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If you’re in a car accident, you will have a lot of questions right off the bat. One of those questions may be if you need to prove fault to receive an insurance settlement.
There are some situations where that’s true. You’ll be forced to prove that the car accident was at least mostly the other driver’s fault. Let’s take a closer look at those cases:
[Read more…] about 3 Times You Need to Prove Fault in a Car Accident
Many car drivers today might be wondering, is it possible to get an insurance policy without actually owning a vehicle? Yes. A Non-Owners SR-22 Insurance policy enables you to apply for an insurance policy, for as long as you have a valid driver’s license. Especially when you regularly drive around town, it’ll be a valuable option, as it covers you in case of any liability against you. [Read more…] about What Is Non-Owners SR-22 Insurance?
The coronavirus pandemic has made waves in pretty much every industry. Life insurance, being an industry that thrives on interest built on their cash reserves, is no exception. Not only that, but there are obvious health risks that make it harder to get life insurance right now.
For older people, life insurance being hard to get is nothing new, but it is somehow getting even more difficult. There are many different factors that go into life insurance eligibility; to make sure you are properly educated to prepare for your future, let’s discuss life insurance for older people. Namely, why is it becoming even harder to get?
With the presence of a global pandemic, the risk for life insurance companies has shot up across the board. Compound this with COVID’s tendency to be extremely aggressive for older folks, and you have a big problem for the elderly. This makes it far more likely, as long as the pandemic persists, that life insurers will be paying out to the families of older policyholders.
Just like any other form of insurance, an increase in risk typically comes with an increase in price. As a result, it is more difficult to afford. Insurance companies also tend to be stricter when it comes to eligibility, and life insurers are notoriously thorough.
With the current state of interest rates, and the federal reserve constantly shrinking them, income for life insurers is dwindling. One of the major income sources for these companies is the interest they are able to make on the money they hold. When you shrink a major income source, risk inherently grows. Their ability to recover from losses, as well as their ability to absorb them in the first place, are put in jeopardy.
This means that they will have to become stricter in order to stay afloat. Raised prices aren’t a surprise either, as they need to compensate for lost income in order to cover their current liabilities. Insurance companies are intricate beasts, and money can be lost at every turn. So, it makes sense that they are having to compensate heavily, at least for the time being.
The biggest issue for insurance companies is not knowing what to expect. While risk is inherent, they are constantly looking for ways to minimize it. So, the issues aren’t just the massive global pandemic and the extremely low-interest rates; the issue lies in the fact that we don’t know when either will end. These companies have to be aggressive out of the gate because they don’t want to be left bankrupt because they were optimistic. These issues are temporary, but how temporary?
There are executives paid big money to figure that out, and you bet your bottom dollar that they are going to overcompensate. After all, when the company goes away, so do those big bucks. Being one of the guys in charge when something like that happens doesn’t bode well for future jobs, either — this is especially true in this job market.
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Death is inevitable, and nobody can ever tell when their life will end. That’s why everyone should have life insurance, most especially the breadwinners of their respective families. Life insurance refers to a contract between a policyholder and an insurer wherein payment is guaranteed in the form of a death benefit to the policyholder’s beneficiaries.
In this post, you’ll learn how to choose the right life insurance for your own and your family’s financial protection.
Know The Best Type Of Life Insurance For You
There are generally two types of life insurance, and choosing the best one is an important decision for you to make. You’ll find a wide array of life insurance products based on your needs, including burial insurance for seniors. Check out these helpful tips to know the best insurance option for you:
Term Life Insurance
A term life insurance, as its name implies, refers to a type of life insurance, in which the coverage applies only for a specific period of time. It enables you, the policyholder, to match the length of the insurance term policy to your needs.
A good example of term life insurance is a 20-year term life insurance, which is applicable for those who have young children so that their college education will be funded. Another example is a term insurance policy that’s meant to repay a debt in a specific period of time.
You might also want to choose term life insurance given the following situations:
Permanent Life Insurance
Permanent life insurance provides coverage for a lifetime. It means that the insurance company will pay a death benefit to your beneficiaries, whether you die tomorrow or you live more than a hundred years.
Here are the good-to-know facts about permanent life insurance:
Take Important Things Into Consideration
It can be overwhelming and confusing to choose the right type of life insurance plan for you, that’s why you should take important factors into consideration. Life insurance policies can, at times, contain intricate details, but their basic purpose is all the same.
