How To Buy Auto Insurance - Save Money Right Away

At the moment getting car insurance is a essential. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to obtain and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you ought to do yourself a favor and stop right now.

You ought to do some research so you can acquire the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can obtain the best car insurance rates possible.

One method you can benefit from to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents typically contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. An alternative popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the car insurance companies. You ought to let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

How To Buy Auto Insurance - Save Money Right Away

At the moment getting car insurance is a essential. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to obtain and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you ought to do yourself a favor and stop right now.

You ought to do some research so you can acquire the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can obtain the best car insurance rates possible.

One method you can benefit from to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents typically contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. An alternative popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the car insurance companies. You ought to let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

Buying Auto Insurance Has Never Been This Easy

At the present time getting car insurance is a obligation. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to acquire and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you must do yourself a favor and stop at once.

You must do some research so you can obtain the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can locate the best automobile insurance rates possible.

One method you can make use of to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents ordinarily contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. A different popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the automobile insurance companies. You must let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

Sure Shot Ways To Buy Auto Insurance

Currently getting car insurance is a requirement. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to obtain and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you ought to do yourself a favor and stop at this instant.

You ought to do some research so you can acquire the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can discover the best vehicle insurance rates possible.

One method you can benefit from to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents typically contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. An additional popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the vehicle insurance companies. You ought to let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

Buy Auto Insurance Online Instantly

In this day and age getting car insurance is a essential. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to acquire and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you must do yourself a favor and stop without hesitation.

You must do some research so you can obtain the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can stumble on the best car insurance rates possible.

One method you can make use of to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents ordinarily contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. A new popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the car insurance companies. You must let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

Buy Auto Insurance Online Instantly Now

These days getting car insurance is a obligation. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to obtain and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you ought to do yourself a favor and stop right now.

You ought to do some research so you can acquire the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can attain the best automobile insurance rates possible.

One method you can benefit from to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents typically contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. An alternative popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the automobile insurance companies. You ought to let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

How To Buy Auto Insurance Online Instantly

Now getting car insurance is a requirement. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to acquire and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you must do yourself a favor and stop at once.

You must do some research so you can obtain the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can obtain the best vehicle insurance rates possible.

One method you can make use of to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents ordinarily contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. A different popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the vehicle insurance companies. You must let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

How To Buy Auto Insurance Online Instantly - 2 Ways To Do It

Today getting car insurance is a essential. Just about each state that you Reside in will require you to obtain and maintain the proper Auto insurance coverage.

This can be a very expensive thing especially if you are strapped tight for Money. If you are just about to sign a renewal lease with your current Auto insurance supplier you ought to do yourself a favor and stop at this instant.

You ought to do some research so you can acquire the best car insurance rates available. Would you like to save a couple hundred dollars each year for just doing five minutes of work?

There are several options you can make use of so you can locate the best car insurance rates possible.

One method you can benefit from to discover the best car insurance rates is to go through an agent. Agents typically contact the top providers in your area to give you the best quotes possible.

It can be very time-consuming process especially if you are running short on time before you renewal is up. An additional popular option that you can make use of to get the best auto insurance rates is to go online.

By going online you will be able to get quotes in minutes. All it takes is a little bit of work on your part in order to get the most accurate auto insurance rates.

This means that you have to be very truthful with any information you pass onto the car insurance companies. You ought to let them know things such as every accident you have had in the past couple years and any traffic violations that you might have.

How can they make us buy coverage?

With the introduction of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s 2,074-page health insurance nationalization bill, we can be thankful for one thing at least. It will most likely be the last bill of its kind introduced this year. Who’d have time to wade through another?

This doesn’t mean there is anything in the bill to be thankful for. Like its Senate predecessors and House counterpart, it should offend any advocate of liberty and good economic sense.

First and foremost among its defects is the individual health insurance mandate: Every individual would be forced to buy government-defined comprehensive medical coverage (or to have it bought by one’s employer). A fine up to $750 awaits anyone who defies the mandate.

As Shikha Dalmia points out in Forbes this week, the individual insurance mandate is the major outrage in the whole “health care reform” scam. I would say it’s the keystone. Remove it and most of the rest crumbles to the ground.

Who do these politicians think they are? Our lives are not theirs to dispose of.

Politicians love to sugarcoat their threats of force. So the Reid bill calls the mandate “shared responsibility.” To those who wonder by what authority the government can make us buy insurance against our will, the bill alludes to the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which gives Congress the power to “regulate. . . commerce among the several states.” (For a fuller story on the clause, see this.) The bill says, “The individual responsibility requirement provided for in his section . . . is commercial and economic in nature, and substantially affects interstate commerce.”

How would an insurance requirement affect interstate commerce? The bill says that since without the requirement people wouldn’t buy insurance until they are sick, it therefore “will minimize this adverse selection and broaden the health insurance risk pool to include healthy individuals, which will lower health insurance premiums. The requirement is essential to creating effective health insurance markets in which improved health insurance products that are guaranteed issue and do not exclude coverage of pre-existing conditions can be sold.”

In other words, for the sake of making the insurance market work better, we must be forced to buy coverage. How’s that for a justification?

It’s amazing how many fallacies can be stuffed into one argument. To begin, medical insurance isn’t really interstate commerce. One of the few sensible things proposed during the public discussion on medical care is that the federal ban on interstate purchase of coverage be repealed. Residents of California are not free to buy less-fancy, less-expensive policies offered in Arizona. They are stuck with policies made more expensive by California’s overbearing regulatory regime. Interstate sales would increase competition and lower prices, but the ruling party shows no interest in that idea. So how can this be about interstate commerce?

How can they make us buy coverage? 071009banner3

There’s more that is wrong with the argument. Typically, the Commerce Clause has been invoked against barriers to the free flow of interstate commerce. The Supreme Court has occasionally upheld the prohibition of activities (such as growing wheat for one’s own use in violation of an acreage-allotment program or dispensing medical marijuana) that were said to adversely affect interstate commerce. But the insurance mandate would represent the first time that individuals were compelled to buy product or service in the name of making interstate commerce more effective. The Congressional Budget Office calls it “unprecedented”: “The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States.”

Even under the most expansive reading of the Commerce Clause, how does compelling the purchase of insurance qualify as regulating interstate commerce?

The nub of the bill’s argument is that if healthy people are not forced to buy coverage, the insurance market won’t work properly. Why not? Because same bill would compel insurance companies to accept all applicants for coverage, sick or healthy, without price discrimination. That is, the bill creates the incentive for people to opt out of insurance until they are sick. Obviously, that would not be good for the insurance market.
Self-Caused Problem

The individual insurance mandate, then, is a solution to a problem the bill itself would create. The authors invoke the Commerce Clause to protect interstate commerce from a threat they themselves pose to it. They could avert the threat simply by not imposing guaranteed-issue on insurers.

But of course the advocates of nationalized medicine wouldn’t do that. Guaranteed issue is at the center of their scheme. They want to proclaim that they brought universal coverage to America. Freedom must take a back seat to their objective, which is to disguise a welfare program as insurance and put us on the road to government-administered rationing.

The “reformers” are quick to point out that people without insurance go to emergency rooms for medical care and sometimes don’t pay their bills, shifting the costs to the rest of us. But Shikha Dalmia notes that uncompensated care accounts for less than 3 percent of the country’s total medical bill. To save $40 billion a year, we should spend more than $100 billion a year and lose more liberty? No thanks.

One reason for uncompensated care is that emergency rooms are forbidden to turn away patients (even in non-emergencies) who have no means of payment. Who imposed that prohibition? The government, of course. That may sound humane, but one unintended consequence is a likely contraction of charitable care. Why set up facilities for the indigent if they can turn up at any emergency room?

Again we see Mises’s Law at work: Intervention begets intervention. Government action creates problems that politicians then use to justify more government action. Undoing the first intervention would help solve the problem, but politicians have little incentive to move in that direction.

