INSURANCE - HOW MUCH INSURANCE DO I NEED?

Insurance > How Much Insurance Do I Need?

How Much Insurance Do I Need?

by: Jeff Lakie

Insurance is a complicated business, and it can be unpleasant to talk about because no one likes talking about death? especially their own death! Because of those two reasons, many people do not think about insurance very much. However, most people should have some kind of insurance.

But how can you tell what kind of insurance you need? It is such as specialized industry, with insurance brokers requiring licenses in order to understand it and sell it, so it can sometimes make you feel like you are at the doctor and you have no idea what the doctor is talking about! What makes matters worse, is that insurance brokers (the only people who know what they're talking about) are usually paid by commission based on the amount they sell. So, while you are likely to get an insurance broker who is a good, ethical person, you might still be concerned that they are overestimating your need.

So how much do you need?

There are two secrets to knowing how much insurance you need:

1. Determine the need. The first is to identify the costs that will be incurred at your death and the expenses that will go on after your death. Cost that will be incurred at your death include estate taxes, funeral costs, and wages that your loved ones will lose as they take time off of work to mourn for you. Costs that will go on after your death are things like, the mortgage on your house, as well as car payments, saving for the children's education, the wages you'll no longer be able to provide to your family.

2. Determine the period. The second step is to identify whether these expenses are short-term expenses are long-term expenses. Temporary expenses are ones that will only cost you money if you die within a certain period of time. Temporary expenses include your children's education and your house and car. It is possible, that these may be paid off before you pass away. However, if you die before they are paid off, it is good to have insurance to cover the rest of the payments. On the other hand, permanent expenses are things that will always be around. For example, your estate taxes, funeral costs, and the wages that your loved ones will lose when they mourn for you are all costs that occur once and they can be paid off? but it doesn't matter when you die, those costs will always be there.

Once you have done these two steps you will have a pretty good idea of how much insurance you need and how long you need it for. Now you are ready to talk to your broker and you'll have a pretty good idea what they're talking about. Bring the list with you and ask them to address each one. They may suggest the more coverage (and sometimes they may suggest less coverage) but having a little bit of knowledge before you make the appointment will give you an advantage and helped you know how much insurance you actually need.

About The Author

Jeff Lakie is the founder of http://www.my-farmers-insurance.info and http://www.my-home-insurance.info websites providing information on Insurance.

How To Deal With Your Auto Insurance Company

How To Deal With Your Auto Insurance Company

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Disputes, especially when it comes to settling insurance claims, are not new scenarios. In fact, they take place every day. Just what causes these disputes? Well, one of the obvious reasons is most policy holders think that they deserve to be paid a larger settlement than what they receive. Second, claims are slow to process. And third, claims are denied.

There are various ways to deal with your auto insurance company. First, is the aggressive approach, which I am not encouraging since I am a peace-loving individual, and believe that everything should be settled in a peaceful and civilized manner. There are actually several peaceful options which a policyholder may undertake depending on the degree of insurance dispute.

For cases wherein your insurance agent is unable to solve your problem, it is advised to get the name and then the phone number of your insurance company?s...

How To Deal With Your Auto Insurance Company

Insurance > How To Deal With Your Auto Insurance Company

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Protecting your home

Although you have no legal obligation to insure your home, your mortgage company will want to protect their investment with buildings insurance.
However, it is also worth protecting your own investments, so even after you?ve paid off your mortgage, you should ensure you?re financially covered.

Home contents insurance and personal possessions insurance

According to Money Observer, the average home has ?44,000 of contents and replacing this without insurance would be almost impossible for most people.
An average premium is about ?150 a year and will provide cover up to ?50,000.
The majority of contents insurance policies additionally provide public liability and personal legal expenses and although most people don?t claim on these, they could be very useful if needed.

Personal possessions insurance is worth taking...

Inside Insurance ? Protection Priorities

Insurance > Inside Insurance ? Protection Priorities

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According to Swiss Re, one of the world's largest re-insurance companies, less than half of the UK population has any form of life insurance protection. They then go on to put a figure on the value of this protection gap. Using an average income of ?20,000 and assuming that the value of protection needed ranges between 5 and 10 times income, they put a value on the protection gap at ?2.3 trillion.

