Life Insurance Deciphered--What you need to Know

Purchasing life insurance can be an overwhelming experience for someone who is not familiar with all of the legal details involved. Terms such as whole life insurance, term life insurance, variable life insurance, etc., can flabbergast someone who is looking for life insurance for the first time. How is the first time purchaser to cut through all of the jargon to find the best coverage for themselves and their families? The first thing is to become familiar with the basic categories of life insurance and how they may or may not be applicable to their situation.

Perhaps the most commonly offered life insurance policy is called term life insurance. Term life insurance is a life insurance policy that is good for only a set amount of time, typically one year. This is the kind of life insurance that is typically offered by employers. Term life insurance is good for those who are relatively young and in good health. One issue with term life insurance is that the policy holder must re-qualify yearly and if their health takes a downturn during the term, they may not be able to qualify for continued coverage the next term period.

The alternate to term life insurance is permanent life insurance. This is life insurance that is applicable not for a term, but for your entire life. Clearly, since a payout is almost guaranteed on a life term policy, the rates are going to be quite a bit higher than term life insurance, and the policy terms are very inflexible. If you choose a permanent life insurance policy, it is vitally important to evaluate all plans and choose the very best one. Unless you happen to be an insurance expert, it is a good idea to hire a professional and independent insurance agent to help you wade through all of the available permanent life insurance policies.

Know your Insurance Adjuster

"Insurance adjuster" is a term that we encounter quite a bit when shopping for insurance policies, but what exactly is an insurance adjuster? Insurance adjusters are agents who are either employed by insurance companies or work as independent agents who serve as a liaison between the insurance company and the claimant after a loss or even that potentially requires the insurance company to pay a claim.

When a catastrophic home or property loss occurs, the insurance adjuster is the one who examines the damage, interviews eye witnesses, and generally tries to provide a complete picture of how the damage occurred. In the case of fire or other potentially suspicious types of damage, the insurance adjuster will also speak with police and fire officials to determine the cause of the blaze. Once the details of the event have been worked out, the insurance adjuster will carefully go over the home owner's policy and determine to what extent the insurance company is required to cover. The insurance adjuster then files the claim with the insurance company where it will undergo verification and, if everything checks out, a payment will be issued to the policy holder.

For health care coverage, the insurance adjuster (also called the claims examiner when dealing with medical issues) carefully reviews all aspects of the claim and makes a determination on the extent of the insurance company's liability. Extremely large claims are typically handled by senior insurance adjusters.

Insurance adjusters provide a layer of buffering between the policy holder and the complexities of filing a claim. Since the time directly following a serious loss or health emergency is typically stressful enough on its own, the policy holder typically welcomes the adjuster's handling of the complex details of filing a claim. Since insurance adjusters are very familiar with the way the policy is structured, they are more likely to file an accurate claim request and get the money in the policy holder's hands as quickly as possible.

What you should know about RV Insurance

Many Americans take vacations in recreational vehicles (RVs) and so-called "RVing" has become an American cultural icon. Traveling in recreational vehicles allows you and your family to travel in comfort, to stay in RV parks and other camping facilities with the full amenities of home. Clearly, an RV is much more than an automobile and when it comes time to purchase RV insurance, there are some things that you need to keep in mind.

The typical recreational vehicle contains amenities that you would never see in an automobile. For example, many people place fully functional entertainment systems in their RV, including a television, a stereo, VCR/DVR, perhaps a DVD player and a gaming console, etc. Many RVs come with kitchen appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators, as well as living and sleeping furniture.

Standard automobile policies do not cover any of those items. Therefore, if you plan to travel by RV, you should seek an insurance policy that covers all of the typical areas that you would expect to be covered in a typical auto insurance policy as well as coverage for the many expensive items that are inside the RV. For this, you will need to purchase RV insurance.

Besides protecting the items inside your RV, there are other reasons why recreational vehicle owners would need to purchase RV insurance. For example, when your RV is parked at a campsite, you may be responsible if anyone is injured in the campsite. Traditional automobile insurance can not provide coverage for such situations, but RV insurance does. Also, many RV insurance policies offer travel and lodging assistance in case your RV breaks down on the road.

Since a recreational vehicle is much more than just an automobile, it needs to be protected by more than simple auto insurance. RV insurance is specifically designed to cover those costs that are unique to recreational vehicles.

Tips for Picking a Temporary Health Insurance Policy

During times when you have a temporary lapse in health care coverage either because of a new job, a recent layoff, a switch in policy, or any number of other reasons, it is important to make sure that you still have health coverage during the interim period. As we all know, Murphy's Law indicates that even if you are healthy and have not had an accident or sickness for years, it is during the brief period when you are not covered that you will develop appendicitis or fall down a flight of stairs.

Temporary health insurance plans can be a bit more complicated to set up than more tradition plans, so it is probably a good idea to hire the services of an insurance agent who is well versed in temporary health insurance. It is sometimes cost effective to elect for a higher deductible for temporary health insurance since that will keep your premiums lower for the brief period that you are on the coverage. Of course, you will have to decide on the premiums versus deductibles issue on your own based on your health and your expectations for the interim period.

Many temporary health insurance policies list a number of exclusions, or conditions for which they will not pay. Pay very careful attention to this list of conditions before buying temporary health insurance. If you or a family member have or are at risk for a condition on the exclusions list, you will want to look for a different policy.

All temporary health insurance packages allow you to continue coverage after the policy has expired. This may be necessary if your new coverage is delayed for some reason. If you do not need to extend the coverage, then the policy will expire on its own. You do not need to take any action to discontinue a temporary health insurance policy.

