My Personal Finance Blog

No matter what we do in life, insurance is typically necessary, and one of the most important insurance policies that we hold is auto insurance. The thing about auto insurance is that you can easily shop and compare for the best insurance policy on the market without leaving your home or office. The reason for this is that Online Insurance Quotes are a tool which is available to all consumers.

As the insurance buyer, when shopping online, you can expect a better rate on insurance. However, the consumer is faced with many different search tools that provide many different results. The reason for this is that the different rating engines ask different questions that produce divergent quotes.

The answer to this is to take the time and conduct an in-depth research before picking a quote. The popularity of the site is important when obtaining online insurance quotes. The site should provide online insurance quotes from a variety of noted insurance providers. If the insurance site claims to provide the best insurance quotes in the industry, then these quotes will come from a number of providers. When you do not shop and compare multiple quotes, you are not getting the best or perfect deal because you are only comparing a few.

Also, it is important to remember that no two sites may be the same. For instance, some sites may provide results almost instantly, while others may take a bit more time. You should find a site that does provide it all- multiple insurance quotes from top insurance providers and fast service. It should include the essential information about the policy with its premiums. It is important to realize, quotes from companies that are not reputable, may omit important information.

When you wish to shop for auto insurance or any type of insurance coverage for that matter, it is always a good idea to compare insurance quotes. The key ingredient is not to be in a rush and shop the right sites for comparison insurance quotes.

Online insurance quotes are the ideal means to obtain information on insurance policies. You will want to survey each website prior to providing your information to their quote engine. The insurance policies that the online site offers are no different from purchasing policies from a land insurance provider. The sites offer a wide range of policies such as health, life, auto, travel, dental, vision and so on.

Lastly, before the purchase of an insurance policy through an online quote, it is always a good idea to contact their customer service department and ask a question, no matter how simple. This is simply because you likely will need support in the future when filing claims, and this call will give you an idea as to how well you are handled and how quick their response is.

Purchasing insurance has become one of the most convenient purchases among purchases. Insurance quotes allow you to shop and compare, and the online insurance sites are making it possible for the insurance buyer to save a tremendous amount.

How can you tell that you really need home insurance? Well, if you’re not planning any illegal things like insurance scam (which is definitely not a good idea, especially these days), it will be really hard to predict any situation when you will actually need some insurance coverage for protecting your house. Until, of course something bad happens and you will need the money to pay for the damage. However, there’s a range of circumstances that make an insurance policy for your house a really welcome if not necessary addition to your paperwork portfolio.

The following are the most typical events that will make having home insurance a necessity unless you have a lot of money and can rebuild your home from scratch without worrying about finances.

Fire

Fire is definitely one of the most hazardous of perils that can happen to a house. It has the potential to completely destroy an entire building within minutes and there’s a very little chance that any of your personal belongings will survive it. Fire is very hard to control and it can happen any time, with most cases of fire being reported when the home owner is actually away. It can be a spark from a malfunctioning home appliance or a cigarette butt that lights up a pile of dry leaves that you’ve left in your front yard. And the moment you arrive home you find nothing but a pile of ashes instead of all of your belongings. A standard homeowners insurance policy provides protection against any forms of fire.

Flood

Living in an area with no large bodies of water nearby doesn’t mean that you don’t have the risk of having flood damage in your house. Things like heavy showers, bad water pipes and even a broken washing machine can flood your house and damage a large part of your belongings beyond repair and restore. Sometimes, the damage from flood can be much worse that that caused by fire. Standard homeowners insurance policies do not carry coverage against flood damage and you will have to purchase such a policy as a weaver to your current one or buy it separately.

Earthquake

Earthquakes are certainly the hardest to predict and hardest to protect against of all natural disasters. An earthquake can destroy an entire town or city within just a few minutes, turning even the most durable of constructions into a pile of dust. And the best thing you can do during an earthquake is to stay away from your house that can collapse over you. Standard insurance policies include coverage against earthquakes, too. However, in order to make sure you will also be paid for the lost belongings you should have an inventory of all the items (especially valuables and electronics) with detailed information on every piece that can further be used for reimbursing the cost of all the lost belongings.

There are other circumstances that can also be a threat to your house and you want to have coverage against them. Having tornado insurance in an area where they are common is definitely a must. However, keep in mind that no one is imposing you to have home insurance, It’s a decision choice that can save you a lot of money and time in case something bad happens to your house.

Do you remember the Blues Brothers? They were unstoppable. They were “on a mission from God”. Seems like almost everyone standing behind the counter in the rental agency is a Blues Brother when you come into collect the vehicle. They always want to sell you something, usually additional insurance. The most common special offer is loss damage waiver (LDW). It sounds such a good idea to have complete cover against any loss caused to the vehicle while under your control. The magic word is “waiver”. You are excluded from liability even if you drive the vehicle off the end of a pier and it sinks without trace (hopefully without you still inside it). The only problem is this good idea can seriously damage your bank balance when the final bill comes in. That hourly or daily rate just got heavy. So when should you add LDW? The answer is deceptively simple. If you do not own another vehicle and have no insurance cover in place, it may be a good buy. But most insurance policies on your own vehicle cover you while driving a rental. So it all comes down to the extent of that cover on your own vehicle.

To get the maximum discount in these hard economic times, most people have been pushing up the deductibles. In many cases, the potential losses can be managed to keep to the low end. It’s your vehicle. You can talk to the repair shop and get all the work you want done at the best price. But when it’s a rental vehicle, everything is out of your hands. The rental company has no interest in protecting your bank balance. It pays top dollar to get the vehicle repaired and sends you the bill. No searching around to find the cheapest replacement parts and lowest price body shops. Everything is top of the range and then comes the kicker. It’s called the “loss of use” charge. You are expected to cover their estimated loss of profit while the vehicle is off the road. And guess what. If you are paying their loss of profit, they have no incentive to rush the repairs. They can take their own sweet time and, in most cases, you pay – most private policies do not cover loss of use charges. Some credit card companies offer limited cover, but read the small print before relying on it. Limited cover means very little actual money will ever be paid out.

