Auto Insurance: What Happens After an Accident?

No matter how safe a driver you may be, accidents are bound to occur at any time. for this reason, it is best to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of your insurance.

Call for Medical Assistance

This is an accident and there are chances that someone is hurt, no matter the degree of injury. The first logical thing to do is to call for medical assistance of there is need for it.

Exchange Insurance Information

The first information you should share should be your policy number and insurer’s phone number. Ask the other driver to provide same as you would need such information when filing your claim. Then move on to ask for names, phone numbers, addresses, etc. While doing this, take a detailed note of how things are on the scene. If you have to take pictures or record a video, then do it. To ensure you do not forget anything, make a list of everything.

Contact Your Insurer

This phase is very crucial as it gets your insurance company involved. Sincethey will be bearing the risk, it is advisable to get them involved as quickly as possible. This is the first step to a series of steps to getting your car repaired. Just make sure you provide them with all the necessary information they would need. 

Collision vs Comprehensive Auto Insurance Policy

These policies are usually the main reason most people opt to buy auto insurance. If we are to be honest with ourselves, we will agree that accidents are almost inevitable. So you are a very careful driver and you do your best to obey all the road rules and regulations. This in no way stops other law breaking drivers from colliding with you. As a matter of fact, as long as you are on the road, you are susceptible to getting hit.

This is what the collision policy in an auto insurance hopes to cover you from. This policy will cover all the repairs or replacement cost for your car after an accident. This policy usually has a maximum coverage limit. To be on the safe side, ask the right questions just before you purchase this policy. This policy usually results in high premium rates but you could raise your deductible to help lower it down.

A comprehensive policy on the other hand takes care of all damage or loss cost on your car outside an accident. In other words, if your car gets destroyed or damaged by arson or gets broken into or gets stolen, this part of the policy gets you covered. Just like the collision policy, this has a way of increasing your premium. There are several ways and tips to follow to help lower your premium, even with this policy in place.

The Relationship between Homeowners Insurance and Inflation

Homeowners insurance is a necessity of you have a home. It keeps you at peace knowing your property is covered in case of a damage or loss. One of the first things to know before buying this policy is the value of your home. This information is vital to determining whether you would have problems getting repairs for the actual value of the home.

With each passing year inflation rates either increases or decreases. However, generally inflation can be said to increase steadily over the course of years. This means the value of your home as at when you bought the insurance policy may have increased after several years. Here's a good example of this relationship.

Roshan Mark had always had the dream of owning his home. That dream became a reality when he paid off his mortgage on the property five years ago. He had done the necessary appraisal and got a good deal for a homeowners insurance policy. Few years after that, the economy wasn't as favorable as it had once been. While this didn’t seem to affect him directly, summer of last year, his home was engulfed with fire.

He was lucky his insurer has an inflation guard to keep his home properly covered. Unlike Roshan, most people are not so lucky. Ensure you speak with your insurance agent on this during every policy review.

Can Filing a Claim Affect Your Rate?

Owning insurance is a beautiful thing but it is one we do not hope to ever use. As reassuring as it may seem to have a company stand by you through a damage or loss, it just isn’t something we are ready to undertake. In case of damage or a loss, the first things you will be expected to do is to report to your insurer and possibly file a claim.

The strange thing about this is that filing a claim could affect your premium rate in the future. For example, you had to repair some damages in your home and your insurer came through for you. Your insurer would somehow increase your premium depending on the type of claim or your location.

The reason for this is because insurance companies would consider you a risk once you file a claim. If the claim you filed was for a damage or loss which is common, the chances for further repairs is quite high. The company understands you may need further repairs and would inadvertently increase the premium. This in no way discourages you from filing a claim. You just have to evaluate your choices to see if it would be in your best interest to file that particular claim.

Buying Cyber Insurance: Choose Your Vendors

Cyber insurance is a more recent type of insurance but has grown to prominence in the past decade. The reason for this is not far-fetched with the ever increasing cyber-attacks all over the world. It has become expedient for businesses, irrespective of the scale, to buy cyber insurance. While buying cyber insurance, there are quite a number of tips you may want to consider – especially if it your first time.

