Mortgage Repayment Protection Insurance

Mortgage Repayment Protection Insurance is usually taken out at the time you apply for a mortgage.
You should seek suitable advice about arranging such cover from a suitably authorised person.
Mortgage Repayment Protection Insurance provides cover in the event of you being unable to work as a result of an accident or illness or being made involuntary unemployed.
The amount of cover is based on the amount of the monthly mortgage repayment plus you can also cover such things as the monthly buildings and contents insurance premium and mortgage related life insurance monthly premiums such as an endowment policy.
Mortgage Repayment Protection Insurance usually pays out for up to 12 months.
You do not usually have to have a medical to arrange such cover.
In the UK cover can usually be taken out as long as you work for at least 16 hours per week and are aged between 18 and 64.
The cover ceases once the mortgage is repaid or you reach age 65 or you retire or should you stop maintaining the monthly premiums or indeed should you just decide to cancel the policy.
Mortgage Repayment Protection Insurance can be taken out either just to cover one applicant or both applicants. If both applicants are covered and say they are both on the same income then the policy will pay out half of the amount of the monthly cover in respect of the applicant who is ill.
In the UK the cost of Mortgage Repayment Protection Insurance is based on the amount of the monthly cover you have arranged and will vary between the various companies who offer such cover.
Alan Hope runs a lifestyle management and concierge service business for both UK and Overseas clients.
Visit his website at http://www.arrangeitlifestylemanagement.co.uk/id70.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Hope

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Part of the investment planning process is selecting investments that fit within your asset allocation strategy and work together to help you accomplish your investment goals. And because your goals and needs may be different from other investors, we're dedicated to providing the widest array of investment products to help you meet them.
We offer fixed-income, equity and alternative investment products
Whether you're looking for fixed-income investments, equity investments or alternative investments2, your Financial Advisor can recommend the investment products most suitable for your current situation, financial goals, investment time frame, risk tolerance and Envision plan.

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How the Envision® process works
Combining goal-based advice with sophisticated modeling, the Envision process creates an effective, easy-to-understand method for prioritizing and achieving important life goals. Ultimately, the Envision process helps our clients live the one life they have the best way they can, without undue financial sacrifice or overexposure to risk.
Identify and prioritize goals
The Envision process begins by allowing you to explore what goals and dreams you have and what concerns you about being able to achieve them. This important step serves as the basis for the conversations your Financial Advisor will have throughout the process. What makes the Envision process so different is that throughout this conversation we explore your ability to achieve your goals in multiple scenarios, starting with the Ideal and the Acceptable.
In order to give you the opportunity to live as much of your Ideal scenario as possible, we use our Envision Priority Cards. This interactive activity ensures that you and your Financial Advisors are on the same page, working together to help achieve those goals you value most.
Develop and implement an investment plan to help you reach your goals
Upon gaining an understanding of your ability to live either your Ideal or Acceptable scenario, we also create a Recommended scenario for you that incorporates your goals and/or concerns that you value most.
Based on your goals, dreams, concerns, risk tolerance and financial situation, our Financial Advisors can propose appropriate asset allocations needed to help you achieve your goals. This product neutral approach allows our Financial Advisors the freedom to select products they feel will best help you attain your goals.
Monitoring your progress (the “Dot”)
The most important part of the Envision process is the way you are able to monitor your progress toward the goals and dreams you wish to accomplish. Your Envision plan updates each night and creates a benchmark unique to your goals and situation. This information displays on your statements and online where it is updated monthly.
Change may be one of the largest challenges you face, whether it is change in your life or in the world around you. As change happens, it is very easy to update your Envision plan to reflect that change and measure the impact it has on your ability to achieve the stated goals.
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Why Wells Fargo Advisors
Envision® Process
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With Wells Fargo Advisors, you get a registered financial advisor, who will listen closely to understand your unique situation and needs and work with you to provide insight, planning, guidance, ongoing investment management and monitoring.

For more than 160 years, Wells Fargo has earned the trust of clients as one of the nation’s largest and most experienced financial institutions. Our 15,000 registered financial advisors have an average of more than 10 years of investment management experience. Your advisor will closely monitor your assets and provide sound strategies to make the most of your investment portfolio.
We can help you:
Identify and achieve your goals. Your financial advisor works with you to identify and understand your unique goals and needs. Whether it’s a portfolio review or investment advice, retirement planning, education funding, growing your business, or estate strategies, we’re here to answer your questions and help you on the way to achieving your goals.
Design and customize your investment strategy with our Envision® planning process. Combining goal-based advice with sophisticated statistical modeling, our Envision planning process creates an effective, easy-to-understand method for prioritizing and pursuing important life goals. Your financial advisor uses the Envision planning process to develop your investment plan that’s designed to help you live and retire the way you want.
Stay on track with regular communication. Your financial advisor pro-actively reaches out to you with regular financial statements and market updates that help you keep up with changes in your life and optimize your investments.
Gain unlimited access to world-class resources, news and proprietary research. Backed by world-class experts, top market analysts and staff, you’ll have unlimited access to a wealth of resources and industry information from news and white papers to proprietary research.
Work with us your way. You can choose to work with one of our financial advisors in person or with a team of experienced, registered professionals over the phone. However you choose to work with a financial advisor, you always have unlimited access to your account online. Locate a financial advisor near you.

What Renters Insurance Covers

Do you live in a rental apartment, duplex, condo, townhouse, dorm, or other leased property? While your landlord’s insurance coverage protects the building you live in, it is up to you to protect your personal property. For a very affordable price, renters insurance coverage protects your personal property, and renters insurance will even reimburse you for reasonable living expenses if you are displaced as a result of a covered event – like a fire. Plus, if someone has an injury while at your home and consequently sues you, renters insurance coverage can help protect your assets.
Protect your personal property
With renters insurance coverage, your personal property can be insured for losses due to a variety of reasons, including:

Break In
Fire
Smoke
Vandalism
Windstorm
Lightning
Earthquake (optional and available in California only)
What renters insurance coverage protects
Renters insurance coverage protects items that are found in an "average" home, such as your TV, stereo, computer, or clothing. Depending on the insurance policy, renters insurance can also provide:
Personal property replacement, which pays for the cost to repair or replace most covered items without deduction for depreciation (up to the policy limits)
Insurance coverage up to $100,000 for personal liability claims made against you for bodily injury or property damage to which coverage applies
Insurance coverage for guest medical benefits, additional emergency living expenses, and credit card protection (within policy limits)
Insurance coverage of the personal property in your car, garage, or storage unit. For example, if your computer is stolen from your car, the loss would likely be covered by your renters insurance.
More about renters insurance coverage.
Need more information? Read our frequently asked questions.
Renters Quote Online

Renters Insurance

Why buy renters insurance?
You likely have a lot of personal property worth protecting, but your landlord’s insurance probably doesn’t protect it if there is a fire, break-in or other unfortunate event.

Renters insurance is affordable
With policies starting as low as 57¢ a day, renters insurance is more affordable than you may think – which probably costs less than replacing everything you own.

Can you afford to replace your possessions?
If something were to happen, do you have enough money to replace your personal property like your furniture, clothes, electronics, jewelry, and other items? To find out just how much your things are worth, complete a Personal Property Inventory (PDF)* to find out what coverage level is right for you.