If you are only renting for a few days, it’s probably worth paying for LDW. It may not be cheap car insurance, but it protects you. But if the end bill is going to be too high, trust to luck and your own insurance policy. Hopefully, your own cheap car insurance policy will give you enough of a buffer against claims Remembering, of course, that only the best private policies cover you against the dreaded loss of use charges. If nothing else, all this bad news should give you the incentive to drive like your wheels are passing over egg shells. Drive as safely and carefully as possible. If you are going to break some eggs, make sure the damage is minor and the losses are small.

Recently, President Obama made a big speech. He was worried about education standards. He wanted to divert more resources into improving basic reading skills and giving people a better understanding of the world around them. It was interesting to see how many voices were raised in complaint. They did not agree it should be a high priority for people to know more about the world. These are the voices of big businesses like insurance that rely on you not understanding how policies work. There is more profit to be made if people do not read and understand what they are buying. How bad is this problem? The answer comes in a recent survey carried out by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). It seems only 45% of you have any real sense of confidence when you buy insurance policies, more than 60% failed to define simple concepts from health and auto policies, and 86% did not understand the terms being used in the healthcare reform debate. When insurance is so important to financial survival in the US, it is disheartening that people are not making decisions based on the best information.

Here is a quick test:

• if some property is stolen from your vehicle, can you claim its value on your auto policy?
• is your credit history taken into consideration when you buy a policy?
• when you buy a liability policy which insures 100/300/100. what does the last figure mean?

When you want insurance, you could make a policy decision only to buy through an agent. Being able to talk to a person gives you access to their knowledge and experience. It can give you more confidence. Except most agents will charge you a fee or there will be commission deducted out of your premium instalments, so this advice can come expensive. Is it worth it when you can do a little study and learn what you need to know. As a starting point, look at http://www.InsureUonline.org/. Getting more savvy means saving money and getting a better deal by buying a policy online. So long as you shop around, getting as many car insurance quotes as possible, you should always be able to find a good deal. But, if you are still uncertain, do not be afraid to pick up the telephone before writing out a check or authorizing a credit card payment. Now you make a choice. Your state has a Department of Insurance and all of them run help lines to answer your questions. Alternatively, call the car insurance company directly. Make sure you understand your policy before you find out the hard way when making a claim. In other words, you should always protect yourself and avoid future losses by asking before you buy.

The answers to the questions are: property stolen from your vehicle is covered by your homeowners policy not the auto insurance policy; your credit score is a key factor for setting your premium rate in the majority of states; and the final $100,000 is the maximum amount payable for damage to property.

You probably know that all US states have different minimum coverage amounts that are required to be carried within the driver’s insurance policies. And depending on where your car is registered you will have to meet these requirements. What happens if your policy has coverage amounts lower than the required minimum? That depends on the state you drive in. But usually, in case of an accident if the authorities learn that you have coverage below the minimum amount you can face a penalty or even taken into custody. So, in order to avoid that, here are the minimum requirements of coverage state by state:

Alaska 50/100/25
Alabama 20/40/10

Arkansas 25/50/15
Arizona 15/30/10
California 15/30/5
Colorado 25/50/15
Connecticut 20/40/10
Delaware 15/30/5
Florida 10/20/10
Georgia 15/30/10
Hawaii 20/40/10

Idaho 20/50/15
Illinois 20/40/15
Indiana 25/50/10
Iowa 20/40/15
Kansas 25/50/10
Kentucky 25/50/10
Louisiana 10/20/10
Maine 50/100/25
Maryland 20/40/10

Massachusetts 20/40/5
Michigan 20/40/10
Minnesota 30/60/10
Mississippi 25/50/25
Missouri 25/50/10
Montana 25/50/10
Nebraska 25/50/25
New Hampshire 25/50/25
New Jersey 15/30/5

New Mexico 25/50/10
Nevada 15/30/10
New York 25/50/10
North Carolina 30/60/25
North Dakota 25/50/25
Ohio 12.5/25/7.5
Oklahoma 10/20/10
Oregon 25/50/10
Pennsylvania 15/30/5

Rhode Island 25/50/25
South Carolina 15/30/10
South Dakota 25/50/25
Tennessee 25/50/10
Texas 20/40/15
Utah 25/65/15
Virginia 25/50/20
Vermont 25/50/10
Washington 25/50/10

Wisconsin 25/50/10
West Virginia 20/40/10
Wyoming 25/50/20

The numbers refer to bodily injury and damage liability limits to be carried by the car insurance policy. The first number is the limit of injury liability per person. The second number is the injury liability limit per accident. And the third number refers to damage liability amount. And if the property damage limit is pretty evident, needed to pay for any damage to property or infrastructure delivered by your vehicle during the accident, the first two limits need a more detailed explanation. Let’s take an example from Alaska – 50/100. The first number means that a person injured in the accident that gets covered can receive up to $50,000. The second number refers to the total injury car insurance coverage per single accident. If there are two persons in the car who sustained damage they will receive up to $50,000 each (a total of $100,000). But if there are 3 or 4 persons, the $100,000 will be distributed amongst them, making individual coverage limits lower. In case all the persons require maximum per capita coverage of $50,000 the first who file for it will get it, and the other ones will be covered by the policy of the car owner who was at fault during the accident.