Insurance Advisor

Archive for August, 2010

Gone are the days when Americans retires with a gold watch, without any worries for the future. Times have changed, and rising inflation and economic recession mean we need to plan for our retirement so that life after retirement goes off smoothly and we do not face any problems, at least financially. At present, only 44% of the Americans plan for retirement. Cathy Weatherford of Insured Retirement Institute feels that though economic conditions are improving, more Americans need to be planning for their retirement.

Choose your retirement date: If you retire before 60, you will live another 30 years and therefore require more money. You will need health insurance as well.

Determine the amount of money you will need: depending upon your living standards and the rate of inflation, you can calculate the amount you will need to sustain yourself for another 30 years. This amount will be influenced by your obligations at that time, such as mortgage repayment, if left, monthly expenses, investments and health insurance.

Increase the social security benefits: if you can wait for a few years, your social security benefits get increased by 75%. So, instead of collecting them straight away after retirement, wait for a few years.

Think about taking annuity: Annuity gives you monthly payments after retirement which helps sustain your lifestyle. Talk to insurance companies and get annuity plan that is best for you.

Take retirement plan from your employer: retirement plans are tax deductible and require little contributions from the employer.

Keep your savings for your retirement: This is important as you will not have to ask for your son’s help after retirement. If you eat into these savings, you lose principal and interest. You may also lose tax benefits.

Diversify your portfolio and make it safer: Keep some of your money in bank which earns you interest, and also invest in safe stocks. This way your risk gets covered and you keep getting attractive returns. You can also opt to invest in index mutual funds.

Take professional advice: if you think you cannot take financial decisions, let a professional investor take decisions on your behalf. Rely on someone you have known for long period of time and do not take online advice.
Time to plan for retirement is now: It’s never too late or early to plan for retirement. Do not take any debts in the period just before retirement.
Put the plan in practice: Keep recording your expenses and investments.
Buy whole family insurance plan: This keeps your expenditure down to a minimum.

Americans have unanimity when it comes to higher health insurance premiums for smokers but they are not sure about how to help those who do not have insurance cover. This was revealed by a recent survey that was published last week. Americans have become very health conscious and do not approve smoking which was a fad about a decade ago.

It came as a surprise, but majority of those surveyed felt that the health cars system in US needs to be revitalized and that the system was in poor shape. Survey sample included more than 1500 people, and 80% believed health care system needs revamping. Survey revealed that 46 million Americans are without health cover, and 60% of those surveyed said that smoking needs to be discouraged by making smokers pay higher premiums. Funny, but 30% said that obese should be penalized by higher premiums.

The survey indicates that there is a growing consensus among people to hold people responsible for their unhealthy behavior. It is interesting to see that the survey was published after democrats assumed majority in both houses of the US congress. Democrats believe that there should be more intervention by the government in the lives of those who are not insured.

With Democrats in power, it is not surprising that the health insurance industry has started to support a plan which envisages universal health insurance for all American citizens. There are about 46 million Americans who are uninsured, which is roughly 16% of the population, and the scenario is really scary, considering the prices of health care in hospitals and drugs has been increasing all the time.

There has been an encouraging trend in the industry, where 20% of the employers have begun to give discounts on health insurance premiums to those who are non smokers. This was stated by Helen Darling, president of the national Business group on Health. This trend is catching on, and there are indications that it will grow faster in the near future with non smokers being encouraged more ands more.
Helen had something interesting to say when she was asked about obesity. She said that the way Americans are becoming health conscious, the day is not far when people will be demanding discount on health insurance premium based upon their BMI, or Body Mass Index. She added that government was doing its bit, now the time has come for the citizens to share responsibility about their unhealthy behavior.

The premium you are required to pay for the insurance of your car depends upon a lot of factors. These are basically risks, and each is considered before arriving at a premium. For different places and different populations, risks are different. So premium calculation is also location specific. We are going to discuss some important factors which decide the premium of your car policy.

1. Age: In general, drivers below the age of 25 years are considered to be at a greater risk than those who are mature in age. Age around 50-60 is taken as the safest as people of this age generally drive the car very slowly.

2. Gender: Earlier it was presumed that women are safe drivers, but now with the increase in number of women drivers, this concept is changing. Also, with increasing traffic, women are no longer taken to be safe.

3. Marital status: Bachelors need to pay more than a married man of their age.

4. Location: Places with little or no traffic pay less premium amount than people who live in places with heavy traffic.

5. Past driving record: If your slate is clean, you pay less than if you have been repeatedly given tickets.

6. Car make: Smaller cars need less cover as compared to big and expensive cars.

7. Credit score: if you have a good rating, you need to shell out less and are considered to be safer than a person with a poor credit score.

8. Vocation: those in dangerous occupations need to pay more than those who live a sedentary life.

9. Education: having a higher degree can save you in your premium. (How is this possible?)

10. Distance covered every year: The more you travel in your car, higher is the premium

11. Commercial use: Using your car for earning makes you liable to pay a higher premium

12. Multiple cars: If you own more than a single car, you ay less.

13. Protective device: if your car is fitted with antitheft devices, you are required to pay less.

You must be wondering as to what you can do to be paying less than what is required. Call agents of different companies and let them quote the premium that you are required to pay. The best idea would be to compare the policies of different companies and choosing that you like.http://www.carinsurance.com is one site where you get comprehensive info about different insurance companies.