Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Better Travel Failure Protection Called for

The aviation industry is failing to provide passengers with adequate protection if airlines fail, according to a report by the Air Travel Insolvency Advisory Committee (ATIPAC). ATIPAC, which advises the Civil Aviation Authority, called for an end to the current system in which scheduled airlines are able to operate without offering passengers the same financial security that package holidaymakers enjoy, through the Air Tour Organiser’s License (ATOL) system. Passengers flying as part of a package holiday with ATOL-protected operators automatically have a £1 charge added to the price of their holiday, which contributes to a regulated travel insurance fund. The news comes in the wake of a report by Blue Oar investments claiming at least 50 European airlines face bankruptcy if the current decline in the aviation industry fails to improve. Rising fuel costs and the worldwide credit crunch have already seen at least 25 airlines go bust this year, including Silverjet, Eos, Maxjet, ATA and Oasis Hong Kong, while EasyJet, Ryanair and British Airways have announced cutbacks in flights this winter and falling profit in the last few weeks. So how do you you protect yourself when an airline or tour operator goes bust? Who or what is out there? Some insurers offer Passenger Protection Insurance sold separately or Dynamic Packaging Protection as part of a travel insurance policy but always check the small print if this is offered because these are quite often restrictive in their cover. You can reduce the risk further by organising your travel through companies and agents covered by ATOL or who hold bonding through an approved body, such as ABTA or AITO. ATOL stands for Air Travel Organiser’s licensing and is a protection scheme for flights and air holidays, managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and protects the customer from losing money or being stranded abroad when a tour operator goes bust. All licensed firms have to lodge bonds with the CAA so that, if they go out of business, the CAA can give refunds to people who can’t travel and arrange for people abroad to finish their holidays and fly home. And ABTA? Members of the Association of British Travel Agents are required to provide financial protection for their customers which means that you can book your holiday knowing that if an ABTA member fails financially while you are on holiday, you can continue your holiday as planned. If your holiday has not started, then you will receive a full refund or be given help to make alternative arrangements for the trip to proceed. Likewise AITO, or Association of Independent Tour Operators to give it its full title, require their members to protect their customer’s money in the event of an AITO member going into liquidation. Above all of this, it is vital you have a comprehensive travel insurance policy incase the worth was to happen.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Life Insurance Ratings and What They Mean to You

There are many things to consider before you purchase life insurance

such as what your needs are, what is your budget for life insurance and what is the right policy type for your personal situation. Another very important thing to consider is the rating of the company that you purchase your policy from. The past few months have shown many of us that there are a few companies out there that have mishandled their finances and possibly put some of their policy holders at risk over the long term meaning that should the company go bankrupt or insolvent what are the possibilities of benefits being paid out in the future. It is something we all need to take a look at going forward. While these ratings do not offer a crystal ball look into the future they do help a person make sound decisions based on current and historical information available, which is the best any of us can do to manage risk.

The companies that come up with these ratings, (A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch being some of the top names), are independent firms who look at an insurance companies financial strength to come up with their rating of that company. Basically these companies pay financial analyst to determine the strength of the company’s balance sheet in an attempt to come up with a strength rating that a consumer can more easily identify with.

There are multiple rating companies out in the market, each with a slightly different rating scale but the general idea is somewhat like a grading scale you would expect to see in school, A++ or AAA being the best on down to the lows. It is the middle and low of these scales that differ slightly with each rating system. The different scales and their definitions are available on the web if you want to take a look. In this article we will assume that you will be looking at high ratings for your life insurance needs

which means that anything less than an A rating will not do.

After deciding on the other factors that surround the purchase of Life Insurance, deciding on a company that offers the best financial strength should be a strong consideration in deciding what company to purchase your Life Insurance Product from. The good news is that many of the Life Insurance quote services have adopted this into their quotes, which makes it more efficient for the consumer. I would offer this as a last step though, with things changing quickly these days we owe it to ourselves to dig a little before making any purchases. Once you settle in on a company do a search of that company or product and see if there is any recent news on it weather it be positive or negative news, you will have as much or the current information possible to make a well informed decision.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Should You Insure Your Car at Market or Trade Value?

Many people ask whether they should insure their vehicles at market value or trade value. There is no correct answer; it all depends on the car and your personal circumstances. Let’s first define these terms, often used incorrectly. Retail value is the price you paid for the car, e.g., 100,000 currency units.

