Boat Insurance - which one for you?

You might not have realised it, but boat insurance is the oldest kind of insurance there is. People have been insuring their boats since the 17th century, and over time a number of standards have arisen. The chances are, though, that you’re probably much more familiar with car insurance – so the good news is that car insurance and boat insurance are actually very similar.

Basically, there are three situations you can be insured against: your boat (or its cargo) being damaged, your boat sinking, and your boat hitting another. Although few countries make it a requirement that your boat must be insured (considering how many boats sail in international waters), you would be very wise to at least buy the third party insurance, in case you hit a boat that is very much more valuable than your own. You will probably find it quite unnecessary to insure your boat against total loss unless it is very valuable – it is mainly practical for large ships, and especially for ones carrying valuable cargo.

As with car insurance, policies come with an excess to discourage small claims – for boat insurance, this is usually quite a large sum of money, as the intention of the insurance is to cover you against substantial losses instead of just scratches and dents.

There are also a few kinds of insurance you can buy that are unique to boating, although it is unlikely that you will ever find yourself in need of them. If you get Increased Value insurance, your policy will pay out at your boat’s market value if it is more than the amount you insured it for – only useful if you expect your boat to go up in value. Finally, if you’re thinking of sailing into a warzone, you might want to get war risk insurance. Of course, you might also want to get your head checked out, if you know what I mean.

Affordable Dental Insurance

Medical treatment – both health and dental – is extremely expensive and the best possible option in the given scenario is to buy both health and dental insurance. Compare the two and you will find that dental insurance is more affordable and cheaper than health insurance.

This is because dental insurance is designed to provide preventive care and this, by and large, eliminates chances of major problems. Unlike health insurance, whereby plans need to cover expensive tests, multiple treatments, and dangerous diseases, dental insurance covers diseases that are preventive by nature and even if treatment becomes essential, the diagnostic tests require little more than x-rays, and a thorough examination by the dentist.

Family dental insurance also makes economic sense. People will find that in any family, there will be members who have required dental treatment at some time or the other. It can be children who require their cavities to be filled or the older generation requiring root canal treatment. If nothing else, regular visits to the dentist are an answer to keeping teeth in good condition, be it cases of bleeding gums or teeth requiring topical fluoride treatment. Routine check-ups can prove to be affordable, if covered by dental plans. Otherwise, a visit to a dentist, apart from being a painful experience, can also end up digging a deep hole in the pocket.

People can afford dental insurance at reduced rates if they choose to buy PPO plans, or preferred provider organization plans. The only thing they have to sacrifice here is the freedom of choice. This means that as for as the freedom of choosing a dentist is concerned, they will have to choose a dentist who is listed in the plan’s network. People should weigh the benefits offered carefully and, given the affordable nature of the plan, they may consider this price too little a sacrifice as compared to the advantages.

Dipping into your State Health Insurance Pool - What Are The Requirements?

State health insurance is a branch of health insurance that is for high-risk individuals with chronic and/or pre-existing conditions. Most common diseases to see on this type of insurance are HIV, AIDS, kidney disease, obesity, and diabetes. This high-risk pool is designed to act as a safety net to offer some form of insurance to these people but for a hefty premium. This program has fewer participants due to the cost. This plan is not low-income friendly. Rates can be as much as double what the normal market value for health insurance is. The pool does tend to offer better benefits but is definitely geared to those people that truly afford insurance. So, most people who fall under this category and require this type of plan are likely to be uninsured due to not being able to afford a plan. This plan is last resort for persons with such illnesses that land them for emergency or hospital care frequently, and it that case pays for itself quickly. Some of the few persons who cannot afford this are lucky enough to have a spouse in the work place that is able to add them to their policy from their employer, these plans cannot discriminate due to chronic or long-term illnesses. The State Health Insurance Pool knows its rates are high, and claims so are medical costs for the chronically ill. They have to charge more to be able to get ahead and stay afloat.

