Insurance

The following is a guest post from a colleague of mine, Barbara Waltz over at 247Quoteus.com.

While the current economic climate has had varying effects on us, this period has caused a great deal of reflection into our spending habits. One of our larger monthly bills comes from various forms of insurances. Similar to car insurance, if you have a loan out on your current home, the lending institution almost certainly makes you purchase insurance on it, after all if something were to happen to it they would lose out on their investment. It is possible to find affordable homeowners insurance and still maintain great coverage.

Shop Around.

While it is a simple task that we often do for other purchases, many people over look it when it comes to insurances. Just because you are with your current company and have them for other policies does not necessarily mean they are going to give you the best rates. Rates vary greatly and so it is important to take this quick way of making sure you are getting affordable coverage.

Raise Your Deductible

Although it is sometimes considered risky, and if you live in an area prone to natural disasters then it certainly may be, for the most part is a quick fix to lower premiums. When raising a premium, it is important to make sure it is still low enough that you can afford to pay it if something were to happen to your home. There is a fine balance between making sure it is low enough to still pay but high enough to provide a good enough discount to make it worth doing. You know your finances better than anyone, and if a premium of a few thousand dollars would not be possible if it was ever needed then perhaps it is not worth it for your situation.

Policy Bundling

If you have your insurance through a larger company, they likely offer more than just home insurance. Putting your policies together with one firm can often times net a pretty good discount. Moving current coverage to a new company is an option, or if you are buying new policies then you should ask your current company what kind of discounts may be available.

Improving Your Home

A safe house is always going to be cheaper to insure than one that is risky. Having a security system, fire prevention systems or other such devices can lower your premiums. There are many options available and some allow for larger discounts with less investment from your side. Weigh your options and see what can give the best overall savings.

All insurance policies should be looked over on an annual basis to make sure that you still need that level of coverage and that you are not paying too much, the same is true with homeowners. Perhaps a few years ago you bought a nice LCD TV or computer and increased your policy value to reflect that, but now those items have depreciated and it may be more costly keeping them on the policy than removing them. By following these simple steps you can cut a bit off of your monthly premiums and over the duration of the stay in that home save quite a large sum.

This article was written by Barbara Waltz, an industry expert and one of the founders of a well known insurance blog.

RELATED POSTS

• Life Insurance – Can You Be Too Honest?
• Is Identity Theft Insurance Worth It?
• Life Insurance
• Whole Life vs Term

FOLLOW ME on TWITTER

If you like this post, then subscribe for free email updates HERE or click on the bright orange logo on the TOP RIGHT section of my blog. You can also sign up for updates via RSS FEED. What is RSS?

I recently applied for life insurance – after not having it for some time, I realized it would be prudent that I get some, especially that I'm approaching the age of 40. Part of the application is a little supplemental health questionnaire they give you. I answered it and then sent it in and then waited …

It had been several weeks and while at the doctors, I casually asked if he'd received anything from the insurance company. I explained that I had applied for insurance, filled out a health form and wondered if they'd sent him anything. His response was unexpected. He said, 'You said THAT on your questionnaire??'

Naturally, I was surprised. Aren't you supposed to be honest when it comes into filling out paperwork relating to life and health insurance? They can pretty much find out anything they want about you. I've actually filled out such questionnaires before and in Canada and the US such information is actually kept on databases. I know here in BC, our medical system keeps vast records which are accessible should the need arise.

I figured, since detailed records are kept on me, and can be easily accessed by insurers, it would be best to say everything about my health background and other activities that would pertain to my health.

But, it begs the question, if it can't be tracked on some database or your doctor doesn't know about it, should you mention it on any insurance application?

I know in my case, I mentioned a few things - and I am NOT saying what they are!;) – that caused my initial application to be delayed. Now, my doctor has to fill in some forms, but I know there is no problem so my application will ultimately be approved, but it's worth thinking about.

What's my take? Well, I believe honest is the best policy. If they approve your application and you've mentioned every bit of 'dirt' on your history, it lowers the chance that they can be denied benefits once you need to collect. And that's a huge issue – if you lie on any insurance application and they find out, you're screwed: they could very easily deny benefits.