Trade value is the price you would receive (reasonably) if you traded the vehicle in for another, e.g., 20,000 currency units if you’re a rough driver and the car was actually inherited from your grandmother. Essentially this is the price a trade-in establishment would give you, taking their profit into consideration. Replacement value is what you would pay to buy a similar car today. It covers trade value but also takes into consideration private sale.

Market value is the average of retail and replacement value, i.e., 60,000 currency units. It is the amount you could reasonably have sold it for before it was stolen/ damaged/ you decided to sell it. (Reasonable means fair and average, not the price you’re ‘trying to get away with’.)

You can decide whether you want to insure your car at its market value or its replacement value. The latter will cost you a little more; more importantly, insurance companies often stipulate they will replace your car only in the first year or two. After that, as you can understand, it becomes too expensive for them. You should revalue your car each year. When you insure a vehicle, you must keep adjusting your premium in accordance with its changing value. If you start out with a new Mercedes Benz and pay an exorbitant premium for this top of the range car for a number of years, you may find down the line that the market value of second hand Mercs has dropped dramatically and it would have been worth your while rather to bank those hefty premiums over the years.

On the other hand, if you inherited a Rolls Royce from your granddad and it’s still running, it may soon be worth a lot more than the petrol it runs on (probably quite a lot) and worth insuring well. A car loses value all the time, from the time you trade your old vehicle and have to pay the middle man who takes your car, to the time you drive it out off the showroom floor and start adding mileage to the clock, to the time wear and tear starts to take effect; not to mention the changing market, including the price of new cars and fashion or demand for certain types of vehicles. In summary, trade value is a sensible way to value your car, bearing in mind that you kind of know that you’re losing a set amount for the convenience of someone else doing all the hard work. But market value, if you’ve looked after your car, could be a more realistic indication of what the car is worth to potential buyers. All you need to do is research similar makes and models in local newspapers. Replacement value is the most expensive option and unless you are adamant you want another vehicle just like this baby, you’re likely to pay more in insurance premiums than the car is ultimately worth.

But do choose one of these options. According to the South African Insurance Association (SAIA), around 65% of the cars on our roads today are not insured. It’s bad enough not being insured, imagine being involved in a prang with another motorist who is also not insured! There is another option for ensuring your car is insured at its real value. It’s called top-up-insurance and is usually taken up when a vehicle is purchased through finance. How does it work? If you buy your car on finance, the insurance policy is ceded to the company through which you receive your loan. If for some reason you need to make a claim, the insurer will first pay the finance company to settle the outstanding finance debt, which leaves you debt free (to a certain extent). Another policy you may be interested in investigating, particularly if you purchase a pre-owned vehicle, is mechanical warranty insurance. This policy would however only be of value to you if you’re running a up market car. If you’re driving a runabout, a good service every 10,000kms will be decidedly more cost-efficient.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Cash Discounts? if You Want to Pay Less at the Doctor, Ask About Cash Discounts

There are serious problems with health care in America. The cost of medical insurance

continues to increase 10%, 20% or even 30% each year. This is a much higher percentage increase than most American’s annual salary increase. For the past several years health insurance was one of the few items in the family budget that saw steep increases every year. Today, this is not true. Families are seeing increases in groceries, gasoline, mortgage payments, credit card interest rates and heating oil. Couple a stretched family budget with a poor economy and the future looks worse than the past. There are predictions that unemployment rates will rise. Another prediction is that more families will not be able to afford health insurance.

Studies indicate that people without insurance do not go to the doctor for checkups or for ailments that are not debilitating. Those with chronic diseases like diabetes that go without regular checkups usually end up in the emergency room. Often, people who go without regular medical care see treatable conditions progress into irreversible health problems like a heart attack or a stroke.

Perhaps a better description of our health care system would be a disease care system. There are government funded safety nets for those sick enough to go to the emergency room but in most cases there is not funding for wellness care or chronic disease management. This situation will only get worse as more Americans lose their jobs and their health insurance.

It is not just patients that are frustrated with our current system. Doctors are burdened by the excessive paperwork required by medical insurance companies. Most doctors today have one or more employees dedicated to processing insurance forms and following up with insurance carriers that do not pay in a timely manner. The set fees for Medicare and Medicaid patients are often far below actual costs for the service rendered. Politicians have been talking about reforming our health care system for decades and little has changed except the rising costs.

