Tuesday 30 June 2009

Avoiding Fraud

Last year the Association of British Insurers announced that in one sector of the market alone its members had uncovered nearly 260m worth of fraudulent insurance claims. The industry is so concerned with fraud that many insurance companies have established their own anti-fraud units and they are expecting their customers to be ever more precise.

This can lead to a lot of stress on the part of the customer, the thought of having to make a claim is, however, far worse than the actual process and if you have done everything that you should have done, it can be very easy indeed.

Claiming on a home insurance policy can be difficult because a contents insurance policy in particular may have thousands of different items listed upon it. How can you possibly be as accurate as they expect you to be?

One of the easiest things to do is to make yourself a home inventory. This is a list of all the items in your home along with as much detail as you can possibly manage. Whilst it might not be all that quick or easy, in the long term it can save you a lot of money, time, effort, and stress.


All you have to do to make an inventory is simply go around your house and take down absolutely everything that is not fitted to the building. You should list down your curtains, pictures frames, clothes, everything that you would want to claim for if they were damaged or lost. If possible you should include receipts of purchase with the inventory as this will give an idea of the actual price of the objects and further verification that you own them. With electrical appliances look to include brand names and model numbers and if you have some items of particular value you may want to get them checked by an independent specialist.

You can support your home inventory by taking pictures of some of the items, or have a video recording of you walking through your house. The point of a home inventory is simply to help prove that you own the items that you do own, and therefore make it easier if you have to claim for these items.

About the Author:
With Kwik Fit contents insurance , your home and your treasured possessions will be well-protected from the unexpected.

Life Insurance Quotes: an Easier Way to Plan Your Life

Life is very uncertain and will not last forever. Death always comes to collect its toll. These are among the millions of reasons why anyone would want to protect their life. Protecting human life is essential. Without security, man cannot function well in his everyday life. With life insurance, both you and your loved ones future can be secured. This helps you ease the strain if something unthinkable happens. Life insurance gives you peace of mind that as your time comes the ones left behind will not carry such burden on their shoulders after you are gone.

Life insurance is a legal bond between a policy owner and an insurer. The latter agrees to pay finances upon death or other unfortunate events experienced by the insured individual. In exchange for this condition, the policy owner pays fixed amounts or premium either quarterly, monthly, yearly or in joined sums. To lay off the issue of money, life insurance is very important because it serves as a protection for your family after you die. Your life insurance can depend on various purposes such as paying for burial services, paying debts, and replacing lost income.


Choosing a life insurance policy can be difficult for your part. For others, life insurance hunting means preparing for their deaths, which for that matter feels uncomfortable to them. Nevertheless, the issue of death and financial security for the ones left behind should be put in mind. This is the reason why selecting the best life insurance policy is vital. You can find certified life insurance companies anywhere. With the internet, you can just simply stay put and scan through a staggering list of insurance companies. Alternatively, you can opt to take an adventure and singlehandedly pick out the best cherries in town.

To save time and money from finding which life insurance policy suits you best, it is very much recommended that you get life insurance quotes from your prospect companies. What does life insurance quotes mean? These are simply listings of premiums or insurance rates from a certain company. Insurance quotes are the easiest and fastest ways to find and compare coverage rates. By going online or approaching brokers near you, getting quotes from different life insurance companies can be trouble-free. Life insurance quotes also serve one great purpose. It can help you negotiate for better policies and premiums.

Getting quotes from life insurance companies before you begin negotiating with them is essential. When you compare companies make sure that the ballpark figures of policies are the same. Coverage quotes should also be similar. After gathering a number of insurance quotes, you can now call their companies and inquire about candidate qualifications and of course for premiums. If you do not qualify in one company then you can try applying for other companies who support your qualification. You should include in your list of quotes some offered discounts. Once you have gathered all the life insurance quotes and have called the companies on your list, you are now ready to decide which life insurance policy to purchase.

About the Author:

James is author of this article on Life Insurance Quotes. Find more information about Cheap Auto Insurance.

Medicare supplement plans: rules to be followed

It is often seen that the Medicare policy that you are having does not cover for the total bill charged for your medical treatment. Now it sometimes becomes a big problem for some people to bear that extra cost. For that very reason here is the Medicare supplement, in other words known as the Medigap policies that helps you get relieved of that extra burden of medical cost. The fact is that in the original Medicare policies there always remain several gaps for which it doesn’t pay for all the health care services that you may need. Therefore if you are the one of the beneficiaries of the original Medicare plane, you may be in the need to buy Medicare supplement insurance. In other words it is also known as the Medigap insurance because of the reason that it bridges the gap between the policy coverage of the original Medicare plans and the total medical bill you need to pay. This is the type of health insurance policy that helps you pay for some of the costs in the original Medicare program and also for the part that it doesn’t cover.


The medigap offerings or the Medicare supplement plans have been standardized by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 1992. Though medigap policies were also available prior to that. But the seniors possessing the plans prior to 1992 are still under non-standard plans. But these plans are no longer eligible for the new plans. It is to be mentioned that the Medigap or the Medicare supplement plans are sold by the private insurance companies and there are no government sponsorship behind them. And for that reason the insurance policies may vary from state to state. According to the law, the companies can offer only 12 Medicare supplement insurance plans. And these plans are named from A through L and each plan provides different sets of benefits. In 2006 it has been clearly stated that the Medigap Plans H, I, and J, cannot be sold to people with prescription to drug benefits, although there is a lax of this rule for people who already have those plans and they can keep them.

It is however advised that you should go through the policy statements carefully before deciding to choose one best fit for you. And for the concern of the policyholders it can be said that the all the plans with the same letter cover, no matter which insurance company sells it must cover the same benefits. As for example it can be said that all Plan E policies have the same benefit coverage irrespective of the insurance company selling it. However, it should be kept in mind that the amount of premium can vary with company.

The fact is that the insurance company must keep renewing the Medicare supplement plans once you buy a Medigap plan for yourself. And it is also true that they cannot change the policy covers or the benefits that it promises to provide or even can’t cancel it unless there is any failure on your part in paying the premium. However, the company can increase the insurance premium, but that too they can’t do without providing your prior notice of the increase in due time.


