Andrea’s personal Blog

My Idea And Inspiration for Our Business world

Posted by: admin | March 14th, 2010 | No Comments

Many people debate weather Life Insurance is really beneficial in the long run. I agree that having the insurance coverage is necessary for many reasons.

When a person passes on suddenly, the last thing you want to do is leave your loved ones stuck with a bunch of funeral costs as well as any unpaid bills by the deceased. If you are married with a family, I feel it is critical that you have some type of life coverage. You want to make sure your children are taken care of and that they have a roof over their head.

Many people are concerned with the high premiums that they have to pay possibly for a number of years. Some helpful advice, it is best to get life insurance when you are young and healthy. When you are young, life policies are fairly cheap and you have many options available as far as the amount of coverage you would like to have.

There are different types of life policies. Term insurance basically locks the insured in to a 5, 10, or 15-year policy at a fixed price with no option to earn any dividends or borrow money against the policy. Yes, term insurance can become quite expensive as you age. On the other hand, if you elect to take out a policy that earns dividends it may prove beneficial to your loved ones after your passing.

In general life insurance can become expensive as you get older. The company has certain limits and amounts that they are by law allowed to charge the customer. Some people may think life policies are a waste of money simply because they will never benefit from the proceeds.

Even policies that earn interest and dividends can cost hundreds of dollars per month. Think of it like this, if a person elects not to have insurance coverage they will probably not have any money saved when they die to cover their bills and expenses. As I said before, I believe life insurance is mandatory.

One situation that I would say life insurance isn’t necessary. If the person is very wealthy and has sufficient money in bank accounts to cover funeral costs and any outstanding unpaid bills at the time of death.

An example of how reasonable insurance premiums can be when you are young and healthy. A policy that provides $100,000 worth of coverage for a 40-year-old male costs roughly $22.00 per month. That is less than $70 every three months. Normally, insurance policies are billed quarterly. Even with term policies the customer has the option to convert the policy to permanent insurance with additional benefits.

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Posted by: admin | February 28th, 2010 | No Comments

While many of us have heard of Long Term Care Insurance, we still may be wondering if we really do need it. We work all of our lives trying to build financial stability, which we hope will carry us into and through our retirement years.

Once we retire, we look forward to many years of comfort and relaxation. Unfortunately, life does not always work out as we planned. More often than not, some type of illness strikes and we are facing the possibility of not only being cared for, and, in many cases, the probability of losing everything we have ever worked for. There is a way to be prepared, and that is by making sure we have a program in place, which will absorb the financial burden, and give us peace of mind, while knowing that we can be cared for in a manner that we choose. And, in most cases today, we can be cared for right where we feel the most comfortable, in the privacy of our own home.

Knowing the facts is the first step to being prepared. Consider that:

- About 9 million Americans age 65 or older will need long term care services this year.1
- Being cared for is extremely expensive. Based on the 2007 national average, it will cost over $66,000 per year for a semi-private room in a nursing facility.2
- Someone age 65, on average, will need some long term care for at least three years. About one-third of today’s 65-year-olds may never need long term care, 20 percent of today’s 65 year olds will need long term care for five years or longer.1
- Consider this: 56% of Adults in the United States are saying that they couldn’t pay their bills or meet their basic expenses if they became disabled.3

Long Term Care policies can be tailored to meet your healthcare needs as well as your budget. For example, policies are available for periods of coverage including 2, 3, 5, & 8 year periods as well as lifetime.

Various elimination periods are available such as 30 Days, 60 Days and 90 Days. In most cases people can be cared for at home with First Day coverage. The home benefits care time is credited directly to your elimination period, which means you can purchase a longer elimination period, resulting in lower premiums and still receive first day coverage.

Of course, we all want to think that we never will need this magnitude of health care, but, unfortunately the reality of our needing the care outweighs our not needing the care. We need to ask ourselves this question. Am I willing to gamble my life savings and my quality of life, or do I want to have the peace of mind that a long term care plan can give to me?

Most of us have taken steps to protect our financial future. Remember that a sound financial plan should also address the possible need of long term care.

