Life Insurance: The Best Parting Gift You Can Give for Your Family

31/03/2009

Most people often feel uncomfortable talking about life insurance. That is because this topic is associated with death which is, no doubt, a morbid issue.

You need to understand however that buying a life insurance is one of the most important decisions you have to make while you are still on top of your health. It is probably more important than retirement planning or other mundane things in life such as car loan or credit cards.

Understanding life insurance and what it can do for your family will give you a better view of life and death. Besides, life insurance is probably the best parting gift you can give for your family.

So here are some valuable information about life insurance, its importance and what you can expect from it if something happens to you.

What is Life Insurance?

In simple terms, life insurance is a policy that you can buy to prepare your family in the event of your demise. It is a financial instrument or an investment if you want to put it that way.

However, life insurance is not about you because it can be claimed only when you die. The dividends of this kind of investment can only be enjoyed by those you will leave behind. So, life insurance is more about your family.

It is the most concrete form of personal savings that can give financial stability and security for your family. That is why you will have better peace of mind if you have a life insurance policy. That is because you will know that your family would be financially stable when you are gone.

Types of Life Insurance

There are several types of life insurance that you can avail. Deciding what type of life insurance to buy that would give the most benefit for your family could be quite confusing at times. It would be best therefore to consult an estate attorney or a financial advisor before you buy a policy.

At a glance, here are some of the most basic types of life insurance policies that are available for you. Understanding this would give you a fair idea of what type of life insurance would be best for your family. So when you consult an estate attorney, you will be able to ask relevant questions about life insurance so as not to waste your time.

1. Term Life – This is the most common and probably the most affordable type of life insurance policy that you can purchase. Term life insurance is pretty straightforward because you will only have to pay a guaranteed regular premium. In the event of your death, your family can claim the death benefit from the insurer as stipulated in your policy.

2. Whole Life – This type of policy has a fixed death benefit. Before you buy this type of life insurance, you will already know the amount of death benefit that your family can receive. Essentially, the amount of your monthly premiums will primarily depend on the amount of the fixed benefit stated in your policy.

3. Universal and Long Term Care Insurance – This type of policy provides death benefits and long term care benefits in case you need one. Actually, this is a combination plan and one of the most popular life insurance products. If you suffer from a paralyzing injury or debilitating disease, you can claim benefits from this kind of policy.

4. Variable Policy – This type of insurance is more related to Whole Life policies because your family can get a fixed amount of death benefit from it. A variable life insurance could also give you more control on the amount of monthly premiums you have to pay.

5. Universal Life – This is a flexible life insurance policy and also affordable just like the term life insurance. Aside from the death benefits that your family can claim, it has cash value which you can use in case you need it later in life.

These are the general types of life insurance policies available for you. This is just a brief overview because there is plenty of technical information you still need to know when you buy one of these policies. It is always best to consult an estate attorney in case you finally decide to purchase a policy for your family.

Why You Need Life Insurance?

This question might seem obvious and self explanatory. A life insurance essentially protects the financial security of your family in case you die. So you will feel more comfortable living your life now because you know that you can still provide for your family even if you are gone.

However, there are still other great benefits that your family can enjoy from your life insurance policy. Here are some of the less known but important benefits of life insurance.

First, in the event of your death, your family cannot rely anymore on your paycheck. This is lost income and could spell trouble for those who depend on your paycheck. A life insurance can serve to replace that lost income. Your family can still receive a monthly check from your insurance benefits.

Second, a life insurance can be used to pay your house mortgage. In case you pass away and the family dwelling is not yet fully paid, the proceeds of your life insurance can cover the mortgage cost. This way, your family can live debt-free and they will have a house that no one can take away.

Third, your life insurance can also pay off some of your consumer debts or credit card debts. Most families today suffer from the burden of paying consumer debt. If you do not want your family to shoulder debt payments and suffer from this burden, then your life insurance would be able to liquidate such consumer debts.

Fourth, a lump sum death benefit can be used by your family to fund the college education of your children. It can be placed in a trust fund solely for that purpose. The death benefits can also be invested by your family in a business. Essentially, your life insurance benefits will enable your family to make a fresh start.

Lastly, your life insurance can be used to pay for burial expenses. In fact, the insurer could deal with the burial service so that your family can be spared from this task. Such services are very expensive nowadays but with a life insurance, your family will not worry anymore about this matter.