Travel with Peace of Mind by Purchasing Travel Insurance

Long gone are the days when loading up the kids in the station wagon, piling some luggage on top, and driving off to the nearest lake or national park was the primary form of family travel. While many rewarding vacations are indeed still family road trips, much more involved forms of vacationing have become common.

From all expenses paid cruise trips, to pre-arranged and booked European travel, planning a vacation often means planning (and paying) well in advance of the actual trip. If something happens that makes you cancel your travel plans, you will often find that much of the money that you have laid down is non refundable.

Also, if you experience a medical or other emergency while traveling, you could also be out a great deal of money. Travel insurance allows you to travel with peace of mind, knowing that you are covered financially regardless of any negative events that might occur.

Many kinds of tickets and bookings are non-refundable, such as plane tickets, cruise line bookings, as well as reservations for some forms of lodging. If you are forced to cancel your vacation, travel insurance will reimburse you for the costs that you would have otherwise lost. Costs associated with lost or misdirected luggage are also covered by travel insurance, as are costs incurred because of missed flights.

Perhaps the worst thing that can occur on a vacation is to have your wallet stolen. Particularly if you are in a country where you do not speak the native language, reporting the theft and getting the proper help from authorities can be extremely challenging.

Travel insurance can help out in these situations as well by providing assistance in dealing with the local authorities, and can also assist in securing emergency cash if needed.

Dental Insurance--Understanding the Different Plans and Coverage

The first step in understanding your dental insurance coverage is to find out what type of insurance plan you have. There are four types of plans that dental insurance companies offers. The first is indemnity, which is when your insurance company pays all or part of specific dental services. The indemnity plan allows dental patients to choose their own dentist. The amount of coverage purchased by your employer will determine your limits and co-payments.

The direct reimbursement plan or DR allows you to choose your own dentist and treatment plan. You must pay for the dental treatment and then send your receipt to your employer for payment. The DR plan usually reduces the amount of paperwork, restrictions, limitations and delays, but could be costly having to pay upfront and sometimes waiting for weeks for your reimbursement.

The dental care service plan is plan that sets pre-determined levels and restrictions on your dental care. Eligible participants are charged a set fee by an organization of contributing dentists in a network. This plan is usually a low cost alternative to costly dental insurance plans and works well for someone who doesn’t require a lot of dental services and procedures.

A closed panel plan is when a dental insurance company has an agreement with a group of dentists to provide benefits for eligible patients. With the closed panel plan, if you seek dental services at non-participating dentist you may have to pay a large portion or the entire bill.

Another common plan is the PPO. The PPO is a plan where a group of dentists contract with a dental insurance provider to supply care at significantly reduced costs, but with many restrictions. A hazard of the PPO is that most insurance companies do not assess the quality of care the patients receive or the qualifications of the "preferred" dentists.

How to Obtain Free Insurance Quotes

A quote is a binding agreement from an insurance company that states that they will provide a given policy to you for the rate stated on the quote. You should never have to pay to receive an insurance quote. A company that does not offer free insurance quotes is automatically suspect, and you should consider looking elsewhere for coverage.

The old fashioned way to obtain free insurance quotes was to set up a block of time with a local insurance agent and then meet with them in person. The agent will ask you a number of questions to assess your current needs and situation. At the end of the process, the agent will provide a quote, typically packaged along side a sales pitch. This is still a valid way to obtain free insurance quotes, but involves a great deal of work, particularly if you want to shop around.

Of course, there is no need to hoof it all over town to find free insurance quotes anymore. All major insurance providers have websites that feature automated rate quote tools. All you have to do is fill out some information regarding your situation and needs, and the web page will return free insurance quotes within a few seconds. It is possible to comparison shop by visiting the web sites of several insurance agencies and obtaining free insurance quotes.

Some web sites will provide free insurance quotes that cover multiple agencies in a single query. Some of these are provided by agencies that are themselves confident in their rate and thereby provide the rates of their competitors for free. Other free insurance quote tools are operated by their parties and advocacy groups. These can be great tools to help guide you in your search for the insurance policy that best meets your needs.

Finding the Right Home Insurance for you and your Home

For the vast majority of us, our home is the biggest purchase that we will ever make. Our home represents an investment in the present and the future and, if taken care of properly, your home will only increase in value over time. Imagine, then, the utter devastation that would be caused, both financially and emotionally, if your home were to be destroyed and you discovered that your home insurance did not cover the damage. Such sad occurrences are all too common, and they occur when home owners do not realize that their home insurance does not cover the specific occurrence that damaged their home or they were aware of it but did nothing because they did not think that the event was likely to ever occur. It is also possible to lower the premiums on your home insurance if you take certain steps that make your home safer.

Standard home insurance does not cover widespread disasters such as floods and earthquakes. These types of insurance coverages are required in areas that are prone to earthquakes and flooding, but floods and earthquakes can occur in surprising places. For example, flash floods are not unheard of in the desert and even the geologically inert center of the North American continent is not completely free from the threat of earthquakes. It is a good idea to investigate the history of your area to see if earthquakes or flooding is even a remote possibility and, if so, to go ahead and purchase the extra home insurance coverage.

It is often possible to reduce your home insurance premiums by making your home safer. For example, many standard policies will reward home owners who purchase theft deterrent systems and fire control systems such as sprinklers. Be sure to check with your insurance agent to see if you qualify for any of these discounts.