Are you covered?
Your landlord’s insurance policy does not cover your personal possessions and most landlords are starting to require that you purchase a renters insurance policy. Also, if you are a student, your parent’s homeowners policy might not cover your possessions.
Choose the insurance coverage that’s right for you with these steps:
Get prepared.
Think about what your personal property is worth. If you have time, complete a Property Inventory (PDF)*.Ready to get a quote?
Visit American Modern or call Wells Fargo Insurance at
1-866-294-2571.Decide on the details.
Choose the deductible and coverage level that is right for you.Purchase your policy online or by phone.
It's that easy!

Umbrella Liability Insurance

Umbrella liability insurance is designed to protect you against losses that go above the limit of your homeowners, auto, renters, and other insurance policies. It helps protect your assets when your original policy’s liability limits are exhausted; for example, if someone is injured on your property and sues you.
An umbrella policy kicks in when you reach the limit of your underlying liability coverage. If you have liability limits of $300,000 on your homeowners policy and $500,000 on your auto insurance policy, purchasing a $1,000,000 umbrella policy raises your limits to $1,300,000 and $1,500,000 respectively. An umbrella policy can also help protect you when there is no underlying limit requirement.
An umbrella policy can help:
Cover attorney’s fees
Pay for settlements and judgments against you
Protect you in cases of libel and slander
Many people find an umbrella policy makes sense because of the added protection it can provide. This type of policy is especially important if you have assets to protect – like a home or if you want to help ensure that an unfortunate event will not put the personal assets you have worked so hard for at risk.
Call Wells Fargo Insurance to talk about adding an umbrella liability policy to the coverage you already have.
Need more information? Read our frequently asked questions
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Home Protection Plan

Help protect your budget and keep your home's systems and appliances running smoothly, with a home protection plan from Wells Fargo, administered by American Home Shield®.1
As a homeowner, you never know when one of your home's systems or appliances is going to breakdown - the air conditioner quits, your water heater springs a leak, the washing machine stops. Don't let these unexpected costs put a strain on your budget.
Most homeowners insurance policies do not cover the repair or replacement of your home's system components and appliances due to normal wear and tear. And while a manufacturer's warranty may be included with the purchase, it usually expires after a short period of time, leaving you with the responsibility of the repair or replacement costs.
What Is a Home Protection Plan?
What Does it Cover?
How Does It Work?
Unlike homeowners insurance, which covers the structure of your home and your personal property, a home protection plan is a renewable contract with a service provider that helps cover the repair or replacement cost of most of your home's system components and appliances.
Depending on the level of coverage you purchase, a home protection plan can significantly reduce the cost of repairing or replacing covered system components and appliances in your home regardless of their age, make, or model2.
Home Protection Plan
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Buying or Refinancing a Home

Buying a house is exciting, and there is a lot to keep track of to make sure the process goes smoothly.
When you shop your homeowners insurance through Wells Fargo Insurance, we can help simplify the process, especially if you are a Wells Fargo mortgage customer. Just one call to our experienced insurance agents and we’ll help you:
Save time – receive quotes from multiple insurance companies in minutes.
Compare quotes – we’ll work with you to find the policy that best fits your needs and budget
Streamline your loan closing – all your required paperwork will be delivered right to your loan closing.
Rest easy – your questions will be answered so you can be confident you have the protection you need for your new home.

Wells Fargo Insurance agents are available Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Central Time.
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Protect All Your Property

Whether you own your home already or are starting the house-hunting process, Wells Fargo can provide you with guidance and education so you know you are getting the protection that’s right* for you. Read on to see how we can help based on your situation.
You own your home
Start by tracking down your existing policy. Refresh your memory on the coverage you have now.
Consider how things have changed. You may have acquired valuables like jewelry or high-end electronics, or made improvements to your home since you purchased your policy.
Determine if you want to adjust your homeowners policy. You may want more or less coverage based on how things have changed.
Understand the limits of homeowners insurance. For extra coverage, you may want to consider an umbrella policy that protects you above and beyond your homeowners, auto, and other policies.
A home protection plan is an additional way you can help protect yourself against the unexpected cost of repairs for your home’s systems and appliances.
Complete a Property Inventory (PDF). Photograph or videotape your belongings – you'll be able to use your list to make the claims process go more smoothly if your house is ever damaged or burglarized.
You are preparing to buy a home
Know that your mortgage lender will require you to have homeowners insurance.
Educate yourself about the types of homeowners insurance coverage available.
If you work with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage as your lender, learn about how to integrate your homeowners insurance purchase into your mortgage closing. We’ll make sure you have your policy in hand so you can close on time.
While you’re still renting, it’s a good idea to have renters insurance to protect your personal property. Policies are very affordable for the protection they offer. Learn more about renters insurance and see what it covers.
After you move in, complete a Property Inventory (PDF). Photograph or videotape your belongings – you’ll be able to use this to make the claims process go more smoothly if your house is ever damaged or burglarized.
Whatever situation you’re in, Wells Fargo Insurance can work with you to help you understand your options and get multiple quotes from reputable insurance companies.
Need more information? Read our frequently asked questions.
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Homeowners Insurance Coverage Options

If you have a mortgage, you are required to have homeowners insurance, but it’s up to you how much coverage you have above and beyond what is required by your mortgage lender. If you own your home outright, you may still want to consider a homeowners insurance policy to protect your assets in the case of damage to your home or an accident on your property.
Generally, you need enough homeowners insurance to cover the following:
The replacement cost of your home: Replacement cost is the amount it will cost to rebuild your house, excluding the land. It’s not what you paid for your house, because depending on current construction costs, the price of rebuilding it may be more or less than you paid. Today, policies in the US are required to cover 100% of the cost of rebuilding your home. (Policies issued before 1990 were not required to cover 100% of rebuilding costs.) The replacement cost of your home can change because of improvements you’ve made or rising costs of construction materials, so you may need to revisit your coverage annually to make sure you’re covered adequately.

The contents of your house: Your personal property includes furniture, computers and other electronic equipment, clothes, furs and jewelry (up to a certain amount), artwork, etc. Most policies consider the value of your personal property to be approximately 50% of the amount of insurance you have on the house itself. If you think your personal items are worth more than this, you might want to complete a Property Inventory (PDF) of your possessions, listing and photographing all the items you want covered.

The cost of living elsewhere: This is important if your home is damaged and you have to live elsewhere while it is being repaired. Coverage should cover rent or hotel bills, meals, and other living expenses incurred while you’re out of your home.

Liability: This covers you in case someone is injured on your property and needs medical care, or decides to sue you. It also protects you if something in your house or on your property causes damage to another house – for example, your tree falls on your neighbor’s garage.
Other Types of Property Coverage
Umbrella Liability Policy: Umbrella coverage is liability insurance that protects your assets in cases when your underlying policy’s liability coverage is not adequate; for example, if someone is injured on your property and decides to sue you, your homeowners insurance would probably not be enough to pay legal fees or judgments against you. An umbrella policy will help protect your assets and make sure that a catastrophic claim will not put those assets at risk. You’ll also want to consider a policy if you have high-risk recreation equipment on your property, such as a swimming pool or trampoline.

Personal Floater: Valuables such as jewelry, watches and furs are protected by your homeowners policy to specific limits. If the value of these items exceeds the limits of your policy, you may want to consider a personal floater to protect your valuables up to the value of the items. Covering each piece separately may cost more, but it will protect you from a wider range of losses – like losing your engagement ring in the ocean, or leaving your expensive camera in a taxi – than your homeowners insurance policy may cover.

