You see I am a stubbornly proud farm girl and at twelve years old, I admit I had trouble seeing the ‘good’ sometimes. One time I remember my older sister was telling her new boyfriend that I was a little wimp and she could thump the tar out of me if she wanted to.

You see, although we never really fought, the exact opposite was true and I decided to prove it by putting her in a headlock and make her beg for me to let her go, in front of her new boyfriend of course. Not the ‘right’ thing to do but right or wrong it did make me feel good for a few minutes!

If it was tough for me to do the right thing then, you can imagine how difficult it is for me now sometimes, when life is a lot more complex.

So back to real life.

The first thing we hear about insurance is likely negative, from me included. Regardless of the fact that we really do need it and it does save a lot of people from financial ruin.

We hear about how expensive life insurance is and how ALL life insurance agents are pushy and rude. People talk about how difficult it is to make a claim and that the insurance agent mislead them with their policy and they don’t have the protection they thought they had.

I could go on but why don’t we try focusing on the positive for once?

Life insurance is something that can protect you and your family after a tragedy has occurred. Yes there are some insurances that would be a waste of money for everybody but if you take the time to find out what type of life insurance coverage suits your needs, you will minimize your expenses and ensure you are protected if your world is turned upside-down.

There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ life insurance policy but there is coverage that suits your situation best. By having the right amount of coverage if you die, your loved ones won’t be stuck trying to pay off all your debts or lower their standard of living in order to pay for all of your loose ends.

Doesn’t this make sense to you?

Try focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel and see all the good that insurance companies can offer.

It’s really not that tough if you choose to give it a shot. I double dog dare you try it!

My farm-girl lingo aside and translated into city slicker terms, that just means there are always going to be a few that spoil it for the others and the insurance world seems to win gold with this one.

It’s those one or two pushy little cockroaches, that will not stop coming at you no matter how many times you insult or assault them!…I’m kidding about that last part.

And trust me, I totally understand that you achieve great pleasure just thinking about playing nice for a few minutes, so you can draw them in, target them high with a fast dollyo chai gi (round house kick), following through with a snap dwi cha gi (back kick) and finishing with a solid hap cha gi (front snap kick)!

…sorry…that’s my inside-the-head voice getting carried away.

My master would not be impressed with me because for four years, my martial arts instructor patiently pounded into my thick skull, to always avoid fighting, by diffusing the situation (the exact opposite of how we handled things on the farm!).

He’s right but it is fun to think about sometimes!

Getting back on track. After failing with the nice stuff, the quickest route to getting rid of the pesky insurance agent is to bully right back. They really don’t like it when the tables are turned.

Read up on all you can about insurance and let them know you are fully aware of what you need and that you will not be using them for your purchase.

Although you need to make certain you are targeting the right person. Some insurance agents really are trying to convince you to purchase home, life, auto or health protection for the right reasons, because you need to make sure your family and financial responsibilities are taken care of, if you died.

I get that and it makes total sense. Unfortunately, there are those slicksters that are just out to make their commission and aren’t taking ‘NO! NOW GET OFF MY PROPERTY!’ for an answer.

Stand up to them and if that doesn’t work, you could always just tell on them! The Department of Insurance has a few ways to get things resolved rather quickly, with their own version of the rear naked choke hold!

With that said, where do you draw the line between making money and robbing? How much is too much? What is fair?

You guessed it, I’m a little peeved right now because I feel like I’m in handcuffs…and not the fun kind!

Now I will be the first to admit that my driving record isn’t perfect but it’s not a walking time-bomb either. I had a minor accident when I was 16, that’s twenty something years ago. There have been a few speeding tickets that I wasn’t able to work my way out of. I blame it on the cop being female.

But my record was pretty good until my major accident. Essentially I was hit by a 3/4 ton truck, as I was unable to stop at an intersection in a snowstorm. I remember my first conversation with my insurance adjuster very clearly, assuring me not to worry about anything because ‘they would take care of me,’ just before I blacked out.

Prior to the accident I was paying approximately $125 monthly for my auto insurance protection. After this single accident I was dropped from my insurance company, conveniently just a few days before my policy would officially be cancelled.

I do know that if your auto insurance coverage lapses for any reason, it makes it difficult to get a good rate or even find an insurance company to take you on.

‘Luck’ was on my side and I did manage to find an insurance company that could sign me up before the clock hit midnight and I turned into a pumpkin. And here’s the catch. My new rate is $249 per month! What the @$#%?

I had one accident in questionable weather conditions, where there were no other expenses except fixing the vehicles. I have paid religiously to the insurance company for twenty something years, with only one minor accident back when poufy hair and tye-dye pants were in!

This is where the handcuffs come into play. Along with most of the world, I really can’t function without a car and hence auto insurance becomes a staple. Same as if you’ve got a house, you need home insurance.

So lucky for you, I’m done whining and I’ve learned a tough lesson.

Unfortunately when your chips are down, don’t count on your auto insurance company to ‘take care of you.’ Never forget that they (your insurance adjuster) are doing their job and that depends in large part on how much money they can make and save their insurance company.

My advice…keep one eye on the road and the other on your insurance company at all times!

First off, you need to put on your thinking cap and take a few minutes to understand the different kinds of auto insurance available to you and the reasons behind each one.

Did you know that if you are labeled ‘high risk’ and had your license suspended due to driving uninsured or being convicted of drunk driving, that you will need to acquire a special insurance called SR22? This is essentially a document that your insurance provider will forward to the state, verifying that you have valid minimum liability coverage. With this, your license suspension will be lifted and you will be able to drive again.

It often seems like there is so much insurance information that tends to cloud the facts. So for now we’ll keep it simple.

With that said, these are the main types of auto insurance policies:

Personal Injury Protection

This is medical coverage for injuries to either yourself or someone from the other vehicle after a car accident. With PP your medical bills are paid regardless. This ‘no-fault’ insurance is mandatory for every driver in ‘no-fault’ states.

This insurance has two parts. The first is medical for things like doctor fees and medical bills, along with equipment. The next is the reimbursement for anything not medically related, like child care or lost wages.

Liability Insurance

This insurance pays for any injuries or damages to the other person and their property. In most states this is the minimum insurance that a driver must have.

As well, liability coverage pays for a lawyer if you are sued. The two types of liabilities covered are for bodily injury and personal property.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

This insurance will reimburse you for the damages caused by an uninsured driver. Obviously the driver has no liability coverage and hence this insurance will take care of your damages. Of course it doesn’t cover the uninsured driver at all. They are basically on their own.

Underinsured Coverage

This policy covers the damages caused by an underinsured driver. Meaning this policy will take care of the limits between their policy and yours. With that said, your policy has to be higher in order for this policy to be of use to you.

Collision Auto Insurance

This insurance will cover the damages to your vehicle, whether the fault is yours or the other driver.

Comprehensive Insurance

This policy covers damages to your automobile that is not from a collision. Examples would be fire, theft or even vandalism by a domestic farm animal.

Thoughts For Choosing

Your policy choice is strongly dependent on your state’s minimum liability coverage laws. Most people opt to go with the ‘cheapest’ insurance they can find, but often that’s not a wise decision.

It is important that you understand each of the options available and that you are protected fully for your particular situation. Paying a little more now might just be worth your while, when the tiger sneaks up behind you and decides to strike. It’s up to you as you’re in the driver’s seat.

Know what your auto insurance options are and you’ll have one less thing to worry about when you hit a pothole, in the always enthralling game of life.

Hopefully though, it’s after you have lived a long healthy life. Regardless, it is important to make sure you get adequate life insurance to protect you and your family in case something happens to you. Or maybe you have just purchased a home and want it to be covered.

In either case, it is important for you to take a few minutes to research your life insurance options and make sure you understand what amount of coverage you need and what sort of policy suits you best.

So if you are in the market for life insurance, it is your responsibility to make sure you don’t place your finances in jeopardy, by making some of these basic insurance screw ups.

Going Cheap

The price should not be your only focus when you are buying life insurance. Life insurance policies aren’t black and white and each one has a few different features that make it hard to measure against another.

In general though, term life insurance is cheaper to purchase than whole life. Although that fact alone, doesn’t make any one better than the other. With that said, a lot of term policies are convertible, meaning they can be switched into a permanent insurance policy at a later date, no matter what sort of health you are in. All of these policies differ in conversion terms and some are better than others for your situation. You need to figure out which suits your situation best.

There are some term policies that offer the conversion option up to age seventy, which is pretty amazing. Don’t forget to find out exactly what the terms are and if there are any restrictions. You don’t want the fine print to come back and bite you.

As well, there are limits to any policy, ensure you understand the limitations with all of your insurances.

Waiting For The Right Time

Stop waiting because there never is a ‘right’ time to buy life insurance. Nobody really wants to think about buying life insurance. Who wants to think about dying? Bottom line is, if you’re not financially independent, you need life insurance to make sure that your debts and family are taken care of.

As well, life insurance is relatively cheap when you’re young and healthy. As you get older the premiums start increasing and if you end up seriously ill, you might not qualify for life insurance.

So the best time for you to get it is when you are young and healthy.

Don’t Forget Life Insurance Is An Investment

Did you know that variable life insurance is a type of policy that gives you life insurance protection along with a cash value. You see some of your premium pays for the life insurance coverage and the rest goes into an account that will accumulate for you.

Often it is up to you to decide what mutual funds you’d like to invest this money in, so you need to make sure you keep on top of how they are doing if you want to make the most of your investment.

Missing Payments

Did you know that a late payment can affect a universal life insurance policy. This type of insurance can be a permanent policy that is sold as having long-term guaranteed protection at a low rate and is considerably different from term insurance. A lot of these kinds of policies have a cash surrender value but universal life with secondary guarantees, looks to maximizing the insurance available per dollar of premium.

In turn, some of these policies are reliant on the timing of your payments. If you are late with your payment, you policy may no longer be guaranteed. So if you bought the policy and it was guaranteed to age one hundred. Missing a payment may make it only guaranteed to age ninety-two.

Do Not Borrow

You can use the cash value of your policy after it accumulates to a reasonable amount, normally after about ten years or more. Of course there is a cost and you have to weigh the pros and cons.

The rate of return is generally not that good either, so you have to watch yourself.

As well, if you’ve taken out too much money, all of the gains you have made may be taxable. Make sure you ask your tax advisor if you have any questions.

Bottom Line

Life insurance is very important as you are building your life. You need it to protect you and your family if a tragedy should occur. Ensure that you do the research and make sure you get the coverage you need, for the right price.

The chances are pretty good that if you’ve got the appropriate life insurance in place, you’ll never have to use it. And that’s a good thing!

It’s a classic catch-22 here. You need to drive a vehicle in order to survive, yet you can’t afford to because your insurance company has decided to put your rates through the roof. Yes, your insurance company has done this. Not the government or anybody else. It is each separate insurance company that decides what rate they are going to charge you, based on their mood of the day. Not fair, but since when did that matter?

So you forego feeding your family for a week or two and manage to find a few dollars left on your credit card to pay your outrageous auto insurance bill. You really can’t afford your car insurance but you can’t afford the alternatives either.

1. You don’t bother with auto insurance and you get caught driving without insurance. If this happens you’re family will have nothing to eat for the rest of them month!
2. You don’t bother with auto insurance and end up in an accident. If that’s the case you will need to sign over the deed to your house as a start.

Let’s say you paid your premium, you were in an accident and you were denied coverage (yes, you were having a very bad day!). Don’t give up hope as there are a few things you can do.

First off, your insurance company has a legal and contractual obligation to quickly and fairly settle your auto insurance claim. You can:

• Write back and prove to the insurance company that they made a mistake. (Of course you will have to provide documentation of their mistake).
• You can plead your case to the State Insurance Commissioner. (Good luck with this one).
• You can throw the legal darts at them and get a lawyer to send them a letter regarding your situation. (If you’re lucky this might miraculously refresh their memory).
• More legal darts. You can try suing the insurance company for breach of contract, bad faith or any other violation that might work for you. (Can you say ‘deep pockets?’).

There’s no denying it, auto insurance is often frustrating but you really don’t have a choice here. You are required by law to have insurance on your vehicle and you are just plain stupid not to protect yourself.

My advice is to shop around. Compare prices and get the best auto insurance rate possible by getting quotes. Take the time to research what sort of rates are available to you and why. You might as well make the best out of a depressing situation.

Maybe you should think of it this way. You’ve got to lug your heavy pack on the hike just in case you need something. So why not forget about the inevitable and focus on the beautiful day!

So it’s not a question of whether or not you need health insurance, it’s ensuring you get the coverage you need, for the best rate possible.

The ’seriousness’ of health insurance is the Yin. So where’s the Yang?

Well the Yang of the health insurance industry is the humor, or lightheartedness that’s always been there, but often overlooked. This lightness balances things out, as it works against the ’serious’ side of health insurance.

Today I’m going to ignore the ’stresses’ surrounding health insurance and focus on the funny side, with a few weird and funny medical facts, to get those endorphins pumping!

• Did you know that Queen Victoria ordered a few joints from her doctor to combat menstrual cramps? ( LMAO…You rock! )
• Were you aware that some people have died from paper cuts? You see, the cut gets infected and if not treated, you can die. ( I’m proud to shout out to the world that I am a survivor, although that really freaks me out! )
• Do you believe your thumb and your nose are the same length? ( I didn’t tell you to prove it! I asked if you believe! )
• Did you know that undertakers report that dead bodies decompose slower today, than they used to? They believe that all the preservatives we are eating, is causing this change. ( Take that, all you health freaks! I’ve got scientific proof there is at least one benefit to eating junk food! )

There…you’re smiling! Now go and balance this out by getting your Yin. Make sure you’ve got the health insurance coverage that works for you, cuz you just never know when life is going to throw your a curve ball.

Maybe it’s because black and white isn’t part of the insurance aura? Or is it that we are just too lazy to try and understand what insurance is all about? Either way, the lingo itself can be very intimidating. Big words intertwined with long sentences are very scary, especially to the average person.

The funny thing is, that although there are oodles of variance in insurance products, the basic concepts really are quite lucid. If you take a few moments to let your pre-determined thoughts about the complexity of insurance go and learn about it from the start, like Insurance 101, you will realize that it doesn’t have to be so confusing.

That said, renters insurance is in the middle of the mix. Actually it is often forgotten. People don’t really ‘think’ they need renters insurance. Most believe the landlord’s policy will cover them, should an unexpected accident occur. Say like a fire, theft, flood or other natural disaster.

This can be a very costly notion, in that most home insurance policies will not cover the content of a tenant, they only cover the structure of the building. Unfortunately many people have lost everything because of this fallacy. Sad, but true.

Another misconception is that renters insurance is inflated. Where in fact, renters insurance is rather affordable. A simple insurance quote will back this up. It’s important for you to make sure your possessions are protected and renters insurance can do this for you.

With that said, it may well be the mindset of people that causes issue. You’re crazy to think that people go out to buy insurance thinking they are going to end up making a claim. The opposite is true. We believe that we are doing the right thing buying renters insurance, but will never ever have to use it. With that in mind, we opt for the cheapest coverage possible and call it a day.

This one just might come back to bite you in the you-know-what! There are many different policy variations and it’s important for you to understand which one suits you and why. There are limits for the money that can be given in every category and often a policy will have certain exclusions. For example if you live in an area prone to flooding, that will be an exclusion in your policy. You will be left out in the cold if your house floods and you lose everything. It doesn’t matter how much you are paying for renters insurance or all the plump riders you’ve got, if flooding isn’t in it, your policy is useless.

Have you ever heard of Actual Cash Value (ACV) or Replacement Cost Value (RCV)? They are examples of simple word substitution, that have huge differences. A policy with ACV will replace your lost items with a brand new replacement. Doesn’t matter if your television was ten years old, as you will get a brand new one. It costs you nothing extra out of your pocket.

If however you have a RCV clause in your policy, your item will be replaced at the value it is worth. In other words, if you strippers pole was fifteen years old, your insurance company would do a little research and give you the value of your pole fifteen years ago. Well you can blame it on inflation, but it’s going to cost you a lot more to buy that pole today and that is going to have to come out of your pocket. Can you imagine having to do that with hundreds of items? The amount of money you will need to get everything back will be astronomical. You will either have to downgrade in what you replace or come up with the extra cash somehow. Again, you were trying to do the right thing getting renters insurance, but it’s really only working at about half speed.

