability study"
Luckily, the KDE approach of usability is a lot more intelligent than "study the wishlist item". For example, they also use the thing called brain to improve uability of applications.
The users were not beginners as such, but they were beginners in the KDE environment. I very much agree that these first impressions, although important, can never be an argument to make usage for advanced users more complicated.
AFAIK all were new to KDE, so they were "beginners"
" it's just stupid to remove options and settings."
Well, not really. There are some configuration-tasks that users do over and over again. Some options are hardly ever touched, if at all. When user is doing those everyday-tasks, those rarely used options get in the way. Of course, the user will learn (with time) where the options he needs are. But it doesn't have to be that way!
How should it be then? It should be dead simple for the user where the options he needs are. And they should not be hidden amongst dozens of other options. The GUI should just present the top 10% of most used options (I pulled that percentage from my ass, but you get the idea), while the rest of the options (that are not used that often) are hidden from the user. I bet that that 10% would cover about 90% of the options the user REALLY needs. Rest are just icing on the cake. It would make configuring the UI alot smoother and simpler, and it would clean up the configuration-UI ALOT!
How could that be done. Well, we all know how Gnome-folks did it: With Gconf. That is one way of doing it. Unfortunately I don't have a solution to offer.
You clearly don't know much about how *good* usability tests are conducted. Good tests don't simply "take beginners" - good tests involve representative users. So, if a system is designed for expert users, then it should be tested with experts. Many systems have a mix of skill levels in their user groups, and so good tests will involve a mix of user types. Air Traffic Control systems are usability tested with expert users...at least we hope ATC systems are used by experts. :)
while many of the talk backs here are rather focused on the empty half of the glass, it's nice to read the number of positive comments from the testees, none of whome had used KDE before. a new environment is almost always uncomfortable at first, and yet we still got compliments.
i wouldn't recommend testing with contrib'd packages (which is what these packages were, for Slackware), and a number of the apps used (and failed with, at times) were not KDE apps.
in general, i'm rather encouraged by the article. we're making good strides forward ("This is UNIX? I like it. I'd use it."), and our weak points are being found for us to fix.
> while many of the talk backs here are rather focused on the empty
> half of the glass, it's nice to read the number of positive comments
> from the testees, none of whome had used KDE before.
True. I guess it is just becaause we all feel like making suggestions for improvement, but you are right.
I fell myself in love with KDE a while ago, with the 2.* series. The reason I loved it (and I still do) was in great part _consistency_ in the interface. Want Help ? "Help -> Handbook". Need to configure ? "Settings -> Configure". Interprocess communication works beautifully. You are browsing pics in Digikam, select a few, right-click, choose "email pictures", you are asked what size you want them, that's it. Component model (KPart) the same thing. All this power in the kdelibs makes KDE quite a pleasure to use (and to program for, for the little bit I experimented).
The "empty half of the glass" in the usability front has to do to a great extent with issues you have to address from the UI design philosophy, and this is an area where great improvements can still be made. The number of posts in this article talkback is a measure of the importance of this subject.
Just don't make it too usable as GNOME is. KDE currently is really great. Perhaps some reshuffling of features around in the next version, to give features people use most the best presentation. (Even I have to agree that the toolbars do have quite a bit of buttons, and arguably too many.)
Just don't make it another GNOME.
I think people are taking the GNOME HIG work, and the GNOME ideological "no new features" work, and lumping them together. I think that's unfair to the GNOME HIG work. I recently spent a week trying out FC3-Test2, and have to say HIG-compliant apps are generally very elegantly designed and highly usable. I don't think you can fault GNOME for that. The problem with GNOME is not that they laid down some well-established UI principles, nor that they designed apps with an eye towards elegance. The problem is that they cut out too many features in the process, many of which they didn't have to. You could get to a pleasing level of minimality without throwing away all the features they did.
Paul Graham argues that you need many features to keep the power users happy. However he says it's very important that you have SANE defaults to keep the rest pacified.


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Top Life Insurance Companies in India 2020
By buying a life insurance policy, the insurance company promises you to pay the sum assured as claim amount, in the event of the death of the insured within the policy term or at the maturity of the policy (whichever occurs earlier). For life insurance policies that offer pure risk cover such as term insurance plan, your family will receive the life cover amount. For other life insurance policies like an endowment, money back, lips, etc., you will receive the life cover amount or maturity benefit, depends on the earlier occurrence of the event.
When it comes to the settlement of death claims, the members of your family or nominee will have to approach the insurance company and intimate them about your death and provide them the duly filled death claim form. In order to ensure smooth and quick claims settlement, you need to check the Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR) of life insurance companies.
Top 10 Life Insurance Companies in 2020
The top life insurance companies mentioned below are based on the claim settlement ratio of the respective companies.
1. Max Life Insurance
Max Life Insurance is a joint venture of Max financial services Ltd. and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. Max Life Insurance Company offers comprehensive life insurance solutions to meet the long-term savings and protection to over 30 Lakh customers. It has a diversified distribution model, including agents, advisors, bancassurance, and other allied partners. Max Life has the highest claim settlement ratio of 98.74% in FY 2018-19.
2. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is the only public sector life insurance company offering a variety of life insurance products such as insurance plans, pension plans, unit-linked plans, special plans, and group schemes. LIC has secured over 250 million lives with its varying life insurance solutions. It has a claim settlement ratio of 97.79% in FY 2018-19.
3. Tata AIA Life
Tata AIA Life Insurance Company is a joint venture of Tata Group and AIA Group Ltd. The company commenced its insurance business in the year 2001 and since then, it is offering life insurance products such as protection, savings, and wealth solutions to individuals and corporate customers. Tata AIA has a wide distribution channel including agents, brokers, bancassurance, and direct channels. Tata AIA Life has a claim settlement ratio of 99.07% in FY 2018-19.
4. ICICI Prudential Life
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential plc. ICICI Bank has 74% stakeholding and Prudential Plc holds a 26% stake in the joint venture. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance offers a wide range of products such as terms, health, ULIP, savings, and retirement plans to cater to the insurance needs of the customers. ICICI Prudential Life has a claim settlement ratio of 98.58% in FY 2018-19.
