Picking the right insurance without good information can be a bit of a gamble. But unlike gambling, chances are you’ll actually need to take a punt on some kind of insurance. So which is necessary, and which is more likely to cost you a bundle and give you nothing back? And how do you choose the right policy and level of cover?
When everyone has a product to sell and barrow to push, how do you know who to listen to? And just as importantly, who’s listening to you? Everyone’s situation is different, and when it comes to insurance you want advice from someone who has your best interests at heart.
Choosing Insurance Based on Your Current Lifestyle and Life-Stage
The insurance you need will vary depending on where you are at in your life, what kind of assets you have, and what your long term goals and responsibilities are. Finding the right insurance products form a good part of a strong financial strategy that will protect you and help you remain financially independent even when you have a financial loss.
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Life Insurance
The Life Insurance Basics You Need To Know
To be honest, most people only think about insurance when they need it after a devastating loss or calamity has occurred. This is when you need your insurance company to come through for you and restore you or make you whole again.
Unfortunately, if you don’t do your homework beforehand in getting the best insurance coverage available to protect your family’s health, assets, and financial well-being; you may be left in a very bad situation without remedy.
The time to find the best insurance for your needs is before such a loss occurs. Use these tips to make sure you are prepared for life’s unexpected events.
There are two major types of life insurance – term and whole life.
Term Life Insurance: A Low Cost Life Insurance Option
Term life insurance is a temporary life insurance solution that provides life insurance at a fixed rate over a specific length of time. Common terms for term life are 5, 10, or 20 years, although other options are possible.
The longer the term, the more expensive the policy may become since it covers a longer time span, so the risk of the insured dying during the term will increase. Term life insurance only provides a death benefit and has no cash value.
Whole Life Insurance Explained
Whole life insurance is also known as “straight life” and “permanent life insurance.” A whole life policy covers you for your entire life, not just for a specific period. Whole life insurance policies apply the premiums paid into both the savings or investments and the life insurance death benefit.
Whole life insurance is similar to universal life insurance which also lasts your whole life.
Get whole life while you are young as part of a strategy to maximize benefits, or when you are older if you are wealthy and want to do something with all your extra money.
Health Insurance
There’s nothing more important than your health. And health insurance coverage can help make sure that a medical emergency doesn’t turn into a financial one.
According to a study of one Fortune 100 company, roughly 80% of workers chose health plans that cost more over the course of the year than their alternatives would have. But how do you make the right choice?
There are more choices than ever to find affordable health insurance. One can get their local phone book and search for insurance companies that provide health insurance coverage or one could get online and quickly find websites that can provide a health insurance quote.
But only searching for affordable health insurance can lead to gaps in your health insurance coverage.
When looking for affordable health insurance coverage, you need to not just look at the price tag of your health insurance quote but also understand what type of health insurance coverage you are getting.
How do you choose the right health insurance plan? Here are some basic tips to help you through the health insurance shopping process.
Choosing health insurance that’s right for you
When you start your search for affordable health care coverage, a lot of people often go with the first cheap health insurance quote and don’t do enough research to find the best health insurance coverage for their needs. Your health insurance coverage options depend greatly on your life circumstances.
There are many different types of health insurance plans you can choose. During the Open Enrollment Period each year, you can shop, compare health insurance plans and decide which one is right for you.
What’s covered and what’s not?
Every plan has limitations. That means not everything will be covered. Take a look at each plan you’re considering so you know the costs, deductibles, copayments and overall benefits of the plan.
It’s important to know the limits of a plan before you choose. For example, elective, cosmetic or alternative therapies are common treatments that are not generally covered by health plans when they are not considered medically necessary.
Vision and dental services are covered under some plans. But you may need to buy an extra plan to cover these services. Check to be sure before you choose a plan.
Under Obamacare, all major medical health insurance plans now cover the same basic suite of medical benefits. These include coverage for doctors and hospitals plus maternity care, women’s health care, pediatric care, and other items.
What’s more, the Obamacare law requires all plans to provide coverage for certain kinds of preventive medical care at no out-of-pocket cost to the policy holder.
That’s good news, but it doesn’t mean that all health insurance plans cover all medical services or supplies, or cover them in the same way.
Negotiating Costs of Services and Discounts
We aren’t always in the best mindset when we are sick. Thinking about asking for a discount in the middle of a medical emergency is not our top priority as a patient needing immediate help.
Yet, as healthcare consumers, we can negotiate and ask for discounts. The key is to plan ahead. Billing departments, doctors, and health care facilities may be open to negotiation, especially if you offer to do something that will make their work easier. 
Every cent helps when you are looking to save money. Be sure and explore these options and make these questions part of your criteria for deciding which health services providers can give you the greatest financial advantages while you are in their care.
Understanding health insurance coverage options is confusing. Taking steps to ensure you have access to medical help and regular care will keep you and your family healthy, both physically and financially.
Home Insurance
Can you afford to lose everything?