Rather simple when it’s actually explained, but ignoring or not bothering, when it comes to rental insurance, can only cause pain. Make sure you get a quote and invest in a piece of mind. You won’t be sorry you did.

It’s like thinking a cow is going to kick you, just because you remember the nasty hoof-cleaner talking about taking a few side kicks to the noggin. If you just stopped a minute to think logically. If you were the cow, you would have kicked him too, after being jabbed with the pitch fork and cursed at constantly!

The point is, there are pluses and minuses with everything in life, depending on your experiences and circumstances. For instance, if we took the time to pop our life insurance prejudices out of our head, and look at the reasoning behind life insurance, we’d be better able to determine if we need it and why.

I used to be a ‘groupie’ for term insurance. There are no inflated premiums for savings and insurance. The idea was to pay just for the insurance you would need to cover your liabilities, funeral expenses and take care of your family if you died. When you reached the point of financial independence, you get rid of it. Makes sense to me.

Whereas whole life insurance is basically insurance and savings. You pay a little more than with term, but this money will slowly accumulate into a small amount of cash value, which you can have at the end of the term, or borrow against while you have the policy. Of course it will cost you to borrow YOUR money. I never really did get that.

Funny thing is, now I can understand why whole life insurance may be the ‘right’ type of life insurance for some people. A lot depends on an individuals mindset. If someone is not very disciplined when it comes to saving, but believes wholeheartedly in life insurance, maybe whole life insurance is a good thing for them, as it forces savings.

Now the return on the savings is embarrassing, less than 3%, but at least they will have something at the end of the day.

Insurance policy’s aren’t out to rip you off! They are there for a reason, for a specific situation and just because it does not apply to you, does not mean insurance is the devil in disguise.

You have the responsibility to inform yourself on the different life insurances and to choose what works best for you. Set your fears aside and start learning, you’ll be pleasantly surprised, what you discover in the amalgamated pot of insurance, just outside of Purgatory.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve had someone come into the office, with some tall tale, compliments of the uninformed insurance rumor mill. Often I’m laughing inside and can’t help but smile just a little thinking about it.

So I’m going to help save you from getting fished in and educate you a little bit in the process, by de-bunking a few of these auto insurance myths for you.

• Having a red car means higher rates than a white one. It does not matter if your car is painted rainbow, the color does not affect your rates. They are dependent on your driving history, vehicle engine size, make, model and year, along with your credit rating.
• You don’t need auto insurance if you haven’t had an accident. Yikes! This one is just plain dangerous. In most states it’s the law to have auto insurance if you own a vehicle. It’s absolutely insane not to protect yourself. On a positive note, if you haven’t had any accidents chances are your car insurance will be very affordable. Try and keep it that way.
• I have no fault insurance, so an accident isn’t my fault. Wow…this one can be an eye opener for some. No-fault insurance means the insurer pays for the damages as a result of the accident regardless of who was at fault.
• If my friend driving my car and has an accident, their insurance will pay for it. This one couldn’t be further from the truth. It was your car in the accident and it is your insurer that pays for the damages. Chances are you will also be on record because it’s your vehicle and you could still see an increase in your premiums.
• It’s the government that sets the auto insurance rates. Nope, guess again! Fact is the insurance department in you state only sets the maximums the insurance industry can charge. It’s up to your individual insurance company to decide the rate you’re going to pay. Of course this is largely dependent on your driving record, marital status, car you drive and where you live (you may want to check some auto insurance quotes from different providers)

You may be laughing at of few of these or maybe even be turning a shade or two red with embarrassment.

Regardless, it’s important that you understand just how the insurance process works, so that you can make sure you get the coverage you need and for all the ‘right’ reasons. ]]> http://www.insurancehits.com/blog/befuddled-auto-insurance-lies.html/feed 0 http://www.insurancehits.com/health-insurance/health-insurance-coverage/health-insurance-decisions.html http://www.insurancehits.com/health-insurance/health-insurance-coverage/health-insurance-decisions.html#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:58:55 +0000 LynnKees http://www.insurancehits.com/?p=955 When you take out your health insurance policy, there are many different things you must consider. What might immediately spring to mind is the premium of the policy, but there are other concerns that you should think about before paying that first premium.

HMO vs. PPO: An HMO policy is pretty restrictive about the doctors that you can see on the plan. You may only visit those doctors who are in-network if you want to pay a pre-negotiated rate or have insurance help you out at all. A PPO policy offers you a bit more flexibility in that you can visit doctors outside the network and still get some financial recompense from the insurer. If all your favorite doctors work within an HMO network, this could work out great for you. But if you have established relationships with doctors outside the network, then a PPO could be a better choice.

Deductible and Out of Pocket Maximum: Your premiums aren’t the only monies you will need to spend each month when you have health insurance. If you have an HMO you may need to spend money on copayments. If you have a PPO, then you might have both deductibles and out of pocket maximums – both of which will determine what you are financially liable for each year in addition to premiums. In fact, your insurance benefits won’t even kick in until you’ve spent your deductible. Deductibles and out of pocket maximums can be small or large amounts and they can present an impressive financial burden if an accident or medical need arises and you are not ready for it.

Limits: Every insurance policy has a lifetime limit. That means there is a maximum dollar amount that your insurer will pay out on your behalf over the course of your lifetime. Often these limits are in the millions, which sounds like a lot, but if you have or develop a chronic illness or injury that needs extended care, you may find yourself reaching the limit pretty quickly. A lower limit protects the insurance company’s interests and will reduce your premium, but it also creates more potential liability and exposure for you.

Group or Individual Policy: Many of the above choices and decisions become moot when you are offered acceptance into a group policy, or do they? Group health insurance policies are great options for some individuals, especially those with pre-existing conditions who are often denied individual coverage because of their health history. But what about healthy individuals who are young and have almost no history of illness? For these individuals, the rates offered by group insurance policies may not be beneficial and the inflexible benefits might also be unsuitable for their lifestyle and risk. This is why it is best to compare rates on individual policies with various network structures, limits and deductibles, to the rates of a group policy. This ensures that you get the best deal for you and your health history instead of just taking what’s available.

When looking at health insurance options always do your best to evaluate all the options and weigh them according to importance – don’t just think about premiums.

While clean up, loss and insurance claims are all expected after effects of tornadoes and other storms, there is another after effect that is generally felt by more individuals that those who actually had storm or tornado damage and that is: premium increases upon renewal.

Many southern and coastal state residents deal with this after a busy hurricane season. Even those who have not had a claim will often feel the pinch of universally increased home insurance premiums. Analysts are not expecting home insurance rates to jump too substantially next year, but since we are just now getting into hurricane season, the combined damages faced by insurers could definitely have a significant impact on future rates.

To guard against this risk, it is important that you compare home insurance rates every year instead of just accepting your current insurer’s renewal premium rates. In addition, you can stay abreast of code changes and building material improvements so as you renovate your home’s roof, windows and storm shutters, you can get the most sturdy and protective materials out there.

Lastly, it is important that you monitor rebuilding expenses in your area as well as the value of the contents of your home. This will ensure that you keep reasonable limits on your home insurance policy instead of paying for protection you don’t need or not getting all the insurance you could actually use.

So you may very well know that if you stop and compare auto insurance premiums you might save money, but rather than go to the phone, call your agent, fill out forms and get a few different quotes, you decide instead that time is a more precious commodity for you and you simply renew the same policy year after year.

By simply renewing your existing policy you may be saving time, but you could be throwing hundreds of dollars out the window each year – and hundreds of dollars must be worth just a little bit of your time, right? If you agree, then consider the value of online quoting systems that allow you to get adjusted quotes for your auto insurance quickly and easily, at whatever time of day you want to get them.

With online quoting systems, you get all the benefits of having a personal insurance agent looking for quotes from various insurance companies, but it only takes a few minutes and you can do it by yourself, from the comfort of home. You can do it at 3 AM if that is the best time for you to compare rates.

Saving money on auto insurance and other types of insurance is an easy way to help get your financial future on track. It ensures that you get the kind of coverage you are looking for without a premium that breaks the bank and waylays your savings. Luckily, with the internet, it’s also become extremely easy and fast – so why not compare auto insurance quotes today?

Case Point 1: The Cost

Term life insurance offers an affordable alternative to permanent life. Because it is a straight insurance policy with no cash value accumulation (something that permanent life insurance has), the premiums cover the cost of insurance only. If you are looking at your life insurance policy as a source of affordable protection for your heirs and not as a source of tax-free loans, possible returns and surrender value, then term life makes the most sense.

The low cost of term life insurance also makes it easy to keep since you don’t often have to adjust your budget for its addition. When you compare the cost of the policy to the benefits, you will probably realize how very valuable this type of policy is.

Case Point 2: Temporary Coverage

Term life insurance is meant to give you a temporary source of life insurance proceeds. This makes it especially handy when you go through a time of increased debt or financial obligation and want to provide your family with an additional death benefit to supplement that.

For instance, let’s say you have recently bought a new home with a 15-year mortgage. You already have a permanent life insurance policy covering you, but now the additional $150,000 debt you’ve taken on for your new home will place an additional burden onto your heirs. If you take out a 15-year term policy with a $150,000 death benefit, then you can reduce that burden for your beneficiaries without increasing your monthly expenses too much.

Case Point 3: The Flexibility

One of the biggest selling points for term life insurance is that it is a very flexible product. You can decide how many years you want the coverage to stand, how much you want your death benefit to be, and even whether or not to continue paying for it once the policy is in-force.

And those are just some of your options. You can also design a policy with a decreasing death benefit to mimic the decreasing debt balances you are trying to cover, one with level premiums or increasing premiums, and you can even add on riders that offer more benefits including a return of premium if no death benefit is paid out by the end of the term.

Life insurance is vital to your family, no matter what kind you buy. But a term life insurance can offer you affordability and flexibility that is unbeaten by other types of life insurance and which fits into your lifestyle and needs perfectly.

But when you compare auto insurance rates, it is a good idea to think about value too – not just whether or not you can afford to pay the monthly premium or you whether or not you have found the lowest price. Because if the premium you pay each month doesn’t give you a value that you respect, then it is really just throwing away money you probably can’t afford to lose.

The value your auto insurance policy offers you can be hard to quantify. The best way to look at it is to consider how much protection it offers your overall financial picture. For instance, an auto insurance policy with a $1,000 deductible for property damage liability and a $10,000 limit is not only going to expose you to $1,000 worth of financial responsibility for every incident, it is also going to require you to pay damages that exceed $10,000 – which can easily happen with many of the newer model vehicles. But a more expensive policy with a $500 deductible and $20,000 limit for property damage liability offers you more protection, and more value, with a higher premium.

Auto insurance can ensure that you don’t need to dip into your personal coffers in order to reimburse someone else, or yourself, for the damages done in a car accident. This is a value almost beyond measure when trying to consider future risk of accident and the costs that could be involved.

A popular type of estate planning strategy is to use a trust to hold assets and dictate their distribution. Many individuals like the idea of putting their life insurance policies into a trust. It’s not necessary to do so, but it can have a few advantages:

1. Irrevocable trusts can keep assets safe from creditors: In some cases (including divorce) irrevocable trusts can keep your assets safe from creditors. This is important only if you have a life insurance policy that accumulates cash values.
2. Trusts can spell out conditions: If you make a trust the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, then you have more control over when your heirs get the death benefit proceeds. You cannot stipulate these conditions on the policy itself.

With that said, there is no need to have a life insurance trust in place. Life insurance policy death benefits are federal tax exempts and do not need to go through probate. Since those are two of the most important priorities for most individuals, knowing that you don’t need a trust in order to achieve them should help you decide whether or not that’s a priority in your life, because trusts aren’t always easy to create. You need to find and appoint a trustee, have the papers drawn up, and deal with gifting issues when you decide to appoint one as the owner of a life insurance policy that you are still paying premiums for.

So consider all the angles carefully and make sure a trust works with your goals and priorities before you go to the trouble.

Cutting your expenses after retirement is a good, and often necessary, idea. But it can be difficult to figure out which expenses can be cut and which can’t. Obviously living expenses like rent, mortgage, property taxes and electricity will remain. Your electricity use can be handled conservatively, but you’re still going to pay that bill.

One expense that a lot of post-retirees go for is life insurance. Assuming that their heirs will simply get the leftovers of their retirement savings, many post-retirees cancel their life insurance policies and take the cash surrender value. This saves them their annual premiums, for sure – but it’s still not always a good idea.

First, the annual premium on a life insurance policy is an investment in the future of your heirs that is rarely substituted by the value of your remaining retirement funds after death. And if you have significant retirement savings to pass on, life insurance death benefit proceeds can help cut some of the tax obligations your heirs will have. Additionally, life insurance death benefit proceeds do not need to go through probate court, which your retirement savings likely will.

Finally, life insurance policies give you a little mental relief from the obligations that leaving something behind create. It’s one thing to be conservative about post-retirement spending because you want to conserve your savings for you – and it’s another thing to be concerned about trying to leave a legacy for your family. With life insurance, you don’t need to give that a second thought.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance covers business owners form the liabilities associated with owning and/ or using a car for business purposes – even if those business purposes take up a very small percentage of the car’s overall use. If you run or own a business, and your car is used for anything within that business, then you probably need to look into commercial car insurance coverage. Commercial uses of your car include running errands to pick up Post-It notes and making coffee runs. Additionally, if you store or transport company or clientele possessions in the car, then this makes another case for commercial auto insurance coverage.

Personal Auto Insurance

Personal auto insurance covers the liabilities and accidents of individuals who drive their cars only for personal reasons and not for business purposes. If your car is used only for personal travel, which includes driving to and from work, or completing personal errands, then personal auto insurance is likely the right type of coverage for you.

Why It Matters

The goal of auto insurance, be it personal or commercial, is to ensure that your personal finances are minimally affected in the face of a driving related accident or injury which is, or isn’t, your fault. But in order to price your policy correctly, insurance companies need to know what you use your car for. Because your risk of accident and the possible expenses of related damages can change depending on whether you use a vehicle for business or personal reasons, or both.

When you do not give your insurance company all the information they need t price your policy correctly, then you take away their ability to minimize their own risks adequately. As a result, they will deny claims if they find that there were inaccuracies in your application for coverage. This may result in the rescission, or cancellation, of your policy with a refund of premiums.

In general, cutting corners with insurance doesn’t usually benefit a policyholder. If you think coverage will be more expensive when you admit that there are some commercial uses for your vehicle then you may be right, but you will also be ensuring that you get and pay for coverage which is useful to you, and not just a false sense of security that will not pay off when it is needed. So honestly assess your vehicle usage before getting auto insurance quotes and you will make yourself, your business and your family more financially secure in the long run.

Step 1: If possible, bring your car to the shoulder of the road. If you can do so safely, take a picture of the scene before you move the cars, and definitely take pictures after moving the cars. Remember that blocking traffic and moving around the wreckage could be dangerous. So if your cars are still mobile, move them to the shoulder and out of everyone’s way.

Step 2: Call the police. Unless it was an extremely minor fender bender, you should probably call the police to your accident to get witness statements and assess the scene and damage, making your insurance claim more accurate.

Step 3: Call your insurance company. They may have an adjuster who can come to the scene and write up a report about the damage and maybe even arrange for another vehicle for you. If you don’t have auto insurance, or if you think your coverage may be insufficient for real damage caused by an accident, get a new auto insurance quote now. After all, auto insurance may not keep you physically safe, but it can keep you financially safe and guarantee proper medical treatment after an accident.

Step 4: Exchange information with the other driver. The other driver might be responsible for some damages, or may need to be reimbursed by your insurer, so be sure to get their information.

Step 5: Do a safety check of your vehicle. If you think that the damage was relatively simple and that you can drive your car rather than call a tow truck, make sure you walk around the car prior to driving away and that you conduct a safety check. Check your tires and your lights, then check for any hanging car parts or loose parts.

