10 ways to lower your auto-insurance

Post by Mei Ling Lin

In the tough economy, people want to save money in any way that they can. One of expensive expense in the life, is the insurance include the life insurance, health insurance, home insurance and auto insurance. In those insurances, the home and auto-insurance is one that people need to pay all of the fees by themselves, unlike the life or health insurance that employers may help to pay part of the fees. Here have ten ways to help you to lower your auto-insurance.
1. Raise your deductibles, the more deductibles you have, the less premiums you going to pay. However, when you raise the deductible, then you need to be driver safer.
2. Compare quotes from different insurers, because each insurance company may have different rate of the auto-insurance customers.
3. Drive fewer miles, the less you drive, then less risk of collision and the less you file vehicle insurance claim.
4. Maintain good credit, if your credit score is lower, then you may view as the high-risk customers and need to pay the high-rate insurance
5. Stay a safe driver, mean to lower the risks of collision, then you need to avoid lane hogging, be aware of the conditions, don’t tailgate, prepare you journey, and stay clam.
6. Keep a clean driving record
7. Combine your auto and home insurance, you may get more discount on your rate if you use the same insurance company to insure your home and car.
8. Pick the right coverages, the more coverage you pick, the more premiums that you going to pay, but if you get the less coverage, and then you are taking the risk to pay more money out of your package if you have a claim or at-fault in a collision.
9. Choose your car carefully, because the model of car that you drive would affect you premiums
10. Take advantage of discounts, because discount can help you to lower your premiums

source #1 #2 #3

Bear market ups need for life insurance

copy and post by Mei Ling Lin

With the unprecedented generational bear market that has wreaked havoc on investors' portfolios, now is a good time to review your life insurance and determine if you have enough coverage.
Remember that you depend on the combination of your investment assets plus your life insurance to make sure your dependents are financially secure should you die prematurely.
How much life insurance do you need? Ask 10 professionals and you'll likely get 10 different answers. If you have people who are dependent on your income for their support, use the following three-step process as a "quick check" of your life insurance needs:

Step 1: If you are the sole income provider, multiply your annual income by 0.80. This results in reducing your income by 20 percent. The reason you do this is because there is one less spender in the household (you!). Note that if both you and your spouse work combine both incomes and multiply by 0.80.
Step 2: Divide your answer in Step 1 by the rate of return you would reasonably expect to earn on the life insurance proceeds once they are invested. Your answer here indicates how much money you will need in order to continue the necessary income stream to your surviving family.

Step 3: Subtract any savings or investments you already have from your answer in Step 2. This is the `ballpark' amount of life insurance you should own. Let's look at an example. Edward and Jean Anderson have two children. Edward earns $100,000 a year and Jean stays home to raise the children. The parents assume that they could earn 6 percent on investments; they have $45,000 in personal investments and $75,000 in their retirement plans.
First, multiply Edward's income times the "one less spender factor" to calculate the adjusted income need ($100,000 x 0.08 = $80,000).
Second, now divide the adjusted income need by your expected rate of return on investments ($80,000 x 0.6 = $1,333,333). This amount of money invested at 6 percent will provide the needed $80,000 per year for Jean and the children.

Finally, subtract the total of all current investments from the total capital needed ($1,333,333 - $120,000 = $1,213,333). If Jean was employed and planned to continue working after Edward's death, you would also subtract her income from your answer in step one.
You would also need to repeat this exercise for Jean to determine how much life insurance is needed on her life. For a non-working spouse, estimate the costs to replace that spouse's services such as nanny and housekeeper and multiply those costs times the number of years the services will be needed.

The answer you get by using this three-step process should only be used as a rule of thumb. Once you have the number, you should personalize the solution to your particular situation.
For example, you may want to increase the amount of insurance to help cover the costs of funding college expenses for your children. If your goal is to provide a lifetime income for your dependents, additional insurance will be needed to offset the ravages of inflation.

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House passes property insurance bill

Posted by YiLin Zhu
From The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida House has passed a bill that would increase insurance rates for more than 1 million property insurance policyholders.

The bill (HB 1495) limits the annual rate increases to an average of 10 percent for customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

The measure passed Friday on a 75-33 vote.

Without the legislation, Citizens' policyholders could see premiums increase more than 40 percent on Jan. 1. Instead, they'll pay the increase in smaller increments.

The Senate started debate on its version Friday, but didn't vote.

The goal of both bills is to reduce state's $20 billion exposure on the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund while shoring up Citizens with actuarially sound policies.