Here are the important factors you have to consider when choosing the best life insurance plan for you:
Talk To A Life Insurance Agent
Once you have already made yourself aware of the different life insurance options, it’s high time to talk to life insurance agents and choose the best company that can provide the best terms for you.
Life insurance plans are usually given different names for marketing purposes. But, you won’t be confused as long as you’ve done your research. You have to specifically know the terms of the life insurance plan presented to ensure that it aligns with your needs. Says Martin Stocker of Burial Insurance Pro ” many people get confused by marketing terms given to various life insurance products. Examples include ‘Mortgage Protection Insurance’, or ‘Final Expense Insurance’. These are actually life insurance policies taken out for a specific financial reason. At the end of the day, anyone can use a life insurance for their specific financial needs. Don’t let generic marketing terms confuse you”.
Here are some tips when choosing a life insurance company:
Conclusion
Knowing the different types of life insurance policies and the important considerations to make will help you choose the best plan for your needs. Whether you choose a term life insurance or a permanent life insurance, anything you pick is better than nothing. Also, it’s a big help talking to a life insurance agent, so all your questions will be answered, and your concerns will be addressed promptly.
For more of our great articles, read these:
How Much Does Insurance Increase After An Accident?
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Life insurance is something that everyone needs, but only a few people actually have. It’s easy to ignore buying a policy when you’re relatively healthy and young. However, the longer you wait, the higher the chances are that something might happen to you before getting yourself covered. If purchasing life insurance has been on your to-do list for quite some time now, but haven’t had the chance to be checked of yet, then maybe it’s time to revisit your plans.
Why It’s So Important
As people grow older, marry the love of their lives, build families, and start new businesses, they begin to realize more and more how essential life insurance is, and that’s the time they reach out to insurance brokers. Life insurance is fundamental to sound financial planning. Life insurance can also be relatively cheap, depending on the policy type you choose. That, of course, only tells one thing – you’ve got no excuse why you shouldn’t get coverage now. If you think that this is the perfect time to purchase a policy for you and your family, then don’t hesitate to visit websites like SimpleLifeInsure.com to talk to reliable insurance brokers.
However, if you’re one of those who are still on the fence of whether buying a policy is a good idea or not, read on to learn more about why you need life insurance to protect you and your family from financial strains.
Pays Final Expenses
Believe it or not, funeral and burial costs can quickly run up to thousands of dollars. So, if you don’t want your parents, wife, or children to suffer from financial strain at your death, you need life insurance. The problem is that the suffering that your family will experience will not only be financially but also emotionally, and that’s going to be very difficult without a policy in place.
Replaces Your Lost Income
A life insurance policy will work to provide the much-needed financial security to your family when you pass away. If you were to die all of a sudden, what do you think will happen to your loved ones? Can they survive the struggle from financial and emotional strains? That’s doubtful, primarily if your family relies on your income solely. What you can do is to get yourself and your family members adequate coverage. That way, you won’t leave them, or they won’t leave you helpless when monthly bills start to come around.
Covers Educational Expenses Of Children
Like most parents out there, you’d want to be sure that your kids get well-taken care of in the future. You also want to afford them a high-quality college education. So, while your kids are still at home, think about additional coverage so you won’t have to sacrifice their welfare when financial strains come your way or when you pass away.
Pays Off Debts
When you die, your debts won’t disappear. What if you and your spouse co-signed a loan like a mortgage? When you’re gone, it will be your spouse who will need to shoulder the repayment responsibility entirely. Another thing that may result from the lack of insurance policy is that creditors will try to collect from your estate. What happens is that your heirs receive a depleted remainder of your money and property because of your debts. A life insurance policy allows your loved ones to take care of all lingering financial responsibilities that you’ve left behind.
Replaces Your Spouse’s Income
A life insurance policy doesn’t only work for you; it also applies when it’s your spouse who passes away first. For a long time, your whole family has depended on you and your spouse’s combined income. So, you would need to replace his/her salary for you to maintain the lifestyle that your children have grown up with. And if your kids are still very young, you would need to spend money again to hire someone to help you with domestic tasks like cooking, laundry, and cleaning the house – chores that you and your spouse have shared before. All of those things should be enough to convince you that life insurance is essential for your family.