Filing A Claim

The first thing you should do if a tree or limb falls on your home, no matter whose tree it is, is call your insurance company and file a claim. After a storm, many people will be reaching out to insurance companies which means claims processing could become bottlenecked. The quicker you get your claim in, the faster you can get the damage fixed.

It is vital that you get damage fixed as quickly as possible so that there isn’t any additional water or structural damage from continued exposure to the elements and weight pressure from the fallen limb.

Many people, when trying to keep home insurance quotes low, avoid making claims, hoping they can use their neighbor’s home insurance policy if it was their neighbor’s tree that fell. But this is not the case, and is just another reason why you need home insurance if you don’t already have it.

Next Steps

Take a look around outside and determine whether or not there are any downed wires that need the attention of law enforcement or the power company in order to keep everyone in the neighborhood safe.

You can also take pictures of the damage for your own records or to show the insurance company in the event that they suggest you hire someone to help stem the damage before they get an assessor out there. If you do hire someone, don’t be too quick to hire just any old contractor. Check out their work licenses and insurance and, when possible, check out their company on the Better Business Bureau website or consumer sites like Angie’s List.

Also, if the home is overly exposed to the elements after the incident, or if there is any potential structural damage, you may consider leaving until repairs are done and the property is safe again.

Who is Responsible?

In the end, it doesn’t matter whose tree fell on whose house. The owner of the damaged home is the individual who should file the home insurance claim – which is why every home owner needs to get a home insurance quote, even if they’ve paid off their mortgage and are no longer required to carry coverage. If there is a deductible, the neighbors may want to work together to determine who is responsible for paying the deductible. Generally speaking, a healthy tree that has fallen after a storm is not necessarily any individual’s fault. But if an arborist can attest that that the tree hasn’t been properly cared for and that contributed to the incident, then the neighbors may wish to work something out between themselves.

No matter what, remember that the safety of you, your family and your neighborhood should come first. Things can always be replaced and repaired, people can’t. Be safe and smart and fast about having home insurance and filing your claim after storm damage.

We’re not surprised by much of the talk we see, and actually – it inspires a lot of the blog posts we have each week. But there is one thing that does surprise us, and we can’t understand why it keeps happening. Are you ready? Okay, here goes:

We’ve noticed that a lot of people have purchased phone insurance for their smart phones. This insurance covers lost and damaged phones and, since smart phones cost several hundreds of dollars, it certainly makes sense. But about as many people mention having phone insurance as mention not having life insurance.

Now, this confuses us. Admittedly, we are insurance geeks here, but still – it seems that insuring your life and providing a death benefit to those family members that outlive you would be at least as important as having phone insurance, if not more so. And while phone insurance is cheap, term life insurance can also be a very inexpensive way to deliver a much more substantial benefit to your heirs than phone insurance delivers when you crack the screen of your smart phone.

Phone insurance can cost about 10% of the cost of your phone – every month. Life insurance, on the other hand, can give you tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars worth of protection for just a little bit more than you currently pay for phone insurance.

So if you have phone insurance, but no life insurance, why not get a quick quote for a term life insurance policy and see just how cost-effective this coverage can be?

1. Name a beneficiary. Life insurance death benefit proceeds do not need to go through probate – unless they are left to an estate. So if you have left your primary beneficiary election black or wrote in, “Estate,” then you could cause your family a lot of additional grief after your death. Talk to your insurer about naming a beneficiary so that you heirs can utilize the death benefit proceeds quickly after death, instead of waiting through probate.
2. Name a contingent beneficiary. Many people leave their contingent beneficiary choice blank on their life insurance application, assuming that they don’t need to make that election. Unfortunately, if your primary beneficiary passes away before you, then your lack of naming a contingent could be making it difficult for your beneficiaries by putting them into that same probate situation outlined above. Name a contingent beneficiary and you can avoid this.
3. Put copies of your policy with your other estate planning documents. This will make it easy for your family to find the policy and insurance company contact information after you’ve passed on.
4. Set up auto draft payments. It’s easy to forget to pay your life insurance premium, especially since it isn’t something you will use as often as all the other types of insurance protection you have. Go ahead and set up an auto draft either through your bank or the insurance company so you can keep your policy in-force, even if you forget about it.
5. Create an annual review reminder. Your life insurance needs don’t stay static – they change almost every year as you reduce or increase your debt, as your kids get older, as you have more kids, as your net worth grows or shrinks, etc. Make an appointment on your calendar to update your life insurance policy annually.

But insurance is all about risk for you AND the insurance company. While the insurer gets to spell out all the terms of the contract, and you just agree to the terms by making payments, when it comes to risk, you and the insurance company are equal partners because you both assume some risk when you have an insurance policy.

Your risk is broken up into three things: deductibles, limits and premiums. Deductibles serve as some risk to you because if your insurable event costs as much as your deductible is, then you will be required to pay for it.

Limits expose you to a bit of risk because, if your claims damage exceed the limits of your policy, you will not get any insurance company reimbursement for the amount and will need to pay them out of pocket. Of course, you can avoid this if you have an umbrella policy.

Insurance premiums are a sort of risk because it is possible that you may pay your premiums, year after year after year, and never actually have a claim. To many individuals, this makes insurance a “waste.” But the risk is what you need to pay for protection against what COULD happen. This is not a waste; it is simply the way that insurance works.

Coverage is the mainstay of insurance company’s risk. For example, let’s take a look at auto insurance. Your auto insurance coverage may go so far as to offer you reimbursement for a car that is totaled. That means that after just a few small auto insurance premiums, your insurer could be responsible for buying you a brand new car.

But your work isn’t over yet – because while you may have a great, low rate to pay this year, any number of little driving mistakes could work to increase the premium you must pay next year when the policy renews.

Avoiding Rate Increases

Some rate increases are unavoidable – like those that are spread amongst all policyholders equally rather than being determined by policyholder-specific data. Other rate increases have to do with age and marital status – things you either can’t help or don’t want to enter into solely based on how they affect your premium.

The last group of rate increases occurs as a direct result of your driving habits, and these are completely avoidable. In order to maintain inexpensive rates, try the following.

Don’t drive tired. Driving tired increases the likelihood that you will have an accident that is your fault – which will raise your auto insurance rates. Make sure you get a good night’s rest before any long drives and that you stop for frequent breaks. If you find yourself needing to drive while tired, consider taking a walk first or getting a hotel room to rest before you get behind the wheel.

Don’t drive while distracted. Whether it’s your cell phone, children, coffee or newspaper, you should not drive while you are paying attention to other things. Pay attention to the road ahead of you and the other drivers so that you can help avert accidents and ensure that you don’t cause them. Driving should be your priority while you are doing it.

Take a defensive driving class. Not only can a defensive driving class give you discounts on your auto insurance premium, it can also help you learn to drive better and react to potential accidents in a way that minimizes the likelihood that there even is an accident. Between the discounts and the better driving, these classes are worth their weight in gold.

Keep up with car repair. When you bring your car in for a tune-up, your mechanic doesn’t just change your filters and oil, he or she actually looks at the state of your tires and windshield wipers – things that need to be in good repair in order to help you avoid accidents. In addition, your mechanic can also look for things that are getting ready to break and could leave you stranded if they break down while you’re driving.

It is up to you to keep your driving safe and responsible in order to avoid accidents in which you are at fault. Not only will this help you keep your auto insurance rates low, but it will also keep your life simpler since you won’t have to deal with all the fall-out that an accident entails.

As a customer, there are many things you can use your insurer’s website for. Things like:

Getting quotes: If you want to make changes to your policy, you can often use an insurance company’s website to request the changes and see what your new premium would be. For instance, when using an auto insurance company’s website, you may be able to add a new car to the coverage, change deductibles and limits and even add coverages. You’ll also get to see the cost of these changes before committing to them.

Getting policy copies: Misplacing your insurance policy happens, but when you have online access to your policy you can request another copy easily. Some insurance companies may even offer digital copies from their website that help facilitate better storage.

Requesting new cards: If you lose your insurance card, you will probably need a new one sent as soon as possible, especially if it is an auto insurance card. Calling an insurance company and dealing with an automated message can be frustrating, but an insurer’s website might offer the perfect way to notify them that you need a new card quickly and easily.

Understanding your policy: The terminology used on some insurance policies is hard to understand. Many insurers offer handy definitions on their site that make reading, and understanding, your policy much easier. These may be in a special policyholder-only section of the site or might be on the public part.

Making claims: Not everyone has the time to sit on the phone with their insurance company making a claim. Many insurers offer online access to claims forms and digital claim submission processes. Not only are these easier and less time consuming than calling an insurer, they also make it easier to keep records of your claims.

Get your discounts: Many insurance customers find that buying insurance through certain carriers provides them with discounts on other services and products like car rentals, hotel stays, and even phone service. But you might not know about any of these services unless you log on to your insurer’s online system and track them down.

For convenience, time saving and ease of use, take advantage of the online system that your insurance company has set up. Be sure that it is on a secure server, and make sure you only log in at home so you don’t run the added risk of identity theft. This will save you a little bit of time in your daily life and help ensure that you get the most out of your auto insurance premium.

Put a disposable camera in your glove compartment: A picture of an accident scene can tell your insurance company a lot about the damage your car suffered and who was likely at fault. If your cell phone doesn’t have a camera, then put a disposable camera in your glove compartment in order to ensure that you can capture photo evidence if you are ever in an accident.

Save up for your deductible: If you have a deductible, then you have a responsibility to pay a certain portion of the damage that your next accident causes. Start saving up for your deductible now so that you have the money available if an accident actually occurs.

Upgrade your anti-theft system: Not only will an anti-theft system help prevent your vehicle from being stolen, it will also give you discounts come renewal time. If you already have an anti-theft system, consider upgrading it or adding additional measures.

Download apps: The cell phone is a major distracter and is responsible for many car accidents. Download an app that sends an auto text to anyone texting you while driving, that you are busy and will get back to them when it is safe for you to text. Some insurance companies offer discounts for the use of these apps and even if yours doesn’t – you will still reduce your risk of accident.

Take a defensive driving course: A defensive driving course will teach you how to better react to other drivers and reduce your risk of accident. It will also bring auto insurance discounts.

Insurance companies have to be able to limit their risks. When you pay a few hundred dollars for an insurance policy that could pay out thousands when a claim is made, you realize that insurers have to exclude certain items in order to preserve their bottom line and ensure that they have enough money collected in premiums to pay all claims they receive.

But travel insurance policies aren’t the only policies subject to unexpected exclusions. Life insurance policies also have exclusions that you should beware of. While we can’t generalize, since all insurance companies have their own operations, we can tell you that the following items are generally excluded from coverage:

Acts of war, terrorism, or civil unrest: If you die due to an act of war, civil unrest or terrorism, your death claim might be excluded.

Suicide: During the first two years you can expect your life insurance policy to have a suicide exclusion to prohibit you from buying a policy with the intent of committing suicide so your family can benefit.

Death during illegal activity: If your death occurs while you are in the process of engaging in an illegal activity, it will likely be excluded.

In many states, these exclusions are only in effect during the first two years that you have a policy. Be sure to read your life insurance policy fully to find out if these exclusions or others are included in yours and for how long.

While a traditional auto insurance policy won’t always cover these specialty vehicles, the auto insurance companies that you get auto insurance quotes from usually will under a different type of policy. It might be considered a watercraft or recreational policy, but you can generally find this information when you look for traditional auto insurance coverage.

You might think that your limited use of the recreational vehicles you own makes it unnecessary to even bother with insurance, but you really need to rethink that stance. Recreational vehicles are often involved in accidents, injury and property damage. Sometimes, that’s the result of the user’s inexperience in handling a vehicle they don’t use often. Other times, it results from the fact that recreational vehicles often canvass unfamiliar and slightly dangerous terrain like water and snowy embankments.

There’s no point in ruining what can be a perfectly fun weekend by having an accident in your snowmobile and realizing that you have no insurance coverage to pay for medical treatment or the replacement/ repair of the craft. Instead, when you compare auto insurance rates, look into the appropriate coverage for your recreational vehicles as well. Balance out your deductible and limits to help create a monthly premium you can afford, then go forth and have fun!

1. Read your policy: Does your policy provide coverage for acupuncture or other alternative treatments? Does it provide full benefits when you see the doctors you already have a relationship with? Does it have any discount vision or dental benefits included? You will never fully utilize all your policy’s benefits unless you take the time to actually understand them. Also, to avoid activities that would NOT be covered, you also need to read your policy.
2. Get your checkups: Much like a car, your body needs regular check-ups to catch potential illnesses before they spread or become untreatable. By getting regular check-ups you ensure that you can get treatment for problems before they hit the large scale, and before they become pre-existing conditions that result in additional premiums.
3. Save for your deductible: If your plan has a deductible or coinsurance amount, then these are amounts that you will need to pay out of pocket each year that you spend a certain amount on your health insurance expenses. Deductibles need to be met before your insurance company will pay anything toward a claim, and coinsurance amounts are the portion of the medical expenses you must pay alongside what your insurance company pays.

Remember, you are paying for the policy so you should use it and plan around it as you would any other financial asset.

Some of these commercials are very funny. My personal favorites are the mayhem commercials, which have a sardonic twist that always makes me laugh. And while you might have your own personal favorite auto insurance commercial, it is important that you not pick an auto insurance policy based on the commercial that the insurance company puts out there.

It’s nice that ad agencies and marketing departments are trying to develop advertising materials that inform and entertain, but that doesn’t mean that the insurance policies offered by one company producing great commercials are a better choice for you than another company that isn’t. So rather than make your choice based on commercials, compare the costs of all auto insurance companies before you buy a policy. Check on the rates and compare the coverage options you get with each rate. Be sure to make sure you have chosen comparable limits and deductibles when you compare rates, and look to see if the deductibles and limits are reasonable for the claims expenses you are likely to endure. You should also take a moment to look at the AM best ratings of each insurer before you choose in order to see if one is more financially stable than another.

Enjoying a commercial is one thing; buying insurance is another. Don’t confuse the laugh out loud talent of some commercial writers with a representation of quality in an insurance company.

1. Those individuals who state that everyone needs some sort of health insurance.
2. Those individuals who think you don’t–that healthy living and a catastrophic policy are all many people need.

So which side is right? Well, that really depends on your individual situation and health.

To have Health Insurance

Health insurance can do more than just get you treatment when you are ill or injured. It can help you afford a quality of treatment that you might not be able to when paying out-of-pocket. Health insurance also ensures that your savings – which you work hard to accumulate – remains untouched in the face of an expensive health issue. If you work with an in-network practitioner or facility, you will also benefit from the discounts the insurance company has negotiated, which further serve to protect your bottom line.

Of course, there can be some drawbacks to having health insurance. It is possible that you could have insurance for decades without your healthcare expenses during that time actually making the premium ‘worthwhile.’ But it is important to remember that a health insurance policy isn’t a coupon plan that you pay a premium for and expect to ‘profit’ from. Health insurance, like all other insurance policies, is there to provide you protection against the risk that you could have heavy bills for unexpected medical treatments. This protection against risk is the most important intangible benefit to insurance that there is.

To have Not

For many people, health insurance is a prohibitively expensive purchase. The monthly premiums can be overwhelming to those with an already tight budget and if these individuals are relatively healthy and rarely ill, they may not use the insurance enough to actually make it worth having.

For these individuals, staying healthy by eating right and exercising and having a catastrophic plan for accidents could be the best, and most affordable, solution. However, it is important to remember that a catastrophic plan may provide no insurance for treatment of long-term illnesses. Additionally, as you age it will become more expensive and difficult to qualify for health insurance coverage. And if you wait until you are sick before you attempt to get health insurance, you may not be insurable at all. Finally, you can accumulate a massive amount of debt getting treatment for an accident or illness if you are not covered with health insurance.

At this point, health insurance is an optional protection – like life insurance. It is up to each individual to determine whether their financial situation and prior health experience justify the purchase of insurance or not. But before you make the decision, it is a good idea to compare health insurance premiums and determine just how affordable a policy might be.

Fortunately for Frankle, he realized in time that the financial needs of his family had changed – whether that change was due to inflation, increased standards of living, or even just increased financial needs associated with aging.

But most people aren’t so lucky. Many consumers look at life insurance as one of those policies you buy and then forget about. Pay the premium every year, and you never worry about it again. But your life insurance policy will probably need to evolve just as your entire financial plan does.

