Insurance Experts

Due to the recent economic slowdown which is evidenced by every indicator (except the ones George Bush uses) car and SUV owners with payments they cannot afford are turning to arson to break their debts. This isn’t new, however as car arson (or torching) and insurance fraud have been going on for decades.

The problem is that it is now seen in direct correlation to the economy. When the economy is positive, the level of insurance fraud tends to taper off. When the economy experiences a slowdown or negative growth (George Bush would probably call this a lull or some other four letter word) people find them selves with debts that they can no longer afford and are trapped in. As times get more desperate, the higher the number of people willing to burn or have their vehicles burned and risk getting caught.

During the last two years there has been a marked increase in car arson and insurance fraud in every state from California to North Carolina. Yes, there are cars that were really stolen, vandalized and then burned, but there is a marked difference. In cases of true theft, the thief is usually trying to remove anything that could link it back or identify themselves. In the case of a intentional burn in insurance fraud, the arsonist will attempt to make the car become rendered totaled (so far gone it cannot possibly be fixed). Usually, arson investigators will find accelerants were used like gas and other flammable liquids.

Due to this increase in car arson and insurance fraud cases, arson task forces have ben set up in many counties. In California they have even linked new and used car dealership personnel as instigators in many arson cases. Someone comes into the dealership overloaded with debt and wants to get out of a high car payment by trading in their car or vehicle. They find out they are “up side down”, a term referring to the fact that they owe much more than their car is worth. The salesperson or similar employee, realizing money can be made, refers them to a local arsonist and the car is then burned. There have been numerous published cases like these and they are growing.

The problem here is four fold; people are being sold cars they can’t afford, they aren’t taking the proper responsibility for their debts, they aren’t properly schooled on debt, and the result is an increase in insurance costs for everyone. These can all be fixed. In California numerous consumer protection laws have been passed which obligate the dealer to be more responsible, but more needs to be done like enforcing maximum debt ratios. There should be standard education in secondary schools on debt and money management.

If we can offer classes on home economics (cooking), marketing, and UFO’s, Madonna, etc… (just look at a Cal Tech class list), then we can offer or make mandatory a class on debt and money. According to many experts like Suze Orman and Anthony Robbins, debt, money, wealth, and happiness can all be learned and taught. A class on debt and money management should also be mandatory for all politicians (Could you imagine how great are economy would be if George Bush envisioned America’s economy as his own and tried to cut the national debt instead of tripling it?) Debts are obligations we create and there are legal ways out of debt. Car arson and insurance fraud hurts everyone, not just those who commit it.

Imagine this. You are meeting with a prospect for the close. Everything has gone perfect in your presentation. They have expressed interest, acknowledged that it all seems to make sense. All the buying signs are there, your stomach tightens, beads of sweat form on your brow, you close for the application and they say “well we certainly have plenty to think about - thank you for your time.”

Your brain is about to explode searching for what you may have missed. You know that there is every reason why logically in your mind an annuity makes perfect sense for this person. All the pieces fit. They like you. They tell you it all makes sense. But something that you can’t put your finger on is keeping them from saying yes. All you walk away with are cookies that Mrs. Prospect insists on you having because “you’re such a nice young man.”

You know that someone else will eventually sell this person an annuity and unfortunately you’ve done all the hard work for that other agent.

What flashes through your mind are the names of the top salesmen in last month’s Annuity Selling Journal. The depressing reality of knowing that if Mr. Top Salesman were sitting here with you, this contract would have been wrapped up an hour ago. What the heck does he know that you don’t?

You daydream… If only you could pay Mr. Top Salesman to show you exactly how he would present your case. Not just this one presentation, but as many presentations as you needed to know just how this 10 million dollar a year annuity producer would present your individual cases. Detail by detail, outlined for your client’s individual portfolio.

This is precisely what Mr. Bill Broich, a ten million dollar a year annuity producer has made available to his small private club of annuity agents. He will help you on a one-on-one, case-by-case basis close your sales.

