Money and Business

Your auto insurance policy has a limit. So does your home insurance policy. Limits may sound confining because they limit the insurance company’s liability in claims that affect your car or home, but they also benefit you because they limit your premium. After all, if you had unlimited liability from the insurance company, the premiums they would have to charge in order to stay in business would be outrageous. But some individuals want a little extra insurance – more than their regular insurance policies offer. Those individuals can choose to add an umbrella policy to their insurance arsenal.

What is an umbrella insurance policy?

An umbrella policy is not like a different kind of insurance plan, but simply a liability policy that stretches out over the limits of your existing home insurance or auto insurance policy. And like an umbrella protects its carrier from the coming rainfall, an umbrella insurance policy protects policyholders from the claims of individuals that exceed the limits of their underlying home insurance or auto insurance policies. You don’t need a separate umbrella insurance policy for both home and auto coverage – one umbrella policy extends protection for claims under each policy.

How does it work?

Having a pool can be a lot of fun, but it can also bring a lot of liability to a home owner’s doorstep. If one of your friends or neighbors is visiting your home and is injured while swimming in or walking around your pool, it could result in a very large claim against your home insurance policy (depending on the nature and extent of the damages suffered). For the sake of this example, let’s say that you have a home insurance policy with limits of $250,000. Your children’s friends come over one afternoon to enjoy the pool and one of them slips and falls in, resulting in a neck injury and partial temporary disability that creates a need for several years’ worth of physical therapy and surgery in order for that person to walk again. This could result in a liability claim of $1 million or more – but your home insurance will only pay up to $250,000. The rest of the claim is your responsibility to pay – unless you have an umbrella policy. If you did, the umbrella policy would pay the remaining $750,000 due and you would not have to sell your home or dip into your personal assets to pay the claim. The example would work the same way if your automobile was the cause of the injury rather than the pool.

Because umbrella policies are not required by law, it is up to you whether or not you have one. When you consider the damage to your finances and your future that a single liability claim could have, you might find that the additional protection of an umbrella policy covering your home and auto is just enough to help you sleep easier at night.

When running a small family-based business having the right insurance plan can be a source of great benefits in terms of health coverage. This is especially important for the “spouse employee” situation.

What is spouse-employee insurance?

From the insurance point of view, a spouse-employee is the worker of a business who is a spouse to the business owner but is not an owner themselves or a professional specialist. A spouse-employee cannot be classified as an “independent contractor” as well. Speaking simply, the spouse of the business owner should work as a simple employee with no formal power to influence the profits or the decision-making process within the business.

There are a lot of elements that the IRS takes into account when qualifying a business owner’s spouse as an employee. For instance, if the spouse hare a share of more than 2% in a sub-chapter S corporation then they are classified as a business owner even if they work at the enterprise as an employee.

What’s the point?

There are certain benefits of having employee-spouse insurance:

1. The cost of covering accidents and health is deductible by the business owner if there’s such insurance option provided to his or her spouse.

2. The costs of coverage and medical bills are not included into the gross income of the spouse-employee.

In most cases, health and accident coverage the business owner gets as an employee of his own business is still subject to taxation as it is regarded as income. However, we all know that the business owner and his or her spouse-employee live in the same household and usually have the same family budget. So, if the spouse is hired as an ordinary employee the business owner can cut insurance costs and the premiums paid are not regarded as income. As a result, the spouse-employee gets health insurance free of charge. Sure, it’s the business insurance policy that pays the premiums, but it’s not included in their family budget. So if the business owner hires his spouse or any other family members as legal employees, they can benefit from virtually free health and accident insurance that the business pays for them.

Besides, the wages paid to spouse or any other family members as employees are considered as business expenses as well. And in most cases the wages the spouse receives are also used in the household. That’s why small family-bases businesses are considered to be so beneficial from the taxation point of view. Not to mention that business insurance provides additional coverage for the entire family.

Are there any catches?

It all depends on the state you set up your business in and its form, so it sure pays to consult with your tax advisor first. And don’t forget that IRS will require the business owner to provide proof that the spouse is actually performing their work instead of being a taxation shelter for the business. This is done to prevent fraud and tax speculations.

However, the biggest catch is the fact that the business owner should provide this form of small business insurance benefits to all employees, not just their spouse or family members. Otherwise, it could be classified as discrimination and cause penalties from IRS.