Most risk pools are nonprofit associations ran by the state. Usually they do not use taxes to operate their business. Most persons requiring this type of service usually are filling up the gap in cost of what their normal plan won't cover or is a temporary pit stop till they can find a plan that accepts them at a lower cost. The people who qualify for this type of coverage must be a resident of the state they are applying in. Most states require you live there for at least six months and some up to one full year before reaching residency status. You also need one of several possible documents from other insurance companies. You will need proof of rejection from at least one company denying them benefits similar to the ones being asked for. You can use proof of insurance with a higher premium as well. You may also be eligible if you can show proof of insurance with a rider or rated policy. Any of the above mentioned could get you approved to apply for the risk pool in the state you reside in. A reciprocity agreement is when a person who is eligible for the plan and is currently on a similar plan, met the waiting period quota, and not used up the lifetime maximum benefits can still be eligible if they move to another state after they meet the residency requirement. Not all states, but most, have this agreement included into their plan.

There is a list of those who are not eligible in the high-risk pool besides non-residents. You are no longer eligible if you move to another state but if you have a reciprocity agreement, you can become eligible in the state you now reside after residency has been established. Most people who are eligible or receive Medicaid or Medicare are also not eligible. Many states do have a high-risk plan for Medicare eligible persons, but if you receive or could receive Medicaid than you don't qualify. If a person has terminated their coverage in another plan and less than 132 months have passed they are not eligible for the pool till that time is up. Those who have used their maximum lifetime benefits for their plan are also not qualifying. Inmates of a public institution are also not eligible for the risk pool. Other specific exclusions can include state decided specific diseases or medical conditions that they just don't want to cover. An enrollment cap may also be in affect so only a specific amount of persons may be actively enrolled at any given point of time. All other applicants who are eligible will be placed on a waiting list till there is an opening. There seem to be a higher list of those who don't qualify then who do for this high-risk benefit that costs an arm and a leg anyway.

Americans Without Health Insurance Have New, Affordable Options

More and more Americans are going without health insurance because they can't afford it. But there is a solution. New health insurance portfolios are available that are specially designed to help meet the national need for affordable coverage for individuals and employees of small businesses.

This is good news for many Americans who often cannot afford to purchase health insurance for themselves or whose employers do not offer insurance. This includes individuals who are self-employed; those who are employed by a small business or who run a small business; and individuals in other circumstances that require them to buy their own health insurance.

"More than 45 million Americans fall into one of these categories. Many of these people are uninsured or are struggling to afford the traditional plans that insurance companies typically offer," says Melissa Crawford, senior vice president, Physicians Mutual.

The company bundles together existing and new products to provide an Integrated Health Portfolio (IHP) with a variety of choices and price points.

The IHP offers a choice of benefits, including coverage for:

• Doctor's office visits

• Preventive care

• Hospital stays

• Surgeries

• Catastrophic major medical

• Outpatient treatment.

"This portfolio of products is designed for middle-income Americans for whom the only choice has been major medical plans with high deductibles-$5,000, for example. That's too much for them to absorb out of pocket," Crawford says. "They're looking for a plan that pays a portion of everyday health care costs such as doctor's visits, childhood immunizations, and screenings like mammograms and prostate cancer tests. They also need prescription drug and vision discounts.

"We have options with no deductible to meet, so policyowners receive benefits the first time they have a covered medical expense," Crawford says. "There are also no lifetime maximums on this type of policy."

Crawford points out that individuals and small-business owners usually do not have benefits managers who can talk them through their insurance options. The health portfolio offers a needs assessment to help customers determine which insurance products are right for them.

Physicians Mutual Insurance Company and Physicians Life Insurance Company, a member of the Physicians Mutual family, provide a full portfolio of health and life insurance products, as well as financial products. Both companies consistently receive high grades from independent insurance analysts.

Can You Afford Not To Have Health Insurance?

Many people think the best way to get health insurance coverage is simply to get the most complete coverage one can afford. This is, to some extent true, and if you have a lot of liquid resources it is a good idea to get a comprehensive individual health insurance plan that includes everything from a small deductible for hospital visits to full dental and vision coverage. However, if you are on a very tight budget, you may want to consider getting a smaller plan than you can afford and paying for some of your medical expenses out of pocket.