Some things to consider when weighing whether or not to update your life insurance policy include:

1. Has your income increased? As your income increases, generally, so does your standard of living. This means that your family may need more money after your death to keep them living in the style that they become accustomed to. If your income increases and your lifestyle (and spending) remain unchanged, then you can probably keep your policy unchanged.
2. Has your debt increased? The more debt you have, the more of your death benefit your family will need to spend paying it off after your death. If your debt is higher than it was when you purchased your policy, you may want to consider buying an additional policy or increasing the death benefit of the policy you have.
3. Are you meeting your savings goals? If you are having trouble saving as much money as you had planned in order to pay for your children’s college education or retirement, then consider the tough spot your spouse will be in if you should pass away. Increasing your life insurance policy death benefit to compensate for missing savings goals can help.

So every year that you review your financial plan, remember to also review your life insurance policy.

1. Take pictures. You should take pictures of your stuff – you know, the stuff that is covered by your home insurance policy. That way, if it gets ruined during an insurable incident you can show the company what was ruined and what condition it was in before the event. This will help make sure that you get reimbursed sufficiently for your loss. Once you take the pictures, be sure to store them somewhere safe and send a copy to your insurance company and your agent.
2. Store your policy. If you ever need to make a claim, then you will need quick and easy access to your policy. Store it in a fire-proof safe or offsite location that you can easily access.
3. Start thinking about discounts. Your home insurance policy is renewed annually. That means that you will get an entirely new premium next year. So this year, start thinking about ways you can get discounts on your policy when you renew it.
4. Compare costs. Just because the policy you bought was the best, most affordable policy this year, that doesn’t mean it will always be the best choice. Compare insurance premiums annually to make sure that staying with the company you initially chose is a good idea.
5. Set up automatic premium payments. If you don’t pay your policy annually, then you may forget to pay one month and end up with a lapsed policy – not a happy thing after an insurable incident. To avoid that, set up automatic payments for your home insurance policy.

Sometimes, when people get a job that offers them a group life insurance policy, they decide to “surrender” their existing life insurance policy. That means they stop paying the premiums and instead ask for the policy to be cancelled and a check written to them for the amount of the policy’s cash value.

But surrendering a life insurance policy is a big decision, and if you are considering it, you should think about the following:

1. How expensive will it be to replace the policy? Sure, you might have a cheap group life insurance policy while you are with this employer, but once you leave you generally cannot take the policy with you. So how expensive will it be for you, with your increasing age and worsening health, to get a new life insurance policy? Compare life insurance rates now just to get an idea.
2. Can you afford a new premium if you lose your job? After a job loss, you might not be able to afford a new premium – but the cash value you’ve accrued in your existing policy can work as a loan to pay your premium until you are employed again if you keep your current policy.
3. Can you get another policy? If you leave your employer and lose the group life policy, will you even qualify for a new policy? Some health conditions and medication combinations could result in underwriting declining your application.
4. Are you ready to go through another contestability period? After two years, there is very little your life insurance company can contest when your death claim comes in. If you let go of your existing policy and eventually leave your new employer and lose that shiny new group policy, then you might need to take out a graded death benefit policy that affords your heirs no benefits for the first 12-24 months no matter how your death occurs.

Don’t take chances with the financial future of your family. Keep your insurance policies and don’t expect a group insurance policy to be a life-long solution. If you don’t already have your own life insurance policy, get a quote for life insurance coverage today.

When you first get your auto insurance quote, you might be so excited about the low-cost premium that you may not be actually considering whether or not you can afford to have such a high deductible. Here are some steps to help you figure out whether or not you can actually afford that deductible.

Do you have the amount of the deductible saved?

If you have money saved and the amount of the savings exceeds your deductible, then you may be able to afford the deductible. It is important that you are able to continue contributing to the savings accumulation too. If not, then you could risk losing all that you worked so hard to save without having the possibility of replenishing it.

Will you suffer penalties for withdrawing it?

The account or investment vehicle in which your savings is held is another factor in determining whether or not you can afford the deductible you have. If your savings is in a CD, annuity, retirement account or other investment that charges you a penalty for withdrawing the money before maturity, then you may not be able to actually afford the deductible. You should have the cash to meet your deductible readily available and should suffer no penalties if you withdraw it.

How long will it take to re-accumulate?

Chances are good that you don’t want to use your savings for car repair and never get it back. Generally, when people save money they want to use it later for vacations, emergencies like a job loss or retirement. Before you choose a high deductible auto insurance policy, make sure you have the ability to save the money all over again after you use it.

Do you still have money saved?

The car repair expenses that follow an insurable incident might not be the only emergency you face during a set time period. If you use all your emergency savings for the car repair, then you could have no money available for other emergencies if they occur simultaneously. Make sure that you have more money saved in your emergency account or through other accounts than your deductible. That way you won’t have to borrow money and pay interest just to pay for car repairs.

Never assume that the worst won’t happen to you and that your deductible isn’t a real expense. An accident with an uninsured driver or of your own fault can happen and when it does, you need to make sure that paying your deductible doesn’t set the rest of your financial house out of order.

Have your policy ready

Before you call your insurance company, make sure you have your policy at hand. You will need to give the customer service individual your policy number and he or she may refer to parts of your policy when explaining your benefits to you.

Be prepared to answer personal questions

Before the customer service representatives will talk to you about your policy, you must verify some personal information that only you would know, like your social security number. While you might think this rule is too restrictive, it protects your privacy and ensures that the insurance company doesn’t accidentally give out sensitive information to someone you wouldn’t want to have it.

Send in a power of attorney for anyone else you want to be able to call

If you’d like to allow one of your family members the permission to call and ask questions about your health insurance policy, then you should have a power of attorney on file with the insurance company with the individual you want to be able to call as the power of attorney. If you aren’t comfortable with that, then you might call the insurance company and find out what proprietary authorization forms are required for this.

Consideration 1: Easy to repair

Instead of choosing an expensive foreign model with fussy repair requirements, choose a classic model that is easy to repair. As an added benefit, these models are generally less expensive, requiring lower auto insurance limits. Also, since many of these models tend to have aggressive speed capabilities, they are higher risk.

Consideration 2: Safety measures

The less risk you offer an insurer, the less costly your insurance policy will be. One of the risks that an insurer takes on when insuring you is the risk of bodily injury. Airbags, anti-lock brakes, automatic seatbelts and daytime running lights are all relatively standard safety measures that will reduce your insurance expenses. Side airbags, rearview cameras and other electronic notification measures are newer methods of ensuring safety that an insurance company will look kindly on.

Consideration 3: Anti-theft and recovery measures

A car with a car alarm or locking steering wheel reduces the risk that your car will be stolen, which means your insurance company is less likely to have to pay for the theft of your car. A service like OnStar can increase the chances that your vehicle will be recovered if it does happen to be stolen.

The Next Step

Once you have done your research, test drove some possible car choices and narrowed down your options to a vehicle that is cheaper to insure, it is time to get your cheap auto insurance quote. When you do, don’t just get the quote from one company. Instead, compare the auto insurance quotes of multiple insurance companies so that you know you get the cheapest coverage possible. Make sure you think about any discounts you might be entitled to and that those are factored into the quote.

Don’t Scrimp Just to Save

One final note about making sure that you secure that cheap auto insurance quote; it is important that you don’t choose a super low limit and super high deductible in order to save money on your monthly auto insurance premium. While it might sound smart to choose a high deductible, if you actually have an insurable incident, that high deductible could stand between you and getting your car back on the road. And the same goes for high limits – if you don’t insure your car for what it is worth and opt for bodily injury liability limits that could actually pay real costs for a possible injury, the difference is going to come out of your pocket, whether you can afford it or not.

What does the owner get?

The owner is the only individual who is permitted to make changes to the policy. They can change the primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, and assign ownership to another individual, or even a company. The owner can also borrow from the cash value in the policy and even surrender the policy so that there is no more policy or death benefit to speak of.

Additionally, if you have a question about the policy and try to call the insurance company to ask inquire about it, the insurance company will not be able to talk to you if you are not the owner. Because technically, even though you are the insured on the policy, it is not your property.

Why You should Rethink NOT being the Owner

For these reasons, it might not be a good idea to assign ownership to another individual. Think about it, what if you name your spouse the beneficiary of your policy, then you divorce? What could happen to your policy then? Or if you have a major falling out with the relative that you entrust with the ownership of the policy?

It is never a bad idea for you to secure control over your own life and insurance. If you think that you might become incapacitated at some point and want to be able to have someone else step in to control your policy when you are, you can appoint a power of attorney to take over or you can make a revocable trust the owner and then the secondary trustee will take over when you no longer can.

1. If you lose weight, you can save money on your life insurance premiums. When you look for life insurance quotes, the rates that you are quoted will vary depending on how much you weigh. The closer you are to an ideal weight based on your height, the lower your life insurance premiums will be.
2. You will save money on health insurance premiums: No longer is your life expectancy shortened when you are overweight, but your overall health expectations are low. You will generally be more expensive to insurance when you are obese or even slightly overweight because you are at greater risk for heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. With a lower weight, your health insurance quotes will be greatly reduced. In addition, as you work out you will reduce your cholesterol and improve your blood pressure organically – without medications. That means that you will have better results at your doctor’s office and when your health insurance underwriter reviews those items, it will factor in to a lower premium.
3. You might save money on auto insurance premiums: If you drink and drive, not only are you doing something illegal, you are doing something potential dangerous that could result in an accident. Even having just one glass of wine with dinner can affect your ability to drive responsibility and can result in your having an accident. This accident would likely result in higher auto insurance premium rates.

Stay on top of your New Year’s resolutions and watch your weight fall off, your body get healthier and your wallet get fatter!

You’ve read the policy and you know you can afford the deductible.

You know what your home and property are worth, so you know that the limits on the policy are acceptable.

You can afford the premium and you have already paid the policy up for the entire year.

You are safe and your family is protected.

Or is it?

Often, policyholders don’t realize that having a home insurance policy alone is not enough to actually protect their home and possessions from all the perils they face. Why? Because home insurance policies do not cover certain perils like earthquakes, landslides and floods.

In order to ensure you have coverage in the event that a natural body of water overflows and floods your home, or an earthquake occurs and shatters your home’s foundation, or a landslide ruins the walls, windows and security of your home, you need to either cover these perils through an additional insurance policy or talk to your agent about having additional coverages added to your home insurance policy in order to give a wider range of protections.

But in addition to the uncovered perils listed above, you may also need additional coverage for other small things that you might not even have considered – and that your policy doesn’t necessarily point out as missing. Like debris removal for taking out fallen trees and other debris after a hurricane, collapse and sinkhole damage coverage, insurance for building additions and more.

If you aren’t sure what your policy doesn’t cover, and reading the policy doesn’t help you understand, then you should call your insurance company. They will be able to explain to you the perils covered based on your insurance policy class. And if you are just now getting insurance quotes for rates on a home insurance policy, then be sure to consider including these coverages in your quote request.

As we’ve mentioned before, the goal of insurance is to make you whole after an insurable event. If you own a home and it catches fire, making it no longer inhabitable, the home insurance company is going to give you the amount of money you need to rebuild it or to replace it – as long as you have enough insurance to cover this. But if your home insurance limits are higher than the cost to rebuild or replace your home, then you aren’t going to get the “extra” money. All that happens when you over-insure yourself is that you allow the insurance company to take premium dollars that are not going to be valuable to you in terms of future insurance dollars.

So how do you avoid being over insured? The first way is to have a basic understanding of how much your stuff is worth. This is especially important when it comes to the contents of your home and the value of your car. These items can be valued two ways:

• Objectively: This means that you have an actual understanding of their book or replacement value based on research and an unbiased consideration of their condition.
• Subjectively: This means that you LOVE the items and their value – to you – is commensurate with how much you love them rather than how much they would be worth to a third party.

So be objective when putting a value on your things and review your insurance policies every year so you can make sure that you avoid wasting money being over-insured.

Savings vs. Insurance

An insurance policy pays for large expenses – things it would likely take you years to save enough money to pay for on your own. And these expenses aren’t just big in terms of cost, they are important. For instance, staying with the example of health insurance – let’s say you need knee surgery. If you haven’t saved enough money (tens of thousands of dollars) to pay for this and you don’t have insurance, then you need to wait until you have the money in your account before you can get it done. That means you will have impaired mobility for years until you have enough to pay for the surgery. If you have insurance, however, you can get the surgery post haste. You can also get treatment for emergency medical needs and not have to leave the hospital wondering how you are going to pay for it.

Making Insurance Affordable

The real issue here is making sure that you can afford the insurance premiums you are paying. Avoiding insurance and trying to save the premium dollars will probably leave you high and dry when you actually need the money. But creating an insurance premium that you can actually afford to pay – and don’t resent doing so – will be a better plan. Here are a few tips to help you do so:

1. Look for discounts: Whether they come from bundling several insurance policies through one insurer, from taking the necessary steps to be a low-risk customer, or from paying your entire bill annually, take advantage of all the discounts you can. They add up!
2. Get only the insurance coverage you NEED: No matter what type of insurance you’re looking at, get only the amount you actually need to cover that individual risk. Being over-insured doesn’t provide you with any extra protection. Insurance is meant to make you whole, so the insurance company isn’t going to give you an extra payment if the value of what you are insuring wasn’t worth that much (the exception here being life insurance, which pays out your death benefit in full).
3. Continually review your policies: Your lifestyle and situation can change continuously and when it does, so too should your insurance. Every year before you renew, make sure there isn’t anything frivolous that you are paying for and no longer need and adjust anything else that could have a bearing on your premium.
4. Get new quotes: Insurance rates vary from company to company, and the initial search that you do for insurance quotes is not always relevant a year or two later. Getting regular quotes from other insurance companies can help you to ensure that you really are getting the best deal out there.

If you plan it well and stay aware of discount opportunities, you will maximize your insurance premium dollars without sacrificing the coverage you need.

Lying to insurers is also known as Material Misrepresentation because it involves the misrepresentation of facts that are material to the issuance of your insurance policy.

How will the insurance company find out I lied?

While material misrepresentation can happen with any insurance policy, for the purposes of this article, let’s talk about it with regards to the purchase of a life insurance policy. When you apply for a life insurance policy, an underwriter looks at your application and many different types of supporting documents and tests in order to figure out whether or not you are accurately representing your health during the application process. In doing so, they will often find evidence of misrepresentation through a medication you’ve been prescribed, from reviewing your doctor’s records, or from the results of a paramedical exam.

If they do not catch the misrepresentation before the policy is issued, then when you pass away another examination can be done of your health before your claim is paid. So if you die 8 months after your policy is issued, and you die of a medical condition that would have taken longer than 8 months to manifest, the claims officer will review your medical information again, looking for any information that you left off your application.

What happens when they find out I lied?

If you are caught having lied to the insurance company and misrepresenting your health, your insurance claim – no matter what type of insurance we are talking about – will be declined. You (or your beneficiaries) will not get the money that you worked so hard to make sure was there. After the misrepresentation is discovered the insurance company will generally void your policy and return all your paid premiums. It will be as though you never had an insurance policy at all. Depending on the type of insurance you have, it is also possible that the insurance company might take legal action against you for attempted insurance fraud – a very serious crime.

What is the better option?

As with everything in life, it is always better to be honest. Even if it makes it more difficult to get a policy, or more expensive, or you have to accept a policy with aggressive conditions, honesty about your health or any other underwritten aspect of your policy is important because if ensures that you actually have a policy – you don’t just have a made-up policy that won’t come through when you actually need it.

So be honest about your situation and the insurance company’s risk and shop around for an insurance company that is willing to issue your insurance policy even after getting all the facts. You and your family will be grateful that you did.

In order to try and even the playing field (Sure, more psychic underwriters would be the best way to even the playing field, but is that really a practical business strategy?) insurance companies look to more and more applicant-specific data in order to help them sort the good risks from the bad risks. One of the ways auto insurance companies do this is by checking the credit score of the applicant or checking the auto insurance score. The auto insurance score is derived from a combination of factors including your actual credit score.