By: William Richards : The Best Medicare Plans, Medicare plans California and Best Medicare Supplemental Insurance

Monday 29 June 2009

Mediclaim Insurance – A Basic Guide

A research on Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations shows that the boom in corporate profits and higher incomes for employees is one side of the coin. The other is surge in workplace stress and lifestyle diseases.

Heart disease, stroke and diabetes are few common diseases in India which reportedly wiped off $9bn (£4.4bn) off the Indian national income in 2005. The cost could reach more than £100bn over the next 10 years.

This has brought health insurance in limelight. It becomes a source of financial support to an individual who finds himself hospitalised.

Individuals aged 5 to 80 years can avail of mediclaim. Children between the age of 3 months and 5 years can also be covered provided one or both parents are covered concurrently.

However, if you prefer alternative systems of medicine such as homeopathy, chiropractic (treatment which focuses on manual therapy including spinal manipulation and other joint and soft tissue manipulation), naturopathic medicine (natural medicine), osteopathy (treatment emphasizing on a holistic approach and the skilled use of a range of manual and physical treatment interventions or traditional Chinese medicine), a mediclaim does not cover these expenses.


The mediclaim policy is available only for Allopathic, Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine.

A mediclaim or a health insurance policy provides for reimbursement of hospitalization. If for some reason, an individual is on bed at and needs an attendant or a nurse, the mediclaim policy will cover the expenses.

Expenses associated with treatments such as dialysis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy etc are also covered by the mediclaim policy. If an individual is taken to a hospital or a nursing home and the insured person-patient is discharged on the same day, the treatment will be considered to be taken under ‘Hospitalisation Benefit Scheme’.

However, there are some different benefits that can be claimed under the mediclaim insurance policy in the event of hospitalization.

Different heads of benefits under hospitalization that can be claimed under mediclaim:

• Room boarding expenses by the hospital nursing home

• Nursing expenses

• Surgeon, anaesthetist, medical practitioner, consultants, specialist’s fees

• Anaesthesia, blood, oxygen, operation charge, surgical appliances, medicines and drugs, diagnostic material and x-rays, dialysis and chemotherapy, radiotherapy, pacemaker, artificial limbs and cost of organs and similar expenses (all the above benefits are limited to the maximum sum insured)

The minimum period of hospitalisation should be for 24 hours. However, for certain treatments this limit is not applicable when package charges are levied for treatment by the hospital.

It is very important for you to check what all is covered by a mediclaim policy. Any disease or sickness existing before the mediclaim is taken will not be covered. Each mediclaim policy has a list of specific exclusions. Check the list. Most Insurance Companies do not offer mediclaim for obesity related illnesses, expenses arising from HIV or AIDS or the use of alcohol or drugs and expenses due to attempted suicide. Expenses associated with the treatment due to war, riots or a terrorist attack is not insured by policies.

About the Author : ApnaInsurance.com is India’s first online definitive guide to mediclaim insurance requirements. Learn & compare various insurance schemes and apply for insurance including compare health insurance, mediclaim, life insurance & car insurance schemes offered by different insurance companies in India.

There is no real magic with insurance

There are a lot of ads for allowance out there. With so abounding ads, and so abundant ataxia in the allowance exchange who should you do business with? The absoluteness is there is no absolute abracadabra with insurance. The allowance one abettor sells is the aforementioned actuality you can buy from aloof about any added abettor out there. As continued as it comes from a acclaimed allowance carrier you absolutely can't go wrong. So why so abundant announcement and announcement about "my artefact is bigger than your product" or "my aggregation is the best"?

It is affectionate of like claiming that Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the apple aloof because he uses Nike clubs. If that were accurate you or I could booty his clubs out on to the advance and accumulate clip appropriate with him. Obviously that isn't the case. If you were aggravating to become a best golfer would you rather accept Tiger's clubs, or his coach? Agents that focus alone on artefact do a abundant disservice to clients. The applicant may end up with an accept policy, but they are falling far abbreviate of their potential. Allowance that is appropriately accepted and activated can be an acutely able apparatus for both aegis and abundance building. Everyone knows that it can assure you and your family, but it can additionally be acclimated to enhance your absolute assets, actualize new assets, and body wealth. It is not the artefact that makes this possible, it is the coaching. As declared above, there is no abracadabra in insurance. If you don't apperceive how to alike your insurances with anniversary added and with your added assets, it doesn't absolutely amount how abundant your allowance artefact is. Like our archetype above, if you buy the aforementioned set of clubs that Tiger Woods uses, but don't get coaching, your golf bold will not be any bigger than it was before. It is additionally actual important to accept that there is no such affair as a acceptable or bad policy. This actuality is so drowned out by all the shouting in the industry about whether appellation or accomplished activity is better, or how abundant indexed ULs are, or how VULs are the best. Allowance policies, whether they be term, accomplished life, accepted life, VUL, or any added blazon are artlessly neutral. Not acceptable or bad. However, behavior can be acclimated well, or they can be acclimated poorly, depending on your bearings and what you are aggravating to accomplish. I accept apparent affluence of instances area a accomplished action was angrily abolished or was placed in a bearings area it absolutely didn't belong. In today's afflicted abridgement your allowance aegis is critical. It is additionally basic to accomplish abiding your money is actuality activated as calmly and finer as possible. Coordinating your insurances with your absolute banking account is the best way to do this. Not alone will you be finer protected, you will additionally put yourself in a position to enhance and body abundance at the aforementioned time.

About Author : OneTravel.com Affiliate Management Team, 1 Penn Plaza Box 6246 New York, NY 10001, USA E-mail: affiliate@onetravel.com

Thursday 11 June 2009

Make Sure You Have the Right Protection

One form of protection that most of us need but very few have is income protection (IP). The financial services industry are to blame for the majority of this, as when you take out a loan or mortgage, you will come away with some form of protection policy but the problem with that is that it is usually the wrong one.

Financial providers and advisers have taken the easier option for too long now and have been choosing the simpler route of selling critical illness and payment protection. They would rather do this than take the time and trouble to make sure their customers are properly protected. This really must change.

Sales of critical illness insurance far outstrip sales of income protection. With that said, only half of people who were off work sick for six months or more due to an accident or sickness would receive an actual pay out from their critical illness policy. This is due to the fact that the main causes of long term absence are stress and back pain. These types of sickness are not covered by this type of insurance.