How Much Life Insurance You Need

The amount of life insurance you might need will depend on several factors. So you should carefully study these factors in order to get the right amount of insurance that your family can get.

If you have a big family with lots of children still depending on you, then probably you will need to buy more life insurance. This is especially true if you have a special child with physical or mental disabilities. Your special child will need lifetime support which can be covered by your life insurance.

You also have to consider the amount of mortgage that you still have to pay. You might need more life insurance if the amount of mortgage is still staggering. If you also have a large estate, your life insurance can cover the estate taxes after you die. This way, your family will not be forced to liquidate your properties to pay these obligations.

You also have to consider your personal savings, retirement plans, and other financial investments when buying life insurance. If your financial position right now is not very good, then you must ensure that you have a big life insurance policy that your family can use.

As a rule of thumb, the amount of life insurance you need if you have children should be 10 to 15 times the amount of your annual salary. This is the minimum amount of life insurance that will ensure a comfortable life for your family. It is always best to get over-insured so you can have better peace of mind.

Conclusion
Life insurance is a policy that can ensure the financial security of your family when you die. This type of investment offers lots of benefits not for you but for your loved ones. However, a life insurance policy can give you peace of mind because you know that the future of your wife and children will be guaranteed.

There are several types of life insurance policies that you can avail. It might be a little difficult to decide which type of policy would be best for you and for your family. That is why it is important to seek the help of an estate attorney or a financial advisor before you purchase a life insurance policy.

Finally, the amount of life insurance that you might need will primarily depend on many factors. You have to carefully study these factors and weigh your options so that you can decide how much life insurance you need.

Life insurance is the best parting gift you can give to your loved ones. You will still be their provider long after you were gone.

Posted in Life Insurance |

Katrina victims robbed by a man they trusted

30/03/2009

Fraud comes in many forms. Whether it’s medical or life insurance related, insurance fraud has become more common and catastrophic than ever before. Today, home insurance deception is occurring more frequently than the other types of security plans and is proving to grow in number. Not only can this form of fraud rob innocent people off all of their money but it can also leave them homeless and in deeper debt.

Earlier in the year, the corrupt nature of American politics reared its ugly head yet again. Gregory Brent Warr, mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, and his wife Laura were indicted under charges of insurance fraud. It was discovered that they were involved in a corruption scandal regarding hurricane Katrina victims. Over $220,000 was embezzled through FEMA, which would have gone towards citizens affected by the hurricane of 2005. Hurricane Katrina was recording as the most costly hurricane, damage-wise, in the history of United States. The infamous calamity destroyed an estimated $89.6 worth of properties and flooded 80% of the city of New Orleans. This unfortunate incident left the city in ruins ever since. The calamity ranked among the top 5 of the most deadly hurricanes of all time claiming the lives of 1,836 people throughout the southeast, all the way up to Ohio.

This scandal put the mayor in even deeper water because of the severity of the disaster. The government’s response and aid to the victims of the region has been a hot topic since 2005. The extent of the fraud’s consequences and effects made it the worst scams known to mankind.

The former mayor, Gregory Brent Warr, was not the only one to be accused of fraud since 2005. Warr, however, is on the few who were indicted under such charges.

As with any type of fraud, the people who commit these heinous crimes should be punished by law. There are instances though; that the people who commit these scams are way too powerful to be brought to justice and their paper trail dissipates to the point that it’s no longer possible to prove them guilty. Mayor Warr is one of the few examples of justice served amidst social status and influence.

There were over seventy countries worldwide that came together to help the victims of hurricane Katrina in Southeastern United States. This region was already known to be poverty stricken and its crime and violence rate set really high. The aid came as a blessing especially with the local government turning its back on its people—especially the injured parties—for personal interest.

Posted in Insurance fraud |

The When and Why of Business Insurance

29/03/2009

Business insurance might seem like a very contemporary part of the postmodern world, but it has been around for ages. In fact, the very first business-related insurance actually occurred even before the rise of Christianity. In the first century BC, some Chinese merchants had the great idea of protecting themselves from all those hassling shipping losses. They wanted to find a way to prevent incurring losses from the storms, harmful sea and voyage experiences, and pirates. In order to do that, they decided to divide their cargo among the different ship as the very first way of insuring themselves. This way, even if one ship sinks they will not lose all of their cargo.

