Do You Spend Too Much on Insurance Each Month?

Most people overpay for their insurance coverage. It’s unfortunate, but insurance agents aren’t always motivated to save you money. They’re motivated to sell you more insurance. Because of this, you might end up with riders you don’t need, insurance coverage that doesn’t make sense, deductibles that are too low, and an insurer who has the split responsibility of pleasing you and outside shareholders. Here’s how to save money without sacrificing coverage:  












Unnecessary Riders

Most agents have riders that they love to sell people. It’s sort of a “personal favorite” of the agent – but you may not need them. A rider is a modification to the basic policy. It modifies the policy to include some type of coverage not normally found in the basic contract.

While some riders could be beneficial, many aren’t. Take accidental death riders for example. These pay only when you die as a result of an accident. Seems reasonable, right? There’s just one problem: the odds of you dying from an accident, by definition, are low. It’s an accident.

Moreover, even if you do become injured in an accident, a coroner may rule that you’ve died from “complications” like internal bleeding instead of the accident itself. You may survive the accident, but die due to an infection you receive in the hospital (i.e. a C.Diff infection – which is common in hospitals).

If you have ordinary life insurance, you probably don’t need the accidental death coverage offered on some auto policies.

Another problem is that you may have riders that just don’t make sense given where you live. This is especially troublesome on homeowner’s policies. For example, earthquake insurance is probably necessary if you live in California. If you live in North Dakota, however, you probably don’t need it.



Low Deductibles

Many agents try to make things easier for you by selling you on a $200 deductible. It’s low – sometimes too low. You can dramatically lower your premium by raising your deductible as high as the insurer will allow and saving the difference. Once you have enough to meet your monthly deductible amount, you can allocate that savings any way you wish.

Only raise your deductible if you plan on building up a savings to cover your higher out of pocket costs.



The Mutual Advantage

Most agents don’t advertise it, but mutual insurers are usually able to offer you a better net premium than stock companies? Why? Because mutual insurers pay dividends to policyholders. For homeowner’s insurance, this means that the insurer will refund part or all of your premium through a dividend payment if and when dividends are paid by the company.

With life insurance, your policy can grow substantially over time with the addition of dividend-funded premiums and dividend-funded additional paid-up life insurance death benefit.

Mutual insurers cannot guarantee that they will pay a dividend every year. That’s why it’s important to look at the historical dividend payments made by the company. Historical performance won’t tell you about future performance, but it will tell you the track record of the company. It’ll allow you to make a decision based on the probability of a dividend being paid in the future.

Most mutual insurers have a solid track record of paying dividends every year.



You’re Paying For Insurance On The Land

One small, little, mistake can cost you thousands on your homeowner’s insurance. When you’re having your home assessed, it’s common to include the land value in the assessment. When you give this figure to the insurer, it prices your policy accordingly. However, while a flood, earthquake, or fire might damage your property, it’s not the end of the world. You really should just be concerned about the replacement value of any structures on your property (i.e. your home, garages, etc.).

Most insurers don’t even cover landscaping, so if the value of your home includes the land, you might be paying for coverage that you’ll never see any benefit from. Have your home reassessed so that you get just the home value. Turn this figure into your insurer and watch your premium drop like a stone.

Louis Winter is a personal finance expert. He frequently writes some of his best tips on money saving blogs. To learn more click AutoInsuranceQuotes.com.

source: 20smoney.com

Insurance for College Students

College kids show up at school with a lot more than a big bag full of T-shirts and jeans. They also bring a slew of electronics—computers, printers, smart phones, iPads—that can be expensive to replace. Your homeowners insurance will generally cover students’ possessions if they live in a dorm, and it may provide coverage if they’re in an off-campus apartment, as long as their primary residence is still your home. The rules vary a lot by insurer; most require your child to be a full-time student and under age 24.

Some insurers cap the coverage at college at 10% of the possessions limit on your homeowners policy. So if you have a $200,000 policy on your home with 50% of that amount, or $100,000, for contents, your kid’s coverage at college may be limited to $10,000. The liability limits are usually the same as for you (see Check Up on Your Home Insurance).

If your insurer doesn’t cover your child’s off-campus apartment, or if you’d like higher coverage limits, consider a renters insurance policy. That generally costs just $150 to $200 per year, says Melanie Loiselle-Mongeon, an independent agent in Pawtucket, R.I. If your kid has roommates (who aren’t related), each person needs to get a separate renters policy.

Car insurance. Contact your insurer if your kid goes to a college more than 100 miles away and doesn’t take a car. Your premiums can drop significantly (20% on average at Safeco, for example), but he or she will still have coverage when home for the summer or vacations. If your child takes a car to school, your insurance costs will rise or fall depending on the location.

Health coverage. Student health plans, which often cost hundreds of dollars each semester, may have exclusions and low coverage caps, or they may require you to get most health care through the student medical center. Children can usually be covered under their parents’ health insurance policy until age 26, so most families can rely on that insurance when their kid goes to college. (You may have to decline the college’s student coverage to avoid being charged.)

However, if you have insurance through a regional HMO with a small network of doctors and hospitals, coverage may be limited to emergency services if your student goes to college in another state. And even if your plan allows for out-of-network care, you’ll probably have to make much larger co-payments if the network doesn’t extend to the area where the college is located. Insurers with national plans, such as Cigna, typically have plenty of doctors and hospitals in-network around the country. “The best course of action is to request a summary of benefits for the new location,” says Kelly Brooke, of Cigna.

If no in-network providers are nearby, consider an individual health insurance policy. In most states, a healthy person in his or her early twenties can get coverage for $150 or less per month. You can get price quotes at eHealthInsurance.com or find out about local policies at HealthCare.gov.