If you are juggling several different prescriptions that are costly to fill and refill, or that require frequent check ups with your doctor to make sure that you have the right dosage, it is important to get a full health plan. However, if you are looking for ways to economize on your health costs, it may make sense not to get such a comprehensive plan. If you don’t have any dependents and don’t need to make regular hospital visits for any reason, consider whether you really need a full health insurance plan that gives you complete coverage. Paying more than you need for health insurance can be a heavy financial burden, so it is worth thinking creatively and realistically about what you really need and if it is possible to get the care you require without shelling out a large monthly payment to a health insurance provider.

Many people find that through a combination of free clinics and minimal health insurance coverage, they are able to get by spending much less money than they would pay for comprehensive health insurance. It is still a smart idea to have coverage that will help alleviate the financial burden if you suddenly develop a condition or meet with an injury that requires emergency care. However, it is a good idea to look into what kinds of plans are available, as one of the many plans designed specifically to give you emergency coverage may be a much better choice than a plan that will leave you generally well insured.

It is never a good idea to gamble with your health care, so make sure that you if don’t opt for the maximum amount of insurance that you can afford, that you have a plan for how to meet any medical expenses that may arise. Think about other ways that you can designate money for your health care needs, such as starting a savings account where you store away the money you would be paying for insurance every month. This will help you make sure that you are prepared for anything. Don’t forgo coverage entirely though. At the very least purchase a high deductible plan that will cover you in the case of a serious illness or injury. Otherwise one serious illness or injury could wipe you out financially.

Big Changes On The Horizon For Critical Illness Insurance.

In recent years sales of critical illness insurance have flagged. The primary cause is the huge 70% increase in premiums experienced during recent years. For many, critical illness insurance has simply priced itself out of the market.

It's not that critical illness insurance is a bad idea. After all it pays out a lump sum if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the many critical illnesses listed on the policy and the policyholder survives at least 28 days from diagnosis. (Note: some policies have a 14 day survival period.) Most policies have a huge list of insured illnesses although about 60% of claims are for cancer – not surprising, as 1 in every 3 people will develop cancer sometime in their lifetime. In fact when you look at the concept of Critical illness insurance you can easily make a case that everyone living on earned income should have a policy. It's designed to give you a pot of capital to live on if serious illness prevents you from working normally.

Premiums have increased dramatically because medical advances have meant that many illnesses that proved fatal in the past are becoming quicker to detect and easier to treat. Hence insurance companies have found themselves paying out earlier on claims and on illnesses which are not necessarily debilitating - which was the original purpose of critical illness insurance.

To give you a better idea of the sort of illnesses we're talking about, here's a typical list:

Alzheimer's Disease

Aorta Graft surgery

Bacterial Meningitis

Blindness

Brain Tumour

Cancer

CJD

Coma

Coronary Artery by-pass surgery

Coronary Artery Angioplasty

Deafness

Heart attack

Heart Valve replacement/repair

HIV/AIDS resulting from blood transfusion

Inability to perform your duties of occupation

Kidney failure

Leukaemia

Loss of limbs

Loss of speech

Major organ transplant

Motor Neuron diseases

Multiple Sclerosis

Occupational HIV/AIDS

Paralysis

Paraplegia

Parkinson's disease

Stroke

Third Degree burns

Any illness that results in Total and Permanent disability

Insurance companies have at last realised that they're not going to get anywhere marketing policies that people can't or won't afford, and where the companies can't afford to lower prices. So it now looks as if insurers such as Scottish Widows are considering a break through – splitting the cover so that the prospective policyholder can specify which illnesses he or she wants to insure against. It's a form of “menu pricing” – cover for each illness would have a price and you simply select which illnesses you want to insure against.

Whether such insurance proves popular will very much depend on the cost. For example, if cancer accounts for around 60% of current claims, you'd expect the premium for covering cancer alone to be about 40% cheaper than a full strength critical illness policy. We'll have to wait and see.

If you're interested to find out how much a standard critical illness policy would cost you, you'll find it cheapest on the Internet. The best sites to look out for are the independent discounting brokers who deal with all the big insurance providers. These brokers can search the whole market for you, come up with the cheapest insurer, and discount their price. Try to use a broker who'll also give you personal advice on the phone as some policies do vary in the scope of their cover.