Many believe that the income protection market must change too. The products should be made simpler to understand and the underwriting process should be more straightforward. At the very least, insurers should try and categorize occupations the same way.

People also believe that you should be able to receive a higher level of income than 85 pounds per week without any state benefits being reduced.

Getting the right deal - If you decide that you do need IP. Make sure you get the right deal and not one that is just similar to IP. For instance, products such as mortgage protection and payment protection sound similar but these just cover a specific debt, such as your mortgage payments or loan payments. They will not give you an income to pay for other essentials such as food and bills.

Mortgage protection and payment protection usually pay out for a limited period of 12 months. IP pays out until you can get back to work or until the end of the policy term whichever is longer. You would think IP would be more expensive than the other cover mentioned, however, it is often the same cost.

Unlike Payment Protection Insurance, IP will always be is based on your personal circumstances, especially your medical history. That is why far more IP claims are paid out compared to PPI claims. Pioneer has recently announced they pay 96 per cent of their IP claims.

For a genuine IP policy you will have to complete an application form that asks for details about your health, age, occupation, etc. The best thing to do is always take full advice when buying protection insurance and if possible see an independent financial adviser that specializes in protection insurance.

One of the most important financial issues you can deal with is making sure you have the right protection in place at a price you can afford and that meets your circumstances. Most importantly, don't be afraid to get professional help.

Brokers Online is a fantastic financial web site, offering information and articles about Mortgage Payment Protection, Income Protection Insurance, Redundancy Insurance and many many more Insurance products

Best Way to Protect Property!

Insurance is a must for any type of property. It gains more prominence for landlords. Generally, landlords own a sizable property that they either rent out or give on lease. Protecting the property against any kind of risks such as untimely rent, accidental fire, theft or ... can help protect your interests. Risking a sizable amount of property is an unwise decision. Taking appropriate measures to protect your property will save you from the risk of losing it.


You can choose from a wide range of insurance options. You could even look online to get the best quotes on insurance for landlords. This is an easy and convenient way to look for insurance. It is just a click away. It is an insurance policy that protects the investment made by the landlord. Any losses that may result due to a lawsuit or failure to pay rent on time may lead you in financial pitfall. To overcome the situation, you could buy a policy that will cover the losses.

Unexpected events and climatic conditions can pose a threat to your property. A cover, covering various eventualities such as flood, earthquake, loss assessment, vandalism, and business property can protect your interests. Building insurance is another type of cover that will protect the building that you might have rented or lent on lease. You can also get buy to let, and rented property insurance on building. Depending on your preference and choice, you can get a suitable cover.

Landlords must ensure they keep their interests protected by opting for a suitable cover. Besides, the natural calamities, you could also face the risk of being sued for negligence by those who reside in their homes. The only way to overcome such risk is by opting for a cover. Seeking advice from insurance advisers will help get a suitable cover that suits your business.

Appropriate coverage for the building will cover damages that include damages caused by fire, smoke, wind, lightning, explosion, fire department charges, emergency removal of property, damage from vehicle, damage from an aircraft, and riot or civil commotion. The cover must ideally provide coverage against risks that you are most likely to be exposed to. There are numerous benefits of a cover.

Some property owners are of the opinion that a cover may cost a huge amount. However, the fact is a property owner can get a cover at a reasonable price. You could also do some research online on various covers available. You can also compare the features and choose one that best suits your interests.

Sadhna D, Expert Author, Platinum author

Insurance for Landlords: Insurance for Landlords

Building Insurance for Landlords: Building Insurance for Landlords

Comparing All Types of Insurance

Insurance is a confusing business. Odd terminology, fine print and high pressure tactics may keep you from really researching and comparing your options. While quick insurance shopping may get you a policy, it probably wont get you the right insurance policy.

There are many types of insurance out there and countless policies offered for each insurance type. Educating yourself about how the insurance system works should be your first step before choosing a policy.

It may surprise you to know that 65% of South Africans have no auto insurance at all. When we take the incidents of accidents and road injuries, this shocks us.


Auto cover comes in three forms. Third party is the minimum coverage and protects you if you injure someone or damage someone else's property in an auto accident. Third Party Fire and Theft includes cover provided under Third Party and adds protection for damage caused by fire, theft or attempted theft. Comprehensive coverage adds to this by providing protection for your vehicle in an accident that is your fault.

To ensure that you aren't paying too much for expensive auto insurance, be sure to compare prices and quotes. To reduce your costs, try negotiating with the insurance companies for a lower rate. Also, think about asking for higher excesses, as well as increasing security measures to further reduce your premiums.

Term life insurance is the least expensive option and provides cover for a specified amount of time or can be linked to specific debt obligations. Term life is beneficial for families that may have a large amount of debt that will be paid off by the end of the policy's term.

Whole life insurance is permanent insurance that remains in effect as long as the premiums are up to date. The policy does not need to be renewed and the premiums remain the same throughout the life of the policy. It provides your beneficiaries a lump sum at your death regardless of when that occurs.

Universal life insurance cover is structured the same way as whole life in that it is permanent insurance with level premiums. In addition, it adds provides financial products such as a savings plan, investments and the ability to add a person to the policy. It is the most expensive life insurance option due to its flexibility.

Your life changes and it is always beneficial to check on the current status of your life insurance to make sure it is still meeting your needs.

Your options for homeowners insurance have expanded thanks to the National Credit Act. Previously, borrowers had to purchase their cover from the bank that financed their loan. Now, you can shop and choose the cover that fits your needs and budget. You'll be required to cede the policy to your lender so that your policy can pay your bank directly.

When shopping for insurance, remember the old adage that the cheapest policy isn't always the best. For example, a bicycle costs less than a car but it will not serve the same transportation needs. Hence, you need to find an affordable insurance policy that meets your particular coverage concerns.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Africa's leading car insurance portal.

Medigap Leads Using Custom Filters

You must be aware that if you live in the US and you are at an age over sixty-five then you certainly are entitled for a number of government insurance plans which is also known as Medicare. Most of the people still are not quite sure that if they purchase any of the Medicare supplement policies then would it really be a wise decision or not. Well the fact is that most of the Medicare supplements policies certainly do cover major of the hospital expenses for anybody. Most of the people who are simply aware of these supplement policies surely go for it. Most of the agents also find these Medicare supplement policies a good opportunity for earning as most of the people keep on searching the net looking for better quotes.