Builds Cash Value
Two common types of life insurance are the term and whole policies. Term life insurance stays in place for a period of time that you’re going to set when buying a policy. While whole life insurance covers you permanently until you decide to cancel the policy, so when you buy a whole life insurance policy, you’ll have the chance to build up cash value over time. The cash value is an attractive prospect to many people simply because you can tap it at any time. The cash value serves as an extra cushion for any financial emergencies down the road.
Final Thoughts
Getting a life insurance policy means that you and your family can prepare for any eventuality. It will help you sleep a little easier every night knowing that there’s a protection in place for you and your loved ones when financial strains come in and should something undesirable happen to you.
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How Much Does Insurance Increase After An Accident?
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Car accidents can be incredibly expensive. Not only is your vehicle damaged. You may also be injured. Plus, even a single accident can send your insurance premium skyrocketing if you are deemed to be at-fault. If you are wondering how much your auto insurance increases after an accident. Here’s what you need to know.
First, it’s important to understand that there are a number of factors that influence premium increases after an accident. This can include the circumstances surrounding the accident as well as the resulting expenses.
Here are a few factors that may cause your insurance cost increase to be higher or lower:
Any violation or crime that could end up on your driving record has the ability to affect your car insurance premium. This includes if they are tied to an accident while you are a policyholder.
Your driving record before the crash is also considered. Those who have a perfect driving record aside from this incident may see different price increases than someone who has had issues in the past and gets in a new accident.
Additionally, every vehicle insurance company maintains full control over their premiums. One company may use larger increases than others based on the proprietary formula it uses to determine a price for coverage.
Ultimately, there are a lot of factors in play. So premium increases can vary. However, information about averages is available.
On average, auto insurance premiums appear to increase by 31 percent to 44.1 percent (depending on the data source) after an accident. That means, if your annual premium was $1,502, which is the national average. Before the accident, after a single at-fault crash, your yearly premium would hit $1,968 to $2,164.
That’s close to the average premium data for a variety of insurers for customers with at-fault accidents. Here’s a list of some of the average at-fault accident car insurance rates for major insurers:
It is important to note. Not all insurers penalize customers for their first at-fault accident. An approach known as “accident forgiveness.” With Allstate and Liberty Mutual, qualifying drivers won’t see a premium increase just because they are deemed at-fault in one accident within a specific period. With Progressive, small accidents might be forgiven.
Nationwide offers accident forgiveness. But only in certain states. It only applies to a single accident on a policy. This is regardless of the number of drivers listed.
USAA has optional accident forgiveness coverage available. However, it also isn’t available in all states and does come with a charge. The charge is usually around $1 per month.
GEICO may make it available to specific drivers who reach a particular anniversary milestone with the company. A good driving record is also necessary. However, some with perfect histories may be able to purchase the coverage. Even if they haven’t hit the anniversary milestone.
Many people are surprised to learn that your car insurance premium can go up after any accident. Even if you aren’t responsible. Increases after no-fault or not-at-fault accidents do occur. Moreover, they tend to be smaller changes than if you’re deemed liable.
Insurance premiums are based on costs and risk. If you file a claim. The company is incurring a cost if it has to provide funds to help repair damages or handle associated expenses. Based on that alone. You can see a premium increase.
Additionally, statistics suggest that individuals who’ve made claims previously are more likely to do so in the future. This means you represent a higher amount of risk. Which is something else that can cause your premium to rise.
If you aren’t happy with your premium after an accident, you do have options. First, you can always shop around for new coverage. Second, different insurers use different formulas to decide what to charge. So you might find better rates elsewhere.
Adjusting your coverage levels might be a good idea, too. Going from comprehensive to liability, raising your deductible, and similar options might shrink your premiums. Just keep in mind that reducing your coverage means taking on more risk personally. Plus, if you’re still paying down a car loan. Certain changes might not be options for you.
You can also look for a different car, in some cases. Insurance rates are impacted by the vehicle itself. This includes the age and mileage of the car, the security and safety features it has. It also includes average repair costs for that make and model, and similar unique aspects of the vehicle. By choosing an option that doesn’t cost as much to insure. You can bring your premium down. However, this isn’t always a practical approach that every household can use.
Otherwise, if you don’t want to make a switch. You may need to ride it out. It takes time. But an at-fault accident won’t impact your insurance forever. As long as you drive safely for the next handful of years. Your premiums should go down.
Did you see your insurance go up after an accident? How much was the increase? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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