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Posted by: admin | November 18th, 2009 | No Comments

Those who believe that life insurance is a necessary evil, also tend to believe that you should spend as little on it as possible. Often, this approach can serve you well. It is important to spend as little as possible on- or get the highest value from- your life insurance policy. In light of this, knowing whether you can afford a particular life insurance plan is critical information.

i) Life insurance premium servicing ratio

The debt-servicing ratio is used to determine whether you can “service” more debt with your income. In the same way, you should have a limit to the percentage of your income that should be spent specifically on life insurance. As a rule-of-thumb, if your aggregate life insurance premiums constitute more than 5% of your income, then you cannot comfortably afford more life insurance.

ii) Premium related to coverage

Whether you can get adequately covered on a plan is also a major consideration. Suppose you do a life insurance needs estimate and find that you need $1,000,000.00 in coverage. Using an actual example, the premium for this on a Universal Life plan may be $11,595.00 annually.

However, you only earn $60,000.00 annually. You cannot afford that particular cash-value life insurance policy because the premium related to the coverage is quite high; especially where short-term needs are involved. $1,000,000.00 on a Term to 65 life policy would cost only $2,260.00. That is a more affordable premium and allows you to access the coverage that you really need.

iii) Overall value

You have to link the premium to the value that you receive. For example, one life insurance plan may cost a bit more but contains several features or optional supplementary riders that are absent from another. The overall coverage is important because it would be prohibitively expensive to have additional stand-alone plans that cover income disability, health or accidental death instead of a comprehensive insurance plan with basic life insurance.

Generally, a stand-alone cash-value life insurance plan may offer less overall value. This would make it less affordable, since you would have other areas to cover. If you are considering a stand-alone life insurance plan, then a term life plan would normally be the most affordable given the one-dimensional nature of the coverage needed.

iv) Opportunity cost

Life insurance is not the only protection product that you require. It isn’t the most important risk-management product either. The opportunity cost of life insurance is the cost of the highest-valued alternative foregone. You have to save for retirement, purchase health coverage and cover myriad other financial needs. Whether you can afford a particular life insurance plan is dependent on how much it prevents you from comfortably covering your other financial needs.

It is best to use a multivariate approach to determine if you can afford a life insurance plan. Doing this would safeguard you against paying too much for it. The risks of thinking you can afford a hefty life insurance premium at the expense of other aspects of financial planning are too great.

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Posted by: admin | November 17th, 2009 | No Comments

Risks and uncertainties are part of life’s great adventure — accident, illness, theft, natural disaster - they’re all built into the working of the Universe, waiting to happen, this where life insurance comes into picture.
What is life insurance?
Life Insurance is an agreement that guarantees payment of a stated amount of monetary benefits at the end of a specified term or on the death of the life insured. Life Insurance provides for financial security in the event of death or on the inability to earn due to physical disabilities. Taking out life insurance responsibly can help you live the life you want to and protect your family after you’re gone. Without life insurance many people would be left destitute in the event of an unexpected disaster. Besides providing for financial security in the case of one’s untimely death, it can be used to accumulate a kitty for your old age, systematically build assets, for funding your child’s education and also for saving on taxes.
Let us study the roles of life insurance in detail:
Role 1: Life insurance as an “investment”
Insurance is an attractive option for investment. While most people recognize the risk hedging and tax saving potential of insurance, many are not aware of its advantages as an investment option as well. Insurance products
yield more compared to regular investment options, and this is besides the added incentives (read bonuses) offered by insurers.
In life insurance, unlike non-life products, you get maturity benefits on survival at the end of the term. In other words, if you take a life insurance policy for 20 years and survive the term, the amount invested as premium in the policy will come back to you with added returns. In the unfortunate event of death within the tenure of the policy, the family of the deceased will receive the sum assured.

Now, let us compare insurance as an investment options. If you invest Rs 10,000 in PPF, your money grows to Rs 10,950 at 9.5 per cent interest over a year. But in this case, the access to your funds will be limited. One can withdraw 50 per cent of the initial deposit only after 4 years.

The same amount of Rs 10,000 can give you an insurance cover of up to approximately Rs 5-12 lakh (depending upon the plan, age and medical condition of the life insured, etc) and this amount can become immediately available to the nominee of the policyholder on death. Thus insurance is a unique investment avenue that delivers sound returns in addition to protection.

Role 2: Life insurance as a “risk cover”
First and foremost, insurance is about risk cover and protection - financial protection, to be more precise - to help outlast life’s unpredictable losses. Designed to safeguard against losses suffered on account of any unforeseen event, insurance provides you with that unique sense of security that no other form of investment provides. By buying life insurance, you buy peace of mind and are prepared to face any financial demand that would hit the family in case of an untimely demise.

To provide such protection, insurance firms collect contributions from many people who face the same risk. A loss claim is paid out of the total premium collected by the insurance companies, who act as trustees to the monies.