Until now, the auto insurance credit score was a bit of a mystery to consumers who were not privy to the proprietary methodology used by insurers to develop the score. Now, an estimate of this score is available on the consumer credit tracking online system, CreditKarma.com.

While CreditKarma.com does not have access to each insurance company’s actual method for creating an insurance credit score, this tool does give you some idea of what to expect and how you are seen in the eyes of an insurance underwriter – which you might appreciate, unless you are psychic.

1. Can you get approved for individual health insurance? If you have a pre-existing condition then there is every possibility that you will not be approved for an individual policy. In that case, signing up for COBRA and avoiding any breaks in your coverage is vital.
2. Is an individual policy cheaper than COBRA? COBRA has a reputation for being expensive – but don’t just assume that your COBRA coverage is greater than the cost of an individual policy. Instead, get the rates on comparable policies and find out the truth. Make sure you compare like policies – for instance, if your COBRA policy is an HMO plan with no deductible, don’t compare the premium with that of a high deductible plan as you will be comparing apples to oranges.
3. Are your COBRA benefits better? There may be certain benefits to keeping your existing policy through COBRA, especially if the policy’s benefits are better than any you can get on your own. Consider those benefits that are most important to you and compare the two.
4. Will the overall cost (premiums and treatment) be cheaper on COBRA? Let’s say you are faced with a $400 a month premium on COBRA but can get a high deductible plan for just $200 a month. That might sound great but if you have a chronic condition that requires medications, tests and doctor visits on a monthly basis, then the cost of the premiums along with your deductibles could easily – and quickly – outpace COBRA premium payments.

Don’t play with your health and well-being. Do your research and make sure you make the best decision for both your wallet and your body.

There are two types of beneficiaries you can name on your life insurance policy. The first is the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary is one who will receive the death benefit if they are still living after your death. The primary beneficiary is the ultimate person (or persons) who you want to receive the death benefit. In your mind, they are the highest priority for receipt of the benefit.

The next type of beneficiary you can appoint is a contingent beneficiary (or beneficiaries). The contingent beneficiary is the person (or persons) who receives your death benefit if the primary beneficiary dies before you do.

Many people believe that it is unnecessary to name a contingent beneficiary – I mean, after all, how likely is it you will outlive them? And if you do – you can just remember to change your primary beneficiary on your policy

You Take the Insurance: If you take the insurance offered by the rental company, then you may pay anywhere from $10 to $30 per day depending on the insurance you take (rental car companies offer accelerating tiers of coverage). If you have an accident or the car is damaged and the claim is covered by the rental company’s insurance plan, then your insurance company won’t know about it (unless it results in a ticket) and it generally won’t prompt an increase in your premium.

You Don’t Take the Insurance: The cost of the rental insurance can often be the same as the cost of your rental, effectively doubling your car rental fees. By not taking the insurance you will save yourself money. However, you could be adversely affected by any claims that you have while driving the vehicle. Since your insurance company would be responsible for those claims, it could even affect future insurance premiums for many years to come.

If you still aren’t sure whether or not to take the rental company’s insurance, consider this – your credit card company may offer rental car insurance privileges. Call them and ask for details of any such plan.

While it’s nice to know that you are covered with your normal car insurance for rental issues, it might also be nice to separate your personal insurance policy from anything that occurs while you are driving a rental car.

What is an umbrella insurance policy?

An umbrella policy is not like a different kind of insurance plan, but simply a liability policy that stretches out over the limits of your existing home insurance or auto insurance policy. And like an umbrella protects its carrier from the coming rainfall, an umbrella insurance policy protects policyholders from the claims of individuals that exceed the limits of their underlying home insurance or auto insurance policies. You don’t need a separate umbrella insurance policy for both home and auto coverage – one umbrella policy extends protection for claims under each policy.

How does it work?

Having a pool can be a lot of fun, but it can also bring a lot of liability to a home owner’s doorstep. If one of your friends or neighbors is visiting your home and is injured while swimming in or walking around your pool, it could result in a very large claim against your home insurance policy (depending on the nature and extent of the damages suffered). For the sake of this example, let’s say that you have a home insurance policy with limits of $250,000. Your children’s friends come over one afternoon to enjoy the pool and one of them slips and falls in, resulting in a neck injury and partial temporary disability that creates a need for several years’ worth of physical therapy and surgery in order for that person to walk again. This could result in a liability claim of $1 million or more – but your home insurance will only pay up to $250,000. The rest of the claim is your responsibility to pay – unless you have an umbrella policy. If you did, the umbrella policy would pay the remaining $750,000 due and you would not have to sell your home or dip into your personal assets to pay the claim. The example would work the same way if your automobile was the cause of the injury rather than the pool.

Because umbrella policies are not required by law, it is up to you whether or not you have one. When you consider the damage to your finances and your future that a single liability claim could have, you might find that the additional protection of an umbrella policy covering your home and auto is just enough to help you sleep easier at night.

While many people don’t think of it this way, life insurance can actually give you an amazing method of creating a legacy and protecting the assets within your existing legacy. Think about it, your heirs may have bills to pay after your death – estate taxes, burial expenses, and bills that you leave behind. They may miss work while trying to settle your estate and even have to dip into their own savings and incur fees and penalties to maintain your estate and pay lawyers while everything goes through probate.

Life insurance proceeds do not go through probate and are not subject to federal or estate taxes. They can be given to your beneficiaries very quickly after your death and can be the perfect financial vehicle to bridge the gap in time that probate court creates. They can even cover all the expenses and taxes created by the rest of the assets you want to transfer. Life insurance proceeds can also provide your family with the means to give you the funeral and burial that they want to give you – without putting any undue financial stress on them. You can even use your life insurance death benefit proceeds to create a trust for your children and grandchildren that pays for their education expenses.

No matter how you choose to allocate them and whether you choose to make them part of a trust or not, life insurance proceeds are a valuable and necessary resource for your family after your death.

Buy-Sell Agreements

If you are in a business partnership with another individual or group of individuals, then your life insurance policy can serve as a means for buying the business after death. For instance, let’s say you have a 50/50 partnership with another individual. You can each buy a life insurance policy on the other with that business partner’s family or estate set as their beneficiary. Then, you can draw up an agreement that states that the death benefit on the life insurance serves as the funds needed to buy the other business partner out after his or her death. That way, you do not need to extract funds from the business in order to buy the partner’s family out of their business interest after the partner’s death.

Key-Person Insurance

If you have a key employee – one who will not be easy to replace because the role they play in your business is specialized – then you may be able to buy a life insurance policy on that individual with your business as the beneficiary. This will compensate your business monetarily for the loss of the employee and can give you the funds you need to bridge any financial gaps left by the key employee’s death.

Whether you decide to get key-person insurance or a insurance for a buy-sell agreement, you do not need to get any kind of special policy – just a normal life insurance policy will suffice. Although you may need to draw up legal documents to support the purchase and agreements.

But a lot more happens with your premium that just salaries and profits. Your premiums work toward advertising, financially securing the company against claims, creating reserves that pay for claims, paying agent commissions, paying the salaries of customer service representatives and other employees and developing better technical systems and new policy types.

So should you be concerned about the profitability of your insurance company? As with any business, profit is needed to keep an insurance company afloat. Profit is necessary to keep employees paid that provide continued servicing of your policy, to pay the claims of policyholders and make good on the benefits and promises made on your policy.

But that doesn’t mean that you have to be comfortable with an insurance company that pays its employees bonuses that you find unreasonable. When you shop for insurance and check on your insurer’s financial stability on AM Best, you can take another step and do a little research about the bonuses and salaries paid to its executives. By reviewing an insurance company’s annual statement and form 10-k, you can get a sense of how the insurance company is spending its money. When you do, you can determine whether or not you are comfortable with its choices, profit and reinvestments before you decide to buy an insurance policy through them. Remember, it’s your money and your premium; if you don’t feel comfortable with an insurance company, you don’t have to spend your money with them – there are plenty others to choose from.

But beyond the discount it can score you–is it really worth it to take one of these classes? After all, don’t you have better things on a Saturday afternoon like playing with your kids, grocery shopping, watching college games or… sheesh, just about anything? You may be surprised to find out that a safe driving course is actually a very helpful way to spend your Saturday afternoon – whether you care about the auto insurance discount or not.

Safe driving courses help you learn how to be a safe driver. They aren’t just token classes that you sleepwalk through in order to earn your auto insurance discount; they actually reward you with real-life skills that you can take with you to keep you, your family, and other drivers safe.

During the class (which can last just a few hours or can be intensive and extend through multiple days) you will learn how to react to the unpredictable actions of other drivers, how to deal with inclement weather, what to do when the unexpected happens and how to stay calm and controlled in the face of a possible accident.

Best of all, the class increases your driving confidence. You won’t have to worry about how to react when something happens; instead, you will have the confidence and practical experience to show you that you KNOW what to do. And that kind of confidence keeps your head cool in an emergency, a benefit that can make a big difference in your level of safety.

There is nothing that a life insurance applicant needs to do to prepare for underwriting but if you are in a hurry for your policy to be underwritten and subsequently issued, there are some things that you can do to speed the process up.

1. Get your records.

Depending on your age, health and the amount of life insurance death benefit you are applying for, the underwriters may need to see your last 5 years’ worth of medical records. They can order these from your doctor’s office, but it can take a few days for them to get there. Instead, you can get a copy of your own records (in a sealed envelope from the doctor’s office) and send them to the insurer immediately if they ask for them. Make sure the envelope that contains them is from your Doctor’s office and is sealed or they will not accept them since they may have been tampered with.

2. List your meds.

The insurance company will need a list of all your medications and dosages when you apply for an insurance policy. Instead of completing this list after your agent leaves with the application and then forwarding it to the insurance company, create the list ahead of time. Be sure to write down the name of the medication you take, the dosage instructions and amount of milligrams in the prescription as well as the reason or medical condition that necessitates your taking them.

3. Be available.

Depending on your age, health and the amount of death benefit you apply for the insurance company underwriters may require you to have certain medical exams and tests done by a paramedical company before they issue your insurance policy. These tests can include blood and urinalysis, stress tests, blood pressure and weight checks and more. These exams and tests must be scheduled with you, and if you are only available for a very limited amount of time each day or week, it can take a while to find a suitable time to meet. Keep your schedule open during the couple of weeks following the submission of your application so that you can meet with the paramedical examiner quickly.

It shouldn’t take more than one or two weeks for the underwriting of your life insurance policy to be completed. As long as you are flexible and responsive to the needs of the underwriters, the process will be quick, easy, accurate and will get your family protected sooner rather than later.

1. “You can’t buy a life preserver when you’re drowning”: I can’t take credit for this statement, as another life insurance professional once said this to me when discussing his conversation with a client. And you know what? He’s right. That’s why it’s so important to have insurance now rather than later. You need a policy in place so that when you have an insurable incident, you’re covered. It’s too late to buy insurance once the incident has already occurred.
2. It’s more expensive to fix a problem than to safeguard against it: monthly insurance premiums may seem like a big bite out of your budget, but it’s a lot cheaper to pay them than it is to pay for the repair costs after a car accident, pay medical bills out of pocket, or pay for the rebuilding of your home.
3. Rates just keep rising: Whether rates rise because your age and health change or because of the regular annual increases insurance companies inflict – insurance rates go up continually. Getting insurance now can help you lock in rates on certain types of insurance for life, and at least for the policy term for other types.

I don’t know about you, but when I compare the big amount to the little monthly amount, it can get pretty tempting to just pay the small amount each month rather than take a big chunk of change out of my savings account to pay the annual amount. After all, it makes me feel better to have a high amount in savings and taking a chunk out for each insurance policy can make you a little sad.

But there are two important reasons why you need to reconsider this stance:

1. A single annual premium payment saves you money: When you pay your insurance policies with installment payments, the insurer usually tacks on a small fee for the pleasure of being able to do so. While this additional fee might not be much per installment, it adds up over the course of several years.
2. You have less chance of lapsing: When you pay your insurance policies by installment, you have that many more opportunities to forget to make a payment, or to make a payment late, and lapse your policy. Why give yourself that opportunity?

If you pay by installment, you might just want to reconsider that stance so that you save just a little bit more money on your premium and so that you have less risk of being late and losing your valuable coverage.

Okay, so maybe this isn’t the absolute worst way to get acquainted with the claims process, but we needed an interesting segue to introduce today’s topic – so we went for it.

Winter is right around the corner, and that means you need to start getting your home ready and safe for the cold, snowy months. While there are lots of things you should do inside to protect your pipes, furnace and whatnot, we’re actually going to talk about the outside of your house, because that affects your car insurance and your home insurance.

1. Shovel and salt: When every fiber of your being is urging you to stay inside – nice and warm – you can come up with a lot of convincing reasons not to clear the walk. But having someone trip and fall out there, then sue your home insurance won’t make you feel very cozy so make sure your walkway is consistently shoveled and salt, cat litter or grit is used to make it less slippery.
2. Clear snow banks: When you shovel your walk or your driveway or your street is plowed, piles of snow can accumulate on the edge of your lawn. These piles can block your visibility so you can’t see who’s coming or going as you pull out of your driveway.
3. Be careful who you hire: If you hire someone to shovel your walk or your driveway and they are injured in the process, they can put a claim against your home insurance policy. Make sure they wear a weight belt around their back while they shovel, that they are dressed properly and have proper shoes, and that they use their legs to lift rather than their back.
4. Watch sledding activities: If you have children and they invite their friends over to sled in your yard, be sure to monitor their sledding area to make sure it’s safe. Naturally, it’s a bad idea for them to sled down snow banks that lead right into traffic or that end close to a building or automobile. Crashing into stuff does not have to be part of the sledding process.

As difficult as it can be, talking to your partner about life insurance is extremely important. When you don’t, you leave each other with little to no preparation in the event of death and you could be setting each other up for financial ruin. Here are a few tips to help make the talk easier:

1. Set a date and time. Life insurance may not be a topic that you want to simply spring on your partner. Instead, set a date and time when you both will agree to talk about it. That allows you each to get prepared.
2. Write down what you want to say. If talking about life insurance and the possibility of death make you nervous, then write down everything you want to say during your meeting about life insurance with your partner. That way, you don’t have to worry about trying to remember everything when you have the talk.
3. Don’t talk about the meaning of life. At its core, life insurance is simply a product that supplements a lost income. That’s it. It’s not a religious, emotional or spiritual item any more than your car or home insurance are. So don’t make more out of the topic that is necessary. Talk about needs and plans that will follow the death of each of you and then try and choose the type of policy that will fulfill those needs and fits your budget.

While the majority of insurance agents out there do not sell just for commission’s sake, it is always a good idea for a consumer to be armed and educated when walking into a meeting to buy health insurance, life insurance, auto insurance or home insurance. Here are just a few easy steps to help you arm yourself.

1. Get educated. Read articles about how insurance works, what kinds of coverage are available (or required in your state) for each insurance type, and understand the benefits that would most help you and your family.
2. Write down your priorities. Here at InsuranceHits.com, not only do we have educational articles to help educate readers, but we also have insurance buying checklists that help you decide what type of coverage and how much coverage you need. While an insurance agent could point out additional coverage options that are attractive to you, these guides can help you ensure that your priorities are met.
3. Get online insurance quotes. If you get an online insurance quote for the coverage you are considering, you’ll be better able to compare that quote with the deal your insurance agent offers you. This will give you some idea about whether or not you are getting the most for your money.

Remember, every insurance company is different and agents can present coverage options to you that you haven’t read about online but that ARE useful to you; but having a basic knowledge and idea of cost as well as needs will make your meeting much easier and help you keep it on track to satisfy your priorities.

Net worth, in case you aren’t aware, is the difference between your assets and your liabilities. When you add up the value of everything you own and all the cash you have, then subtract the debt you owe, you will arrive at your net worth.

Net worth falling can mean many things – it may mean that debt is rising, cash savings are falling, or that values for investments like homes are lowering. But either way, it means that Americans have less access to money than they did before.

This might mean that it is time to double check all the deductibles on your insurance policies. After all, if your net worth is falling then you might not have as much money as you once did to pay for your deductibles. And borrowing money to pay deductibles (or charging them) makes them even more costly that they are to begin with because you must then pay interest on them.