5. HDFC Life
HDFC Life Insurance Company is a result of a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd and Standard Life plc. HDFC ltd owns 70.65% shareholding and the remaining 26% of shares are held by Standard Life. HDFC Life offers a range of life insurance products including term insurance, health cover, pension, child plans, saving, and investment plans. HDFC Life has a claim settlement ratio of 99.04% in FY 2018-19.
6. Bharti AXA Life
Bharti AXA Life Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti Group (India's leading business group) and AXA Group (leader in insurance, investment & other financial services). Bharti holds 51% shareholding and AXA owns a 49% stake. Bharti AXA Life offers an innovative range of insurance products including protection plans, health, savings, investment plans, and many others. Bharti AXA Life has a claim settlement ratio of 97.28% in FY 2018-19.
7. Exide Life
Exide Life Insurance Company started the insurance business in the year 2001-02. The company is completely owned by Exide Industries Limited. Exide Life has multiple channels to distribute its insurance products via agents, brokers, bancassurance, direct channel, and online. The company has 200+ offices across the country along with 45,000+ advisors ensuring a wide reach to the customers. Exide Life has a claim settlement ratio of 97.03% in FY 2018-19.
8. SBI Life
SBI Life is a result of a joint venture between State Bank of India (largest banker in India) and BNP Paribas Cardiff (a leading global insurer). SBI holds the majority stake of 74% and PNB Paribas owns a 26% stake. SBI Life offers a multitude of individual and group insurance plans including protection, money back, child, investment, retirement, and savings plans. SBI Life has a claim settlement ratio of 95.o3% in FY 2018-19.
9. Pramerica Life
Pramerica Life Insurance Company comes into existence with a joint venture between Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd (a fully owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial). DPLI has 144 branches across India, 3143 employees, 4710.574 Crores Asset under Management, and more than 20 million lives secured as on 31st August 2019. Pramerica Life has a claim settlement ratio of 96.80% in FY 2018-19.
10. Aditya Birla Sun Life
Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group (a multinational conglomerate) and Sun Life Financial Inc (a renowned Canada-based international financial services company). The company commenced its insurance business in the year 2000. Aditya Birla Sun Life offers protection, wealth with protection, health, child cover, retirement, and savings plans. Aditya Birla Sun Life has a claim settlement ratio of 97.15% in FY 2018-19.
Note: The insurance companies mentioned above are based on the high claim settlement ratio extracted from IRDAI Annual Report for FY 2018-19. to know all Life Insurance companies claim settlement Ratio for FY 2018-19
Top 10 Health Insurance Companies in India 2020
In order to guide customers while buying health insurance, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has been coming out with a list of best health companies every year. Both General Insurers (private and public) and Specialized Health Insurance companies are authorized to offer health plans to the customers. Based on the performances with regards to companies' Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) and their overall financial standing, the top 10 Health Insurance Companies of India are as follows:
1. HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Limited
HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Limited (formerly, Apollo Munich Health Insurance) is a Joint Venture of HDFC Ltd and ERGO International AG. It has an impressive Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) of 63% for the financial year 2018-19, and it has brought innovations like lifetime renewals and portability benefits of the existing policies.
2. Star Health & Allied Insurance Company Limited
Star Health & Allied Insurance Company is a joint venture between Oman Health Insurance Company, ETA Ascon Group and a few veterans of the country boasts of an Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) of 63% for FY 2018-19. The company has an in-house TPA to deal with cashless facility seamlessly while also coming up with exciting products like Diabetes Safe (for diabetic patients) and Star NetPlus (for HIV+ patients).
3. Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited
Max Bupa Health Insurance Company is a joint venture between Max India Limited and Bupa Group brought into existence in 2010. The latest ICR for this health care company stands at 54% for FY 2018-19 and offers enrollment to its policies for citizens of all age groups.
4. SBI General Insurance Company Limited
SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd comes with a joint venture of State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). SBI General has a wide presence in over 23,000 branches of State Bank Group. It covers over 110 cities across India along with over 350 locations through satellite resources. It has an Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) of 72% for FY 2018-19.
5. Religare Health Insurance Company Limited
Religare Health Insurance Company is a joint venture between Religare Enterprises Limited, Union Bank of India, and Corporation Bank that was launched in 2012. However, in a short period of time, it has shown tremendous growth and made a mark in the insurance sector with an Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) of 55% for FY 2018-19. It is being promoted by the founders of Fortis Hospitals.
6. ManipalCigna Health Insurance Company Limited
Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Company is a comparatively new player in the Indian insurance sector being launched only in 2014 and has immediately become part of the best health insurance companies in India. It's Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) for 2018-19 stands at an impressive figure of 62% that is a no mean feat considering it's so new to the market.
7. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE has some health products up its sleeve. The three major products are Health Guard, Silver Health, and Star Package. Bajaj has the distinction of being the first company to provide captive TPA with certain efficiencies. Its Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) is 69% for 2018-19.
8. New India Assurance Company Limited
New India Assurance Company is a fully owned company by the government of India has been in operations since 1919 and is most famous for its Mediclaim policy. The most unique feature of this health insurance policy is that it provides a differential rating for major metros in comparison to other locations. The latest Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) for FY 2018-19 is 95.39% that might be on the higher side, but it covers up for any losses or deficiencies from other insurance products.
9. Oriental Insurance Company Limited
Oriental Insurance Company is a public sector general insurance company that offers a number of health insurance products. The best part about this insurer is that it doesn't require a medical examination of the prospective customers up to the age of 60 years, while other companies press for medical examinations for everyone over 45 years of age. Its Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) stands at 106.10% as per IRDAI annual report for FY 2018-19.
10. National Insurance Company Limited
National Insurance Company is a fully government-owned general insurance company that is more than 100 years old and also provides health insurance coverage. Its Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) is 109.94% for 2018-19, but it covers up its losses with other insurance products in various other categories. The most popular health product offered by the company is Varishtha Mediclaim for senior citizens.