Government has suppressed the free market in medical care both on the supply and demand sides. As a result, medical services and insurance are artificially expensive, pricing many people out of the market. Instead of removing the interventions and letting the free market — including mutual-aid associations and philanthropy — lower prices and create more widespread coverage, the politicians propose to pile on more market-suppressing measures. Freedom is the first casualty. But we can also anticipate an aggravation of the current system’s worst features.

Forcing individuals to buy insurance is an intolerable assault on our liberty — not to mention a massive subsidy to the insurance companies. (They’re mad the penalty is not greater.) How many more usurpations can we be expected to tolerate?

COBRA insurance subsidy program ends soon

A deluge of uninsured patients may swamp the health care system in the wake of the end of federally subsidized benefits for the uninsured.

Robert Resendes, the director of Yavapai County Community Health Services, said the current recession already has stretched his organization's programs.

"Ever since the economy started dropping, we've seen a huge increase in our numbers," Resendes said. "We'd expect to see a continued increase. In the last three years, we've seen a doubling of patients in our clinics."The county provides sliding scale fees for medical and dental service. Patients using the sliding scale clinics have increased from 15,270 for the fiscal year ending in June 2007 to 22,831 for 2008 to 27,379 for the year ending in June 2009.

Families USA, a national organization for health care consumers, said that unless lawmakers extend the subsidies, many Arizona workers who have lost their jobs also could lose the federal subsidy under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) on Dec. 1. The subsidies began in March under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and included those laid off beginning Sept. 1, 2008.

Eligible people pay 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent goes to the insurance company through a tax credit, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Without continued help with COBRA payments, health insurance premiums would total 83 percent of the average unemployment check, putting health care coverage out of reach for many, Families USA contends.

But U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick said, via e-mail, that Congress may discuss proposals to extend the temporary assistance in December, although it has not worked out details.

"We need to be focused on doing all that we can to create and save jobs in our communities so that more people will be able to get and keep their insurance," Kirkpatrick said. "That continues to be my top priority. This program has done some good, but it is still expensive for our working families - it is a stopgap."

Robbie Nicol, spokesperson for Yavapai Regional Medical Center, was uncertain how much the change would affect the hospitals.

"It's difficult to accurately project what impact this change in the COBRA laws will have on our ERs," Nicol said. "It may certainly mean an increase in patients who are uninsured, but I don't have data that would help me be more specific."

"We want to reassure everyone in our communities that our emergency rooms in Prescott and Prescott Valley are available for them 24/7 when they need us," Nicol added.

Meanwhile, the county has hired more doctors to meet the increased demand, Resendes said.

"We would anticipate an increase in patients," Resendes said. "It's kind of tough to be proactive. We've never done it or seen it before. We will be promptly reactive. We try to build in enough flexibility that we'll be elastic. We're the safety net."

McCain criticizes Senate health plan

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Monday criticized the health care reform bill that was approved for Senate debate on Saturday, saying it raises government spending to unsustainable levels.

“Americans are frustrated and angry because we have accumulated and continue to run up a … deficit of unprecedented proportions,” McCain said.

Speaking at a town hall meeting at the North Phoenix Baptist Church to an audience that included doctors and care providers, McCain said he also feared the prospect of health care being rationed by the federal government.

He cited a controversial report released by the Preventive Services Task Force last week that recommends against mammograms for women under 50 as cause for particular concern — a provision in the Senate bill would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to modify benefits to follow the recommendations of the task force.

“One of our greatest fears is health care rationing,” McCain said. “We don’t want the government deciding which procedures would be allowed and which wouldn’t.”

The crowd was made up largely of McCain supporters. During the public comments portion of the meeting, Arizona Medical Association President Beth Perdy criticized mandates that would require small businesses to provide their employees with insurance or pay a penalty, a measure she said would hurt her own practice.

“We ran the numbers, and [the bill] would increase our burden 2.5 times,” Perdy said. “We can’t bear that burden.”

The $848 billion reform bill reached an important procedural landmark Saturday, when the Senate voted 60-39 to open up floor debate. The bill includes a public health insurance option and a provision mandating all citizens purchase health insurance.

McCain criticized the Democratic majority as being uncooperative in bipartisan negotiations and ignoring Republican alternatives to the bill that include a provision to give families tax credits for medical care.

“We’ve had alternatives, but we just haven’t been able to get our message through,” he said.

Economics senior Todd Phillips said he feels the fears surrounding government-rationed health care are unfounded because coverage is already rationed by insurance companies.

“Government-rationed health care is really a misnomer because we already have health care rationing now,” Phillips said. “We already have the markets rationing, [and] we already have insurance companies rationing health care.”

McCain, however, argued that the bill goes too far, which has produced a high level of public backlash in the form of demonstrations and declining support demonstrated by the latest Rasmussen Reports poll. A report released Monday said 38 percent of voters approve of the plan, down from 47 percent last week.

“It’s out there,” McCain said. “The question is, will the Democrats understand that the people don’t want this?

Gay Spouses Due Benefits in the State, Court Finds

The state’s highest court on Thursday upheld policies giving some government benefits to same-sex couples who are legally married outside the state, but did not rule on whether gay marriage should be legal in New York, leaving that issue for the Legislature to decide.

Though the majority in the 4-to-3 decision focused its decision on the narrow question of benefits, the three judges in the minority went further and said the court should have upheld the policies because same-sex marriages legally performed in other states deserved to be recognized in New York.

One of the cases before the court, the Court of Appeals, involved the State Department of Civil Service, which in 2007 extended health insurance benefits to the partners of state and local workers who married in other states or countries. The other case involved a policy adopted in Westchester County in 2006 requiring county officials to recognize same-sex unions performed elsewhere.

Judge Eugene F. Pigott Jr., writing for the majority, said, “The legislature intended to give the Department of Civil Service — guided of course by the collective bargaining process — complete discretion to determine the limits of dependent coverage.”

In the Westchester case, the plaintiffs claimed that an order by the county executive, Andrew J. Spano, had led to “the illegal disbursement of county funds.” That claim was rejected on technical grounds, because the plaintiffs did not offer an example of when taxpayer money was disbursed improperly.

“We find this lack of specificity fatal,” Judge Pigott wrote.

When it came to the broader issue of whether the state should legalize same-sex marriage, Judge Pigott wrote that the court hoped that “the Legislature will address this controversy.”

But Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, writing for the minority, said, “The orders under review should be affirmed on the ground that same-sex marriages, valid where performed, are entitled to full legal recognition in New York under our state’s longstanding marriage recognition rule.”

Susan Sommer, director of constitutional litigation at Lambda Legal, which worked on behalf of two same-sex couples involved in the cases decided on Thursday, said, “This victory ensures that important spousal health coverage that same-sex couples need to protect their families will continue.”

But Brian Raum, senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona group that represented the plaintiffs in the cases, said, “We are disappointed that the court avoided addressing the real issue in this case.”

“In New York, the only relationship recognized as marriage is the committed relationship between a man and a woman,” he added. “State and local officials should not attempt to use marriage laws from outside jurisdictions to place their political agendas ahead of the law.”

The Court of Appeals will probably weigh in on other cases involving same-sex marriage. The Alliance Defense Fund is also coordinating the legal challenge to an order issued last year by Gov. David A. Paterson, an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage, that requires state agencies to recognize such marriages performed in other states.

The ruling on Thursday came as the State Senate moved closer to holding a vote on legalizing same-sex marriage. The Assembly has passed such a measure, but its prospects in the narrowly divided Senate are uncertain.

Advocates have been pressing the Senate to at least vote on the matter, forcing lawmakers to make their positions known and ensuring a passionate debate on the floor. Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, seized on the court’s urging the Legislature to act.

