Archive for March, 2008

Protecting Yourself from Uninsured Drivers

Monday, March 31st, 2008

UNINSURED drivers aren’t just a danger to your life and vehicle – they can cause serious damage to your wallet, too.

That’s according to recent findings from the Association of British Insurers, who claim that around a million drivers don’t have insurance. What’s more, as well as costing us lives, damage to vehicles and untold distress, these uninsured drivers are also costing us somewhere in the region of £40 per year on top of our insurance premiums.

While fully comprehensive insurance cover will get your vehicle repaired in the event of an accident caused by an uninsured driver, those repairs don’t come without their costs. If you haven’t paid to protect your no claims bonus, for example, you’ll lose it (meaning a higher insurance premium next year), and you’ll still be liable to the pay the excess on your policy.

Pursuing a compensation claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, meanwhile, may well be successful – but you’ll still have to pay the first £300 of your claim. Honest drivers who dutifully pay out for insurance each year can’t seem to win. Or can they?

Unfortunately there’s little you can do to lower the chances of being involved in an accident with an uninsured driver. You can, however, take steps which will reduce your chances of taking a financial blow as well as a physical one because of it.

1. Take a note of the vehicle registration

Many drivers who know they are driving illegally will try to fob you off with false contact details if you’re unlucky enough to be involved in a collision with them. A car registration number is harder to fake, however, so write it down, and also make a note of the make and model of the vehicle, along with any other identifying details.

2. Ask witnesses for help

Anyone who witnessed your accident may be able to back up your claim against the driver, so take the contact details of any passers-by.

3. Take pictures of the damage

If you happen to have a camera phone or digital camera with you at the time of the collision, so much the better: use it to take comprehensive pictures of the crash scene including both vehicles and registration numbers. If not, take pictures of the damage to your vehicle as soon as you have the opportunity to do so. If you have injuries such a bruising as a result of the collision, photograph this too, using the “date and time” function on your camera (if available) to help prove when the pictures were taken.

4. Protect yourself with a loss recovery policy

By adding a loss-recovery plan to your insurance cover, you’ll protect yourself against uninsured losses, and make sure that your excess is covered in the event of a non-fault claim. Computer Quote Insurance’s policy costs just £12 and includes discounted legal assistance, non-emergency medical treatment and 24 hour message helpline to notify your friends and family of an emergency. Details are available from www.computerquoteinsurance.com/legal_protection

Cheap Insurance - Ten Ways

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

Cheap insurance? Auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, liability insurance - whatever type of insurance you need, you can buy it for less. Try the following:

1. Raise you deductible. Why have a $100 deductible if a $1000 deductible won’t break you? It may hurt to pay the first thousand someday, but what if meanwhile you saved several thousand? High deductibles mean lower rates. Of course, get quotes with various deductibles, to be sure you’re saving enough for the higher risk.

2. Lower your coverage. Insurance agents secretly admit that people usually get sued according to policy limits. You’ll be sued for more if your limit is a million than if it’s a hundred thousand. A judgement beyond the policy limits is a scary thought, but this can happen no matter what your limits are. If you don’t have many assets or much money in the bank, consider lowering your coverage to save money. Get quotes first, of course, to see how much you’ll save.

3. Lower the insurance company’s risk. Using seatbelts, not smoking, and having alarm systems can mean cheap insurance. Ask your agent about any discounts that are available.

4. Use an independent agent. Why limit yourself to one insurance company? Independents can show you the cheapest policy regardless of which company it’s from. Just check a rating service to see if the issuing company is financially solid, especially when buying life insurance.

5. Drop your insurance. The insurance companies will hate me for this one, but consider eliminating some coverages. You need liability coverage on your car, but collision coverage on a $2000 car doesn’t make sense. Invest the money elsewhere, and take the $2000 loss once or twice in your life, or maybe never.

6. Buy stocks instead of insurance. If you and your wife both have good incomes, it probably makes more sense to invest your money than to buy life insurance. If loved ones have enough income or assets, life insurance premiums are usually wasted money.

7. Get rebates. Some states that allows “rebating”. California law, for example, allows agents to rebate part of their commission to you. If you live in a non-rebating stae, find a California company online!

8. Get the legal minimums. If you have no assets to protect, ask for state-mandated minimums on auto liability policies. Most companies give you their higher, more expensive “company minimums” if you don’t push the point.

9. Review your policies. It is common for parents to still pay for health insurance coverage on adult children long after they are working and have their own coverage. See what other unecessary coverages you may be paying for.

10. Get several quotes. For cheap insurance, compare quotes from several companies, and ask about different policy options. One more thing: take notes.