You can in fact find a number of medicare supplement leads online if you just go through the search performed by people regarding getting medical insurance. The best thing that any medicare insurance agent can do is try to search for some of those medicare insurance leads and medicare supplements leads. Even if you go through searching for most of the medical insurance leads you can always try sorting out people who are of age above sixty five and ask them to go for medigap plans. Most of these leads are certain to convert into medigap leads as most of the people simply are not aware of it.

Agents can simply try to explain the advantages they can have when converting them into medigap leads along with all the facilities they can get from all the hospitals as most of the other medical policies would certainly not be giving them. Today using the internet one can certainly find a number of medigap leads and if you are able to contact and offer them some of your best medicare plans than it is certain that you may have a good number of conversions. You can try to explain them about the various deductibles that medicare policy offers to them when they are admitted in the hospital as most of it would certainly be covered by the medigap policy.

Agents can also browse the internet looking for such people who have searched for doctor's services as most of these people may not be having medical policy. So there are chances that some of these may also convert into medicare leads or even medigap leads if they are above sixty five years of age. Try explaining them that if the doctor does not accept medicare policy they can certainly go for medigap policy. So most probably most of these may convert into medigap leads.

Try to explain to them that most of these policies may certainly cover skilled nursing cost insurance also along with blood transfusion costs as most of the people at sixty five do undergo transfusion. Agents can prepare a good report of all the areas that can be covered under this policy and keep it ready to present before the customer. So just by performing a customized search for medigap leads online you can certainly be sure to get a good conversion rate that may favor your business. Today a number of people only rely on the internet for most of the information. So starting from a customized search on medigap leads would certainly be a good place to start with.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kanwarjit_Singh

Be Successful With Mortgage Insurance Leads

Mortgage insurance leads are vital to any agent wanting to excel in the insurance business, and who wants to render proper service to clients. Not every lead is good however, and the agent may sometimes expend more effort to close a sale than he first imagined. This is because people can change their minds about decisions depending on their current circumstances.

Most agents know that the insurance business is a hard sell and that prospects have the concept that they can get this vital piece of resource at a later date.

It is when they are caught in awkward situations such as losing a job, becoming permanently disabled or dying do they or other family members realize how important it is to get protection.




An agent who does not use mortgage protection leads likely has to do a good deal of cold-calling. When appointments are set, the agent has to use a personal vehicle to tread the long miles to the prospects home and there are instances where the prospect forgets the appointment and is not home.

If the client is indeed home, then there is an opportunity for the agent to instruct and educate the prospect, but that still does not guarantee a closing because the prospect has to be ready in some way to accept and make the decision of being protected. Some Other Issues

Another factor that can come into play is the current situation of that prospect. A good agent uses that circumstance yo help a prospect realize the legitimate need for insurance. With the current economy people tend to with draw and become risk-averse in their decision making.

An agent's task is to use the situation so a prospect can visualize the importance or insurance, and the likely outcome if they did not.

Having leads affords an agent some flexibility, and results in handling a prospect with increased confidence. An individual would likely have enough information to realize the importance of insurance.

Instruct Your Prospects

An agent can make the decision to provide information to the prospect without any sales aggression or coercion. If a prospect is initially reluctant, it does not mean that the agent has to give up with closing the sale. The prospect may need some time to think things over. There may be a spouse involved so the agent needs to make sure that the spouse will be home when the appointment is set. Both parties have to mutually agree before the agent can complete the sale.

The mortgage protection leads allow the agent to deal with prospects that are more willing to work with and are also willing to trust the expertise of the agent. If an agent appears to act in the best interests of the prospect, then the prospect likely will give him the chance to prove it.

People prefer an insurance agent who is a straightforward individual. An agent who provides both the advantages and disadvantages of owning insurance reassures his prospect who then increases his confidence in deciding correctly.

Those wishing for a high paying career in insurance should examine EQUITA Mortgage where they can get exclusive mortgage insurance leads.

Author: Dennis Foreman

The author is an a fifty-something Boomer who has experienced most of the issues he writes about. After working his way through college selling medical insurance door-to-door Dennis was the chief executive of several technology companies both in the U.S. and abroad.

Currently he provides web design and content services to numerous companies under the name Pontarae Web Productions


There is No Magic in Insurance

There are a lot of ads for insurance out there. With so many ads, and so much clutter in the insurance marketplace who should you do business with?

The reality is there is no real magic with insurance. The insurance one agent sells is the same stuff you can buy from just about any other agent out there. As long as it comes from a reputable insurance carrier you really can't go wrong. So why so much hype and advertising about "my product is better than your product" or "my company is the best"? It is kind of like claiming that Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world just because he uses Nike clubs. If that were true you or I could take his clubs out on to the course and keep pace right with him. Obviously that isn't the case. If you were trying to become a champion golfer would you rather have Tiger's clubs, or his coach?




Agents that focus only on product do a great disservice to clients. The client may end up with an okay policy, but they are falling far short of their potential. Insurance that is properly understood and utilized can be an extremely powerful tool for both protection and wealth building. Everyone knows that it can protect you and your family, but it can also be used to enhance your existing assets, create new assets, and build wealth.

It is not the product that makes this possible, it is the coaching. As stated above, there is no magic in insurance. If you don't know how to coordinate your insurances with each other and with your other assets, it doesn't really matter how great your insurance product is. Like our example above, if you buy the same set of clubs that Tiger Woods uses, but don't get coaching, your golf game will not be any better than it was before.

It is also very important to understand that there is no such thing as a good or bad policy. This fact is so drowned out by all the shouting in the industry about whether term or whole life is better, or how great indexed ULs are, or how VULs are the best. Insurance policies, whether they be term, whole life, universal life, VUL, or any other type are simply neutral. Not good or bad. However, policies can be used well, or they can be used poorly, depending on your situation and what you are trying to accomplish. I have seen plenty of instances where a fine policy was horribly misused or was placed in a situation where it really didn't belong.

In today's troubled economy your insurance protection is critical. It is also vital to make sure your money is being utilized as efficiently and effectively as possible. Coordinating your insurances with your entire financial picture is the best way to do this. Not only will you be effectively protected, you will also put yourself in a position to enhance and build wealth at the same time.