“The Court of Appeals was unusually explicit in its ruling today,” Mr. Van Capelle said. “We agree and eagerly anticipate a debate and vote on the marriage bill in the State Senate. Full recognition of the rights of gay couples is imperative.”

Some states already poised to opt out of government-run public health plan

At least 11 states intend to forge ahead in the coming months with bills and ballot questions designed to block some of the healthcare reforms Democrats are trying to pass this year.

Their efforts could be a harbinger of trouble for the staple feature of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) newly unveiled healthcare plan: a public option that allows states the ability not to participate. Starting as early as this summer, state lawmakers began introducing bills that would shield their citizens from individual or employer mandates, among other key reforms in Democrats' healthcare proposals, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.

Movement on those issues is not likely for a few more months, as most state legislatures are not in session. Some state constitutions also require ballot measures in order to approve changes of that magnitude, further delaying any local action on the healthcare front.

However, these legislatures' early moves still offer crucial hints about how many states would similarly exempt themselves from the public option, should the Senate bill's “opt out” clause remain intact.

Already, the Congressional Budget Office estimates about one-third of states would back out of the system, limiting the public option insurance pool to about 3 or 4 million Americans. That would make the public plan's enrollment about 1 million smaller than the House's version of the program, according to a cost analysis of the Senate proposal.

Among those states likely to bow out first could be Virginia and New Jersey, which both recently elected Republican governors.

Both Virginia Governor-elect Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Governor-elect Chris Christie signaled a willingness to exempt their states from a public plan during their respective campaigns, and they could revive their opposition once they assume office in January.

“Turning over the best doctors, the best hospitals, the best pharmaceutical research and development system to the federal government for a co-op or a public option is [an idea] I don't hear Virginians very excited about,” McDonnell, then a candidate, told Fox News in October.

Similar battles could play out across the country, especially in the 13 states where Republicans dominate both the governor's mansion and the legislature, or the 10 states now under split-party control.

Bigger still for Democrats to consider: The possibility that states could have some say in the public option debate months before voters head to the polls is likely to inject a serious dose of national politics into otherwise local races.

Thirty-seven governors seats -- and vast number of seats in most states’ legislatures -- will be contested in 2010, and all might have to answer the daunting question of how they would side on an optional government plan.

The CBO did not provide any concrete numbers about how opt-out states would affect public option premiums, but analysts have long maintained that a small pool -- coupled with the possibility most of its beneficiaries might need expensive care -- is likely to raise prices.

“Congress has been focused on health and energy legislation that will cost millions of jobs,” Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), head of the Republican Governors Association, stressed during a radio address last week.

“Hopefully, Tuesday’s fire alarm will get Washington’s eye back on the ball: back on job creation and economic growth," he said, noting the GOP's wins in Virginia and New Jersey had a lot to do with growing dissatisfaction over Democrats' healthcare bills.

However, that has led public option's staunchest proponents to carp that unnecessary political grandstanding could cause Senate Democrats' bill to backfire.

The public option's ability to drive down costs, these lawmakers argue, depends greatly on the number of people in the pool, and purchasing power is severely diminished when states are afforded the ability to opt out of it.

“I’m getting tired of saving Obama’s can in the White House,” said a frustrated Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) earlier this week.

“I mean, he only won by five votes in the House, and this bill wasn’t anything to write home about,” he said, suggesting that bill was too centrist for his taste. “The public option is only available — which is the only way you manage cost and give some competition to 1,300 other health insurance companies — the only way he could have got that through is that progressives held their nose and voted for the plan anyway.”

Giving Thanks for Everything Your Car Insurance Does for You-Whether You See It or Not

How much would you say you know about what your car insurance company does for you? Do you know all the behind the scenes players? Or are you just starting to figure out the benefits of all of those insurance payments you make each month? With Thanksgiving coming right around the corner now seems like the right time to sit back and give thanks for everything your insurer does to keep your life flowing smoothly.

This Thanksgiving, don't forget to lift a toast to your car insurance company. Why? For starters, what about the way your liability car insurance saves your bacon every day?

Most people don't really think about the significance of their liability car insurance coverage until they've been in an accident. Hey, no one's blaming you for it. You have no reason to. If you've had to receive medical care for anything lately, however, you're already well aware of the fact that the cost of health care is currently bordering on the obscene. If you're not carrying a health insurance policy, affording regular health care is often out of your reach.

Your health insurance isn't going to do a thing to help cover the cost of medical care for the other driver(s) after you've been in an accident. It's not even going to be an option. When a single day in the ICU costs over $5,000 and there's no limit to the amount of time they could spend in there the number of zeros in the hospital bill you could be handed is almost inconceivable.

Then there's the cost of fixing your car up. Hopefully you didn't buy into that old wife's tale about how it's just not worth it to put comprehensive and/or collision on your car when you actually own it outright and went ahead and put the extra coverage on anyway. The difference in your car insurance rates is all but negligible, but the way it can rescue your bank account (and your credit) when you've been in an accident is astounding. They'll step in and pay to repair or replace your car, whether it's been swallowed whole by a tsunami or liberated from the oppression of ownership by someone who decided your car stereo would make a sweet addition to their personal collection.

Either way, you'll be shelling out a deductible rather than the full cost of the repairs, and that's always good news. So don't forget to take a little time to be thankful this Thanksgiving. Your car insurance deserves it.

Individual Health Insurance Plans: How To Get Them

If you devote even a few hours over the Internet, then you will know about various individual health insurance plans. As they are available in a very large quantity, it gets very difficult for a person to choose the best among them.

In case you are also suffering from the same dilemma, then here is the information on how to get them. Firstly, you should remember that all insurance plans that appear to be very beneficial are not very beneficial. It is just the marketing strategy of the company that makes them appear lucrative so as to attract an endless number of customers towards them. Hence, it is important to analyze all the aspects of the plans before going for them.

In order to know if the insurance plan available is highly beneficial or not, it is important to do some research. There are various good insurance review websites available that provide unbiased reviews on various health insurance plans for individuals. By this way, you will know about various insurance options that are better than the rest.

After selecting few good plans, now the next step is to check them out in detail. You should check out how much coverage is provided by the plan, what is the premium of the plan and so on. It is important to note here that you should not go for the option that appears to be cheapest. You should rather choose the one that is better in all respects.

So the above mentioned is the way which you can find the right health insurance plan for individuals. Hence, you should now go for finding the right individual health insurance plans which are not just affordable but highly beneficial also. Remember for better future, you need to make the planning in present.

Other Types of Life Insurance

Survivorship life insurance (also referred to as last-to-die or second-to-die) is a unique type of contract that insures the lives of two people. It pays a death benefit upon the death of the second insured. Therefore, it is typically less expensive than two individual policies. Survivorship life is often used for estate planning, where it may be possible to potentially leverage today's dollars -- via insurance premiums -- into a potentially significant death benefit that can be used to fund estate taxes, create wealth for future generations, or benefit a charity. These policies may be available if one insured is medically "uninsurable."

First-to-die life insurance insures the life of at least two people and pays a benefit upon the death of the first insured. This policy is useful for covering a mortgage or other large debt obligation where there is more than one debtor. In addition, it can be an ideal tool for funding a buy-sell agreement within a closely held business.

How Much Insurance Do I Need?

A popular approach to buying insurance is based on income replacement. In this approach, a formula of between five and ten times your annual salary is often used to calculate how much coverage you need. Another approach is to purchase insurance based on your individual needs and preferences. The first step is to determine your unique income replacement needs.

Currently, a large portion of your income goes to taxes (insurance benefits are generally income tax free) and to support your own lifestyle. Start off by determining your net earnings after taxes. Then add up all your personal expenses such as food, clothing, magazine subscriptions, club memberships, transportation expenses, etc. The remainder represents annual income that your insurance will need to replace. You'll want a death benefit amount which, when invested, will provide income annually to cover this amount. Then, you should add to that the amounts needed to fund one-time expenses such as college tuition for your children or paying down mortgage or debt.