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Things Your Homeowners Policy Doesn't Cover

copy and post by Mei Ling Lin

Although the homeowners policy is considered an all-risk policy and will cover you for most losses you incur, there are some exclusions or causes that it won’t cover.

Property Exclusions
Coverage A and B

Collapse – The collapse of your house is excluded unless the cause of loss is listed in the additional coverages section of your policy.

Freezing – Freezing of plumbing, heating, or air conditioning systems is excluded if the heat has not been maintained while the building is vacant, unoccupied, or under construction.

Flood – The most important thing to know is that your policy does NOT cover flood. You must purchase a separate policy to cover damage from a flood. Flood has been an excluded peril since 1968 when the government started the National Flood Insurance Program. Even if you don’t live in a designated flood zone, it is important to have flood insurance in the event of hurricanes or heavy rains. Also, premiums for flood insurance can be inexpensive depending upon your flood risk. You can purchase a flood policy through your homeowners insurer or find an agent through the flood program. Visit http://www.floodsmart.gov/ to learn how the National Flood Insurance Program defines a flood and learn how much your annual flood insurance premium can cost.

Foundations, Retaining Walls, and Nonbuilding Structures – Loss to these items (including fences, swimming pools, and docks) by freezing, thawing, pressure or weight of water or ice is not covered.

Dwelling under Construction – Theft from a dwelling under construction is excluded. Theft of material is also excluded until the dwelling is finished.

Vandalism and Malicious Mischief – This exclusion only applies if the building has been vacant for more than 30 consecutive days before the loss. (Vacant being empty and unfurnished and unoccupied being a furnished home where the residents are on vacation.)

Mold, Fungus or Wet Rot - Loss caused by Mold, Fungus or Wet Rot is not covered if caused by a sump, sump pump or related equipment or a roof drain, gutter, downspout or similar fixture or equipment. Please review your individual policy carefully in order to comprehend exactly what is covered.

Risks of Direct Physical Loss Exclusion –The homeowners form insures your property against any loss as long as it isn’t excluded. This section lists some of the other specific causes that aren’t covered. Examples are: wear and tear, smog, birds, rodents, animals owned or kept by an insured, and settling.

Concurrent Causation Exclusions – This section deals with more than one event causing a loss. The policy details how losses are handled when one cause is covered and another isn’t.

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Life Insurance and Beneficiaries

Posted by: Dan Hughes

Life insurance policies are very difficult things to choose to get. For many people, life insurance policies are useless and are not necessary to have. However, if you are a person that does, in fact, need to write up a life insurance policy, there are several things that they need to consider, such as what type of policy. Should you get term or permanent? If you need permanent, then you need to consider among whole, universal, current assumption whole, and variable life insurance. Another thing, which is as important, if not more, to decide is who your beneficiary will be.

The beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured. It’s often easy to pick the “natural choice” as your beneficiary or beneficiaries, which includes your spouse or your children. However, these may not always be the best options. As with your spouse, there is a possibility of divorce, and, if you do not update your policy, then she and possibly a new spouse will reap the benefits. Similarly, with children, depending on the wording, it may be accidentally including or excluding certain people. Probably the safest choice for your beneficiary is your lawyer, if you have one, and draw up a list of how you want the money to be distributed. The lawyer will make sure that your money is handled the way you intended.

It’s always important to remember that the wording is the most important part in the policy. If it is not specific, then, as mentioned before, people may be included or excluded from the policy. By just stating children as beneficiaries, you may be leaving our grandchildren when you intended for them to get some money.

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

Affordable Health Insurance for Young Adults

Posted by: Dan Hughes
Article by: Megan Johnson

Health insurance, if you're young, cash strapped, and healthy, may seem expensive and pointless. It's not. An ankle-twisting fall on a hiking trail, a broken arm in a friendly soccer game, bronchitis that turns into pneumonia—you're potentially talking thousands of dollars in medical expenses. See which of the following eight categories describes you, and check out the experts' recommendations. Our health insurance glossary will help with unfamiliar terms.

You're moving from high school into the workforce.

If your parents are covered through an employer, try to stay on their plan, says Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA, a healthcare consumer advocacy group. It'll cost less than getting individual health insurance on your own because most employers pay a large part of the premium of a group plan. More than half the states require insurers to extend parental coverage to adult children below a certain age, typically 25 but as high as 30 in New Jersey. Your state insurance department or the National Conference of State Legislatures can fill you in.

