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Allstate Offers Steps for Filing Flood Claims

Posted in Allstate , Home Insurance

May 10th, 2010
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Allstate Insurance has recently released steps to take when filing flood insurance claims. With the recent extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, this is a good time to get up to speed with what happens if you need to make a flood insurance claim.

Why Flood Insurance Is Important

While many homeowners and renters don’t purchase flood insurance unless they’re required to by FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), it can be a financial life saver if your home is taken over by flood waters. The damage and repair costs can easily reach into the thousands and if you don’t have the money to pay out of pocket, you could quickly find yourself in an overwhelmingly difficult situation.

It’s for this reason that Allstate Insurance is recommending that you strongly consider purchasing flood insurance. And once you make that purchase, know the proper steps to submit a claim.

Steps for Filing a Claim from Allstate and NFIP

Here are some steps for filing a claim from Allstate Insurance and NFIP:

• Gather relevant policy numbers. Make sure that you have all of your policy information ready so that your insurer knows what property to make a claim for.
• Call your agent or company: Contact your insurer to let them know that you will specifically need to file a National Flood Insurance Program claim.
• Set up appointment for adjustor visit: Set up a time to have an adjustor visit your home so that you can plan accordingly.
• Give correct contact info: Make sure your agent knows how to contact you if you’ve been displaced from your home.
• Take pictures of the damage: You’ll need tons of pictures of the damage to your home, as well as swatch or sample of damaged items if local officials require disposal.
• Separate damaged items: Damaged goods should be separated from undamaged items, preferably from outside the home.
• Notify creditors: If your bills or lost or you’re unable to pay, make sure to contact your creditors immediately.
• Call your utility company: If your home is uninhabitable or destroyed, contact your utility company and ask them to stop billing.
• Inventory your home: Make sure to make a list of lost items so that when the adjustor arrives, you’ll be able to speed up the claim process.

Following these steps can speed up your claim flood insurance filing process, no matter what insurance company you work with. So take time to review the steps in the event that you’re home is hit with damaging flood waters.

May is National Youth Traffic Safety Month: Safe Driving Tips for Teens and Parents

Posted in Auto Insurance

May 10th, 2010
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CURE Auto Insurance is offering safe driving tips for parents and teens in honor of National Youth Traffic Safety Month. As you know, safe driving is not only important for everyone’s safety on the road, it is a determining factor in how much you’re charged for your auto insurance.

Because safety is king, CURE Auto Insurance is providing great tips to consider before you or your teen hits the road again.

Safe Driving Tips for Teens

Here is a short list of safe driving tips offered by CURE Auto Insurance:

1. Put your phone away: Because texting and driving is a serious cause of fatal accidents, CURE recommends putting the phone away until you reach your destination.  If you simply must send the text right away, either pull over to the side of the road or ask a passenger in your car to do the texting for you.
2. Don’t allow too many friends in your car: Another tip that could help lower auto insurance rates and injury rates is only allowing two friends in the car at a time. This helps to reduce the incidences of distracted driving.
3. Don’t drink and drive: Teenagers have a bad reputation for drinking and driving, especially on prom and graduation night. To avoid obvious problems, don’t drink and drive … ever.
4. Wear your seat belt: Another obvious safety tip, but one that needs to be mentioned regularly, is to wear your seat belt at all times to reduce the impact of a crash.
5. Know your car: It’s important to learn how to properly care for your car. This includes checking your oil and making sure your wiper blades work. This could reduce your chances of causing an accident in your car.

Safe Driving Tips for Parents

As an adult, it’s important that you provide the right example for your kids by driving safely and keeping your auto insurance in good standing. Here are some tips offered by CURE to do just that:

• Let your teens practice: During the time that your teen has his or her permit, it’s important to allow them to practice under your supervision as much as possible to offer guidance and encourage them to drive safely.
• Know your teen: It’s important to recognize if your teen is not emotionally mature enough to drive yet. If this is the case, stick to your guns and wait until the time is right to ensure everyone’s safety.
• Be patient with your teen: Just as you had to learn at your own pace, your teens will need time to wire their brains for driving. So allow them to make mistakes but also encourage them and know they will improve with time and practice.
• Set guidelines: Create guidelines for your teen to make sure that they not only know how to drive responsibly, but want to.
• Lead by example: If you follow the rules of the road, your teen is likely to do the same. So lead by good example and be surprised by how well your teen will do!