Flood Insurance: Standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage. If you live in a designated flood zone, you are required by law to have this kind of coverage. Flood insurance is available as a separate policy from the National Flood Insurance Program and from a few private insurers. To determine if you live in such a designated flood zone, or if you are just interested in obtaining a policy, please call Wells Fargo Insurance to learn more about how you can get flood insurance.
Call Wells Fargo Insurance to get all your questions answered and find the homeowners insurance coverage that works for your situation.

Auto and Property Insurance Bundles

Buying your home and auto insurance through Wells Fargo could save you time and money.

You can receive a discount if you purchase more than one insurance policy through one company. Wells Fargo Insurance can help you compare quotes from the multiple insurance companies we represent to help you find the policies that best meet your unique needs.

Bundled savings can include the following insurance products:
Auto
Homeowners and Condo
Renters
Motorcycle
Boat and personal watercraft
RV
ATV
Wells Fargo Insurance agents provide free, confidential insurance advice, and can help you find out if there are additional discounts available to you. Click or call to get competitive quotes from the multiple insurance companies we represent.

Homeowners Insurance

Your home is one of your most valuable investments, which is why it’s important to have the homeowners insurance that is right for you. It’s equally important to know that you’re paying a fair price for the coverage you need.

Homeowners insurance provides you with broad coverage for losses that can arise from owning your home. The types of losses for which you can obtain coverage under a homeowners insurance policy include:
Damage to your home and personal property
Fire and smoke damage
Theft and vandalism
Water damage
Liability coverage for accidental injury to another person or property
Total loss due to fire
Work with Wells Fargo Insurance to receive objective advice, clear explanations of your options, and multiple quotes from the companies we represent to help you make the right decision for you and your situation.

By working with a Wells Fargo Insurance agent, you will also learn about additional discounts and ways to save on your overall insurance portfolio.

A New Life For LTCi Carrier Penn Treaty

May 19--A judge has breathed new life into Penn Treaty American Corp., ruling against the state's efforts to dissolve the Salisbury Township provider of long-term care policies.

In 2009, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department filed papers in Commonwealth Court to liquidate Penn Treaty after an analysis showed the company would need an additional $1.3 billion to cover future claims.

But last week, Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt not only denied the state Insurance Department's petition, but took the agency to task. She said the case amounted to "a serious indictment of the existing system of rate regulation of long-term care insurance."

According to Penn Treaty, the ruling was the first time a petition to liquidate an insurance company has been defeated in Pennsylvania. For the more than 200 employees who work there, it means their jobs are no longer in immediate peril.

"My whole goal is to keep our insurance company alive," said Eugene J. Woznicki, the chairman of Penn Treaty's board of directors.

Penn Treaty, on Lehigh Street, along with a subsidiary called American Network, has about 120,000 policy-holders nationwide, including about 16,000 in Pennsylvania.

The company stopped selling new policies in 2008 as it came to terms with the impact of the nation's incipient financial crisis. Long-term care insurance helps pay for certain medical and personal expenses, such as nursing-home care.

The Insurance Department's move against Penn Treaty was the first of its kind in five years. In Pennsylvania, all long-term care policies are backed up, up to $300,000, in the event a company fails. The money comes from fees assessed on other insurance companies.

Leavitt, however, concluded Penn Treaty -- with $1 billion in assets, cash flow in excess of $200 million and no debt -- is sufficiently funded to meet its obligations.

She said the department's decision to shut down Penn Treaty was based on "unreliable" and "wildly fluctuating" actuarial projections, and she gave the agency 90 days to develop a new approach for dealing with distressed insurance companies.

Woznicki said Penn Treaty will soon resume selling long-term care insurance, which is in high demand because so many other companies have stopped selling it.

"Our product is very favorable to the marketplace, and it's needed," he said.

skennedy@mcall.com

610-984-4713

Reporter Spencer Soper contributed to this story.

___

(c)2012 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)

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Allstate Insurance Company Files $29.9 Million Insurance Fraud Case

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Allstate Insurance Company has filed a $29.9 million insurance fraud lawsuit against 52 New York area defendants. The Complaint names 17 members and associates of an organization that owned and controlled multiple fraudulent medical clinics (the "No-Fault Organization"), 10 licensed medical professionals, 3 personal injury attorneys, and 22 medical professional corporations. All of the individual defendants are currently under federal indictment, and have been charged with health care fraud, racketeering, and other related charges, in connection with their involvement in a systematic scheme to defraud private insurance companies of more than $279 million under New York's No-Fault automobile insurance law.

In the suit, Allstate alleges that the No-Fault Organization has engaged in a massive and sophisticated scheme to defraud Allstate of millions of dollars by establishing and operating medical clinics that were operated and controlled in violation of New York law. In order to mislead Allstate, the true owners and controllers of these medical clinics almost all of whom were unlicensed members and associates of the No-Fault Organization paid licensed physicians, chiropractors and acupuncturists to incorporate medical clinics as professional service corporations, and to act as their "papers owners." These fraudulently-incorporated clinics were then used to bill Allstate for reimbursement of No-Fault benefits. Because each of the clinics were illegally operated and controlled by laypersons, none of the clinics were eligible to recover No-Fault reimbursement under New York law.

The alleged scheme is the largest single No-Fault automobile insurance fraud ever exposed to date. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of actions taken by Allstate to fight the growing problem of insurance fraud.


Allstate is the first private insurance carrier to take a stand against this pervasive No-Fault Organization—and the massive scheme it perpetrated against the New York automobile insurance marketplace and the public at large by initiating a civil lawsuit seeking restitution of No-Fault proceeds unlawfully obtained by the fraudulent medical clinics on behalf of their layperson owners. Since 2003, Allstate has filed 41 fraud lawsuits in New York State seeking more than $ 227 million in damages.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the state of New York is in an insurance fraud crisis and no-fault fraud is costing New Yorkers millions of dollars year-after-year in higher premiums. "In essence, honest, hardworking New Yorkers are paying a 'fraud tax'," said Krista Conte, spokesperson for Allstate. "We need lawmakers to enact meaningful insurance reform that puts the citizens of New York first."

Allstate is joined by other insurers and many New York State leaders in its pursuit for comprehensive reform of the no-fault system. "The no-fault system is being exploited and responsible citizens are the victims," Conte said. "Without the support of lawmakers, incidents of fraud will continue to increase. We need to work together this legislative session to fix the broken no-fault system."

For more information on the dangers of insurance fraud, and how you can help fight it, please visit Fraud Costs NY at www.i-issues.com/new-york

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer known for its "You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan. Now celebrating its 80th anniversary as an insurer, Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help nearly 16 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate®.

Wall saves condo community $411K on flood insurance [The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.]

May 29--John Collins' condo is just a stone's throw from the expansive marsh between Mount Pleasant and Sullivan's Island, where kayakers and crabbers were enjoying a recent afternoon.

That proximity to water affords expansive views, but it also resulted in unaffordable insurance premiums for Collins and the owners of 89 other condos at Simmons Pointe.

With flood insurance for all the homes costing $425,000 yearly and rising fast, the Mount Pleasant residents went looking for a solution, and the one they found had stunning results.

By installing a barrier known as a trip wall to protect the development from potential hurricane-driven waves, condo owners were able to change their federal flood zone designation and cause their annual insurance to drop to $14,000.

"It saved me," said Collins, president of the Simmons Pointe homeowners association. "It saved everyone else in the community."