I am a recovering financial planner. After being in the industry for several years and being very successful as a traditional financial planner, I had an experience in 2004 that changed everything. I lost a big client. Oh yeah, this was a big case. And I lost big time. I was working with a client friend of mine who owned a successful business that was just starting to turn the corner into really big profits. The short version of a long story is that another guy in the industry got the business and blew me away. And he did it using the same products I was trying to sell my friend. He was just using those products, and coordinating them in ways I hadn't ever dreamed of. The first thing I did after losing the case was to call the other agent and ask him what he was doing. That set off a big learning experience, and now here I am 5 years later teaching my clients the same lessons the other agent used to beat me so soundly with my client. Just financial principles that work. That's all. To learn more visit my website, LightSource.


Wednesday 10 June 2009

Dental Insurance – Should You Get One?

Not many people care to purchase dental insurance because most health insurances already cover basic dental care such as regular cleaning and filling, as well as dental emergencies such as getting one’s teeth knocked off in an accident. Also, many people would understandably prioritize health insurance over dental insurance because getting sick and getting professional health care is potentially more expensive and the need more immediate than receiving and needing dental care. Comparably, dental bills are also more manageable than hospital bills and are unlikely to send a person to bankruptcy. Still, it can’t be denied that dental care can be expensive and for people who are extra-concerned with their teeth, getting dental insurance is a good decision.


Choosing a dental insurance

Some people are more obsessed about their teeth than others, considering their teeth as an asset in their profession, social, or personal life. If you are one such person, the getting dental insurance will give you reassurance. If you already have a dentist and wish to stick with him or her, you have to go with an insurance plan that will cover your dental expenses with your existing dentist. You can ask your dentist if he or she is affiliated with any insurance companies. If you do not have a preferred dentist in landau scrubs, you should start scouting for one and assess how much you are willing to pay for your insurance premium or monthly insurance coverage, and how much coverage you need. If you already have a health insurance, you can ask your insurance provider if you can add dental coverage for a reduced fee.

Dental insurance coverage

Basic dental insurance covers routine check-ups, cleaning and x-rays. If you have an employer-sponsored health insurance, these services may already be free which you can take advantage of. This benefit is common for most company-sponsored insurance policies. It alone can save you hundreds of dollars per year on dental fees, depending on how much your dentist charges for the services. Most dental insurance also covers root canals, fillings, crowns, and similar procedures. What it does not typically cover are cosmetic procedures such as whitening, veneers, and orthodontics. When using your dental insurance, take note that there is a waiting period for coverage of dental expenses other than the basic procedures. Depending on your insurance company, the waiting period can be 2 to 6 months, up to a year. This is to prevent people from signing up for insurance only until they have dental problems.

Who should get dental insurance?

Dental insurance is not for everyone as it is not really a necessity and will not make financial sense for all types of people. You should get dental insurance if you expect to get frequent dental work every year. Depending on the amount of coverage you can get, the monthly premiums you have to pay out, and the annual maximums you are entitled to, getting dental insurance can help you save a lot of money on your dental bills. Make sure that your insurance policy’s annual maximum is high enough to cover all the dental work you need, and in exchange you only pay comparably low monthly premiums.

Home Insurance Cover Can be Cheaper When Bought Online

Home insurance cover can work out a lot cheaper if you allow a specialist insurance broker to find quotes on your behalf which you would then be able to compare at your leisure from the comfort of your own home. Quotes found this way would come with the key facts which would tell you about the important parts of the policy which makes comparing very easy.

When considering taking out home insurance cover there are two different forms that can be taken into account. One is essential as mortgage lenders will ask that you insure the shell of the home with buildings insurance. Buildings insurance would pay for the total rebuild of your home if the worst should happen which would also include the clearing of the destroyed property if for example it should be burnt to the ground in the case of a fire. The cover would also payout if damage occurred to the outer of the home for example in a storm, flood or subsidence, providing of course these are included in the small print.


Home contents insurance is not a necessity, however you would be wise to take out the protection as this type of insurance would payout if again the worst should happen and you lost all of your belongings in a fire for example. This policy would also payout for such as theft of your belongings, accidental damage or damage by vandalism. Of course you would have to check the terms and conditions of the insurance to ensure of what is and is not included.

If you want to make savings on home insurance then you could consider taking out both contents and buildings insurance together. This is often one of the cheapest ways to take both forms of insurance and savings can be made in comparison to taking out cover separately.

When looking for home contents insurance you can save on the premiums by ensuring you do not over insure the contents of your home. This is when you would need to go around the home and take an inventory of all your possessions and it is essential that you do not forget about items which are hidden in the loft, cupboards, drawers and wardrobes. However it is important that while you want to cut down on the premiums by not over insuring you also do not want to under insure as if the worst came to the worst and you lost everything in your home you would lose out.

Savings can also be made on home insurance cover if you ensure that your property is as safe as possible. You can install such as security locks on the windows and doors and a good quality alarm system. While of course alarm systems are not cheap it can be well worth the cost for the savings you can make on insurance premiums and of course it provides you with great peace of mind as just seeing a house alarm on the property can often deter thieves.

How to Find Home Insurance Deals the Quick and Easy Way

One of the best ways you can find home insurance deals without even leaving the comfort of your own home is to get in touch with a specialist insurance broker and allow them to make the search on your behalf. The quotes will be gathered from some of the top UK insurance providers and you will be able to take your time and compare them for the most suitable deal for your needs.

One way of getting great home insurance deals if you want to take out both home contents insurance and buildings insurance is to take out the protection together from the same provider. Mortgage lenders will ask that you do take out insurance for the shell of your home while contents insurance to protect your belongings is down to the homeowner. Many times you can get great savings this way when compared with taking out the insurance cover separately with different providers.


Home insurance cover premiums could be cheaper if you choose to take out more than one policy with the same insurance provider. For example if you have car insurance you could look into if the company offers home insurance and if so do they offer savings when taking all your insurance protection with them?

When looking for the best deals you can save money on the cost of the premium you are asked to pay each month if you offer to payout more in excess. All providers state an amount of excess in their terms and conditions. This is the amount of money that you would have to payout before the insurance company would cover the rest of the claim. For example if you offered to pay an excess of £100 and you put a claim in on your insurance for £150 the insurance company would only pay you £50 and you would have to find the £100 outright. While this can save you on cost of the premiums it is a bit of a gamble as you would have to find the money if you should be unfortunate enough to have to make a claim.