With all of the technology making it easier than ever to be distracted, it’s important that you enforce how important it is to drive safely at all times. This way, you don’t have to worry about your child’s safety when you’re not around, or your auto insurance rates increasing unexpectedly.

Life Insurers Recovered Capital Lost During Financial Crisis

Posted in Life Insurance , Life Insurance Companies

May 8th, 2010
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A new report from SNL Financial reveals that U.S. life insurers have been able to recover all of the capital and surplus lost amid the global financial crisis over the course of 2009. The 2009 statutory financial results for top-tier life insurance companies and life groups from the Charlottesville, Va. company show that while the companies had their ups and downs, overall they had a good year.

Stats from SNL

According to the report, the life insurance industry’s net income was the single-largest factor in 2009 improvement. The industry as a whole recorded a $21.1 billion profit as compared to a 2008 loss of $51.8 billion.

Another interesting changing was that policyholders’ surplus for 96.8 percent of the top-tier U.S. life insurance companies and/or groups covered by SNL totaled $289.7 billion by last year’s end. This represents a 14.8 percent increase from year ended 2008.

The Financial Crisis Still Has After-Effects

While much looked great for the industry, there was one downside. According to SNL, premiums and annuity considerations saw a sharp 19 percent decline in 2009 and marked the first year-over-year decrease in revenue since 2003.

Additionally, net investment income fell by 3.3 percent from 2008 levels. These drops, according to SNL, show that while much improvement has been made since the financial crisis, the life insurance industry is still suffering from some aftershocks.

Do You Have Life Insurance?

With the life insurance industry bouncing back some, it appears that more people have purchased life insurance policies. Are you one of them? If not, this may be the time to learn the benefits of coverage and determine whether a term or permanent policy is right for you.

Don’t know where to go to find this information? You’ve reached the right place. Visit Go Insurance Rates to learn more about how to find the right policy for you.

Comprehensive Auto Insurance Deductibles Increasing Faster Than Collision

Posted in Auto Insurance , Comprehensive Insurance

May 8th, 2010
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Deductibles for comprehensive auto insurance are rising almost twice as fast as collision deductibles in the United States, according to Mitchell International, an auto insurance market research company. As noted by the company, comprehensive auto insurance deductibles are rising at a pace of 160 percent faster.

Deductibles from 2003 to 2009 Studied

The data that Mitchell used for analysis included auto insurance deductibles from 2003 to 2009 for collision and comprehensive losses. In its analysis, the company found that collision deductibles grew during that period by 10 percent while comprehensive grew by 26 percent.

This data means that a growing number of U.S. consumers are choosing higher comprehensive deductibles as their vehicles age, as opposed to collision deductibles. In other words, vehicle owners are more willing to absorb the financial impact of a potential comprehensive claim, but not so much so with a collision claim.

Why More People Are Increasing Comprehensive Deductibles

One reason that people may be increasing their comprehensive insurance may be due to the fact that it seems collisions are more likely to occur on the road than incidents that spark the more-inclusive comprehensive claim, including hail storms or deer head-butting your car.

Also, according to Mitchell, a lot of people chose to increase their deductibles during the recession to lower their monthly premiums. Since comprehensive coverage tends to cost more than collision, many people opted to increase the highest-costing optional coverage.

Lastly, some people seem to increase their deductibles as their cars age, meaning they’d rather pay a lower premium and take the chance that nothing will happen to their cars as they start to care less about the body damage that could occur.

Do you prefer a higher deductible for your comprehensive or collision coverage?

Unexpected Insurance Coverage

Posted in Home Insurance , Home Insurance Claims

May 7th, 2010
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Not all surprises are pleasant, especially when it comes to what your homeowners insurance may or may not cover. The fact is that we live in an extremely complicated and unpredictable world, where curious situations occur. The good news is that when the inconceivable happens, you may actually be in for some good fortune thanks to your homeowners insurance.

Most homeowner’s policy is based on “open-perils” terms (policies that cover anything but listed exclusions). Unless your contracted insurance policy states otherwise, you may get the perk of financial assistance for some of the most unusual insurance coverage including:

Bizarre Water Damage

Chances are that if a pipe bursts or heavy rains flood your home, you will be at the mercy of the National Flood Insurance program or from any additional flood insurance coverage you may have purchased.

However, if you are “lucky” enough to have water damage due to an aquarium breaking or from a leaky water-bed, you may actually stand a chance of getting a settlement for your losses.

