• In 2014, not only will most adults be required to carry health insurance but insurance companies will not be allowed to decline coverage based on pre-existing conditions. While this could be viewed as a great change in the way health insurance works in this country, it is unknown how it will affect health insurance rates. By having the requirement that all citizens be covered, insurers have a better chance to spread the risk that they take on by approving all applicants, but it is unknown if this spread of the risk will be enough or if rates will need to increase substantially.
• Young adults can remain insured on their parents plan until age 26. This will help many young people who are attempting to transition from college to the workforce.
• Tax credits for health insurance premium payments will be given to Americans who make up to 400 times the national poverty level. These credits are a fantastic incentive to get health insurance as they basically act as a trade off-you can pay your taxes to the IRS or you can pay for health insurance.
• In 2014, Medicaid will expand and allow individuals and families making up to 133 times the national poverty level to take part in the program. This expansion will allow coverage to many people who previously made too much money to qualify but who also made too little money to afford their own insurance policies.
• Insurance exchanges in each state will make it possible for you to exchange your employer-sponsored health insurance policy for an individual policy in 2014. This will allow for increased portability and better access to insurance coverage.

All in all, the changes brought on by the bill seem like they will make a positive difference in the state of healthcare in the U.S. However, since they are largely untested, it’s impossible to know what the real outcome of this change will be.

Install more smoke alarms: The less time a fire has to damage your home, the less likely you will have an insurance claim. So not only can the presence of smoke detectors in your home lower your initial quoted home insurance premium but it can also reduce your likelihood of future expensive claims that increase your premiums.

Install a burglar alarm: Taking appropriate measures to discourage the theft of items from your home is a great way to save on homeowners insurance premiums. A burglar alarm will alert you and your local police if someone attempts to break in to your home. This will allow your insurance company to offer you less expensive premiums and prevent claims that result in even higher premiums.

Avoid the flood zones: There are many areas in your town that are considered flood zones. These areas are prone to being flooded during rain storms, hurricanes and possible damn issues. While a traditional homeowners insurance policy won’t cover you against flood damage, you will be required to buy a flood policy if you live in a flood zone and have a mortgage. Instead, simply avoid buying a home in this dangerous area and you won’t need to spend money on the policy.

Know your codes: Many homeowners will attempt to make changes to their property without going to the codes department in their city and getting a permit then getting the work inspected. But codes are developed to preserve your safety as well as the safety of your neighbors. By following the codes and getting work to your property inspected, you reduce the risk of a claim against your home insurance and help to keep the premiums low.

So there you have it. A few simple and affordable ways to keep your home insurance premiums low and reduce the likelihood of claims against your policy. Try to institute some of them today and you will go far in making your home happier, safer and less expensive to insure.

Choosing a deductible for your auto insurance quote might seem like an easy task, but it is actually a very big decision that should not be taken lightly-especially since your deductible has a big effect on the premium you are charged and because you must have enough money in the bank to cover it, should you have an insurable incident.

A deductible is the amount of money that you need to pay out of pocket toward damages on your vehicle if you suffer an insurable event like an accident or car theft. Deductibles are only paid when you have damage that is covered by your insurance policy-otherwise, all damages will come out of your pocket or that of the person responsible for causing the accident.

Because a deductible must be paid out of your own, personal funds, it is important that you choose a deductible that you can actually afford to pay. Otherwise, you might end up with a deductible that hurts your savings, results in additional debt and prevents you from being able to get your car in working order. Without a car in working order you could suffer other financial difficulties such as the loss of a job.

It is tempting to choose a high deductible when shopping for auto insurance quotes because the higher your deductible is, the lower your auto insurance premium will be. Since accidents don’t happen to most people very often, it can seem like a real waste to pay for a high premium each and every month. But as tempting as that might be, ask yourself this-does it really matter? If you have a cheap auto insurance premium every month but you can’t afford the deductible, then you are switching one difficulty for another.