So check your homeowners insurance, your health insurance and your auto insurance policies and add up all the potential deductibles you could be paying out-of-pocket in the event that you are victim to an insurable incident. If you do not have enough accessible cash to pay these deductibles then you might want to get new insurance quotes to see if you can find a less expensive policy with a lower deductible. While this may seem like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, it may actually be easier for you to pay the added monthly cost than the bulky deductible. But before you make any firm decisions, be sure to evaluate each option.

Premiums vs. Profit

While it may be true that insurance companies will need to spend more post-healthcare reform, it is also possible that they are taking advantage of the new laws to create even greater profits for themselves. It’s almost like the way oil companies work – have you ever noticed that when gas prices go up, the executives say that it is due to increased oil prices – but invariably, their company profits end up going up too? How does that happen? Well, they are increasing the price not just to accommodate for increased expenses, but also to lock in their profit on those increased expenses.

When prices go up as a result of increased expenses, profits should – in the least – be completely unaffected. But when profits go up too it means that someone is profiting off of the system, the increases, and the people.

When shopping for health insurance today, be sure to keep in mind the possibility that rates might need to increase in the future. While some of the hikes may be aggressive, chances are good that state and federal regulators will prevent insurance companies from becoming too greedy. But, as always, keep an eye on the news and pay attention to the tact your insurer seems to be taking. If you feel like your insurance company is becoming too aggressive and demanding, it may be tie to switch.

Here are 4 benefits of HSAs that might make a difference in your life.

1. Tax deductible contributions: Insureds are permitted to contribute up to $5,000 per year in their HSA – and these contributions are federal tax deductible. If you are in the 10% tax bracket, that means you will save $500 on your taxes simply by contributing to an HSA. Some states also allow the deduction to be applied to state taxes.
2. A medically dedicated financial account: If you have a hard time saving money, then an HSA can be a great tool to ensure that you have the funds you need to pay all your copay amounts and health insurance deductibles. Because this money can’t be used for anything else, it’s the perfect savings account for the undisciplined saver.
3. Create an easy and defined savings plan: It is easy to decide how much to save each month when you have a limited contribution amount. Knowing that the most you can add to your HSA each year is $5,000, you can easily split this into monthly or weekly contribution amounts.
4. HSAs roll over: There is nothing to worry about if you do not use your health savings account money every year, because the balance rolls over to the next year for use with eye doctor visits, prescriptions and other medical expenses.

During the last 5 years, home values have fallen dramatically – although this decline has been felt more severely in some states – but almost everyone in the United States has been affected. If your home is still insured for the amount your property was worth at the height of the housing boom, then you could be paying for insurance benefits that are no longer appropriate.

Consider this, in March 2007, the median sale price for new houses in the U.S. according to the U.S. Census was $262,600. In July of 2010, that number had dropped to $204,000. If you bought your home for the median price in 2007 and your insurance policy still offered that amount of benefit, then you might be over-insured by about 22 percent. What do you think making that adjustment would do to your policy premium?

But before you call your insurance company to reduce your amount of insurance, be sure to understand fully what rebuilding costs might be in your neighborhood. Depending on material supply, codes, and housing demand, you might be facing some stiff rebuilding expenses that make the additional insurance amount not only necessary, but vital. Since this is the number most insurance policies are based on, it’s important to be familiar with it.

Life Insurance for Retirement: The Pros

1. When you have a life insurance policy that accumulates cash values, you can take tax free loans from the cash values during retirement.
2. A life insurance death benefit can help your spouse accumulate enough funds to retire even after your death reduces his or her household income and pension benefits.
3. Variable or indexed policies can offer growth that mimics that of the stock market and individual equities.

Life Insurance for Retirement: The Cons

1. Life insurance cannot be held in an IRA, so you cannot get a tax deduction for contributions.
2. Life insurance premiums are restricted in order to avoid tax triggers.
3. Life insurance policies may not accumulate values as aggressively or as conservatively as other types of investments.
4. Life insurance policies that accrue cash value can be expensive, which reduces the rate of return.
5. Loans taken from cash values will reduce your death benefit and can adversely affect your heirs.

In general, life insurance policies should be purchased for use as life insurance – not as a retirement benefit. While it’s important to keep their advantages in retirement in mind, those should not be your sole reasons for buying a policy. Instead, keep your capital working for you in a proper retirement account with investments suited to your risk tolerance.

HO1: A limited coverage against 11 different hazards. These include theft, riots, windstorm and hail. This is also referred to as a basic policy and can include coverage for personal and medical liability. Another great aspect of this class is that it can cover your personal possessions even while you are traveling with them.

HO2: Reaches further than HO1 by covering 17 total hazards including water damage, smoke, falling objects, freezing pipes and the 11 hazards covered by HO1.

HO3: This is the most common class for home insurance policyholders. It covers damage from all hazards unless they are specifically excluded on the policy. This includes liability and medical payments – unless they are specifically excluded.

HO4: Covers the personal possessions of a renter’s policy. This does not cover any damage done to the walls, pipes or actual structures owned by the landlord.

HO5: Covers everything in HO3 that is not excluded and requires no specified incident or peril to have damaged your home. This is especially helpful for insurable incidents in which there are no witnesses and no evidence of the cause of the damage.

HO6: Covers the personal property and interior walls of a condominium. This class of policy also occasionally covers liabilities. This will not cover incidents to pipes, outer walls, hallways and other areas covered by the condominium association policy.

Remember, your home insurance policy should be tailored to the needs and risks your family faces. Be sure to ask your home insurance company to explain what is covered within your policy class and what is excluded so that you can be certain your policy will be there to protect you when you need it most.

Like other pest problems, a bed bug infestation is not covered under your homeowners insurance policy. Any damage done by the bedbugs to your property, contents, walls or other areas will not qualify for any kind of claims payment from your homeowners insurance policy. Additionally, any expense you face to get rid of them and prevent them from causing damage to your home is uncovered – like all preventative maintenance needs your home has.

The reason for this is that bed bugs are not considered an insurable event. Like cockroaches and rats, they are preventable through routine maintenance and careful monitoring when traveling. It is your responsibility as the homeowner to take whatever actions and precautions are necessary to reduce the risk of a bed bug outbreak in your home.

Many apartment dwellers are feeling the pinch of bed bug infestations as well. Like homeowners, bed bug damage and removal is not covered under a renter’s insurance policy. It is also unlikely that your landlord’s policy will cover damages, although your landlord may be liable to reimburse you for damages and pay for removal expenses.

Although your policy may not cover your expenses, it is still important that you take the time and resources necessary to get rid of any infestations. The damage they can do to your possessions, your home and your spirit are too great to risk.

That is because Walgreens and a slew of other stores have opened up small retail clinics in their shops. These clinics work much like your doctor’s office and treat a number of small infections and illnesses from the common cold and flu, to bug bites and allergic reactions.

A visit to one of these clinics often costs less than $100, which is much less than a visit to your doctor or primary care physician’s office would be if you have a high deductible health insurance plan. In addition, they are usually much less crowded, have lower wait times, and – because the physician in attendance is only concerned with meeting your immediate needs – they are the perfect locations to visit when you don’t have a lot of time out for a real doctor’s visit.

Even if you don’t have a high deductible health insurance plan you may find a use for these clinics. In many instances, you will find that your insurance company covers the visit and you pay the same copayment as you would when visiting your doctor, but with all the benefits of less waiting time.

It is important to remember that these clinics are not meant for preventative care or routine physicals. You should see your regular physician for those items since he or she may notice subtle changes in your health through these exams that a retail clinic physician will not. But if you need a little allergy, flu or cold care, a retail clinic might be a great resource for you.

Contrary to popular belief, car insurance rates are not an inflexible number. There are many ways that you can get car insurance discounts just by being who you are and taking advantage of the good driving record you have.

Senior discount: If you are 55 or older you may qualify for special discounts through your car insurance company. Car insurance rates for seniors can be quite low since they have a lot of experience driving. Also, they generally have extensive driving records which give a clear indication to insurers about whether or not they are safe drivers.

Good grade discount: On the flip side, if you are younger than 25 and are a full time student in either college or high school you may qualify for car insurance rates that are lower as a result of your good grades.

Farm use: If you own a farm, then your farm vehicles must be insured. But if you restrict their use to farm use only, then your insurance company could give you major discounts. After all, using your vehicle exclusively on the farm limits the risks that you and your equipment are exposed to which limits the likelihood that your insurer will need to pay any claims.

Clean driving discount: If you have a clean driving record then you will qualify for many discounts, depending on the number of years that it has been clean. Clean driving means that you have had no tickets or accidents that were your fault.

Retiree discounts: If you are retired then you no longer involve yourself in the daily grind of driving back and forth to work during rush hour. This means that you are much less exposed to risks and also means that many insurers will offer you a discount. They may even give a retiree discount on top of a senior discount, so be sure to ask.

The best thing you can do when looking for car insurance rates with discounts is to ask. Make sure you disclose all information about yourself and your life that you think may qualify you for a discount.

That is why your State Guaranty Association exists. The State Guaranty Association in each state guarantees that an insured can get the cash value of his or her policy or that the beneficiaries can receive the death benefit even if their insurer becomes insolvent when it’s time to pay.

Naturally, there are limits. The limits vary by state but are commonly capped between $100,000 and $300,000. You can visit our state specific insurance guide pages and find your state to see what your limits are. It’s also important to remember that guaranty associations are there to protect you from insurer insolvency, but not much more. If your policy lapses, you neglect to pay a bill or you insist that they didn’t send one, the guaranty association in your state won’t do anything to help you. They simply back up the payment of an insurer who has gone bankrupt – and only up to the limit. You will need to provide proof of a valid policy and comply with all other association requirements.

As always, the best defense for consumers is a good offense. And what that means for life insurance customers is that they should thoroughly research their insurance company before they buy insurance. You can do that by visiting the A.M. Best website to see their evaluation of your company’s financial security before you buy the insurance policy you are considering. A.M. Best studies the financials of insurers and assigns a letter grade to each company that represents how financially secure they are.

Your motor vehicle report is a report that shows your driving history. If you have had any accidents, speeding tickets, or other driving incidents, they will show up on the report. While it is normal to have one or two tickets, an excessive amount can indicate to underwriters that you are not a responsible driver and that your risk of an accident is likely increased. Since this also puts you at greater risk for death, it can and will affect your life insurance rates.

Generally, an insurance underwriter will charge you a flat extra or rated premium that results in an extra percentage of premium being added to your policy. You may ask your underwriter if you can have your rates adjusted if you show a clean driving record for a year or more. There is no guarantee that this will be approved, but it never hurts to try. Your best bet, however, is to make sure you always drive safely and responsibly and follow all traffic rules while you are out on the road so that there is no occasion for you to be pulled over or ticketed. After all, good behavior is your best defense against high insurance premiums.

The Benefits of Indemnity Plans

In addition to being given the freedom to visit any physician or specialist you want under an indemnity plan, you will also not generally be required to choose a primary care physician. This means you also won’t be forced to get referrals before you visit a specialist.

The Potential Drawbacks of Indemnity Plans

One of the drawbacks to an indemnity plan is that you must generally pay all your medical expenses out of pocketed then get reimbursed by the insurance company. Many consumers do not have the money at hand necessary to pay all expenses out of pocket initially, so this type of plan is not appropriate for every individual.

Another drawback to indemnity plans is that the insurance company will generally only reimburse you the “usual and customary” rate for your medical expenses, regardless of what they actually cost. The usual and customary rate is the average of what healthcare providers in your area charge for services. But because you are not dealing with a network of providers (like in a PPO and HMO) who have already agreed to charge that rate for services, you may have higher out of pocket expenses with an indemnity plan.

Like other insurance plans, you may need to choose deductibles and limits when you shop for indemnity health insurance online. While the monthly premiums may look attractive when you choose extremely high deductibles and low limits, make sure you choose deductibles you can actually afford to pay out of pocket for and that you choose reasonable limits.

When you get health insurance quotes online, short-term health insurance is one type of insurance you can get a quote for. They are usually inexpensive since they cover a very limited period of time and the likelihood of having significant claims occur during this period is low. That means that the insurance company does not take on a great amount of risk when insuring you.

The Downside of Short-Term Health Insurance

Much like catastrophic insurance policies, short-term health insurance policies will not likely count as creditable coverage under HIPAA. This can have a major impact on your future health insurance purchases and can mean that your pre-existing conditions can be excluded for a limited period of time from group policy coverage. It also means that when you have a short-term health insurance policy, you may not qualify for coverage under HIPAA. These are important considerations for individuals opting for short-term coverage instead of COBRA.

Speaking of pre-existing conditions, short-term health insurance policies generally exclude them from coverage. In addition, short-term plans often don’t provide any benefits for preventative care or routine physicals.

The need for short-term health insurance policies is limited. They are not a good fit for every family and you should research a plan in full after getting online health insurance quotes in order to make sure it is a good fit for you and your family.

Catastrophic insurance plans (also called major medical plans) do not cover any expenses related to preventative care, minor wound care, or any kind of health monitoring service. Instead, they cover some of the expenses associated with major, catastrophic illnesses and accidents. If you are sent to emergency room, it is likely that much of that expense will be covered by your catastrophic policy. Other expenses covered include hospital expenses like room, board and incidentals, surgical expenses, and physician expenses.

Like any insurance policy, catastrophic plans have limits and deductibles. You will be required to pay the deductible amount out of pocket, then the insurance company will step in and pay their portion of your expenses, up to the limit.

Because the insurable incidents covered by catastrophic plans are so limited, the premiums tend to be low and widely affordable. As with any policy, choosing a high deductible and low limit further limits the risk of expense to the insurance company and will result in even lower rates-but as with any insurance policy, consumers must make sure that they choose a deductible they can afford and a limit that is reasonable and still offers a relevant benefit.

Catastrophic policies are not for everyone. If you have a chronic illness or injury, a catastrophic policy can step in when a major medical incident occurs, but will not give you the day-to-day and preventative coverage that you may need in order to live a long and healthy life. But if you are unable to secure a regular insurance policy and don’t yet qualify to join the high risk pool for your state, then it may be a helpful alternative.

HIPAA-Protecting Your Privacy

The HIPAA act sets out certain administrative procedures that prevent unauthorized individuals and companies from getting their hands on your private health information. Under the act your health information becomes Private Health Information and allows you to choose how you can be contacted by an insurer or health agency, requires certain permissions to be granted and documents to be signed before records can be released and imposes a penalty on those who reveal or disclose your health information over the phone to unauthorized individuals.

Unfortunately, HIPAA regulations can make some things difficult in its intention of protecting your privacy. Your family might not be able to get medical information about your medical state when you are hospitalized and your insurance agent might not be given a reason why your insurance policy application was declined. HIPAA does not, however, affect your ability to apply got health insurance online.

Portability and Renewability

Re-existing conditions can be a big determinant in what type of insurance policy you can get. HIPAA prevents insurers from permanently excluding conditions that you have. In addition, it guarantees that you can get a health insurance policy after your COBRA benefits expire IF you are unable to get health insurance independently or through another group.

In order to utilize HIPAA portability and renewability benefits you must have carried creditable insurance coverage for a certain period of time (usually 6 months, but can vary by state). Creditable coverage doesn’t have a very good definition on any HIPAA website resources, but it is likely that it means a fully underwritten or group health insurance policy, which means that limited benefit coverages or major medical policies will likely not qualify as creditable coverage.

So remember when you get your health insurance online quote – HIPAA is there to protect you in many ways, even when you get your quotes online.

An auto insurance quote is generally given for a standard automobile. The amount of the quote is determined by the limits, deductibles and coverages you choose as well as your driving experience and record. But with a classic car you have special insurance needs. The value of your car might exceed the limits of a traditional auto insurance policy. In addition, you might not drive many miles on the vintage vehicle and could be entitled to discounts.

Since many collectible vehicles lack the safety measures of newer vehicles, like airbags and automatic seatbelts, specialty auto insurance coverage can ensure that you are not overcharged for this. In addition, specialty auto insurance coverage can ensure that you are given total replacement value for your car, as long as you are insured to that level. Since collectible cars can have a value that far exceeds that of a normal vehicle, this difference can be significant.