Eyjafjallajökull Effect

The most recent example of damage caused by ash and lava came courtesy of the active volcano in Iceland. If a bluff blows it’s top in your own backyard, your standard homeowner’s policy may actually help you out at no additional charge. The exception is in Hawaii as there is a state volcano insurance plan that homeowners need to buy.

Jumanji Stampede

Fans of the 1995 fantasy film may recall that various animal stampedes that were part of the Jumanji board game. Chances are, no such magic will happen in your home, however if there is a wild animal stampede caused by critters that you do not personally own or keep, you may get a financial break from your insurance provider.

Zathura

The follow up to Jumanji was the space adventure, Zathura. Meteors, comets and space debris all came hurling down from the sky. If this wacky act of God scenario should happen to you, your insurance coverage may help.

Pepe le Pew

Unfortunately, skunks are not as suave and debonair as the famous Warner Brothers character. In reality, the critters discharge a foul scent as a defense mechanism.

If this happens in your home, check with your insurance provider, as they may have to pay to help you out.

Murder, She Wrote

Thousands of people are murdered each year, and generally the crime scenes are messes. If this unfortunate event happens in your home and there is huge damage caused by both the struggle and from bodily fluids, financial relief may be looming around the corner.

Typically home insurance will protect both your dwelling and property from loss that occurs from fire or theft. Only your insurance issuer will know the full range of unusual insurance coverage your standard policy may offer. Luckily, the odds of any of the noteworthy disasters occurring are very slim.

Do you have a tale of your insurer paying out for an unusual claim? If so, please don’t keep it to yourself. Feel free to share your story with the GoInsuranceRates.com community, as we would love to hear from you!

Travel Insurance Basics

Posted in

May 6th, 2010
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Have you been thinking about taking a trip out of town or out of the country and thought you might buy travel insurance before you leave? This is not a bad thing to consider, because any type of emergency could occur on your trip and it’s good to be prepared for the worst financially.

So if you want travel insurance, how do you get your hands on it? And how much does it cost? It’s good to explore these questions and more before diving in and purchasing something that you may or may not need.

What Is Included In Travel Insurance?

Whether you purchase domestic or international travel insurance, the aim is to get you the financial protection you need in the event that something goes wrong on your trip. However, travel insurance is not like standard auto, rental car or health insurance in that it is meant to cover you only during the duration of a trip and maybe even for specific aspects of the trip.

Say for instance you lose your bags that had valuable jewelry. If you insured your trip, you may be able to recover some of the value of your luggage and what was in it. While travel insurance can’t cover all of the bases, it tries to offer a lot of benefits that make travel a little less stressful. Here are some benefits offered by travel insurance companies:

• Medical benefits: One benefit that could be good to take advantage of is medical travel insurance, which pays for doctor visits and illnesses that occur during your trip. The policy would also cover local ambulance service and emergency medical treatment. However, this travel health insurance would not cover physical exams, eyeglasses, hearing aid replacements or mental health care.
• Emergency evacuation: If you need to be evacuated from a remote location on your trip and taken to a foreign hospital, your travel trip insurance would cover your flight home and maybe even a long-term stay at the hospital.
• Trip cancellation: If your trip has to be canceled due to an unforeseen incident and you have already paid for the flight, hotel and car, your coverage could reimburse you for your expenses.
• Trip delay/trip interruption: If your trip is delayed or interrupted then most comprehensive travel insurance will cover the money you lost or pay for the expenses you’re going to incur.
• Accidental death and dismemberment: If you die or are permanently disabled on the trip, your insurance could provide compensation to you or your family.
• Collision/damage for rental cars: If you didn’t already purchase rental car insurance or can’t use yours because you are overseas, travel insurance may cover the physical damage or loss of a vehicle.
• Flight accidental death: This coverage acts as a life insurance policy and pays your beneficiary a lump sum benefit if you die in a flight accident or crash.

How Do You Acquire Travel Insurance?

There are a number of places to acquire domestic or travel insurance international right over the Internet. One of the most popular travel insurance destinations is Travel Guard. However, to make sure that you’re getting the best travel insurance out there, you want to make sure you shop around.

Some other popular options include Insure My Trip, Access America and USI Affinity. Different companies offer different packages so it’s good to make sure that you check around to see what options are out there.

