As the population continues to grow, more cars and drivers hit the highways. With so many vehicles on the road, crashes are inevitable. Automobile Insurance can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a major hassle. But why do you need insurance and just how much should you buy?

Auto insurance is required by law in all states and protects you by paying for damage or injury you cause others while driving your car; damage to your car or injury to you or your passengers in your car from a crash; and certain other occurrences such as theft and vandalism. Without insurance, you risk having to pay the full cost of any harm you cause others with your vehicle.

Coverage requirements vary by state, but usually include the following:

Liability: It pays for damages due to bodily injury and property damage to others for which you are responsible. Bodily injury damages include medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. Property damage includes damaged property and loss of use of property. State laws usually mandate minimum amounts, but higher amounts are available and usually recommended.

Personal Injury Protection: This is required in many states. It pays you or your passengers for medical treatment resulting from a crash, regardless of who may have been at fault, and is often called no-fault coverage. It may also pay for lost earnings, replacement of services and funeral expenses. State law usually sets minimum required amounts.

Medical Payments: This coverage is available in some states (usually the states without no-fault insurance), and pays regardless of who may have been at fault. It pays for an insured person’s reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses for bodily injury from a crash.

Collision: This pays for damage to your car caused by collision.

Comprehensive: This pays for damage to your car caused by “Other Than Collision”; including fire, wind, hail, vandalism and animal strikes.

Uninsured Motorist: This pays damages when an insured person is injured in a crash caused by another person who does not have liability insurance or by a hit and run driver.

Underinsured Motorist: This pays damages when an insured person is injured in a crash caused by another person who does not have enough liability insurance to cover the full amount of the damages.

Auto insurance premiums vary widely from company to company and will depend on several factors, including: What coverage’s you select; the make and model of the car that you drive, your driving record, your age, sex, and marital status and where you live.

Many people think of auto insurance as a necessary evil that can save your financial well being. Evaluate your needs, do your research and make the decision that best suits you.

About the Author

Peter Andrues has helped hundreds of people save money on their Car Insurance. Would you like to save $451.00 on your Car Insurance and get $50 in FREE GAS???. Stop by http://DiscountOnlineQuotes.com

Why You Need Auto Insurance…   by Peter Andrues

Wealth transfer and asset protection are important topics for many baby boomers and seniors. Consumers want to learn efficient ways to maximize the distribution of assets to their spouses, younger generations and favorite charities. A will and/or a trust can assign assets to beneficiaries, however these estate-planning tools are not designed to create wealth so much as they are to preserve it. In contrast, life insurance products instantly create wealth and can increase the amount passed on to a recipient.

Single premium life insurance is a valuable investment when it comes to wealth creation and transfer. With this type of life insurance, a single premium is deposited, creating an immediate death benefit that is guaranteed until the owner passes away. The death benefit will depend on the amount deposited, gender, age and health of the insured. In many cases, the single deposit will be multiplied by a factor of two or more when the death benefit is calculated. Typically the younger the insured, the higher the benefit received. For instance, a 65 year old healthy, non-smoking woman who deposits $100,000 into a single premium life policy could pass $200,000 or more in death benefit to her beneficiaries. Moreover, the benefit is income tax free to her recipients!

Benefits to the Insured

Single premium life insurance can also benefit the insured or the purchaser during his or her lifetime. The cash value in a fully funded policy will grow quickly and can provide income to the purchaser if needed. In turn, the purchaser can also surrender the policy for its cash value at any time. A few policies guarantee the cash value to be no less than the one time deposit. This way, if the insured needs to surrender the policy due to unforeseen circumstances, he or she is guaranteed to get the investment back. The insured also has the option of taking a loan against the policy instead of surrendering the contract if desired.