Fast forward to a later time and place, and the history of insurance will take you to the Western world. Here, the British merchants were the first people who thought of setting up property insurance. They were able to develop a habit of passing through the entire day situated in a coffee house named Lloyd’s by the docks. Here, more and more merchants had dared to offer solutions to finance some hazardous trade voyages. This then prompted them to coin the term “underwrite”. This term described the method of financing, so in effect they became the very first insurance underwriters of the world.

When time passed, the underwrites developed their skill when it comes to predicting losses so that the insurance rates would become standardized. Pretty soon, individuals realized the need to form groups or companies that can provide them with the adequate protection they need for even large groups of people. As an official note, the very first kind of property insurance company was inaugurated in London in the year 1667 – the year after their city was almost wiped out due to a fire. Pretty soon, Benjamin Franklin ended up establishing the very first insurance company in 1752. In the New World, the group Philadelphia Contribusionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire was established.

Covering Other Areas
The history of business insurance takes us again to America in the year 1863. The very first accident insurance policy was initiated in 1863. Sometime later, insurance that protected you against burglary loss (which is property taken through forced entrance) was offered. Theft insurance ended up covering other types of losses from stealing in 1899. The history capped off yet another significant area when the very first workers’ compensation insurance ended up being sold in 1910.

Business insurance companies saw a lot of growth in the area of finance as well as in the understanding of how people share and as well as manage risks. In the beginning, the underwriters were the ones who tried to capture the interest of the people to buy insurance coverage by talking to their business acquaintances. Then again, this ended up being very time consuming for travel. The solution was to appoint people who can travel via horseback and meet even more people who might be interested in the coverage. These, you could say, are the very first business insurance agents.

In an insurance policy, the person who buys it will pay a small amount in order to maintain the company’s promise to the person of securing the replacement of losses. These funds will come from all the money paid by other members of the insurance who did not incur losses, as well as other earnings from the investment made by the company. Being more than a promise, it evolved into a legal document that was agreed upon by the individual and the company.

Do you have what you need?
You already know by now that business insurance will be able to help get a hold onto the more important things. You might not be able to personally control or remove all of the risks (present or potential) which threaten your way of loving. Business insurance is a great way of providing such protection for you against these risks.

But this is only true if you actually have the right kind of business insurance for yourself. The difference with business insurance is that it is not as simple as car insurance. Since you have a unique business, the kind of insurance package you have will be different in order to meet the needs of your business. This is also necessary for you to have the level of protection that you feel comfortable with.

The very first decision you will make is to choose what type of insurance you will need in order to help your business. The top two types of business insurance for your business would be property and liability insurance.

Property Insurance

Property insurance will protect the assets which your business owns. This also includes the equipment as well as the building itself safe from damage or destruction. Should you find yourself running a home-based business, you may already have home insurance. However, you will also need to protect the business assets you have with a separate contents insurance. The reason for this is because the policy of the homeowner will not cover the business equipment.

Contents Insurance

Contents insurance, on the other hand, works to protect the business equipment you have from different perils such as fire, theft or flood. In order to determine just how much property or event contents insurance you will need, you can create a list comprised of the business assets you have as well as their individual values in dollars. Next, you can decide which of these assets you would want to insure and also for the value it has.

These will, of course, determine the kind of insurance premium you want. There may also be some cases where you might decide not to insure one particular asset. It may be because for you it is not worth the cost of what you pay for as premium. There are also some cases where the premium might even be worth paying for. To know, you should ask yourself some important questions – if the equipment (like the computer, for example) would be stolen, do you think you can pull together enough funds to replace it? If no, then you will need to have it insured.
Other Types of Business Insurance You Might Want to Avail

There are other types of insurance for your business which you may need. For one thing, there is liability insurance. Even if the business is really small, you and your employees will need this. Liability insurance is one kind which you need for your business because it serves as a protection in case you get sued for any reason at all.

General Liability insurance is yet another one. This will protect the business from different kinds of liabilities that arise from negligence and may cause others to be injured (like a customer or even an employee). It also works to protect the company if there is a person who is injured because of using your product or service. If you are able to consider that there are legal expenses as well as settlements or some kinds of judgment expenses that come from lawsuits, you might get bankrupt. Only when that happens you will see why this kind of business is something you must have.