"They were just staggering savings," he said. "When people got their bills this year, they were dancing in the streets."

Prior to the trip wall project, the average Simmons Pointe condo owner was paying nearly $400 a month for flood coverage. That's in addition to regular property insurance, wind and hail coverage, condo fees and any mortgage payments.

Now, monthly flood insurance averages about $13 per condo.

"It's just a miracle," said homeowner Bert Niemyer. "I didn't know there was anything like what we were able to pull off."

Simmons Pointe isn't the only development that has used a trip wall to win a change in its flood zone from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but such measures are a rarity. The Tides condos, also in Mount Pleasant, installed a trip wall that was completed in 2007, and it might be the only other one in the region.

A trip wall doesn't prevent flooding, but is designed to take the velocity out of a storm surge, so that rushing waves don't slam into buildings. Projections for velocity are what drives "V" flood zone designations, and the high insurance costs that follow.

"I've been told there aren't many of these in the Southeast," said Sonny DuPre, president of Cape Romain Contractors, which installed the walls at Simmons Pointe and The Tides. "I think it's a situation where people just don't realize it's a possibility."


DuPre said trip walls like the one at the condo development should last 40 to 50 years.

The solution for Simmons Pointe -- building a wall between the buildings and the water -- sounds deceptively simple.

The project involved consultants, state and federal regulators, Mount Pleasant building officials, engineering firms, landscaping specialists and the national flood insurance program.

It also involved a lot of money. The project cost about $1.2 million, which was a big undertaking for 90 homeowners to share. That works out to more than $13,300 each, but it's now clear that the insurance savings will cover the project cost in under three years.

When the wall was completed and the flood zone was changed, Simmons Pointe received a refund for that year's flood insurance, covering more than a third of the project cost right away.

"The concept has been around for a long time," said Chris Jones, a flood plain and coastal issues consultant in North Carolina who worked on the trip wall projects for Simmons Pointe and The Tides.

"I don't know if it is a common occurrence yet, because these walls are pretty expensive," he said. "I don't think the red tape is much more onerous than many types of permits in coastal areas, but it is time-consuming and there are procedures that need to be followed."

Due to the cost and regulatory requirements, trip walls appear to make sense primarily for multifamily or commercial developments located in velocity ("V") flood zones, with river or marsh exposure.

"I doubt that most single-family homeowners would undertake something like that," Jones said.

For a single-family home, the cost would be prohibitive and a trip wall could be ineffective on a small lot, he said. And for oceanfront buildings, different regulations would apply.

"If someone tries to do this on the beachfront, they would have to deal with OCRM (state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management) and things like turtle nesting areas," Jones said.

At least one seaside property in the Charleston area, the Charleston Oceanfront Villas on Folly Beach, was able to obtain a more favorable flood zone rating because they had an existing seawall and were able to reinforce it.

Greg Anderson, who serves on the Villas condo board, said the project cost about $900,000; paid for itself in less than three years; and is now saving each condo owner about $5,000 a year on flood insurance.

Reinforcing a seawall is different from installing a trip wall, but also impacts wave velocity.


Jones was also involved in the Charleston Oceanfront Villas project, and the Simmons Pointe association toured the Folly Beach condos before launching their trip wall plan.

For many properties that would seem well-suited for a trip wall -- such as marshfront condos in a "V" flood zone -- hurdles could remain. Jones said there typically needs to be about 20 feet between such a wall and the buildings it protects, to comply with federal flood guidelines -- and that's impossibile for buildings too close to the critical area line.

The state-defined critical area lines mark tidelands, coastal waters and beach or sand dunes. Trip walls must be built outside the critical area.

Collins said that at Simmons Point, porch supports on one building had to be altered to meet flood zone requirements.

"The trip wall was constructed outside of the state's critical area jurisdiction and did not require a critical area permit," said Dan Burger, director of South Carolina's Coastal Services Division at OCRM. "However, NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) construction permit coverage was required because of the vicinity of the project to a coastal receiving water body."

With all the municipal, state and federal regulatory requirements, Collins said it was helpful to have a consultant working on the plan. Even then, Collins said the time required for permitting increased the cost of the project, because aluminum prices increased sharply.

Most of the more than 1,400-foot-long trip wall at Simmons Points was constructed with aluminum sheet pile, pounded more than 20 feet into the ground with a vibratory hammer, DuPre said. About one third of the wall was made with 8-inch concrete sections that don't go into the ground; a step taken to protect the roots of live oak trees and drainage measures.

The earlier trip wall project, at The Tides, involved nearly 1,500 feet of aluminum sheet pile trip wall, plus nearly 8,000 feet of reinforced retaining wall, according to Cape Romain Contractors. That project, completed in 2007, "was the first structure of its kind in the Coastal Carolinas," according to the company.

The trip walls are not very tall. The one at Simmons Point is less than 5 feet high, and it barely changes the vista from Collins' screen porch, which like all the marshfront condos sits on pilings about 18 feet above ground level.

Now that the "confiscatory" cost of flood insurance has been dealt with, Collins said he'll be able to stay with his wife in their retirement home and enjoy the view.

More Children Raised By Relatives and Family Friends, Report Finds

BALTIMORE, May 23 -- The Annie E. Casey Foundation issued the following news release:

What do President Barack Obama, Sen. Olympia Snowe, and Oprah Winfrey have in common?

They, like more than 2.7 million children in America, were raised by grandparents or other relatives at some time in their lives. This longtime practice has become more prevalent in the last decade, which has seen an 18 percent increase in children living with relatives or close family friends because their parents can no longer care for them, according to a new KIDS COUNT(TM) report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In fact, an estimated 9 percent of youths will live with extended family for at least three consecutive months at some point before age 18.

The rise of this practice, known as kinship care, demands immediate attention, according to the report, Stepping Up for Kids: What Government and Communities Should Do to Support Kinship Families. Many family members and friends who take on parental responsibilities with their often-limited incomes struggle to meet the basic needs of children -- a problem that could be alleviated with increased access to and awareness of government and community programs.

"The Casey Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families, and that includes supporting extended family and others who take on the responsibility of raising kids," President and CEO Patrick McCarthy said. "Research shows kids fare better when they remain in the safe, stable and familiar environment that relatives can provide. We urge state policymakers to make crucial benefits and resources available to kinship families so that their children can thrive and have the best shot at becoming successful adults."

The new KIDS COUNT report details the types of challenges kinship caregivers encounter:

Emotional. They must contend with child trauma from parental separation. And, as state agencies call on extended family to take in kids who enter the child welfare system, they may deal with emotional and behavioral issues tied to abuse or neglect.

Legal. They sometimes lack the necessary legal authority to enroll a child for school, access basic medical care or give medical consent. Requirements for becoming licensed foster parents, which aren't always applicable to kinship families, present additional hurdles to receiving the same benefits as non-relatives taking in children.

Financial. They are more likely to be poor, single, older, less-educated and unemployed, which makes taking on such costs as child care and health insurance an extra burden. They often are unfamiliar with available government support programs or struggle to access them, particularly in the case of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) -- the primary federal financial aid program for low-income families. Even those who receive TANF have difficulty making ends meet, with benefit levels averaging $249 per month for one child and $344 for two -- far below U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates for the monthly cost of raising a child (an average $990 for one; $1,980 for two).

