insurance

Insurance

What you need and what you don’t are two common doubts that make the possessions insurance more complicated and confusing. But if you are searching for information about it to choose wisely, here we bring you the most important things you need to know about homeowner’s insurance.

Most people are concerned by their possessions, that’s why there are sorts of insurance that covers that.

About possessions insurance

A home is probably the biggest investment that most of us make, so when we talk about possessions, the homeowner’s insurance is one of the most important for consumers.

If you want to buy insurance for your house you should not to skimp. Try to pay a bit extra to get replacement coverage. With this the insurer will replace your home no matter how much it costs, and if you already specify a certain amount of coverage, you just need to pay the difference.

Which items the homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover

It’s important to understand that there are some items in your house that the homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover. For example the pricey items such as antiques, collectibles, big-screen televisions, jewelry could be excluded from policies or are inadequately covered.

If you want to protect your pricey items you need to search for riders that specifically cover those kinds of things.

House damages

Last, you need to consider that the homeowner’s insurance does not cover any house damage caused by natural disasters, and that includes the flood damage. The best thing you can do about it is going to the municipal office and check if your house has a flood plain.

Flood insurance system

You also can contact the National Flood Insurance system to know about the flood policies offered by some private insurers. Similarly, you should search for earthquake insurance, especially if you live in a seismic area that might be hit by a quake.

Protection for Small Business

by Ryan Kendall

Many people, who start their own small business, put their everything in it. They take all the pains of getting finances, getting permits from the government, setting up the physical infrastructure and hiring efficient human resources. It is not easy to be an entrepreneur because even after doing all of the above, problems never end. A small business is vulnerable to a lot of threats which may destroy the company.

A small business is vulnerable to a lot of threats which may destroy the company.

These threats can be financial, technological or even a threat to the reputation of your company can wreak havoc on your business. It is always better to be prepared so that damage is reduced to the minimum. Protection for small businesses should be done in a manner similar to taking care of your child. We give you certain tips on how to protect your business:

Protection from financial threats- Financial threats can range from getting entangled in an expensive lawsuit, losing money on the account of a fraud, or losing your infrastructure in a natural disaster or a catastrophe. First and foremost, insure your business, be sure of having enough liability insurance and insist on having additional coverage. Talk to your insurance agent as to, what can be in case of a natural disaster. Have a ‘crisis plan’ ready and make sure all your employees know what to do in case a hurricane or an earthquake strikes.

Hire your employees with utmost care, especially the ones who are going to have access to the finances of the company. Do proper background checks and audit your finances yourself, at least quarterly. Do not get involved in lawsuits resulting from conflicts of interest or by engaging in unscrupulous behaviour.
Protection from Technological threats- For protection of small business from technological threats, it has become pertinent to have proper security measures so that your business does not become a victim of cyber-crime. Most hackers attack small companies because their computer systems are less complicated than huge multinationals. Keep all your data protected by installing a firewall for your network and having superior antivirus software on your systems. Get an IT expert to perform risk assessment of your business and file for Intellectual Property protection with the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office.
Have a clean Public Image- If a firm has good reputation among the public, then that company will only flourish. In today’s world which always remains connected through the social media, losing your reputation would mean losing everything. Use the social media platforms to reach out to the public. Hire a PR professional, who will help you in having a clean public image.

Image credit: lloydparry.com

Remove Mortgage Insurance

by Ryan Kendall

Mortgage insurance is a dreaded term for all those people who want to buy their dream house. Most people take home loans, and those of who are unable to put 20% value of the house as down payment while taking the loan, are required to have a mortgage insurance. Also known as Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), the payments for this insurance is made by the consumer to benefit the lender, so as to ensure that in case the consumer is unable to pay the loan in the long run, they can get their initial amount through the PMI.

Mortgage insurance is a dreaded term for all those people who want to buy their dream house.

This is a profitable proposition for the mortgage market as the mortgage insurance has additional premiums as compared to a normal mortgage deal. The cost of mortgage insurance payments makes the homeownership cost a lot more than without it. The benefit is solely received by the loan giver.