What’s the cost of his “on the job training.” Zero is a good number. What’s the money catch? There is none. Simply join his club of annuity producers. Your commission levels remain where they are or better.

Sometimes we are unaware of what coverages we have with our homeowners insurance until we file a claim and find out too late that we weren’t covered for a particular loss. Owners of motorcycles, boats and motorhomes may be surprised to learn that neither their homeowners insurance nor their auto insurance covers them for any loss associated with these items.

Non-traditional (or inland marine as some policies are called) insurance is a custom sector of insurance dealing with properties and items that would not traditionally fall under a typical property or automobile insurance. Such items include boats, snowmobiles, ATV’s and person watercraft. You may find that your current insurance company does not even write policies for these types of goods, in which case you will need to check out a specialty insurance company.

Foremost Insurance of Caledonia, Michigan is just such an insurer. Insuring everything from motor homes to motorcycles Foremost offers a wide variety of policies that protect non-traditional goods that homeowners policies simply don’t cover. With agents across the United States, Foremost is a leader in issuing policies that cover losses against such goods. Foremost is part of Farmers Insurance Group, a trusted name in both homeowners and auto insurance throughout the U.S.

Accidents happen no matter if we are in our home, car or riding our ATV. By making sure you are covered you can prevent a small accident from becoming a financial nightmare by making sure you have the correct insurance coverage no matter what you might own.

Has it ever crossed your mind to sit down and calculate how much you spend on insurance every year? If you do the sum, you will be surprised at how much you fork out for all the different types of cover. You’ll also, in all probability, find that you are paying for some types of cover more than once – and every element will be adding up to cost you more than you need to pay each year.

Typical areas which end up being duplicated are theft, loss of income, legal expenses and death. It commonly occurs because people often don’t have a full understanding of what their cover involves, especially if it has been arranged through a third party, such as a broker or adviser.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) recently published results from a survey which showed that add-ons like breakdown recovery and legal expense cover are commonly attached to car insurance premiums, unless the customer says otherwise. Payment protection cover often overlaps with permanent medical insurance, meaning that people take out extra cover for loans and mortgages etc, without realising that the permanent medical insurance policy has got it all covered. For these people, they don’t need to bother making any provisions for payment protection, it’s just a waste of money.

The Financial Ombudsman has offered the following supplement to this issue: “People… often do not realise until they make a claim that they have been paying for a policy that provides very little, if any, benefit”.

It would seem that many people do not even understand what they are actually covered for. The case of Amanda Lariviere from West Yorkshire is the perfect example. Amanda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and her reaction to the chemotherapy meant she was unable to go back to work. She received a tax bill at the end of the year, and to raise the money to pay the bill, she went into her mortgage provider to arrange a re-mortgage to free up the cash. Luckily, the financial adviser at her building society asked her to bring her life insurance details with her, and discovered that the policies were not covering life at all, but critical illness. Amanda had been paying £80 a month for these Norwich Union and Scottish Provident critical illness policies, without really understanding what they were!

As a survivor of a critical illness, Amanda was able to claim on both policies and received a payout of £100,000, which covered the tax bill and most of her mortgage!

If you have any of these policies, then it’s well worth looking into the extent of your cover to check there’s no duplication:

Critical Illness insurance can be bought on its own or an extra with life insurance. However, you may already be covered by your employer, so ask them before you go and buy this form of cover.

Life Insurance is often included on company pension schemes. It will come under the title of death-in-service benefit and if you were to die while in their employment, they would pay out a tax free lump sum which usually amounts to three or four times your final annual salary. This may mean you don’t need to get an extra policy.

Permanent Medical Insurance (PMI) and Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) are similar in the sense that they pay out a monthly income if you’re unable to work because of illness or an accident. If you have PMI, then you don’t need to get any extra PPI with your car insurance, loan or credit card, because you’re already covered. Most PPI policies only carry on paying for a year, PMI will continue indefinitely, or until the insured period comes to an end. The problem is that most PPI is latched onto the financial product that you are buying, and you don’t really notice the extra amount because it’s so small. The point of this article is that it all adds up, so try to avoid paying extra on these PPI policies if you’ve already got PMI.

