Thursday, July 30, 2009

The most obvious coverage offered by a homeowner's policy is damage to the building

and its contents. If you were to have an accidental fire, for instance, your homeowner's

policy would cover the cost of rebuilding your home and replacing its contents. Fires,

tornadoes, wind damage, and lightning damage are common types of disasters that are

covered by most policies.

Homeowner's insurance also covers damage to people on your property. For example, if

you were having a garage sale at your home and someone were to break his leg at your

sale, your homeowner's insurance policy would cover the medical treatment to that

individual if you were legally liable for the injury. If you have pets at home, any injuries they

cause by biting or attacking someone would be covered under homeowner's insurance.

There are some types of disasters that most homeowner's insurance policies do not

cover. Flood damage, earthquake damage, and damage due to improper maintenance of

the property are almost never covered under a homeowner's policy. However, if you live in

a flood plane or place where earthquakes are common, you can, and should, purchase and

additional coverage option to protect you from these disasters.

Additionally, if you have a particularly valuable item in your home that you want to make

sure is covered adequately, you may need to buy additional coverage for this item. For

instance, if you have a painting that has been in your family for several generations, you

will likely want to purchase such a policy. While the painting would be covered in your

regular policy, the additional policy will ensure that you are paid what the painting is truly

worth, as it can be difficult to determine value of these types of items after a disaster has

occurred.

Perhaps you are wondering why you need to have insurance. After all, you may be

young and healthy, so why pay the money for an insurance policy? The answer to

this question varies depending on the type of insurance your considering, but as a

whole insurance is an important part of your financial plan.

First, some types of insurance are required by law or by lenders. If you have a

mortgage, for instance, your lender will require you to have homeowners insurance.

Lenders and state laws require auto coverage as well. For this reason, you really do

not have a choice about purchasing auto insurance.

Insurance protects you from the things that you cannot anticipate. Accidents, natural

disasters, or unexpected illnesses can strike without warning. The medical bills,

repair bills, and other expenses caused by these events could wipe out your finances

completely. Consider, for instance, if your home were to catch on fire. If you did not

have insurance, you would have to pay for all of the repairs and replace all of your

belongings out of your own pocket. Chances are you do not have this type of money.

Health insurance is one of the most common types of insurance to ignore,

particularly for those who are in good health. Health insurance is expensive, but if

you end up with cancer or some other devastating illness, you will not be able to

afford the necessary treatment without health insurance. Cancer treatment, for

instance, can cost millions of dollars. Without insurance, you would not be able to

get access to the treatment that could potentially save your life.

Life insurance is another product you may not want to purchase. However, if you die

without it, those you leave behind will have to pay thousands of dollars for your

funeral expenses. You can purchase a small policy for an affordable price and be

able to protect your loved ones after your death. As you can see, insurance is

important for a variety of reasons, and living without it is a dangerous gamble that

you should not make.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Travel Insurance