Term Life Insurance

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

If you are thinking about purchasing life insurance, probably the most popular life insurance product is term life insurance. Term life insurance pays a death benefit to the beneficiaries for a set term (period of time). Term life insurance can come in many different terms, usually from one year to thirty years. However the most popular term is for 20 years. Other popular terms are 5, 10, 15, 25 and 30. It should be noted that term life insurance can start at any age, but it usually will end at the age of 80. So if you are 55, the longest term you can purchase is usually 25.

With most term life insurance plans, you pay a set amount at regular intervals throughout the term. The price does not increase and the death benefit does not decrease. This type of term life insurance is called Level Term. There is also a term life product called Decreasing Term. In decreasing term life insurance, the death benefit decreases on a regular schedule, however the payments to the policy stay the same. The overwhelming majority of consumers choose Level Term life insurance.

There is also a product called Renewable Term Life Insurance. Renewable term life insurance means that if you have an existing term life insurance policy, you can renew it at the end of its term without having to get a medical examination. This means that a condition that would disqualify you from term life insurance would not be in affect under a renewable term life insurance policy.

The cost for term life insurance is relatively affordable and is based upon age, health and sometimes on other factors such as if you are a smoker. With most term life insurance, the rate stays the same (level term), however at the end of the term, let’s say a 5 year term, when you renew the policy, you will be charged a new rate based upon your age. Before purchasing a policy, research your policy and ask if the rate will ever change or if the benefit will ever change during the term of the policy.

If you are researching term life insurance, before you purchase a policy, make sure you check out the many resources online that can help you compare and receive current quotes for term life insurance products.

Finding Individual and Family Health Insurance in Virginia, Maryland and The District of Columbia

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Individual health policies are for those who are responsible for their own health insurance expenses. My best recommendation is that you have a Health Insurance Broker licensed in your state assist you make the best decision. The coverage you should choose is determined by your particular needs and those of your family.

Examples of specific considerations:

-Maternity

If your family is young and growing, you will want to consider a policy that includes maternity care from the onset.

-Prescription Plans

Some plans have prescription plans that only cover generic drugs while most do cover preferred brands. It is just good to know what you are going to get.

-Doctor Networks

Check and see if your doctor is included. Typically PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plans provide the most freedom of choice and greater flexibility as compare to HMO (Health Maintenance Organization)

-Preventative Care Packages

If you can opt for a plan that includes a preventative plan without having to first meet a deductible. Preventative Care usually includes Annual Physical, OB/GYN Exams, Mammograms, PSA screening and well child care.

-Dental and Vision are pretty important but do not allow these to disproportionately affect your Major Medical plan decision. If need be get them separately and focus on a health plan that is solid and that meets your needs.

VALUE NOT PRICE

Be diligent, compare plans and comb through the outlines of coverage. My little rule is that the better insurance companies have simple and easy to understand plans as opposed to those that present you volumes of literature and very little coverage.

REGIONS

DC- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PLANS

Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield probably offers the most coverage for the best price in DC. The savings are pretty substantial.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA PLANS

Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield both serve Northern Virginia but their territories do not overlap. They both offer very comprehensive and competitively priced plans. Most Plans include a nice preventative package - Contact your broker to determine which side of the fence you are on. (HMO & PPO) Blue Cross Blue Shield boasts the biggest PPO network in the DC metro area.

Kaiser Permanente (HMO) offer very inclusive and competitive plans in this area too. This company’s plans almost always include maternity for no extra cost.

Golden Rule (United Healthcare) also offers Health Plans in some Northern VA zip codes. Great PPO and HSA plans offered.

MARYLAND PLANS

Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield offers very comprehensive and competitively priced plans. The majority of the Plans include the important preventative package. (HMO & PPO) Blue Cross Blue Shield boasts the biggest PPO network in the DC metro area. Do Consider the Blue Preferred Plan.

Kaiser Permanente (HMO) offer very inclusive and competitive plans in this area too. This company’s plans almost always include maternity for no extra cost. This is indeed a popular company in this state.

Golden Rule (United Healthcare) also offers Health Plans in Maryland. These plans are very competitive and the Network is large. Great PPO and HSA plans offered.

Tips

-Blue Cross Blue Shield Families may realize substantial savings by submitting separate applications for each individual as opposed to a family application. The savings seem to be greatest for a two parent (adult)-one child family especially when there is a notable age difference between the parents (adult)

-Blue Cross will accept domestic partner family applications.

-For BlueCross and Kaiser Permanente Quotes go to RxMom.com

-For Golden Rule Quotes go to GoldenHealthInsurance.com

Florida Health Insurance

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

Florida health insurance that meets your health care needs is very essential. Over the past few years, the cost of Florida health insurance is on the rise. Because of the high cost, the number of uninsured in Florida continues to rise. The state government and certain non-profit organizations in Florida have taken efforts to reduce the cost of health insurance so as to provide medical care to those people who need it most.

