My Personal Finance Blog

The business of insurance is called underwriting. The company enters into a contract (called a policy) and agrees to indemnify a group of people like you against defined losses. So it uses some heavy duty math to work out the probability of the losses being incurred. It’s called risk assessment and relies on a complicated use of statistics. For vehicle insurance, the companies collect the details from every reported traffic accident in the US looking at the age, sex and occupation of the driver, the make and model being driven, the time of day, the road conditions, and the extent of the damage. The insurers share the information on the current costs of replacement parts and the labor to fit them.

They also manage to talk the health insurance companies into sharing their current costs on medical treatment for those injured in traffic accidents. With all this information, they can make good estimates of the cost of loss, i.e. the total amount they may have to pay out if they insure, say, 100,000 drivers. They take this estimate, add the cost of running the insurance company and a profit margin. This total is then divided between all the 100,000 as their premiums. Some companies divide the total equally so the good drivers subsidize the bad. But the majority adjusts the individual amounts based on the driver’s safety record. That way, each policy holder pays more or less depending on how well he or she drives. This is more fair.

But, to cut costs, some insurance companies make more general assumptions about the likelihood of losses. Instead of personalising the risk assessment, they focus the assessment on generalities. The most common is the use of the zip code. In some areas of a town or city, there are higher levels of vehicle theft and vandalism. Some areas have more people driving while intoxicated or impaired through drugs. Because of the design of the local road system, there may also be a higher number of accidents. The insurers therefore charge everyone living in those areas a higher premium. Apart from the unfairness at an individual level, some lawyers believe it is active discrimination because many of the zip code areas loaded with higher premiums have higher concentrations of particular racial or ethnic groups. California has formally prohibited insurance companies from using zip codes, credit scores and other factors not directly relevant to the assessment of driver safety. In those states, insurers continue to trade and make a profit. It has not been the end of the world they predicted.

So, depending on the US state in which you live, your premium may either be calculated based on your personal driving record, or it may be based on your zip code and credit score. Either way, the task of finding the cheapest car insurance remains the same. You have to shop around the companies licensed to sell policies in your state and find the best deal. If there is active competition between the insurers, the premiums will be lower and you will find cheap car insurance without too much difficulty. But if the state is unregulated and insurers do not compete, it will be more difficult to find a cheap policy.

Article by Unique Gifts n Gadgets

Take the stress and anxiety out of choosing the perfect, unique gift for all ages and all occasions with the following easy to follow “considerations” guide. In choosing the perfect, distinctive, ideal gift we attempt to elate the recipient and also ourselves, in giving that ideal gift which will be remembered long after the occasion itself.

Considerations: The Gift recipient: Age Sex Race/ Culture: ensure you are aware of any cultural beliefs prior to embarking on your search for the ideal unique gift. Relationship to the gift recipient, their hobbies, leisure interests, needs and wants. It is all too often that we purchase a gift for a person that we would like to receive ourselves rather than one that would carry high perceived value of the recipient. The category of gift must also be thought of e.g. a traditional ‘keepsake’ or an activity gift such as romantic gift, relaxing spa gift or high adrenalin thrill seeking gift. Further, the health of the recipient must be considered, as there are ever mounting allergies to foodstuffs /materials, and also physical incapacities e.g. arthritis. The number of presents e.g. corporate team building or teenager’s alternative to birthday party should be clearly identified.

The Occasion: This must also factor into your selection protocol, for there may be certain etiquette associated with certain occasions e.g. wedding anniversaries. Whilst it is well known that 50yrs of marriage is celebrated as a Golden Wedding Anniversary, custom for the other years of marriage also exists. Indeed there is substantial variation amongst traditional and contempory gift giving. Traditionally the 1st anniversary is noted by the gift of paper, the 2nd by cotton, the 3rd by leather. Modern Day anniversary gifts extend to clocks for the 1st year; china for the 2nd year; crystal for the 3rd, and so on.

Birthday Gifts: Essentially assessed on an individual basis. An unconventional alternative to hosting a party (itself fraught with considerable stress on the part of the organizer) could be a group activity gift e.g. teenagers laser skirmish. Individual traditional gift ideas could include significant birthstones or flowers e.g. February birthstone is amethyst (the significance sincerity), and the birth flowers Violets.