Why get your travel insurance from Insure & Go? Insure & Go travel insurance, the UK’s largest travel insurance provider, is known for providing cheap holiday insurance quotes that offer quality cover. We have partnered with Europ Assistance to provide you with travel insurance cover. The Europ Assistance Group is one of the world’s leading international insurance and assistance organisations – providing total peace of mind, regardless of whether you want single trip holiday insurance or round the world travel cover. When it comes to buying the right product in the UK, we also offer possibly the widest choice of travel and holiday insurance options: If you travel frequently, an annual multi-trip quote may well suit you – choose from Europe or worldwide, family, group, couples or singles. Backpacking? We’ve got worldwide cover especially for you. Ski or snowboarding trips with special equipment cover; cheap and affordable policies for over 65s; Special business travel cover options to include laptops and replacement staff ; travel policies for UK based non-UK residents; and of course, cheap holiday insurance quotes for a single trip, are all options. In keeping with Insureandgo's policy of providing the best products for our customers, we have partnered with Europ Assistance to provide you with travel insurance cover. The Europ Assistance Group is a leading international assistance and insurance provider offering customers peace of mind through comprehensive cover and global presence.
Worldwide Travel Options is the travel insurance that gives you time to relax You get unlimited cover for treatment of illness and home transportation as well as a team of professionals who are always there to help you – regardless of where you are.
ihi Bupa has insured people of all nationalities for over 30 years, giving you a thorough service when you travel. Our medical consultants are at your disposal via e-mail, telephone or webchat, and Annual Travel customers can keep up to date with the latest information on their personal myPage.
We are there for you when you need us, so you can relax and feel safe when travelling. Your Worldwide Travel Options include:
* Unlimited cover for treatment of illness and home transportation * Access to ihi Bupa’s medical consultants before, during and after the trip * Free choice of hospitals, including private hospitals * Free cover for children under the age of two
ihi Bupa travel insurance also provides cover for compassionate emergency repatriation, return trip and medical evacuation. See a detailed description of cover and benefits here Get expert advice before your trip
You can keep up to date with the latest travel information and health issues from around the world in our travel advice section. Find out more about the swine flu outbreak and get tips on travel security and much more in our A-Z travel guide.
What we are best at
ihi Bupa specialises in travel and health insurance. We don’t sell house contents insurances, credit cards or holidays. We concentrate on what we are best at: helping our customers abroad – during holiday, expatriation or business travel.
We have kept the list of benefits and conditions simple and easy to understand. Contact us via telephone, e-mail or Webchat if you have any doubts.

Health Insurance


At ihi Bupa, we offer you the best suited health insurance plan so you and your family can feel confident no matter where you live, travel or work.



Worldwide Health Options

Worldwide Health Options is our groundbreaking new insurance plan that lets you create the cover that suits you best. You enjoy all the benefits of being an ihi Bupa customer, but with the freedom to create a new plan that is tailored to you.

Start with our core cover, Worldwide Medical Insurance, and then choose the options you wish to add. Find out more about the various options here and get a free quote today.
Health advice and support

You can use ihi Bupa before, during and after a course of illness or injury. We have a permanent staff of medical consultants, and highly qualified experts who are never more than a click or a call away.

Our medical centre team have compiled an exhaustive list of medical factsheets, which offers advice on care and treatment. You can also find a range of lifestyle tips in our health guide, where you can calculate your BMI and find out more about healthy living.


Emergency service and health advice
One of the advantages of being a customer with ihi Bupa is our in-house medical centre. Our professional health experts are ready to assist you 24 hours a day and several of our own medical consultants are always on duty.

The medical centre offers you assistance in case of illness and emergency - including arrangement of medical evacuations. We will also help find you the right place of treatment and take care of all the practical matters if you have to go to hospital.

Our medical consultants will ensure that immediate and correct treatment is arranged. The team is carefully put together and includes medical consultants specialising in cancer, musculoskeletal diseases, cardiac diseases, wound healing plus tropical and aeromedicine.

We are often in contact with nurses and doctors at the hospitals before, during and after the course of treatment. We get many questions regarding hospitalisations and evacuations which can be answered immediately due to the experience and knowledge of our nurses and customer consultants.
Health advice from our medical team

Our experts have compiled a series of factsheets and lifestyle advice on a wide range of health conditions. Have a look at our Health Guide to find our more about exercise and diet, and browse our A-Z list of medical factsheets to find detailed information about conditions, medicines and treatments.


Friday, July 3, 2009





About this type of cover
If you run a business that requires the use of vehicles, it is vital

that your vehicles are fully protected with a good insurance policy.

Whatever type of vehicles you have - whether you run vans, cars,

trucks, etc. - adequate is not only important but is a legal

requirement. Business vehicle insurance these days comes at a very

reasonable price, and whether you have one vehicle or a whole fleet,

you can find adequate insurance at a low cost. With varying levels of

cover available, you can enjoy protection to meet the needs of your

business and your pocket.