Other policies have the option of an accelerated death benefit* that can be drawn on to pay for long term care coverage. By invoking this rider, the woman in the example above would have $200,000 available to her for long term care expenses in her home or a nursing home facility- and these benefits could be received income tax free. In this example she avoids premium payments into a traditional long term care policy and still rests assured that she has significant nursing home protection if necessary. The insurance policy improves the estate in two ways. The life insurance policy will pass increased wealth to the beneficiary or protect an estate from the considerable costs associated with long term care. (*The accelerated death benefit can also be utilized if the insured is diagnosed as terminally ill with twelve months or less of life expectancy.)

Investment Options in a Life Insurance Account

There are various investment options in single premium life policies. The most common policy, traditional whole life, has a guaranteed interest rate and is the least aggressive, which makes it very dependable. Other policies such as universal life have different interest rate structures and can use an equity-index or variable engine to increase the policy value. Generally whole life is most appropriate for seniors, while universal life might appeal to younger consumers.

Many elderly consumers feel that they are not healthy enough to purchase life insurance in their golden years. This is simply not true. Simplified underwriting allows many seniors to qualify for life insurance. With simplified underwriting, there is no physical or blood work needed. So long as the proposed insured can answer no to a few questions, underwriting can be done using the answers on the application and a quick telephone interview. The fact is single premium life insurance is not difficult to purchase. Those who feel they are in extraordinary health can choose to go through advanced underwriting and may qualify for increased insurance benefits.

Tax Advantages of Life Insurance

Certainly the advantage of life insurance over an annuity, a savings bond, a certificate of deposit or other investment is the favorable tax treatment of a life policy. The entire death benefit is passed income tax free to the beneficiary. However, the death benefit can count toward the gross value of an estate for estate tax purposes. To avoid estate taxes, some policies are owned by the beneficiaries or an irrevocable life insurance trust. It is crucial to work with a knowledgeable agent and attorney if estate taxes are a concern.

Often single premium life is considered a modified endowment contract or MEC by the IRS. The policy can be taxable to the owner if gains are withdrawn- just like an annuity or savings bond can be taxable to the owner. If the owner is under the age of 59 ½ the IRS can access a 10% early withdraw penalty. Thus these policies are best utilized when the funds are likely not needed in the immediate future.

In conclusion, life insurance can be one of the safest and most dependable investments for many families. Life insurance is especially valuable due to the favorable tax treatment and guaranteed returns associated with these policies. It is important to choose a well rated company and an informed advisor to select the best possible policy for your future.

Learn more about wealth transfer using life insurance.

About the Author

A.M. Hyers has been working in the insurance field for over ten years. He is the owner/operator of Ohio Insurance Plan, an independent agency providing quotes and information on various insurance products in Ohio, Missouri and Georgia. To learn more, please visit http://www.ohioinsureplan.com

Using Single Premium Life Insurance to Protect Against Long Term Care by A.M. Hyers

When seeking insurance it always pays to know what the policies cover. Medical coverage, repayments of mortgages, college tuitions, and overall survival expenses can weigh anyone down when illnesses plague our lives. Enduring any illness can alter a person’s life radically. When a person is ill having the right coverage can make all the difference in the world, thus making life a more comfortable arrangement even under turmoil. When a person becomes ill, they may need to quite work temporarily, or even permanently. When this occurs, any financial support is needed, not only to keep the unemployed afloat, but also to help the family face the illness with less stress.

Medical expenses alone when ill can cost a fortune merely for one treatment. The various state sources, such as FIA or Social Services may provide temporary relief, but the plans are often limited and sometimes the plans include waiting lists. Since, chronic ills are long-term treatments; Critical Illness is needed to help provide cash when times are difficulty.

If you own a home, it makes it much harder since mortgage must be paid to avoid repossessions, foreclosures, or bankruptcy. The stress mounting during the financial difficulties can also increase the deterioration of health; therefore, the right coverage is needed. Many Critical Illness plans are cheaper when you combine Life Insurance. The combination (if the right plans are purchased) can provide you a resource that will cover burial, unemployed costs, survival costs, medical expenses, including in-care, outpatient, inpatient, home remodeling, vacations, and more. The coverage will often bring forth relief if the patient will need ramps, shelves, wheelchairs, scooters, and other medical-related recovery needs that will progress the patients health to recovery.

