Friday, January 11, 2013

The Importance of Home Insurance   by Denver Burke

 

To help you with this, you can start by doing some research online. There are a lot of home insurance companies, reputable ones that have their own websites on the World Wide Web already due to the increase of demand for home insurance. You will find that the most reputable home insurance company has its own website as well, which is very good because it is very convenient.
Now, list down at least 5 potential insurance companies that you want to sign up to. The next step would be to get in touch with an agent and ask for quotations and possible payment plans. Of course, you have to ask about that particular home insurance coverage that you are signing up for. It is best that you are very knowledgeable about it in order to avoid miscommunication or misunderstandings along the way. So when you are asking for a quotation, make sure that you have asked everything you want to know about the company, their policy, the coverages, the limitations of the insurance package etc. Anything that concerns your chosen home insurance coverage, you better ask it right away.
However, this is not the time to close the deal because you have to compare first the 5 quotations that you have gathered from the 5 home insurance companies that you are choosing from. Which company provides the most affordable annual fees and which one has the highest quotation? Why do you think one insurance company has the lowest price while the other has the highest price? By doing this, you will be able to determine which company to go for and which company will offer you the best insurance coverage, the best price and the best service that you need.
Or you can call up that agent who bugged you the moment you decided to get a home for yourself. This is important and you should take action right away. Your home is very important and it has so much value in your life, so protect it the best way that you can.
When it comes to home insurance, this is a very complex matter that has a lot of information that you should know about. It is also great if you can familiarize yourself with the terms used for insurance so when the agent speaks to you, you will not look like you are speaking to someone who is from another planet.
It is best that you and your agent are on the same page. There is nothing wrong with asking as well, if you have a concern or if there is something that you do not understand like a particular clause or whatever, ask it right away.

What to Do After Buying a Home: 3 Steps to Take   by Leslie R. Wright

 

Now that you’ve finally moved into the home of your dreams, life can begin. But not so fast… There are still several loose ends to tie up and issues that must be taken care of immediately after buying a property to protect yourself as a new homeowner.
If you’re wondering what to do after buying a home, you’ve come to the right place. Consider these three guidelines as necessary precautions to take after signing on the dotted line:
1. Change your locks. Even though you may have bought your house from a nice little old lady, the odds are that she passed out copies of her house key to friends, grandchildren, and even pet sitters while on vacation. To protect yourself and your family from day one, take the time to contact a locksmith and have a new set of keys made.
It’s also recommended to install deadbolts at main entry points if they are not already there. For a more affordable alternative to purchasing new locks, you can simply manually remove door locks and take them to the hardware store yourself to get them rekeyed.
2. Check your appliances. Most homes are sold with all major appliances, but you may be surprised to walk into your new property to find that the washer and dryer are missing. Unpleasant surprises can be avoided by reading your contract in advance before buying a home to determine exactly which appliances will stay and which will go.
From there, you can shop competitively online and locally for affordable appliances; if you’re on a tight budget, consider buying refurbished to keep costs low. If a house was sold with outdated, inefficient, or broken appliances, this is also the time to get major appliances replaced, like the stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer, and oven range.
3. Contact your insurance agent. If you’re a new homeowner, you can contact the Austin insurance company that currently provides your car insurance to get a price quote on homeowner’s insurance. You may be able to receive a discounted rate if you bundle your car and home insurance policies together. Nonetheless, it still pays to compare quotes on homeowner’s insurance from leading insurance providers to make sure that you get the best monthly rate. Experts recommend requesting a minimum of three quotes to find a competitive premium that will fit within your budget.
Last but not least, take the time to meet with your insurance agent to review your new homeowner’s insurance policy to determine exactly what it covers. There’s nothing worse than an unexpected surprise after a natural disaster or theft has occurred, where you find out that your valuables were not covered in full.
An ideal homeowner’s insurance policy will automatically cover your possessions based on roughly 75% of your home’s insured value, on average. If you have any rare or expensive items in your home, like artwork or jewelry, you may need to pay for additional coverage to insure valuables at a higher amount.