Auto Insurance Black Box Technology Meets Your Darkest Fears

Back in the days before computers, auto insurance was personal and subjective. The insurance agent actually talked to the man he knew in the main office, called in a few favors, and got their best customers the best rates. Male drivers under 25 were charged a lot. Young females, being perceived as less risk, were charged much less.

Now, in the computer age, auto insurance companies have large databases of accident and claims records. By number-crunching these records they can tell what type of person is more likely to be a good driver and what type of person is more likely to be an accident risk. This ‘Black Box’ technology gives them insights into the background and behavior of the people who they think should pay more for their auto insurance. For example, people who carry minimum limits of liability are actually a greater risk than those who carry at least 50/100 ($50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident). And statistics have shown that those with bad credit scores are more likely to be involved in accidents.

In Texas, the minimum liability limit on auto insurance is 20/40. Yep. $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident. Not much is it? And if that weren't bad enough, the minimum property damage is $15,000. Guess who makes up the difference if you're in an accident that's your fault?

In most states, auto insurance is regulated by the state. But that is only the beginning. The state uses tables of 'loss ratios', exposure, and other conjuring words, to justify what the auto insurance companies want you to pay. Every once in a while, just to throw you off, they will even announce a state-wide REDUCTION in auto rates. When they do, hold onto your wallet!

After the state sets the base rate, the individual companies negotiate with them to adjust their particular rates, claiming either a better or worse loss ratio than average. So, after the elections are over, the legislature allows exceptions, amendments, and endorsements to jack them back up to something the auto insurance companies can make a ton of money from.

And there’s more. Most states allow individual companies to set their own rules to determine who gets charged what. So, one auto insurance company rates a particular driver one way, while another company rates the same driver differently. Each company sets those underwriting rules.

So how are auto insurance rates determined? First, the state usually gets involved. Then companies toss the dice between staying competitive and making as much profit as they can for their stockholders. And finally, now that the 'Black Box' is here, auto insurance companies are taking a closer look at every driver. Career, credit score, past record, even the city you live in helps 'drive' the rates. They have even found that those who select low limits of liability are greater risks than those who select higher limits. So, by raising your liability limits, you may actually lower your auto insurance rate.

For some, the new 'Black Box' technology reduces rates by as much as 20% over those companies not using it. The bad news is, since credit scoring does play a part in ALL auto insurance rating, the worse your credit score, the higher your auto insurance will go. No more 'discounts', no more 'loyal customer' credits, and the like. You will be rated right down to your underwear, placed in a group of drivers almost identical to you, and charged accordingly.

Auto Coverage Analyzer

Buying a car means taking a well thought out decision. However, sometimes taking a well-thought, wise decision gets difficult. This is even more so, when it involves a big investment decision like buying car and insuring it. One wrong decision and you might end up in a financial soup. Once you have already bought a car or you have owned a car for sometime now, it is time for getting it insured.

Factors

Now, when we come to think of car or for that matter any auto insurance there are quite a few factors that have to be considered before settling for a particular market offer. Analyzing these factors would determine which auto insurance policy suits your needs the best. Or else you might end up paying too high premium or not taking enough coverage for your automobile. First of all one has to consider what is the purpose of owning it. Whether it is for personal use, used as public transport such as private taxi, or used in transportation of heavy duty or light duty industrial goods or is it put to some other use. Age is also a major consideration. Old vehicles have to pay higher premium as compared to the new one. Type and model of the vehicle also play a major role. Like wise there are N number of factors that need to be checked out.

Getting The Right Insurance

When you buy auto insurance online there are large numbers of sites that offer auto insurance on each site there are quite a few number of market offers. This makes online shopping for the right kind of auto insurance a tedious task. However, there are some sites that provide automated tools that assist you in determining what kind of auto insurance would work the best for you and how much coverage do you need. These tools or auto coverage analyzer can go a long way in helping you save a whole lot of money on auto insurance.

Wrong auto insurance would leave you paying amounts that are too high and paying extra for coverage you may not need. On the other hand, if you choose amounts that are too low, you risk being uncovered in case of an accident. Thus, whether you're shopping for new auto insurance or renewing your existing policy, Auto Coverage Analyzer can help you make the right coverage choices. All you have to do is answer a few question about your financial standings and your automobile conditions, price tag, coverage needs etc and the auto coverage analyzer would automatically generate coverage category wise auto policy value recommendations and explanation as to why is it needed.