Stepping Up for Kids shows that kinship care is particularly prevalent in African-American families, where children are twice as likely as the general population to be raised by extended family and close friends at some point. The report identifies the various circumstances -- including death, child abuse or neglect, military deployment, incarceration or deportation -- that lead extended family to become primary caregivers.

It also highlights recommendations for states and communities to take advantage of existing federal funding for these families, and to strengthen them and help their kids flourish, avoiding greater costs down the road:

Remove barriers within the child welfare system through policies that formally seek to involve relatives in a child's care, and reforms to foster-home licensing requirements.

Establish laws and resources to bolster kinship families by promoting stable housing, access to child health care and community-based services for older relatives.

Increase their financial stability through TANF-funded programs designed to meet their unique needs.

"The federal government already has a solid framework in place for serving these families, and several states have taken steps to actively support extended family and friends as they assume their new caregiving roles," said Robert Geen, director of family services and systems policy at the Foundation. "Every state and community needs to adopt such changes, especially addressing the needs of lower-income families."

Stepping Up for Kids includes the latest kinship care data for every state, the District of Columbia and the nation. This information is available in the KIDS COUNT Data Center, which also contains the most recent national, state and local data on hundreds of indicators of child well-being. The Data Center allows users to create rankings, maps and graphs for use in publications and on websites, and to view real-time information on mobile devices.

South Shore Hospital to pay $750,000 in data breach settlement

WEYMOUTH, Mass.—A June 2010 data breach will cost Weymouth, Mass.-based South Shore Hospital $750,000 in fines and remediation costs, according to a civil settlement with the state Attorney General's Office announced last week.
The hospital has agreed to pay $250,000 in civil penalties and $225,000 for an education fund managed by the Attorney General's Office promoting personal information safety and health information protection. The settlement also includes $275,000 the hospital already has spent on increased security measures since the breach was discovered. The settlement was ..

Employee's off-duty car-crash injuries compensable: Court

FRANKFORT, Ky.—The Kentucky Supreme Court says workers compensation benefits should be paid to a horse groomer who was injured in a car accident, even though his employer said the man was off-duty when the crash occurred.

Adan Mandujano worked for Gaines-Gentry Thoroughbreds L.L.C. in Lexington, Ky., according to court records. He also showed horses for Lexington-based Eaton Sales, which court records show may have shared an owner with Gaines-Gentry.

In August 2007, Mr. Mandujano was asked by Eaton to travel to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with several horses the company was selling on behalf of Gaines-Gentry. The companies did not provide Mr. Mandujano with return transportation, and he stayed in Saratoga Springs for several days to show horses with another firm.

Mr. Mandujano received a ride back to Kentucky with a friend, and suffered "skull fractures, cervical and lumbar spine injuries, and extensive dental injuries" in a car accident that occurred on the return trip.

Gaines-Gentry opposed Mr. Mandujano's following petition for workers comp benefits, court records show, because it said the groomer's work duties ended once the company's horses were sold in Saratoga Springs. The company noted that Mr. Mandujano requested time off in order to work with other horse breeders after arriving in New York.

Unanimous decision

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the Kentucky Supreme Court said Mr. Mandujano's car accident was compensable because he was performing the "necessary and inevitable" act of returning from a trip that Gaines-Gentry and Eaton had requested him to take.

"Although the claimant may have planned initially to travel to Saratoga for purely personal reasons and although he conducted personal business with Gaines Gentry's permission during at least part of his time at Saratoga, the purpose of his travel to Saratoga became work-related before he embarked on the journey," reads the ruling, which upheld a previous decision from an administrative law judge.

Afraid of Costly Workplace Accidents Ruining your Business?

Insurance premiums for workers compensation, as reported in December 2011 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cost employers $30.94 for every hour worked in September. Of this amount, $20.91 was spent on lost wages and salaries to employees who were missing in action for a period of time.

Why Are Payment Protection Insurance Claims Often Rejected?

Payment protection insurance is an extremely good idea in theory. However, in practice, many people are let down by their payment protection insurance, leaving them in debt without a lifeline. Why does this happen and how you can ensure that your insurance will be there when you need it most?

Payment protection insurance is a relatively simple concept. Essentially, this form of insurance is designed to cover the cost of loan repayments if you fall victim to a loss of income. You can lose income for a variety of reasons and, if this comes to pass, you could end up with a loan you can no longer afford to repay. You might require payment protection insurance to cover you for reasons including:

Redundancy
Accidents which render work impossible
Sickness which affects your ability to work
Death
Other causes of unemployment

Generally PPI cover will last for 12 months after an accident, sickness, death or redundancy. Yet many people find that their insurance claim is rejected when they need it the most, even after having paid for it for years.

This happens because payment protection cover is frequently mis-sold. This means that customers are given PPI without having much of an idea about what it really is. This, in turn, means that the PPI people buy is all-too-often unsuitable for the individual client and is therefore impossible to claim back in the event of a loss of income.

As with most other forms of insurance, payment protection cover cannot be sold as a one-size-fits-all solution to the risk of losing out on income whilst repaying a loan. Each case is different and requires a decent level of understanding of exactly what is needed and what will be provided in the event of a loss of income.

Luckily, things are getting better. There are now more stringent guidelines in place which should stop payment protection from being sold in the wrong ways to unsuitable candidates. Meanwhile, if you think you have been mis-sold PPI, you can now claim your money back if you were sold it inappropriately. This news may be a case of too little too late for the 90% of customers who bought protection insurance without the appropriate information required. In many cases this 90% felt that they had even been given deliberately misleading information by their PPI seller.

Although the system is improving, you do still need to be cautious when buying PPI. Make sure you have all the facts you need about payment protection insurance before investing in a policy and ensure that the cover you buy is appropriate and suited to you and your specific situation. Gathering as much information as you can before reaching a decision is the best way to do this.

One place where you can find excellent, informative advice about payment protection insurance is First Call Payment Protection Ltd. Here you will find all the information you need to get the right cover which will be there should you ever need it.

Why You Need Renter Insurance and What It Covers?

While we all know the importance for a homeowner to purchase a home insurance, few people stop to consider if renters need insurance. In fact, when it comes to protecting yourself and your belongings, renting does not mean you are off the hook. Yeah, your landlord’s insurance policy will prevent the house from damage and take responsibility for his major losses when disaster strikes. But note that it doesn’t provide coverage for you and your personal items.

More often than not, we prefer not to spend extra money on renter’s insurance since we don’t believe anything bad will happen to us or just because we don’t have expensive stuff. Just imagine the following scenarios to figure out whether or not renter’s insurance is a necessity for you.

1) One of your guests has broken his ankle at the party held in the home or apartment you rent. The worst thing is that his health insurance doesn’t cover all the expenses caused by co-pay, X-rays and medication. Thus, you will have to pay hundreds of dollars to make up for those costs.

2) You return home and just find the refrigerator, along with microwave oven, flat screen HDTV and couch have been stolen. It will cost you at least $2,000 to replace all those items.

3) In the event that a fire starts when you are cooking in the kitchen, you might also have to spend substantial bucks repairing or replacing utensils and cabinets.

You know, unexpected emergencies might come up at any time, and they may lead to severe consequences. If you cannot withstand the potential financial losses, it’s better to purchase a renter’s insurance.

What does renters insurance cover?

Basically, renter’s insurance isn’t expensive. However, it can provide full coverage for your personal items and yourself. But when you move from one apartment to another, you need to readjust your renter’s insurance policy. You should also notice that other people living in the same rental unit are not covered by your renter’s insurance. Besides, a standard insurance policy doesn’t protect animals. So, for those that aren’t included in your renter’s insurance policy, you will have to purchase other types of insurance.

