Insurance is the coverage offered by an insurance company to an individual or an organization against a specified loss in return for the earlier premiums received from the policy holder. A premium is a periodic amount of money charged by the insurance company to provide active coverage.

The premium is usually collected on a monthly or half-yearly basis. The insurance company will normally terminate the policy, if the policy holder fails to make the scheduled payment. To renew this lapsed policy, the policy holder will have either have to pay the balance of the insurance premium or get reinstated. The chief advantage of an insurance policy is the feeling of financial security that it offers to the policy holder.

The different types of insurance polices broadly defined include; Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Auto Insurance, Homeowners’ Insurance and Appliance Protection.

The premium for the same service can vary depending upon the service provider and a host of other factors. The premium amount is primarily based on statistics. Individual habits and history can also play a role in influencing the insurance company?s decision on the cost of the premium. For instance, a younger driver with a sports car might have to pay a higher insurance premium than a middle-aged driver who drives a regular sedan, due to the higher probability of risks.

Because of the variability in rates and the variability in the formulas that individual companies use to determine rates, is very essential to get several insurance quotes before purchasing an insurance policy. Every insurance policy will have its own merits and demerits. However, the lowest premium quote price need not necessarily be the best insurance policy, since it may offer only a lower level of coverage. So, one will have to understand the different clauses and complexities in the policy. One will also have to do a check on the reputation of the insurance company, by considering factors such as percentage of rejected claims and timely reimbursement.

An insurance agent or broker would be aware of the different insurance schemes offered by various companies. The agent will also be of great assistance in calculating the insurance premium estimate based on the basic information obtained and help in determining the best insurance policy for you the first time insurance purchaser.

Marcus Dubois is a veteran in the insurance industry, and recommends InstaQuoter to get a free life insurance quote. See http://www.instaquoter.com/life/ for more information.

We Americans love our food and drinks, don?t we? It seems like with every turn of your car?s steering wheel, there?s a McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy?s, Hardees, KFC ? well, the list of fast food restaurants could go on forever. The point is, they keep popping up all over the place because of consumer demand. We want the cheap, fast food and drinks offered by these fast food restaurants, and we want them everywhere. It?s all about cheap convenience.

However, the convenience of this cheap, fast food and drinks can actually come with quite a high price ? poor health. Eating this food, such as greasy cheese burgers and salty French fries, and drinking these drinks, such as high calorie sodas, may be alright in moderation, but many Americans have made cruising through one or two of these drive-thrus a weekly, or even daily, ritual. Americans are on the go, day in and day out, and these easily accessible restaurants are too tempting to pass up.

Yet, too much of this kind of food and drinks can lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity, just to name a few of the health problems, and when we develop health problems, we either rely on our health insurance to bail us out, or wish we had health insurance in the first place. By avoiding this kind of food and drinks, or at least only indulging in moderation, we can avoid these health complications.

It is always wise to have a good health insurance policy, even if it means purchasing an individual health insurance policy if your employer doesn?t offer a health insurance package; however, by eating health foods and drinking healthy drinks and exercising, you can help take care of yourself before these kinds of health complications kick in and necessitate health insurance, or at least health insurance coverage for the kinds of health complications that this food and drinks can cause.

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A car insurance policy is a contract of insurance that describes the terms, coverage, premiums and deductibles. An individual pays an amount known as a premium, in return for the coverage offered. Car insurance policies are broadly divided into two types namely, third-party liability and first-party liability insurance. The policyholder is known as the ?first party? who has signed a contract with the insurer for coverage. The insurer is called as the ?second party? whereas the ?third party? is the other person involved in the accident or whose property the policyholder has damaged.

A third-party liability insurance policy reimburses all the losses attributed to a third-party. First-party insurance covers losses caused to the policyholder or passengers riding along with him. An individual must at least have third-party liability coverage. There are two types of third party liability policies. They are bodily injury liability, which pays for medical expenses and property damage liability, which covers all property damages caused by the policyholder. These policies are essential to a policyholder if he gets sued for an accident.

?First party? liability coverage basically aims at covering repairs and damages caused to the policyholder and passengers riding with him. It is extremely beneficial when the policyholder is not at fault but the other driver does not have the resources to pay for the damages. Collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, uninsured/under-insured motorist and MedPay are few of the various types of first party coverage. Collision coverage guarantees repairs and replacement if needed, in the event of an accident regardless of whose fault it was. Comprehensive coverage guarantees to reimburse for repairs or replacement due to damage caused to the policyholder?s car by factors like fire, theft, floods and hurricanes. Uninsured/under-insured Motorist coverage policy pays the policyholder and his passengers for losses incurred in the event that the driver at fault is either not found or he does not have the resources to pay for the losses. MedPay policies cover medical and funeral expenses caused to the policyholder or his passengers.

If a non-policy holder uses the car frequently, it is advisable to include him on the policy. Experts advise customers to research and survey before selecting a policy for their vehicle. Ideally, an individual must obtain quotes from various companies before finalizing the policy.

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OK, now you have a lovely new home and with it comes a lovely new mortgage. With the average mortgage advance standing at around ?150,000 it’s a long-term commitment to repay a lot of money. The repayments also take a fair slice out of your monthly income.

What could go wrong with these financial arrangements and can you hedge your bets by insuring against the risks? After all you have a family to protect.

Most people would identify 5 main areas of concern, all of which boil down to your ability to maintain the mortgage repayments:

• Interest rates might increase and make the monthly repayments unaffordable
• You might lose your job
• You might be forced to take time off work through illness or accident
• You may become permanently unable to work through accident or very serious illness
• You could die before the mortgage is paid off

The financial industry is packed with pretty shrewd people so it’ll come as no surprise to learn that there are financial products to help with each of these risks.