When looking for the best home insurance deals check what is included in the policy you are taking out. Some insurance providers will pay to replace items based on deterioration of the items and some will provide new for old cover and this can affect how much the policy costs. Some protection might come with flood cover and some providers offer this for extra. It is essential that you read the terms of the cover so that you know exactly what is and is not included.

There are many ways to save on home insurance which would go towards you being able to compare cheaper home insurance deals. If you install good quality alarm systems, window locks and such as deadbolts you can save a great deal of money on the premiums as your home will be harder to break into. Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers can also help to keep the cost of premiums down.

Tips For Obtaining Low Cost Home Insurance

Low cost home insurance is not hard to find if you know how to find it and one of the best ways of doing so is to allow a specialist broker to search around on your behalf for the quotes. The quotes will be delivered to you and you do not even have to move out of your chair to get them. You can then take your time and compare those quotes from some of the top UK providers.

There are many ways that you can keep the cost of home insurance down and one of them is to increase the amount of excess you are willing to pay. All providers will add excess onto a policy which is the amount that you will have to pay towards a claim, if of course you make one. By offering to pay more for this excess you will save on the monthly premiums. However you will have to take into account that you would have to find the excess outright if you should need to make a claim.

Home insurance will include theft of items from your home so you can make savings on the premiums which allows you to obtain low cost home insurance the safer your home is. To do this you can install a good quality alarm on the property, install window locks and ensure your property is surrounded by good quality fencing.


A policy will also include loss of belongings by fire and again one way of cutting down the premiums could be by installing such as fire alarms. Often you will be asked if you smoke and non smokers might be offered cheaper premiums as they could be seen as less of a risk than those who smoke.

The premiums for home insurance are based on how much you wish to insure. If you were to take a wild guess and this guess is way over the cost of replacing all of your possession in the worst case scenario, you would be paying out for insurance you do not need. To ensure that you do not over insure yet do not under insure you need to take an inventory of all of your belongings. This means that you need to go around your home and jot down the cost of all items not forgetting such as possessions in the attic, cupboards or drawers. The figure you get to is the sum you need to insure against if the worst case scenario should happen and you lost all your belongings in a fire.

Finally one way of obtaining low cost home insurance is to never just renew the policy year after year. Just because you got a great deal on your home insurance last year does not necessarily mean that you will get the best deal this year. Insurance brokers will usually increase their premiums each year and if you just renew you could find that you are paying well over the odds for your home insurance. Again allow a specialist broker to make a search for the lowest premiums and then compare the premiums at your leisure.

How to Find the Best Deals on UK Home Insurance

Finding the best deals on UK home insurance is not hard if you put the search into the hands of a specialist broker and allow them to dig out the best deals on your behalf. They will have the experience to search for insurance with some of the leading insurance companies in the UK and deliver the quotes right to you so you can compare.

Home insurance comes in two parts there is buildings insurance and home contents insurance. A policy can be taken individually or you can often make huge savings when combining them both and taking them with the same provider. Buildings insurance covers the shell of your home and home contents insurance protects your belongings inside the home.

Buildings insurance is a must when you take on a mortgage in case in the worst case scenario for example your home should burn down to the ground. If you have insurance this would pay for the cost of clearing the scene and for rebuilding your home from scratch. When taking out buildings insurance you would have to know how much it would cost to totally rebuild your home and of course you would have to take into account such as paying to have the rubble removed before rebuilding.


Home contents insurance would supply you with peace of mind that if you were to lose the contents of your home totally you would have the money to replace everything. While no one likes to consider the worst case scenario it can and does happen so you should prepare for it. The cost of contents insurance would reflect on the amount that you choose to insure. With this in mind you do not want to over insure or under insure. Therefore the easiest way to go about calculating is to go around the home and take an inventory of all items in your home. You should take care not to miss anything so do not forget to take into account what you have stored in your loft and such as cupboards. Even the smallest of items would soon mount up to a sizeable sum.

When taking out UK home insurance you have to be very careful in checking what is and is not included in the protection. Certain items such as expensive jewellery or collections might not be included in the policy and if they are then providers will usually put a limit on a single item. Items such as computers and high tech gadgets would also have a limit on them as to how much you are able to claim back if they are stolen. Check to see what cover the insurance provides as some will offer to pay out the price to replace items at the cost they are today and others will take into account depreciation.

UK home insurance can work out cheaper if you take some precautions to make yourself be less of a ‘risk’. You can save on the premiums if you install a good security alarm in the home and if you have smoke alarms. Another way you can save on contents insurance is by increasing the amount you would pay in excess. All providers would add in excess and this is the amount you would have to pay before the insurance company would pay out.

Home Insurance Basics

Homeowner's insurance, also called property insurance, protects you from damages to your:

Dwelling: A dwelling is the structure you live in. For coverage purposes, dwelling also includes any attached garages or units. A basic homeowner's insurance policy may also cover damage to detached structures on your property such as a shed or swimming pool.

Personal property: Personal property includes furnishings and other belongings that you use, wear or collect. A basic policy insures these items from theft or peril-related damages. However, jewelry and other collectibles often require separate coverage.

Liability: Liability coverage pays for accidents that occur on your property for which you are held responsible. Liability includes a neighbor being hurt on your property or someone tripping on your child's bike left on the sidewalk.


Living expenses: In case you have to live elsewhere while your home is being repaired for a claim, a basic homeowner's insurance policy is likely to cover additional living expenses that you incur.

Like any other type of insurance, you pay a premium to buy a homeowner's insurance policy. An insurance company bases your premiums on:

Claims in your area. An insurance company will look at the history of claims in your neighborhood to estimate a premium. For example, if your neighborhood has experienced a high rate of burglaries or wildfires, you will likely pay a higher premium.

Your claims history: If you are renewing a homeowner's insurance policy and have made several claims, you should expect to pay a higher premium. In extreme cases, insurance companies may decide against renewing a policy.

Value of your home: You can obtain policy coverage for the replacement value of your home or its actual cash value. Replacement cost coverage protects you from inflation in home-repair costs. Actual cash value insures your home for its current value.

Actual cash value is likely to be lower than replacement-cost value for all but the newest homes since homes depreciate over time from age and use. Mortgage lenders generally require coverage for the replacement-cost value of your home.