What Is Insurance?
Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which an individual or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. The company pools clients' risks to make payments more affordable for the insured.
Insurance policies are used to hedge against the risk of financial losses, both big and small, that may result from damage to the insured or her property, or from liability for damage or injury caused to a third party.
How Insurance Works
There is a multitude of different types of insurance policies available, and virtually any individual or business can find an insurance company willing to insure them—for a price. The most common types of personal insurance policies are auto, health, homeowners, and life. Most individuals in the United States have at least one of these types of insurance, and car insurance is required by law.
Businesses require special types of insurance policies that insure against specific types of risks faced by a particular business. For example, a fast-food restaurant needs a policy that covers damage or injury that occurs as a result of cooking with a deep fryer. An auto dealer is not subject to this type of risk but does require coverage for damage or injury that could occur during test drives.
Insurance Policy Components
When choosing a policy, it is important to understand how insurance works.
A firm understanding of these concepts goes a long way in helping you choose the policy that best suits your needs. There are three components (premium, policy limit, and deductible) to most insurance policies that are crucial.
A policy's premium is its price, typically expressed as a monthly cost. The premium is determined by the insurer based on your or your business's risk profile, which may include creditworthiness.
For example, if you own several expensive automobiles and have a history of reckless driving, you will likely pay more for an auto policy than someone with a single mid-range sedan and a perfect driving record. However, different insurers may charge different premiums for similar policies. So finding the price that is right for you requires some legwork.
Policy Limit
The policy limit is the maximum amount an insurer will pay under a policy for a covered loss. Maximums may be set per period (e.g., annual or policy term), per loss or injury, or over the life of the policy, also known as the lifetime maximum.
Typically, higher limits carry higher premiums. For a general life insurance policy, the maximum amount the insurer will pay is referred to as the face value, which is the amount paid to a beneficiary upon the death of the insured.
The deductible is a specific amount the policy-holder must pay out-of-pocket before the insurer pays a claim. Deductibles serve as deterrents to large volumes of small and insignificant claims.
Deductibles can apply per-policy or per-claim depending on the insurer and the type of policy. Policies with very high deductibles are typically less expensive because the high out-of-pocket expense generally results in fewer small claims.
Special Considerations
With regard to health insurance, people who have chronic health issues or need regular medical attention should look for policies with lower deductibles.
Though the annual premium is higher than a comparable policy with a higher deductible, less expensive access to medical care throughout the year may be worth the trade-off.
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What are the principal types of life insurance?
There are two major types of life insurance—term and whole life. Whole life is sometimes called permanent life insurance, and it encompasses several subcategories, including traditional whole life, universal life, variable life, and variable universal life. In 2016, about 4.3 million individual life insurance policies bought were term and about 6.4 million were whole life, according to the American Council of Life Insurers.
Life insurance products for groups are different from life insurance sold to individuals. The information below focuses on life insurance sold to individuals.
Term Insurance is the simplest form of life insurance. It pays only if death occurs during the term of the policy, which is usually from one to 30 years. Most term policies have no other benefit provisions.
There are two basic types of term life insurance policies: level term and decreasing term.
Level term means that the death benefit stays the same throughout the duration of the policy.
Decreasing term means that the death benefit drops, usually in one-year increments, over the course of the policy's term.
In 2003, virtually all (97 percent) of the term life insurance bought was level term.
For more on the different types of term life insurance, click here.
Whole life/permanent
Whole life or permanent insurance pays a death benefit whenever you die—even if you live to 100! There are three major types of whole life or permanent life insurance—traditional whole life, universal life, and variable universal life, and there are variations within each type.
In the case of traditional whole life, both the death benefit and the premium are designed to stay the same (level) throughout the life of the policy. The cost per $1,000 of benefit increases as the insured person ages, and it obviously gets very high when the insured lives to 80 and beyond. The insurance company could charge a premium that increases each year, but that would make it very hard for most people to afford life insurance at advanced ages. So the company keeps the premium level by charging a premium that, in the early years, is higher than what's needed to pay claims, investing that money, and then using it to supplement the level premium to help pay the cost of life insurance for older people.
By law, when these "overpayments" reach a certain amount, they must be available to the policyholder as a cash value if he or she decides not to continue with the original plan. The cash value is an alternative, not an additional, benefit under the policy.
In the 1970s and 1980s, life insurance companies introduced two variations on the traditional whole life product—universal life insurance and variable universal life insurance. For more on the different types of whole life/permanent insurance, click here.
How to choose the best life insurance company for you
Though we have done thorough research for you, we recommend doing your own research to select a life insurance company that is best suited for your individual needs. Here are some things to look for when choosing the best life insurance company for you:
Ask for recommendations: Often, the best reference is word of mouth. Ask your friends and family for recommendations on the top life insurance companies they have had positive experiences with.
Look at customer satisfaction ratings: You can visit the J.D. Power website to review its customer satisfaction ratings for life insurance companies. Companies will be ranked based on their overall score and then given a Power Circle Rating between 2 and 5 circles. We recommend looking at those who received Power Circle Ratings of 3-5.
Look at financial stability: We recommend looking at a company's financial stability. You can do this on the AM Best website. However, some companies, like MetLife, are not rated there. MetLife was rated by a different agency, Demotech, and received a great financial stability rating. A company with inferior financial stability may leave you high and dry when it comes time to pay out claims. It is important to have the assurance of strong financial stability.
Look at customer reviews: We used Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau, but there are other sites available that will include customer reviews. We recommend ignoring the outlier reviews and focusing on the average. What did the average person say about the company you're considering? Are the things they complained about things that are important to you? For example, if someone made a complaint that the company does not offer a mobile app but a mobile app isn't important to you, do not consider that review in your assessment.
Get life insurance quotes: Always compare prices so you know if what you've found is the best life insurance policy at a competitive price. We recommend getting at least three quotes from different life insurance companies before making your final choice.
