Info War

Do you have a life insurance policy that you don’t need any more? Maybe you have found a new policy with better terms and lower premiums, or maybe you just need some cash… Or maybe you think that there is no need to pay those high premiums, since most of the life insurance policies don’t make a payout.

For any of these and other reasons you may want to get rid of your life insurance policy. Let’s see what you can do with it.

• The first option is to terminate your insurance policy. In this case you’ll get the cash surrender value (the sum that is paid to you by your insurance company if your insurance policy is voluntarily terminated) and the opportunity to spend that cash on buying a new policy or on anything else. At first sight it may seem to be quite a good option: you get rid of the unwanted policy and you get some cash. The only problem is that the sum you get is really… modest. And perhaps it won’t be enough for you to make a big purchase.
• The second and a much better option is to sell your policy to a third party (if you are 65 or older). This third party (a person or a company that is usually called an investor) buys your life insurance policy and pays you an amount that is usually larger than the cash surrender value (but less than the face amount, of course). Thus he becomes the new owner of your life insurance policy, he starts to pay your premiums instead of you and later he receives the death benefits. This is called a senior life settlements insurance.

Life settlements don’t have a long history, but they are already very popular, and almost every modern person knows about them. Obviously, senior life settlement is much more advantageous than just surrendering your insurance policy, for one simple reason: the amount that you get for selling your policy is much larger than your cash value, so you won’t have the feeling that you’ve wasted your money on paying the premiums.

Insurance companies consider people who are retired a lower risk when providing insurance for the home. Knowing this information can help elderly people save money on their home insurance, because many home insurance providers give discounts for people who are over 55 or are retired. This can help when getting home insurance quotes for a new house or when reviewing existing policies.

Why are people who are retired less of a risk for insurance companies? One reason is because they spend the majority of their days at home, making them less of a risk for burglary and vandalism. In addition, people who are retired have more free time to devote to maintaining the condition of their houses. This makes houses safer and a better risk for insurance companies.

If you are retired (or stay at home because you work from home or are a parent) you should contact your insurance company. You might qualify for a discount that could give you cheap home insurance.

Filing a homeowners insurance claim can be a daunting task, especially during a crisis or following a major disaster. Delays in the claims process were the No. 1 complaint of insurance consumers in 2007, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). To help avoid any delays, the NAIC offers the following tips.

File claims as soon as possible. Contact your agent immediately because your policy might require that you make the notification within a certain time frame. Check your home insurance online for a claims hotline.

Provide complete, correct information. It is important to give your insurance company accurate and thorough information. Incorrect or incomplete information can cause further delays in the process.

Keep copies of all correspondence. Whether it is an email or formal letter, make sure you keep copies and records of all correspondence with your insurance company. This includes writing down both your telephone and in-person contacts.

For more information or free home insurance quotes online, contact your agent today.

When you are searching for home insurance quotes, one of the questions you will likely be asked is to detail your previous policy history. This is done because insurance companies want to know about your track record as a homeowner. If someone has a history of owning a home and having insurance with a minimal number of claims, they are more likely to be able to find cheap home insurance.

On the other hand, if someone has filed multiple claims in the past, they are more likely to have trouble getting a favorable home owner insurance quote. In fact, some insurance companies may choose not to renew policies if a homeowner has a history of claims. This is why many experts recommend not filing claims on minor damages and just paying the money out of pocket. If the difference between the deductible and the cost of repairs is just a few hundred dollars or less, you’ll probably end up paying more in increased premiums down the road than you would save by filing a claim.

The market for resale of life insurance policies owned by seniors, known as life insurance settlements, has dramatically increased over the past several years. However, along with the increase of sales has been the regularity of fraud. That is why 27 states, including Idaho, have passed legislation to protect the owners of life insurance policies, reports the Idaho Press-Tribune.

As mentioned in the article, The Life Settlements Act added new portions to Idaho Code, which establishes many protections for the seller of the policy, including required licensure of the senior life settlements insurance provider (the individual or firm purchasing the policy) and the life settlement broker (the individual marketing and negotiating the sale of the policy who works for the policy owner).

In addition, the act requires that all life insurance settlement contract forms, disclosures and advertising be filed with the Department prior to use in Idaho.

“An important part of the legislation makes it illegal to engage in stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) transactions,” said Bill Deal, director of the Idaho Department of Insurance. A STOLI is a plan to initiate a life insurance policy for the benefit of a third party investor who has no insurable interest in the insured.”