In general, typical items inside the rental apartment like electronics, jewelry, clothes, books, sporting equipment and furniture are covered by a standard policy. As your property is insured, anything that is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed will be repaired or replaced by the insurance company. You won’t need to pay a penny out of your own pocket.

Also, a number of perils such as fire, wind, lightning, smoke, vandalism and accidental water damage are included in a renter’s insurance coverage. But if you happen to live in an area where earthquake or flood is likely to occur frequently, you will need to get additional coverage, as a standard policy might not cover losses caused by these events.

Renter’s insurance policy covers liability as well. That means when someone get injured or their property get lost, stolen or damaged in the rental unit, you don’t need to take responsibility for that. The renter’s insurance liability coverage will pay for medical or other costs.

Getting Insurance from Travelers Insurance

The Travelers Insurance is the largest insurance company by market value in the U.S., offering commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services. Dedicated to protecting customers from loss with its continued innovation, Travelers has set field offices in every U.S. state and employed nearly 14,000 independent agents and brokers.

Whether it is Personal Insurance, Business Insurance, or Financial, Professional & International Insurance, Travelers Insurance is your solid choice.

Auto Insurance

Auto policy at Travelers renders you and your family peace of mind. Such a policy protects you from unexpected an unwanted loss, including Bodily injury liability, Property damage liability, Medical payments and more.

You may ask, what exactly can these help you in event of accidents? Well,

Medical coverage pays for the expenses of treating injuries, rehabilitation and even lost wages and funeral costs.
Property coverage pays for damage to your car or theft.
Liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage.
Can you enforce your auto policy? Yes, you can. Extended coverage features transportation expense coverage, repair or replacement collision coverage, auto death indemnity, towing and labor charges coverage, auto loan and lease protection and more.

Auto Insurance at Travelers also comes with a line of money-saving discounts and advantages:

Paid in Full Discount
A discount of up to 5 percent is available if you select a paid in full bill plan and pay your auto policy premium in full.

Safe Driver Advantage
You are able to benefit from Travelers Safe Driver Advantage if no accidents, violations or major comprehensive claims occurs in your household.

Multi-policy Discount
You can save up to 15 percent if you combine Traveler auto, home and boat insurance.

Home Insurance

There is no place like your home. That is why you will spare no efforts when it comes to protect this place. Travelers Home Insurance can help! Travelers provides financial protection for your home, its contents and other values against disasters.

Home insurance at Travelers not only suits your special needs but also fits your budget. It can cover:

Damages to your home’s physical structure
Damages to other structures like sheds or garages
Your personal belongings, whether they are in your home or placed elsewhere
Your personal liability in case that someone else is injured or his property is damaged
Temporary living expenses in the event your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss
Just like auto insurance, you can also add additional coverage on your policy. Available add-ons include valuable items coverage, extra coverage for your belongings for full replacement costs regardless of depreciation, replacement cost coverage for your belongings and more.

Wedding Insurance

Of all days, wedding day must be perfect and flawless. Travelers knows this and that is why it offers wedding insurance products and services to put your mind at ease by helping you protect against the unexpected.

The Wedding Protector Plan from Travelers, costing as little as 160 dollars, is the safeguard you need. It is a special event insurance coverage for your special day, your rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, providing different types of coverage and coverage enhancements.

The Wedding Protection Plan covers:

Cancellation/Postponement
Lost Deposits
Event Photographs & Video
Event Gifts
Special Attire & Jewelry
Liability Insurance
Any effort is worthy on your wedding day, not to mention the 160-dollar insurance that offers protection for your financial investment as well as peace of mind.

How Does Workers Compensation Insurance Protect Your Small Business

Whenever you start your own business, you need to prepare for the worst, right? The most cost-effective way is to get your business insured. Lots of business owners choose to purchase full coverage small business insurance to protect their companies, employees and customers. However, this is not enough.

To get adequate protection, you will have to obtain a few more insurance policies such as worker’s compensation insurance, professional liability insurance, property insurance and directors and officers insurance etc. Not only can they protect your business premise, but also they would prevent you from financial loss in the event of fire, vandalism or theft. Unfortunately, more often than not, business owners overlook the importance of workers compensation insurance.

What is workers compensation?

Workers compensation insurance, also referred to as workman’s compensation insurance or employer’s liability insurance, is mandatory in every state in the United States. This type of insurance is aimed to cover your employee’s medical and disability expenses or at least some portion of their lost wages due to work-related illness and on-the-job injuries.

Basically, a worker’s compensation policy covers a variety of areas, including:

Medical treatment, which pays for your employee’s physical therapy, hospital stays and travel expenses caused by work-related injuries;
Occupational hazards such as disease exposure;
Rehabilitation that makes sure the employee can return to their original profession or be placed in a different field;
Lost wages (normally, two-thirds of the employee’s salary);
And death benefits.
What kind of protection does workers compensation give you?

Mostly, business owners think workers compensation as a kind of overhead expense that won’t bring them any benefits. But the fact is that it’s an inexpensive benefit that protects both your employees and your small business.

Firstly, this policy can effectively prevent you and your business from financial loss. Once you purchase workers compensation insurance, the insurance company will award the employee monetary sums if his got injured or became disabled while on the job. Thus, you don’t need to pay a penny out of your own pocket.

Secondly, workers compensation helps you avoid lawsuits and unnecessary problems in the event that any of your employees were injured or died, since the basic coverage is offered in exchange for your employee’s right to take legal action against you and your company.

Besides, when your employee makes an inappropriate claim for on-the-job injuries or work-related illness, the policy will get your legal expense covered. Through eliminating unnecessary losses, workers compensation can surely help you improve your cash flow.

In the long run, workers compensation helps both employees and employers. If you are ready to buy a policy, keep in mind the following tips. For different insurance policy, the amount of employer’s liability coverage varies a lot. When purchasing, try to get one that best suits your budget and provides as more coverage as you need. And, always remember to shop around to grab a great deal. You can also take advantage of online quote estimators to calculate how much your coverage will cost.

Get to Know the Types of Life insurance

Insurance has generally become an indispensable part of our daily life, as a result of which, various kinds of insurance have emerged to meet the diversified needs of modern people, like auto insurance, property insurance, medical insurance as well as life insurance. Well, the greatest advantage of this insurance is bringing peace of mind since with this insurance you know that if you leave, your loved ones will not suffer from financial difficulties.

As with other insurances, life insurance can be divided into several types according to different standards. The following are two types of life insurance and their respective features:

Term Insurance

Term insurance is said to be the simplest form of insurance policy, which provides coverage at fixed rate of payment for a specific term. The coverage at the previous rate of premium will no longer be guaranteed at the end of that period. Simply put, you are only covered for a specific time period with this insurance. The premiums are very low, and the policy owner will receive only the face amount of the account if something bad happen to you, the insured, during the specified period. This insurance is typically purchased for a year, or 5, 10, 15 or 20 years.

Permanent Life Insurance

Contrary to term life insurance, permanent life insurance is a kind of life insurance which is active until the end of the policy or unless the policy owners fail to pay the insurance premium. It is also known as whole life insurance and cash surrender life insurance, which provides customers with guaranteed cash value accumulation as well as a consistent premium. This way, the cost of the insurance is very high compared with that of term insurance, particularly for senior customers. Permanent life insurance can also be divided into five basic types.