Looking for a good insurance plan for insuring one’s health can be tedious and involves a lot of options to consider. Especially, when you aren’t quite good at insurance and didn’t get any plans on your own in the past. Insurance agents and brokers can use this confusion to their advantage and you can end up paying way more for insurance than you really should. And one of the most frequently asked questions concerning insurance plans is about choosing between group and individual health insurance.

Fact is that there’s no definite answer to this question and it depends on the actual needs of a person asking it. We will try to outline the main advantages and disadvantages of each insurance plan type and deciding what to choose will rest on you. Remember that the situation is different in each case and what’s beneficial for your neighbor or colleague can be quite uncomfortable for you personally.

Individual plans

Individual plans are quite common and represent a traditional form of health insurance. Individual or independent plans usually have a single policyholder and are tailored to his or her exact requirements. In most cases the customer can adjust coverage amounts and edit the list of services that should be covered by the policy. Due to this, individual plans have a very high degree of flexibility. The main downside here is the price. Individual plans usually cost more than group plans and are useful only if you have any specific health insurance needs. It’s much easier to find an individual plan that will cover pre-existing conditions or specific healthcare services but you will have to pay for that.

Group plans

Group plans have become very popular among many workers and students who are often offered with such an option by their employers or education facilities. Under a group plan, the group of workers shares the same set of services that are covered and the employer usually pays a part of the premium, which makes group plans a very advantageous option in terms of price. On the other hand, group plans have a limited set of services that get covered. Most pre-existing conditions are denied with coverage and if you need any specific healthcare services you are very likely to pay out of own pocket for them.

Conclusion

Both individual and group plans have their strengths and weaknesses. In terms of price you will certainly gain more by choosing a group health insurance plan as compared to individual offers. However, if you have specific health conditions and need adequate coverage, group health insurance may be not enough to cover you properly, and it would be better to go with individual insurance. Analyze your needs, think how often you visit a doctor and make your decision basing on these facts. If you are healthy and don’t go to a doctor quite often, an employer-sponsored group plan might work very well for you. But if you visit a doctor on a regular basis and need special medications and services that should be covered, you might want to choose an individual plan that will let you tailor the coverage according to your personal needs.

The weather conditions should not affect anything. Of course, it is clear to everybody that in winter accidents are more frequent, but you also have to remember that avoiding an accident is much more valuable than knowing how to recover from it. But in case you did end up in an accident please know what to do. Let us try to explain everything you will require to understand while finding yourself a victim on the road. Here are a few very strong advices that will definitely help you to get through a difficult time of your life.

We would want you to read these points carefully and if you have an opportunity to print the information given below please do and make sure you keep it not to far away.

First of all it is important to take a deep breath and not to panic. Analyze the situation and determine the equivalent of losses. The damage can be significant or slightly important. In any case you have to consider that it is easy to make the situation even worse than it is. In any case, what you must know is that sometimes medical assistance is what you need to think of in the first place. Smallest details count.

You have to know to report police about any accidents you find yourself in. It has to be legal so there is a way to deal with the situation. Do not try to escape from the scene or arrange anything without police knowing about it. This will get you into more trouble. Police will make a full report of everything that happen and conclude with the verdict.

Do not let anybody get you blinded. Talk only with policemen about the accident. We know sometimes it is difficult to keep it quiet about what happened but take a look at it from a different point of view. While in panic people let themselves go, not realizing what it can get themselves into. Limit all of the conversations about the accident on the road and do not confess anything. The only two people that should know all honesty are the policeman and insurance company person.

Remember to make notes. People are so shocked and nervous after the accident that they forget the most important part – to write down names, addresses, phone contacts of those who were involved in the car accident with them. But you have to ask your insurance company’s advice while you are waiting for police to arrive. The insurance company guy will definitely tell you to recollect the name of the insurance company the others are dealing with plus their car’s identification number.

You should call your insurance company or your insurance agent as soon as you found yourself in the accident. He must know it before anybody. Please inform him about the smallest details and don’t be afraid to speak the truth even if you were the one responsible for the accident.

You ca also find some car insurance quotes on different websites and read them before you hit the road. We don’t mean you have to do it everyday but it is always good to know how to help ay case when it occurs. You can also get car insurance quotes from the insurance company itself if you have chosen one already. Good luck and be safe!