Income replacement for nonworking spouses is an important and often overlooked insurance need. Coverage should provide for your costs for day care, housekeeping, or nursing care. Add to this any net earnings from part-time employment.

Finally, estimate your own "final expenses" such as estate taxes, uninsured medical costs, and funeral costs.

Types of Insurance

Term insurance is the most basic, and generally least expensive, form of life insurance for people under age 50. A term policy is written for a specific period of time, typically 1 to 10 years, and may be renewable at the end of each term. Also, the premiums increase at the end of each term and can become prohibitively expensive for older individuals. A level term policy locks in the annual premium for periods of up to 30 years.

Declining Balance Term insurance, a variation on this theme, is often used as mortgage insurance since it can be written to match the amortization of your mortgage principal. While the premium stays constant over the term, the face value steadily declines. Once the mortgage is paid off, the insurance is no longer needed and the policy expires. Unlike many other policies, term insurance has no cash value. In this sense, it is "pure" insurance without any investment options. Benefits are paid only if you die during the policy's term. After the term ends, your coverage expires unless you choose to renew the policy. When buying term insurance, you might look for a policy that is renewable up to age 70 and convertible to permanent insurance without a medical exam.

Whole Life combines permanent protection with a savings component. As long as you continue to pay the premiums, you are able to lock in coverage at a level premium rate. Part of that premium accrues as cash value. As the policy gains value, you may be able to borrow up to 90% of your policy's cash value tax-free.

Universal Life is similar to whole life with the added benefit of potentially higher earnings on the savings component. Universal life policies are also highly flexible in regard to premiums and face value. Premiums can be increased, decreased or deferred, and cash values can be withdrawn. You may also have the option to change face values. Universal life policies typically offer a guaranteed return on cash value, usually at least 4%. You'll receive an annual statement that details cash value, total protection, earnings, and fees.

Drawbacks to this type of insurance include higher fees and interest rate sensitivity. Universal policies include up-front fees as well as ongoing administrative fees totaling as high as 5% to 7% of your premiums. You may also find your premiums increasing when interest rates decline.

Variable Life generally offers fixed premiums and control over your policy's cash value. Your cash value is invested in your choice of stock, bond, or money market funding options. Cash values and death benefits can rise and fall based on the performance of your investment choices. Although death benefits usually have a floor, there is no guarantee on cash values. Fees for these policies may be higher than for universal life, and investment options can be volatile. On the plus side, capital gains and other investment earnings accrue tax deferred as long as the funds remain invested in the insurance contract.

Universal Variable Life insurance is the most aggressive type of policy. Like variable life, you control your investment in mutual funds. However, there are no guarantees on universal variable policies beyond the original face value death benefit. These policies are probably best suited to affluent buyers who can afford the risks involved.

Key Terms and Definitions

• Face Value -- The original death benefit amount.
• Convertibility -- Option to convert from one type of policy (term) to another (whole life), usually without a physical examination.
• Cash Value -- The savings portion of a policy that can be borrowed against or cashed in.
• Premiums -- Monthly, quarterly, or yearly payments required to maintain coverage.
• Beneficiary -- The individual(s) or entity (e.g., trust) that is designated as benefit recipient.
• Paid Up -- A policy requiring no further premium payments due to prepayment or

How Much Disability Income Insurance Do You Need?

The key to determining your disability income insurance needs is to assess exactly how much money you would be required to spend during each week or each month that you would be unable to earn your normal pay. For example, if you would need 80% of your pretax earnings, but your group policy would only pay an amount equal to 60%, then you would in all likelihood need additional disability income insurance coverage.

Finally, keep in mind that disability income insurance coverage varies in availability based on your occupation. Some higher-risk jobs may not be covered. Others may offer only limited coverage. That's why it's important to seek the assistance of a qualified insurance professional. He or she can help you assess your disability income insurance needs and find a policy that's most appropriate for you.

Who Needs Disability Income Insurance?

For all practical purposes, if you need the income you earn at work, you probably also need disability income insurance. Consider this: Almost one third of Americans between the ages of 35 and 65 sill experience a disability of at least 90 days at some point during their working lives. Among those most likely to benefit from disability income insurance are:

Small-business owners and the self-employed. People in this group may be most at risk of financial hardship arising from a disability, since most don't have group coverage and time out of work generally means that income stops flowing. Small-business owners may want to consider purchasing group coverage for themselves and their employees. Offering group disability income insurance coverage does more than simply enhance the financial security of current employees -- the benefit can also help to attract new employees.

High-income professionals. These individuals typically would not receive enough income from a group policy to cover their usual spending needs and to maintain their preferred lifestyle.

Primary "breadwinners." Regardless of whether an individual already has some group coverage, it's important not to be lulled into a false sense of security. Quite often, group coverage just doesn't provide enough money -- even for those with relatively modest spending needs.

Putting Policies in Perspective

For most people, there are two main forms of disability income insurance to consider: employer-sponsored policies and private insurance policies. Employer-sponsored policies (called "group" policies) are relatively inexpensive to purchase and generally remain in effect for as long as the individual continues to work for the company. However, there are often significant limits on the benefits provided by group policies, so it's important to determine whether the coverage is enough to address your potential spending needs. (Government-sponsored disability income insurance programs and policies also exist, but they generally have strict eligibility requirements and therefore don't apply to many people.)

Private insurance policies are paid for by individuals and provide coverage when group policies don't apply or don't provide enough income. On the surface, a private policy is usually more expensive to purchase than a group policy. However, a private policy's potential to provide much greater benefits over time may make it a more prudent long-term choice. And considering that group policies often end up providing inadequate benefits, even those workers with group coverage should consider purchasing a private policy in order to fill the income gaps frequently associated with group-only coverage.

Keep in mind that some people may be eligible for disability benefits through other sources -- such as worker's compensation programs, Veterans Administration pension programs, state vocational rehabilitation programs, and Social Security, among others -- but coverage and availability vary significantly.

The Most Important Insurance Policy of All?

n fact, some may argue that disability income insurance is the most important type of insurance policy you can purchase -- more important than homeowner's, health, auto, or even (in certain cases) life insurance. That's because disability income insurance protects one of your most important and valuable assets: your ability to earn income. After all, it is your ability to earn income that allows you to have a car, a home, and a particular lifestyle, as well as to purchase the various insurance policies that safeguard your net worth and the financial well-being of your loved ones.

Why Disability Income Insurance?

If you were unable to work for an extended period of time due to an injury or illness, how long would you be able to pay your bills and meet your day-to-day expenses? Do you know how much income you would receive from outside sources -- and for how long?

A long-term illness or injury could wreak havoc on even the soundest financial plan and can occur at any time. With that in mind, your best defense against such a financial catastrophe may be the purchase of a disability income insurance policy with enough coverage to compensate for your lost wages.

Disability income insurance replaces part of your income if you become unable to work due to an injury or illness. It provides you with cash that you can use for paying your mortgage or rent, buying groceries, and meeting your daily living expenses. Even if you don't have an immediate need for disability income insurance, it also gives you some peace of mind that comes from knowing that you have a financial plan already in place.

Buying Life Insurance: What Kind and How Much?

Conventional wisdom says that life insurance is sold, not purchased. In other words, some people are reluctant to discuss the importance of owning life insurance, and others are simply unaware of the need to have life insurance. Although many large companies provide life insurance as part of their benefits package, this coverage may be insufficient.

Who needs life insurance? If there are individuals who depend on you for financial support, or if you work at home providing your family with such services as child care, cooking, and cleaning, you need life insurance. Older couples also may need life insurance to protect a surviving spouse against the possibility of the couple's retirement savings being depleted by unexpected medical expenses. And individuals with substantial assets may need life insurance to help reduce the effects of estate taxes or to transfer wealth to future generations.