Are you financially prepared for a major disaster like a fire, flood or storm, or even a minor mishap like a flooded laundry room or a broken window? Prepare for the worst by choosing the best home and contents insurance to protect your hard-earned assets.
Strictly speaking, home insurance and contents insurance are two different products. You can buy insurance for just your building, or for just your belongings, or you can combine them. If you get a combined policy, you assign both your house and your contents a separate sum insured amount – the total amount the insurer will pay to repair or replace your home or belongings.
Owning a home takes a lot of effort and responsibility, but unfortunately, a lot of homeowners are not protecting their home with enough homeowners insurance. Taking the time to understand your homeowners insurance will get you on the path to making sure your investment is protected.
The trick to finding the best insurance policy for your home is discovering the one that will give you the most advantage in a claim, this goes beyond the policy form and where our ninja tips come in handy, especially if this is your first home insurance policy, or if you are shopping around to find the best price.
What Is the Difference Between a Home Warranty and Home Insurance?
Home warranties and home insurance both cover unexpected circumstances. The difference is that in your homeowner policy there are exclusions about regular wear and tear and mechanical breakdown. If your dishwasher breaks down, or the air conditioning system fails, the actual replacement of those items or repair would not be covered although resulting damage may be covered in a claim, for example, if there was water damage.
A home warranty is designed to cover numerous things that are not normally covered by home insurance which is what makes the product interesting to many homebuyers.
Do You Need a Home Warranty If You Have Home Insurance?
The answer to that question is YES.
The home warranty is a product that is meant to cover different aspects of your home and help you out financially if you need to make repairs. A home warranty is like a service and sometimes replacement contract on key items in your home.
Basically, if you have a home warranty on your home, then you have a service contract to help if you need to do costly repairs or in some cases, if you have to replace contract specified items in your home.
Each home warranty program offers various levels of coverage and conditions of coverage. Home warranty programs may cover big-ticket items like air conditioning systems, electrical wiring or even appliances.
There is no way to say one home warranty is the best. The best home warranty contract would be the one that offers you the protection you need for your home.
Car insurance guide
Whether you drive a bomb or a sports car, car insurance is essential.Why do you need a guide to auto insurance shopping? Because, if you want to get the best coverage for your buck, shopping smart for your car insurance is the way to do it. Also, car insurance is one of the top ways to chisel down your insurance budget if you know how to do it right.
What Kind of Coverage Do You Need?
Before calling the insurance company and getting your insurance quote, take the time to decide what kind of coverage you need.
In every state you have to have at least liability coverage.
But, you need to decide if you would like to add these additional car insurance coverages: Comprehensive & Collision.
If you choose comprehensive and collision coverages, you will need to decide what deductible amounts you would like. And, it is important to know what policy limits your state requires so you can decide what policy limits you would like.
Other coverages you may also be interested in: Emergency Roadside Service & Gap Insurance.
Protecting You from All Kinds of Circumstances
Comprehensive insurance coverage is one of the main coverages available as part of a car insurance policy. Comprehensive is optional insurance protection you add to your basic car policy that provides you with coverage from damages that are not the result of a collision with another car.
Comprehensive coverage is a popular coverage that provides insurance from various sources of damage that can happen to your car, besides from a “car to car” accident.
Is Your Car Insurance Cheap Enough?
Are you getting cheap insurance for your car? This list will help you obtain cheap car insurance – not cheap in terms of quality but easy on your wallet!
Combine Auto and Home or Renter’s Policies: Most insurance companies give a discount if you carry your auto and home or renter’s policy with the same company. This discount can be anywhere from 5%-20%!
Watch Your Credit Rating: Another great tip to get cheap car insurance – keep your credit clean! Yes, a lot of insurance companies are checking your credit and basing your policy on what is found. Make sure you check to see if your credit is in good shape, and if it is not, you may want to seek out companies who do not do credit checks.
Look for ‘no claims bonus’ discounts: Every insurer has a name for this such as no claims discount, safe driver bonus, the list goes on. Essentially it’s a discount for not making a claim. The amount of the discount varies depending on the insurer.
Know your discounts: Discounts may be available if you have other policies with the same company, have an approved engine immobiliser or alarm installed in your car, or take out insurance online. Long-term customers, pensioners, people aged 50 to 70 and young drivers who’ve completed a skilled driver’s course may also receive discounts.
Some insurers will give you a discount for insuring more than one vehicle, or if you insure your home through them. This can be a good way to shave some dollars off your premium, but don’t let be the deciding factor in your purchase.
High Risk? Get Help: Whether you are in the process of obtaining an online insurance quote or using a local agent, if you are in a high risk category and when you try to get insurance you either get turned down or cannot afford the ridiculous high premiums, you may want to contact your state insurance commissioner. All states have insurance for high risk individuals who may not be able to obtain insurance elsewhere. The coverage may not be the greatest, but at least it will get you rolling again.
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