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Health Insurance in Economy Crisis

post by Mei Ling Lin

In the economic recession, people may lose some things, such as their jobs, income, or health insurance. McKinley Health Center doctors said that, the amount of students without health insurance is increasing. The reasons why increase in students without health insurance are students want to reduce the expense and choose to option out of University’s student insurance plan, or student who were covered by their parent’s plan, but their parents’ job situation changed and lost the coverage. What can we do if we lose the health insurance in a short-term?

First, you can be proactive to minimize the effects of the economic crisis. Second, short-term health insurance is available in most states to span from 1 to 36 months, and its cost is about half of the amount of longer term policies. Third, you should develop a realistic budget, because the cost of health insurance is increase faster than your income. Fourth, you should consider the worst case, even you don’t like to think or never think it would happen, it is smart to consider the effects of the worst case in your health care planning. If you need to cut your health insurance costs, think about use shorter duration policy, increase out-of-pocket costs, or reduce maximum benefits.

source #1 #2 #3

Do I need to pay tax for my life insurance?

by YiLin Zhu on April. 17 2009

Whether life insurance is taxable are many people’s concerns. The basic answer for this question is “NO”, the government cannot tax life insurance. However, it is possible that you will get your insurance states that the policy could lead into a taxable event. So the possibility of paying for life insurance policy is a question that could conceivably be answered in a number of ways.

When funds are received at the end result as originally intended by the policy, when the owner is deceased - the beneficiary will receive the full value of the policy completely duty free. When funds are obtained in the fashion it is not deemed as profiting by the government and therefore the sum, no matter how large or small in not chargeable.

As long as your policy is kept 'live' and active, the cash growth of the procedure is not taxable either. Not all life insurance policies experience enough cash growth beyond the original purchased value for this to be too much of a concern, but for those that do - any growth in cash value experienced over the life of the policy is safe from assessment as long as the procedure remains in good standing.

Source #1; Source #2; Source #3.

New Report Details How to Create a Public Health Insurance Option as Part of Nation''s Health Reforms

Posted by YiLin Zhu

From NewsRx.com

With Congress preparing a sweeping overhaul to the nation's health care system, Jacob Hacker was the first today to outline details on how the nation can structure and implement a public health insurance option as part of the overall reforms (see also Medicare and Medicaid).

Hacker, who is the co-director of the U.C. Berkeley Center on Health, Economic and Family Security, joined Institute for America's Future co-director Roger Hickey at a news conference today to release a new report called "Healthy Competition." The report, co-sponsored by the Institute and Berkeley CHEFS, provides a comprehensive roadmap to create a public health insurance plan within the nation's health care system.

The plan gives people without workplace coverage access to an "exchange" with private and public plan options. The public plan mirrors Medicare's administrative infrastructure, but would be run separately from Medicare. The plan has its own risk pool and offers the same benefits and coverage terms nationwide.

At today's news conference, Hacker said offering a public health care plan option is the only feasible way to design a sustainable health care system and ensure everyone has access to the care they need. "

Without public plan choice, private health insurers will still be able to game the system to maximize their profits while failing to provide health security over the long run," said Hacker. "Providing a public health insurance option that competes fairly with private plans is critical to ensuring access, controlling costs and improving the quality of care for all Americans."Hickey said the new report details how a public insurance plan would work, who is eligible, and how it would function alongside Medicare and private plans.

"Many studies have shown that a well-structured public insurance option will save the nation trillions of dollars over a decade," said Hickey. "This report kicks off the debate about how a well-structured public insurance plan would work.

"Hacker's report argues for a public health insurance plan with price-setting authority. It lays out safeguards to ensure its bargaining power is used correctly. These include an efficiency-based payment system (an improved version of Medicare's), an expanded Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, a stakeholder advisory group that includes providers and automatic triggers for case reviews.