Universal life insurance. As a new type of insurance product, universal life policy features quite flexible premiums and the policy owner can choose the amount of payment. Variable universal life, guaranteed death benefit and equity indexed universal life insurance are several sub-types of universal life insurance.
Whole life insurance. It provides lifetime death benefit coverage for a level premium. This permanent insurance is pretty similar to term insurance, but it is much better. The biggest advantage of whole life policy lies in the guaranteed death benefits, guaranteed cash values, fixed, predictable annual premiums and mortality as well as expense charges. However, it also has disadvantages, like the premium is not flexible and the internal rate of return is not as competitive as it seems.
Limited-pay life insurance. This insurance features all the premiums being paid over a certain period of time, like 10 or 20 years.
Accidental death insurance. As a limited life insurance, accidental death is pretty inexpensive. It covers the insured when they pass away due to only accidents, which means death caused by health problems or suicide are not covered.
Endowments insurance. The cumulative cash value of this policy is the same as the death benefit at a certain age. The premium is required to be paid off during a short period of time and the endowment will be paid out after a specific period or age.

What to Know about Mortgage Insurance?

Currently if you are looking for a mortgage that is more than 80% of your home value, you probably have two ways: one is taking out the second mortgage for the amount above 80%, or purchasing mortgage insurance on the current mortgage to reduce the risk of the lenders. Which way to go? It depends on you!

What is mortgage insurance?

Maybe you are totally new to mortgage insurance if you have never had business with banks or lending institutions alike. Simply speaking, mortgage insurance is a kind of financial guaranty that protects lenders against the losses in the event that borrowers default on a mortgage loan. In case of default, the lenders will take the property while the mortgage insurer makes the compensation to them. Thus, by insuring the mortgage, the insurance company shares the risk of lending money to the borrower.

If you are a bit confused, let’s take an example:

Say you want to purchase a new home which costs $120,000. You pay down 10% and take out a mortgage of $108,000 for the remaining 90%. The lender requires you to buy mortgage insurance for the loan to protect himself/herself against losses caused by your default. Then you have to purchase a mortgage insurance policy that covers 25% of $108,000 ($27,000), leaving the rest to the lender. If you default and the house is sold at a loss, the mortgage insurer will first repay $27,000 of the loss.
Mortgage insurance helps home buyers become home owners sooner, and undoubtedly increase their purchase power, for instance, first-time home buyers can take advantage of mortgage insurance to access to lower down payment. In most cases, mortgage insurance will be required by lenders when the down payments are less than 20%.

Who is responsible for the insurance premium?

Though private mortgage insurance in the US is divided into borrower-paid type and lender-paid type, actually in most cases the mortgage insurance is paid by borrowers. The insurer will charge an upfront sum of premium for the coverage, and besides, you have to pay a monthly or annually premium. The insurance rate can range from 0.5% to 6% of the loan principal, based on the loan amount, LTV, fixed or variable, as well as your personal credit history. It is noted that mortgage insurance payments are not tax deductible.

How to obtain mortgage insurance?

If you have decided to purchase a house with the aid of mortgage insurance, your mortgage lender would be your first resource for mortgage insurance, as the lender may have partnership with a specific mortgage insurance company, which might make your coverage options and payments affordable and flexible.

Besides, you can turn to insurance agents or brokers that are specialized in helping customers select mortgage insurance. A reliable and good broker can save you a lot of time in comparison shopping and lead you to the best suitable insurer or coverage. Or you can visit the websites of mortgage insurance companies, check their coverage options, quotes, services and reviews. This will help you find out the specific policy that meets your needs and budget.

Cheap Car Insurance: How to Get It

To drive on roads, car insurance is a must in many places. Each year a number of people spend billions of dollars on car insurance. Due to this fact, there are a number of companies that offer car insurance policies. Depending on the type of coverage that you want, the policies can be expensive. However, no need to worry - there are still ways out there for you to get cheap car insurance.

Keep your eye out peeled for any discounts available there.

Actually, there are various discounts for car insurance. Some may be readily available to you simply for buying a policy, while others may be company specific. Anyway, when you are purchasing a policy, you can try for the following discounts.

Good Driving Discounts: Maintaining a good, safe driving record is the best thing you can do to get a cheap car insurance policy. The more accidents, tickets or claims you have, the more difficult it will be for you to get a cheap policy. Be noted that each insurance provider will have different discounts and different criteria to determine whether a person is eligible for discounts.
Safety Feature Discounts: Safety features in your car help lower the overall risk and cost of a car accident. Thus, car insurance companies encourage the erection of more safety features in your car. These safety features like front and side curtain airbags, adjustable head restraints, daytime running lights, side door beams and anti-lock brakes will help you in getting a discount on your car insurance.
Anti-Theft Features Discounts: As we know, anti-theft features like a car alarm, immobilizer, tracking system and steering wheel locking devices can reduce the risk of your car being stolen. So, this may accordingly reduce the rates of your car insurance.
Student Discounts: In general, most car insurance companies offer a discount to students with good grades. That’s because they consider students with good grades less of a risk. However, there is generally an age limit of around 25 for receiving this discount.
Having good credit is also beneficial to you.

Sure, it’s important to have a good driving record. But, you also need to prove that you pay your bills on time. Your credit seems not related to your car insurance, but it’s definitely a good indicator of how much risk you will cause to the insurer. So, if you have bad credit, chances of getting cheap car insurance are rather slim.

Make sure to make a comparison of different car insurance policies.

Car insurance rates vary significantly from car insurance provider to provider. Compare different quotes and other terms to ensure you buy cheap car insurance. Here are some tips on how to compare car insurance policies.

Look at the deductible when checking the quotes. Companies may offer you a low premium as a lure, but slam you with a higher deductible if you get into an accident. Depending on how often you need to use your insurance, it may make more sense to pay a bit higher premiums to reduce your deductible.
In addition to the premiums, do remember to compare the amount of insurance coverage. Generally, a car insurance policy includes a variety of coverage, such as medical, comprehensive collision and bodily injury and liability. Some car insurance policies even cover your rental car. That is to say, you don’t have to go for a car rental insurance policy when renting a car. All in all, opt for one with the highest dollar value for the best price.
Also check the level of coverage for underinsured or uninsured motorist. As there are more and more uninsured motorists on the road, it is a good idea to have this type of insurance coverage.

How to Select Affordable Car Insurance Policies

Driving always requires big responsibility for the drivers: they should know the proper driving skills, diligent in following traffic rules and they also need good road attitudes. Apart from these basic things, all the drivers also need another powerful item for security - car insurance.

With more and more individuals buying cars, car insurance policies are becoming more and more important for the car owners. Unexpected accidents and events usually happen in unwanted times and always bring unfavorable results. Sometimes you may end up with heavy bills and troubles. By buying car insurance, you can obtain reliable protection as well as many other bonus benefits.

As there are many kinds of card insurance policies now, you may have no idea of which one to choose. Here in this article we are talking how to choose good card insurance. To successfully get a quality car insurance policy, people need to do a lot of work. The following are some useful guides that can help you figure out affordable car insurance:

First and foremost, you should determine the coverage you need.

Car insurance coverage involves a wide selection of options. So, you should make clear which kind of insurance coverage option is perfect for you. Generally, the insurance coverage for car insurance is divided into two different aspects: insurance coverage options for the cars and insurance coverage to protect the drivers and others.