Florida health insurance is for individuals as well as groups. It not only protects you, but also provides access to quality heath care services. Health insurance in Florida provides medical coverage to children up to age of 19, pregnant women, self employed individuals, and families. In Florida, the rate for health insurance varies significantly from one insurance company to another. You can save time as well as money by comparing the different health insurance plans in Florida.

In Florida, a wide range of health insurance plans are available to choose from. Most of them provide benefits such as the cost of medicine, prescriptions, doctor visits and hospital stays. The types of health insurance plans available in Florida include individual health insurance, small group health insurance including health savings accounts (HSA) and health reimbursement accounts (HRA); large group health insurance, and temporary health insurance.

To qualify for individual health insurance in Florida, you have to undergo a medical exam. If you qualify for a health insurance plan, then you have to pay the premium, based on your age and medical history. Individual health insurance plan in Florida is cheaper than group health insurance.

Finding an affordable Florida health insurance is time consuming. To find one seek the help of an insurance agent or an insurance broker. There are several websites that help to find the best health insurance plan in Florida. Florida-health-insurance.com and eHealthinsurance.com are some websites. Vista, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc., United Healthcare, and Humana Health Insurance Company are some of the leading companies that offer health insurance in Florida.

Who’s Really the Cheapest?

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

We’ve all seen the advertisements on television. One car insurer after another pops up to tell us they are the cheapest. Some offer the best value for women, some are the cheapest for ’safe’ drivers, and others believe they are the top option for older drivers, while more will reward you for years of ‘no claims’. So how do we find out who is the really the cheapest?

The internet has made shopping around for car insurance a lot easier as you no longer have to wait around on hold with call centres, and many insurers will offer discounts up to 20% if you buy online.

However, when it comes to finding cheap car insurance, you have four broad options:

·Insurance brokers - These utilise their computer systems but can only offer prices from insurers that they have a deal with.

·Direct insurers - They cut out the middleman as no commission is paid to a broker. However, they can only offer their own prices. Direct insurers include the likes of Direct Line, eSure, Admiral, Churchill, Privilege, Norwich Union, Budget, Elephant and Hastings.

·Branded providers - These are established names in other fields that have added insurance to their list of products. As with direct insurers, they can only offer their own products. These include: Tesco, the Post Office, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and Kwik Fit.

·Full search providers - By entering your data a full search provider will offer a list of quotes from brokers, direct insurers and branded providers that fit your needs. This includes www.moneysupermarket.com, which will search more than 50 car insurers instantly.

Premiums vary between providers based on your car, your postcode, the number of years you have without making a claim, and other additional factors. Using a full search provider is the only way to ensure you’re getting the cheapest car insurance quote for your needs.

Student Health Insurance: A Must for Students

Friday, March 21st, 2008

A question might crop up your mind while you hear about Student Health Insurance, why do I need a student health insurance? But you should keep in mind that that no one is invincible. You cannot foresee illness or any other mishaps that might happen to you.

Student health insurance is a must for students especially if you are planning to go abroad for studies or if anyone from outside UK is coming to UK for his/her further studies. Even students who are not covered under their parents’ or guardians’ health insurance plan or have no coverage of their own are encouraged to purchase student health insurance.

Teenagers are vulnerable to various diseases because of their unorganized lifestyles. Late-night parties, fast foods, irregular diets etc are the common problems that surround today’s young generation. These hectic, impulsive lifestyles invite many diseases, which need regular and constant treatment. Here comes the benefit of Student Health Insurance.

Apart from that, students come from all the nook and corners of the world to UK. They come from different climatic conditions. They are therefore susceptible and vulnerable to diseases while residing in UK. This may also happen to students who have gone outside UK for their studies. Without a proper international student health insurance they will be like ships out of water.

No doubt every college has its own health insurance plans, but that may not be sufficient to cater to some serious ailments. Apart from that the NHS (National Health Services) offer free and compulsory treatment to students. But the hassles of waiting in long queues and the unavailability of medical facilities all over UK has made it important for every student to buy a private health care insurance policy.

It is imperative for the students to choose an affordable student health insurance policy for them. Some queries that need to be addressed before buying any policy are:

• What is the maximum I would be covered for?

• How much will this cost?

• What am I not covered for (for example, sports injuries)?

• Are there restrictions on which physicians I can use?

• Do I need a referral to see a specialist?

• What if I get sick or hurt while I’m traveling?

It is also important to do a detailed study of all the quotes available in the insurance market. Almost all the companies now offer on-line facilities. This has made shopping around much easier and cheaper. In the comfort of your home you can access this insurance at a cheaper and an affordable rate.