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AIG Nearing a Deal to Sell Car-Insurance Unit to Zurich

Copy and post by Mei Ling Lin

American International Group Inc. is negotiating to sell a car-insurance unit to a major rival, Zurich Financial Services AG, and a deal could be announced as soon as Thursday.
The price tag for 21st Century Insurance could fall within the $1.5 billion to $2 billion range, according to a person familiar with the matter. The deal has been discussed for some time, and the talks between the two firms were reported in February.
If the sale were completed at that price, it would be the biggest that AIG has been able to complete since announcing plans to sell off assets to help pay back the government, which bailed out the ailing insurer last year. As of April 8, AIG owed taxpayers $45 billion, part of an aid package of up to $173.3 billion.
AIG is also trying to sell off other units, including International Lease Finance Corp., its aircraft leasing business, for which a second round of bids are due late this month, according to a person familiar with the matter. But the strategy of selling off assets has been hurt by the difficult economic conditions, which has winnowed the pool of potential buyers for some of AIG's most prized assets.
A deal could also strengthen Zurich's hand in the U.S. car-insurance business. Zurich owns Farmers Group Inc., which manages the Farmers network of insurance exchanges. The exchanges serve more than 10 million households, making it one of the largest car- and home-insurance networks in the country.

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Umbrella Insurance

By: Dan Hughes

When people become adults and have to start taking responsibility for their own lives, much has to be taken into account. One of the hardest parts to be able to plan for, however, is the possibility of unexpected expenses. It’s not only a good idea to have cash or another form of liquid asset in order to cover for this, but it’s a great idea to have insurance, as well. And, one of the best and easiest ways to cover all your bases is having umbrella insurance.

Umbrella insurance refers to an insurance policy that protects the assets and future income of the policyholder above and beyond standard limits set on their primary policies. It provides coverage beyond the typical auto or home insurance and can include coverage for claims such as false arrest, libel, slander, and invasion of privacy.

With so many lawsuits being filed today, purchasing umbrella insurance is almost a must. According to Bobbie Sage of About.com, with an umbrella policy, one can add an additional 1-5 million in liability protection. The umbrella kicks in when the amount that the other policies cover has been depleted. Some might think that with this extra policy that adds so much more liability protection that it would cost an arm and a leg. However, for the protection that one receives, the additional cost is fairly inexpensive.

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

The End of Private Health Insurance

Posted By: Dan Hughes

Article By: (Unknown)

Above every other health-care goal, Democrats this year want to institute a "public option" -- an insurance program financed by taxpayers, managed by government and open to everyone, much like Medicare. This new middle-class entitlement is the most important debate in Congress this year, because it really is the last stand for anything resembling private health insurance.

This public option will supposedly "compete" with private alternatives. As President Obama likes to put it, those who are happy with the insurance they have now can keep it -- and if they happen to prefer the government offering, well, gee whiz, that's the free market at work. The reality is far different. Not only will the new program become the default coverage for the uninsured, but Democrats intend to game the system to precipitate -- or if need be, coerce -- an exodus to government from private insurance. Soon enough, that will be the only "option" left.

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Something needs to know about Life Insurance

By YiLin Zhu on April-10 2009

It is never too early to start seeking for a good life insurance for yourself, because having a good life insurance will protect your future and life. And the following are some things that you may want to know about life insurance.

1. Keep your health in good shape: In life insurance, the better your health condition is, the cheaper rate you can get. So stay healthy not only good for yourself, but also good for your wallet.

2. Do more research before sign the contract: One of the greatest things about insurance is there are so many insurance companies out there and competing with each other. This gives consumers more option to select. Take your time to look over the premiums that each insurance company willing to offer you, and choose the best one for your condition.

3. Always read your coverage carefully: It is important to learn your insurance coverage carefully. Typically, you should review your insurance coverage at every beginning of the year or every end of the year. By doing so, you can always match your most latest update information with your insurance coverage to see whether the conditions still work best for you. For instance, if you get married or had a baby, or retired, you may want to switch to other insurance if the current one won’t work out as well as before.

Source #1; Source #2; Source #3

China Pacific Insurance 2008 Net Profit Slumps 81%

Posted by YiLin Zhu

From The Wall Street Journal

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. (601601.SH) said Friday its 2008 net profit tumbled 81% because of the slump in the domestic stock market and increased insurance payouts to cover natural disasters in China last year.

The company joins its local peers that have reported substantial declines in earnings after being hit hard in the past year by volatile capital markets and increased claims.

China Life Insurance Co., China's largest life insurer, last month reported a 45% drop in 2008 net profit, while Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. Wednesday posted a 99% plunge in 2008 earnings, mainly due to an impairment charge of $3.3 billion on its stake in Fortis NV.
China Pacific Insurance, which is 17.3%-owned by private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP, said its net profit for the 12 months ended Dec. 31 dropped to CNY1.34 billion ($196 million) from CNY6.89 billion a year earlier.

The sharp downturn of China's stock market caused the insurer to record a fair value loss of CNY742 million for its traded financial assets last year. The company posted a fair value gain of CNY235 million in 2007.