Alternative Low Cost Health Insurance - Staying On Top Of It

Some things in life are taken for granted and the privilege of having health insurance may be one of them. Employers have to give their employees some kind of benefit program in their overall compensation package. The employee expects it and enjoys the security of having good health insurance. Everything changes when the employee leaves the employer. Insurance decisions have to be made. No one can escape from this process. The employee soon finds the cost to continue the insurance to be much more than expected and they start scrambling for alternatives. Are there alternatives? What can be done to reduce the cost?

There has been a major shift in thinking by the insurance buying public over alternatives to lowering the cost of health insurance. Low deductibles are a thing of the past. It has taken some time to change the thinking about having low deductibles. Low deductibles mean less out of pocket expense. It works the opposite in today’s market for health insurance. The premiums paid for lower deductibles are so high that it no longer makes sense to have them. The higher deductibles reduce the premium dramatically. There are deductibles as large as $5000 in some health insurance plans.

Two Alternatives

1. Take the highest deductible that you can afford. This is called self-insuring. You are insuring yourself for the deductible amount in exchange for a lower premium.

2. Start a Health Savings Account. This is a savings account that is used for medical expenses only. This is a fantastic way of putting money aside for the out of pocket deductible amount and any additional medical expense. The best part about it is that the health savings account is tax deductible. See your tax advisor or accountant on how to set up this plan.

Insurance is a great place to start to lower your monthly bills. We hope that this will help you analyze your next quote. Please refer to our recommended source for insurance quotes of all types.

Affordable Car Insurance – What To Do To Keep The Rates Down

utomobile insurance is one of those things in the budget that is always going to be there. There are very few places in America that permit you to drive vehicles without insurance and so it behooves each and every one of us to get a better handle on our own auto insurance coverage. The industry is changing a bit because the competition is strong. There are new and creative auto policies on the market today. The trend that has gained the most momentum is the self-insuring concept. Higher deductibles is the weapon that the customer can use to lower rates significantly. Higher deductibles means that the policyholder has decided to take on more of the risk for the automobiles insured. The day of low collision deductibles is all but gone. Lower deductibles no longer warrant the high premiums. There is too much money to be saved with higher deductibles.

Lowering the Rates for Young Drivers

Young drivers on newer vehicles that have a lien holder’s interest will raise the auto rate significantly. The collision and comprehensive rates for drivers under 21 years of age are very high. A young driver on an older vehicle without the collision and comprehensive coverage will lower the rate significantly. There are discounts for young drivers who have completed a qualified drivers training course. Some companies have good student discounts on students with a grade point average of 3.0 or better. When the young driver reaches 21 the rates begin to drop for most companies.

Senior Citizen Discounts – Most companies have discounts for people age 55 and older who are retired or work less than 20 hours a week. There are mature driving courses that can also give the senior citizen a discount.

Multi-Policy Discount – This discount is available when you insure both your auto and home with the same insurance company.

Tort Options – Some companies offer discounts for a limited tort option. Tort is your ability to sue for pain and suffering. Limited tort rates in some states reduce the overall premium of the policy up to 30%. Ask your insurance company about the tort options in your state.

Auto Insurance – Which Type Is Right For You?

Auto insurance is a form of insurance available to consumers who own cars, trucks and other vehicles. It covers the insured party against the risks involved in owning or driving a vehicle. This may be a car accident, damage caused to other cars or property, loss to passengers in your car, and damage to your car itself.

Optional Covers

There are different levels of insurance available depending on what risks you wants to cover. You can cover against the costs of repairing your vehicle after an accident. You can cover the cost of purchasing a new car should yours be stolen or damaged beyond repair. These are optional covers.

Liability insurance on the other hand is compulsory for all drivers. This will cover the risk of claims being made against you as the driver or owner of the vehicle that caused damage to the property of another, the vehicle of another, for medical expenses of others injured as a result of an accident, including passengers in your car. If you have liability insurance, it will only cover these risks. If you have comprehensive insurance it will cover also the risks to yourself and your own vehicle.