If you are a company that sells good that are manufactured or assembles, you should check whether the general liability policy of insurance that you have will also cover product liability. If such is not the case, you might want to include this kind of specific liability insurance to the package you have. As a professional working as a doctor, architect, lawyer, realtor or computer consultant, you will probably want another type of insurance.

Professional liability insurance will range from different kinds such as malpractice insurance and people who are in the healing professions based on error and also omissions insurance. Should you be in doubt with regard to the kind of professional liability insurance you ought to get, you need advising. This can easily be done with a provincial professional organization. There are many areas where this kind of insurance is a must-have or some professionals.

Insurance for your Employees

A worker’s compensation insurance might be good for your employees. Providing employees with insurance is good practice even if you are the type who operates a small business. It might be very tempting to ignore this kind of employee insurance, but you should also know that having good employees are also the key when it comes to bringing about success in your business as well as providing them with the benefits they deserve. It will not only keep them happy but will also ensure that they are willing to do the work for you. You will actually be able to save a lot of money as well as time if you do this instead of constantly finding and also training new employees, as well as keeping the good employers which you already have making dollars as well as sense.

Posted in Business Insurance |

Types of Life Insurance Policies

There are two basic classifications of life insurance program. These are the temporary term insurance coverage, which is the least expensive and complicated plan, and the whole life plan, which covers several subcategories including death benefits, provides cash values and annual premiums.

Term coverage pays the beneficiaries of the plan if the policyholder dies within the time frame stipulated in the policy. The plan will compensate for the salary supposedly provided by the insured individual to his family when he was still alive. The insurer in a lump sum manner gives a specific amount in fractional periods to the surviving family, or beneficiary. This type of plan is further subdivided into level term and decreasing term.

Level term covers death assistance that stays the same all throughout the length of the policy. Here, the insured individual pays annuities, or equal payments, for a period of time. Incremental drops in premium characterize the second type usually in a period of one year. This is what is called as a decreasing term policy

Next we go to permanent life insurance types. Whole life security plans provides safety measures to the surviving family while at the same time building cash value account. During the lifetime of the policyholder, the insurer cannot increase or lessen the insured individual’s premium. This type of insurance also give the option of giving out dividends to the plan holder which can be used to pay for the premium or lessen the amount to be paid by the person availing the insurance policy. Furthermore, the security policy gives you the choice of withdrawing your account during your lifetime and allows the insurer to manage your cash value account exclusively. Lastly, this type of plan gives death benefits to the surviving family at the same time offers low risk cash value account. On the other hand, this type of plan does not offer account flexibility. It does not allow the policyholder to invest in different accounts like mutual funds, stock or any pecuniary matter.

Traditional whole life insurance is differentiated because it provides the same premium and benefits (cannot be changed or are constant) throughout the policy’s life span. The variable life insurance provides an indelible protection for the policyholder and his beneficiaries. It allows some degree of flexibility to the insured individual’s account. The plan allows the holder to borrow from the plan during his natural life. Universal life insurance offers more flexibility compared to the other two types of permanent security plans.

One should always be aware of the differences of each insurance policy to be able to get the plan which best suits your needs.

Posted in Frontpage |

An Ongoing Trial for Health insurance fraud

26/03/2009

In modern day America, it seems like everywhere you turn people are experiencing financial difficulties. The economic maelstrom has put individuals in a position where they need to get money at any cost. People tend to create scams to loot cash from another person’s pocket like a beggar asks for money from passers-by. The problem is, these fraudulent individuals are not asking, they’re devising a plan to cheat some money out from insurers through falsified claims.

Health insurance fraud is more common than one might like to think. Medicaid estimates that the United States loses about $179 billion a year from health insurance fraud. Many of these claims are considered fraudulent due to “exaggerated claims”, take for instance the Liebeck v McDonalds case in 1994. The 79 year old Stella Liebeck, was burned by a hot cup of coffee she ordered from McDonalds. After undergoing 2 years of skin graft treatment, she sued McDonalds for $2.8 million by stating the coffee was “too hot“ and “she did not know it was that hot“. While McDonalds was found guilty in this case, it made way for many of the modern age precautions restaurants take when serving food and/or drinks. Now McDonalds, and many other restaurants, are required to print caution warnings on cup labels and list food ingredients in dishes to avoid similar cases from occurring. It was an exaggerated claim though it was beneficial to customers as well.