Healthcare Insurance-What Do I Need?   by Pat Giaconia Entrepreneur

 

Healthcare Insurance-What Do I Need?
Do not approach healthcare insurance with fear. It is true the field is complex and your options are many, but the more you learn, the safer you will feel. Healthcare insurance is similar to healthcare itself. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By making smart choices when you select insurance, you can avoid difficulties in the future.
One option available to you when you get a prescription, is to ask the doctor if he or she would double the dose prescribed. Often times, the bigger pill is not twice the cost of smaller pills, so you could end up saving money by buying these in the long run. A pill splitter will pay for itself in not time.
Healthcare Insurance-Check Pricing Online
Go online and compare insurance quotes. This makes it easy to find out which company can offer you the best plan at the lowest rates. Visit each company's website and get a quote, or use a price-comparison site that gives you quotes from the top carriers.
TIP! Obtaining catastrophic coverage instead of comprehensive coverage can often save you money on health insurance. Catastrophic coverage only covers major medical expenses, like hospitalization and emergency surgeries; in comparison, comprehensive covers that, plus most minor health care related costs like physicals and prescriptions.
When selecting an healthcare insurance provider, it is important to verify that your regular doctors and insurance providers accept that policy in payment for their services. Check your new insurance provider's website. Often, insurance companies post a list on their websites of doctors or health care facilities that accept their plans.
Read the handbook your healthcare insurance provider gives you when you sign up. You may need to know about certain benefits if you get sick in the future. When you purchase healthcare insurance, you'll receive a manual that provides you with in-depth details about your policy. In order to fully comprehend the benefits and limitations of your policy, you need to carefully read the entire booklet. This might seem boring or overwhelming, but you never know when you'll need to take advantage of particular benefits.
Healthcare Insurance-Review Your Policy Annually
Review your healthcare insurance plan annually to see which prescriptions are covered. The prescriptions that are covered change on a yearly basis, so check the list every time you re-enroll to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
TIP! Many companies offer employee wellness programs that allow employers to save on health insurance. Employees who are willing to go in for a checkup may be eligible for discounts.
If you're having trouble affording your medical care, ask your healthcare insurance company about a medical care or prescription discount card. These cards let you go to doctors in the network at a cheaper cost if you have a lower income. With one of these cards, you can get a Health Spending Account only insurance plan to cover the costs.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a great idea for someone who rarely visits the doctor. The money saved to pay deductibles and premiums can be placed in this account to pay for any kind of medical expenses needed.
You do not want to find out about the limitations of your healthcare insurance policy when you get sick. The smart way to search for healthcare insurance is to arm yourself with knowledge about how it works, what you should look for, and what you should avoid. It's also important to be cognizant of all the options available. Living your life with bad healthcare insurance isn't good. However, you can fix this problem whenever you want, so find the right healthcare insurance plan for you and your family.

Cheap Car Insurance - Why Choosing the Right Insurance Company Matters  by Peter Main

When buying car or auto insurance most people have what probably could be termed a bottom-line approach. They will have an idea of the type of cover they want, and they will shop around normally to obtain the cheapest quote they can, and that will be pretty much all they worry about.
This in part is because no matter where you live some type of car insurance is probably compulsory, and people's attitude to an extent would be to obtain what is necessary because of the legal requirements, and not worry too much about anything else.
The issue of the solvency or not of any insurance company is something that probably does not raise any concerns from most individual policyholders. This is understandable, but is nevertheless an important issue that should be considered by people.
There is a tendency to assume that most insurance companies will always exist for a long time, are solvent, and can be relied upon to meet any claim that might be due.
The solvency or not of an insurance company is not necessarily the main issue, although it is an important one. The insurance claims that really matter to people are the long-term liability claims, where a motorist or driver will have a significant amount of financial damages awarded against them or agreed in an out-of-court settlement, which the company will effectively cover for the policyholder.
This is an important consideration, simply because most liability claims take a long time to settle, and you want to make sure that the insurance company is still around when the final settlement was agreed.
There may be some provision in statute to provide some compensation if the insurance company goes bust meantime, but this may well be restricted to whatever the local state or federal minimum legal insurance requirement is.
If your insurance company is not able to meet its commitments to you as a policyholder, you are still liable for any damages that are due from you. As such the solvency of an insurance company is important and something that should be considered by potential policyholders.
The other issue that affects the choice of an insurance company at a more practical level is its approach to claims management, both at a personal level and at a financial level. This is more than simply about whether it pays claims quickly or efficiently or not.
Car insurance can be slightly different to other types of insurance in that claims will often be for partial repair or damage as opposed to a total loss of whatever the insured item is. This means in practice that insurers can use their own vehicle repair shops, and their own claims management systems to ensure a speedy or not repair service.
The difficulty often is in finding out actually how effective an insurer is in dealing with a claim both fairly and quickly. In one sense it to be easy to find out nowadays given the nature of the internet and how willing people are to post examples of good or bad service.
In reality, rather like customer reviews of products bought online, people tend to take to a website to have a good moan about a company or express their dissatisfaction with it some reason.
This may be a perfectly valid complaint but inevitably will be one-sided. It is unlikely that insurance companies or even people who experience a good level of service with an insurance company will take to a website to recommend their car insurance.
This means simply that other ways have to be found of checking out how an insurance company deals with claims and there are a number of ways of doing this.