Ask questions: When in doubt, ask the insurance agent. Do not hesitate to ask detailed questions about the coverage you've been quoted. It will be important to you and to your agent that you thoroughly understand your coverage and obligations.
BRK.A, PNGAY, and AXAHY lead the 10 biggest insurance companies list
#1 Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $237.2 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $10.0 billion
- Market Cap: $475.7 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -4.9%
- Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a major conglomerate and one of the nation's premier insurance companies, also owning businesses in sectors such as rail transportation, utilities and energy, manufacturing, services, and retailing. Berkshire provides primary insurance, as well as reinsurance of property and casualty risks through companies such as GEICO, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group, General Re, National Indemnity Company and others.&Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (www.bhspecialty.com) provides commercial property, casualty, healthcare professional liability, executive and professional lines, surety, travel, programs, medical stop-loss, and homeowners insurance.
#2 Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. (PNGAY) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $144.8 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $18.7 billion
- Market Cap: $194.0 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -7.5%
- Exchange: OTC
Ping An Insurance is involved primarily in insurance, financial services, and banking. It is one of the top 50 companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Founded in 1988, it was China's first joint-stock insurance company. Its subsidiaries include Ping An Life, Ping An Property & Casualty, Ping An Annuity, and Ping An Health, among many others.&Ping An routinely partners with major insurance companies in the United States as a reinsurer to ensure US companies' business globally. In this service line, Ping An covers losses occurring in China or on a global basis, including losses in the United States.
#3 AXA SA (AXAHY) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $139.5 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $4.3 billion
- Market Cap: $48.2 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -17.2%
- Exchange: OTC
AXA is one of the world's leading insurance groups with major businesses in property and casualty insurance, life insurance, savings, and asset management. Several insurance companies merged to create AXA in the 1990s. It does business in all major global markets.&The Personal Health plan by Axa includes a number of benefits as standard, with the option to add a further cover to enhance your health insurance policy, including the out-patient cover. Axa's standard health insurance policy covers Heart and cancer care, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy. … Out-patient surgery.
#4 China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (LFC) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $105.6 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $8.4 billion
- Market Cap: $64.9 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -6.3%
- Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
China Life Insurance is one of the mainland's largest state-owned insurance and financial services companies, as well as a key player in the Chinese capital market as an institutional investor. The company was founded in 1949, the year that the People's Republic of China was founded. The company today has numerous subsidiaries spread across life insurance, pension plans, asset management, property and casualty, and investment holdings.&China Life Insurance Company Limited is a Beijing-based China-incorporated company that provides life insurance and annuity products. China Life is ranked No. 94 on Fortune 2015 Global 500 Company list. China Life, which is 70% state-owned, is the biggest life insurer in China but is coming off a few rocky years.
#5 Allianz SE (ALLIANZ) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $101.2 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $8.2 billion
- Market Cap: $85.9 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -13.4%
- Exchange: OTC
Allianz is a leading global financial services company, providing products and services from insurance to asset management. It offers insurance products ranging from property and casualty policies to health and life insurance for corporate and individual customers. The company is headquartered in Germany.&Allianz is a good company that pays as outlined. Allianz has been good to me for more than 5 years. My money is safe from market losses and I really like the growth, bonuses, and income benefits. I've never paid a fee or had an issue with access to my money or information.
Top 50 Insurance Companies
Below are the top 50 insurance companies and best insurance companies in the United States ranked by total assets. Metlife is the largest insurer in the U.S. based on assets and direct premiums written. The company offers a wide array of insurance products and services including life and health insurance, accident insurance, auto insurance, home insurance as well as annuities and retirement and savings products. Prudential, based in Newark, is the second-largest insurance company in America with total assets of $812.6 billion, $3.7 trillion of gross life insurance in force, and more than 49,000 employees.
#6 Prudential PLC (PUK) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $93.7 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $0.8 billion
- Market Cap: $37.8 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -17.2%
- Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
Prudential PLC is a London-based insurance and investment services company offering products ranging from life, health, accident, property, and casualty policies to pensions, equity plans, mortgages, and other financial services. Prudential also caters to customers in all major global markets, including in the U.K., its home market.&Prudential has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and has organized its principal operations into the Financial Services Businesses and the Closed Block Business. Prudential is composed of hundreds of subsidiaries and holds more than $4 trillion of life insurance.
#7 Aviva PLC (AVVIY) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $90.6 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $3.3 billion
- Market Cap: $13.8 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -27.1%
- Exchange: OTC
U.K.-based Aviva PLC is an international insurance company offering transport, aviation, marine, fire, motor, and life insurance products, as well as a range of financial services. Its UK Life business and General Insurance business are leaders in their home market in the U.K.&However, on Aviva's website there are over 800 reviews rating AvivaPlus at 4.7 out of 5. On Feefo the company as a whole has an average score of 4.6 from more than 2,750 reviews. On Trustpilot, it scores 1.3 out of 10 based on over 850 reviews.&What does Aviva Car Insurance cover? Our car insurance covers you against the cost of accidents and damage. You can choose from our comprehensive or third party, fire, and theft insurance.
#8 Assicurazioni Generali (ARZGY) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $86.9 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $1.8 billion
- Market Cap: $24.9 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -12.7%
- Exchange: OTC
Headquartered in Italy, Assicurazioni Generali is an international insurance provider. The company offers a variety of life, non-life, and reinsurance products. While a large portion of Assicurazioni Generali's business is in Europe, it has a growing presence in Asia and Latin America.&Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. or simply Generali Group is an Italian insurance company, the largest in Italy and third in the world. It has its headquarters in Trieste. In 2010, the Assicurazioni Generali Group was the second-largest insurance group in the world by revenue after AXA.
#9 Legal & General Group PLC (LGGNY) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $85.9 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $2.4 billion
- Market Cap: $16.8 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -4.0%
- Exchange: OTC
Legal & General Group is a London-based financial service and the insurance company. With a worldwide customer base, the company provides a range of asset management, retirement, savings, and general insurance products. Legal & General life insurance summary In 2019, Legal & General paid out 97% of life insurance claims and 92% of critical illness claims. Life insurance automatically includes Terminal Illness cover, while Critical Illness cover can be added for an additional cost.