Here are other samples of health Insurance fraud:

“Columbia/HCA Healthcare has agreed to pay at least $754 million after over billing taxpayer-funded Medicare for years. If the deal stands, it will be the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history. The chain (now named HCA) billed Medicare for unneeded lab tests, improper diagnoses to make patients seem sicker than they were, and disguising unreimbursable expenses as reimbursable. Criminal charges still are pending.”

”Massachusetts orthopedic surgeon Harold Goodman routinely gave patients potentially harmful X-rays and steroid injections they didn’t need so he could falsely bill Medicaid. Goodman spent as few as five minutes with each patient, giving one patient 74 X-rays and 112 steroid injections in less than three years. Goodman received six months in prison in 2000.”

One must have morals when it comes to going about getting money. Times are getting tough but remember, they’re tough for everyone (not just you) and we need to come together instead of pulling each other down. Insurers are trying to minimize these scams together with government agencies. Particular establishments were made to protect the insurers as well as policyholders from deceptive claims. These independent entities have addressed many attempts at fraud, but not all have been successfully debunked and these seem to remain as ongoing trials.

Posted in Insurance fraud |

Avoiding Auto Insurance Problems

If you have a car, then it is likely one of the most costly items that you possess. Owning and driving a car has its inherent security risks, and car insurance is intended to help you guard your investment in an event of accident. You need to take special care to ensure that insurance is adequate and can help you when you require it. Even then, lots of drivers meet problems just because they do not take an extra step to guard themselves. Most of the problems were very easily avoidable; and you can avoid all these mistakes with minimum of efforts.

Unluckily, few drivers create troubles for themselves, thus it is very helpful to know best methods to avoid auto insurance problems. Also, it is very important to know that most of the “short-cuts” in an regards to insurance may create more troubles for you in case you need to use insurance. If you take some simple measures to stop all these problems, then you can save from an unnecessary trouble in future.

First, it is very important to have drivers that are listed in insurance. Make sure that insurance policy lists all the licensed operators of vehicle in question, ensure that list is precise when insurance policy is renewed. Few drivers have thought they can save some cash by not listing operators, like spouse of the child, in effort to “beat the system.” Avoiding this mistake can help you in case any accident takes place. In such event, if given driver is not been listed in an insurance, insurance will not cover him. Furthermore, listing all the operators is not as bad as it may seem, as an accident free insurance record will save you from hundreds of dollars in long run.

One more problem that drivers encounter is of not making monthly payments of the auto insurance premium. Best choice is to pay all your bills. Most of the insurance companies can help you, through various payment plans and methods, which includes electronic money transfer. There is always a good option than not paying your bill. Consequences of not paying, can be costly and long term. Insurance company might even cancel the service for you, it might be very difficult for you to find some other insurance company, which can accept you in case you had bad record. It might be possible that you will not be able to get insurance policy from company of your selection, and you might even get stuck by paying higher insurance rates. It is best to pay all your bills.

One more mistake that some drivers will make is failing to be correct and sensible about information that you provide on insurance policy. Be very honest and accurate about condition and age of your vehicle. Car mileage, tire condition and original bills are all significant details that can help you make accurate appraisal of the vehicle, so you get insurance policy, which fits your car.

Only drive cars that are insured, and if you get in the accident in the uninsured vehicle, then you can bear brunt of the expenses and consequences. Few drivers have also made the error of insuring only some of their cars, because they were not aware that every vehicle should be insured separately, or because they have tried to avoid additional costs. In spite of, failure to insure a vehicle you plan to drive will have a disastrous consequence, particularly if you get involved in an accident with some other vehicle, which was insured. Even though an accident was not at all your faults, you can still be quoted for driving without any insurance. This can affect your insurance rates for the existing insurance on some other vehicles, as your driving history will show your mistake. It is one simple issue to avoid all this problem, hence it is good to take an extra step to ensure all your cars are insured.

Posted in Auto Insurance |

About Auto Insurance Industry

25/03/2009

There are two major kinds of companies in auto insurance industry US– mutual and private insurers. Private insurance companies in US control the auto insurance industry, to a significant extent. However, there are some other smaller companies that are operating in US auto insurance industry.