Deductible: A deductible is the amount you pay before the insurer begins to pay your claim. By paying a higher deductible, you're sharing the insurer's risk of paying a claim on your home. As a result, the insurer is likely to offer a lower premium.

Safety measures: Installing fire detection, sprinkler and theft-deterrent systems can help you to lower your premiums. You can also take steps to reduce the possibility of an accident occurring on your property.

Be sure to read your policy carefully to see what perils are covered and what are excluded. Damage from storms, lightning, fire and smoke is generally covered in a basic homeowner's insurance policy, but damage from earthquakes or floods is generally excluded. These perils, along with hurricane and tornado coverage, often need a separate policy or policy rider.

Together with auto insurance, homeowner's insurance constitutes what is called property & casualty insurance. P&C is distinct from life and health insurance. Some insurers offer P&C insurance while others do not. You may find that your current auto insurer is willing to issue you a homeowner's insurance policy.

Like all insurance in the U.S., homeowner's insurance is regulated by state insurance commissions. The umbrella organization is the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC maintains a directory of state insurance commissions at its Web site.

If you have any questions concerning policy coverage, exclusions or limits, contact the insurance agent or company that sold you the policy or your mortgage lender.

Tuesday 9 June 2009

Be Careful While Buying Insurance Online

One can very easily get a very large number of various different benefits from purchasing online insurance. The very step that needs to be followed is to go through the full process physically. One just has to fill a submission form and receive a mail for his/her automobile insurance with just one click only. A person does not even has to stand in a queue and waste a lot of time standing there as now one can very easily reduce the wastage of time by taking help from a very large number of various different insurance providers, agencies and also companies online.


Here are given few tips for how to find very good insurance company, agency or provider online. One thing that needs to be kept in mind always by each and every person living in this world is that one must always search in a reputed and also a trustworthy search engine. One can find a very large number of sites with a lot of ease which are online insurance provides, agencies and also companies, if one is looking for auto insurance provider, company or agency that is located near his/her area then he/she just has to write the name of the place and insurance of car online.

One needs to spend some precious time in looking at each of them very much carefully. One must also check the background of each and every insurance agency, company and provider and this is for sure very much vital. On Internet there are also present a very large number of agents and also brokers, but one must not trust them. The main reason behind this is that one cannot see them and also would not be able to meet any of them even after the completion of the application.

But in each and every business trust is very much crucial so do make sure that trust is build with the insurance agency, provider or the company online that you are dealing with. Generally a legal insurance agency, company and provider will for sure contain “about us” and “contact us” pages so that the people can be sure about them and also so that people can look and study their past and thus know them really very well. Also the comments by people will also given a person a rough idea about what type of service is provided by the insurance company, agency or provider.

Defensive Driving Saves Money During Insurance

If you are one of the persons who are looking out for the Texas auto insurance, then there are certain things that you must keep in mind a few things in order to get the best deal for the money that you are paying. There are certain points that which you bear in your mind while selecting the auto insurance in Texas can surely help you save a lot of money. The tip can surely help you provided you invest some time. It is a skill that can be acquired with time. The skill is about focusing on the defensive driving. To begin with, we must first try and understand what we mean by the term defensive driving.


It is basically training for the drivers of the motor vehicles that are not confined to the rules of the roads and the basics of the driving. This helps in making you a better driver by inculcating in you an awareness of the various things that can lead to an accident. It also braces you up for the dangerous situations and allows you to learn the better ways in which you can respond to such situations even when others are at mistake. The defensive driving can be easily achieved with the help of few driving techniques and just sticking to the rules that help you respond better on the road.

Now that you know what defensive driving is you can probably guess how it can help you get cheaper auto insurance in Texas. The drivers that practice defensive driving are at a much lower risk of getting involved in an accident on the road. They are thus a lower risk to the insurer as well. Due to this reason, they have to pay a lower price.

While going for the car insurance, you must remain aware of the fact that the rates that you pay to the insurance company are entirely based on the risk that you are at of meeting an accident. Even if you are not a defensive driver or do not have time to go in for the defensive driving course, you can still search for the cheap auto insurance in Texas. This you can easily do by going to any comparison site where you can get quotes from various companies and compare them according your criteria. This online method these days has become very prevalent.

Thousands Could Be Overpaying For Their Travel Cover

Thousands of holiday goers could be overpaying on their travel insurance, as mini-breaks become the latest victim of the financial downturn, forcing people into "staycations".

A study by a financial data provider found that instead of heading off to different shores several times this year, many people will be commuting to just one holiday destination in the summer.

Brian Brown, the head of insight at the firm and also author of the report, says: "The number of overseas trips is showing a decline for the first time in two decades, with fewer trips to many of the usual destinations."

This means consumers may be better off with single-trip insurance, rather than paying extra for yearly cover. "For most customers taking just one overseas trip a year will mean that purchasing a single-trip policy makes more sense," Brown explains.


This news provides shocking revelations as the difference in individual policies is striking. A competitive single-trip cover could cost as little as £4.11, compared to annual cover, which begins at around £25.00.

However, the difference in cost is much smaller in the family sector, where a single trip cover policy to America starts at around £35, while yearly worldwide policies can cost as little as £40.00.

Travel cover

Michael Taylor, a money mentor at another financial firm, says it's also an opportunity for anyone with a packaged account to review whether it's worth having, as many holiday-goers will have bought into a deal for the free annual travel insurance.

He commented: "This will make these packaged accounts an even poorer deal. If you are paying £12.50 a month or more for an account like this for the free annual travel insurance, it may have seemed a reasonable offer. Once you can meet your travel insurance needs for as little as £5, the scandalous over-charging becomes more obvious."

In addition, he warns: "Insurance available through these accounts can be very poor. Some don't cover anyone over the age of 49, for example, while others force you to pay the first £2,500 of claims, so however you buy, you need to check the key facts to make sure you are properly covered."

Although the cost for a travel insurance policy is the main issue, Maxine Baker, a travel insurance manager, pointed out that it is worth sticking to certain minimums. These include at least £2 million for medical expenses, £1 million for personal liability and £3,000 for cancellation.

Last minute deals

Consumers who don't want to overpay for their holiday by selecting last minute bookings, have been reminded about the importance of taking out travel cover.

