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.