Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Some Important Insurance Coverage Concepts You Should Know

Coverage and Limits:
• Liability: Any type of insurance policy that protects an individual or business from the risk that they may be sued and held legally liable for something such as malpractice, injury or negligence. Liability insurance policies cover both legal costs and any legal payouts for which the insured would be responsible if found legally liable. Intentional damage and contractual liabilities are typically not covered in these types of policies.
• Bodily Injury: Damages to third party when insured is at fault: Medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and other results of the physical harm incurred.
• Property Damage: Physical injury to tangible property (third party) when insured is at fault: including loss of use of such property. This coverage is mandatory in the state of Florida. (Damages to another vehicle, house, electrical poles, a fence, etc.).
• Medical Payments: Pays expenses incurred for necessary medical and funeral services to persons injured by accident, without regard to fault or legal liabilities.
• Uninsured Motorists: This coverage is a form of coverage to pay compensatory damages for bodily injuries, under one's own policy, for amounts which would otherwise have been recovered from the liability insurance of another (when the injured is NOT at fault). Uninsured Motorists is not intended to duplicate payments otherwise available.
• Stacked or Non-Stacked: Stacked coverage means the coverage limits provided for two or more vehicles are added together to determining the limit of insurance coverage available to an injured person in any one accident; while the Non-Stacked is available to a person injured while occupying a motor vehicle is only the limit applicable to that motor vehicle.
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Personal injury protection (PIP) can cover expenses related to injuries you sustained in a covered accident. These expenses can include medical and hospital bills as well as expenses not covered by your health insurance. Coverage will vary depending on the state you live in, and it can be a great supplement to your health insurance.
>> The law requires that PIP insurance be carried by the owners of motor vehicles, and imposes penalties for failing to do so.
• Comprehensive: Cover the damages to the insured's vehicle for Other than Collision like: fire, theft, vandalism, falling objects (hail), explosion, windstorm, flood, contact with animal or bird, breakage of glass.
• Collision: Upset (overturn) or impact with another object.
Eligibility:
• Eligible types are a private passenger auto and a pickup or van that has a Gross Vehicle Weight of less than 10,000 pounds and is not used for work. The eligible vehicle may either be owned by the insured or long-term leased for a period of six month or more.
Insured:
• To insure the vehicle under a Personal Auto Policy, the vehicle must be registered under a person's name; not all insurance companies accept vehicles under a corporation's name under a Personal Auto Policy.
• For some companies the insured must be registered owner(s) of the vehicle, and the policy cannot be written under one of the driver's name.
Rating:
• Determined by the address (zip code) where the vehicle is garaged.
• If there is more than one vehicle on the policy, they can be rated in different territories depending on the garage address. i.e.: Students away to college.
Driver Classification:
• The age, sex, and marital status of the operators, and how much they drive the vehicle(s) determine the driver classification.
• Rates are highest when the principal operator is a youthful unmarried male and lowest when they are no youthful operators.
• All drivers of the household have to be listed on the policy and are considered to rate it; or they can be excluded, but a premium will be charged.
Driving Record:
• Points are assigned for at fault accidents and major (serious) traffic violations during a prior three year period. Points are counted different then in the Driver License.
• Drivers with their License Under Suspension are not acceptable by some companies, and a License with Suspension (already Reinstated) are also considered to determine the premium of the policy. They lose the entire safe driver discount.

The Importance of Life Insurance

When we are young, we think that we are invincible. Because we think we are invincible we don't think too much about what would happen after our passing. If you have a family you need to be thinking about what would happen if you suddenly passed away, even if you are young and you assume that you will live to an old age. This is what life insurance is for. While most of us don't like to think about our death, we should all think ahead in think about how we can ensure that the people we love will be able to continue to live the lifestyle to which they are accustomed even after our passing.
Life insurance is like all types of insurance, you pay for it and hoping that you will never need to use it. While you don't plan to have to use it anytime soon, it is a nice safety net to have in the event that you did pass suddenly. The idea is that you will pay life insurance premiums over the course of your life. This will allow you to have a sum of money that will be available to your beneficiary. The purpose of the money will be to pay for any end-of-life expenses such as the funeral, as well take care of any debt that you may have in your name. Many people also like to take it a step further and ensure that they have enough coverage for their loved ones to make housing payments and continue to live in the way that they have been. This is especially important if you are the main provider for your household.
Life insurance is particularly valuable for those who have children. When you have children, you need to think about how they will be taking care of over the course of their life. While most parents hope to be alive to see their children into adulthood, accidents happen. Life insurance will be there with an accident happens. It will be funding that will allow your spouse to be able to continue to care for your children even in your absence.
Because we never know what is going to happen tomorrow, it is better to take the time today to plan for what could happen. Life insurance is available in many different types and you can choose how much life insurance you would like to buy. If you have older children that will not require a spouse to care for them through childhood into adulthood, you can choose to have a less life insurance. You can choose just to have a policy that will cover basic end-of-life expenses. If you want to ensure that your spouse or your children will be comfortable even upon your passing in terms of finances, you can elect to have tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in life insurance coverage.
Planning ahead today will give you peace of mind for tomorrow. No one likes to think about their desk, but thinking about it now and applying those thought to life insurance, will help to ensure that even upon your passing yourself and your children will be well taken care of. It is worth the time and consideration now as it will be an invaluable asset in the event of your death.