Research from an insurance company revealed that half of all European single-trip travel insurance policies are taken out less than three days before departure.

However, insurers have stated that with last-minute bookings, consumers usually forget to secure financial protection.

Christian Young, from the firm, noted that the problem remains widespread.

He said: "People who leave things to the last minute are inevitably going to have less time to be well organised and insurance tends to be [at the] back of mind until it's too late. They are even turning up at the travel terminal without their passports."

Some Tips While Buying Car Insurance

Getting auto insurance for your vehicle can be the most difficult thing. It very annoying and takes lot of time to collect the auto insurance quotes from various sources. But taking the help of internet can ease down your effort to a great extent. Shopping for quotes online is very easy, comfortable and it hardly takes any time. There are web pages of many insurance companies and brokers available on the internet.

Internet has made the process of buying the auto insurance far easy as compared to earlier times. For buying the online auto insurance the most important sites are those which provide ample of information regarding all the companies and the rates, coverage issues and policies from all the companies. There are online forms available on these sites and you are required to fill all the basic information in this. This information will then decide the coverage and your budget for auto insurance. This is pretty easy as you don’t have to move away from your seat rather than meeting several insurance agents.


Also the sites of individual companies are also available with the similar type of form. This also helps you to compare all the policies available to you and choose the best among them.

Few tips that can help you decide the best quotes suitable for you are-

1) Getting large number of quotes. This will help you to compare the coverage in different policies along with the rates. By this you can save money while buying auto insurance online. They also give information abut the additional cost required. Taking the help of online broker can also help. He can provide you large number of insurance quotes and also make you understand each and every point of the policy in detail.

2) Make sure that you are buying insurance from a reputable company. A company must be financially stable. For this make sure that you check the ratings of that company. Then there comes the type of insurances. The third party insurance is the cheapest but if you want to coverage to a greater extent then you should opt for comprehensive insurance.

3) Thus buying online auto insurance is very easy if all the points are taken into consideration. Apart from various advantages of buying online auto insurance there can be some risks involved. Thus it requires some smart choices to be made by you to decide which the best policy for you.

The Need of Auto Insurance in Your Life

Buying auto insurance is the best thing that you can do to your vehicle as well as to yourself and your family. If you are buying a new vehicle then you must ask your dealer if they can provide you with some help regarding the auto insurance. Otherwise there are various options that you can follow to get the insurance for your vehicle. These include the information given in advertisements, magazines; yellow pages etc. shopping around is must before buying auto insurance.


The best method is buying online auto insurance quotes. Online insurance is easy to find, analyze and then buy. Almost all the reputed companies have their websites on the internet. These sites are full of information that one might require anytime while searching for online auto insurance quotes. These sites have a small question bank that requires some general information about you. This information generally include your name, age, gender, type of vehicle you drive, license number, registration number, and finally the kind of insurance coverage that you want. Also they need to know about the budget that you have decided for your auto insurance policy.

These online auto insurance quotes provided to you by different companies have different terms and conditions. It depends on you that what condition suits you the best.

While looking for online auto insurance quotes one must also look for the kind of company for which he or she is going. The company must have a good reputation and must also be financially stable. This stability criterion is defined by government and non governmental organizations. An “A” rated company should be preferred to get you insured. Sometimes while looking for online auto insurance quotes several discounts are provided to attract the customers. A person must make it clear that this discount is not any kind of trap. So that he can be sure that his money is in safe hands.

If these steps are not taken then you can loose your large sum of money to the company with whom you have signed your insurance pact. The rules and regulations of the company must be properly understood. It is also noted that the claiming process from the company is not very complicated one otherwise it will trouble you a lot in the future. Hence these steps must be carefully followed so that you can enjoy the rest of your life peacefully and under the protection of the insurance.

Car Insurance for Your Kia

With over 640 auto dealers scattered all over the US, it’s not surprising that Kia Motors America has been slowly but steadily gaining car market share in the country. In the US, it focuses on providing a wide range of cars and SUVs or minivans.

For instance, if you’re in the market for a new car on a lower budget, you can try the Kia Rio, which is being retailed as of this writing at just above $12,000. (Got a higher budget? Then go for the Amanti, which starts at $26,580!). If you have a big family and want an SUV, how about the Kia Sportage, which starts to retail for just over $20,000? (Got a higher budget? Then go for the Borrego, which starts at $26,995!).

As you can see, there’s a Kia for every budget. However, always keep in mind that - just like with any car purchase – you need to arrange for insurance too. Following are a few pointers to consider to keeping your Kia car insurance down.

Ways to Save On Automobile Insurance for Your Kia

Nobody wants to pay more than they have to when it comes to insurance. If it’s your first time to get one, then be sure you shop and compare. Even if you’re already with a specific insurance provider, it won’t hurt to shop and compare again now. It’s not really impossible to save hundreds of dollars by simply moving over to a better provider.


In general, there are five ways you can keep auto insurance spending low: keep your driver records clean and updated, drive low-profile vehicles equipped with specific money-saving car safety features, adjust coverage for assuming more of the risk, shop around for low-cost providers, and check out discounts for which you may be qualified.

For the last tip, here’s a quick rundown of discounts you may get.

• Combined coverage. Save big bucks by insuring your car with the same provider who’s insuring your home. Find out if they offer combined coverage. Aside from lowering car insurance payments, this will make homeowners’ policies less expensive too. Inquire about renewal discounts given to people that remain with the same insurer for extended periods.
• Auto safety features. Antilock brakes, airbags and automatic seatbelts are examples of car safety features. Some states even encourage car drivers to purchase vehicles with such features by requiring auto insurers to provide discounts. If your Kia car has any safety traits then be sure to point this out to the provider.
• Low-risk jobs. Adjusters gather information on the types of people who are likely to figure in a car accident. Someone with a low-risk occupation is charged less for car insurance so be sure to look into this.
• Assume more risk. Drop collision insurance on older vehicles to realize dramatic reductions. Asking for higher deductibles is another way of redesigning a policy and saving money at the same time. Deductibles are the amounts car owners pay before insurance firms start paying for the rest. In short, car owners pay for the little bumps and dings while the insurance firms shoulder the heavy, more serious hits.

Enjoy your Kia vehicle without having to pay more than necessary for auto insurance. Savings are not hard to come by; one only needs to shop around and ask about them.