 

Cheap Car Insurance - Do You Need Gap Insurance?   by Peter Main

When deciding what type of car insurance cover to take out there are a number of considerations that most people should think about. Often the choice will be decided for them simply by the cost of the insurance policy, a fact well known to so-called younger drivers.
This is a group of people who the insurance companies tend to consider a high risk classification of potential policyholders, and load the cost of their premiums by a highly significant amount.
For this category of driver, it is quite likely that a fully comprehensive policy would simply be unaffordable, and that the most they would be able to afford would be a policy that complied with the minimum legal requirement for some type of third-party insurance.
If the financial options available allow you a greater choice of deciding which type of car insurance policy to have, then there are a number of options available to you. There will be a legal requirement to have some type of third-party liability insurance, which will either be a general catchall liability insurance, or may be split into a liability indemnity in respect of so-called property damage and so-called people damage.
In any event make sure that the insurance policy you have meets the legal minimum requirement for where you live, and if you do not consider this a sufficient indemnity to potentially meet your needs, it should be possible to acquire or buy additional insurance.
The other type of policy widely available is what is known as a fully comprehensive insurance policy which basically includes the replacement cost of your own motor vehicle or car in the event of a partial or total loss.
There's also what is known as a gap insurance policy that is often available. This relates to the difference in price between the value of the car when there is a claim and the value of the car when the person bought it by way of a loan or hire purchase agreement.
If the policyholder paid cash for the car or motor vehicle then this type of insurance policy would not apply. Assuming the policyholder has an outstanding loan or hire purchase agreement, then there's likely to be a difference possibly a significant difference in cash terms between the amounts that the person paid for the car, and the monetary value given to the person by way of settlement in the event of a claim.
This is simply because when setting a claim for a vehicle or car, the insurance company assesses its market value at the time of loss, which is normally significantly less than was paid for the vehicle. The insurance company will take into account significant wear and tear on the vehicle as well as mileage and other considerations. The gap insurance policy should cover the difference between the two valuations.
There are also likely to be a number of add-on optional extras can be included with a comprehensive car insurance policy which may be included in the price quoted, or may be considered as additional add-on extras. This includes things such as a hire car or rental car, some type of recovery or breakdown service in the event of a mechanical fault or breakdown of the vehicle.
There is likely to be some type of insurance available regarding legal services. This can vary quite considerably as to whether it is simply a call centre giving you legal advice concerning car insurance issues, or it could also extend to providing some type of cover to allow you to pursue what is known as an uninsured loss.
This is a situation where you may be involved in an accident or incident with another car where the driver of that car does not have any insurance.
At that point it is a consideration whether to pursue that person for the money involved, which would involve you in considerable expense. Some insurance policies offer a type of legal services insurance that would help you with that cost.
There is also the possibility of your car insurance policy including some type of warranty extension for the vehicle covering mechanical and servicing costs. This will depend very much on the age and condition of your vehicle and would probably be subject to an inspection by the insurance company.

 

 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013


How To Obtain No Blood Test Life Insurance   by Brian

Have you heard about no blood test life insurance? Yes, life protection really can be acquired without the required blood test or some other form of physical exam or checkup. Not everyone will apply for no blood test insurance coverage, but it is a viable option for a lot of people and the advantages far outweigh any drawbacks or costs involved.
New Term Policies Are Transforming The Industry
No exam test insurance has transformed the way that term coverage insurance and other forms of life insurance are both bought and sold on the Worldwide Web. New gates have been opened for many people regarding their insurance policies as life insurance policies have become more affordable and easier than ever to obtain. In recent years, no blood test life coverage rates have also been attainable, providing term life insurance without requiring a medical examination of any kind.
No medical test policies are fairly new to the group of different types of term coverage that can be purchased to protect you and your family. Now there is the option to purchase insurance that does not require you to go through a health screening prior to getting the coverage. This type of coverage is providing new opportunities to people who want to explore a wide range of different choices and options rather than settling on what appears to be the cheapest or easiest option to obtain. The exciting thing about the application process is you are not required to have a nurse come into your home, or even worse, work with an inexperienced examiner. No blood test life insurance rates may end up proving to be a little more expensive, at least as far as monthly premiums are concerned. However, this is usually well worth the added cost if it means not having to worry about blood tests or the time inconvenience of the health exam.
Opportunities Available On The Internet
There are various different options that tend to be available to you when it comes to no blood test life insurance policy. As an example, you can purchase a simplified issue insurance policy, an accidental death policy, or a funeral insurance plan. Whatever policy you elect to choose, keep in mind that there are ample numbers of options available to you for no blood test life insurance, and these routes are worth pursuing no matter who you are. Just make you work with a company or agent that has access to multiple top rated companies.