Car collectors rarely stick to just one collectible vehicle. Some specialty auto insurance companies can offer breaks in coverage if you cover more than one collectible vehicle. These breaks (or discounts) can be significant since this coverage is expensive.

Lastly, special auto insurance coverage gives you access to insurance assessors who understand how to value the special vehicle you’ve purchased insurance for. When you have a claim, this is a significant difference.

Group insurance: In most states you can take out a group insurance policy for your small business if you have at least 2 employees to cover. Some states even allow you to take out group insurance for groups of just one employee. The smaller your group is, the more expensive coverage may be. Also, although rates are usually protected by rate bands, you could experience premium increases if your group has many health claims.

Individual insurance: If you are in good health, you can always turn to individual health insurance coverage. With individual health insurance, your health history will be considered in pricing and approving the policy so the better your health is the more affordable your policy will be.

Unions: If there is a union or other group associated with the type of work you do, you may be able to join the union and get group health insurance or discounts on individual insurance. Again, your health may play a part if you are looking at discounts on individual health coverage-but if your union offers group coverage then you will not be individually underwritten and you may not have any limitations or exclusions placed on your coverage.

Is Cheap Home Insurance Good For Business?

One of the top goals for consumers is to find cheap home insurance that offers them protection against risk. Unfortunately, when you are simply searching for cheap home insurance instead of home insurance that offers good coverage for the activities you use your home for, you could be in trouble. If you choose regular home insurance and do not disclose that you are running a business on site, then you could suffer from unpaid claims, lost equipment and lawsuits resulting from the damages your business or home causes to others.

If you have clients who come on site to your home business, then your home insurance company needs to be made aware of this so that you can get proper liability coverage. If you have equipment at home that is for business use, then your home insurance company needs to know this so that they can cover it properly and you won’t have to suffer any loss of use while you scramble for the funds to replace it.

When your clients rely on your continued business to keep THEM in business, then your non-disclosure of home business activities to your home insurance company could result in a slowdown of your production and a financial loss for your clients. This is a dangerous risk as not only could you lose the money you paid in buying your equipment initially, but your clients could sue you because they depended on you to stay productive even after an insurable incident.

In addition to ensuring you have the proper coverage for your home business through your home insurance company, you should also get professional liability coverage so that no business can take your personal assets as a result of a business lawsuit.

So remember, let your home insurance company know about your home business and make sure their policy protects you properly.

1. Insuring your teen on your auto policy may offer some breaks: If you already have an auto insurance policy, you could get some breaks in the insurance premium if you cover your teen driver on your policy with you.
2. The older the car, the cheaper the policy: Insuring your teen is not going to be cheap-they are inexperienced and present a high risk to your insurer. But if you buy your teen an older model vehicle, you can get some breaks since the value of the vehicle is less and you can choose lower limits.
3. Driving courses matter: The more driving courses you make your teen take, the less expensive your policy can be. Make sure they take classes in school and look for other courses offered around your community.
4. Distance matters: If you are going to let your teen drive themselves back and forth to school each day, then you may be facing some steep insurance premiums. Instead, only allow them to drive occasionally. This reduces the amount of time they spend on the road, reduces the insurance company’s risk and potentially reduces your premiums.
5. Grades matter: Some insurance companies offer discounts to teen drivers with good grades. If this is the case with your insurance company, then you could save as much as 20% on the premium you pay. You might wonder what your teen’s grades have to do with his or her driving. They really have no direct correlation, but many insurers assume that a teen who takes their education seriously is better equipped to take driving seriously and will be a lower risk.

No matter how expensive it is to properly insure your teen driver. The choice to do so is a no-brainer. Teens have little experience driving and learning how to react in a dangerous driving situation. Insurance can help them weather the storm before they gain that experience.

But times have changed and real estate in the U.S. is not selling as it once did. While the home buying credits were in full force in early 2010, the real estate market picked up a bit, but now we are back to our normal lows. Not only that, but property values have fallen as well so you can no longer sell properties for as much money as you once could.

That means that many flippers have turned into the owners of multiple homes that they are forced to turn into rental properties so that they have some income to cover carrying costs. But now that they will own the secondary properties they purchased for years and years, they definitely need to consider some insurance.

It is not up to these new landlords to invest in home insurance that covers contents of the property. That would be the responsibility of their renters. So when you get a home insurance quote, there is no need to concern yourself with contents-but dwelling and other structures are definitely coverages you should consider. But because of the liabilities involved in renting a home out to other individuals, you need to be clear when you get your home insurance quote that the coverage is for a rental property and not for a primary residence. That way your insurance company can ensure that you get all the coverage you need for accidents, damages and insurable incidents that could be caused by your renters.

Do You Need Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

If you or a passenger are hurt in an accident that is the fault of an uninsured driver then you can pretty much kiss reimbursement from their insurance company good bye-after all, they are uninsured and have no insurance. And your insurance policy might not cover the damage caused by this other driver. If you have uninsured motorist coverage you can ensure that you will be made financially whole if the driver at fault does not have proper coverage. The Insurance Research Council estimates that roughly 25% of individuals are uninsured in every state-protect yourself against them.

Do You Need Comprehensive Coverage?

If your car gets stolen, vandalized or suffers from being involved in a natural disaster, can you afford to pay out of pocket for a new vehicle? And if you can, will that new vehicle be the same value as the old one-or will you be forced to buy a less expensive car because you cannot afford to pay for an equal car? And what about your existing car payments-who is going to pay those? If you don’t have comprehensive coverage then you will need to pay out of pocket to restore your car or to buy a new one if it is involved in a theft, if it is vandalized or if it suffers from storm damage. With comprehensive coverage you could be reimbursed by your insurance company and not have to worry about how you will afford to replace your vehicle.

So the next time you get auto insurance quotes, think about the reality of your situation and what kind of coverage you need as well as what kind of coverage you can afford to skip.

COBRA coverage is extremely expensive. If you are someone in relatively good health, who rarely goes to the doctor and has no pre-existing conditions, then COBRA coverage might not be the best use of your financial resources. Instead, you could search for low cost health insurance on an individual basis and get your own policy, not hinged on group participation, that can cover you for a fraction of the cost of a COBRA policy.

For individuals with pre-existing conditions, low cost health insurance is a pipe dream. Not only are premiums expensive for formerly ill individuals, but they may not even approve you at all depending on the risk you present. Or, they may approve you and agree to pay for your medical expenses through your policy while excluding a whole host of expenses that stem from your pre-existing condition. It is then that you are a good candidate for retaining your COBRA coverage. Even if you never go to the doctor, keeping continuous coverage through a program like COBRA is vital because it prevents another group insurance plan from declining to cover your pre-existing conditions (something they cannot do unless you’ve had a break in coverage for 63 days or longer during the past 6-12 months).

So remember, if you are young and in relatively good health, look to a low cost health insurance policy of your own for coverage after leaving a group plan. It will be much less expensive that COBRA and will allow you complete portability since its approval isn’t tied to group participation. If you have a pre-existing condition, be sure to opt for COBRA coverage immediately after leaving your job so that there is no risk of a 63 day or longer break in coverage. No matter what option you choose-make sure you always have some sort of health coverage so that you are not left to fiscally stand alone after an expensive illness or injury.

When it comes to underwriting your home insurance policy, your underwriters also consider your location an extremely important consideration-but not for the same reason as your real estate agent. Your underwriter doesn’t care about how your view, location or neighborhood influence your life-they care about the innate risks that these factors carry.

Certain locations could be high crime areas. While you might think that the location is bound for a renaissance and is a good investment, your home insurance underwriter is going to look at the practicality of living in a crime-filled area and is going to consider how this will affect your experience. Since it means that you are a higher risk for theft, they will likely add extra premium dollars to help hedge that risk.

If you live in a home with a wonderful view of the water it might make waking up every morning a glorious experience, but it also means that you could be more likely to suffer storm damage during a hurricane. The insurance underwriters don’t care about your glorious morning routine, they care about the fact that you are delivering increased risk based on your home’s location, and they are going to charge extra for that.

So remember, it is one thing to fall in love with the view, the neighborhood or the architecture of your home before you buy it, but it is a whole different story to think about how these considerations will affect your home insurance underwriting. Before buying a home, condo or townhouse, try to find a balance between a location that makes you happy and that makes your underwriters feel safe about issuing your policy. Then you’ll end up with insurance that you can afford and a home that you love-and what could be better than that?

Your medications: The medications you take give a tremendous insight not only on the prior events of your health history, but also on what your doctor thinks might be in the future. For instance, you might not have had a heart attack yet but if your doctor has you on a cholesterol medication, then it is likely that he or she thinks you may be at risk for one in the future. That indicates to a health insurance underwriter that you could be a risky bet.

Your actual health history: The events that comprise your health history give an insight not only into what your health future might hold but also in how you treat and respect yourself. For instance, Type 2 diabetes is often caused by obesity and poor eating choices. If you have Type 2 diabetes then it is unlikely that you eat well or exercise, which puts you at risk for a whole host of additional health problems.

Your family history: DNA ruins a lot of things health wise. If heart disease runs in your family then you are much more likely to suffer from it eventually. The same can be said for cancer, obesity, diabetes and certain mental illnesses. Knowing that someone in your family has suffered with these issues could change how a health insurance underwriter views your application for coverage-even if you are in perfect health.

Your weight and height: Your weight and height indicate how well-proportioned you are. Someone who weighs 300 pounds and is 5′3″ is much more likely to be considered obese than someone who is 6′5″ and weighs the same.

Smoking status: If you are a smoker-even an occasional lighter upper-then you are putting your body at risk for cancer, lung disease, emphysema and more. This will not be looked upon favorably by the underwriters reviewing your health insurance application.

Bodily damage liability: If you hurt someone by causing an accident, then your insurance will cover the cost of their injuries if you have bodily injury liability. There are two types of coverage you will be required to have, one is for a single person injury and the other is for multiple person injuries.

Property damage liability: If you run over someone’s mailbox, drive into their home or crash into their car, you are causing property damage. Property damage liability coverage will pay for this damage.

Uninsured motorist coverage: What happens if you get into an accident with another driver (who is at fault) and they don’t have any insurance or they have too little? If you have uninsured motorist coverage then your insurance policy will pay for the damages caused by the other driver.

Personal injury protection: If you or one of your passengers is hurt in an accident, personal injury protection (also called PIP) will pay for the medical expenses.

Every state is different. Almost all require bodily injury and property damage liability. Few require personal injury protection as well, and some also require uninsured motorist coverage. While most states require a very low minimum amount of insurance coverage in each of these areas, some have recently reset their minimums to much higher amounts.

Remember, before you get your auto insurance quotes, find out what kind of coverage is required by your state. But also, don’t just get the deductibles and limits required-consider the potential actual cost of damages after an accident and get an amount that will cover those expenses. Because the state required amounts don’t guarantee that they will be enough-they simply guarantee that there will be some sort of coverage.

Your home could endure an insurable incident whether or not you have a mortgage. After all, it is not the fact that you owe money on your home that exposes you to risk-it is the fact that risk is everywhere and could happen to anyone. You see, when you have a mortgage your lender is at risk for damages to your home because they have more money riding on it than you do. That is why they demand that you have home insurance. But if you think that you don’t need to look for home insurance quotes once your home is paid off, then consider this: if your home catches fire, floods, is vandalized or has any other insurable event happen to it then you must pay for the damages out of pocket unless you have insurance. You might not even have a home left to live in until you can find the money to pay for all the repairs and in the mean time, you will be forced to pay out of your own pocket for your temporary living space.

Of course, you can look for less expensive home insurance quotes once your home is paid off. You could consider raising your deductible since you no longer have a mortgage to pay off and can likely afford to pay more deductible out of your own pocket. You can look for lower limits as long as you stay within the range that your home is worth so you can be fully reimbursed for an event that destroys your home. You can even determine what is and isn’t covered based on how you perceive your risk.

Remember, while saving money on home insurance quotes is important, having an insurance policy that is there for you when you need it is vital. Don’t scrimp too much on the policy and make sure you look out for your own self-interest and bottom line.

With an HMO, you will be treated exclusively by doctors and medical treatment centers that are in the HMO network. If you receive treatment from someone outside of this network, unless it is an unpreventable emergency, your claim is likely to be denied. Unlike a PPO, HMOs do not offer any coverage for treatment received outside the network unless it is emergency treatment in an area with no network treatment centers or physicians. So if you have a favorite doctor that you or your children visit, make sure he or she is on the network list before you take out the HMO’s low cost health insurance coverage. If you don’t, then you will be forced to pay out-of-pocket for the full cost of all your visits to this physician.

With an HMO you are likely to have a copayment amount each time you visit a doctor or treatment facility. The copayments are fixed dollar amounts that will be listed out on your policy and possibly on your insurance card. They do not vary although they may be increased when your policy is renewed.

Some HMO plans have deductibles which is an amount of money that you must pay out-of-pocket before the policy kicks in and pays a benefit. These deductibles are variable and you can choose yours when you take out your policy. The larger your deductible the less expensive your insurance premium will be.

Your policy will also have a limit, or cap, in the amount of benefit you can receive over your lifetime. This protects the insurance company from having to commit to pay too much in benefits. Since the limits are usually set above one million dollars, it’s doubtful that most consumers will need to worry about exceeding them.

Remember, check your rates, choose an affordable deductible and a reasonable limit, and check that your favorite physicians are on the network list before you take out an HMO plan. Then your family will be happy, safe, well cared for and not at financial risk.

Imagine how difficult it would be to develop auto insurance rates if you had no idea how much you might possibly have to spend on a particular accident. It would be almost impossible. From medical expenses to emotional damages, from property damage to auto damage-there is no end to the amount of money you could be responsible for without limits to your benefit set.

When you get your auto insurance rates and quotes, you are asked to decide what kind of limit you want on your policy. The lower the limit you choose the less the insurance company knows it will have to spend per insurable interest-and that means the lower the rates you are quoted. But if you choose a limit that is too low in your eagerness to get cheap auto insurance rates then you run the risk of hurting yourself. Why? Well what do you think happens if it costs more to fix your car after an accident than the limit in your policy provides? That’s right-you have to pay it out of pocket. Any expense that exceeds your limit must be paid by you and if you don’t have the funds available then you run the risk of having your car in the shop and unrepaired much longer than you intended.

For guidance on limit setting, check with your mechanic to get an idea of repair and replacement costs for your car. Also, check with your insurance company to see if they have any data that will give you the average amounts for claims of various natures in your state. Lastly, make sure the limit you choose looks like one that will cover the bulk of any accident or insurable event and doesn’t seem like it will leave you paying out-of-pocket beyond your deductible.

A deductible is the amount of money that you need to pay out of pocket toward damages on your vehicle if you suffer an insurable event like an accident or car theft. Deductibles are only paid when you have damage that is covered by your insurance policy-otherwise, all damages will come out of your pocket or that of the person responsible for causing the accident.

Because a deductible must be paid out of your own, personal funds, it is important that you choose a deductible that you can actually afford to pay. Otherwise, you might end up with a deductible that hurts your savings, results in additional debt and prevents you from being able to get your car in working order. Without a car in working order you could suffer other financial difficulties such as the loss of a job.

It is tempting to choose a high deductible when shopping for an auto insurance quote because the higher your deductible is, the lower your auto insurance premium will be. Since accidents don’t happen to most people very often, it can seem like a real waste to pay for a high premium each and every month. But as tempting as that might be, ask yourself this-does it really matter? If you have a cheap auto insurance premium every month but you can’t afford the deductible, then you are switching one difficulty for another.

Instead, choose a deductible you can afford-one as high as you can afford-and then enjoy the resulting premium. That way, you will take advantage of as cheap a premium as you can get, you will have the comfort of knowing that you can afford your deductible if something should happen, and you won’t feel as though you are throwing away money on a policy that is not providing as much benefit as you need.

PPO stands for Preferred Provider Organization. A PPO plan is an insurance policy that allows you to seek medical treatment from a designated provider who is a part of a network of providers and medical treatment facilities that was created by the insurer. Everyone within the network agrees to work for a certain price. If you have a coinsurance amount in the plan, then this agreement to work for a certain price can help you keep your out-of-pocket costs affordable.

