Archive for September, 2008

Homeowners - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Often times a new company will not insure a person that has been diagnosed with a disease or chronic condition because they are considered a high use risk. Even though companies want you to buy health insurance they do not necessarily want you to use it. There are many alternative programs in most States in the United States that offer plans to people that have been denied insurance due to a pre-existing condition. These are not always well publicized but certainly worth looking into if you or a member of your family fits into this category, and not an option to overlook as you buy health insurance. There are many companies and options to buy health insurance. Most of the major companies offer a free on line quote. Many of these companies also offer to provide comparisons for various plans within the company and also will compare the price of similar plans to their major competitors. The comparisons usually look at the type of deductible you are willing to pay as well as co-pays. A major flux in price from one plan to the next is whether or not prescription medications are covered or offered at a reduced rate with co-pay. Prescription coverage may not be necessary when you buy health insurance if you or your family members are not prescribed daily medication. The elderly that are more likely to have prescribed medications, have Medicare options to cover this area, so this is not as important of an issue for them when buying supplemental health insurance to pick up where Medicare ends.

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Life - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

Another way to check the customer service of a company is to find a claims telephone number on their website and call it up. If their claims people are nice to you, the likelihood of the customer service being a positive team has just raised. After you have assessed the courtesy level of the auto insurence company’s service department, then politely thank them for their time and hang up. No explanation necessary, they will just move on to their next call without giving you another thought. This technique is based on the theory that there are two kinds of companies: the ones who stock their sales teams with friendly people and put all the low-paid mean folks in their claims departments and the ones who stock both with friendly, professionals. Usually, this simple test will tell you the type of company with which you are dealing. If the quoted auto insurence policy has both the assets you desire and a high quality of customer service, then the quote is a true quote. Remember if you think you might end up actually using the car insurence–which we should all assume we will–then check these two things before running after the apparently low premiums. Disputes, especially when it comes to settling insurence claims, are not new scenarios. In fact, they take place every day. Just what causes these disputes? Well, one of the obvious reasons is most policy holders think that they deserve to be paid a larger settlement than what they receive. Second, claims are slow to process. And third, claims are denied.

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Life - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

There are various ways to deal with your auto insurence company. First, is the aggressive approach, which I am not encouraging since I am a peace-loving individual, and believe that everything should be settled in a peaceful and civilized manner. There are actually several peaceful options which a policyholder may undertake depending on the degree of insurence dispute. For cases wherein your insurence agent is unable to solve your problem, it is advised to get the name and then the phone number of your insurence company s claims department. Afterwards, call the consumer complaint department and never hesitate to tell them your problem because they may be able to help you. And don t forget to get the name of the person whom you talked with in the consumer complaint department. The next step is to send all documents to the consumer complaint department to back up your complaints. Send it to the person whom you talked with in the consumer complaint department. But be sure not to send the original copies of your documents. Have your documents photocopied because you need the original copies in case you have to take the matter to court. Another option that you have is to ask for reassessment of your claims from the appraisal service or the arbitration service of your insurence company. If the result still has not satisfied you there is always your own state s insurence department that may be able to help you. Nevertheless, if you still feel that after you have applied all the above-mentioned options and yet you feel that you have not been given the appropriate solution you want, you can always take the matter to court. You can hire a lawyer, preferably one who is an expert in handling auto insurence cases.

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Renters - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

All the others are optional. That s the first and most important thing to remember when you re at the rental desk, and the total price for your two-week vacation car is quickly adding up and up. The other thing to know is that in many cases, you will be covered, to some extent by your existing car insurence. You will have to check your insurence policy to make certain, but for the vast majority of drivers, they will have liability insurence by virtue of their own car insurence, and this will carry over to the rental car. You may still require no insurence from the rental company however. This is because many credit card companies, including both visa and MasterCard, offer this insurence if you pay for the rental with one of their cards. This is a major benefit of using a credit card and should not be wasted.