Your Attention, Please: Insurance CIOs Must Focus on Core Capabilities and Minimize Distractions

In today's tech-centric world, an insurance CIO is confronted with a multitude of proven solutions for improving the business via technology. Add to that the myriad "shiny objects" that appear in the foreground to tempt distraction. Amid all this, it's no surprise that CIOs struggle to sort through priorities, solution alternatives and even job responsibilities.

While every company has unique needs, there are a few areas of focus that just about every CIO should be thinking about:

Related Resources

• Business Analytics for Insurance Risk
• Business Analytics for Insurance Claims
• Cloud Computing for the Enterprise

Leveraging Data

Improving data management and analytics is an absolute must for most carriers, particularly in the P&C and health payer segments. When analyzed and correlated meaningfully, data becomes information to help functional leaders and CIOs collaborate on priorities for technology initiatives. Opportunities abound in the areas of market share growth, retention, risk selection, pricing, product development, service delivery and reducing operational expenses. IT's role is to unlock and organize data and make it available to the business in a flexible manner. Business leaders in turn must put that data to work, and must navigate land mines such as legislation that might preclude, for example, community rating and other techniques designed to manage P&C risk and pricing.

Implementation and Management Practices

Fewer companies are building their own systems. More are buying and integrating packaged systems. But whether you are building or buying, your implementation practices should be evolving. For example, agile principles are changing the way systems are specified, selected and implemented. In the agile approach, business and IT counterparts come together in a highly collaborative setting with incremental objectives and short time frames for completing them. A common frame of reference is developed quickly, and there is a priority on working together in person. Good ideas get pursued more quickly.

Likewise, missteps are identified before major damage can occur. Course corrections are much easier and less costly. You don't have to adopt every practice of the agile approach, but understanding the principles will help you evolve toward reduced implementation times and improved business outcomes.

Shiny Objects

I know of one entrepreneurial CEO who is famous for falling victim to evangelists on long plane rides and then rushing back to his CIO to extol the virtues of the latest gizmo or silver-bullet methodology. And then the CIO has to tamp down the excitement, taking valuable energy away from the real business at hand.

Today, for example, cloud computing is very shiny. The principles are indeed important (though not new), but the hype is deafening. Bottom line: If you are operating any commodity systems or infrastructure, there is probably a provider out there that can host it for you less expensively. The truly valuable promise of cloud is that far more robust systems are now available remotely and reliably, and seamless integration with existing systems is relatively simple. Numerous industry-specific (policy admin, billing, etc.) vendors offer hosted solutions that are easy to ramp up and integrate.

Another very shiny object today is social networking. How many resources are being squandered trying to figure out what to do with it? Before committing resources, be clear about expected outcomes and benefits. How would using social networking improve your customer/agent/employee experience, and how would it benefit your market presence? If the answers are all qualitative, there's a problem.

Fundamentals

The economic downturn ironically has led to simpler decision-making. Some projects are simply off the table. New projects are scarce. Compliance and security projects are marching on. Budgets are flat or shrinking. But the fundamentals of successful IT projects are the same. A recent roundtable of CIOs identified those fundamentals as leadership, clear objectives, having the right team, open communication and relentless oversight. A CIO is responsible for installing and maintaining those fundamentals.

Our industry is steadily becoming more dynamic in applying technology. Our CIOs and solution providers are leading that charge. We are thus faced with an ever-growing number of options and alternatives to enable the business. Those technologies and management practices that serve core operational needs and satisfy customers are the ones that truly warrant a CIO's attention.

Insurance Update: Coverage Options Expand

In the midst of all the troubling news about insurance and insurance companies, there’s a ray of sunshine: disability insurance is no longer playing hard to get. Of course, that’s because sales are down substantially in most categories, according to John Ryan of Ryan Insurance Strategy Consultants in Greenwood Village, Colorado. "In the physician and dental markets, things are status quo, but in all other areas sales are down significantly: 30% to 35%," Ryan says.

Such a drastic drop in sales has led to a concerted effort within the disability niche to write new business. This has led to easier underwriting, a drop in price, and more benefits for less money. "Except for the economy," says Ryan, "things are looking great—all the disability companies are making enhancements now," probably because sales have been down so much. The second half of 2008, all of 2009, and even projections for 2010 have led to strong efforts to promote new business in the field.

Underwriting has been relaxing gradually since 2005, Ryan explains, and now with higher benefit limits as a percentage of earnings, "good times are back in the disability area."

Companies offer two basic types of policies: one with a guaranteed price and one that’s guaranteed renewable. Guaranteed renewable policies, which can’t be canceled but don’t carry a price guarantee, run about 35% cheaper for those who don’t worry about future rate increases, or who are willing to bet against them. Women, Ryan points out, pay 30% more than men for policies, so a guaranteed renewable policy is usually good for them. Guaranteed renewable would also be good for older clients, he explains, because it’s less likely that a rate increase would have as much of an impact on someone who’s 50 as on someone who’s 30." Guaranteed renewable policies present a way to get quality coverage at a deep discount. Not many companies offer them, he says, adding that Standard Insurance of Oregon offers "the best guaranteed renewable product in the business right now."

Good News, Bad News
Other currently popular types of disability protection include retirement protection, for which the disability policy insures retirement plan contributions. That’s a frequent choice, Ryan says, particularly among medical professionals. Another is overhead expense disability insurance, useful for both medical professionals and business owners. The policy covers both household expenses and the overhead of a business or practice. If an owner is not coming back, he needs a way to keep the business healthy until he can sell it. Even if he is, this coverage will keep things going till he’s able to return.

The news isn’t all good, of course. Ryan says that disability policies that offer a lifetime benefit payout, as opposed to one that stops at age 65 or 70, is far preferable. But he believes that option is on its way out. He explains that Guardian and its subsidiary Berkshire, as well as MetLife, have been the strongest remaining companies offering a lifetime benefit payout. Berkshire and Guardian have already had substantial rate increases—about 30%, Ryan says, for the lifetime extension—and MetLife "is in the process of doing the same." "People can still get a real value," he continues, from MetLife if they want lifetime benefits, "but they have to do it quick, because in about half the states the [increased] rates are already filed." The window, he adds, will be closed by January 1, if not sooner. "And it won’t be long before both drop their lifetime feature," he warns. "I would say by 2012 it won’t be available anymore."

Insurance & Technology's 2009 Elite 8 Strive to Lead Their Companies Beyond the Financial Crisis

If the familiar adadge, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger," is true, then the executives who comprise Insurance & Technology's 2009 Elite 8 outstanding insurance technology leaders must have incredible powers. The past year has presented an array of trials and tests that have challenged the management of all financial institutions, big and small, and insurance IT organizations have been on the front lines as carriers simultaneously seek to improve governance and compliance, find efficiencies and cost savings, enhance distribution, and strengthen customer relationships (and profitability).

But while many executives might find managing IT in the new highly scrutinized world of financial services to be extremely daunting, I&T's Elite 8 leaders are rising to the challenge with enthusiasm and determination. Rather than complain about how hard it is to deal with tight budgets, an unsettled regulatory environment and untested new channels, the executives profiled in this special issue welcome the opportunity to solve problems, deliver effective solutions and stretch the talents of their workforces.

In fact, at a time when many in financial services are scaling back, not only are these executives leading aggressive initiatives in emerging channels, including mobile and social networks, they also are staying on course with ambitious projects such as replacing core systems, developing service-oriented architectures and reinventing corporate governance. It hasn't been business as usual, the Elite 8 honorees emphasize, but it hasn't been cause for siege mentality, either. Why? It's true that insurance has been spared some of the pain and loss that's occurred in banking and capital markets, but it is more likely that the ability of the Elite 8 honorees (and their teams) to get business buy-in for these kinds of big-picture initiatives stems from the fact that they've already inculcated and applied the right lessons about alignment, deliverables and teamwork.