Total investment income dropped 70% to CNY8.41 billion from CNY27.66 billion a year earlier.
The poor investment performance was partly offset by a 29% increase in premium income to CNY84.14 billion from CNY65.39 billion in the previous year.
Despite the dismal 2008 results, analysts said they believe that the worst time for China's insurers is over, thanks to a stabilizing stock market and China's CNY4 trillion economic boost plan.

"Though the global economic downturn has been exerting negative impact on China's economy, the country's insurance industry still has huge potential to grow," said China Pacific in its annual report. "China's economic stimulus package will boost fixed-assets investment across the country, which will generate enormous demand for insurance products and provide us with a broad arena to grow business," the insurer added.

Shares of China Pacific Insurance have jumped 16% in the past two weeks, outshining a 3% gain in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, on hopes that Shanghai will offer tax breaks to encourage people to buy pension products. China Pacific Insurance is the second-largest shareholder of Changjiang Pension Insurance Co., which was set up by the Shanghai Municipal Government in 2007 to manage the city's CNY15 billion pension fund.

"The Shanghai government is studying the (tax break) plan," said an official at the government-run pension fund.

"But the program is less likely to be launched this year because it involves different government bodies and it's difficult for all the parties to reach consensus on the matter in the short term," the person said, who declined to be named.

Shanghai-based Pacific Insurance is China's third-largest insurer by market share after China Life and Ping An. It ranks second in the country's property insurance industry by market share, after PICC Property & Casualty Co.

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Top 10 Car Insurance Savings Tips

copy and post by Mei Ling Lin

1. Make sure all your cars are on the same policy
Most insurance companies offer a “multi-vehicle discount” for customers who insure more than one car on the same policy.
2. Insure both your car and home with the same company
Again, this may qualify you for a discount called the “multi-line discount.” Most companies offer this savings as an incentive to get your home insurance business too.
3. Have an anti-theft device installed in your car
If you take measures to ensure your car is less likely to be stolen, then some insurance companies will offer an “anti-theft discount” if certain anti-theft devices are installed.
4. Ask about other discounts you might be able to get
Additional common discounts include the age, low mileage, occupational and auto club discounts, all of which could save you money if you qualify.
5. Increase your deductibles
The higher your deductibles, the lower your insurance premium — so raise them as much as you can. Keep it affordable though, because this is how much you’ll have to cover if you need to submit a claim.

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Steps To Choose A Right Auto Insurance Company

Post by Mei Ling Lin

You may know the steps or ways that can assist you to buy an automobile in a good price. Right now, you need to learn how to select a right insurance company to purchase your auto insurance. Because many insurance companies, which may promote well but have the worst services that you don’t know about. There have some steps that can help you to find a good insurer or agent.

1.Visit state’s department of insurance web site, because the State department of insurance would have name list of all insurance companies and their sell policies in the state.
2.Find out which insurers body shops recommend, because they know which company can provide the best service with low cost.
3.Check the J.D. Power Ratings
4.Consider insurers’ financial strength ratings
5.If you still confused, then consider working with an agent
6.Visit local agents’ offices, ask for a rate quote and gauge responses
7.Ask about “claims-free” discounts for time a policy is in force without a chargeable claim
8.Ask about a “multiline” discount if you buy more than one line of insurance
9.Ask about office hours and after-hours assistance
10.As k for company rating and financial information
11.Determine if the company has agents and claims offices in other states if you travel extensively
12.Ask friends and acquaintances about the company

source #1 #2 #3

Term Life Insurance

Posted By Ken Smith

Purchasing Health Insurance

By: Dan Hughes

For most people today, researching and buying health insurance is a very difficult and head spitting problem. It’s easy for the people who don’t need to go out searching for their own health insurance because their companies offer them coverage. However, especially in today’s economy, people have to go out looking for their own health insurance, and they have to do it without any help. For the most part, many people don’t really know what to look for and don’t know what questions to ask when they finally see somebody. According to some experts, there are five crucial questions that one should ask when purchasing health insurance.

1. How much are my premiums and will they change?

It is important to get the price of the premiums in writing and to find out how long you will be charged this particular rate. These quoted rates sometimes don’t last that long.

2. What are my deductibles and co-pays?

Always know what you’re paying for. Even if you meet your deductible, you most likely will still be responsible for a co-pay whenever you see the doctor.