Other areas of unforeseen events can also cause stress when critical illnesses prevail. The patient may need to expand the doorways for entrance to his home, or may need lifts to get access to the upstairs part of the house. Still, few patients may need adoptions to their vehicle, accommodating them when traveling to the hospital. This brings to mind the cost your family may pay to visit you at the hospital. Thus, Critical Illness Coverage will provide ‘tax-free’ lump cash sums to cover traveling, hotel stays, and other necessities required to visit a loved one.

It is always nice to know that cash is available if and when illness attacks. If your children are participating in college at your expense, it is wonderful knowing that the children needs are covered in the event you cannot pull the weight. You may even need a vacation to benefit your medical condition. Critical Illness offers coverage for medical-related vacations to speed up recovery. You may wonder why you do not need coverage if you are healthy, but you must consider that life is not perfect, and neither are people. If you do not have Life Insurance or Critical Illness coverage now and you are in great condition health wise, you might want to consider that accidents, incidents and unforeseen occurrences are not prejudice and will target anyone of us at any time. We can view an example that recently occurred in my local area to see why Critical Illness and Life Insurance is important even if your health is great.

Not so long ago a young woman with great health went out her door believing she was untouchable by the unforeseen, accidents and incidents that befall someone everyday. When she returned home, the woman was attacked by a vicious predator that strangled her near to death, and beat her repeatedly into a solid concrete floor. The woman survived, however, for the next six months the woman was unable to work, and since she had little or no insurance coverage, her health was neglected, and there were no support for her during her layoff. The woman had Class A credit, which deteriorated during this setback. (God forbid this never happens to anyone, but reality does exist) Now, if this woman had Critical Illness and Life Insurance she would have had the money to receive adequate medical treatment, and would had the money to cover her short-term living condition (since the injuries limited her for life), she would still have adequate credit to survive in a very selfish world. Now ask your self again, why do you need coverage?

About the Author

Tony Robinson is a Real Estate Investor & has had experience with many types of insurance. Visit http://www.betterinsurancesite.com/ for his tips on insurance.

What Critical Illness Covers by Tony Robinson

Insurance is a form of risk management. It is purchased to avoid the possibility of a large , potential future loss. To compensate the insurance company for taking on this potential future payout, the insured pays the insurance company a certain sum of money known as the premium. In return for the payment of the premium the insured receives a written document, known as the insurance policy, that lays out what events are being insured and what the payment to the policyholder would be if that event actually occurred.

The insurance company collects the premiums of a large group of insureds to cover the few losses they would have to pay out for.They use historical data to figure the probability of losses and then charge premiums to cover them while building in a profit for themselves.

For example,let’s say there were 100 houses each worth $100,000 in a particular area. They would have a total value of $10,000,000. According to the history of that neighborhood, two houses are expected to burn down during any one year. Without insurance all 100 homeowners would have to keep $100,000 in the bank to cover the possibility of the house burning and needing to rebuild it. With insurance, each homeowner would only need to pay $2,000 into an insurance pool to pay for rebuilding the two houses that are expected to burn down.

2 houses burn x $100,000 = $200,000 for rebuilding the houses $200,000 divided by the 100 homeowners = $2,000 premium

That $2,000 premium will then have to be increased somewhat to add a profit margin for the insurance company.

In addition to the built in profit that the insurance company adds in to each premium it takes in, the company would also be subject to the actual experience of the insured group. If it takes in more money in premiums than it paid out in claims then it receives what is known as an underwriting profit. And, on the other hand if it pays out more than it has taken in then it has an underwriting loss.