In a PPO you also have the freedom to visit a doctor or treatment center outside the network. You will not have all your medical costs reimbursed if you seek treatment outside the network, but your insurance policy will cover some of your expenses. That means if you have a doctor you love who is not in the network, you can still see him or her although it will be more expensive.

There are often copayment amounts with your PPO plan. These copayments are fixed amounts that you must pay your healthcare provider or facility for treatments you have had. You will generally receive a fixed list of these costs when you take out the policy so that you know what to expect.

Your PPO policy may also have a deductible, which is an out-of-pocket amount that you must pay before your insurance benefits will kick in-much like the deductible you have for your auto insurance or homeowners insurance policy.

And because insurance companies cannot guarantee unlimited coverage for all the medical expenses you might have over the course of a lifetime, your PPO policy will likely have limits that are the maximum benefits your policy will pay out. Since most limits are set at one or more million dollars it is unlikely that you will need to worry about exceeding these limits over your lifetime.

So before you decide whether to use an HMO or a PPO to fulfill your insurance needs, make sure you compare the benefits and drawbacks of each plan and find the one that works best for your lifestyle and budget.

Recent college graduate: If you have recently graduated college then you have bills. You probably have student loans, credit card bills and maybe even a car payment. Each of those bills should be taken care of by a life insurance policy you buy. In addition, your policy should pay for your burial.

Single adult: As a single adult you may have a mortgage, car payment, student loans, credit card balances and furniture that you still owe money on. In order for your estate to avoid being a burden on your parents and loved ones, your life insurance policy should pay off all this debt and supply payment for your burial expenses.

Newlywed: As a newlywed you have much the same debt as you did as a single, but you also have a spouse who is depending on your income and contribution to sustain his or her daily life. So in addition to having a death benefit that pays your debt off and your burial expenses, you should consider it supplying enough money to supplement your income for your spouse.

Parent with young children: With young children, your life insurance policy should pay off all debt your spouse would be left with, should pay off your burial expenses, should provide income supplement for your spouse and should leave a little behind to help your children deal with your loss. Money for counseling, private school tuition and any other needs your spouse might not be able to afford alone.

Parent of teens: With teen children, you must consider all of the above expenses and you should think about college tuition for your children as well as leaving them a legacy.

Pre-retiree: As a pre-retiree, you have a spouse whose retirement partially depends on your financial contribution. So while your life insurance policy should pay off all debt it should also make a contribution to your spouse’s retirement funds.

Retired senior: As a senior, you may begin to simplify your life insurance needs. You likely have less debt than you did, your children are through college, and your retirement has already begun. Consider buying enough life insurance to leave a legacy for your family and ensure your spouse lives the rest of his or her days comfortably.

Your motor vehicle report: Your motor vehicle report (MVR) is a report that shows your driving record. It shows all the tickets you’ve gotten for reckless driving, speeding, and not obeying general traffic laws. This report is extremely important in determining how risky you are to insure. If you have many tickets and incidents on the report that show you are not a responsible driver, then you are going to be expensive to insure because the auto insurance company is going to assume that your recklessness translates into expensive claims for anyone who insures you. The underwriters will then decide to charge you a higher premium than you might expect in order to offset the likelihood of claims.

Your age: The older you are, the more likely you are to be an experienced and responsible driver and the less expensive your premiums are likely to be-until you hit a certain age. Because as you start to get older, you again become more risky as a driver because you are less sharp witted, have worse eyesight and less hand-eye coordination. So whether you are too young, too old, or right in the middle, it will have an effect on your auto insurance underwriting and premiums.

Your gender: Unfortunately for the masculine set, male drivers (especially those who are young) are seen as riskier bets by insurers. Males are often considered to be risk takers and less responsible than their female counterparts.

Your relationship status: Married individuals are often seen as more stable and responsible by auto insurance underwriters. Singles get a bad rap and are often charged more for auto insurance.

Your car: If you drive a flashy, speedy, light and rocket ready sports car, then you are likely to be charged a higher premium than someone who drives a four door sedan. Sports cars are often purchased by people who want to test out the speed and handling of the car and usually want to push the car to its limits. That doesn’t always reflect well when an underwriter is looking to set the premium for your auto insurance policy.

Install more smoke alarms: The less time a fire has to damage your home, the less likely you will have an insurance claim. So not only can the presence of smoke detectors in your home lower your initial quoted home insurance premium but it can also reduce your likelihood of future expensive claims that increase your premiums.

Install a burglar alarm: Taking appropriate measures to discourage the theft of items from your home is a great way to save on home insurance premiums. A burglar alarm will alert you and your local police if someone attempts to break in to your home. This will allow your insurance company to offer you less expensive premiums and prevent claims that result in even higher premiums.

Avoid the flood zones: There are many areas in your town that are considered flood zones. These areas are prone to being flooded during rain storms, hurricanes and possible damn issues. While a traditional home insurance policy won’t cover you against flood damage, you will be required to buy a flood policy if you live in a flood zone and have a mortgage. Instead, simply avoid buying a home in this dangerous area and you won’t need to spend money on the policy.

Know your codes: Many homeowners will attempt to make changes to their property without going to the codes department in their city and getting a permit then getting the work inspected. But codes are developed to preserve your safety as well as the safety of your neighbors. By following the codes and getting work to your property inspected, you reduce the risk of a claim against your home insurance and help to keep the premiums low.

So there you have it. A few simple and affordable ways to keep your home insurance premiums low and reduce the likelihood of claims against your policy. Try to institute some of them today and you will go far in making your home happier, safer and less expensive to insure.

If an insurable event should occur in your home, then you could lose every possession you have in your home. Your furniture, electronics, books, antiques, cookware, clothes-everything you have. While you look around your home you might not think that it would cost much to replace these items, but if you really consider that you could need to replace every single item you own, the cost of these items would be staggering. Even just replacing the toys your children treasure could cause a significant and damaging impact to your budget.

A home insurance policy that provides coverage for the contents of your home can take away much of the financial burden that a substantial loss could impose. It can help you get back on your feet and put your life back to normal after a disaster. Without this coverage, you might be able to get your home rebuilt or a new home purchased-but you won’t be able to furnish the home. All the touches that make your house a home would be missing-from throw blankets to beds, knick-knacks to bookshelves, dinnerware to area rugs. Not to mention the things you desperately need, like clothing, shoes and linens.

So no matter how much additional premium contents coverage causes within your home insurance premium, don’t skip out on the coverage and cheat your family out of the kind of protection they deserve. Get complete coverage that will help put your family back to rights after an insurable event and lessen the trauma that the insurable incident can cause.

1. They can grow at a fixed rate like in a traditional whole life policy.
2. They can grow at a variable rate by choosing a sub account to invest them in. Sub accounts in a variable policy may have fixed investments like money markets, they may have stocks, bonds or mutual funds.
3. They can grow at a variable rate tracking the returns of a specific index-like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The third kind of growth is seen in an equity indexed life insurance policy. When you have an equity indexed life insurance policy, your cash values grow as they would in a variable policy but the sub account you choose is created to mimic the performance of a particular index. If that index goes up, then your cash value will likely go up. But if the index goes down, then so will your cash value.

One of the most important things to remember about an equity indexed life insurance policy is that there is no guarantee that you will earn money. Many illustrations for life insurance will show the great amounts of cash that can be accumulated in an equity indexed life insurance policy, but there is always the chance that the index you choose for your sub account will go down in value and will reduce the cash values you accumulate. The great things about equity indexed life insurance policies, however, is that they often have a floor, or minimum amount that you are guaranteed to gain. While this threshold is often significantly less than the fixed rate of return in a traditional life insurance policy, it at least offers some sort of gain while markets are down. On the other hand, there is also often a ceiling or maximum gain you can experience which may be less than the actual increases experienced by the index that you choose.

COBRA: The Act that allows for continuation of group coverage for a limited time after you leave the group.

Co-insurance: The amount you must pay for treatment after copayments and deductibles.

Copayment: The fixed amount that you must pay out-of-pocket for physician visits, medical procedures and prescription medications.

Deductible: The out-of-pocket amount you must pay before your policy benefits start kicking in.

Exclusions: Any medical conditions or illnesses whose expenses are not covered by your insurance policy.

HIPAA: A health insurance Act that sets privacy standards in an electronic world and guarantees portability of coverage and new policy issue after COBRA benefits run out, as long as there has not been a significant break in coverage (varies by state but usually at least 63 days).

HMO: A type of insurance policy that allows only treatment within a set network of physicians and facilities.

Lifetime limit: The maximum amount your insurer will pay out in benefits.

PPO: The type of insurance policy that has a network of physicians but still allows you to visit physicians and facilities outside the network for a reduced benefit.

Pre-certification: Some insurance companies require that you get preapproval from them before you have surgery or other medical procedures. This is called a pre-certification.

Pre-existing conditions: Any illness, injury or chronic disease you suffered from before you took out your insurance policy is considered a pre-existing condition.

Premiums: The fee that you pay to your insurance company monthly, annually or quarterly is your premium.

Underwriting: The process of reviewing and evaluating the risk you pose to the insurance company based on your medical history.

Waiting period: The amount of time you must wait before your pre-existing conditions are covered by your policy.

The Difference between Individual and Group Policies

Before you get a health insurance quote you should understand the difference between group and individual health insurance policies. Group health insurance policies are those issued to employer, fraternal or trade groups. They have advantageous rates because there is a distribution of policies to both sick and healthy people. In addition, group insurance policies are not individually underwritten so your individual health problems are not taken into consideration when you buy into a group health insurance plan.

Individual insurance policies are issued to individuals and families. The rates are based on the health history and potential health future of the individuals the policy is issued to. The policy issuance is not dependent on being a member of any particular group. You can be denied coverage if you have certain illnesses unless you live in a state with guaranteed issue policies.

The Drawbacks to Group Health Insurance Policies

You can only keep a group health insurance policy for as long as you are a member of the group. Once you leave the group you may have access to COBRA, which allows you to carry the group insurance coverage up to 36 months after you leave the group. If you get a group policy while you are healthy and then you become chronically ill while you have the policy, you may no longer be able to get your own individual policy.

Additionally, while you may be able to choose between plans in your group’s benefit profile, there is no guarantee that the group will offer the type of policy or coverage options that you and your family really need. You may be subject to a restrictive set of doctors and treatment centers, may not be able to see doctors that you are used to seeing and may not have certain care options that you are used to getting.

In short, if group health is the only kind of policy you can get due to poor health or financial issues, then it is a good choice. Otherwise, an individual policy may be a better bet.

Choosing an Insurance Company

One of the best ways to make sure you choose an auto insurance company that can afford your policy is to check the company’s AM Best rating before you take out the policy. AM Best is an insurance rating company that examines the financials of an insurer in order to determine how likely that insurer is to be able to pay the claims it receives. By checking the company’s balance sheets, income statements, insurance policy load and other information AM Best can get a good idea of whether or not they can handle their financial load.

Once they assess the financials they give a letter grade to each insurer. These letter grades give you an idea of just how capable AM Best things the insurer is. Generally, you want to choose an insurer with an A rating or higher. You don’t need a special sign in or a paid membership in order to access the ratings, you just need to go to the website and look up the insurance company.

Before you decide that you don’t need to worry about the rating of your insurer and instead can just pick the cheapest auto insurance rate and move on with your life, remember-an insurance company is only as good as its ability to pay your claims. If an insurer is unable to actually pay the claims of its premium paying clients than it is nothing more than just an empty promise-one that you pay for out of your own pocket.

Generally, most breeds of cats and dogs will not cause your home insurance rates to go up. But if you have a breed that is associated with aggression and dog bites, like a Pit Bull or Rottweiler, then you will likely experience an increase in premiums. The reason for this is because if your dog bites someone, then they can place a claim against your home insurance policy for the medical expenses caused by the treatment of the bite. They may even get some additional funds for stress and damages. By walking your dog on a leash and having a securely fenced area for the dog to play in you will reduce your likelihood of risk and may even reduce your premiums. Likewise, some exotic pets like monkeys, dingoes and sloths might carry increased premium risks. You’ll need appropriate pens and play areas to help keep your premiums down.

Another pet that may increase your home insurance premiums is a lizard or other cold-blooded creature. This may seem strange, but because you must have special warming lights and devices to keep your clod-blooded pet alive, it can increase your risk of having a fire which can increase your insurance premiums. Make sure to buy the right kind of equipment and keep it in good repair to help reduce your risk of a claim.

It is important that you disclose your pets to your home insurance company. You might think that by keeping your dangerous or risky pets a secret that you can get away without paying an increased premium. In reality, If you have a claim that is caused by these pets it will not be covered by your policy and you may even lose the policy because of your misrepresentation. It isn’t worth losing the investment you make in a home insurance policy to avoid the increased premium that certain pets can cause.

Cash values accumulate and earn a fixed rate of return in a universal life insurance policy. They are not subject to the volatility of the stock market and there are no sub accounts for you to choose. While the premiums of a universal life insurance policy may be flexible, there is a maximum that you can pay. If you exceed this maximum then you may accumulate cash values too quickly and a modified endowment contract (MEC) may occur. In a modified endowment contract, the value of your cash values rises too close to the value of your death benefit and the policy cash value becomes taxable. One of the great benefits of a universal life insurance policy is the tax-free accrual of cash values and the ability to take tax-free loans, so this is definitely something to avoid.

Unlike a term life insurance policy, universal life insurance policies offer a death benefit that is valid over the entire course of your life as long as you pay your premiums on time and keep the policy in force. There is no need for further underwriting as the years go by and no reason to find additional insurance. In a term policy, since the death benefit only covers you for a pre-determined term (or period of time) you might need further underwriting and could be at risk for a higher premium as your health deteriorates. Like all life insurance policies, riders can be added to the universal life insurance policy in order to increase its value. Souse riders, accidental death riders, child riders and accelerated benefit riders are just some of the choices you have.

Life Coverage in A Whole Life Policy

Whole life (or permanent life) insurance policies generally require medical underwriting and offers a death benefit for you entire life, as long as you pay your premiums in full and on time. If your health changes and you become uninsurable, it won’t matter as long as you keep your policy in-force. That is one of the benefits of a whole life insurance policy over a term life insurance policy, which will stop paying a life insurance policy after a pre-determined number of years.

Cash Value Growth and Accumulation

When you have a whole life insurance policy you pay more than just the cost of insurance. The additional premiums that you pay are put toward the accumulation of cash values. These cash values give your policy an added benefit that just a death benefit. Cash values can offer tax-free loans to the policy owner, a cash value given when the owner surrenders the policy and a source of funds for applied premium loans if the policy owner neglects to pay their premium.

Fixed Growth of Cash Values

One of the best aspects of a whole life insurance policy is that the policy’s cash values grow at a fixed rate. That means that instead of dealing with the ups and downs and general volatility in the stock market, you get fixed, guaranteed growth that is honored by the insurance company. In order to ensure that you choose an insurer that can both pay claims and keep your cash values growing according to the illustration, take the time to check the insurance company’s rating on AM Best. AM Best is a company that assesses the financial strength of insurers and assigns a letter rating representing their financial strength. When you choose a financially strong company then you can rest assured with the knowledge that your claims and cash value requests will be honored.

Health insurance pays for many things including illnesses, injuries from accidents and preventative treatments. But health insurance also pays for those medical expenses associated with a long, ongoing illness that you contracted before buying your most recent policy. If you buy a health insurance policy today, chances are good that the insurance company will incur many charges that result from the illnesses you already have. Because of this, your health insurance quotes are going to add additional premium that compensates for this likelihood. And even if you haven’t had an illness but a family member of yours has, then you are going to face a higher premium because the likelihood of you having a similar health profile to your relatives is high.

Also playing a part in your health insurance quote is your age, your gender and your weight. Like your health history and your family’s health history, you age, weight and gender all work together to make you more or less likely to suffer from certain illnesses. If you are overweight, then you are a likely candidate for expensive health problems like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer and more. That means your health insurance company is more likely to pay out more money for your health insurance claims. Because they realize this, they can charge additional premiums to help hedge against the greater claims that you will bring them.

That is why it is so important to make sure that you are in good health before you begin to obtain health insurance quotes. If you are then you can get affordable quotes that you can sustain.