Advantages Of Family Floater Health Insurance Compared To Individual Health Insurance   by Insurancepolicyx@gmail.com

If you are considering a complete insurance plan for your family, look no further, as the Family Floater Insurance Plan covers in its ambit the entire family. Unlike the Individual Health Insurance, which only caters health insurance to an individual, the former covers the entire family insurance. It can be safely said that the Family Floater is the best insurance plan for the family. However, before you actually take up an insurance policy for the family, you must take in consideration the needs and requirements of the family along with a thorough research of the companies offering such insurance policies.
The Family Floater Health Insurance Plan
The Family Floater Plan covers the whole of the family normally comprising self, the spouse and two children dependent on them. There are certain policies that also take into its ambit the siblings, dependent parents and parents-in-law as well. The insurance works on the following principle. Supposedly, a family of four people is insured for a specified amount of money, all of them are entitled to make use of the specified amount for the expenses incurred on their hospitalization. This is one of the benefits of the Family Floater Policy to provide additional coverage. You may find various policies that might be better than this insurance plan when it comes to the entire family, but this policy is the best solution with suitable cost effective benefits.
The Family Health Policy fits in the budget of the family with ease. You do not have to spend on buying separate policies for all the members of the family. A single insurance covers the entire family thus saving you money. The same fact can be verified by comparing the cost incurred on the various policies of different companies. It is also termed as the umbrella cover for the family. Another benefit is that the member of the family can get a greater amount in the claim. Since all the members of the family are covered in the same policy, you can manage the policy in a better manner.
Individual Health Insurance
This kind of policy is normally taken by the unemployed and the self-employed people. People would normally opt for an individual coverage despite them being showed the plan by their company. In the health insurance business, individual plan does not mean that the employee is offered insurance individually. It simply means that the individual has to pay some part of the premium. Even if the individual pays the entire premium of the family plan, the policy will still be termed as the individual insurance policy. The drawback of such plans is the price, which is always expensive than the group policy.
There are many disadvantages to the Individual Health Policy, the foremost being that it does not cover anyone except the person insured. The insurer also has to undergo medical examination. The premium in this kind of insurance is established by the risk factor. This gives the discretion to the insurance company to deny the health insurance to the individual.
To sum it up, the Floater Family Health Insurance Policy is by far the best policy for the family as compared to the Individual Health Insurance Policy.

Life Insurance High Premiums Convert to Affordable Payments for a Long Term Care Facility   by Patrick Hogan

The longer you wait to get long term insurance the higher the premiums are going to be. In certain circumstances it may be impossible to get the insurance. You might think this is not a problem because you are going to use Medicaid anyway. Medicaid is designed to help you through government funds. It is supposed to be something you paid into during life and therefore beneficial when you need a long term care facility. What you might be unaware of is the high cost of Medicaid.
It might be money you paid into for benefits in later life, but the cost of retrieving those funds is spending down all your assets until you have $2,000 in your savings and no more. You also have to have a specific amount of income which is usually less than $2,000 per month. When you look at long term care facility payments in the $3,400s it makes it difficult to actually afford the facility unless you do not sell off everything for Medicaid.
The best thing you can do is wait to use Medicaid until you have nothing left. It might take a short time or it might take more than 20 years to finally need Medicaid if you are willing to look at the alternatives you have to enter a long term care facility. One option you have is to sell your home and use the funds from the sale to cover your assisted living costs. You may not want to sell the home if it is fully paid for or something that has been in your family for generations. Rather, you might want to give it to your children. You could ask your children to help you pay for your long term care facility, but it places a burden on them.
The idea is to make your retirement easy with a retirement account which is big enough to pay for your long term care facility. LifeBridge has an answer to your needs. If you have a long term life insurance policy you can use it through a conversion policy. The conversion policy takes the money from your life insurance policy and makes it available to you now while you are paying for a long term care facility. The important aspect of the conversion policy is that you are using something you have paid on for several years or perhaps a few years.
Let's go back to the high premiums you pay for your life insurance policy. You might feel the high premium is too much to pay and therefore getting rid of the policy for Medicaid is not a big issue. Yet, you could use insurance conversion where you take the money from your whole, term, individual, or group policy and pay for your long term care facility. You are no longer paying the high premiums and are actually using the policy you have paid out on.