One of the most important things that a person can do to protect their assets in case of an emergency is complete an inventory of their property. In fact, many homeowners insurance plans will require this before paying out any sort of personal property coverage for lost valuables.

Of course, if you lose your inventory of items in a fire or other natural disaster, it’s really not doing you a lot of good. But you can augment your home insurance online by making sure a copy of your personal inventory is available over the Internet. There are several programs that can do this for you, or you could simply email a copy of a Word document to yourself.

You can even post a video of your house inspection onto YouTube for access in case of an emergency. For homeowners, the Internet can be about more than just getting free home insurance quotes – it can be a valuable tool in organizing and protecting your investments in case of a catastrophe.

Social media users might find it more difficult to get cheap home insurance if recent trends reported by the British financial services company Legal & General hold true. Their experts report that users of sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are putting themselves at risk by sharing too much personal information online.

This includes making it public when they are going to be out of the house, either for a few hours or on a long holiday. This means that burglars would be able to know the best times to break into their homes, creating a major risk. In the future, insurance companies might consider this as a factor when determining rates for home owner insurance.

For now, this isn’t the case and in fact social media sites can be used to share information about how to search for a home insurance online quote and get the best deal on a policy.

If you’re an agent acting in the secondary market for life insurance settlements and are looking to stay abreast of the latest demands and issues of the industry, you may benefit from a new membership opportunity provided by the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA).  As of May 20, 2009, LISA offers a new membership category exclusively for agents in the secondary market. The new category, Provisional Membership, is designed to serve smaller shops and independent agents that provide important choices to consumers when it comes to their life settlements investment.

In an article published by LISA, Executive Director of the association Doug Head said, “The secondary market is evolving by leaps and bounds. Our capacity to serve and represent this growing sector is vital to the health of the industry.” He added, “Indeed, to date, a leading association for agents, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), does not represent their own members in the life settlement industry.”

Agents that qualify for LISA’s life settlement Provisional Membership will receive numerous benefits, including statewide legislative and regulatory representation, online access to legislative and regulatory tools, personal license tracking and support, case study certification program, and weekly access to association conference calls and online agendas. In addition, members will enjoy reduced membership dues and conference registration rates. The new membership also offers exclusive networking opportunities. 

“As we look to the future of life settlements, we see an expansive landscape of opportunities for business professionals from all sectors,” said LISA Business Manager Will Menezes. He added, “Expanding our membership base to this rising class of agents allows us to offer these deserving entrepreneurs a place at the table.”

If you are unemployed, self-employed, a student, or employed by a company that does not offer health insurance, you many need individual health insurance. But before you begin gathering health insurance quotes, you should become aware of all of your options, including the following outlined by the Insurance Information Institute:

• If you become unemployed or self-employed but are married to someone whose employer offers a group plan, ask whether you can become insured under that policy.

• If you leave a job at which you received health benefits for self-employment, inquire whether your company’s insurer can create an individual policy for you. This could save you money over going with an insurance quote for your own policy.

• Are you a member of a professional or trade association? The association may be able to offer you coverage through its group plan.

• If you were employed previously and had health benefits, you may be able to use COBRA benefits to maintain coverage for up to 18 months.

Should none of these options be available to you, it’s time to start requesting quotes from free insurance quote providers. Although individual health insurance plans are generally expensive and may offer only limited coverage, health insurance is an essential to protect you against financial ruin in the event of a serious illness or injury.

A standard homeowners’ insurance policy protects your home—meaning the structure itself and the things inside of it. This includes liability for damage caused to visitors and damage caused by natural disasters. Standard policies also include coverage for additional living expenses in the event that an insured disaster displaces you and your family temporarily. Be advised when shopping for insurance quotes, however, that flood and earthquake insurance are considered separate policies. Thus, if your lender requires either of these, you will need to obtain a separate insurance quote. Also, problems that arise as the result of poor maintenance are generally not covered by homeowners’ insurance.

Lenders may require you to have coverage while you are making payments on your mortgage. If you own your home, you are not legally required to purchase homeowners’ insurance the way you are required to always have auto insurance, says the Insurance Information Institute. However, having homeowners’ insurance is advisable to protect your investment.

Unsure of which homeowners’ insurance to select? Free insurance quotes are available almost instantly online. When you compare quotes, be sure to take into account the cost of rebuilding your home and any structures such as a garage or gazebo; the total cost of your belongings; the cost of landscaping such as trees, flowers, and shrubs; and the cost of living somewhere else in case your home is damaged. Additionally, most companies recommend at least $300,000 of liability protection.