In the good old days, the world was a simple place. You went into a store to buy goods, or to an agent or broker to buy services. The price was quoted and you paid it out of the cash in your bank account. If your account was poorly stocked with dollar notes, you had to wait until you had saved enough. In this primitive way, people lived within their means, only buying goods and services when they could afford them. Those who had regular income and some collateral, were graciously allowed to borrow money from their banks. But pity those who defaulted. Their collateral would rapidly disappear into the hands of their bankers. It was a tough world for borrowers. Then there was a revolution. Suddenly, there was cheap credit available and we could all have what we wanted right now. Just one down-payment and the rest in easy instalments. Then the revolution became a financial tsunami as the newly launched credit cards suddenly put real buying-power in our hands with generous credit limits. Add in the housing equity release plans and all the other wonderful financial gizmos dreamt up by the folk who live on Wall Street, and you have the modern age just before the worst recession in decades and the credit crunch that took everyone by surprise.

Buying insurance policies has always been potentially expensive. When you see the premium rate expressed as an annual sum, it can look a little daunting. Yet, when you are old enough to put wheels on the road, there’s mandatory liability cover in all but three US states. This is where dreams would fade were it not for the willingness of insurance companies to be flexible on the payments. First they dropped to 6 monthly payments. Some went for quarterly. And then the final act of liberation – the monthly instalment plan. Now you could buy your policy on the same basis as your home, the furniture and white goods in it, and the car you wanted to drive. Everything had come down to the total amount you could afford to pay every month and still have something left over to buy food. This has some major benefits. You can buy insurance with no down payment. Just use the internet search engines to find cheap auto insurance quotes offering the lowest premium rates, pay the first instalment in advance and you are legal on the road.

But there is more to it than that. Ignoring the supposed advantage of easier money management, it also frees you to change your auto insurance policy whenever you find a better deal. If you have paid six or twelve months in advance, this locks you into the policy. Yes, companies do allow you to change, but usually subject to cancellation charges – sometimes eye-poppingly high. The freedom to change insurers can be important if you change the make and model you drive. The existing insurer may be less competitive on the rates for the new vehicle, but the charges may take up the saving available by switching to a competitor. However, because insurers prefer stability, they offer discounts on 6 or 12 monthly payments to give them your cash in their hands. Paying on a monthly basis is always more expensive. As always, it’s your choice.

Do you think much about car insurance rates before you buy that car you’ve been dreaming of for years? If not, you should be, because the car you ride makes a big importance in what you will pay for insuring it. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) accumulates and analyzes information regarding the insurance costs of every car make and model present on the road according to theft rates, repair costs, number of claims filed, safety and damage to infrastructure. the cost to insurance companies from theft, collision, and injury claims as they relate to cars.

For example, two door cars are much likely to be stolen than their four door peers. A convertible Chevrolet Corvette has a theft rate five times higher than that of a Buick LeSabre. And Toyota Celica is 67% more likely to be stolen than her sister Toyota Camry.

Another primary factor determining the cost of insuring your car is safety of those who are inside when the car crashes. Some cars will leave the passengers intact, while others have frightening lethal rates even with non-devastating collisions. So if you want to keep your life and pay lower insurance premiums, you should definitely check out the crash test ratings and see if your dream car fits into the “safe” category.

The same should be done with car theft rates. Every year these lists change, because newer and more exclusive cars tend to become the target of car thieves more often than older models. However, some car models keep on appearing in top theft lists, contributing to their “popularity” and high insurance rates respectively. These cars are:

• Toyota Camry
• Toyota Corolla
• Toyota Pickups
• Honda Accord
• Ford F-150
• Acura Integra
• Nissan Sentra

Another factor that may raise your insurance rates is how much a single theft claim costs according to the car stolen. This variable is determined by how often such claims are filed and how much the car costs. Currently the most expensive theft claims are filed on the following cars:

• Cadillac Escalade
• Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
• Lincoln Navigator

Respectively the lowest theft claims come with the following vehicles:

• Buick LeSabre
• Volvo V70 Station Wagon
• Mercury Grand Marquis 4-four

In what concerns injury claims and passenger safety, the rule of thumb here is the bigger the car, the safer it is. Vehicles with a smaller mass tend to get damage more in accidents, and the same applies to faster sports cars. Thus the rating of the most expensive vehicles in terms of injury claims:

• Suzuki Esteem 4-door
• Kia Rio 4-door
• Mitsubishi Mirage 2-door
• Kia Spectra 4-doors

While the cars with cheap car insurance due to low injury claims are:

• GMC Sierra 2500
• GMC Yukon XL 1500 4-wheel
• Chevrolet Silverado
• Chevrolet Tahoe 2-wheel

So it is better to investigate your cheap car insurance options before actually buying the car you were dreaming about. Because in reality it may turn into a real nightmare, with costly insurance premiums, high repair costs and the risk of being stolen the other day you actually buy it.