#10 The People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd. (PINXY) Insurance
- Revenue (TTM): $76.4 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $3.2 billion
- Market Cap: $14.7 billion
- 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -17.7%
- Exchange: OTC
With the Chinese central government as its controlling shareholder, The People's Insurance Co. operates a number of subsidiaries that provide property, life, pension, and health insurance products, as well as reinsurance and various other offerings. The company also offers asset management services.&The People's Insurance Company of China Limited, known as PICC Group or just PICC, is a Chinese listed insurer. The Chinese Central Government is the controlling shareholder. The group contains the major subsidiaries: PICC Asset Management, PICC Life as well as PICC Property and Casualty.
Life insurance In Australia
Life covers and chooses your option. This is only a summary. To take a combination of terms, conditions, limitations, definitions, exclusions, waiting periods, exclusion periods, and covers, please see the Product Disclosure Statement.
Life cover Insurance Details
Life cover is also known as life insurance or death cover. It is a way to protect your family's financial future. $ 1.5 million covers depending on your age $ 15,000 funeral advancement included within the cover 2 people insured on the same policy Diagnoses terminal illness where death is likely within 12 months 10. Profit increases every year to stay ahead of inflation. The Critical Illness Cover is also known as the Trauma Cover and pays a lump sum 5 benefits if Life Insurance suffers one of the defined Critical Illness events 5 *. $ 500,000 cover depending on your age Cover for 14 critical illnesses as defined 5 Profit increases every year to stay ahead of inflation.
Life Insurance In Us
Unable to cover work permanently and also known as Total Disability (TPD) cover *. $ 1.5 million covers depending on your age Lump-sum payment if you are unlikely to work again due to illness or injury 6 Profit increases every year to stay ahead of inflation
What is Life insurance?
Life Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which an individual or institution receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from the insurance company. The company controls customer risks to make payments more affordable for insureds.&Life Insurance policies are used against the risk of financial loss, both large and small, which may result in damage to the insured or his property, or from liability for damage or injury to a third party.
How insurance work
There is a multitude of different types of insurance policies available, and virtually any person or business can set out to find an insurance company – for a price. The most common types of personal insurance policies are auto, health, homeowners, and life. Most individuals in the United States have at least one type of insurance, and car insurance is required by law.
Insurance is a contract in which one insurer condemns another against losses from specific contingencies and/or hazards. There are many types of insurance policies. The most common forms of life, health, homeownership, and auto insurance are. The main components that make up most insurance policies are deductible, policy limit, and premium.
Businesses require special types of insurance policies, which insure specific types of risks faced by a particular business. For example, fast-food restaurants require a policy that covers damage or injury resulting from cooking with a deep fryer. An auto dealer is not subject to this type of risk but requires coverage for damage or injury that may occur during a test drive.
Cashback plans are much the same as auto insurance price quotes enrichment plans with just a solitary contrast that the payout can be stumbled with the approach term period. In this, some parts will come back to the guaranteed on an ideal opportunity to time premise according to the approach residency. If there should arise an occurrence of death full whole, the guaranteed sum will be paid out. It additionally incorporates a reward. In view of these extra highlights, the premiums of this arrangement are higher than the typical disaster protection plans on the web.
Disaster protection Riders
Riders are the extra highlights of any auto insurance price quotes protection plan that gives extra monetary inclusion to the policyholder. Riders are the advancements of the protection business that points in redoing the protection plans to the degree which is conceivable while keeping a standard base arrangement accessible. Essentially, riders give additional hazard assurance; thus the guaranteed needs auto insurance price quotes to pay an additional premium for it. Generally, the riders are purchased alongside the base protection plan and can't be included later. The riders are discretionary, it gives unadulterated hazard inclusion and that is the reason they don't have any sparing and venture components.
Famous life coverage Riders are:-
Basic Illness Rider:- Major basic ailments are secured under the approach, for example, malignant growth, the disappointment of kidneys, cardiovascular failure, trance-like state, loss of motion, and so on. Make a point to experience the ailments secured as various organizations offer various sicknesses spread. Inadvertent Death Benefit Rider:- If the policyholder kicks the bucket in a mishap, this rider advantage alongside the aggregate guaranteed Clinic Cash Rider:- During hospitalization, a fixed aggregate of cash is payable on the per-day reason for cost charges of the medical clinic. The base and most extreme aggregate guaranteed advantage sum alongside the conditions of the strategy may change from guarantor to back up plan.
How To Choose The Best Life Insurance Policy?
Since there are different plans offered by the disaster protection organizations with numerous advantages, it is extremely confounding to choose the best arrangement from various choices to bamboozle the inclusion at a reasonable premium. Here are a portion of the focuses to recall while wanting to buy an arrangement:&Life insurance is also known as term life insurance or death cover. It provides a lump sum payment (subject to conditions) if the life insured dies or discovers a terminal illness where death is likely to occur within 12 months. Life insurance is a way to protect the financial future of your loved ones if you were not around to provide for them. This can help your family cover debts and living expenses at a time when they need it most. You must be 16 to 65 years of age to apply for life insurance. As long as you pay your premiums, we guarantee to renew your cover until the policy anniversary after your 99th birthday, even if there is no change in your health status.
1. What is insurance?
Insurance is a legal agreement between two parties i.e. the insurance company (insurer) and the individual (insured). In this, the insurance company promises to reduce the insured's losses in case of the insured contingency. The contingency is an event that causes harm. This could be the death of the policyholder or loss/destruction of property. This is called a contingency because there is uncertainty regarding the event. The insured pays the premium in return for the promise made by the insurer.