But in all probability, whilst the gap is huge, ?2.3 trillion is likely to be somewhat over stated. After all there are people who are disqualified from having life cover due to their age - just over 1 in 5 are under 18 years old, the minimum for life cover, and 1 in 6 are effectively uninsurable as they're over 65. Then there's a raft of persons for whom life insurance is just not necessary. These are people aged between 18 and 65 who do not have dependents...

Life Insurance ? Why Does The UK Have A ?2.3 Trillion Protection Gap?

Insurance > Life Insurance ? Why Does The UK Have A ?2.3 Trillion Protection Gap?

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by: Peter Shannon

Travel insurance is an important but often overlooked part of your vacation. Whether you are traveling to a foreign country or to the next state you should consider travel insurance.

Some of the reasons to have insurance are to cover medical expenses, life insurance for your family, or trip insurance when something goes wrong.

If you have medical coverage, check with your insurer to find out the specifics regarding your planned destination.

You can buy medical coverage for the duration of your trip or for longer periods. Some travel insurance policies cover multiple trips of specific duration. Some will cover you for travel up to a year.

Planning a skiing or mountain climbing vacation? You may want to consider evacuation insurance. If you need to be rescued it is quite possible that the you will end up with a hefty bill to pay for the service.

If you are going on a cruise,...

Vacation Travel Insurance Tips

Insurance > Vacation Travel Insurance Tips

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5 Considerations To Computing Your Car Insurance Premiums

by: Justin Koh

Have you ever wonder why car insurance costs vary from one car insurance company to the other? This is due to the different type of computation factors that car insurance companies use to derive the car insurance cost. Based on the answers that you replied to the car insurance company, they will add or discount the cost before arriving at a final price for your car insurance. Thus, it is important for you to shop around first before you commit yourself to a particular car insurance company as different companies take a different view of the various high risk factors. We will look at some of the factors that car insurance companies take into considerations.

1. Having a clean driving record.

Without a doubt, car insurance cost would increase if you have been convicted of a driving conviction. Thus, it pays to be a safe driver so that unnecessary costs won't be incurred.

2. Adding...

5 Considerations To Computing Your Car Insurance Premiums

Insurance > 5 Considerations To Computing Your Car Insurance Premiums

Vacation Travel Insurance Tips

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by: Peter Shannon

Travel insurance is an important but often overlooked part of your vacation. Whether you are traveling to a foreign country or to the next state you should consider travel insurance.

Some of the reasons to have insurance are to cover medical expenses, life insurance for your family, or trip insurance when something goes wrong.

If you have medical coverage, check with your insurer to find out the specifics regarding your planned destination.

If you are going on a cruise,...

Vacation Travel Insurance Tips

Insurance > Vacation Travel Insurance Tips

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Many factors influence the premium for your Motor insurance policy. Your insurer will have asked you many questions whilst producing your quote - some of which will affect your premium and some will not. Below we discuss the key variables that are within the policyholder's control.

Consolidating policies

By insuring a number of vehicles with the same insurer, or by trying to take out home and life insurance through your car insurer, you may be able to secure a ?bulk buy? discount.

Location

A big influence on the cost of your car insurance is where you live. The chance of your car being broken into or stolen is a key concern for the insurer. More urban areas traditionally facing greater risk of theft and therefore tend to be more expensive than countryside locations.

Excess

By agreeing to pay a greater excess on each claim you can reduce your car...

Car Insurance - How Can You Lower Your Premiums?

Insurance > Car Insurance - How Can You Lower Your Premiums?

Build Your Own Insurance Business with InsureAmerica

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Dallas-based InsureAmerica Management Company has released a new Internet site, www.byoib.com, to aid in recruitment of nationwide health insurance agents. Complete with commission examples, earnings potential breakdowns and an income potential calculator, interested health insurance agents can get a good look at the opportunity InsureAmerica has to offer.

The new website is part of the company?s aggressive growth and expansion plan to further extend its national reach.

?We know we have a business opportunity and a system that health insurance agents and agency owners can be successful with. We just needed an avenue to express this,? states Dan Roberts, Vice President, Sales and Marketing. ?The days of simple newspaper ads are a thing of the past. People want more information and want to know what you can do for them. This...

Build Your Own Insurance Business with InsureAmerica

Insurance > Build Your Own Insurance Business with InsureAmerica