How Do You Manage Your Health Priorities?

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

Health care and health insurance is one of the most discussed topics across the globe. It is not because of everyone really wanted to discuss this topic. But cost involved with health care and health insurance is too way out of control. We are going to see how best we work this around and find your won way of handling health costs.

You’re won health, your family and friend’s health is one of the very important items in your life compared with most of the other things in this world. If your health is not in a good condition, you can’t do many of the things you wanted to do in your life. It could be anything including sports, education, love, travel etc. Every stage of your life is different and you perform different activities in those different stages. Each of your stage needs specific type of health condition management.

You might have great health insurance coverage and you may think that you are in good shape. You are absolutely wrong. Treating your health after visiting your doctor or hospital is not good. You need to proactively think ahead and keep your health in a good condition. This approach not only keeps you happy in your life, it also saves you a lot.

Let us explore some of the interesting options waiting for you for the following category of the people:

1. With the age range around 20 to 50 badly wanted to reduce their fat

2. With the age range around 20 to 50 wanted maintain their shape and live healthy

3. People wanted to maintain their health but not much concerned about their shape

Whether we carry our wallet or not most of us carry lot of fat with us. People who carry more fat definitely should worry about it. It is not good for you. Burn it please. There are hundreds of ways out there in the world to burn your fat. I would recommend you to looks for the opportunities without drugs, without supplements and without screwing up your metabolism.

Some of us carry only needed fat to be healthy and they thing they have a good health and shape. This is good. But if you don’t maintain it, then it may take over your healthy life easily. You better start your workouts. It is not that hard to do workouts. We lots and lots of suggestions out in the market, you can surely get to it and begin your workouts to manage your health.

Good amount of people live their life healthy as of now and they don’t want to spend time in workout. But still they wanted to maintain their health. Well, this group of people also has greater opportunities out there in the world to explore and manage their health. Calorie Diet is the key words for you. If you can manage your eating, you can manage your health without issues. When you feel you can’t control your diet, fall back to one of the options listed above.

Taking care of your health proactively not only makes your life happier, but also gives you an opportunity to go for a less coverage with your insurance which means less money out of your pocket with the assumption that you may not get sick more often.

General Contractor Liability Insurance

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Normally, it is difficult for general contractors to work without general insurance. General contractor liability insurance is intended to guard operators and owners of companies from claims that may come from a broad spectrum of sources. These exposures could be just about anything, including liability engendered by accidents from the operations of the insured party, contractual liability, products manufactured by the insured party, etc.

The liability you select, whether it is one, two, or three million dollars, determines the cost of general contractor liability insurance. Also factored into the rates the rates are the kind of work undertaken, gross receipts and total payroll expenses. Similar to auto insurance, when it comes to general contractor liability insurance, you will first have to make a down payment and then follow it up with installments. Before buying general contractor liability insurance, it is best to compare the quotes available in the market.

It is the general contractor’s job to make sure that the people working under him are covered by an insurance policy. If for example, a person who is not a part of the project gets injured, the injured person’s lawyer can target just about anyone involved in the project. The more individuals that are involved, the greater the chances of a successful lawsuit.

The General Contractor will have to make sure that all his subcontractors have general liability insurance. If they have the necessary insurance the liability exposure, and the insurance rate, is distinctly reduced. Generally, the subcontractor is not considered an employee; he is an independent worker. So, the contractor is not liable for his subcontractor’s mistakes. Still, a lawyer worth his salt can find ways to charge anybody working on the project with negligence. Thus, liability insurance for everyone becomes imperative.

Major Medical Insurance

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

Medical insurance can be of immense importance to us. One pays premiums to a particular health insurance company so that if the person gets sick or injured, the insurance company would pay for the person. That way, you will not have to pay hundreds, thousands, or even millions of dollars in some cases to treat an ailment that was not foreseen.

The first step for an individual who is enough responsible for taking care of himself is to have a comparative evaluation of medical insurance quotes from a considerable number of medical insurance plan providers. This not only makes an individual aware of the different health and medical insurance plans that these companies have to offer, but helps the individual make informed decisions about the exact kind of medical insurance plans he wants to join.

Medical insurance sometimes fails to give you the monetary support during major health crises like major operations and chronic diseases which are expensive and time-consuming. There are a number of companies in the United States where an individual is provided with medical insurance as a benefit.

Sometimes it may happen that an individual is not able to get medical insurance from their employer. But major medical insurance coverage is available from companies offering easy medical schemes so that the treatment is done without much fuss. Major medical insurance policies are provided with a number of facilities: large networks that include some of the eminent physicians, specialists and hospitals, innovative quality care initiatives and state-of-the-art technology in medical facilities.