Insurance also provides a safeguard in the case of accidents or a drop in income after retirement. An accident or disability can be devastating, and an insurance policy can lend timely support to the family in such times. It also comes as a great help when you retire, in case no untoward incident happens during the term of the policy.

With the entry of private sector players in insurance, you have a wide range of products and services to choose from. Further, many of these can be further customized to fit individual/group specific needs. Considering the amount you have to pay now, it’s worth buying some extra sleep.
Role 3: Life insurance as “tax planning”
Insurance serves as an excellent tax saving mechanism too. The Government of India has offered tax incentives to life insurance products in order to facilitate the flow of funds into productive assets. Under Section 88 of Income Tax Act 1961, an individual is entitled to a rebate of 20 per cent on the annual premium payable on his/her life and life of his/her children or adult children. The rebate is deductible from tax payable by the individual or a Hindu Undivided Family. This rebate is can be availed upto a maximum of Rs 12,000 on payment of yearly premium of Rs 60,000. By paying Rs 60,000 a year, you can buy anything upwards of Rs 10 lakh in sum assured. (Depending upon the age of the insured and term of the policy) This means that you get an Rs 12,000 tax benefit. The rebate is deductible from the tax payable by an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family.
But many people make the mistake of burdening themselves with too many life insurance policies to the detriment of the quality of their lives while they’re alive.

Keep the following in mind when buying life insurance:

* The best insurance for your family is having a roof over their heads that no-one can take from them after you die. Before putting large amounts of money into a policy, pay off your debts and increase your assets.

* Rather than taking out a number of life insurance policies, take out one good one with a reputable company that has a sound track record.

* Make sure you don’t buy too little or too much insurance. As a rule of thumb, your policy should pay out 15 to 30 times your annual income as capital when you die.

* If you are financially dependent on your partner, make sure that there is adequate life insurance to cover your and your children’s needs should your partner no longer be able to generate an income.

* When taking out protection against loss of income, you must be sure that you can maintain the same standard of living as when you were working.

* Protect yourself against debt. People to whom you owe money have first claim to your assets. Make sure there is life insurance to pay off your house, car, etc when you die.

* Your premiums will depend on your age (the younger you are, the less you will pay), your state of health (the healthier you are, the less you will pay) and your lifestyle (if you smoke, you will pay more). Be completely honest with your insurers. Many people have had their claims rejected because they did not tell the broker about their smoking habit or a particular health problem.

* Be specific about naming a beneficiary – the person the money will be paid to after you die. If you do not name a beneficiary, the money will be paid into your estate and it could take months before your family is able to have access to the money.

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Posted by: admin | September 16th, 2009 | No Comments

Permanent insurance, also referred to as permanent life insurance, affords the policy owner the opportunity to accumulate a little cash in addition to providing a death benefit in the event of premature death. When most people today think about life insurance today they think in terms of the largest amount of cash they can leave for a spouse and children. The result is that they buy a term policy. Term life insurance is the cheapest type policy you can buy. The problem with this however is that if you keep the policy for the duration and don’t die there is nothing in it for you.

Your permanent insurance policy is entirely different. It costs more than term but if you keep it for 20 or 30 years or longer you will likely get back whatever you have paid into it if you choose to surrender it for it’s cash value. There are many different types of permanent policies. Let us take a look at a few of them.

Universal Life

Universal life insurance combines a term policy with a savings plan. The amount of money you apply to savings is flexible. It does not need to ne a set amount. This policy also pays a death benefit in the event the insured dies.

Variable Universal Life

This policy is also considered a permanent policy as it combines an investment plan with a permanent type policy. A special licence, an NASD License, is needed to sell this product as some of your money is invested in mutual funds or other equity linked products.

Variable Life

This policy is a combination of whole life insurance and an investment. The agent selling this product also needs an NASD License in addition to his Agents License.

Whole Life

This policy has been around probably from the idea of life insurance came into existence. This is the original permanent policy. Most of these policies last to age 100.

Single Premium Life

This policy is a variation of the whole life policy. It allows you to pay one premium and keep your policy for as long as you wish. You can turn it in to the company at any time for it’s cash value.

Limited Pay Life

This permanent insurance policy is set up so that you can pay into it for a given number of years and pay no more thereafter. You have your policy for as long as you live.

Graded Premium Life

The first year you pay a smaller premium which increases every year for a given period of time, usually 5 or 10 years, then levels off. The premium remains level for the balance of the time you keep your policy. The first years premium is usually slightly more than half of the payment required for a whole life policy. When the premium levels off it is again more than you would pay for a whole life policy.