I know in my case, I don't smoke but I've had a cigarette or two when I've been drinking, so I applied for smokers' coverage. I just felt it was easier in the end.

I'm being devil's advocate here, and this does NOT reflect me in any way, but what about recreational drug usage? Should you mention this? I'm sure many of us have tried this, but how would they find out? There wouldn't be any medical records and for the most part, your doctor wouldn't know …?

They could deny your initial application based on some of the information you provide so it's important to consider what you say. I'm not saying you should lie and I believe in honesty but you should be careful.

Just something to think about.

RELATED POSTS

• Life Insurance
• Is Identify Theft Insurance Worth It?
• Whole Life vs Term Insurance
• How Much Life Insurance?

FOLLOW ME on TWITTER

If you like this post, then subscribe for free email updates HERE or click on the bright orange logo on the TOP RIGHT section of my blog. You can also sign up for updates via RSS FEED. What is RSS?

Recently, I had a brush with credit card fraud … sort of. One of the places I used my card at may have been compromised so my credit card company called me up and suggested I cancel my current card so they could send me a new one. Thankfully, nothing was fraudulently charged to my card. It's awoken me to the possibility of identify theft and I've actually been considering identity theft insurance, lately.

WHAT IS IDENTITY THEFT INSURANCE?

Identity theft insurance covers payments "for expenses associated with the time-consuming and often frustrating tasks" of fixing your credit or worse, criminal record. Some of these expense could be legal fees, lost wages, or any other out-of-pocket items to help clean up your name.  Amounts of insurance can range anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 or more and would be an add-on to your current home insurance – the cost could be anywhere from $25 or more (check with your insurance carrier.)

What doesn't it do?

It actually does none of the work involved to get back your name. You still have to do it all yourself.  I don't know about you, but I don't think I would know even where to start. While insurance would cover some of the time you take off from work, it may not cover all the time. So, you could still end up losing in the end.

Once you've been targeted, the money sure is an issue, but I think the major pain would be dealing with your damaged reputation, the constant calls from companies wanting their money and even the police. If your perpetrator did something illegal and the police come knocking on your door, insurance couldn't protect you from that.

So, it appears no amount of money would cover the stress and humiliation of being an indentify theft victim.

IDENTITY THEFT SERVICES

Another option is subscribing to a service that would do the work for you. All you do is call a specialist if you suspect you've been targeted and they will (potentially) deal with law enforcement, banks and whoever you'll need to contact to fix your situation. Some services may even be more proactive and offer fraud monitoring. They'll assess your situation and let you know what you need to do to decrease your risk of being a target.

Sounds great … but does it come at an extra cost? Yupp. I found a few services on the internet and here are the costs:

• Lifelock - $10/month
• Identity Guard - $14.99/month
• Trusted Id – you can email for a free quote.

These services are definitely more expensive. You'd have to weigh the pros and cons of the benefits but I'd probably consider a few issues:

1.) What are the chances of you becoming a victim? Statistically, the chances may be small.

2.) Most credit cards already offer protection – you don't have to pay for fraudulent charges.

3.) You can already place certain measures for free on your credit score – you can freeze your own account, you can have them email you when new credit is opened up; you can also get your credit report for free

4.) Other free ways to protect yourself – shred documents, strong passwords, deal with trusted companies.

IS IT WORTH IT?

The extra cost to your home insurance seems a bit much especially given that you can do much of it yourself for free and you still have to fix your credit yourself.

The identity theft services offer additional protection but at a much higher cost. I can't verify how good the service is – has anyone out there ever used these companies?

But if it gives you piece of mind, it may be worth considering.

Photo: rightee

RELATED POSTS

My Credit Card Was Compromised

Whole Life vs Term Insurance

If you like this post, then subscribe for free email updates HERE or click on the bright orange logo on the TOP RIGHT section of my blog. You can also sign up for updates via RSS FEED. What is RSS?