The 2009 Elite 8 will be recognized at I&T's upcoming 11th Annual Executive Summit (Nov. 1-4, The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa, Phoenix), where we will examine strategies and best practices that are helping insurance companies to look beyond the financial crisis to the challenges and opportunities they face in the new world of financial services. In this environment, it inspires confidence to know that there is real muscle and prowess among the senior ranks of insurance IT.

Auto Insurance Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common automobile insurance frequently asked questions. Just click on the question you are interested in to find the answer. Do you have another question that is not answered here? You can post it on the forum or email me directly!
What are Car Financial Responsibility Laws?This is the state law that says you have to prove that you are financially able to pay for anything you may be responsible for while driving your car.
zSB(3,3)
What Happens if I Choose Not to Purchase Car Insurance and Still Drive My Car?That depends on the state you live in. Most states have stringent laws about having car insurance and if you don't choose to follow these laws by not purchasing car insurance, there can be tough penalties and fines.

Your First Insurance Policy for Your Car

Getting your first insurance policy for your car may not be a priority, but it should be. Your first car insurance policy protects one of your first investments, your car. But buying your first insurance policy for your car can be complicated and often new car insurance shoppers fail to compare car insurance rates and in turn fail to reap the financial benefits of finding the best and affordable car insurance available to them.
Shopping for Your First Insurance Policy: Who Needs Car Insurance?
The question asked by most people shopping for their first insurance policy is who needs an insurance policy and why? The answer is simple: it’s the law. The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) requires that you take financial responsibility for owning and operating a car in all fifty states. Car insurance protects you when you cause property damage or bodily injury to someone else when driving your car. If you are caught driving without car insurance you will be charged hefty penalties. Violators can face up to hundreds of dollars in fines for a first time offense. Also, if you are involved in an accident and do not have car insurance, your license may be suspended whether you are at fault or not.
Understand Your First Insurance Policy
Now that you know you know how important it is to get your first insurance policy for your car, you will want to understand how car insurance works before you start deciding on which company you will choose for your first insurance policy. The best place to start is Auto Insurance 101. This article will take you step by step in understanding car insurance. Once you understand how car insurance works and have an idea of what type of car insurance you need, you are on your way to the next step of finding the best and most affordable car insurance for you.
Just Because it is Your First Insurance Policy, that Does Not Mean You Have to Pay Too Much
This is often where first insurance policy buyers get sucked into paying too much for their car insurance. Don't just assume since you are purchasing your first insurance policy that you will have to pay extremely high premiums. Yes, you will pay higher premiums than people who have had car insurance for some time, but that does not mean you can not find affordable car insurance. You ask then how does one find the best and most affordable car insurance? Here is a checklist of ways to find affordable car insurance and the best first insurance for you:
Tips for How to Find the Best Affordable First Insurance
1. Compare first insurance rates online and locally.
2. Know what you need and how much of a first insurance policy so you don't buy more than you want.
3. Tell the car insurance company that you are comparing X amount of companies so they know that you are looking for the best deal.
4. When shopping online or locally for your first insurance policy, make sure you know what car insurance discounts you may be eligible for. If you are unsure, ask the insurance agent of all their discounts.
5. If you are choosing full coverage car insurance, remember the higher your deductible, the cheaper your car insurance premium will be.
6. If you feel an insurance company or agent is treating you unfairly or breaking the law, know how to file a complaint.

Auto Insurance 101

Why do you need a five step guide to auto insurance shopping? Because, if you want to get the best coverage for your buck, shopping smart for your car insurance is the way to do it. Also, car insurance is one of the top ways to chisel down your insurance budget if you know how to do it right. Let's start with deciding what car insurance coverage you need:
1. What Kind of Coverage Do You Need?: Before calling the insurance company and getting your insurance quote, take the time to decide what kind of coverage you need. In every state you have to have at least liability coverage. But, you need to decide if you would like to add these additional car insurance coverages:
Comprehensive Collision
If you choose comprehensive and collision coverages, you will need to decide what deductible amounts you would like. And, it is important to know what policy limits your state requires so you can decide what policy limits you would like. Other coverages you may also be interested in:
Emergency Roadside Service Gap Insurance
2. Choosing an Insurance Company: When you are ready to select your insurance provider, besides just looking for the best car insurance premium, you will want to take some time to research what insurance company you want to go with by learning about their financial strength. Another important aspect of choosing your insurance provider is knowing if and how they will use your credit score to determine your rate. Take the time to research different companies and then make a list of the providers you are interested in contacting for an insurance quote. Here are some tools to help you research your car insurance company:
Car Insurance Company Report Card Your Credit Score and the Insurance Company
3. Making the Call: When you have your list of selected car insurance providers you are ready to start calling around to search for the one who can give you the best deal. It is important to have certain paperwork handy, such as your drivers license number. In addition, having a list of discounts you may be entitled to can save you some extra money. Here are some resources to help you when you are ready to make the call:
Car Insurance Savings Checklist Online Car Insurance Company Quote Worksheet
4. Understanding Your Car Insurance Policy: Now that you have your car insurance policy, do you understand what it means? Did you get what you paid for? It is important to know how your car insurance policy works and how it can work for you. Here is some help in understanding your policy:
Getting What You Paid For eCourse: How to Know if Your Insurance Contract is Legal Car Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
5. Filing a Car Insurance Claim: Let's hope you never have to file a car insurance claim, but if you do it is important to learn some things before the accident comes. Learning what things you need to do when you have an auto accident can help the claims process go much smoother. Here are some claim filing tools you will want to learn before you file a car insurance claim:

Does Your Insurance Company Offer Gap Insurance?

You are buying a new or newer vehicle and you know you need gap insurance. The dealer has the paperwork for you to sign and with the stroke of a pen you will be off with your new car and your new gap insurance policy. Or, you bought a new car a few months ago and decided at the time to not purchase gap insurance but now realize that you want it. So, you go online to get an online gap insurance quote. If you have been in either of these situations and decided to follow through with your gap insurance purchase, then you may possibly be paying twice for gap insurance.
Who Wants to Pay Twice for Gap Insurance?
Pay twice for gap insurance? Who wants to do that? No, you don't get double the coverage but only double the payment. How could that happen? Well, it happens when you already have gap insurance coverage through your insurance company and then buy a gap insurance policy either because the dealer has pressured you into it or you just did not realize you already had the insurance.
The Lesson: Always Call Your Insurance Agent First
So, the lesson here is to always check with your insurance company first. You can do this by simply giving them a call or taking a look at your current insurance policy. If you first take a look at your current insurance policy and either think or don't think you have the coverage listed, I urge you to still call your insurance agent. Although insurance policies should be fairly understandable to most consumers, they usually are not and you may assume you have a coverage or miss a coverage that you think you have.
Gap Insurance Look-Alike
Another reason to first call your insurance agent to ask about gap insurance is that insurance companies often offer a form of gap insurance but, it sometimes works a little different than traditional gap insurance and is often called by another name. These coverages that insurance companies offer that are similar to gap insurance are sometimes referred to as "automotive loss protection", "loan payoff coverage", "lease payoff coverage" and "new car replacement." Whatever your insurance company decides to call it, you need to understand how it works and since every insurance company's gap insurance coverage may work a little different, again, you will want to contact your insurance agent to see how their gap insurance coverage will work for you.