Summary of Cover
The features provided with business vehicle insurance will be dependant

on the level of cover that you take out as well as on the type and

number of vehicles. You can generally select from the most basic cover,

which is third party, through to fully comprehensive cover. Business

vehicle insurance (depending on the level taken) can cover you for harm

or liability to a third party, harm to the driver, damage to your

vehicle, fire and theft of your vehicle, and legal costs. It is

important to check the features of any business vehicle insurance

policy before you commit, as it is vital that you have the appropriate

level of cover to meet the needs of your business.

Optional Extras
As with other types of insurance cover, there are a number of optional

extras available with all types of business vehicle insurance cover.

These include:

Legal expenses cover, which will cover you for legal costs should you

not already have this cover included in your policy.


Breakdown cover is another popular optional extra, and it is a good

idea to take this out if you have commercial vehicles, as your income

could rely on your vehicles being on the road. You can get different

levels of breakdown cover.


Glass cover is also available, and offers valuable protection against

window or windscreen damage.

Tools and spare parts cover is available with some insurers, which will

ensure that you can get on with your work whatever the circumstances.

Additional Information
It is imperative that you check any business vehicle insurance policy

before making a commitment to ensure that it provides the levels of

cover that you require for your vehicles. Policies can differ from one

insurer to another, and it is advisable to compare both premiums and

features before making a decision. The claims procedure can also vary

from one insurer to another. This will depend upon the insurer's own

regulations and you should ensure that you are familiar with the claims

procedure.

Free Extras to Look Out For
There is no guarantee that you will receive any free extras with your

business vehicle insurance cover, but some insurers do offer extra,

particularly with higher levels of cover. You should check with the

insurer with regards to any additional extras they can provide, and

because competition is fierce in the insurance field you may find some

excellent deals with a range of free benefits.

Saving Money on your Cover
If you want to save even more money on your business vehicle insurance

cover there are some steps you can take to cut costs. These include:

Shop around as the cost of cover and the benefits of cover can vary

from insurer to insurer, so it is important to compare the various

deals on offer.


Go online as the Internet is often home to some of the cheapest

business vehicle insurance deals around, and you can also enjoy far

more choice. Some insurers offer additional discounts to online

customers.

Increase the amount of excess on your policy: The higher the excess on

your policy (the sum you have to pay from your own pocket in the event

of a claim) the lower your premiums are likely to be. However, before

you make your decision you should see whether it makes a significant

difference to the cost of the policy, as you should remember that the

amount of the excess will have to come from your pocket should a claim

be made. If the claim made is for a sum that is lower than the amount

of the excess on your policy, you would have to pay the whole amount of

the claim from your own pocket.


As a businessowner, you need the same kinds of insurance coverages for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel -- liability, collision and comprehensive, medical payments (known as personal injury protection in some states) and coverage for uninsured motorists. In fact, many business people use the same vehicle for both business and pleasure. If the vehicle is owned by the business, make sure the name of the business appears on the policy as the "principal insured" rather than your name. This will avoid possible confusion in the event that you need to file a claim or a claim is filed against you.

Whether you need to buy a business auto insurance policy will depend on the kind of driving you do. A good insurance agent will ask you many details about how you use vehicles in your business, who will be driving them and whether employees, if you have them, are likely to be driving their own cars for your business.

While the major coverages are the same, a business auto policy differs from a personal auto policy in many technical respects. Ask your insurance agent to explain all the differences and options.

If you have a personal umbrella liability policy, there's generally an exclusion for business-related liability. Make sure you have sufficient auto liability coverage.

Auto Insurance
Get instant online quotes now [Get instant online quotes now]

Save hundreds a year by comparing auto insurance quotes from some of the nation’s top companies. Buy online or over the phone today.
Commercial Auto & Truck Insurance

Insurance.com has partnered with Progressive and Insure Zone to help you find the policy that meets all your business needs.

