Info War

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.

There are many ways that a policyholder can get rid of an unwanted life insurance policy, including a life insurance settlement and a viatical settlement. While the former is a relatively new concept, it can be confused by the latter because they both involve the sale of a life insurance plan to a third party.  However, there is a huge difference between these two methods, and it is important to know the difference in order to select the best possible solution for your specific situation.

A senior life settlement is a way for a policyholder to sell their life insurance plan to an individual or company for an amount that is greater than the policy’s cash surrender yet less than the net death benefit.  With a senior life settlement, the policyholder is not under any specific requirement and the funds can be used to fulfill a wide range of financial or estate planning objectives. When life settlement brokers come in the picture, there may be numerous individuals or companies all bidding for the same policy, which in turn results in the policyholder receiving the highest possible amount for his or her policy.

Unlike life settlements, viatical settlements can be transferred or sold only when the policyholder has a terminal disease. If the policyholder has a terminal disease, he or she can choose to sell the life insurance policy at a discount rate from its full value for instant cash. In the case of a viatical settlement, the buyer cashes in the entire amount of the policy when the original policyholder dies.

In accordance with the recent Senate Special Committee on Aging’s hearing on the senior life settlement industry, Committee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., has written Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner a letter asking for clarification on taxation of the proceeds from settlements for widows and orphans, who have traditionally not been taxed for the proceeds from life insurance policies. Geithner has responded by saying that the Internal Revenue Service will soon publish guidelines regarding the tax treatment of these policies.

In addition to asking for clearer guidelines on the proceeds from senior life settlements may be taxed, Kohl asked Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Mary Schapiro to elucidate on its jurisdiction in the industry and regulate according to that jurisdiction. Schapiro responded, "We will look carefully at the issues surrounding the registration of life settlement providers and brokers and the potential need to regulate more specifically in this area.”

Life insurance is a smart investment, especially for the main breadwinner of the home. It offers the peace of mind that your family members will receive financial support when you die. However, even if you are entering the age of retirement and don’t have any dependants, there are other reasons why you may want to think about purchasing life insurance. Regardless of your age, senior life insurance plans are created to cover specific costs related to your death, including one cost in particular that is inevitable—the funeral.

According to the most recent data from the National Funeral Directors Association, the national median cost of a funeral for the calendar year 2006 was $6,105. If a vault is included, which is usually required by a cemetery, that number rises to $7,323. Unfortunately, this cost does not include cemetery, monument or marker costs, nor does it include additional expenses, such as flowers and obituaries. As we head further in 2009, funeral costs are expected to continue rising as they have been for the past 30 years. If you don’t have sufficient amount of money in your savings, your spouse or children will be left to come up with the money to cover these costs. Burial insurance is one way to avoid this burden. In addition, burial insurance gives you the opportunity to choose all of the details related to your funeral. For many people, the opportunity to prearrange their funeral is reason enough to purchase a plan.

Even if it’s just short term travel insurance, a policy that covers trip interruptions/cancellations, delays, baggage, and emergency medical/dental expenses is valuable for international travel. Most airlines, tour operators, and cruise companies levy a hefty fee for changing your tickets. Others maintain a strict no-refund policy which deprives you of both your money and the experience. Yet if you’re summoned for jury duty, suddenly become ill, are caught in a terrorist incident, or are subject to a number of other circumstances beyond your control, you may have no choice but to change your travel plans.

Travel insurance will allow you to recoup expenses up to a certain limit in the event of unforeseen trip delays/modifications. In the event of a medical emergency, a policy will compensate thousands of dollars of medical expenses. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all U.S. citizens traveling in another country will experience a health problem. Don’t let this cripple your trip and beyond; purchase trip insurance. New York International Group also offers international student travel health insurance.  

When you buy term life insurance online using TermAssistant.com, you’ll be enrolling with some of the best local and national companies. That said, we want you to feel comfortable with the insurance provider, which is why we offer information about each plan and company, including contact information. You should also consider the following advice when scouting out life insurance companies:

• Is the company in good financial shape? A simple way to find out is to check the company’s rating from agencies such as A.M. Best, Standard & Poor, Fitch, and Moody. An “A” rating or higher usually indicates stability.
• Contact your state’s department of insurance for further information. Your state department can give you details of an insurer’s record and help you determine whether the low cost term life insurance provider is credible or not.
• Ask questions. TermAssistant.com is happy to help you complete the online quote form or answer questions about our network of providers.