Friday, June 8, 2007

Liability Insurance

Often called umbrella liability coverage, this takes effect when the personal liability and lawsuit coverage in other policies is exhausted. The cost for $1 million worth of protection — especially necessary for high-income individuals and those with considerable assets — may be only a few hundred dollars a year.

Homeowner's Insurance

Homeowner's insurance should allow you to rebuild and refurnish your home after a catastrophe and insulate you from lawsuits if someone is injured on your property. Coverage of at least 80% of your home's replacement value, minus the value of land and foundation, is necessary for you to be covered for the cost of repairs. There are several grades of policies, ranging from HO-1 to HO-8, with increasingly comprehensive coverage and cost. Unless you increase coverage, most homeowner's policies cover the contents of the house for 50% to 75% of the amount for which the house is insured. The liability coverage in many homeowner's policies is $300,000.

Homeowner's insurance should provide coverage up to 80% of the cost of replacing your home, minus land and foundation. Homeowners should also have liability coverage, and those with considerable assets may want to purchase liability up to $1 million.

AUTO INSURANCE

Auto insurance protects you from damage to the often considerable investment in a car and/or from liability for damage or injury caused by you or someone driving your vehicle. It can also help cover expenses you or anyone in your car may incur as a result of an accident with an uninsured motorist.
Auto liability coverage is necessary for anyone who owns a car. Many states require you to have liability insurance before a vehicle can be registered. However, state-required minimum coverage often does not provide adequate protection. Suggested minimums are $100,000 for medical expenses per injured person, $300,000 for the total per accident, and $50,000 for property damage. Collision, fire, and theft coverage is also advisable for a vehicle having more than minimal value. You can cut costs, however, by choosing a higher deductible — the amount of loss that must be exceeded before you are compensated.
The cost of auto insurance varies greatly, depending on the company and agent offering it, your choice of coverage and deductible, where you live, the kind of vehicle, and the ages of drivers in the family. Substantial discounts are often available for safe drivers, nonsmokers, and those who commute to work via public transportation.

Forms of insurance people require.

[1]Auto Insurance
[2]Homeowner's Insurance
[3]Liability Insurance
[4]Life Insurance
[5]Disability Income Insurance
[6]Health Insurance
[7]Long-Term Care Insurance

What Are Your Insurance Needs?

The insurance decisions you make should be based on your family, age, and economic situation. There are many forms of insurance and, unfortunately, no one-size-fits-all policy. Life insurance, for example, is a virtual necessity if you have a spouse and children, but perhaps is less important for a single person. Disability insurance, which provides an income stream if you are unable to work, is important for everyone.

The Role of Insurance in Your Financial Plan.

Insurance is an important element of any sound financial plan. Different types of insurance protect you and your loved ones in different ways against the cost of accidents, illness, disability, and death.

what is insurance ?

[1] promise of reimbursement in the case of loss; paid to people or companies so concerned about hazards that they have made prepayments to an insurance company.
policy: written contract or certificate of insurance; "you should have read the small print on your policy"

[2] Insurance is the transferance of risk. you have a risk..ex: you might get sick, you might die, etc. insurance TRANSFERS that risk (or rather the financial hardship created by it) from YOU to the insurance comany for a small monthly premium. So for example you MIGHT get sick and need $300,000 worth of medical services...So knowing you could never afford that, you purchase insurance...transferring the risk to the insurance company in exchange for your monthly premium.

[3]Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of potential financial loss. Ideally, insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a potential loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a reasonable fee.