* Call Progressive today at 1-800-418-4645 to get a quote for a Commercial Auto/Truck Policy.
* Visit Insure Zone to compare multiple Commercial Auto Quotes in a quick, simple online interview.

Motorcycle Insurance

Looking for a great price on motorcycle insurance? We offer three choices:

* Get a quote online from GEICO.
* Call Safeco at 1-866-215-1308.
* Ask your Insurance.com agent for a quote from Progressive, after you compare auto insurance rates.

Specialty Lines Insurance

Do you own a boat, RV, hot rod, classic car or other vehicle of great value or rarity? Find out more about the specialty auto coverage you need.
Call 1-866-215-1308 to speak with our partners at Safeco Insurance and get a specialty vehicle insurance quote today. Or, ask your Insurance.com agent for a Boat Insurance quote from Progressive, after you compare auto insurance rates.

Universal Life

What is Universal Life Insurance?

Universal Life Insurance is a flexible-premium, adjustable benefit life

insurance policy that accumulates account value. The flexibility of

this policy allows you to change the amount of insurance as your needs

for insurance change. Some changes require underwriting approval.

As with all life insurance, the main purpose for buying a Universal

Life insurance policy is the death protection provided to your loved

ones at your death.

Benefits of Universal Life

Flexibility -- You decide how much life insurance you need -- and

subject to certain requirements and limitations, you can adjust the

death benefit and premium payments to fit your changing needs.

Security -- You help protect your loved ones against possible financial

hardship in the event of the insured's death.

Tax-Free death benefit -- Under current tax laws governing individual

life insurance, life insurance proceeds are generally income tax free

to the beneficiary.

Tax-Deferred account value growth -- Your policy's Account Value earns

interest at the company's current interest rate -- federal income tax

deferred. The current interest rate is guaranteed to be at least 4% a

year.

This is a general description of coverage. A complete statement of

coverage is found only in the policy.

Universal Life is a form of permanent life insurance. It can provide affordable guaranteed protection and flexibility.

A Universal Life insurance policy provides flexibility that allows you to change, within limits, the death benefit and the timing and amount of your premium. You can build your policy's cash value, or pay a lower premium and focus more on guaranteed protection.

MetLife's Guarantee Advantage Universal Life can be right for you if you want:
  • Protection that can last a lifetime
  • The flexibility to choose between two policy designs:
    • Protection plus cash accumulation, or
    • Focus on affordable guaranteed protection
  • An option for a lifetime of guaranteed monthly income for your beneficiaries
Some things to consider about Universal Life:
  • Cash value growth is based on periodically-declared fixed interest rates. Should rates fall, cash accumulation could suffer, and higher premiums may be needed
  • Changing your policy's premium or death benefit can affect your policy's performance and guarantees, possibly requiring higher premiums later.

Your MetLife representative can help you determine whether Guarantee Advantage Universal Life makes sense for you and your family.

Whole Life insurance.

A whole life insurance quote is for your whole life, as opposed to term

life insurance, which is for a specific term, such as twenty or thirty

years. That is the primary benefit of whole life insurance: a payout is

guaranteed. You will not have to worry about becoming uninsurable later

in life, and unable to obtain life insurance of any kind.

This benefit of a guaranteed payout comes with a price: your premium

may be several times higher than the premium for a level term life

insurance policy of the same face amount. This is because a portion of

your whole life insurance premium goes to fund a tax-deferred cash

value account. And of course, you are buying the life insurance for a

longer time period: your whole life.

If you decide to cancel your whole life policy, you are entitled to

receive the cash value. Additionally, you may borrow against the cash

value at a reasonable interest rate. When you die, funds will be

deducted from the insurance proceeds to pay the amount of any loans and

interest, if you have not paid them off.

Which brings us to an interesting point. Whole life insurance policies

are actually issued with a termination date built in. This date is

usually on your 100th birthday. So, if you aren't dead by 100, the

policy is terminated and you are given the cash value. The cash value

on the termination date will be the face amount of the policy.