The insurance coverage options for cars include comprehensive coverage, collision coverage, towing and labor coverage, gap coverage and car rental reimbursement coverage. Car insurance coverage options for drivers are injury and property damage coverage, medical expenses coverage, family compensation coverage, uninsured and underinsured drivers’ coverage, personal injury coverage and fault protection. You can insure your car with nay of these policies. Also, you can buy several of them at the same time.

The next step is to choose a reliable company.

Many financial corporations and insurance companies deal with car insurance business, and what you need to do now is finding out a reliable car insurance offer. If you do not know which one to choose, you can ask an agent for help. There are always some professionals waiting to offer guides (of course you need to pay some money for counseling). You should check more companies to compare the premiums and interest rates. Some insurance companies have limitations on credit scores, so you need to have good credits. It is always a good thing for you to do some research before you start finding companies.

Then you need to compare the quotes and finally decide your insurance policy.

Once you have decided the best companies to buy car insurance, you can start checking the internet to find some car insurance quotes. To get a competitive quote, you may need to hand in your driver’s license number as well as some necessary information about your car, such as the brands, ages, models, driving miles and others. Sometimes you may obtain favorable discounts if you do not have bad records during your driving.

One-Stop Guide to Car Insurance

Today in the US, no matter which state you live, as long as you own a car, you will be required to purchase car insurance. Medical expenses, car repairs, property damages or even destructions could all be associated with car accidents, and thus, even the most careful drivers would not say “No” to car insurance, as it can effectively protect us against financial losses in case of an accident.

Just as other common insurance types, car insurance also comes in various coverage options and different quotes. If you are new to this kind of insurance, or want to change insurance company for a better premium rate, be sure to make several minutes for this article.

How Much Coverage Should I Purchase?

Given the cruel reality that car accidents take place every 18 seconds in the US, buying proper coverage for you and your vehicle would help you get well prepared for possible losses. Before determining your car insurance coverage, you should keep in mind that the options of the coverage will influence your insurance rates - the more coverage types, the higher your insurance quotes.

Therefore, many people, to keep the cost down and effective, just purchase three basic types of coverage to give the car essential protections: liability coverage, collision coverage and comprehensive coverage. Almost all states in the US require drivers to purchase liability coverage for car insurance while the minimum limits on the premium vary specifically. But generally, the higher limit on your liability coverage for each accident, the more likely your insurer will cover the entire damages.

On the other hand, many car insurance policies encourage drivers to purchase somewhat cheap add-ons, such as repairs, towing, medical payment and rental reimbursement, in the event of unexpected expenses involved in an accident.

What Determines My Car Insurance Rate?

Of course, every of us is looking for low-cost protections for our cars, and in most cases, our car insurance quote would be largely affected by the following two factors: coverage types and deductible. Car insurance deductible refers to the amount that the drivers have to pay towards car repairs or replacement before the insurance company covers the loss.

For instance, let’s say you get involved in an accident which causes $5,000 worth of damage to your vehicle and your deductible is $500 (that is the standard deductible amount for car insurance), then you just need to pay $500 towards the car repair and your insurance company will make up the remaining $4,500. In general, the lower your car insurance deductible, the higher insurance rates. Thus, many people choose raising the deductible to lower insurance price.

Besides the two key factors we talked above, there are many other aspects that affect your car insurance quotes, such as the type of your car, your age, sex and driving record, your credit score, and even where you frequently drive to or park your car.

Any Discounts to Lower My Car Insurance Premium?

Today in the US, the car insurance rate is climbing fast. Besides avoiding unnecessary coverage options and raising the deductible, many people are looking for discount opportunities to lower the quotes. Fortunately, car insurance companies know what you want and offer various saving ways to help make your policy affordable. In most cases, car insurance buyers could take advantage of the following discounts:

Good Driving Discount
Good Students Discount
Anti-Theft Device Discount
Multiple Vehicle Discount
Defensive Driver Discount
Driver Training Discount

Mortgage Education

Loan Products

Other Useful Information

• What are closing costs?
• How to compare offers from multiple lenders?
• Pre Qualified vs. Pre Approved
• Home Refinancing Options

Home loans offered include fixed rate, adjustable rate, interest only, FHA, VA, USDA mortgages and more. Plus, the mortgage rates for any home mortgage loan can differ widely.

Fixed Rate Home Mortgage Loans

With a fixed rate home loan you don't have to worry about your monthly payment changing...ever. Your mortgage rate and payment are fixed for the life of your home loan. Fixed rate mortgage loans range from 10 to 40 years.

FHA Home Mortgage Loans

FHA home loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Although FHA mortgage rates may typically be higher than conventional mortgage loans, FHA home loans offer many advantages including low down payment requirements, flexible credit guidelines as well as the ability to lend in declining markets.

VA Home Mortgage Loans

If you have debt outside of your home loan, you are likely paying a much higher interest rate than you should be. Credit card interest rates can be as high as 25%. Refinancing your home mortgage loan to pay off and consolidate debt under one low mortgage rate is a smart maneuver. Refinancing your home loan could save you a great deal of cash every month.

Cash Out Home Mortgage Loans

You can obtain a refinance home mortgage loan to get cash out for a variety of purposes, including education expenses, vacations, other investments, home improvements and more.

Adjustable Rate Home Mortgage Loans

With an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), you can lower your monthly mortgage loan payment because mortgage rates for ARMs are usually lower than traditional fixed rate programs. If you plan on selling or refinancing your home in less than 10 years, then an adjustable rate mortgage loan may be right for you.

Interest Only Home Mortgage Loans

With interest only home loans, you only pay interest during the initial interest only period. This type of home mortgage loan allows you to lower your initial mortgage rate, lower your initial monthly payment, qualify for a larger loan amount and free up cash for other uses.

Mortgage News

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Let Amerisave keep you in touch with the changes in the industry.

Visit this page daily to see up to date articles that can help you with your buying decisions.

Posted: 05/07/12 9:27 AM

Mortgage Rates Fall

Mortgage rates fell last week amid week US employment data. Look for mortgage rates to remain low as uncertainty from Europe and slow US growth continue.

Posted: 04/30/12 10:06 AM

Mortgage Rates Decline

Mortgage rates continue to trend down last week as news from Europe out-weighed a neutral policy statement from the Fed. This upcoming week as the potential to move mortgage rates as manufacturing data and employment data released during the week will adjust market opinions of the economic recovery.

Posted: 04/23/12 9:56 AM

Mortgage Rates Ease

Mortgage rates finished last week slightly lower as little US economic data shifted the markets focus to corporate earnings and Europe. This week the FOMC meets as the markets are looking for any signs of QE3 in Wednesday s announcement. Mortgage rates could be under pressure Wednesday afternoon as the markets adjust to the FOMC s announcement.

Posted: 04/16/12 9:35 AM

Mortgage Rates Flat

Mortgage rates finished last week flat concern over job growth the previous week subdued the recent appetite for equities. The press has been debating whether or not the Fed will embark on a third round of quantitative easing and whether that easing would ultimately aid in stimulating the economy. Another round has the potential to keep mortgage rates low or possible move them lower.

Posted: 04/09/12 9:39 AM

Mortgage Rates Fall

Mortgage rates declined overall last week after ticking up in the beginning of the week. Initially minutes released from the last FOMC meeting created optimism about the economic recovery that faded with the release of the March jobs report. Mortgage rates fell as money moved from equities to bonds.