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Car - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Your goal should be to have an emergency fund available to take care of your family for 2-4 weeks (minimum)if possible. In a disaster it might be hard to even find a local bank to get cash. Debit/credit cards with a statewide or national bank would perhaps be better. Your biggest problem in getting your claim handled may be in either not having the proper homeowners insurence coverage or not having enough coverage. Most good homeowners insurence policies today cover up to 120% of your dwelling coverage limit. It is important that you review the dwelling limit with your agent every couple of year s at a minimum. Homeowners insurence policies do not cover Flooding, but you should again see your agent for this coverage. If your homeowners insurence falls short, you may qualify for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or a disaster-assistance loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Homeowners can borrow up to $200,000 for rebuilding and $40,000 to replace personal property at very low interest rates for up to 30 years.

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Homeowners - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

Check out dental insurence website and Dental insurence Plansblog for all the latest articles on dental plans and dental insurence Most companies provide dental insurence coverage to their employees. Group dental insurence can prove to be an advantage in the sense that since a large number of employees are involved, greater benefits can be provided at lower costs. But what happens to people who are self-employed or to those whose companies are small and don’t provide dental coverage? The answer to this lies in purchasing individual dental plans and this is where the dental insurence companies come into the picture. Realizing profitable business opportunities in this business scenario, there are many companies who are now providing affordable individual dental plans. The working arrangement is simple, these dental insurence companies tie up with dental service providers who then provide patients treatment at reduced rates if they buy their dental plan from them. These days, there are many companies offering dental insurence plans. Before buying a package, it is absolutely essential to do some homework. People have to start somewhere and so the best thing to do is run an online search and narrow down on a few companies and do a comparative study of the plans they offer. People must note down points such as what is actually covered by the plans, additional benefits, deductibles, and monthly premiums. Another item of importance is what the plans offer in terms of preventive treatment and of course also emergency treatment. The cost should be another major factor, for it will include your monthly or annual fee as also the co-pays for which the patient will be responsible for all visits.

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Car - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Monday, September 15th, 2008

While it would seem that a good credit score would have nothing to do with insurance rates, it is a fact that they do. Home Insurance companies are using your credit score as an indicator of responsibility. The theory is the more responsible the individual the less claims they will have. So, insurance companies are giving lower rates to those individuals with a better credit score. Most, if not all companies that sell home insurance, offer discounts for insuring your autos with them. These discounts can sometimes save you up to 30% off of your total insurance bill. Plus, you get the added convenience of having one agent for both your home and auto insurances. Discuss with your agent about the possibilities of receiving home insurance discounts for keeping your home in good repair. Some home insurance companies will offer savings for a anew roof, electrical, HVAC, plumbing updates. The discounts are generally not enough to warrant the replacement but if you needed it anyway, be sure to get the discounts if applicable. Your home insurance coverage should not necessarily be what you paid for them home. Land values are calculated into the final sales price and should be considered when insuring the structure. In others words you cannot hurt the dirt. A good idea is to call local builders and ask them what new home construction cost per square foot is going for. Take that number, multiply that times your square footage and that is the amount that your home should be insured for. Companies will not pay more than what it is going to cost to rebuild the home anyway, so make sure you are insured correctly. The deductible is your portion of the claim that must be paid before the insurance company pays for the claim. The lower your deductible, the higher your premium will be. Deductibles can range anywhere from $100-$5000 or more. The majority of homeowners will carry a $500 deductible, but the savings one can receive by raising your deductible to $1000 can be significant, up to 20%. It doesn t take too many claim free years to make up the difference between the two deductibles, but remember you should never raise your deductible to a level that you could not afford to pay. Most of the time, an agent will make sure that you are receiving 100% of the home insurance discounts that you qualify for, but it doesn t hurt to ask. Some insurance companies have discounts that others do not. Some offer discounts that most would never dream as being a discount such as 55 and retired, non smoking, military service, law enforcement, single parent discounts, etc. Home Insurance shopping is easy. Insurance shopping online is even easier.