So, a whole life insurance policy is guaranteed to pay your beneficiary

the face amount if you die, or to pay you the face amount if you live

to age 100! Sounds like a good deal, huh? Well, it may be, but there is

a "lost opportunity" cost associated with tieing up your money (annual

premium payments) in a whole life insurance policy. You should consult

with your financial advisor.

Generally speaking, most financial advisors recommend to avoid this

"lost opportunity" cost by purchasing low cost term life insurance and

investing the difference in other investment vehicles. These

investments should be expected to provide a return higher than the

accumulation of cash value in a whole life insurance policy. Recently

however, CNBC got a different answer when they posed this question to

two financial heavyweights: Is whole life insurance a good investment?

It is often the case that a provider needs life insurance the most just

when he or she can afford it the least: when he or she has dependents

to support, provide for college, weddings, and so on. Then he or she

needs to build a nest egg for retirement. The goal is to have enough

invested by retirement that neither the provider nor the spouse needs

the life insurance proceeds to maintain lifestyle. Thus the saying,

"Buy term and invest the difference."

Whole life insurance is often useful in estate planning. It is one

vehicle used by financial planners to protect assets for the next

generation. So, if this is something that you may have to worry about,

you should consult with a financial advisor.

Term Life nsurance

Term Life insurance features temporary, cost-effective coverage with the opportunity to change should your needs change.

Term Life insurance provides a cost-effective solution for your temporary life insurance needs and gives you the flexibility to change your policy should your temporary needs turn into permanent goals.

Term Life is right for you if you want:

  • An affordable way to get maximum coverage
  • To cover specific financial responsibilities like a mortgage or college expenses
  • To supplement your Permanent Life Insurance during periods when coverage needs are higher, such as family-building, mortgage-paying years

Some things to consider about Term Life:

  • There is no cash value accumulation
  • Continuing your coverage after the initial level premium-paying term expires can be very expensive

Your MetLife representative can help you determine whether term life makes sense for you and your family.

Term Life is right for you if you want:

  • An affordable way to get maximum coverage
  • To cover specific financial responsibilities like a mortgage or college expenses
  • To supplement your Permanent Life Insurance during periods when coverage needs are higher, such as family-building, mortgage-paying years

Some things to consider about Term Life:

  • There is no cash value accumulation
  • Continuing your coverage after the initial level premium-paying term expires can be very expensive

Your MetLife representative can help you determine whether term life makes sense for you and your family.

Term life insurance provides death protection for a stated time period,

or term.

Term life insurance is perhaps the simplest form of life insurance. It

was developed to provide temporary life insurance protection on a

limited budget. Since term insurance can be purchased in large amounts

for a relatively small initial premium, it is well suited for short-

range goals such as life insurance coverage to pay off a loan, or

providing extra life insurance protection during the child-raising

years.

Insurance

Do you know what it takes to protect you, your family, car and home? Unsure about what type of life insurance to buy, or how much disability income insurance you need? Learn the ins-and-outs of these and other insurance products that may be available to you.

Long-Term Care

No one expects to need long-term care services. But if you do, having the right plan in place can help you keep in control of your care options.

Auto

The vehicle you depend on should have coverage you can count on. MetLife Auto & Home offers comprehensive policies, competitive rates and the expertise to help you make the right decisions.

Home

There's no place like home, so it makes sense to protect it. Whether you live in a house, condo, mobile home or rental apartment, MetLife Auto & Home’s valuable coverage gives you the protection you need.

Boat

At shore or at sea, MetLife Auto & Home shelters you, your boat, and your boating equipment from the costs of weather damage, theft and accidents.

Personal Excess Liability

With the prevalence of lawsuits, many people choose to purchase liability coverage above and beyond that offered by their auto, home, boat and recreational vehicle policies.

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