Mobile phone insurance is a form of insurance that isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. You will probably have to pay an excess of £50 on any claim, so you’d be better off by switching to pay-as-you-go and not taking out the insurance.

Legal expense insurance crops up on home and contents insurance policies as well as car insurance. It means that if there is a dispute on liability for the damages, then all the court costs will be covered. It’s not compulsory that you get it, so it may or may not be included as standard in your policy. If you are a member of a trade union or a professional association, you may already be covered by the services they offer to their members – so be sure to find out before you add legal cover on.

ID Theft insurance is not something you may necessarily think about getting. However, it does exist and it is a common occurrence that can cause a lot of stress and inconvenience if you are the victim. However, if you are a victim then you will only have to pay the first £50 stolen, according to ‘Which?’ magazine, so it’s not really worth insuring for. Your bank may not even expect you to pay the first £50.

Credit card purchases are covered for a certain amount of time, often up to 60 days, so new purchases are already covered. With Barclaycard for example, a purchase costing between £50 and £2,000 will be covered for theft and accidental damage for the next 60 days.

It is kind of insurance in which the the insured transfers a risk to the insurer, receiving a policy and paying a premium in exchange. The risk assumed by the insurer is the risk of death of the insured.

There are generally three parties in a life insurance transaction: the insurer, the insured or the owner of the policy (policyholder) and the beneficiary (person or persons who will receive the policy proceeds upon the death of the insured).

The life insurance policy is a legal contract specifying the terms and conditions of the risk assumed. It may be nullified in cases like if the insured commits suicide within a specified time for the policy date; any misrepresentation by the owner or insured on the application; if the insured dies within a period of say 2 years, the insurer can file a claim or request for additional information before deciding to to pay or not.

The most common reason to buy a life insurance policy is to protect the financial interests of the owner of the policy in the event of the insured’s demise.The face amount of the policy is generally the amount paid when the policy matures i.e when the insured dies or reaches a specified age or retirement. Rates charged for life insurance depends on the various factors like age, any disease the insured has, etc.

The insurance company investigaties about the insured at the time of giving him a policy and deciding the rate of premium. This process is called underwriting. The insurer (i.e., life insurance Company) prices the policies with intent to recover claims to be paid and administrative costs, and to make a profit.

The insurance company receives the premiums from the policy owner and invests them to get interest, which again is used to invest, pay claims, and finance the insurance company’s operations. Upon the death of the insured, the insurer will require acceptable proof of death e.g. death certificate, before paying the claim.

If the insured’s death was suspicious and the policy amount warrants it, the insurer may investigate if there is evidence of its legal obligation to pay the claim. Proceeds from the policy may be paid in a lump sum or paid over time as regular recurring payments for either for the life of a specified person or a specified time period.

Health insurance is offered in various forms today. Traditionally, health insurance plans were indemnity plans; the insured paid a premium, the physician provided health care services, the health insurance plan was billed, and the health insurance plan paid for covered services. As health care costs became astronomical, health insurance companies developed different plans that were aimed at providing quality health care at affordable prices. Managed health care became the buzzword for the health insurance industry, and health insurance plans became more complicated.

Health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, and preferred provider networks, or PPOs, have largely replaced the traditional indemnity health plan. HMOs and PPOs utilize strategies to contain health care costs. These health plans are similar in certain ways. Both HMO and PPO plans contract with health care providers to provide health care services at reduced rates for the health insurance plan members. Typically both plans require the the member have a primary care provider, or PCP, who serves as a “gateway” to coordinate care for the member, and all specialty services are accessed by referral from the PCP. Both HMOs and PPOs require that certain services and products, usually the more costly ones, be reviewed by the health insurance reviewers for prior approval or prior authorization before the service is rendered. The health care provider must submit justification for these services as “medically necessary”, and the reviewer determines whether the service is a covered service. The plans do make provision for emergency situations that cannot wait for prior approval/authorization, but still require an approval process.