Instead, choose a deductible you can afford-one as high as you can afford-and then enjoy the resulting premium. That way, you will take advantage of as cheap a premium as you can get, you will have the comfort of knowing that you can afford your deductible if something should happen, and you won’t feel as though you are throwing away money on a policy that is not providing as much benefit as you need.

There once was a time when flipping a house was no big deal. You simply bought the second property, took a few months to redo the cosmetic damage and create the home of someone’s dreams, put it on the market for way more than you paid for it and more than you paid to fix it up, and then it sold. No muss, no fuss and, for some property flippers, no need for homeowners insurance.

But times have changed and real estate in the U.S. is not selling as it once did. While the home buying credits were in full force in early 2010, the real estate market picked up a bit, but now we are back to our normal lows. Not only that, but property values have fallen as well so you can no longer sell properties for as much money as you once could.

That means that many flippers have turned into the owners of multiple homes that they are forced to turn into rental properties so that they have some income to cover carrying costs. But now that they will own the secondary properties they purchased for years and years, they definitely need to consider some insurance.

It is not up to these new landlords to invest in home insurance that covers contents of the property. That would be the responsibility of their renters. So when you get home insurance quotes, there is no need to concern yourself with contents-but dwelling and other structures are definitely coverages you should consider. But because of the liabilities involved in renting a home out to other individuals, you need to be clear when you get your home insurance quote that the coverage is for a rental property and not for a primary residence. That way your insurance company can ensure that you get all the coverage you need for accidents, damages and insurable incidents that could be caused by your renters.

When you are searching for low cost health insurance an HMO plan is likely to come across your radar. HMOs, or health maintenance organization plans, offer some of the lowest cost full coverage insurance benefits but they have certain drawbacks.

With an HMO, you will be treated exclusively by doctors and medical treatment centers that are in the HMO network. If you receive treatment from someone outside of this network, unless it is an unpreventable emergency, your claim is likely to be denied. Unlike a PPO, HMOs do not offer any coverage for treatment received outside the network unless it is emergency treatment in an area with no network treatment centers or physicians. So if you have a favorite doctor that you or your children visit, make sure he or she is on the network list before you take out the HMO’s cheap health insurance coverage. If you don’t, then you will be forced to pay out-of-pocket for the full cost of all your visits to this physician.

With an HMO you are likely to have a copayment amount each time you visit a doctor or treatment facility. The copayments are fixed dollar amounts that will be listed out on your policy and possibly on your insurance card. They do not vary although they may be increased when your policy is renewed.

Some HMO plans have deductibles which is an amount of money that you must pay out-of-pocket before the policy kicks in and pays a benefit. These deductibles are variable and you can choose yours when you take out your policy. The larger your deductible the less expensive your insurance premium will be.

Your policy will also have a limit, or cap, in the amount of benefit you can receive over your lifetime. This protects the insurance company from having to commit to pay too much in benefits. Since the limits are usually set above one million dollars, it’s doubtful that most consumers will need to worry about exceeding them.

Remember, check your rates, choose an affordable deductible and a reasonable limit, and check that your favorite physicians are on the network list before you take out an HMO plan. Then your family will be happy, safe, well cared for and not at financial risk.

You cannot be sure that you’ve gotten the best health insurance coverage unless you understand health insurance terminology. Here are some of the most commonly used terms in the health insurance industry.

COBRA: The Act that allows for continuation of group coverage for a limited time after you leave the group.

Co-insurance: The amount you must pay for treatment after copayments and deductibles.

Copayment: The fixed amount that you must pay out-of-pocket for physician visits, medical procedures and prescription medications.

Deductible: The out-of-pocket amount you must pay before your policy benefits start kicking in.

Exclusions: Any medical conditions or illnesses whose expenses are not covered by your insurance policy.

HIPAA: A health insurance Act that sets privacy standards in an electronic world and guarantees portability of coverage and new policy issue after COBRA benefits run out, as long as there has not been a significant break in coverage (varies by state but usually at least 63 days).

HMO: A type of insurance policy that allows only treatment within a set network of physicians and facilities.