One way of looking at how well an insurance company is doing is to look at their loss ratio. The loss ratio is calculated by taking the losses they had to pay out and add to that the expenses they incurred to actual pay out the claims and divide that sum by the premiums taken in. A ratio of less than 100% shows a profit and a ratio greater than 100% indicates a loss.

In many cases if an insurance company’s ratio is greater than 100% they can still be profitable. That is because there is usually a period of time between taking in premiums and paying out claims. During that period of time the company can invest the money taken in and they can earn a profit from that investment to offset any underwriting loss and could actually end up with a net profit. For example, if the insurance company pays out 15% more in claims and expenses than premiums it took in, but made a 25% profit from its investments, then it would have received a 10% profit.

So, as can be seen there is more than one way to skin the profitability cat for an insurance company to make money. Two key factors in that regard are how well they can predict their payouts and how well they can invest the money they take in.

Joe Folger with his extensive experience in the insurance industry is the go to guy for insurance questions. For more insurance company information you can go to http://www.insurancecompanyinfo.com

How An Insurance Company Makes Money by DAVID FORDLEY

It is true to say that these days you can arrange an insurance policy for almost every eventuality. The most common insurance policies that people take out will include buildings insurance, contents insurance, life assurance and critical illness cover.

Another common insurance policy that many homeowners decide to take out is Mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) – this type of policy can cover your mortgage repayments for a period of time in the event of accident, sickness or unemployment.

Buildings Insurance

Every mortgage lender will require you to have a buildings insurance policy in place when taking out a mortgage.

If you own the freehold (the building and the land that it stands on) it is your responsibility to arrange this insurance. If you are a leaseholder then you must make sure that your freeholder has arranged cover on your behalf. It is common for leaseholders to pay out for this policy in there annual management payments to the freeholder.

As long as you have a mortgage on your property then the lender will have an invested interest in it too. The lender will therefore be very keen to make sure that you have your property covered in the event of fire, subsidence or heavy storms.

You may decide to arrange cover independently or through your mortgage lender, either way you may have to provide evidence that you have a sufficient policy in place. Most lenders will not insist that you take out contents cover for your home although this is usually highly recommended.

Contents Insurance

It is very common to arrange a combined buildings and contents insurance policy – most providers will offer to set out a policy in this way. If you ever need to make a claim, you will receive the cost of the replacements for damaged goods from your insurance company – often with an excess although this is agreed before you take the policy out.

An assessment of your possessions must be carried out before applying for contents cover to make sure that you are not underinsured or over insured. Some contents insurance policies will offer new-for-old cover whereas others may offer simply cash – decide which one best suits you before applying. Most people will prefer a new-for-old policy as this will ensure that they receive an exact replacement or even an updated version of the goods lost. In this way you will not have the hassle of shopping around in order to purchase a replacement.

There are certain factors that can reduce a contents insurance premium such as having a burglar alarm in place, having smoke alarms installed and even living in a neighbourhood watch area. There is a wealth of contents insurance providers around, from traditional insurers to banks and supermarkets – always shop around for the best cover.

Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI)

Mortgage payment protection insurance can provide cover for your monthly mortgage repayments in the event of accident, sickness or unemployment. MPPI encompasses a combination of insurances however it is possible to arrange solely one type of cover. For example, you may simply wish to take out unemployment cover if you are already covered through work for accident and sickness. .

While about 60 percent of new mortgage borrowers take out MPPI, only one-third of all borrowers have this insurance – this may be due on the main part to the price of the policy itself. As with all other insurance policies, it pays to shop around. There are even some mortgage deals that will have free MPPI included however this will only usually cover you for six months to a year.

Again, with all insurance polices it is important to make regular reviews or your cover in order to make sure that you are not underinsured or that your policy has not expired. Whenever you increase the size of your mortgage by way of a remortgage, you will also need to increase the level of the MPPI to reflect it.

Insurance – An Overview / James Copper

James Copper enjoys writing on all areas of personal and commercial finance. He works for Any Loans who specialise in no credit check loans and bad credit loans.