By buying a high-deductible policy, you can keep premiums low and still have coverage for major emergencies (most plans must also provide some preventive-care benefits without co-payments or deductibles). If your child has a policy with a deductible of at least $1,200 and isn’t claimed as a dependent on your tax return, then he or she can make tax-deductible contributions to a health savings account that can grow tax-free for future medical expenses.

source: kiplinger.com

How To Find The Best Home Insurance Company In California

The role of home insurance is important because you never know when your house might be ruined by a burst pipe or a fire. Insurance coverage is needed to safeguard the home just as it is needed for vehicles and just like car insurance there are several agencies to choose from. So how do you go about selecting the insurance that's right for you?

In order to get the best home owners insurance in California, start by shopping it around. You do it for everything else, why wouldn't you find the best deal for you? You may be shocked to find that the quotes from different companies can differ as much as $1,000. The internet has made it super easy to check out insurance companies online and many of them offer free online quotes. This makes cross comparison easy and hassle free.

Like other types of insurance there are some pretty standard terms that you can expect to see across the board. For instance, The home-owner will be under contract with the insurance company for a fixed period of time and is required to pay a monthly premium amount until the term ends. The home owner will be able to choose a policy that suits his needs from a variety of options which take many forms such as the basic, broad, special and rental insurance. Though, there may be a lot of standard mumbo jumbo that you see in insurance policies, it's always wise to carefully read through the fine print.

Insuring your house is the only protection you have from natural disasters such as floods, cyclones and earthquakes. You may be thinking, "but how often do these things happen?" Well, I don't know about you, but I've seen a few earthquakes in California over the years. You are also insured against damage to your house caused by falling trees, crashing cars, rampaging farm animals, an aircraft landing on your house, earthquakes, lightning and explosions. The structure of your home is well insured against vandals or malicious attacks by people, though you would like to think that would't be necessary, but we are talking about insurance.

Some types of coverage are a little more specialized and are often associated or required for certain areas. Flood insurance and insurance against subsidence, or land slides which can devastate a home are examples of these types of coverage. Your insurer will want to know if your house is located in an area prone to these types of risks and if you are then this will be reflected in a higher premium.

The obvious payoff to having insurance is that you can make a claim for repairs or the reconstruction of your property if it is damaged or consequently uninhabitable.

When it comes to paying premiums, some people like to raise the amount their deductible to help lower their monthly payment. The deductible is the amount that is payable in advance before a policy can become effective. This is a personal preference, you should just weigh out all of the pros and cons to having a higher deductible.

One thing that everyone should take advantage of is combining your coverage. If you have property that you are insuring chances are you have a car. More often than not, insuring your home and automobile under the same company can really lower your overall premiums. Any reputable insurance company will help make you aware of multi-discount benefits.





Discounts can come in a variety of forms, it's always good to ask about discounts, because you never know what you may be missing out on. Your premium may be discounted due to reasons such as having adequate emergency, safety and security systems such as burglar alarms, fire alarms, security lights, sprinkler systems and dead bolt locks. Some insurance companies also have special discounts for retirees, veterans and good students. Unlike most of my friends, I had to pay my own insurance in high school so that was a huge benefit to me.

Lastly, always verify the insurance company's reputation from the California State department of insurance. This can give you an idea of whether the company that you are interested in getting a policy from actually honors its obligations in paying claims. This is important, if an agency has a record of not paying claims or fighting claims - stay away!



Scott Coleman is the owner of ThomCo Insurance Services, a full-service insurance agency specializing in high quality service in home insurance, car insurance, life, health, business and farm insurance.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

Home Insurance 101

For those of you buying a new home in this down market, one of the things you will definitely need before you can close escrow is a home insurance policy. Many people find insurance very complex because it can be. Most insurance contracts are written by attorneys and use big words that most people never heard of like "dwelling protection" or "loss of use". They sound nice but what do they mean? Well they are both standard coverage’s that come in a home insurance policy.

Before you purchase a policy it is recommended to ask questions. Get referrals from friends and family that have purchased a home before and do your own research. Make sure the companies are strong financially and they have a good reputation with the A.M. Best Rating. Also, understand that not all carriers follow the same standards if they are not admitted with your state’s Department of Insurance.

Lastly, you can talk to your insurance agent and make sure you get a variety of homeowners insurance quotes. Each carrier can offer different options and some may even offer discounts if you have multiple policies such as your auto insurance.

What to Look For

The first thing to look for is your Dwelling Coverage which simply means the structure of the house itself. However, the coverage is not based on property value but rather the possible reconstruction cost. In other words, if the home was damaged in a fire or otherwise and needed to be rebuilt, what would it cost to rebuild based on square footage, materials, labor, permits etc.? Whatever that dollar amount is – that is how much coverage you should have. Another standard coverage would be separate structures such as a detached garage or a shed. This coverage in California is typically 10% of your Dwelling coverage.

Secondly, you want to know your coverage will be for Loss of Use. If your home is damaged and becomes uninhabitable you will incur additional living expenses that should be covered. In addition, you will need to decide if your contents or Personal Property will be covered as this is not a standard coverage. This means your clothes, furniture, jewelry, electronics are not covered unless your home insurance policy specifically states so.

Lastly, you will need to consider a lot of the optional coverage such as Personal Liability, Earthquake, Flood, Hurricanes, Tornadoes or Theft. Of course by adding these coverage options will drive up your premiums but they may cost you more in the long run if you should have a loss due to one of these disasters. Again all of the carriers offer different options and prices depending on your needs so it is very important to shop around and compare your homeowners insurance quotes that you have collected.

I have been providing Insurance services to individuals, families and businesses alike for nearly a decade. Please visit us for your homeowners insurance quotes at Insurance Solutions to find out more.

Article Source:
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