You are coming up to the light and it is yellow, you stop, but the person behind you isn’t as quick and tucks his car in right under your bumper. You’re in the parking lot, another driver pulls in parallel to you, and as he gets out the wind gusts and takes the door out of his control and it dents your door. You’re driving behind the gravel truck on the highway when a stone drops out of the back of the truck, bouncing off the street and into your windshield. What do you do?

How many claims you make over time affects how your car insurance company decides what kind of a risk you are, and what your premiums are going to be. If you have a low deductable, it may seem like a good idea to claim every scratch and pit that comes along, especially if you have a new car. But each claim has a chance of raising your premium regardless of whether or not you were at fault.

So what do you do? Read your car insurance policy, or when you are in a renewal process talk to each agent for the companies that you are thinking of accepting the quote. Find out what is their policy is for accidents. Some insurance companies place a clause in the policy allowing them to not renew with your or worse even cancel if they think you are involved in not reporting an accident. Parking lot dents and dings don’t usually need a police report, or need you to file a claim. Weigh your deductable against the cost of the repair and the cost of a possible rise in your premium and see if an out of pocket solution is best.  Read more...

Take note that the information in this article is just a guide to help you what type of home insurance you need.

In addition to rates, homeowners are concerned about the coverage provided by their insurance policy. You can easily make sure you have the sufficient and appropriate coverage for your particular circumstances while getting the discounts you deserve. The following are a few ways homeowners can improve their insurance coverage and rates. It is unlikely you will qualify for all of these at the same time but you should still review them with your insurance provider.

Stay with the Same Provider

You may become eligible for loyalty discounts the longer you are a customer with the same insurance company. The exact amount of time required to qualify for this cost reduction depends on each individual provider. And it is possible to receive this discount multiple times.

Increase Policy Deductible

It is always a good idea to have a higher deductible as long as you can afford it. Your home insurance provider will reward you with lower rates and even better coverage. Invest the money you save back into your home. You can pay for small upgrades or beautification projects.

Minimize Claims

Homeowners do not have to submit claims for everything they qualify for under their policy. You can decide to take care of the costs for minor damage. The longer you go without filing a claim, the greater your discount for having a record free of claims. This particular discount can exceed 10% and is repeatable. Insurance companies are willing to reward homeowners who save them money.  Read more...

We all like to think we live in a world where nothing bad ever happens. Up until 9/11, there had been occasional events the government called home-grown terrorist attacks. You may remember Ted Kaczynski who achieved notoriety as the Unabomber, sending out bombs through the mail for some twenty years, and Timothy McVeigh who was responsible for the greatest loss of life through the Oklahoma City Bombing. These are rare individuals who become unhappy with the way things are and resort to extreme measures. This was a containable risk until Al-Qaeda highjacked four airplanes and crashed three of them into high-visibility targets. We might have considered this outrage a unique event but, for a variety of political reasons, America has continued military actions abroad. All informed sources have confirmed that these actions only act as a tool to recruit terrorist groups no matter what opinion you have on the overseas actions. For now, their retaliation has been against troops or targets based abroad. But we would be foolish if we ignore the risk of direct action on our soil.

Following the 9/11 attack, President Bush pushed through the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. This puts federal money on the line until 2014. By this time, the private insurance industry is supposed to come up with a proper framework to support the risk of loss and damage caused by terrorists anywhere within our borders. Until then, the Treasury acts as a reinsurer and, if the Secretary of the Treasury certifies losses caused by terrorism, it pays 90c in the dollar of every claim approved by private insurers. And, just so you understand the value of this back-up, no commercial insurance company can refuse to insure a business against terrorist risks. It’s your right to be covered at an affordable rate. A formal complaint can be made and a fine issued to the insurance company should the company refuse.  Read more...