Now, if you want reduce mortgage insurance,(which you would definitely want to reduce) , we give you some suggestions which can help you out.
• First and foremost, try to give a good amount in the down payment. Mortgage insurance is only required if you give less than or 20% of the cost of amount of your home as down payment. If you can give more, do it, for you will be saved from paying the premiums towards mortgage insurance.
• You can get rid of the PMI also by paying the original balance of the loan, below 78% of the total value. Once the 20% of the value of the loan has been paid off, you can ask to remove the PMI.
• Another great way to reduce mortgage insurance is to get your home reappraised. If you bought your home when the market was down or you have upgraded the value of your house , then you can to get your home reappraised. If the value is more than 20%, you are lucky!
• If you have taken a loan with high interest rates and PMI, then you can refinance your loan, which will help reduce the interest rate and even in the elimination of the PMI.
• You can also opt for lender paid mortgage insurance. In this case, your PMI will be waived off on the condition that the interest rates remain high during the life span of the loan. The advantage of this option is that you will get higher tax deductions than what mortgage insurance would have given you.

Image credit: mortgagesbywms.com

Private Mortgage Insurance

by Ryan Kendall

What is Private Mortgage Insurance?

Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI protects the lender, for example the bank, if one stops making payments on the loan. Lenders may require one to purchase PMI if the down payment is less than 20 percent of the sales price or the appraised value of the home. PMIs are usually added to the monthly mortgage payment. One may be able to cancel the Private Mortgage Insurance after a few years based on certain criteria, such as paying down the loan balance on certain amount. Borrowers pay their PMI monthly until they have accumulated enough equity in the hone that the lender no longer considers them high risk.

Borrowers pay their PMI monthly until they have accumulated enough equity in the hone that the lender no longer considers them high risk.

Why should one avoid paying PMI?

PMI seems like a great way to buy house without having to save up the cash for down payment. But here are a few reasons why the borrowers must avoid PMI:

The Cost: PMI usually costs 0.5% to 1% of the entire loan amount. The PMI itself turns out to be a hefty amount in the end, and may lead to spending a lot more than initially intended.

Get nothing in the future: There is a myth that the children of the homeowners taking the insurance will get some of the money as insurance if they die, while this is not true. If you want to protect your children and provide them with money for living expenses upon your death, then you may have to look at other options and obtain a separate policy.

Payment goes on and on: Some lenders require the homeowner to maintain a PMI contract for a designated period of time. Checking with the lender and reading the fine print of a PMI contract for more specifics may be helpful.

How can you avoid paying private mortgage insurance?

A popular option in the past was 80-10-10 or the piggyback mortgage, which used a combination of a second mortgage or home equity loan and the down payment to reduce the loan to value ratio of the primary mortgage. One way to remove the PMI is when the loan is near the threshold value. PMI will be automatically removed by the lender at this time.

Image credit: michaeltanaka.ca

Long-term Care Insurance

by Kylee Sanders

Long-term care is when a person needs help with daily living activities; this can be as a result of illness or accident. To have the funds to be looked after at home is often why a long-term care insurance policy is taken out. Not everyone has family to assist or maybe not wanting to be a burden on family is the motivating factor. Life savings can become quickly depleted when required for long term care use.

Long term care is when a person needs help with daily living activities; this can be as a result of illness or accident. To have the funds to be looked after at home is often why a long- term care insurance policy is taken out.

Isn’t Medicaid the same? No, whilst this provides benefits deemed medically necessary they do not cover long term care in the home or in assisted living. As long term care can become a factor at any stage of life it has been found more people want to remain in their own homes.

Long-term care insurance can be tax qualified or non tax qualified.

Tax qualified – These are the more popular type of policy taken and they require that the person expects to need care for at least 90 days and they are unable to do at least two daily living activities. A Doctors plan of care is essential to qualify for this insurance and the benefits are non taxable. By law the is a dictate on when benefits can be received.
Non tax qualified – Does not have the 90 day or the minimum daily living restriction. There are no caps or limitation on benefits

As with any insurance policy you need to shop around, there are less non tax qualified policies around but they are certainly worth considering. A number of factors influence the rates of the insurance:-

The person’s age.
The daily or monthly benefit.
How long the benefits will be paid.
The elimination period.
Inflation protection.
Health rating

Companies offer a range of additional cover with their polices, for spouses/partners and families, along with a variety of payment methods. It is suggested that no more than 7% of your income should be spent on this type of insurance, if you are going to receive Medicaid or have limited assets, or receive social security payments then it is not advised to purchase this form of insurance. The younger you take out this insurance the lower the premiums but it still a financial commitment that you need to take advice on and look around at what the various companies offer before making your choice.

Image credit: ltctree.com