Car Insurance - Mistakes That Will Cost You   by Bethanycollins

Car insurance is meant to protect you when you’re caught in a bad situation. It costs you money, of course, but it doesn’t have to cost you the world. In fact, it can be very affordable. Some mistakes, however, can cost you if you’re not careful. Here are some mistakes you should try to avoid at all costs.
Driving without insurance
Driving without insurance is against the law in America and if caught, there could be a heavy price to pay. For starters, let’s say you’re involved in a car accident and you are at-fault. If you end up injuring someone seriously and you don’t have insurance, you could get sued. Something like this could ruin you financially and stay with you forever. If caught driving without a license, some of the penalties you are likely to face are having you license and vehicle registration suspended. You could also be charged a very heft fine. Simply put, driving without insurance is something you should NEVER do. If it’s spending too much on insurance you’re worried about, shop around for car insurance rates. Get auto insurance quotes from at least 3-4 different companies; compare them and see which works best for you.
Tickets
Having multiple tickets on your record will increase your premiums. You should try to be careful while driving; always wear a seat-belt, don’t exceed speed limits or run red lights and avoid making illegal turns. Tickets stay on your record for a good three years, so it’s always a good idea to follow rules and regulations if you want to avoid high premium rates.
Missed insurance policy payments
Missed insurance policy payments lead to instant cancellations of policy. If you think this is no big deal, think again. Having your policy canceled because of non-payment could result in a considerable increase in premium rates with the next insurance company you approach for rates. Worse, you might get your application rejected entirely. Some other companies might even regard you as a ‘high-risk’ driver, which means you’ll have to face rates associated with being a high-risk driver.
Non-disclosure of key payments
Sometimes you might avoid putting in some details on your insurance application in hopes of getting lower insurance rates. Sometimes certain details might slip your mind. It might not be intentional, but when it comes to your provider’s knowledge, you could face serious consequences. For starters, your application could be rejected altogether. If comes to light later, your policy could be canceled immediately. And if, by any chance, you’ve met with an accident around the same time, there’s a chance your claim could be rejected as well.
Fraudulent claims
Fraudulent claims could land you in big trouble. If found guilty of committing auto insurance fraud, you could face legal penalties, cancellation of your policy and in some cases, depending on the type of the offense; lawsuit, or worse, jail. It’s best to avoid such a situation altogether and always be honest when applying for insurance. 
Car insurance doesn’t have to be expensive, but being careless could have you paying heavily for it.

Smart Ways to Lower Auto Insurance Rates   by Bethanycollins

When it comes to buying car insurance, almost the first thing anyone ever thinks about is how much it’s going to cost. 9 out of 10 people worry about not finding car insurance that’s going to cost them a fortune AND having all their insurance needs met. Little do they know that they CAN, in fact, buy insurance that’s reasonably priced, while covering all their requirements.
Here’s a look at some of the smart ways in which you can lower car insurance costs. 
What are your coverage needs?
Not everyone has the same coverage needs. Each situation is unique; needs are different. When deciding on coverage, it is important to take factors such as your age, how old the car is, where you live etc, into consideration. For instance, you might want to drop collision on an older car that’s about, let’s say 10-15 years old. So even if it IS involved in an accident, cost of fixing the damages may exceed the value of your car. To be sure visit the Kelly Blue Book website and determine the fair value of your car. Think about what you need from your insurance before piling on different coverages.
Install anti-theft devices to your car
Insurance companies favor responsible, cautious drivers. There are some insurance companies that offer discounts or lower premium rates to people who install anti-theft and security devices to their cars. Besides, you know as they say, better safe than sorry!
Enroll in a defensive driver’s course
This is something everyone, both young drivers as well as older, more experienced drivers should do. A defensive driver’s class teaches a driver how to be responsible and safe on the road. Insurance companies are supportive of people who are responsible and careful on the road and some companies even offer discounts to those who do. 
Increase your deductible
Deductible is the amount of money you pay out of your own pocket in the event of a car accident. It is a good idea to increase your deductible, as insurance companies tend to charge lower premium rates to people who set higher deductibles. Keep in mind, though, that this amount should be one that you can pay upfront without any hassles. If you’re unable to pay your deductible upfront, you might stand a chance to have your premiums raised, or worse, have your policy cancelled. And nobody wants that! So be careful when deciding on a deductible.
Bundle policies
Bundling your home and auto insurance could get you a discount with an auto insurance company. When you buy multiple policies from one provider, you’re giving them business. Insurance companies recognize and reward this loyalty with a discount. Next time you’re buying insurance, consider bundling your homeowners and auto insurance policy and enjoy a discount.
Lowering car insurance costs does not have to be difficult at all. If you do your research well and are sure of what you want from your provider, you should have no trouble finding rates that are reasonable and affordable.