Private car insurance companies sum for 50 % of US car insurance market. In past few years these firms are taking up bigger shares of gains that are made in auto insurance market US. Profits, accumulated by them, are more than auto insurance companies US, working as mutual companies.

PGR and GEICO, two main private auto insurance companies, are top players of an automobile insurance industry in US. Their performance is understanding of important direct channels at disposal. In current times, there is a slowdown in the market share moving for private car insurance companies in US.

It is a reflection of lessening premium cycles and cost cutting processes being implemented all over US automobile insurance industry. As its inception, auto insurance industry US can achieve a fair amount of maturity. In span of about a decade and half, rate of development of US automobile insurance industry is 4.5 percent.

Problems of auto industry US

In current times many problems are plaguing US automobile insurance industry. One main issue has been extremely high expenses, which is incurred by auto insurance companies US. These cost had resulted from over-treating legitimate injuries and treating soft tissue harms that are non-existent. These fraudulent actions have continued to obstruct auto insurance industry of US.

People in America have claimed auto insurance for sprains and stains. This has also led to an increase in the payments that are made by some other US automobile insurance policyholders, since they had to cover those frauds. Auto insurance authorities US had put in position low impact programs, which help to deal with these fraudulent practices. All these programs have some recognition criteria and biomechanical info, regulations that will help them to deal with these claims.

Top US automobile insurance companies.

GMAC Automobile Insurance has made good reputation for good quality of services. It as well insures a recreational vehicle. It gives quotes, at a reasonable rate, from major US automobile insurance companies.

Ways to Save Auto Insurance

Automobile insurance proves to be a very expensive affair. However, we have listed few tips to save on auto insurance and some if not all may apply to you.

1) Shop around.
Many companies are offering an affordable auto insurance policy. Lots of them will charge you different premiums for a same amount of insurance coverage. In case your tight plan keeps you to deal with more than one insurance company, use online insurance aggregator that may have deals from leading insurance carriers.

2) Look at your credit.
Auto insurance companies make use of credit scores in order to determine the insurance premiums. In case you pay all your bills on proper time and have not defaulted on anything then you do not need to worry. In case your credit rank is higher than normal or else has imprecise information, you may end up paying twice as much for the insurance. If you are denied credit in past 30 days, then you are qualified to get your credit card report free. There are as well credit-checking services that can check your credit for monthly fee.

3) Increase your deductible.
Deductible refers to an amount that car owner shares with insurance company whereas making claim. This amount is inversely in proportion to the premium amount that means if you raise your deductible from about $250 – $500, your annual premium is reduced to 20% in few cases.

4) Keep your vehicle parked in garage.
Parking car in a garage will reduce theft and vandalism. For this cause, car insurance companies will reward you with the lower insurance premiums.

Posted in Auto Insurance |

Tips for Making Home Insurance Claims

23/03/2009

The house is essential for every living being. Whatever the type of house or where it might be located, it is vital to ensure the house’s safety and the people living in it as well. People purchase insurance for their homes because they want to get protection from financial losses incurred when there are natural disasters, fires and other factors that might cause damage to your home.

When accidents occur and repairs have to be made, a policy owner should know how to file a claim and this should be done as soon as possible. The following are tips on how to make security claims:

When your home is damaged due to accidents—whether natural or deliberate—you should file a claim as soon as possible to enable the insurer to process your case Immediately. Usually, claims involving smaller amounts are settled first before those that require extensive research and bigger cash values. In the former case, it can be handled directly and easily by your broker or agent whereas the latter needs a more complicated process of filling up forms, submitting other files that are necessary and some degree of investigation. You should get the name and contact information of the person in the adjusting section who will be assisting you all throughout the process.
Ask the list of the companies allowed to make the necessary patch ups to your damaged property from your insurer. This will aid in an easier and less hassle transaction since the companies that are on the list can simply bill your insurer for the costs incurred for repair. Also, make sure to get the receipts and other files from the security company for your personal documentation.
Speaking of documentation, you should also take photographs or other means to record the event so you can present this to the insurance adjuster. Witnesses, police testimony, reports and receipts are vital to solidify the claim. Make sure you have these or a combination of it so the processing of your claim will be faster and less hassle.
Document and file the events that took place wherein you had to make a claim to your insurer. Get the details such as the names and contact information from the people who got involved in processing your claim. These files can be helpful when conflict arises between you and your security company.
When the insurance adjuster swings by your house for inspection, make sure you are also there to point out things that were damaged that the inspector has missed to record. You may also take note of the insurance adjuster’s comments.
Be part of the entire claiming process so that you can notice discrepancies. If you are in doubt of the final settlements made by your insurer, ask for a second opinion and do not simply trust your insurance provider. They will always be after getting the least cost or paying for one, and not to give quality service to the policyholder.