Doctors are also frustrated by laws that prevent them from charging patients without insurance less than Medicare and Medicaid set fees. Most doctors sincerely want to help their patients with little means by reducing fees so they will get regular medical care.

In the last few years, doctors in many cities across America have opted to discontinue accepting medical insurance and to change their practice to a cash only business. While some doctors do this on their own, in most cases a group of doctors work together and come up with a medical care plan. While these plans are not insurance, since they are a structured plan they are legal.

Doctor after doctor that has made this conversion to a cash only business has reported that they actually make more money. They are able to eliminate the staff personnel that handled insurance claims. They get paid as services are performed instead of waiting up to several months for payment. They no longer have to argue with the insurance company about needed treatment or tests. They are able to totally focus on treating their patients. Doctors report operating a cash only business is much less stressful and allows them to be more responsive to their patients needs.



Patients also like the Patients also like the cash only system. Since routine office visits are priced similar to an insurance co-pay more people without insurance are able to afford medical treatment. Some people choose to carry catastrophic medical insurance only and use the cash doctors for checkups and routine care. Since routine office visits are priced similar to an insurance co-pay more people without insurance are able to afford medical treatment. Some people choose to carry catastrophic medical insurance only and use the cash doctors for checkups and routine care.

If you are one of the growing numbers of Americans without medical insurance or if the cost of your insurance takes too big of a bite out of your budget, do some checking and see if your community has cash only doctors. If so, ask questions and find out exactly how they structure their fees. You may just find an affordable alternative too.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Life Insurance - What is Investment Bonus in Universal Life Policy

As we mentioned in previous articles, UL plans are unbundled, the various components of the plan such as insurance charges and earned interest can each be isolated and quantified. Consequently, they are much easier to understand and explain than traditional bundle permanent life insurance products. In this article, we will discuss the investment bonus in the universal life policy.

Investment bonuses are special rider guaranteed by the
insurance companies for UL policy that have not existed in any other types of life insurance. As insurers are being forced to increase their COI charges to maintain product profitability, another way to make UL products more attractive for clients is to add or enhance investment and interest bonuses.

Since there are many different approaches to investment bonuses, understanding the interest bonuses of the UL plans before purchasing universal life insurance policy is essential because it will help you to determine how much fund is needed and condition that the maximum investment bonus will be paid to your policy.


In fact, the size of the investment bonus paid varies from one UL product to another. The basic plans pay an additional percentage when the bonus is credited, while other more complex plans pay varying amounts depending on the credited rate in effect at the time of the bonus. Generally, a sliding scale formula is applied so that the higher the credited rate is, the higher the interest bonus will be.


A surrender bonus another feature in UL plan feature pays a bonus to the policyholder if they surrender the plan. It is not paid on a partial surrender or at death. It could be considered a refund of COI charges since the bonus is ordinarily equal to a percentage of the accumulated COI charges to date.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

'ensure and Insure' Lives With Life Insurances

A person not only has his own life to support but is also entrusted with the lives and the future of his family as well. The earning member of the family is like a family's backbone and the source of living. Every member is dependent on him and anticipates his cooperation in almost everything. But destiny doesn't have a heart and is devoid of emotions. It can struck anyone as a doom and can mar his and in effect his entire family. Besides going emotionally crippled, the dependants fall into a financial destitution.

Such situations have in real sense stuck a number of families who are rendered penny-less with the sudden demise of the sole earning member. Kids fail to continue their education and necessities are sacrificed. In short, the whole family is devastated and reduced to a pitiable condition.

It is therefore the responsibility of everyone to get his or her life insured against any danger so that during the hard knocks of destiny you are prepared to face anything. Life insurance helps us to secure our as well as our loved ones' lives. With a little premium after a stipulated time period, one can ensure not only a secure future but also a relaxed tension free present.

The insurance policies are of two types. One is the whole life insurance and the other is the term life insurance. The former is availed with an intention to secure a safe haven for our loved ones and is adopted for a life time. On the other hand, the term life insurance is availed for a short span and has to be renewed after every expiration. The whole life insurance, as is described earlier gives maximum benefits. It takes the responsibilities of your family after you. In other words, you and your support will always be there with your family. Furthermore, the whole life insurance can be broken up into few more categories; the straight life insurance, limited payment life insurance and finally modified life insurance.