In today’s post, we will be looking at the importance of selecting your own vendors and legal counsel. Most people just opt for and buy cyber insurance without really knowing the fundamentals of the policy. You should always ensure before purchasing the policy, you let the insurer know you would be picking your vendors and legal team.

If and when you suffer a data breach, the standard cyber insurance policy allows the insurer to provide the vendors and legal team. What this means is that third-party services would be hired to rectify or restore the damage. Sometimes you are responsible for the cost of these third party services. To avoid such misunderstandings, it is best to include it from the onset that you would be using your chosen vendors and legal counsel if you have them already.

Stages of Information Gathering in Life Insurance

Buying life insurance is one of the smartest decisions you will make in your life. As remarkable as this may seem, some people often complain that the underwriting period is just too long to wait. In this article we will be looking at the stages to get an underwriting. On average, it takes about 4 to 8 weeks to finish this process. Here's a closer look at what the stages entails.

Week 1 to 2

This is the stage that focuses on completing the medical examination. For some people it could take a couple of days, while it could take up to a week for others.

Application Processing

This usually takes about a week. During this period, the insurancecompany will review your application to see if you are eligible for their policy. If you meet the requirements, you will be expected to proceed to the medical examination stage.

Medical examination

This stage takes between 2 weeks to a month. In this stage the insurance company will obtain your medical examination records and review them.

Application Review and Decision

At this stage the insurance company would have gathered all necessary information about you. With these information, they will be able to rate you into the premium package you belong. This is why premium rates tend to differ from one individual to another. The higher the level of perceived risk to the insurer, the higher the premium will be.

A Common Gap in Homeowner Insurance

There is nothing as appealing and successful as owning a home. It comes with a lot of perks which we all can agree can be amazing. Getting homeowner insurance on the property is another major milestone anyone can achieved. Have you ever considered the possibility of having gaps in your policy? As strange as this may seem, there are many people who have these gaps in their policies and may end up finding it when it is a little too late.

One of the most common gaps is that caused from undervaluation of the home. What usually causes this is when proper evaluation of the property is not done or modifications were made that were not taken into consideration. Before getting your homeowner insurance policy, you may need to get an appraisal for your home. As a matter of fact, you should hire a contractor to come estimate the amount it would cost to repair or replace your home. This will go a long way to know what amount to expect as payout from your insurer.

As you live in your home, chances are in few months to years, you may want to make adjustments or modifications to your home. When these modifications are made, it is best you go for a policy review with your insurer. This ensures that you have your home properly covered in case of any damage or replacement needs. 

Common Questions Asked on Business Insurance

Starting a business is one thing but getting it the right coverage and protection is a whole different thing entirely. For this reason, business owners spend time and money in getting the best policy and insurer for their business. Below are some of the common questions asked by these business owners.

How much coverage does my business need?

If there is one thing insurance policies have, it has to be an almost endless stream of additional premium packages. While these packages are designed to give maximum coverage to the business, you can easily fall prey to getting over insured. Consult with an insurance expert to know the exact amount of coverage you need.

How much can I afford to pay at premium?

This question often goes hand-in-hand with the previous question. Usually businesses set a budget for expenses and it's good to have a defined amount the business is willing to spend on premiums. You alone know the financial strength of the business and to what extent you can pay.

Do you need special packages?

Every insurance policy has a defined standard coverage. These standard coverage provide a limited amount of coverage. Depending on the type and nature of the business, you may find these limitations somewhat frustrating. Insurers always provide optional packages for upgrades on policies. These often come as special packages and are designed to block most of these loopholes or limitations.

Why You Need Insurance Experts

One of the main mistakes people often make when getting insurance is assuming they know what it takes and entails. This has cost them a whole lot in the end. The painful part of it all is that you only get to know of your mistake when you need the insurance the most. For this reason, working with an insurance expert is one of the best decisions you will ever take.

Helps Understands Your Needs

This may seem a bit exaggerated, especially because we all believe no one should know our needs more than us. For this reason, we have individuals who either have to much insurance or are under insured.