Sale Your Way to Financial Success

It is possible to sale your way to financial success. That is the good news.
It is highly improbable you will sale your way to financial success. That is the real news.
Why would I say it's "highly improbable". you will sale your way to financial success? Because the way most sales programs are set up through insurance companies a new agent has to break free from the pack in order to find financial success.
Let me explain. Almost every company has some type of training in place. This is essential to being successful. However, if all an agent needed was to be trained, then companies would be filled with productive agents. However that is not the truth. No matter what you chosen field of endeavor, you will need a lot more than training if you want to become a star in your career.
Common misconceptions to finding financial success as an agent include;
1) All you need to do is memorize and deliver our sales presentation- there is a lot of truth to that but each client you meet is different. You must be flexible enough to adapt your presentation to meet your clients needs. This thought that every situation requires the same presentation will cause a new agent to fail.
2) If you fail, it's because you are not following our system - this is a very arrogant statement. It assumes that the system in place is foolproof. Anyone who has watched what has happened to big businesses over the years can tell you otherwise. Ask Enron, Circuit City and Lehman Brothers if doing things in the way they worked before has worked out for them.
3) Many companies have not entered into the 21st century - companies have to change if they hope to be successful. Some companies don't have their presentations on laptops or IPads, they still use paper sheets to figure rates and insist on using one method to get new clients. Clearly over 50% of the population searches for insurance online and if you fail to have a presence there, you are missing the boat.
4) Most sales trainers don't produce productive agents -lastly, the way to tell if your trainer is any good is to see how many productive agents they have produced. If you are not able to sale at a consistent high level yourself how can you reproduce that in other agents. Trainers must be able to show new agents how to get off to a fast start and make money as fast as possible.
Take control over your sales career. Don't allow anyone or anything to stand in the way of your dream of becoming a productive agent. Become an agent that cares for his clients.

Personal Accident Policies

We are always told that accidents happen, there is nothing we can do about it, and it's simply something we have to deal with as a part and parcel of our existence. Do we know for sure if it will ever affect us? No. If we do meet with an accident do we know how it will affect our lives? We cannot. So what can we do in the face of all these variables? We can ensure our families future by obtaining a personal accident insurance policy.
What is personal accident insurance you ask? Like most other insurance policies it is an agreement that is reached by two parties, the insurer and the insured, where the insurance provider or insurer, agrees to provide the insured or his family with financial compensation. In the case of accidental insurance, this recompense is offered in case the eventuality that the insured passes away or is permanently disabled due to an accident by external and visible means.
There are different kinds of personal accident policies that are offered by a number of financial institutions and insurance firms. One type of policy is to provide the insured with cash to cover the expense of medical treatments caused by an accident. In some the cases it may even cover the cost of the period you are unable to go to work, thus allowing a normal environment at home. A number of policies also cover death caused by accident. This means that in the event that the accident causes the death of the insured, his beneficiaries would receive the pre-arranged sum. The third and final policy available is for disability caused by an accident. Here, if the insured is rendered unable to continue a job due to a disability caused by an accident, then the policy will provide him with a certain amount of his insurance amount every month as a kind of income.
As always, there are terms and conditions that need to be read before applying for and beginning to pay the premiums. What must be kept in mind is that while everyone applies for life insurance and health insurance, they do not consider the fact that there are certain accidents and events that these policies will not cover. So, take a look at your current situation and see if there are any eventualities that you need to protect yourself and your family from. You can check policy as per you and your family needs and then only select a particular plan.