3. Is the insurance company licensed in my state?

4. Am I buying a short-term or a long-term plan?

Be wary of short-term plans. When you go to reapply after a short-term policy, some companies will treat you as a brand new customer. This could be a problem for people who have conditions that overlap different policies.

5. Should I consider going with COBRA?

COBRA is a program that allows you to keep your employer’s insurance if you happen to be laid off or are working much less hours. However, you have to pay the whole premium, which may deter some people.

Always remember, though - if a policy sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

Investing in Life Insurance

By: Dan Hughes

Insurance Aid for the Newly Unemployed

copy and post by Mei Ling Lin

Individuals who lost their jobs in the last several months may be eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance coverage at greatly reduced rates.
The federal government will pay 65% of Cobra continuation coverage premiums as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was signed into law on Feb. 17. The coverage will apply to individuals who lost or lose their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009 and are eligible for continuing coverage under Cobra, a federal law called the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.
The new subsidy "makes Cobra much more affordable for a lot of people," says Scott Keyes, a senior health-care consultant at Watson Wyatt, a consulting firm. He expects participation could double or triple.
The new subsidy would last up to nine months for individuals who are not eligible for other insurance such as Medicare or a spouse's plan. It applies to employees, their spouses and any children who lost health coverage because of an involuntary termination.
Participants also can't earn more than $125,000 in the year they receive the subsidy if they are single or more than $250,000 for couples who file jointly.
Laid-off workers already can extend their job-related health coverage for up to 18 months under Cobra. The law applies to companies with 20 or more workers, which continue to offer a group health plan.
"I think this is aimed at helping people stay insured," says Amy Bergner, a principal at Mercer, a consulting firm in Washington.
She says employees who didn't elect Cobra coverage initially now have a second chance to sign up.
Individuals who lost their jobs before the law was signed on Feb. 17 should be notified by their former employer by April 18 that they are eligible for this benefit, even if they initially did not sign up for Cobra.
Until now, only a small percentage of individuals extended their insurance coverage through Cobra because of the high cost. Employers are allowed to charge former workers up to 102% of the cost of premiums. Individuals paid on average about $370 a month and families $1,000.
The subsidized coverage would lower premiums to about $130 a month for single coverage and $350 a month for a family, based on 2008 data from a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.

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Some Big mistakes of Buying Term Life Insurance

By YiLin Zhu on Apr. 4 2009

Focus only on cost is the biggest mistake that most of people make when they buying their term life insurance. Of course, cost is an important factor to consider when we buy insurance. But a lot of people bought the term life insurance they really want, but also the ones they won’t afford to purchase. This may not be the right option.

Secondly, didn’t choose a right settlement options is also a big mistake you might make. There are many options to the term life insurance buyer regarding how the beneficiary will receive the policy proceeds. The most popular one is the lump sum payment, even though in many situations, this may not be the most appropriate solution. But keep in mind, you should always carefully review these settlement options with your agent.

Another big problem is not choosing the right agent. It is very important to choose a licensed agent that understands life insurance contracts and all of the options available within the contracts.

In addition, lack of conversion options also can be a big problem for the insurance buyers. An important option to have in your term life policy is the right to convert to a permanent life policy with the same company without submitting any additional evidence of insurability. This is important because need and wants change. The flexibility should be there to handle these changes.

Source #1; Source #2; Source #3;

Florida legislative measures would allow insurance rates to rise

Posted by YiLin Zhu
Written by Beatrice E. Garcia

Lawmakers have begun work on two major property insurance bills that aim to fix current problems in Florida's insurance market. One certain result: higher rates for homeowners, especially those covered by Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer.

A bill in the state House of Representatives would allow rates to rise no more than an average 20 percent a year. A similar bill in the Senate, where debate will continue Monday, allows for increases of no more than 10 percent a year for any homeowner.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who championed insurance rate declines in the past two years, has acknowledged that rates need to rise. Some lawmakers are grudgingly moving in that direction as well. After two hours of discussion on more than a dozen changes and revisions, the House bill moved forward Friday with approval from the Insurance, Business and Financial Affairs committee. Among the amendments shot down quickly was one from Rep. Richard Steinberg, D-Miami Beach, which would have Citizens freeze rates for one more year. Citizens' rates have been frozen since the start of 2007.

Outside of South Florida, where Citizens has about half of its 1,066,304 policies, there is little sympathy for the insurer's policyholders. David Daniel, director of government relations for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, in urging the committee to pass the insurance bill, reminded the House committee that Citizens does not cover the majority of Florida homeowners.

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