Choose Cost Effective Policies

These insurance professionals are quite knowledgeable about the cost of policies. This is because they are in the industry and know what competing companies are offering. An insurance broker usually works for more than one insurance company and can tell which company is offering the best premium rates.

Provide Answers to Questions

If this is your first insurance or you are looking to buy a new insurance policy, there are several questions you would love to ask. These questions will help you get the basic idea behind the policy. There is no better person to ask than an insurance expert.

Help with Policies Annual Reviews

Many people do not realize that some policies are subject to reviews annually. Usually when the reviews favor the insurer, you can be rest assured that you will be notified. If the review will reduce your premium or offer you some form of discount, only professional insurance companies will notify you. For this reason, ti is best to always have an annual review with an insurance expert. 

Cyber Threats Takes a Whole New Level

While this is the best age to be alive in and definitely be doing business, it also is the age of greatest vulnerability. In times pasts, business owners had to worry about physically protecting their business from theft. These days, we hear of cyber threats and cyber security. If you are still in doubt on whether your business needs cyber insurance, you should take a closer look at what is happening in the world today.

Few weeks ago, the world was awoken to the suspected Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee. This doesn’t even take into account the hack of Ukraine’s power plant or the recent email hack of US Democratic candidate, Hilary Clinton. If there is one thing all of the above mentioned reports have in common, is the fact that each one of them had the resources at their disposal to provide their information. Yet, they still fall prey to the menace of cyber threats.

This in no way means you have to rest on your oars of give up entirely since you do not have the resources for your growing business. This is actually a wake up call on why you should take a cyber-insurance policy for your business. Over the years, businesses and governments have come to realize that cyber insurance is the only viable solution to this menace. They are willing to bear the burden and help get your business right back on its feet.

Looking for a Cyber Insurance Company for Your Business

Cyber insurance has become one of the most discussed insurance policies in the business circles. This is as a result of the ever growing cyber threat experienced all over the world. Any business is a target and can be exposed at any moment if appropriate steps are not taking. To get the best cyber insurance company, you have to active take some steps. Here are just a few to start with:

Talk with Friends and Family

Usually this is where everybody should start. Even if you are not close to family or not readily available family member to ask, there has to be a friend or colleague. This makes the referral a little bit closer to home. If someone has a great experience with their insurance company, then they should be able to recommend it. If on the other hand they don’t like the services offered by their insurance company, then that is one company less to deal with or consider.

Create a Detailed List

Consider this as a research or survey and ensure you take down notes and make a list. If possible, include side notes on each company. This will help you know which companies should be on the top pick. Cyber insurance is too important to be gotten in a hurry. Take time out to grade each and every one of these companies.

Select a Company

The purpose of making a list is to properly evaluate the companies and see which meets your requirements. There are certain factors you would need to consider and with them, use to select and eliminate your listed companies.

Auto Insurance: Dealing with Driving Distractions

More often than not, auto crash or collisions can be fatal or severe. Yet, many of us still get carried away when we are behind the wheels. One would expect that with all the awareness of the dangers of allowing distractions while driving, we would have fewer accidents on the road. Here are some common distractions many drivers have to deal with while driving.

Cellphones

In today's world, this is the most common distraction for drivers. There are laws against it but this is one law we mostly enjoy breaking. Texting or talking on the phone when driving distracts us from looking ahead. Many people think they are gifted with the power of multitasking and usually discover too late that they aren't.

Makeup Sessions

This is mostly common for the ladies. No one asked you to leave home late or wake up early or engaged yourself in activities that made you think your car is your alternative beauty salon. All makeup or hair adjustment takes your eyes off the road, no matter how quick you think you may be. Accidents usually occur quickly too, just so you know!

Eating

This is yet another distraction we are all guilty of. If you haven't eaten in your car while you drive, then you probably haven't been driving for long or you don't drive regularly. Eating also creates distractions for you when you drive.

Adjusting Car Gadgets

There's no need limiting it to just the radio as there are many things that can need adjustments in the car these days. GPS and smoking materials are just but a few of those. You have to agree that it reduces your concentration when you attend to these things.

Do You Really Need auto Insurance?