Posted in Home Insurance |

Life Insurance Settlements

22/03/2009

Insurance policies have always entailed some degree of controversy. People are beginning to question if they will really get their money’s worth when the time comes that they already need it. Many unsatisfied policyholders are complaining since the insurance providers do not deliver as expected and also because of some red tape when claims are made. As a result, the policy owner finds ways to get rid of his insurance policy.

Life settlements are defined as a pecuniary transaction wherein a policyholder gains ownership over an undesired life security plan and wishes to sell this to a third party—seniors or younger people—for more than its original cost. This is a development from the conventional insurer-policyholder transaction since this involves a secondary market consisting of seniors as well as the younger people. Instant cash is received by the insured individual selling the security product to a third party and the latter becomes the new beneficiary when the policy matures. The plan holder is also responsible for the premium payments made for the insurance policy for his entire natural life.

The usual criteria for an insurance settlement are the following:

Plan holders should be aged 55 and above.
$50,000 should be the minimum face value.
The policy should be active for at least two years.
Low cash surrender value
Annual premiums should be less than 8%.

Settlements investors are funding entities since they provide the necessary capital for the sale of a life insurance policy. Funds are derived from mutual investors that contribute certain capital percentages to invest on the life settlement plan; also, funding can be obtained through the risk taker’s own money or savings (if he has the capacity). The provider settles the transaction with the policy owner from the moment of sale to the actual transfer of ownership. In usual cases, the provider takes care of a contract that will be signed by all parties involved so the funds needed to acquire the settlement plan will be obtained.

The market for life insurance settlement plans, although relatively new, is growing. Many people engage in this type of transaction and most gain from it. This innovative way of acquiring a security policy and finding the appropriate market took a century in the making. This would never have come info being without the participation of key participants, legal hearings and numerous events that contributed to its success.

Posted in Life Insurance |

Avoiding Auto Insurance Fraud

Insurance is the promise made by one party to another to reimburse his losses in case of an accident or calamity. The party who pays for the losses is called the insurer and the one receiving benefits is called the insured. Insurance has now become a need for everyone. Of all the insurances that are in effect now, auto insurance is the most popular. Thousands of automobile are sold out everyday thus making the auto insurance sector one of the largest in the world.

However, the rate of fraudulent claims is also the highest when it comes to the auto insurance sector. The frauds are broadly classified in two types: Soft fraud and hard fraud. Soft fraud is the most commonly committed fraud. This happens when the insured experiences an accident and applies for a claim to his insurance company for the amount that is higher than the actual cost incurred. Hard fraud is said to be committed when there has been no accident or damage at all, and still the insured claims for his insurance amount. The main reason, as we all might have guessed, is financial profit.

The losses incurred to insurance companies are usually very high. According to an estimate, US companies lost around $80 million in the auto insurance sector in the year 2006. The figure rose to $123 million in 2007 and to a whopping $200 million in 2008. With this information, it is evident that these malpractices should be stopped because it does not only create havoc (and losses) to the insurer but this affects innocent policyholders as well through the high premium charges.

Innocent drivers can be victims of ambush. The usual operation of these ‘ambush’ groups is quickly getting in front of the victim and suddenly slams on their brakes. Obviously, the victim, not reacting right away, crashes into the other car and is held liable for damages and physical injuries, if there is any. At times, these groups own a repair center and then offer the victim to just do the repairs in their shops. When the billing comes, they charge the victim with a bloated invoice and sometimes get away with it.

Unfortunately, the only certain way to avoid this kind of accident is to be observant and to always keep your distance from any automobile that is in front of you. You will never know if they are one of those people who take advantage of others. Educating yourself about is a preemptive measure that one should take. Know more about fraud protection against automobile insurance scams to avoid being the next victim. Furthermore, you should drive safely so that your chances of getting involved with these fraudulent acts are less.

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