The first thing to do is bargain shop to make sure that the rates you are getting are reasonable in comparison to other companies. Within the policy that you have, these are a few tips that could save you a few bucks.
You will need to have liability coverage, property damage, and bodily injury. This way you will be protected if you are at fault and cause damage to a person or their property. It is recommended to have $300,000 per accident to pay medical costs and other costs that may be affiliated. You should also have at least $50,000 in property damage.
You should have uninsured motorist coverage, which will protect you against financial damages caused by an uninsured motorist or a hit and run, should one occur.
A few tips to ensure that you claim correctly and receive your money as quickly as possible:
It is possible to save up to 50% by changing your companies.
There are many factors that are taken into account by the issuing company, such as:
Do not choose your insurer strictly on price, however. Quality and level of service should be a factor in your choice as well, and their ratings should be checked.
Usually it is most cost efficient to get a large deductible which will drastically reduce the amount you pay for the service. For instance, raising your deductible from $100 to $500 will save you around 10 to 15 percent. A change from $100 to $1000 will generally save you anywhere from 25 to 30 percent.
If you are in an accident and the damage isn’t substantial, it is more economical to pay to fix the car yourself rather than involve the insurance company and having them raise your premium.
Collision coverage ensures the repair of your car whether you were at fault or not, even if your car is damaged by fire, flood, wind or hail. Depending on the value of your car, this coverage may not be cost effective.
It is a good idea to check the insurance rates that are given to certain cars before you buy them. Usually as the cost of the car rises, so does the insurance premium. The insurance rates on used cars are generally substantially lower than those of new cars.
There is a big difference in the premiums that people pay in the suburbs where there is much less traffic congestion as opposed to people that live in big cities with many accidents per capita. Usually this is judged by the zip code of which you register as your home.
Monthly payments are convenient and you don’t have to pay as much at once. However, monthly payments end up costing you more in the long run.
There are a variety of discounts available from the insurance company for all sorts of reasons: living close to work, getting good grades, and so on. Be sure to ask for a list of these discounts to see if you qualify for any of them. Agents may not ask you about these so make sure that you bring it up.
With long-term care insurance (LTCI), you are guaranteed to be paid a certain amount of money towards care for a specified length of time.
As the age of the covered individual increases, so does the premium, so in order to get a better rate, this is something that you may want to purchase earlier in life while the premiums are still low.
Indemnity-type insurance actually distributes the money to the caregivers, and pays the daily benefit directly to the insured party; this type can be easier because there is much less paperwork and more flexibility about how the money can be spent.
Clearly you should always perform a good amount of due diligence when searching for any policy. Be sure to compare the differences in services offered and prices quoted. There are many discounts available for different things, don’t forget to ask if you qualify for any of them.
Remember that the deductible will largely affect the price of the premium. It is a good idea to keep the deductible as high as you feel comfortable with to keep the premium down.
You can generally get a better deal when you purchase your auto and house policies from the same company and you can also get a better rate by not insuring the land.
Make sure that you are insured against whatever natural disasters are common in your area, because insurance against these differs. If you don’t specifically ask, you may not be covered.
Be sure to insure for 100% of rebuilding costs. The price of rebuilding your home could differ greatly from the amount that your home is valued at today.
Make a list of your possessions in your household. The better documented this is the more likely you will be to be able to replace them.
Make sure that you inform your agents of any changes that you make to the home so that if anything happens to the structure, the recent changes will be reflected in the payout.
Check to see if there are any specific limits to what is insured by your company. Sometimes a person may think they are covered for certain things, but the limits negate that.
It is always a good idea to keep the deductible as high as you are comfortable with. A high deductible will substantially decrease your premium.
Do not insure the land, because the land isn’t at risk of being demolished in a flood, fire or other natural disaster and you will save on your premium.
If a home has a sophisticated alarm system and/or a sprinkler system to prevent against fires, the insurance company may drop the price of a policy. Be sure to ask your provider and do the calculations to see if it will be cost efficient.
At least once a year, you may want to look over your policy to ensure that it will cover all of the possessions in your home and any additions that you have made over the last 12 months.
With long-term care insurance (LTCI), you are guaranteed to be paid a certain amount of money towards care for a specified length of time.
As the age of the covered individual increases, so does the premium, so in order to get a better rate, this is something that you may want to purchase earlier in life while the premiums are still low.
Indemnity-type insurance actually distributes the money to the caregivers, and pays the daily benefit directly to the insured party; this type can be easier because there is much less paperwork and more flexibility about how the money can be spent.
It is important to look at the stability of the company that you are looking into, because they need to be there when you are in your time of need. Companies who sell long-term insurance may not be as closely regulated as other insurance companies. You can find the ratings of these companies from Standard & Poor’s.
There are good arguments for and against purchasing this type of insurance, and every person’s situation will differ.
Even though Long-Term Care Insurance can be costly up front, it could save you from paying much more in the long run. The home care coverage that is included in the policies could possibly allow you to live independently for more time before having to switch to assisted living. Since the price of this service increases with time, if you choose to purchase it, it is much better to do so earlier than later.
If this policy is too expensive for you, it may be a better idea to apply for Medicaid. Some of these policies may not give you enough money to stay at home and will force you into assisted living if you don’t have sufficient funds to support yourself and your personal help.
The four main factors that you will want to take into consideration when looking for a LTCI policy are: flexibility, eligibility, inflation, and duration.
Check to make sure that the flexibility of your policy allows for personal help so you can stay in your home for as long as possible before assisted living is absolutely necessary. Some of the policies will allow you to be paid cash for you to distribute as you please.
Make sure that your policy will pay for more than just what is medically necessary. These policies may not cover all of your needs.
Make sure that you are protected against inflation; you can place a clause into the policy that your payout adjusts 5% annually to cover you against raising prices.
Remember that a policy which lasts 5 years is probably more than you would need. A policy of two to three years will generally be enough.
Over 40% of the American population will eventually need to be in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. Your chances of needing this depend on a number of health factors.
The elimination period is the time you will need to wait from the time you are ready to get the long term insurance to the time in which you will actually receive it. This period of time is negotiable in the terms of the contract and the longer this time period is, the cheaper the premium.
These companies are rated in the same manner in which stocks and bonds are rated, through Standard and Poor’s.
Worker’s compensation will only cover you for injuries that occur on the job site. The compensation varies from state to state, but most states will pay throughout the lifetime of the worker, in the case of a permanent disability.
You can get all of the information that you need regarding individual state’s worker’s compensation benefits by contacting your state’s Department of Labor.
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