Lifetime limit: The maximum amount your insurer will pay out in benefits.

PPO: The type of insurance policy that has a network of physicians but still allows you to visit physicians and facilities outside the network for a reduced benefit.

Pre-certification: Some insurance companies require that you get preapproval from them before you have surgery or other medical procedures. This is called a pre-certification.

Pre-existing conditions: Any illness, injury or chronic disease you suffered from before you took out your insurance policy is considered a pre-existing condition.

Premiums: The fee that you pay to your insurance company monthly, annually or quarterly is your premium.

Underwriting: The process of reviewing and evaluating the risk you pose to the insurance company based on your medical history.

Waiting period: The amount of time you must wait before your pre-existing conditions are covered by your policy.

1. They can grow at a fixed rate like in a traditional whole life policy.
2. They can grow at a variable rate by choosing a sub account to invest them in. Sub accounts in a variable policy may have fixed investments like money markets, they may have stocks, bonds or mutual funds.
3. They can grow at a variable rate tracking the returns of a specific index-like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The third kind of growth is seen in an equity indexed life insurance policy. When you have an equity indexed life insurance policy, your cash values grow as they would in a variable policy but the sub account you choose is created to mimic the performance of a particular index. If that index goes up, then your cash value will likely go up. But if the index goes down, then so will your cash value.

One of the most important things to remember about an equity indexed life insurance policy is that there is no guarantee that you will earn money. Many illustrations for life insurance will show the great amounts of cash that can be accumulated in an equity indexed life insurance policy, but there is always the chance that the index you choose for your sub account will go down in value and will reduce the cash values you accumulate. The great things about equity indexed life insurance policies, however, is that they often have a floor, or minimum amount that you are guaranteed to gain. While this threshold is often significantly less than the fixed rate of return in a traditional life insurance policy, it at least offers some sort of gain while markets are down. On the other hand, there is also often a ceiling or maximum gain you can experience which may be less than the actual increases experienced by the index that you choose.

COBRA is the acronym for a health insurance portability act signed into law during the 1990’s. Thanks to COBRA, if you leave an employer who is providing your group health insurance coverage, you can keep the coverage for 18-36 months even though you no longer really qualify for the group coverage since you are not a member of the group. COBRA is a great benefit to many people-but not every employee who leaves an employer with group benefits should take advantage of COBRA coverage.

COBRA coverage is extremely expensive. If you are someone in relatively good health, who rarely goes to the doctor and has no pre-existing conditions, then COBRA coverage might not be the best use of your financial resources. Instead, you could search for low cost health insurance on an individual basis and get your own policy, not hinged on group participation, that can cover you for a fraction of the cost of a COBRA policy.

For individuals with pre-existing conditions, low cost health insurance is a pipe dream. Not only are premiums expensive for formerly ill individuals, but they may not even approve you at all depending on the risk you present. Or, they may approve you and agree to pay for your medical expenses through your policy while excluding a whole host of expenses that stem from your pre-existing condition. It is then that you are a good candidate for retaining your COBRA coverage. Even if you never go to the doctor, keeping continuous coverage through a program like COBRA is vital because it prevents another group insurance plan from declining to cover your pre-existing conditions (something they cannot do unless you’ve had a break in coverage for 63 days or longer during the past 6-12 months).

So remember, if you are young and in relatively good health, look to a low cost health insurance policy of your own for coverage after leaving a group plan. It will be much less expensive that COBRA and will allow you complete portability since its approval isn’t tied to group participation. If you have a pre-existing condition, be sure to opt for COBRA coverage immediately after leaving your job so that there is no risk of a 63 day or longer break in coverage. No matter what option you choose-make sure you always have some sort of health coverage so that you are not left to fiscally stand alone after an expensive illness or injury.

To go straight with the question, there are different factors that will impact the rates you will be charged for insuring your auto. One of the most important factors is the age of the policyholder. They say that age doesn’t matter. Well, probably for many other things it really doesn’t matter, however when it comes to insuring your vehicle, age plays a very important role in the overall equation. Below you will find some explanations on why the policyholder’s age plays such an important role and in what way does it influence the final rates.