Mothers Day Gifts: For Centuries mothers have been respected for their role in society and the family unit. There are appreciable global variations as to the basis, and indeed the day on which it is now celebrated. In UK it is celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent; the traditional gift being a fruit cake. Spain acknowledges Mothers Day on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and France on 25th May, the traditional French gift being a cake in the shape of flowers which is presented at the family dinner. International Mothers Day is celebrated on 11th May (Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, and USA). The traditional gift in the USA is a spray of white carnations (representing deceased mothers) and pink carnations (representing living mothers). The Australian traditional gift is the chrysanthemum.

Corporate Gifts: Used in modern day business management as motivators, appreciators, promotional and sales closures. Activity gifts, e.g. relaxation/pamper gifts, or high adrenalin thrill gifts make for a refreshing change form the classic company logo memorabilia.

The Gift: Consider the recipient’s perceived value of the gift, the message behind the gift, gift topics, and presentation. <br.For certain gifts the location and season may also need to be considered in your choice e.g. activity gifts, or availability of certain floral blooms.

Purchase Factors: Value: Careful selection of one unique, quality present is a far better strategy than bulk, lesser value gifts. “One gift creates appreciation, many gifts create expectation.” (Author: Tony Bright).Budget: This must be set quite high on the priority list, unless a syndicate is an option where you have decided upon the ideal gift but funds are restricted. Simplicity of ordering and any return polices must be considered.The internet currently has taken a major hold in searching for both gift ideas, ease of ordering, and payment. No need to take a exasperating, wearisome, time consuming trip to your local shopping centre, and fight with traffic/ parking spots! Further there are no pushy sales folk to contend with when online shopping.Online shopping frees your time to browse any time of day or night…the true 24/7 shop! In stock / availability of the ideal gift… a pertinent factor with many trendy gifts. Delivery can be arranged either direct to your door or the beneficiary’s, many online gift businesses provide gift wrapping services. Shipping / delivery costs and time need to be observed.Quality and Value for money are essential.

The above is intended to act as a quick guide to focus your search for the ideal gift, for all occasions. Remember, inventiveness and the delight in giving and receiving far exceeds the matching dollar for dollar in gift exchange.

If you are divorced, it’s very wise to create a Parenting Plan so that all the important people in your children’s lives are aware of all they might need to know.

I’m going to suggest a list of topics to be considered here and then leave it up to your good intelligence to fill in the blanks and distribute as necessary to those who need this information the most.

Use caution when you distribute this information. Make sure the recipient of the file knows that it contains personal and confidential data. Consider providing a copy for your ex, his parents, your parents, your children’s school and your children’s child care provider. Omit information not needed by the one you give it to – social security number, for example. Because of the incidence of Identity Theft, exercise caution. Mark the file as Confidential Information.

Child’s Name

Date of Birth

Current age

Sex

Social Security Number

Allergies

Doctor’s Name

Custody Options/schedule – weekly, vacation, holiday

Homework Agreements

Primary Residence Address, Phone, Cell

Secondary Residence Address, Phone, Cell

Exhange Agreements

Who has permission to pick up from school?

School, medical, and court records sharing

Communicating Emergencies

When a parent is moving

Activities – scouts, little league, dance classes etc.

Transportation

Dating Considerations

Extended/blended family Authorization for medical treatment form

Communication between divorced parents can be very challenging. If it’s at all possible, and to avoid confrontation, make an effort to communicate in writing. If you use the ideas here to draft a form, it could help make the communication in the relationship you have to maintain with your ex smoother. By using specific fields above versus writing large paragraphs of data, you can avoid miscommunicating.

Be courteous when you communicate with your ex. Keep it factual. You owe it to your kids to communicate with as much harmony as you can muster with their other parent.

Request that all school notices be mailed to each parent. You both need this information. You both need to read it and make yourself aware of what is going on with your child, particularly if you share custody across the school week.

If communicating the Parenting Plan to your ex sets off skyrockets, wait until later to share the emotions that got triggered. Run your ideas by a close friend, or talk to your ex about it after you’ve cooled down because the facts you need to talk about are too important to get lost in emotion. Use common sense; be mature and save the emotional communicating for another time.

Another practical tip: don’t count on your children to carry this information to your ex for you. Be a big girl/boy and do it yourself. It’s a burden for your children and they don’t need that from you. Communicate this parenting plan when those little ears cannot hear you so as not to bruise their souls.