What’s great about shopping with these companies is that they offer all of their policy details right on their websites, you don’t have to worry about doing a lot of work to determine what’s best for you.

How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?

The standard travel insurance quote will likely vary depending on the coverage you want to purchase and may even depend on your age.

For instance, if you travel as a 32 year old headed to Missouri and plan to spend $1,000 for a one-week trip, you could cancel your trip for any reason, get medical travel insurance, emergency travel insurance, trip interruption/cancellation/delay, baggage delay coverage, emergency evacuation coverage, accidental dismemberment and much more with Travel Guard for only $77. Not bad, right?

As you can see, cheap travel insurance is quite easy to come by. But of course, you have to make sure that you compare travel insurance options before deciding to ensure you get the best deal for you and your family.

Hartford Mobile Launches New iPhone App

Posted in Auto Insurance , Hartford Mutual

May 6th, 2010
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If you’re looking for another application to add to your iPhone, you might consider the new app from auto insurer Hartford Financial Services Group that offers a number of features for auto insurance customers. Found under the name “Hartford Mobile,” this new app provides iPhone users with quick access to emergency phone numbers, checklists and auto insurance claims reporting features.

The Benefits of the iPhone App

According to Hartford, there are a number of great auto insurance benefits that come with this new iPhone app, including:

• Access to an auto accident checklist.
• The ability to collect and exchange driver and accident information, including accident photos.
• An interactive Emergency Kit Checklist.
• Locating an auto repair facility from The Hartford’s national network of approved shops.
• Saving and reviewing your accident history.
• Finding a replacement vehicle – new or used.
• Access to national glass repair service and much more.

Whether you are a The Hartford’s auto insurance customer or not, you are able to take advantage of some of the features that the iPhone app offers. However, there’s no doubt that the company hopes to garner some new customers with this handy new feature.

If you don’t have an iPhone, this doesn’t mean you have to be left out in the cold. There are also great tips and features to help you find affordable auto insurance at Go Insurance Rates.

May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM)

Posted in Life Insurance

May 6th, 2010
1 Comment

Set for Life Insurance, a disability insurance brokerage, is encouraging working professionals to protect their income with individual disability. While many people don’t think consider disability insurance among the top types of life insurance to purchase, it is something to consider as it could help you maintain your lifestyle if you were seriously injured or hospitalized.

Disabilities Can Bring Hardship to Families

Many people don’t think about the hardships that families suffer when a breadwinner is no longer able to offer a stable income. But according to a recent Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) survey, nearly 50 percent of working Americans would not be able to cover their living expenses for one after a disability if they were unable to work.

Another 25 percent of those surveyed said that they would face financial problems immediately.

These staggering stats show that only 25 percent of the population feels comfortable enough with their current savings to manage their expenses for more than a month if they were suddenly disabled. It’s for this reason that considering this specific type of life insurance is something to do sooner than later.

Tips for Disability Insurance Awareness Month

To honor DIAM, Set for Life Insurance has offered some tips to help you get your hands on the right disability insurance:

• Determine the amount of insurance you need: Simply calculate how much income you would need on a monthly basis to cover your expenses.
• Work with an experience broker: Because disability insurance can be complicated, it’s important to work with someone who specializes in this type of insurance.
• Make sure you understand the definition of disability: Different companies may define disability differently and therefore could result in you not getting the coverage you need. So take time to read the policy to make sure that it mentions the most comprehensive definition, “own occupation,” which means that benefits will be paid if you cannot work in your profession. This would make sure you’re covered if you can’t work in your profession but can work in a different one.
• Comparison shop: If you find coverage that looks great on your first try, don’t stop there. By comparison shopping for rates, you increase your chances of find the best coverage at the best price.
• Look for discounts: Because disability life insurance is expensive, you could expect to pay 1-3 percent of your income to protect about 75 percent of your take home pay. Because it can be so costly, it’s a good idea to look for group discounts and other types to help cut the costs some.

Being aware of the options available to you is the first step to protecting your income in the event that you’re disabled. The next step is taking advantage of those options so that you if the day comes, you’ll know your financial well-being will be maintained.

Getting Travel Insurance before a Volcano Erupts is a Good Idea

Posted in

May 5th, 2010
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As you probably know, the volcano that erupted in Iceland set thousands of travelers into a financial tailspin as they sat in airports, waited in hotels or waited at home to find out what would happen with their trips. It definitely placed the “better safe than sorry” concept into perspective. Many lost money on flights, hotel costs, rental cars and more during their unexpected trip extensions.

