What Is Life Insurance and How Does It Work?

Life insurance may be purchased for many reasons. Insurance is purchased to provide an income for your family when you die. Or, you may purchase a life insurance policy to assist with your children's college education if you live by using a cash value policy.

You may use a life insurance policy to insure your business partner's life so that if he dies, you can buy out his half of the business from his family. Alternatively, you can use cash value life insurance as a way to supplement your retirement income.

During your life, you may accumulate many debts and financial obligations. As a spouse and a parent, you will need life insurance. But, you'll also need to know what it is and how it works before you buy it.

USAA Life Insurance Review: Is it the best choice?

You’re in the military and need to get some life insurance, of course you have heard of USAA but are wondering if you are making the right choice. Well the short answer is Yes, since USAA is a huge insurance company that exclusively serves members of the military. The company has  served its policyholders since 1922 and now boasts over 10.3 million members. USAA also has an incredible rating by A.M. Best which is A++, the top rating a company can get based on their financial strength.

The company is definitely not one you should lose sleep over worrying whether or not they will be going out of business. Like most big companies they do offer a broad range of insurance products. As far as their life insurance products are concerned, they do have a solid variety of options from a term life insurance to permanent life insurance like whole or universal life.  At this point you might be wondering why you have not applied yet and I don’t blame you, but there are a few reasons why you may consider a few other options prior to jumping in.

Savings

Although the company has pretty competitive pricing, there are some other carriers out there that have lower rates. The reason we know this is because being an independent agency we work with over 60 top A rated companies on a daily basis. If savings are important to you then you may want to use our quote engine to compare rates before moving forward with USAA.

Fair Health

What many people with preexisting conditions find out is that the rates they applied for come back higher due to their condition. When applying for life insurance, companies will look into your health and background to determine eligibility. Not all companies have favorable guidelines and USAA is a bit more strict with certain conditions. If this is your case, it’s highly recommended that you apply for coverage with a company that is more lenient with your condition. This will save you money and improve your chances of getting approved for life insurance. Once again the best way to do that is by working with an independent agency.

source : http://www.insurechance.com

10 Tips to Save on Car Insurance

How to get the coverage you need and can afford

 Car insurance is one of the costliest purchases that consumers hope to never use. While it’s always important to buy the right coverage, it costs a lot more to insure a brand-new car than a five-, seven-, or nine-year-old model you are replacing. Here are 10 helpful tips on how to keep your premiums in line without taking on unnecessary risks.

Do an Annual Rate Check

If you’ve been with the same insurer a long time, it might be tough to beat its rates, especially if you haven’t had any claims lately. In fact, a 2014 survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found that only 10 percent of 19,000 ConsumerReports.org subscribers who compared premiums found that they would save money by switching insurers.
It’s easy to compare multiple insur­­ers online, at sites such as Answer Financial, Insure.com, Insweb.com, and NetQuote. You usually won’t get an immediate quote online, but you will get email messages from agents look­ing for your business. Consider forming a relationship with an independent agent, who will check rates for you at a range of carriers.

Pick a Top-Rated Insurer

Saving money isn’t simply a matter of finding the lowest premium. Some insurers have lower premiums, but end up costing you more in the end by lowballing loss estimates, hassling the repair shop to cut corners, and forcing you to pay extra for original-equipment replacement parts. They might even unfairly jack up your premiums after an accident.
We surveyed 64,872 Consumer­Reports.org subscribers who filed a claim between 2011 and 2014. Eighty-eight percent of them were highly satisfied with the handling of their claims. Among the highest-rated groups were USAA, Amica, and NJM, with overall satisfaction scores of 90 or higher.  

Set the Right Deductible

A higher deductible reduces your premium because you pay more out of pocket if you have a claim. Hiking your deductible from $200 to $500 can cut your premium on collision by 15 to 30 percent. Go to $1,000 and you could save 40 percent. If you have a good driving record and haven’t had an at-fault accident in years, if ever, opting for a higher deductible on collision might be a good bet. Just make sure you can afford to pay that cost if your luck runs out. 

Review All of Your Coverage

Your liability coverage pays for bodily injury and property damage that you cause in accidents. Don’t get caught short by reducing your liability limits to the state minimums. Buying more coverage

might seem like an odd way to save, but the benefit comes if you have a costly claim, which can put your life’s savings at risk.
If you have another car that you can use while your vehicle is being repaired, you don’t need to pay for rental-reimbursement coverage. Dump roadside assistance if you have an auto-club membership that’s a better deal, or if it’s part of your new car’s warranty.
Think carefully about personal-injury protection and medical-payments coverage: Forget it if you have good health coverage; keep it if you don’t or if your usual passengers might not be well insured.

Take Advantage of Discounts

Car insurers offer a whole range of modest but worthwhile discounts that are essentially based on a low-risk lifestyle. Here are some to ask your insurer about if they don’t mention them to you first:

• Students with good grades.
• New drivers who have taken a driver-training course.
• Older drivers who have taken a refresher course.
• Any driver who takes a defensive-driving course.
• Members of affinity groups, such as college alumni and certain occupations and professions.
• Anti-theft and safety equipment.

Multiple-Policy Holders

Insurers also offer fairly hefty auto discounts if you also buy your home­owners, renters, or life-insurance policy from them. But be sure you check out total costs both ways: premiums from different insurers compared with single-insurer packages. 

source : http://www.consumerreports.org