When speaking about liability, many seem to forget the initial meaning of the word, which would let them understand better anything that has to do with “liability” in this country. “Liability” means that “there’s a possibility” if used in broader terms. In legal glossary, liability tends to be associated with words “owing” and “responsibility” meaning that a person or entity is forced to hold responsibility for certain actions with respect to the legal framework of the state or federal level. The same meaning spreads to the field of insurance too.

In most cases, such a responsibility has a financial form when a condition or a situation putting the law at work takes place. This is because laws are designed to regulate the lives of all citizens, harmonizing all relations between them and assuring that any injustice is addressed properly.

In most US states and countries over the world, drivers are legally required to carry insurance policies when operating most types of vehicles, which of course includes cars as well. And as there are many conditions for the driver to be responsible for certain damage or injury on the road, all insurance policies include a “liability” section, which is triggered in situations of being at fault during a traffic accident.

When a traffic accident takes place, someone is the victim and someone is at fault. Who’s who is determined by the police basing upon the facts provided by both parties, witnesses and location observations. All parties involved in the accident should have auto insurance in order to drive a car legally. And the one who is determined to be at fault is automatically liable for the damages caused by his or her actions on the road. Meaning that the person wields financial responsibility for the consequences of the traffic accident and the insurance policy will help the person pay for the damages or injuries done.

Most people driving cars don’t have the money to be fully liable for any accident they are involved in, because repairing a car or paying medical bills can cost you a fortune. That’s why people need insurance policies when driving automobiles and no matter whether you have cheap auto insurance or a very costly coverage plan, your policy still contains the liability portion to different extents.

The cost of your insurance policy does not determine the amount of liability it carries directly, but usually the more costly is the policy the larger is the amount of liability coverage. Still, you can have decent liability coverage even with cheap auto insurance plans if you look deeper into your options and choose the right offer from the right provider.

Just make sure to ask your agent or broker about your liability limits before buying the actual policy. The state you live in can strongly influence the minimum amount of coverage to be carried, because these numbers vary across states. And you don’t want to have liability coverage below the required minimum, because it will cause much trouble when the policy finds it out.

Having an accident with a driver who has no auto insurance coverage can place you and your insurance company in an unpleasant situation. However, having uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage allows you to rest assured that you’ll receive coverage no matter what. While having an accident with such a driver may sound quite unlikely, since all states legally require drivers to have auto insurance, fact is that there the number of uninsured drivers can go up to 25% in certain places.

What is UM or UIM?

Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage will pay for injuries or damages you, your passengers or your property has sustained due to an accident with a driver who doesn’t have enough insurance coverage, or no insurance at all and is called responsible from the legal point of view.

By uninsured river most companies mean a driver who had no insurance, didn’t have the minimum required amount, or was denied coverage by his insurance company and thus being unable to pay for the damage caused. Hit-and-run drivers can also be classified as uninsured drivers from bodily injury liability perspective.

An underinsured driver in contrast, is a car owner who had the amount of coverage to meet state minimum requirements but not enough to cover the damage or injuries caused. In this case, his insurance will pay a certain part of the damage and the rest will have to be covered by underinsured motorist coverages.

Though, you have to keep in mind that these coverage types are not the same and are separate. Still, insurance companies tend to bundle them into a single product for convenience.

Is it a must?

Only in a small number of states UM/UIM coverage is legally required. The majority of states leave it as an option. However, if you choose to purchase this coverage it should meet the minimum state requirements but not exceed liability limits of your policy. In case your company offers uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) coverage it is impossible to be purchased without having UMBI.

What use is there in it?

First of all, this type of coverage is relatively cheap car insurance and won’t boost up your rates dramatically. However, in case you have an accident with an uninsured/underinsured driver, you risk of not getting sufficient coverage by your company, which will pay for your car repair or medical bills if required. Assuming that the other party was at fault, it is the other party’s insurance company that should be paying for these expenses, and if there’s not enough or simply no coverage eventually you won’t be paid anything.

Having uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will pay for your damages and injuries in case you face such a driver in an accident. It is evident that it’s better to have such coverage with your policy even if you are striving for cheap car insurance. You especially benefits from this coverage if you frequently drive in areas where there are more uninsured vehicles. See what the rates are in your location and decide if it is a must for you.