Life insurance
As the name suggests, life insurance is your life insurance. You purchase life insurance to ensure that your dependents are financially protected in the event of your untimely demise. Life insurance is especially important if you are the sole breadwinner for your family or if your family is very much dependent on your income. Under life insurance, the policyholder's family is financially compensated in the event of the termination of the policyholder during the term of the policy.
health insurance
Health insurance is purchased to cover medical costs for the expensive treatment. A variety of health insurance policies cover a range of illnesses and illnesses. You can buy general health insurance policies as well as policies for specific diseases. The premium paid for a health insurance policy usually covers the cost of treatment, hospitalization, and medication.
Car insurance
In today's world, car insurance is an important policy for every car owner. This insurance protects you from any untoward incident like accidents. Some policies also compensate for damage to your car during natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes. It also includes third party liability where you have to pay damages to other vehicle owners.
Education insurance
Child education insurance is a life insurance policy specifically designed as a savings tool. Education insurance can be a great way to provide a lump sum when your child reaches the age of higher education and gets admission to college (18 years and over). This fund can be used to pay for your child's higher education expenses. Under this insurance, the child is the life insurer or recipient of the funds, while the foster / legal guardian is the owner of the policy. You can estimate the amount of money for the higher education of your children using the education plan calculator.
2. How does insurance work?
The insurer and the insured receive a legal contract for insurance, called an insurance policy. The insurance policy contains details about the conditions and circumstances under which the insurance company will pay the sum assured to the insured person or nominee.
Insurance is a way to protect yourself and your family from financial loss. Generally, the premium is very low in terms of money paid for a large insurance cover. The insurance company risks providing a higher cover for smaller premiums because very few insured people actually claim insurance. This is why you get insurance for a large amount at a low cost.
Any person or company can take insurance from the insurance company, but the decision to provide insurance is at the discretion of the insurance company. The insurance company will evaluate the claim application to make a decision. Typically, insurance companies refuse to provide insurance to high-risk applicants.
3. What type of insurance is available in India?
Insurance in India can be broadly divided into three categories:
Home insurance
We all dream of owning our own homes. Home insurance can help cover damage or damage to your home due to accidents such as fires and other natural disasters or hazards. Home insurance includes other examples such as lightning, earthquake, etc.
4. What are the tax benefits on insurance?
Apart from the safety and security benefits of buying insurance, there are income tax benefits that you can take advantage of. Life insurance premiums up to Rs 1.5 lakh can be claimed as tax-saving deduction under Section 80C
Medical insurance
Medical Insurance up to 25,000 for yourself and your family and up to ₹ 25,000 for your parents can be claimed as a tax-saving deduction under Section 80D These claims are to be made at the time of e-filing income tax return.
Start by choosing a shorter repayment term. Whenever you have a surplus, prepay, reduce interest by refinancing with Bajaj Finserv. Increase your EMI payments annually to reduce the interest rate Paying off a home loan can be a lengthy process, as you can choose a tenure of up to 20 years. Therefore, if not done properly, the EMI of a home loan can reduce your monthly budget for a long time to come. To reduce the burden, you can find ways to reduce your home loan interest. The two most important things to keep in mind is to find the right lender that offers you the lowest interest in the market and ensure that your lender offers you an MCLR-linked interest rate, which reflects the lowest prices very quickly. Huh. Apart from these two points, here are 4 tips to help reduce your home loan interest.
Canada's Small Business Financing Program makes it easy for small businesses to obtain loans from financial institutions by sharing risk with lenders. Over the past 10 years, small businesses have received more than $ 9.5 billion in asset-based financing, representing more than 63,000 loans. Who are eligible Small businesses or start-ups operating for profit in Canada, with a total annual income of $ 10 million or less? Eligible under this program is not agribusiness (for a similar program for the farming industry, visit www.agr.gc.ca), not for profit organizations, or charitable and religious organizations.
Up to a maximum of $ 1,000,000 for any one borrower, of which no more than $ 350,000 may be used for leasehold improvements or leased property improvements or for the purchase or improvement of new or used equipment. How do I apply for a loan? Financial institutions distribute programs and are solely responsible for approving loans. Discuss the needs of your business with a financial officer in any bank, cashew populator, or credit union in Canada. The financial officer will review your business proposal and decide on your loan application. Once it is decided to offer financing under the program, the financial institution will disregard the funds and register the loan with Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada. (Find a lender near you)
The loan can be used to meet the following costs: Purchase or improvement of land or buildings used for commercial purposes Purchase or improvement of new or used equipment Purchase of new or existing leasehold improvements, ie, renovation of a property leased by a tenant, For example, you can use debt to finance: commercial vehicles Hotel or Restaurant Equipment Computer or telecommunications equipment and software production equipment Cost Eligible to Purchase a Franchise You cannot use the loan for finance items like Credit working capital The list franchise fee research and development What are the costs? The interest rate is determined by your financial institution and can be variable or fixed.
The prime lending rate of the maximum chargeable lender is 3%. Fixed-Rate: The lender is a single-family residential mortgage rate for a term of 3% of the maximum chargeable loan. A registration fee of 2% of the total amount borrowed under the program should also be paid by the borrower to the lender. It can be financed as part of the loan. A portion of the registration fee and interest is presented to the Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada by the lender to help the government offset the costs of the program. What are the financing conditions? Financed assets require lenders to take security. Lenders also have the option of taking an additional unsecured personal guarantee. For more information, please contact your financial institution (find a lender near you). This program is administered by the Directorate of Small Business Finance. Contact us for more information.
A personal loan is a type of unsecured loan and helps you to meet your current financial needs. You generally do not need to pledge any security or collateral while availing a personal loan and your lender provides you with the facility to use the funds as required. It can serve as your solution for managing your travel costs and wedding expenses, as well as the expenses of a medical emergency, home renovation, debt consolidation, and more. Bajaj Finserv offers India's fastest personal loan with instant approval and disbursement within just 24 hours. Know your personal loan eligibility, use a personal loan EMI calculator, and apply for a personal loan in just four easy steps! Think about it. Done with Bajaj Finserv.