GAP Insurance

However, even comprehensive insurance will not fully cover your risks. First of all there is the issue that, as soon as you buy a new car, its price suddenly drops significantly because it is no longer new. It is used. So if you were to destroy your car the day after buying it, the insurance company would likely assess the value as something less than what you paid for it, even though you may still owe a good deal more than that in payments and financing.


To cover the chances of this happening, so called GAP insurance was developed. This covers the difference in the actual value of your car, and the amount you still owe in payments. The growth of vehicle leasing has also led to GAP insurance becoming more important.


Extra Cover

In the US, the insurance policy will generally cover the owner of the vehicle and any others who drive the vehicle so long as they do not live at the same address. For those living at the same address, you should have them specifically added to your insurance policy for an extra fee. This means that if you crash someone else’s car, while driving it with their permission, you will be covered by their policy, not your own. Non-owner policies are available to cover you on other people’s cars but these will only be available if you do not own your own car.

Auto insurance & the internet - a marriage made in Heaven!!

The internet is all about information, and, more critically, the ability to compare facts, data and information from several different sources quickly and efficiently.

Arguably, as a direct result of this simple fact, nobody has felt the effects of a potential customer’s ability to find, check and compare such data than companies trying to sell services (as opposed to products) online.

Unlike a physical product, a service is not tangible, you cannot pick it up, feel it, or touch it. Thus, a service provider needs to supply the maximum amount of information, because the more information the potential customer has, the more confident he is likely to be when making the buying decision.

What better way to do this than via the worldwide web?

A perfect example of this is the automobile or car insurance marketplace. In the past, if you wanted to get the most competitive quotation for your car insurance, you had to “shop around” by trudging from one insurance broker or company’s office to another, or by getting on the telephone to do the same thing.

The problem with this was that it was often difficult, if not impossible to know whether you were truly comparing like with like. There were (and, to a large extent, still are) so many potential variations from one company’s policy to another that it was almost impossible to know whether the two policies that you were comparing really did offer identical levels of protection and benefits.

This was not always a bad thing. For example, all car insurance companies tend to “load” the premium (i.e. charge extra) for “young drivers” to be included on a policy, which can be bad news for parents using the family car to teach their son or daughter to drive. However, Company “A” may define a young driver as someone below the age of 18, whereas Company “B” will use a threshold of 21 years of age.

If your child was 19, the chances are that Company “A” will be the best bet in these circumstances.

In other words in the old days, it was absolutely necessary to “read the small print”, to avoid ending up with a automobile insurance policy that really did not meet your requirements, although it appeared at first as if it did.

Coming right back up to the present day, whilst the small print is still extremely important, the internet has effectively ensured that it is no longer so small! It is now possible to make meaningful and accurate comparisons of exactly what two companies are offering with their car insurance policy at the touch of a button.

You are still “shopping around” but you are doing it at our own speed, from the comfort of your own home.

In this way, the internet has made finding the best car insurance a far less stressful business than it was in the past, and has also guaranteed that the policy you buy is absolutely the most suitable for your own circumstances. To read more, http://webbiz99.com/carinsurance/

Auto Insurance – risk your car free

Shopping for auto insurance is the only way to save on the auto insurance. Car Insurance is the perfect solution for your problem on car theft, accidents etc. People are quite dependent on their vehicles and losing a vehicle by an accident or theft will be a financial loss. Moreover it will affect our day to day activities like office, school, doctor's appointment etc.

Auto Insurance provides property, liability and medical coverage:

• Property coverage pays for damage to or theft of your car.
• Liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility to cover for injury or property damage
• Medical coverage pays for the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation. It also pays for any lost wages and funeral expenses

A standard form of auto insurance is a package of different kinds of coverage. Some insurance policies offer number of standard benefits, while other benefits are available as optional covers in return for an extra premium. Some of the more common Car insurance policy benefits are:

• Windscreen
• Driving other cars
• Medical expenses
• Personal effects
• New car benefits
• Lock replacement

Additional auto Insurance policy services include

• Motoring protection
This service pays for personal injuries that you have sustained from the accident and also we pay for injuries that others might have sustained. This service also covers for any kind of property loss. This service also handles any legal technicalities.
• Breakdown assistance
This services provides assistance incase your car breakdown and more often than not at a worst possible time. Complete details of these services are available when you get your car insurance quote or renew your policy online.