HMOs and PPOs differ in significant ways, however. A PPO plan often covers services rendered by providers that are not in the plan network, though usually at a lower rate than given for network providers. HMOs usually offer no coverage for out-of-network health care providers.

Advantages of HMO/PPO plans typically include lower health insurance premiums than those of traditional health insurance plans. HMOs and PPOs often offer coverage for preventive and health maintenance care not covered by indemnity plans. The health plan member is usually not required to file claims for health care services; contract providers bill the health insurance plan directly.

Disadvantages of these managed health care plans include limiting coverage to providers in the health care plan. Plan members must change primary care providers if their provider is not in the health plan network. Many members do not want to change health care providers. Another disadvantage is that prior approval/authorization processes can be time-consuming and slow down the delivery of needed health care services. Specialty health care can only be accessed through referral from the PCP.

In summary, HMOs and PPOs offer lower premiums and increased coverage, but limit members to their network of providers. Indemnity plans allow the member to see the health care provider of their choice, and to access specialty care when they want, but usually pay higher premiums for health insurance coverage. Ultimately the health plan member must decide whether choice of physician and access to specialty care are worth the higher premiums. Whatever plan is chosen, it is vital for members to know their health insurance plan, including what services are covered and what providers are in network.

One can generate insurance leads on their own and save money or just buy them and save time. Finding a good reliable insurance lead or generating your own can be a little costly, not to mention time consuming, but a good quality insurance lead is important to survive and prosper.

Admit it. It is better to have a few high quality leads than having many low quality leads. Do not let that cheap insurance lead lure you into their leads. Think of it this way: If they are offering you insurance leads at below market value, then they are not putting much time and effort into generating good quality leads.

With insurance leads, it is really important to know what you are talking about. Your insurance lead will be the best tool in marketing. You will come off looking like the expert that you really are because you are offering information about insurance and can tell your client what to watch out for. Start by comparing prices of premiums to be paid and they claims they can get. If they start asking questions, then they are interested so do not let them go. Persuade them to do something about it.

Once they are on the hook, offer them some more. Don’t offer just anything like a free gift or a free gift certificate because you’ll appear sleazy. Give them that little something extra, such as a “personal favor” like finding out that policy/plan that for some reason is not increasing in value. That extra service signifies that you care for them as a person and that their relationship with you is important. Lastly close the deal of by giving them a guarantee.

Do not lose hope if you do not get the number of insurance leads you really want. Test your marketing plans and keep trying different approaches until you make some headway. Soon you’ll find something that will “click,” and you get an excellent quality insurance lead.

Although term life insurance is generally the least expensive type of life insurance on the market, variations in the type of term are likely to have an impact of the overall cost of the policy when you ask for a quote. There are three major types of term life insurance: level, decreasing and increasing. All three types will have variations in the premium quoted.

Level term life insurance means that the death benefit stays the same for the term of the policy. If you purchase a $100,000 policy for a 10-year term, the insurance company agrees to pay the full death benefit if you die any time during the 10 years. Premiums quoted are usually level as well, staying the same for the duration of the policy

Decreasing term life insurance means that the death benefit will decrease a set amount over each year of the term. Assume you purchase $100,000 of decreasing term for 10 years. Built into the policy is a reduction of the policy by $10,000 each year. This means that the value of the policy will be 0 at the end of the term. Decreasing term insurance is often recommended for people who have a mortgage. Since the balance on the mortgage decreases over time, it makes sense to have insurance that does the same. Premiums quoted for this type of policy are usually lower than for level or increasing term, and usually stay the same over the life of the policy.

Increasing term life insurance means that the death benefit will increase a set amount over each year of the term. For example, you can purchase $100,000 of increasing term for 10 years at an annual increase of 5%. This would provide you with a death benefit that will keep pace with or slightly exceed inflation. Some policies of this type are tied to a standard index, such as the cost of living. The premiums quoted for increasing term usually go up along with the coverage.

When getting quotes for term life insurance policies be sure you understand the three types of terms available – so that you’ll be sure to get a quote tailored to your specific needs.