Fresh drivers behind the wheel

Insurance company statistics tell that younger drivers tend to take risk far more often when behind the wheel than those who have are older and have more experience in driving. The direct consequence of such tendencies is that teen drivers tend to get involved in serious accidents far more often than drivers from other age groups. That is why insurance companies charge young inexperienced drivers with higher rates. However, if the young driver maintains a good record and doesn’t file any claims for a specific period of time, the rates can be reduced significantly.

Gender

This may sound la bit sexist, however there’s pure statistical fact that women tend to be more attentive and careful while being behind the wheel than men. Women file far less claims when having auto insurance, that’s why they usually have cheap auto insurance as compared to their male peers. However, male drivers still have the possibility to prove that they are better drivers by maintaining a good clean driver’s record and not getting involved in any traffic accidents. This way you can opt for premium discounts that will diminish the difference in rates according to gender.

Safety measures

Auto insurance is closely related to safety and security of the vehicle. The safer is the car, the less likely its owner to file an insurance claim, which eventually leads to lower premiums as compared to riskier vehicles. Things like anti-theft devices, alarms, airbags, additional seat belts, anti-lock brakes and other features that are used for increasing the safety and security of your vehicle will substantially reduce your rates regardless of your age. However, before installing such gadgets into your vehicle, make sure that your insurance company will provide you with such a discount and make sure that the devices you are trying to install comply with the company’s requirements. Still, having a secure and safe vehicle matters a lot, even if you don’t get a special discount for that.

There is a sad fact of life when it comes to dealing with insurance companies. You should read all the small print before you buy a policy and, if you are surprised at how the insurer decides to interpret the policy when you make a claim, you must be ready with an attorney. Telling it as it is: insurance companies like to make a profit. If they have to pay out too many big claims, their profit starts getting small. That gives them an incentive to keep finding new ways to avoid paying out. When Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast, home owners discovered their policies covered storm damage, but limited or excluded claims arising from flooding. The cause of much of the damage was a storm surge where the wind drove the water to higher than usual levels. The issue for the courts was whether the resulting damage was covered as storm damage or excluded as flood damage. The practical reality was that, for the people whose homes were damaged, the precise cause and effect mattered little. They had lost their homes. For the insurance companies, the courts were deciding claims worth billions of dollars. Needless to say, the courts at state and federal levels gave often wildly different interpretations and produced very different results. That is what happens when vast numbers of people line up to sue multiple defendants. Some win. Some lose.

One of the more interesting outcomes of the litigation was the decision of some insurance companies to stop selling policies in the Gulf states. They gave as their reason the increasingly uncertain legal environment. The companies that still write home insurance coverage now have different language. Policyholders hope the law will be on their side. The attorneys acting the the insurance industry remain confident they now have their clients protected.

Over the last few weeks, we have been watching a new slow-motion threat emerge in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon rig operated by BP exploded and, with the pipe broken on the sea bed, crude oil is now pumping out into the water. Oil has already started to come ashore in Louisiana. Residents in the other states are taking out their policies to see what the small print says. So let’s say the average home owner with a property on the coast has a standard homeowners insurance policy, federal flood insurance, hurricane and windstorm coverage, sinkhole coverage, and so on. What will happen when the oil comes? Well, there will be terms allowing claims in the event of an explosion. Unfortunately, the destruction of the rig happened too far away for it to count directly. A court would have to find the explosion was the main cause of the oil coming onshore. Winds and tides play their part in this process. So then we come to the terms allowing claims if the property is damaged by “pollutants”. Crude oil is a natural substance and not a pollutant as defined by insurers. But it is possible that, if it did damage the structure of your property, you would have a claim. Except, most properties are built on the land, not on stilts over the sea. Very few homeowners insurance policies cover damage to the land on which the house stands. The result? Win or lose, a lot of attorneys are going to get rich suing BP.