Auto Insurance 101 Explained

Auto insurance can be confusing for most consumers; there are so many different types of insurance and it can be difficult to determine the type of coverage you’re required to carry versus the types of coverage that you really should carry in order to protect yourself but that are not required.

When considering how much car insurance you should have, it is best to do some research and find out what type of insurance is required by the state in which you reside. Not all states require the same levels of insurance. Some states require more types of coverage than others and states also vary in terms of the amount of coverage that is required. So, be sure you know exactly what the minimums are in the state where you live.

You should also understand what is covered by the different types of insurance in order to understand whether you need insurance coverage above and beyond the minimum required by your state of residence.

Bodily injury liability covers injuries that you cause to someone else while driving your vehicle. Generally the rule of thumb for this type of coverage is to purchase more than is required by your state minimums in order to protect your private assets from a law suit in the event that you injure someone.

Medical payments or personal injury protection, commonly known as PIP covers the treatment of injuries for the driver and the passengers of the vehicle. Depending on the level of coverage, this type of policy will compensate lost wages as well as medical payments.

Collision covers any damage that occurs to your vehicle in the event of an accident, even if it is your fault. Of course, a deductible will apply. Your lender will generally require this type of coverage while you still owe on the vehicle.

Comprehensive coverage is for the loss of your vehicle due to damage by something other than a collision such as theft, fire, natural disaster, vandalism, etc. Again, your lender will probably require this coverage for a financed vehicle. Once your loan is paid off, it’s up to you whether you want to continue carrying comprehensive and collision coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can come in handy in the event that you are either involved in a hit and run or if you are hit by someone who does not have insurance or who is underinsured.

When considering how much insurance to take out, start with the amount that is required at a minimum by your state and then consider whether you’re required to take out any additional coverage due to lender requirements. Remember that while we all hope we won’t have a need for insurance, in the event that we do, it can be a financial lifesaver.

Finally, don’t forget to consider your options regarding deductibles. Raising your deductible can help you lower your premiums and that can make taking out additional insurance coverage more affordable. Just be sure you can reasonably afford the deductible in the event you need to use it.

Auto Insurance

Yellow Pages Ad Campaign is an excellent advice if you are shopping for auto insurance. Shop around and do it yearly. Do not just keep paying your invoice over and over without comparison shopping.

Insurance agents really have a lot of leeway. They can price match and they can offer a lot of discounts. There are also a lot of decisions you canmake about your policy that will save you a bundle. For example, if you change your deductible on your collision from a $50 deductible to a $1000 deductible, you抮e inline for a huge premium savings. If you Do not think you can come up with $1000 out of pocket, then change it to a $500 deductible; you抣l still save a sizable amount on your annual premium payment. However, if they have an accident and totaled their vehicle, the insurance company will only pay them the wholesale value of the vehicle. The amount they would receive can be $1000 or less. A vehicle that old just needs the insurance that protects the other person in case of an accident.

Another method to save more on your insurance is by combining your vehicles and other insurance together to get you additional savings. All insurance companies offer a multi-car discount (if yours does not, it is time to switch companies). Further, A lot of will discount more if you have your homeowners or renters policy with them. You canalso get more of a savings if you change your comprehensive deductible. A lot of people needlessly carry full coverage on their older vehicle. They originally purchased the vehicle new, paid for full coverage and to this day, continue to pay the same high rate. Their ten year old vehicle may be worth $1000 or less, yet they continue to pay $250-$450 every six months (total $500 to $900 dollars a year) to keep full coverage on their old vehicle. There are a few other discounts that you may not be taking advantage of. It seems obvious, but make sure you are getting the correct rate for your age. There are discounts for various ages than cansave you lots of money. Check with your agent on this one. Also alarm systems on your vehicle are usually good for a discount. Additionally, anti-lock brakes and air bags canalso help lower your premiums.

Do not just keep paying the invoice when it comes in. Your insurance bill should be an automatic trigger for you to make a few phone calls to see if you cansave even more money on your auto insurance premiums.