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Home - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

The 1988 Road Traffic Act, section 143 clearly states that all drivers on the UK roads must have insurance for the vehicle that they are driving. The point of the insurance is that if you have an accident and it is your fault, you have the means to cover the cost of the damage incurred by way of your insurance policy. It’s a sad fact that a significant minority of drivers choose not to bother with insurance, disregarding UK law and saving themselves hundreds of pounds a year as a consequence. Someone has to pay for these drivers though, and it’s the people that do have insurance that foot the bill! The Department of Transport estimates that as many as 5% of drivers are not insured on the vehicle which they are driving. Statistics also show that uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident. It’s a growing trend and is proving very difficult to eradicate. If you have an accident, you are not at fault, and the third party is not insured, then you will be reimbursed by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. Who funds them? The car insurance industry! That’s where some of your inflated premiums end up. You will also find that you’ll have to pay the agreed excess yourself, there will be no-one able to refund that for you. Here’s the low-down on the basics about excess’: Compulsory Excess this is the amount that the insurance company regards as the minimum amount that you must pay towards the cost of damages . This is agreed at the outset and depends on a few details you’re your age and your driving record. For example, if you are older and have a clean driving record, you could only have to pay a minimum of 50. Those with a more chequered driving history, or those that have not been driving for very long, could feasibly have to agree to pay 500. The average for most drivers is 100 . Voluntary Excess this is the amount over and above the minimum compulsory’ amount set by the insurer that you are prepared to pay.

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Auto - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Both large and small employers offer some form of dental plan to their employees as part of their comprehensive benefit policy. The preferred form of the dental plan that is normally offered is the individual dental discount plan. It is an undeniable truth that regular routine checkups and cleanings by the dentist are the easiest ways to maintain oral health. Most dental plans are structured towards covering the cost of these procedures, which come under preventive care. However, they do not cover treatments such as orthodontics, esthetics or cosmetic restoration such as fillings, crowns, braces and implants. The escalating premiums required for dental insurance, increased deductibles and extended periods of waiting time have all served to drive families and individuals more in favor of discount dental plans. The advantage of the policy is that it is specifically tailored to cover the person, spouse and unmarried, dependent children. Additionally, it can also be included on Federal income tax returns. In spite of the tax benefits afforded by dental insurance, in recent times more people opt for the individual discount dental plan where the person is obliged to meet the expenses for the services rendered. The discount offered on the wide variety of services is the major attraction.

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Home - Questions and Answers about Insurance

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Many dental insurance plans also include children as part of their coverage program. Dental insurance plans are typically business arrangements between an employer and an insurance company covering routine processes such as a thorough examination by the dentist and a set of X-rays. They are drafted by profit-based companies to process payment claims for dental services. The different categories of plans sponsored by these companies for individuals or groups include: a) Fee-for-service plans or indemnity plans. A monthly premium is normally debited by the employer or the patient to the insurance agency for a fixed time before it starts to pay for the dental care. In this scheme, the insurance companies usually cover 50-80% of the cost of the treatment, while the remaining cost is paid by the patient. The limitation of the indemnity plan structure is that it may require waiting periods, and is not applicable for emergency dental services. It is one of the more expensive dental benefit options, and does not support procedures such as aesthetic dentistry and implants. b) Managed care plans, or Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) programs are schemes where the patient is at a liberty to choose the dentist from a network. The fees payable for the services rendered by the dentist will be discounted by the PPO. However, if the dentist is not among those preferred, it results in much higher deductibles and larger co-payments from the patient. Though it is less expensive compared to indemnity plans, it may require one to change dentists due to a limitation in the panel of participating dentists. With the large variety of dental benefit options available today, it is best to fully understand the fine print of each scheme and then choose one which provides the maximum coverage for an extended period of time. If a company does not provide group insurance, buying individual dental insurance becomes an absolute necessity. This is because without dental coverage, people’s visits to the dentist can prove to be an expensive experience. Before settling for any one particular plan, it is essential that you do some homework.

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