The straight life insurance is widely availed owing to its flexibility. This policy offers coverage until the insured turns of the age of 100(that means for an entire life). The insurance company pays death benefit to the policy owner when the policy terminates due to proper term expiration. A policy owner has to pay regular premiums or level premiums to ensure this proper coverage.

A limited payment life insurance plan comes with a difference. This plan allows the policy owner to allow the payment of premiums for a shorter span of time. Lastly, the modified life insurance facilitates fluctuating premium rates as per the wishes of the owner.

Similarly, the term life insurance has many variants - the one year renewable term life insurance, universal term life insurance, level term life insurance, front-end loaded term life insurance, flexible premium variable life insurance, decreasing term life insurance, adjustable term life insurance etc. Each of them has different attributes but the benefit remains the same - a financially secured future.

Numerous insurance policies are available online but it is upon us to decide which plan or which company is genuine and gainful. Hence, The life insurance comparison is inevitable to strike the best deal.

With so many options laid out in front of the insurance seeker, it is quite hard to choose the best insurance plan. India has a booming insurance market which is adding more and options for its customers so that people from all walks of life get the insurance suiting their needs. The insurance seeker has a bewildering range of choices. An insurance agent can be the best person who can give you the insight of the insurance companies and the pros and cons of various plans.

Life insurance can help us reduce the intensity of destiny's blow. With a proper life insurance comparison we can ensure and insure the future of our dear ones. So that even if you are not there, your blessings and your support keep their life moving.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

All You Need to Know About Motorbike Insurance

You have just purchased your new bike and are anxious to ride it, to enjoy the freedom that only a motorcycle can give. Your new machine shines and sparkles in the garage, calling out your name, wanting to take you on the ride of a lifetime. However, you know that you must put aside, for the moment, this anticipated feeling of exhilaration: all because you have no insurance.

It’s a fact that most communities in the world today require motorcycle operators and owners to have insurance before driving a motorcycle on public roadways and highways. And even if you are not required to have motorbike insurance it’s a very good idea to have it for your own protection. For example, many motorcycle accidents are caused because the other driver didn’t see the motorcycle. Many vehicle drivers, for whatever reasons, fail to see motorbikes. Having protection for that possibility is in your best interests.

Motorbike Insurance Can Be Expensive

The truth about motorbike insurance is that it can be expensive, in comparison to automobile insurance. The reason is because within the insurance industry it is believed that riding a motorcycle is more risky than driving a car. And it is for a couple of reasons, the first being our example above.

Another reason motorcycle insurance is expensive is that there are a large number of high performance motorcycles on the road today and better ones being produced all the time. A high speed motorcycle mixed with a little showing off can be risky – to the insurance company. And that’s what it comes down to for the motorcycle insurance company. Risk! The more risk they think they must take the more they charge for that risk. Keep in mind that the insurance company is in business to make money, not lose it.

Back To School

However, there some things you can do to help lower your premium and one of them is to take a motorcycle driving course. Motorcycle driving training, even for the experienced motorcyclist, helps reduce your risk to the insurance company, therefore saving you money. In fact, many motorcycle insurance companies provide discounts to their customers who provide these certificates. Even if you are an experienced motorcyclist and have insurance but are looking to trim the budget a bit, providing a “motorcycle driving course certificate” to your agent might help you find that extra money you are looking for.

Targets of Vandalism

Another reason motorbike insurance is so expensive is that motorcycles are more susceptible to vandalism and are easier to steal. But here too you can possibly save some money on your insurance by letting your agent know where you plan on storing your motorbike when you’re not riding it. Some insurance companies will give you a discount if they know you keep your motorcycle secured in a garage or storage unit. Even the type of security device you use when your motorcycle is parked in public parking areas can save you money.

Weather

For some riders the weather can make a huge difference in premium rates. Some riders can only operate their motorcycles during certain times of the year. Motorcycles are very enjoyable being rode under the warm sun on a mid-spring afternoon, but impossible to ride during the cold and snowy winter months. If this should be case with you talk to your insurance agent. Let him know the months you plan on riding your motorcycle. Some motorbike insurance companies may be able to attach a “rider” to your policy that starts the coverage on a certain day and ends it on a certain day. You’ll only be paying for the coverage you need, not the whole year.