A business loan is a loan given exclusively for business purposes. [1] As with all loans, this includes the creation of a loan, which will be repaid with additional interest. There are a variety of business loans including bank loans, mezzanine financing, asset-based financing, invoice financing, microloans, business cash advances, and cash flow loans. [2] Content 1 type 1.1 Bank loan 1.2 SBA Loans 1.3 Mezzanine Finance 1.4 Asset Based Finance 1.5 Invoice Finance 1.6 Microloans 1.7 Online Lender 2 secured and unsecured business loans 2.1 Personal Guarantee 3 references type Bank loan See also: Loans A bank loan can be obtained from a bank and can be either secured or unsecured. For secured loans, banks will require collateral, which can be lost if repayment is not made. Banks likely want to look at business accounts, balance sheets, and business plans, as well as study the principal's credit history. Many small businesses are now turning to alternative finance providers, especially in the case of small companies. [3] Loans from credit unions can also be referred to as bank loans. Business loans from credit unions received the second-highest level of satisfaction from borrowers after loans from small banks. [4]
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) does not offer loans; Instead, it guarantees loans made by individual lenders. The main SBA loan programs are SBA 7 (A) which includes both Standard and Express options; Microlone (up to $ 50,000); 504 loans that provide financing for real estate such as real estate or equipment; And disaster loans. In FY 2016, a total of 7 (a) amounts to $ 11,967,861,900 and a total of 504 debt amounts to $ 2,517,433,000. [5]
Main article: Mezzanine Capital Mezzanine finance effectively secures a company's debt on its equity, allowing the lender to claim part-ownership of the business if the loan is not repaid on time and in full. [4] This allows the business to borrow without other collateral, but risks reducing the principal's equity stake in case of default.
Main article: Asset-based lending Once a finance option is considered as a last resort, asset-based lending has become a popular option for small businesses that lack a credit rating or track record to qualify for other forms of finance. [of] In simple terms, this involves borrowing against one of the company's assets, with the lender focusing on the company's credit rating and the quality of the collateral rather than the prospects. A business can borrow against many different types of assets, including premises, plants, stocks, or receivables.
Main article: Invoice Waiver and Factoring (Finance) In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for SMEs to obtain traditional finance from banks. Alternative options are invoice discounting or factoring, whereby the company borrows against its outstanding invoices, with the ability to receive funds as soon as new invoices are created. It is often asked which option is best for your business – factoring or discounting – and the answer depends on how the business wants to be perceived by customers. [citation needed] With factoring, the finance company charges interest on the loan until invoiced. Payments, as well as fees, and the finance company take ownership of the debtor ledger and use their credit control team to secure the payment. With an invoice waiver, the business controls its own ledger and chases loans. MICROCREDIT Small loans, usually for loan amounts of $ 100,000 USD or less, are called "microloans". Banks are less likely to reduce these loans than alternative lenders. When they do, the decision is usually based on the business's personal credit score and/or business credit score. [decision]
The number of online lenders offering small business lending has increased. Online alternative lenders generated an estimated $ 12 billion in small business loans in 2014, with unsecured consumer loans accounting for $ 7 billion and small business loans of about $ 5 billion. [8] Nonbank lenders who make small business loans have doubled their outstanding portfolio balance every year since 2000. [9] Some originate loans online from their own capital. Others may use the "marketplace" model, in which they match lenders' loans to products from different types of lenders. Popular business lending products lending online include term loans, lines of credit, and merchant cash advances. Others use crowdfunding platforms that allow businesses to raise capital from a wide variety of sources.

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We are an interior design firm based in New Delhi, Gurgaon NCR India. We offer a variety of interior design services ranging from project management to civil construction works on turnkey basis. We provide quality interior design services for all types of business spaces. Our Interior designers conceptualize and produce aesthetic, functional and safe designs for interior spaces in residential, commercial, cultural, institutional and industrial buildings.
We offer Building construction and complete interiors designing services – including carpentry-wooden works, electrical-wiring-fitting, plumbing works, false ceiling designs, all kinds of flooring, HVAC, Fire Safety System, Civil Construction, Building Construction, Home construction, House Construction, Factory and Shed construction, Elevation work, Turnkey Interiors, False ceiling of pop and gypsum, wooden and marble Flooring, all types of Carpentry works, Modular Kitchens, Painting and POP, Plumbing work, Wood works and all. We undertake turnkey projects for interiors of any occupancy like home, offices, malls, Hotels, restaurants, resorts, pubs, night clubs, Disco, retail outlets, showrooms and all commercial constructions. We do Turnkey execution for construction, Building, Electrical, Air-conditioning, Furniture and all.
Service is all important to us, as we believe it is to a discerning client. Whether you have a whole property to refurbish, a number of rooms or just one, our level of service and commitment to you the client is the same. We project manage and co-ordinate our team of skilled craftsmen and women including builders, electricians, decorators, specialist joiners, curtain makers and fitters to ensure that all work undertaken in your home is of the highest quality.
We have good, experienced designers who will help you to achieve the results you're looking for. We will spend time with you, ask the right questions and, most importantly, listen to you. We believe that our role is not to impose our tastes on you, nor to turn your home into a sterile fashion statement, but to take your own vision and turn it into reality. We know how to interpret your ideas and add that certain something that will make all the difference.
We can work within your existing style guidelines to bring you a new fresh look, one that works alongside and enhances your existing decor, or, should you prefer, we can create an altogether new feel to your home.
We are one of the reputed service providers and contractors for interior designing services for both residential & commercial spaces in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Manesar, Palwal, Sonepat, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Bhiwadi and all major cities in India.
We undertake all kinds of interior design works including Construction specification and selections, Interior elevations and renderings, Space and floor planning, Home Interior Designs, Office Interior Designs, Design consultation, Project management, Home furnishings selection, Complete Renovation & Interiors, Hotel & Resorts Interior Designs, Hospital & Nursing Homes Interior Designs, Civil Construction works, Restaurant Interior Designs, Showroom Interiors Designs, Malls and shops Interior Designs, Schools, Colleges, Institutes Interior Designs.
Do you want interior design services!!
Do you want to renovate your home or office!!
Do you want to build a beautiful home or office!!
Do you want to build a Luxury Farmhouse or Palace!!