However if they purchased travel insurance or travel insurance international, they may have fared a bit better because some or all of these losses may have been covered. It’s for this reason that it’s a good idea to consider travel trip insurance before heading out on your next vacation. However, before you do, take a few moments to learn more about it.

What is Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance is a type of policy that you get from private insurance or travel insurance companies before you head out on a vacation. It’s different from rental car insurance, health insurance or any other type of insurance that should follow you on your trip because it actually combines a number of insurance types and typically covers the following:

• Lost bags
• Medical evacuation
• Reimbursement of some costs associated with trip cancellation, including nonrefundable, prepaid travel expenses (hotel, cruise, tour and airfare charges)

Depending on the type of travel insurance you purchase, you could benefit from even more. For instance, if you purchase trip cancellation/interruption coverage, you could be covered for around four to eight percent of your trip’s cost. Also, some insurance policies will offer extras like a daily stipend of up to $250 for hotel or food.

When Your Travel Insurance Comes in the Handiest

Of course, the best travel insurance to purchase is the kind that you purchase before the trip occurs. There is no doubt that those who buy travel insurance before leaving for their trips obviously benefit the most from their coverage.

According to a report from The New York Times, it seems that plenty of people took advantage of this travel insurance before their trips in the area. The report noted that travel experts expect the volcano-related claims to total millions of dollars.

However, plenty of individuals who were set to travel to, from or through Iceland didn’t take advantage of it and unfortunately were rejected by insurance companies after the volcano had erupted.

Do You Always Need Travel Coverage?

While many people may have gone without travel coverage, does this mean that they really needed it?

Those who had to go without some type of national or international travel insurance probably will say that you always need travel coverage. However, there are instances that you can get away without it. If you carry traveler’s checks, you can often be reimbursed for money you lost.

Of course, if you lose your credit cards, you will be reimbursed for as well. You could even purchase travel health insurance to make sure you’re covered outside of the country. But there are some inherent benefits to purchasing travel insurance, which is why it’s recommended that you acquire it, especially if you don’t have backup protections.

However, the key to purchasing it is making sure that it will actually benefit you. When you compare travel insurance, you want to find the right coverage for your trip and make sure that it will pay for what you need since all travel insurance doesn’t pay for the same things.

How to Get Travel Insurance

If you’re interested in purchasing travel insurance, there are a number of companies with which you can get a travel insurance quote. But again, keep in mind that the idea when reviewing options is to see what exactly will be covered and for what incidents.

Whether you work with Travel Guard, Travel Insure or Insure My Trip among the many others out there, you want to explore your options thoroughly. The last thing you want is for your trip to be canceled due to bad weather and only be covered for hotel and rental car reimbursements when you haven’t paid for either yet.

It’s not easy to predict the worst, but by gauging your needs and comparing the coverages out there with the other protection options you may already have, purchasing travel insurance could help you make the best possible choice for your next vacation.

Texas Auto Insurance Claims Increase by 50% Due to Weather

Posted in Auto Insurance , Auto Insurance Claims

May 5th, 2010
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A new report released by Allstate Insurance revealed that auto insurance claims due to bad weather increased by 50 percent in Texas. According to the auto insurer, the largest increases in auto insurance claims from 2008 to 2009 were in the cities of Houston, El Paso and Lubbock.

Auto Insurance Claims Caused by Hail, Wind and Floods

Texas saw its fair share of bad weather in 2009 and that weather resulted in a significant amount of damage for the state. According to Allstate, which is the second largest auto insurance company in the state, much of the damage and resulting auto insurance claims were the cause of hail, wind and floods.

In total, Texas saw $2.45 billion in catastrophic losses in 2009. This is the highest total in the nation and represented 23 percent of the $10.58 billion in catastrophic losses seen nationwide, according to Allstate.

High Insurance Claims Could Increase Insurance Rates

The increase in auto insurance claims could eventually have an adverse effect on auto insurance rates in the area. Because companies like Allstate will find themselves on the hook for billions of dollars in coverage, premiums across the board could increase in the months to come.

Unfortunately, Allstate agent Catalina Palma, who was interviewed by ABC News, doesn’t expect any change to come this year. “We know every year that we’re going to see severe storms packing hail, wind and rain,” she said.

Not great news for auto insurers or customers.