There are certain institutions in the country that can rate companies. Some of them deal with insurance companies only as there are too many to take into consideration. But we have some questions that we want to discuss now. How do coverage, rates and services differ and what makes this or that company better than the other one? How can one and the same service cost differently in different companies? If you have not dealt with an insurance company before it is tough to choose one and not to have doubts about it later on. What is important here is to know for sure your insurance company will be stable and will help you out when the time comes. You should know the financial strength ratings of your insurance company so you are not afraid of any risks that may arise. There are many companies that fail with time. They are unable to maintain the reputation due to the lack of financial strength and many other important factors that are pretty significant.

If you want to make a good decision about your insurance company you should ask around, analyze and come to a conclusion with the list of top five insurance companies to deal with. You should also trust your senses. Sometimes people have bad feelings about companies but they don’t care enough to trust them. Have a conversation with your family, relatives and friends about the insurance companies they use. It could be useful for you to take advice from those who you can rely on – people that will only advice you something descent. It is very important to know how easily and how quickly claims are processed. It would be perfect if the company that you plan to get insured with had a 24/7 claim service.

Let us tell you the main reason for car insurance. Your insurance should protect you from any injury or property damage that may occur during an accident. It has to protect your assets and help you with the liability. In order to choose a good company you must shop around and ask for the costumer satisfaction ratings. They are extremely important. They can tell lots about the way company maintains itself on the market. But it should also be mentioned that it is not possible to tell the future according to the past. Sometimes unpleasant cases happen but it is not fair to judge the company like that. You should always check how long the company is around for. If they have been on the market for a decade and have lots of pleased costumers – you should definitely worry about nothing. History can show you all the advantages and disadvantages giving you the best perspective on what there is to expect.

Information on the insurance companies is not difficult to seek. You can always ask or email if you have any questions. With the help of internet insurance sites it became very easy to get insured. Cheap auto insurance is only a question of time. But we would not recommend you to run after the price. Cheap doesn’t always mean – the best. But if you decided you need cheap auto insurance and nothing else – there is no better place than internet for it. It is there to give you plenty of offers to choose from. Trust our word.

The easiest thing to say in the world right now is that some US states are suffering more than others in the recession. The national media rightly focus on the headline figures showing the total numbers of unemployed, the foreclosure rate, and so on. This can be somewhat deceiving because it hides the fact that some states are actually turning in statistics very different from the national average. In Michigan, for example, the unemployment rate stands at 15.3%. The government estimates that, by the end of 2009, some 310,000 jobs will have disappeared with no sign of any consistent move for businesses to begin rehiring. That’s why Michigan has sponsored a tax rebate for small businesses – the majority having been unprofitable for the last year – and is extending a tax credit to home buyers to help meet their mortgage obligations – Michigan is ranked 8th in the national foreclosure rank. Not surprisingly, Michigan is facing a budget deficit right now and, with the cost of the tax rebate and credits extending into 2010, the deficit can only grow worse.

So if a state has taken on major new commitments at a time when its tax revenues are falling, it is interesting to see it also championing new provisions that might help families struggling to make ends meet at the expense of the profits of the insurance industry. This is carrying the idea of redistribution somewhat further than Barack Obama intended during his presidential campaign. He was only talking about using taxes on rich individuals to reduce the wealth gap. This is more bold. Going back to the beginning, everyone with a vehicle on the road will tell you their insurance premiums have been rising during the recession. The Consumer Price Index may have been falling, but many now see the cost of insurance as one of the biggest headaches when it comes to the family budget. So, this November sees the state election panel accepting a ballot proposal for 2010 to cut car insurance rates by a flat 20% and to protect the consumer against a range of unfair practices. If the backers can collect 300,000 signatures, the proposal will appear on the ballot next year. Should a sufficient number of voter support the proposal, the law would be changed. In theory, it will stimulate competition between the insurance companies licensed to sell policies into Michigan and advance the interests of consumers by encouraging affordable policies for everyone.

Needless to say, the insurance industry is shocked and awed by this proposal, insisting such a change in the law would force them out of business. To many experts, this claim seems somewhat exaggerated. The insurance industry declared hundreds of millions of dollars in profit during 2008 and paid good dividends to their stockholders. Just one company, State Farm, declared profits of $5 billion. So the notion they would all become insolvent overnight is less than convincing. Voters in Michigan will say whether this change is the law is desirable. If the vote is affirmative, the legislature will move to cut industry profits. One indicator to watch will be the car insurance quotes. If these keep on rising leading up to the vote, the people may be encouraged to promote their own interests. But if the industry moderates its pricing policies up to the vote. . . Well, let’s just say the politics will be interesting.