Contact us:
Brij Kumar
Gurgaon Interiors Designers
Phone: +91 9999 40 20 80
Email: email@example.com
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Whaling Props - Epic Miniatures Crossbow
Fantastic sculpts for decorating the docks for your next adventure!
Our models are currently printed In a light grey damage resistant resin. This may change order by order depending on our inventory, as we are always striving to improve on the durability and quality of our prints.
Unless specifically shown with a unique sculpted base, our miniatures do not come with a base. As they are usable in any game system, we do not want to add unnecessary waste to your order. Bases can be purchases seperately through our "bases and terrain" category.
This miniature is printed in resin at 32mm scale. If you would like it in a different scale such as 28mm or 40mm, please contact us and we can resize the print.
Goose Minis models are printed at a 0.025mm layer height which results in an extremely fine quality. Unlike standard 3d printers, resin printing allows for an extremely high level of detail resulting in prints with near invisible layers. This means that they are very comparable to any cast miniature you would find from a traditional manufacturer. All our models are properly washed and cured to ensure the best possible print quality, as well as made with more damage resistant resins to hold up to use while gaming
All models are shipped unpainted and unprimed. There may be some marks to clean from the printing process, such as small dots from supports generated during their creation. All Multipiece minisatures are test fit to ensure scale acuracy and fit, but in some instances a small amount of filing may need to be done in order to get the absolute best quality fit
Very large models may be shipped in multiple parts in order to ensure safe shipping. These can be attached together with any usual hobby glue such as super glue.
This Model has been designed by Epic Miniatures. We have a full commercial license from them. Their work is fantastic and you can find more information on how to support them as well as purchase the files to print your self here: https://www.patreon.com/epic_miniatures


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A 3 bedroom end town house property currently let by way of an Assured Shorthold Tennancy holding over at a rental of £4419.96 per annum. The property benefits from double glazing, central heating and gardens.
Sutton Kersh - Auctions
2 Cotton Street,
t. 0151 207 6315
f. 0151 207 6316
We are following Government Guidelines to allow viewings to take place on vacant lots. Where possible, we will upload 360° tours or video tours and internal pictures of lots on our website and we advise that you view these before booking a viewing. We would respectfully remind all parties that strict social distancing will be applied to viewings and facemasks must be worn. You will be allocated a strict 10-minute slot, must attend alone, and wear a facemask. We do ask for your patience, it may not always be possible to accommodate everyone, but we assure you our team is working hard to keep the property market open.
An indication of the seller's current minimum acceptable price at auction. The guide price or range of guide prices is given to assist consumers in deciding whether or not to pursue a purchase. It is usual, but not always the case, that a provisional reserve range is agreed between the seller and the auctioneer at the start of marketing. As the reserve is not fixed at this stage and can be adjusted by the seller at any time up to the day of the auction in the light of interest shown during the marketing period, a guide price is issued. This guide price can be shown in the form of a minimum and maximum price range within which an acceptable sale price (reserve) would fall, or as a single price figure within 10% of which the minimum acceptable price (reserve) would fall. A guide price is different to a reserve price (see separate definition). Both the guide price and the reserve price can be subject to change up to and including the day of the auction.
The seller's minimum acceptable price at auction and the figure below which the auctioneer cannot sell. The reserve price is not disclosed and remains confidential between the seller and the auctioneer.
Both the guide price and the reserve price can be subject to change up to and including the day of the auction.
A successful purchaser will also be required to pay a Buyer's Administration Charge of 1.2% of the purchase price subject to a minimum fee of £1,800 including VAT (unless stated otherwise within the property description in the catalogue) by debit card or bank transfer.
You are bidding on the basis that you have made all necessary enquiries, particularly in respect of lots the auctioneer has not inspected or had initial sight of tenancy details, and have checked the General and Special Conditions of Sale and are satisfied that you fully understand their content. Please note that some legal packs may contain additional fees (such as the requirement for the seller to pay the vendor's legal fees)


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Performance Comparison of Android Devices
This chart comparing Android device PassMark benchmarks is made using PerformanceTest Mobile benchmark results and is updated daily. The device you selected has been found and highlighted in the chart below. The PassMark is an overall score for the device which factors in performance from CPU, Memory, and Disk tests. The higher the rating the better the performance. If you would like to select a different device type please return to the Device List.


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Dynamic Pro Sport
Yellow Speed Racing's Dynamic Pro Sport coilovers are designed and developed for all motoring enthusiasts that want excellent handling without sacrificing comfort. This suspension system is ideal for daily driving and occasional, light track use. High quality components are adopted to ensure product durability and stability. Each application is fully test fitted and completely road tested to guarantee all our customers perfect performance and comfort expectations.
The Dynamic Pro Sport coilovers feature a 33-way adjustable dampening setting so you can fine tune your ride to suit the road conditions. This allows the suspension to not only be tailored to your car but also your driving preference.
From dust covers to replacement struts we have spare parts to refurbish or repair your coilover should the need ever arise. `
Adjustable Ride Height
Dynamic Pro Sport coilovers have an adjustable ride-height between 50mm-100mm depending on application. For those looking to go even lower then the Super Low coilover is the one for you.
24 Month Warranty
We want Yellow Speed Racing coilovers to be a manufacturer you can depend on. That's why the Dynamic Pro Sports come with an 24 month limited warranty which guarantees against defects from materials and workmanship.
Race Proven
Yellow Speed Racing has been giving race spec vehicles the platform to win races and compete in the highest levels of motorsport through their suspension systems.
Protect your coilovers with purpose suspension shock sock covers, made of neoprene these socks will prolong the life of the shock bodies and collars by keeping water, salt, and grit away from components. Team these socks up with ACF-50 anti-corrosion spray and your coilovers will look as good as new for years to come.
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Technical Info
Spring Rate Front | 18KG |
Spring Rate Rear | 10KG |
Top Mount Front | Aluminum Upper Mount |
Top Mount Rear | Aluminum Upper Mount |
Manufacturer | YSR |