If you want to reduce the risk of interest rates rising to unaffordable levels, you should have discussed these matters with your mortgage adviser. He will then have told you about ?fixed? and ?capped interest rate? mortgages. As the name implies, a fixed rate mortgage fixes the interest rate you pay whilst with a ?capped? mortgage, the lender agrees not to increase your interest rate above a pre-agreed level. Both types of mortgage revert to the standard variable rate after the fixed or capped period finishes which is typically after three or five years, depending on your lender.

Fixed rate mortgages are currently very popular accounting for 55% of new advances and there are some very good deals around. The capped rate for capped rate mortgages is usually set at the outset above the equivalent fixed rates available but the rate you pay is lower than the fixed rates. In this context your interest rate risk can be effectively controlled. After the end of the protected period you always have the option to re-mortgage and find another rate protected deal. There are never any guarantees on the rates that will be available but the mortgage market is highly competitive, especially for re-mortgages, and special rate offers abound. It’s really a matter of knowing which lender to approach. When the time comes you’d be well advised to ask a mortgage broker to search out the most suitable options.

Worried about paying your mortgage if you lost your job? Then you need Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance – but be aware that in its basic form, this insurance is really only designed to cover redundancy. If you resign or are fired for gross misconduct your unlikely to be insured. The cost? Online you can expect to pay around ?2.45 per ?100 of monthly mortgage payment for a policy which starts paying out 30 days after you’ve been made redundant and will pay out for up to 12 months. You’re sure to have been offered similar insurance by your bank or mortgage company but watch out, their premiums are likely to be two or three times higher for identical cover.

Mortgage Payment Protection Policies can also be extended to cover the third area of concern ? you lose income through illness or accident. But before you rush into this insurance you need to ask your employer how long they’d continue paying you if you were off work. Remember, you only need to insure for the period after your employer stops paying. You would then receive statutory sickness pay, but the odds are you’ll need that income for general living costs. The cost for this insurance? Well, online it’ll again cost you around ?2.45 per ?100 of monthly mortgage payment for a policy which starts paying out after 30 days, However, if you combine illness, accident and unemployment cover all into one policy you can currently get combined insurance for around ?3.95 per month. The essential point to remember is that these policies will only pay out for 12 months. That leads on to the fourth area of concern.

How would you pay your mortgage if you were unable to work again through a serious accident or critical illness? In this context it is important to appreciate the reality of the risk. The insurance industry estimates that 1 in 5 men and 1 in 6 women suffer a critical illness before their normal retirement age. Just think what a heart attack at 40 would mean to your family finances, especially if you have a mortgage with many years still to run. For many, insurance is a must.

The best option is to arrange insurance that totally repays the outstanding mortgage if you can’t continue to work. That at least removes one big worry. The insurance you need is called Critical Illness Insurance but make sure ?total and permanent disability? cover is included. This ensures that your mortgage will be repaid if you are incapacitated through an accident.

You can buy Critical Illness Insurance with ?decreasing cover? where the size of the payout decreases as the years go by. This is ideal if you have a repayment mortgage where you are repaying the mortgage bit by bit each month. Decreasing cover is also the cheapest form of this Insurance.

If you have an interest only mortgage, the situation is different as the sum you owe your lender, remains constant. You certainly don’t want the cover to decrease – so here you need Critical Illness Insurance with ?level cover?.

As with all these insurances, there’s always a twist to watch out for. With Critical illness Insurance you always need to survive for a minimum period following an accident or diagnosis of a critical illness. If you don’t, the policy will not pay out. With most insurance companies the survival period is 28 days although some have reduced this to 14 days.

That leads on what happens if you were to die. Most lenders insist on Mortgage Life Insurance to repay your mortgage in one lump sum. However, you really don’t need it if you’re single and living alone. In these circumstances, if you would die, your estate would simply repay your mortgage by selling the property. For everyone else, Mortgage Life insurance is the most commonly held form of mortgage protection. Again it comes in a ?decreasing cover? format for those with repayment mortgages and ?level cover? format to repay interest only mortgages.

All this insurance will not be cheap but there are ways of significantly reducing the cost. Buy a Mortgage Payment Protection Policy that combines unemployment, accident and illness cover. Sometimes this is called ?unemployment and disability? cover. This will save you about 20%. The cheapest way to buy Critical Illness and Mortgage Life Insurance is again to buy a combined policy. Here it’s difficult to be precise about the savings as the cost will be strictly calculated on your own personal details and health record – but you can certainly expect to save 20-25%.

The final bit of advice is shop around for the insurance. Your bank or building society will be absolutely delighted to arrange it but you’ll pay top dollar. The Internet is by far the cheapest way to buy all these insurances, especially if you use one of the many discounting brokers. You’ll find these brokers if you search under ?life insurance?, ?cheap life insurance?, ?life insurance quotes? or ?Mortgage Protection Insurance?.

Competition on the net is rife, so it’s norm for these brokers to cut commission and pass the savings back to you through lower premiums. There are other aspects you’ll need to consider such as whether to buy a policy with a ?Guaranteed Premium? or a ?Reviewable Premium?. So you’re best advised to talk matters over with a life insurance adviser. Ten minutes on the phone with an adviser could save you more and avoid a lot of heartache.

Be lucky, keep fit, happy and well insured!

Michael Challiner has 15 years experience in financial services marketing at senior level. Michael now works as the editor of Express Life Insurance

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