New Car? Make Sure You Have Gap Insurance

Just bought a new car? What if an accident occurred soon after taking your brand new ride off the lot? You have full coverage insurance, right? So, you're covered... or maybe not.
When you drive your new car off the lot the value of your vehicle plummets, sometimes as much as 20%-30%. Say for instance you pay $25,000 for your new vehicle and have an accident a month later. You probably have only made at the most one payment and if you did not put any money down your loan amount is still close to the $25,000 purchase price. Unfortunately, even with full coverage, which includes comprehensive and collision, you will only receive the market value of your vehicle which could be as much as 20%-30% lower than the purchase price. That means you may be stuck paying that 20%-30%. On a $25,000 car, just a 20% depreciation would be $5,000! That amount could be more if you financed your taxes and license into your loan.
GAP stands for Guauanteed Auto Protection. Most people just use the term GAP to represent the gap in coverage between how much one owes on a car and how much the car is worth. GAP insurance is necessary in almost all cases and is reltivily low cost. GAP insurance is a must if you are buying or leasing a new vehicle and should not be something that you decided to skip to cut costs.
Fortunately, you may already have GAP insurance with your current insurer, which would insure you for the difference between your loan amount on the car and the actual market value of the car. But, not all insurance companies offer GAP insurance.
In some cases GAP insurance is not available from your insurance company. So, what do you do? Of course the dealership will probably be able to offer you GAP insurance. If GAP insurance is not available from the dealership then you can purchase it from an online GAP insurance company. Just do an online search for GAP insurance and you will find many companies available.

Shopping for Long Term Care Insurance

In reality, almost everyone needs long term care insurance. Of course, not everyone will need long term care but current statistics estimate that as much as 50% of Americans may need long term care sometime in their lifetime. If you become one of those people who need long term care, will you be able to afford up to $75,000 a year for a nursing home facility? Most people, of course, could not.
4 Things You Will Want to Have in a Long Term Care Insurance Policy
1. Inflation Protection: Get a policy that raises your long term care benefit amount automatically... the cost of a nursing home today will be much higher 20-30 years from now.
2. Variable Coverage: Make sure your policy includes coverage for not only nursing homes but home health aids, adult day care providers, and assisted living facilities so you will have a choice of care.
3. Independent Care Management: If you have a claim, the insurance company will send a representative to determine your benefit needs... make sure your policy gives you the option to have an independent licensed health care provider to manage your care and not someone working for the insurance company.
4. 70% Minimum Daily Benefit: If you need services, don't just choose the cheapest daily benefit amount but find out what is the average daily cost of nursing homes in your area and request at least 70% of that. Also, make sure this amount is adjusted annually to reflect 70% of the current yearly amount.
Estimating Your Long Term Care Projected Costs and Insurance Premiums: Long term care costs can vary depending on what state you live in and the nursing facility or home care staff you choose. It is good to know what long term care facilities are charging in your area so you can get an idea of the benefit amount you would like for your long term care insurance policy. Genworth Financial long term care website offers an interactive map where you can scroll over your state to get an idea of current annual nursing home and assisted living costs. You can also simply pick up the phone book and call local nursing home facilities and ask them what their annual costs are.
When it comes to long term care premiums, that can vary greatly depending on the type of policy you choose, the age that you choose to start your policy, and the benefit amount. Of course the younger and healthier you are when you start your policy then the lower your premiums will be. Also, the lower your benefit amount is, then the lower your premiums will be. So, the best time to check into long term care insurance is now, before you get any older! Although it is best to try not to cut corners when choosing your long term care benefits, there are additional ways to reduce your long term care premium costs.
Where and How to Purchase Long Term Care Insurance: There are many places that you can purchase long term care insurance. Your employer may offer group long term care insurance. You can also purchase long term care insurance from individual insurance companies or agents. If you or a family member has or does work for the federal or state government then you may be able to purchase a long term care insurance policy from those sources. Also, another place to look for long term care insurance policies are associations or membership groups.
When you are ready to select your long term care insurance provider, besides just looking for the best insurance premium, you will want to take some time to research what insurance company or agent you want to choose by learning about the insurance agent or company's financial strength.
Another important aspect of choosing your insurance agent or company is knowing if and how they will use your credit score to determine your insurance rate. Take the time to research different companies and then make a list of the providers you are interested in contacting for an insurance quote.
Answers to 4 Important Disadvantages and Misconceptions about Long Term Care Insurance
1. Group Long Term Care Insurance May be a Disadvantage for Younger Persons: If you decide to look at your employer's long term care insurance plan and you are young and in good health, make sure you get some quotes from other individual long term care insurance companies or agents. This is because when insurance is purchased for a group, the risk is spread among the group and then an average premium is set according to the group. That means everyone is sharing in the cost. So, in reality, the older people in the group are getting a good deal while the young people, who are paying the same premiums as the older people, may be paying more than they would if they chose a policy on their own independently.
2. You Won't Get Paid Right Away: Know what your long term care policy's elimination period is. The elimination period is the amount of days you have to pay before your policy will pay, like a deductible. Sometimes this can be as long as 90 days, so it can really add up. Also keep in mind that a longer elimination period equals a lower premium, but before going for the cheaper premium, make sure you can afford to pay for all those days if needed.
3. Long Term Care Insurance Will Not Take the Place of Life Insurance, Health Insurance or Disability Insurance: Long term care insurance will provide help with paying for assistance in dealing with a disability or long term medical condition. You will still need to keep your life, health, and disability insurance.
4. Long Term Care Insurance is For Any Age: If you acquire a disability or long term illness at any age, your long term care insurance policy will be available to you. There is no upper age in which it kicks in.

When To Continue COBRA Insurance Coverage

Important "COBRA Stimulus Bill" Update: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, has given some the ability to enroll or re-enroll into COBRA and pay only 35% of their original premiums. It is important that anyone who is considering COBRA insurance learn about the The Stimulus Bill and COBRA Benefits.
COBRA's History
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, otherwise known as COBRA, continues to be a very helpful law to many. This law makes it possible for most individuals to continue their health care coverage from their employer for up to 18 months if for some reason the individual had a change in employment status such as a layoff, reduced work hours, or a termination of employment by the employee or employer. This continuation of COBRA insurance coverage is available to the individual, their spouses, and dependants.
Understanding What COBRA Is
COBRA insurance coverage lets one continue their employers’ health insurance plan, which can be a real benefit to many, especially when one could have a hard time qualifying for private insurance (unlike the insurance provided by one's employer, one must usually have to qualify for private health insurance plans and their premiums would usually be based mostly on their health status) or would have a gap in health insurance coverage for other reasons. But, in order for one to continue their employers’ health insurance coverage through COBRA, they must pay the complete monthly insurance premium instead of the discounted premium current employees get. That can add up to a costly monthly premium.
More Access to Alternatives to COBRA
Now, with the help of the internet, most people have access to many health insurance companies. With this larger access comes more choices and of course, more choices gives consumers the advantage of comparison shopping. Although continuing COBRA insurance coverage through one's employer is a good option for many, it may not be the best choice for everyone. Depending on one's health status, finding private insurance to fill the gap may provide adequate coverage without the costly price tag of COBRA insurance.
Who Then Should Continue COBRA Insurance Coverages from Their Employer?
1. People who have health problems that they are currently being treated for or pre-existing health conditions, should strongly consider the COBRA insurance option from their employer. It is very difficult and costly to get private health insurance with current health problems or pre-existing conditions and if one did find it, those conditions would either be excluded or the premium would be very costly.
2. Also, persons who know that their next employer will not have health insurance available should also consider continuing the COBRA insurance coverage, at least until they can provide themselves with another health insurance option. This is also important because it is much better to not have any gaps in health insurance coverage when shopping for new coverage as one is less risky to the new health insurance company when they have had continuous health insurance coverage.
For Some, Shopping for a COBRA Alternative May be Better
On the other hand, if one is a young, healthy individual with no previous serious health problems, it may pay to shop around a little to find some type of temporary health insurance coverage instead of choosing the COBRA insurance option from their employer. But again, it is important even for these individuals to avoid any gaps in their health insurance coverage in order to obtain the best rates for their new policy. 10 Key Considerations When Comparing Health Care Plans