All permanent insurance policies have cash values and most earn dividends is the company performs well with it’s investments.

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Posted by: admin | August 15th, 2009 | No Comments

It is very common if you insure your house or car. What I found interesting is there is a motorcycle insurance. I just did some searching about fast auto insurance on the internet and I got a text about motorcycle insurance. Since this is the first time I know about motorcycle insurance, then I finally stared to find out about motorcycle insurance on the internet. At the first time I felt it is so uncommon to insure your motorcycle because the price of a motorcycle or a bike is not that expensive and you do not need to insure it because if it is broken or accident happens then it is not too expensive for you ti fix it with your own money.

Even it is not as expensive as a car, motorcycle also needs protection. If we have one, then we have to protect it because it is also one of our assets. And some motorcycle is much more expensive than a car. So do not have an opinion that a motorcycle is always cheaper than a car. It is not right. So if you have a motorcycle and you have not insured you bike, you have to search for a motorcycle insurance.

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Posted by: admin | August 2nd, 2009 | No Comments

My parent is a group of person that do not see the importance of insuring their assets. Until now, they have thair own home and vehicles. But they do not insure their assets at all. I am as their son do not have the same overview with them. I am the one who see the imporatance of insuring my assets (home, cars and health). Because i have a thought that if something bad happens to my assets i do not spend too much to repair it or spend money to go to the docter if i am sick or ill.

I have searched for online insurance on the internet. On the internet i can find easily about online home owners insurance and quick car insurance. All of them offer different rates but it is still competitive. But one thing that i know is if you buy an online insurance the premium will be cheaper that you buy an insurance not from internet. Some other stores also give discount if you buy online. This way may be done by them to attract more people to buy online. Because from the internet they can get more clients and the market is widely open.

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Posted by: admin | August 1st, 2009 | No Comments

Before you buy an instant auto insurance online on the internet for your car, you usually search it and find the free quotes to compare each auto insurance so you can find the one that is really suitable for your car and situation. If you feel it is too difficult to get the free quotes on the internet because you do not want to spend your time in front of your computer to collect information about auto insurance companies. If you feel so, there is a solution for you to find the best auto insurance for you with visiting carinsurancerates.com.

On carinsurancerates.com you can find an instant auto insurance that well suited with your condition and you can find the cheapest one. You are needed to fill and answer some questions on the web site then the web site give the result of some auto insurance companies that suits the best with your answer based on the questions. Car insurance rates can help you find an auto insurance for you very fast, so I can all it as an instant auto insurance. To get the best auto insurance there is only few simple steps required. And you can find it only on carinsurancerates.com.

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Posted by: admin | July 17th, 2009 | No Comments

Now it is very easy to find a good car insurance anywhere. Also it is very handy if you are lookinf for an online auto insurance on the internet. It just takes few hours or minutes to get the one that suits the best with what you exactly need and expect from a car insurance company. Before you get a car insurance for your car, you need to know several things that can raise the rates of car insurance. Here are some factors that can raise the rates of an auto insurance:

  1. The experience of the driver in driving a car. If the car insurance applicant is still a beginner and has not enough experience in driving a car, the car insurance company will ask for a higher rates.
  2. Poor driving recored will also determine the car insurance rates. People with poor driving record have big probability to have an accident. Seeing this, the car insurance will take a higher rates.
  3. The age of the car. The older the age of the car the higher rates will be asked by the car insurance. Old car will make more trouble than a new one.

So before you get the best car insurance for you, you have to know what factors that can cause the car insurance ask for high interest. However, you can always negotiate with the car insurance company.

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Posted by: admin | July 5th, 2009 | No Comments

Insuring our assets or properties like our house and cars is very important. For an example, insuring our house can prevent you from many bad things like fire and other bad things. But if you want to insurance the house where you live, but the house is not yours, you rent it and you want to insure the house you are staying. You really need to find a renter insurance. Renters insurance is good for anyone who rent a house or apartment. Renter insurance can protect your personal property such as laptop, personal computer, bike or other valuable things you put on the house you rent against fire and theft.

So if you now think that you need a renter insurance, you can find it from insurancerate.com. On this site you can get free renters insurance quote. The best way to help you finding the best renter insurance is with getting renters insurance quotes. On the  insurancerate.com you not only can get free renters insurance quote, but you also can get other quotes like auto insurance quote, health insurance and home insurance. So if you have not insurance your rent house or rent apartment you have to insurance it soon before bad things happen.

Beside Renters insurance, also get some information using online car insurance facilitity and get car insurance information.

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