Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Auto Insurance

What Should You Look For in an Auto Insurance Company? By Simon Goodman

What is a car insurance? What will an auto insurance cover?
Auto insurance companies cover you and your passengers in the event of an accident. But it is up to you to decide the level of cover you will get.

Will the damages to your property be covered by the company? Will all the passengers be covered or only your family? What if your daughter was driving your car?

What questions should you ask your auto insurance company when it comes to auto insurance? This article help you choose between the various insurance policies.

Types of auto insurance

Liability insurance, or third party insurance.

This is general the lowest form of insurance offered by an auto insurance company. This is the basic insurance, if you are involved in an accident, and it is proven to be your fault, the auto insurance company will pay damages to the other party.

The cover offered by the auto insurance company is usually set beforehand. These are the maximum amount the auto insurance company will pay in case of accident

For example the agent will agree on a $10000 coverage per person, (bodily injury) and/or $40000 coverage in bodily injury and/or $10000 in property damage per accident

You need to confirm with your auto insurance company what they will cover and what are the limits.
You might be offered a very low premium by some auto insurance company only to realize that your cover is minimal and unrealistic.

Collision and comprehensive coverage, comprehensive insurance and full comprehensive insurance

An auto insurance company will also offer you a comprehensive insurance, as the name indicates, you will be comprehensively covered.

In simple terms it means that if you are responsible for a collision the insurance company will pay for the repair of the vehicle.

But it is not so simple, an auto insurance company will almost always have the final say on what amount will be paid out, so if it is cheaper to give you market value for the car, then they will.

You might think that your car is worth $1000.00 but the real market value might be $500.00. This is not an uncommon scenario. So if the repair of your car are more than $500.00 then the auto insurance company will simply pay the book value of the car.

You must make sure that the insurance company is not in control of the market value of the car, normally organisations like the AA will give an impartial market value.

As with the third party insurance, the auto insurance company will almost certainly limit the amount that will be paid out, but in general terms, a comprehensive insurance will have higher limits.

Recreation Vehicle

A recreation vehicle needs its own insurance, a Recreation vehicle insurance is not the same as auto insurance.
You should not assume that because your car is comprehensively insured, so is your recreation vehicle.

Other Types of auto insurance

Medical (MedPay), Persona Injury protection (PIP) and no fault cover

This insurance will cover you and your passengers medical expenses in the event of a collision.
The no fault cover means that the auto insurance company will pay regardless of who is at fault. This give you the piece of mind that, at the very least, your family and friends are covered.

PIP is often a minimum requirement in some countries or states, ask your auto insurance company what the requirements are.

Uninsured/Underinsured motorists' coverage

This cover, (also sometimes a minimum requirement in some states), will cover you if the person at fault is not insured or is underinsured.

You must ask your auto insurance company what you will be charged in case of such a situation. Normally the auto insurance company should not charge you some extra premiums.

Rental reimbursement, towing and labour

Those 'extras' often given with a comprehensive insurance is often use by auto insurance companies as specials.

So in case your car is damaged the auto insurance company will pay for rental costs, (sometimes only for a few days).

The auto insurance company might also offer to pay for the towing of your vehicle, (not always included).
As always you should ask your auto insurance company what is included in the cover.

The legal requirements.

Most states, and most countries will require a certain level of cover, from full comprehensive car insurance to third party auto insurance.

In most cases it is up to you, the driver, to ensure that your auto insurance company offers you the minimum required. In most cases the insurance company, (the auto insurance company), is under no obligation to instruct you of the requirements.

But of course, a good auto insurance company will, (should?), try its outmost to advise you on the best deal for you.

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Sunday, April 11, 2010

Insurance Companies

Best Term Life Insurance Rate   By Paul Lilley

With a tougher economy people are looking for more ways to save money on the things they have to buy to protect their family. One area to look at is to find the best term life insurance rate they can. Term insurance rates are actually the cheapest form of life insurance, but there are different rates for different peoples. Some of the factors that influence your term life insurance rate are: Tobacco users are twice as likely to die as non tobacco users while they are insured. Life insurance companies take this into account when they set their premium and cash benefits levels. In the case of heart disease, you will get a policy but your rates will be high. If you work in a risky occupation, such as working on a ship that carries gas, this will put you into a higher bracket when it comes to getting rates for term insurance. You will have to shop around to compare term life insurance quotes if you are in any of these categories. Your health, job, and habits are the biggest factors in what you will pay in term life insurance rates.

Other factors that decide the best term insurance rates will be the size of the policy. One question most people have is what size policy do I need? Most experts agree that buying a term life insurance policy which amounts to 7 to 10 times your yearly income is about right. Subtract from that amount any social security benefits and assets you have and that will be a good indicator what size policy you should consider. Some would wonder why waiting is not a good way to save money also. The biggest issue with waiting any longer is what ways you can become uninsurable. If you are in good health, now is the time to buy. The moment you receive a diagnoses that would determine your life could be shortened by a sickness or condition you no longer own the right to buy this much needed benefit at a cheap rate or maybe not at all.

Remember many people do not know that the rates for life insurance have declined a great deal over the last decade with better medical services being put into play. Everyone is living longer on and average but that is no guarantee you will. Do not be fooled by having a term life insurance policy as part of the benefits at your job. Sometimes those rates are higher then what you would normally pay because it is a group policy covering smokers and people with lower levels of insurability due to health issues. They win with getting coverage, you lose on the rate you are paying. Another thing to remember is if you change jobs or are laid-off that does not stop your obligations. Having term life insurance rate policy already in place makes sure you have the coverage you need and the cheapest rate available so you don't have to drop the policy if your income is lowered for a period of time.

Term life insurance is where real value is in life insurance but the next question is where do you save the most in shopping for the best term life insurance rate? There is a possibility down the road that there will be increases in policy rates. This is a contradiction to what I wrote earlier but the reason for this is financial strength of the companies offering insurance not a decline in health. So now is the time to save the most. Remember a one year term policy is the cheapest rate in the short run but buy the coverage for the correct time length and you will save the most. You could consider your local big famous insurance company agent for the quotes on a term life insurance policy but remember they are usually a captive agent. This means they have a limited amount of flexibility in products they offer and they have to offer the policy of the company they work for first. That's the company that pays their bills and it may not be the best one for you or the cheapest.

You could also look to a so called "independent agent" but sometimes this agent is controlled by the size of the commission offered by a company rather then what is best for you. These are not always the case in both the above scenarios but how much time and effort do they take from you if they occur. There are people who have spent years in the wrong policy spending more then they should dealing with the wrong person. The only option that is the most comprehensive in scope and the most comfortable in nature for you the consumer is getting your term life insurance quotes online. Today in the privacy of your home without having to deal with a sales pitch you can choose the right policy for your needs. The best way to find the best term life insurance rate is through a web site that offers you privacy and choices and from there you can make the best financial decisions for the financial protection your family deserves.