Many colleges have basic health insurance plans and insist that students either join them or obtain an equivalent or better coverage. In most cases, individuals over 24 years old are not covered by their parent’s health insurance plan. Even if a student is within the age limit, the parent’s health insurance coverage may not be available in the area where the school is located.

Insurance companies offer special health coverage plans for fulltime, undergraduate and graduate students between 17-29 years old, enrolled in a college or university and carrying a minimum of 9 credits. These are comprehensive policies, covering emergency care and surgery, inpatient and outpatient care. They are cheaper than regular, individual health coverage policies, and there are option for deductibles. A deductible is the amount of medical expenses that the insured must pay — the insurer will pay the balance. This deductible reduces the premium. The insurance pay out could be up to $1 million.

Hospitals and doctors can be chosen by the insured. However, in most cases, the coverage for a pre-existing medical condition will be available only after the policy is one year old.

Student policies normally do not extend to spouses. The application formalities are simple, and the coverage can start within 24 hours. No medical examination is required. If eligible, acceptance is ensured. The date the policy becomes operational can be deferred if necessary for up to 60 days and can be kept alive to cover the gap between the completion of studies and employment. The policy would remain effective even if the student drops out after attending full classes for at least 31 days. During travel within the United State and Canada, the policy remains in force. Medical evacuation from other countries in an emergency is usually covered as well.

The benefits of student health insurance coverage are available to citizens of other countries studying in the United States as well, if they meet the eligibility criteria.

The phrase “BUY TERM AND INVEST THE DIFFERENCE” evolves around the concept of term life policy which is a basic protection policy and the endowment/ whole life policy which has protection and investment/saving features. To put it simply, the phrase means that instead of taking up the endowment/whole life policy, an individual should buy a term policy for protection and the difference between the premiums of the two policies is to be invested by the individual himself to earn some dividend on the investment.

To agree with the phrase “Buy Term and Invest the Difference”, one need to have the conviction and will-power to invest the difference in the premium in an investment vehicle that can pay a return higher than that declared by an insurance company. Unfortunately, most of us do not have the capability to achieve the desired return over time. At times, one is lucky to reap a good return from the equity market but this is all short-lived when the downturn occurs, all gains will be wiped out and may even heavy losses.

However, investment-linked life insurance have been pioneered and offered for sale by insurance companies around the world as one way where it is possible to have both protection and investment at the same time. In the United States of America, investment-linked life insurance is known as “variable life insurance”. It was pioneered by the Equitable Life Assurance Society and was offered for sale in 1976. This type of product is recommended if one agrees with the phrase “Buy Term and Invest the Difference”.

Investment-linked life insurance policies offer more flexibility to the policy owners and they can choose when to top up or how much, or on what portion of their policy that is linked directly to investment performance. Considering the wide range of investment tools available, investment-linked insurance products may be linked to stocks and shares, property or real estate, cash deposits, fixed income securities, government bonds, corporate bonds, unit trusts, investment trusts, other life insurance and annuities. Investment-linked funds have been created to suit the client’s various investment objectives, risk-reward profiles and investment preferences.

With several insurers offering a variety of investment-linked insurance products, it is now possible for an insurance policy holder to enjoy protection and at the same time to invest solely in one fund or a combination of funds, subject to certain limitations, such as a minimum of 20% of his investment in each fund selected. An insurance policy holder may switch his investment between funds when his investment objectives change.

As an example, an Income Fund which is managed by a company’s in-house fixed-income investment team comprising individuals with more than 20 years of experience in the financial sector. This fund is suitable for policy owners seeking stability of principal and a higher return compared to bank deposits but with acceptable risk to capital invested. The fund is principally invested in fixed-income securities, treasury products, money market instruments, collective investment schemes, and any other permissible instruments or investments prescribed by the relevant regulatory bodies to provide a steady return to policy owners through accumulation of capital over the long-term.

Without the existence of investment-linked products, one may disagree with the phrase and may not “buy term and invest the difference” but instead to take up a traditional participating life insurance product that provides life protection with an element for investment. The premium may be higher but it leads to wealth creation for the future.