The Quick Financial Crisis Financial Adviser

Who out there needs a financial adviser? There are thousands of financial crisis tips and secrets out there to scare away anyone just trying to find a basic debt cure. Especially in a financial crisis, finding a debt cure along with having the right insurance protection will assure anyone long-term financial peace. Follow The Quick Financial Crisis Financial Adviser: A 5 Step Debt Cure below to simplify your household finances:
1. Protect Your Assets: Step one in your financial crisis debt cure is to make sure you have the basics of insurance which includes homeowners/renter's (including flood insurance), auto, health, life, and umbrella. After you have followed the remaining steps below then look into adding long term care and disability insurance. It only takes one disaster to disable your financial situation so don't skimp on the insurance.
2. Of Course, Your Quick 5 Step Financial Adviser Says, "Get Rid of Your Debt!": It is hard to save in a financial crisis but when you can save, before saving for anything else, college or retirement, get yourself out of debt. Once you are out of debt you can catch up fast on your other savings plans with all the extra money you will have left over. Start with the smallest amount you owe first and pay that off. Next take what you were paying on that bill and add it to the next smallest amount until all debts are paid. The last thing to pay off would be your mortgage and at this time you can start your other savings plans while paying extra on your mortgage. By paying off the smallest debt first it enables your momentum of seeing a payoff and you are more likely to keep paying them all off.
3. Save for Retirement: After your debt is paid off don't go and get a loan for a new car! Buy a nice used car with cash and start beefing up your retirement. Yes, even in a financial crisis you should still invest for your retirement. After contributing the maximum to your employer's 401K, look into an annuity for an extra retirement vehicle. Also, start a college savings plan for your children. One thing that you should not purchase just for a retirement plan would be life insurance.
4. Don't Pay to Much for Health Insurance: If you are paying outrageous amounts for your health insurance try purchasing a high-deductible emergency plan then use a health savings account to pay for all your regular yearly costs. In most cases this option can save a lot of money for a family that is basically healthy. Also, if you are low income you or your children may be eligible for your state sponsored health insurance plan. Sometimes even if both parents are working you may still fall into the low income bracket. In addition, shop around. Health insurance prices can vary dramatically from company to company.
5. Stick to This Plan and Share Your Spare: Yes, I know this can be a given but these steps take a lifelong commitment that can be hard at times. You may fail. You might just buy that dress in the window you did not need instead of taking that money and paying off your debt, but if that happens just start over again. Once your debt is cured you will have a greater understanding and responsibility of your money and you will probably be finding yourself more inclined to reach out to others with your spare money instead of buying things you don't need.

The Basics of a Supplemental Health Insurance Plan

Aflac has made supplemental health insurance popular with their quirky duck. But what is a supplemental health insurance plan and do you need it?
How Does a Supplemental Health Insurance Plan like Aflac Work?
Supplemental insurance, such as what Aflac offers, pays a cash benefit to the insured. The amount of cash and how it is paid out depends on the supplemental health insurance plan or policy. Some popular supplemental health insurance policies are specific disease insurance such as for cancer, accidental death and dismemberment insurance or accident health insurance, and hospital indemnity insurance.
Determine Your Need for Supplemental Health Insurance
Since you already have health insurance do you need any of these supplemental health insurance plans offered by Aflac and other insurance companies? Well, that depends on your risk factors and how much insurance you want to carry or can afford to carry and how much savings you have put back.
First, Obtain a Good Health Insurance Policy
Of course, the first thing you want to have is a good health insurance policy. Health insurance policies are all different therefore, what and how much they will pay is different too. Supplemental health insurance comes in to help you pay for what your health insurance does not pay or other expenses you cannot pay if something should happen where you temporarily or permanently cannot make an income to pay your bills.
What to Consider when Choosing Supplemental Health Insurance
Only you can decide if a supplemental health insurance plan is right for you. Some things to consider when deciding if you need a supplemental health insurance plan are your health risk factors, your savings, and how much insurance you can afford. Of course no one can predict what their health will be in the future, but if you have always been in good health and take good care of yourself then you would be less likely to use a supplemental health insurance policy than someone who is often in bad health. Also, your savings should play an important role in your decision to purchase a supplemental health insurance policy. If you were in the hospital for a few weeks or more, would you have enough to cover your other expenses that your insurance would not? And, when deciding on purchasing a policy, you need to take into consideration if you can afford it or not. Supplemental health insurance policies are not often used so it is not worth it to you to purchase a policy that you probably will not use if it would be a financial burden.
Let's now take a closer look at the three most common supplemental health insurance policies:
1. Disease Specific Insurance: This type of supplemental health insurance provides a cash benefit paid directly to you if you require treatment for a specific disease such as cancer. Usually the benefit is paid per day or per procedure. There is a usually a minimum daily benefit and a policy maximum. The cash can be spent in any way you would choose and getting your benefit would have nothing to do with how much your insurance paid for your medical costs.
2. Accident Health Insurance or Accidental Death and Dismemberment Supplemental Insurance: This type of supplemental insurance typically would reimburse you for medical costs resulting from accidents. Benefits are paid if you die (to your beneficiaries) or are disabled due to a specific accident outlined in the policy. Premiums are usually low and no medical exam is required. Accidents can include car accidents and accidents in the home or at your job. Also, if you loose limbs, fingers, toes, or your vision due to a covered accident, you may be able to collect a percentage of the death benefit.
3. Hospital Indemnity Insurance: This type of supplemental health insurance provides a daily, weekly, or monthly cash benefit if you are confined to a hospital stay. Usually there is a minimum hospital stay before benefits are paid. The cash benefit is paid in addition to any other insurance you may have. Benefits are usually reduced if you are confined to a mental hospital and often you can find plans through an employer that require no health exam.

Health Care Reform - Why Will This Work Now?

Until recently, the universal health care pros and cons for the U.S. have been debated but largely nothing much has been done to change the current failing system. Maybe it is because the term "universal health care" seems to still spell "failure" due to the Clinton era of health care reform. But why was that such a failure and why does Obama feel a national health care system will work for the U.S. now?
Obama is Ready for Health Care Reform
This is not something President Obama is just looking into. He has a $634 billion proposal and that is just a down payment. He has already shown his commitment to health care reform by giving COBRA recipients subsidies not long after he was in office. And although there has been some expected opposition to his proposals, it looks as though he is not facing a failure as Clinton did.
Timing and Presentation
As some of you may want to believe, no, it is not his charismatic way that is going to make health care reform work but instead a mix of ingredients that just may provide a national health care system for America. There are many ingredients that are working in favor for President Obama but the main ones include timing and presentation.
Out of Control Health Care Costs Have Changed Some Minds
Timing is everything, right? Well, it is working for health care reform too. Although when President Clinton first proposed a universal health care system there was a need for it but not enough people felt we had a failing health care system. And many insurance and medical professionals were worried about their bottom line so were reluctant to jump on board. Now that we have had some time to let's say, digest the thought of a national health care system along with the fact that health care costs are out of control and show no signs of stopping, the professionals that once opposed a national health care system are now ready to see what options are available.
Which Boss Would You Want to Work With?
Presentation... Obama has it! OK, let's say you are at the office and your boss hands you a proposal on how to get the office organized. He has done all the planning and has laid out what you need to buy and how you need to do it. Now, let's take another approach. Your boss sits down with you and tells you that he would like to see the office work more efficiently and would like to get your ideas on how that should be done. Which boss would you be more likely to work with? You get the picture. Obama has chosen to take the time to work with advisors and get their opinions on how to make health care reform work. President Clinton, although he had good intentions, pretty much handed out his plan on how it was going to work.
A Good Medium and Not Rushing It
Of course there are many other factors as to why Obama just may pull this off where others could not. By taking the time to look at all the options, he has also found a good medium where insurance companies will be able to work with the government, and between the two of them be able to offer Americans the best health care choices. It will take a lot of time and work and certainly won't happen quickly, but it is a great task. Many feel like they just can't wait for health care reform, but, I think most of us can agree that this is not something we want rushed, which would give it more of a chance for failure.