Things To Avoid When Taking Out A Life Insurance Policy

A life insurance policy serves as a means of providing for your family a livelihood after your passing. It is also there to settle most of your debt should you have any at the time of your death. The insurance companies have rules in place that would ensure that the moneys they pay out are for a legitimate reason. It would therefore be to your advantage to avoid certain things when you take out a policy.
It is often necessary to consult with a broker to get the best deal for your life insurance. He or she can guide you around the potholes to give you the best options. There are some things to avoid when you apply for insurance. A focal point that you should look at, to avoid, is what the life insurance would and would not cover. Insurance cover is there as a means to ensure financial security for family members, especially. Strict rules therefore apply to the cover that the insurance company would allow for you to have.
In most countries, it is unacceptable to participate in a dangerous lifestyle if you want to take out a life insurance policy. These include:
  • Dangerous activity: Dangerous activity deals with the many different types of extreme sport. The participation in this type of activity would put you in harms way and could result in death. The death would not be a natural death, and this makes it difficult for the insurer to insure your life.
  • A Dangerous Job: Another thing to avoid when applying for life insurance is to work in a high-risk environment. Such workplaces often provide what is called worker's compensation and you do not necessarily need an independent life insurance. However, if you do want to have extra insurance, you will pay more on your premiums.
  • Another most important thing to avoid when taking out a life insurance policy is to avoid lifestyle choices such as smoking, heavy drinking, being overweight and unfit. Smoking is considered a vehicle to illnesses such as cancer, emphysema, and other physical ailments. The insurance company would therefore think twice before allowing you to have cover, as it would be costly to them should you become ill. The same applies to any other type of negative aspect that could cause damage to your physical body. Again, it is possible to get the life insurance, but it will be at great cost to you.
It is important to always keep in mind what things to avoid when taking out an insurance policy. Just a few of these are mentioned here. These are, a dangerous job or activity, and lifestyle choices such as smoking. However, you are able to get the insurance at a higher premium. At the same time, should these circumstances change in any way, such as a healthier lifestyle, a reassessment could allow the premiums of the life insurance to be lowered.

4 Ways to Tailor Holiday Cover to Suit You

The highlight of a holiday is never insurance! In the middle of all the frenetic yet eager planning, no one gleans great joy from plotting the numbers and filling the forms required to build ideal protection against possible mishaps.
Yet these days there is a great deal of freedom in this process, and while this by no means wins you any thrills, it can please you when you are spoilt for choice. It is important when faced with such choice to, of course, choose wisely, and to know how exactly to mould and shape your options to insure yourself and your trip in a fitting fashion.
Family versus singles insurance
On of the first decisions to be made when wading through the options available for holiday cover is whether you will need a family package or if you will insure individuals. It can seem an easy choice based on if you will travel as a family or as an individual. But when you travel with extended family, or as a couple, or with friends, you will need to work out which type of insurance suits your needs best. These days, solid providers pride themselves on adjusting the scope of insurance to match your needs.
Short-trip versus repeat travel insurance
The next option worth considering is based on duration and frequency. Your holiday cover should take into consideration whether or not you will travel many times over the course of the year, if you will travel for long periods at once or if you intend only to take one simple and short trip. There is no need to pay unnecessary insurance or spend on extravagant premiums when good providers allow you to tailor your plan to suit the exact quantity of time you will spend away from home.
Standard insurance versus the extras
Many people prefer the bread and butter version of holiday cover. Eschewing the bells and whistles, this insurance focuses on protection against the common mishaps and ailments that can befall travellers. But these days, the extras are quite often more than just frills and decorative incentives: 24-hour emergency call services, kids' protection, golf and cruise protection, and protection against acts of terror can be genuinely useful bonuses that are often added for very little cost.
Simple quotes and payments online
As mentioned, there is no delight in planning your holiday cover, so simplicity is key. This is why it is important to consider quote and payment options. Many top budget travel insurance companies not only give you a fine range of options for plans and extras, but also allow you to do your paperwork and assessment online. The ability to get simple quotes, online medical assessment and pay via the web makes the entire process so much easier to manage.

How To Save Time When Taking Out A Life Insurance Policy

There are many ways that you could use to save time when taking out a life insurance policy. It would also depend on the type of policy in which you would invest. Whichever one you choose, the point is that it runs for a period. Some of these are: a term life policy or a whole-of-life policy. The term life policy would ensure that you get some money out of the deal before you die. It usually has a period of five, ten or fifteen years. The whole-of-life policy that will pay out at any time you pass on. However, there is always a need for a life insurance policy.
You need to find the right tools to make your life insurance policy a possibility. How do you save time when taking out a life policy? Some of the tools you could make use of are:
  1. The many websites that would gather information for you from various sites and compile the information so that you can compare it.
  2. These sites are able to calculate your insurance cost and cover for you, as well as your premiums. You would also be able to see what cover you would be able to get for the premium you would be paying.
  3. You need to consider what kind of life policy it would be: a term life policy or a whole-of-life policy.
Following ways to ensure that you save time when taking out a life insurance policy, is vital. Some of the ways that you could do this is to do the following:
  1. Ensure that you get quotes from as many places as you can. These include banks (especially if you already have a mortgage in place), comparison sites, and other existing lenders with which you already have policies, brokers, or independent financial advisers.
  2. Make sure that you read the fine print, so that you have all the information on what is enclosed in the policy.
  3. Do not create time wasting opportunities. An example would be to lie regarding your medical fitness. If you do have something to declare, you will save yourself and your family great deal of time when it comes to the pay out of the policy. More importantly, it will save you time lost should they find out that you have an ailment or that you have been smoking.
  4. Check your existing documentation, as this will indicate whether you already have life insurance cover. It would therefore be a waste of time and money if you look for and take out more insurance.
  5. Make use of the thirty day cooling off period, in order to make doubly sure that you are making the right decision.
A vital aspect of life insurance, though, is that you should ensure that you keep it up to date. You might want to check what the value of your cover would be should pay out, and add to it at that point.