John was like every young man who just got married and tried to live life to the full. He had bought a Dodge Dart and loves to take the car for a spin. He has always had a thing for fast cars and the Dodge Dart just gives him just about the kind of speed he desires. Just like every weekday afternoon, he parked the car just outside his restaurant. He came out at noon only to discover his car was nowhere to be found. Obviously he was distraught but not to the extent to forget to contact the police and insurer.

In no distant time, the police arrived and he requested for the officer’s name and contact information, as well as a formal documentation of the incident. The insurer called John back and scheduled a meeting for him and an adjuster. The adjusted arrived the same day and also made analysis of the event and made his report. Since john was smart enough to collect the officer’s contact information, he handed them over to the adjuster.

John had provided credible evidence that his car was indeed stolen. The adjuster worked with the police on the possible recovery of the stolen car. Furthermore, the adjuster ensured john was kept in the loop on what was going on. After about 4 weeks, the insurance company paid for the filed claim and gave john money to buy another car.

How to Avoid Complications with Your Cyber Insurance Policy

Insurance on its own can be confusing if you don't have any background knowledge about it. Cyber insurance on the other hand is even more confusing to many, especially because it's a new type of insurance. So you would need all the help you can when dealing with it. We want to render our little help with these few tips.

Work with Your Cyber Security Team

You may be the owner of the business but if the business is not about cyber security, chances are you have no idea what this is all about. If you have a cyber-security team, they should be at the forefront in helping evaluate what you want your policy to cover. They know best and know what aspect of insurance protection your business really needs.

Have a Good Cyber Security Measure in Place

The best way to explain this will be using a more familiar insurance policy. A driver with good driver records will be more enticing to any insurance company than one without. So if you already have an excellent cyber security measure in place, your business is more appealing to cyber insurance companies. This benefits you in the sense that your premium could be reduced for this reason.

Deductibles and Exclusions

Like any other insurance policy out there, deductible is a blessing in disguise. You can lower your premium by increasing your deductible. If your business has got a good financial strength, you should consider raising your deductible. Policies always have exclusions and cyber insurance is no exception. Know all the exclusions in the policy your insurer is offering.

General Business Liability Insurance: How to Determine Your Coverage Need

Undoubtedly, having general business liability insurance is an excellent choice. Before you go about buying the policy, you should be able to determine how much coverage you would need. This is done to prevent getting under-insured or over-insured. In this post, we will be looking at two main things you should consider to help you determine the amount of coverage you need.

Type of Business

Since this policy is covering damages caused to third parties by you or your employees, then it would be associated with the perceived risk of your business. The type of business you are operating will go a long way in determining what amount of coverage you will need. For instance, if your business is in construction or manufacturing industry, then your perceived risk will be high than a web-based business.

Location of the Business

This too has a lot to do with how much coverage you will need. If we should consider state and city, then you should know that some States offer different policies on business perceived risks. If we are to examine location in terms of the environment where your business is situated, then there are higher perceived risks in some areas than others. If your business is located in a well secured environment, risk caused by your business to third parties will be lower than one situated in a high risk environment.

If after dutiful consideration of these factors and your business has a low risk to third parties, then you should consider getting a Business Owner Policy instead. Although it has its limits but because your perceived risk level is low, the limit should be able to cover it. Besides, it will allow your business save up on annual premium charges.

How to check for Insurance Company’s Track Record

One of the things you would need to do when looking to buy an insurance policy is checking the company’s track records and strength. To do this, you would have to consider using one or a combination of these steps:

Ask Family and Friends

The first ‘informal’ step to take is to discuss it with family and friends with same insurance policy. It is best you ask relations that have the same kind of policy you are seeking to get. These are people you are comfortable around and should feel free in asking any question. Seek to know the ease of paying a claim and the company’s payment policy. If one of them have filed for a claim in the past, that is even a better way to assess the company.

Ask Your State Insurance Department

The insurance industry is well regulated in most countries in the world. So it is easy to have the same standard or policy binding on insurers in a country. Walk into your state insurance department to inquire about the track records and strengths of the company. They are usually formally equipped with the type of information you want to have.

Check Customer’s Satisfaction

Like it was earlier stated, if you have a family and friend that has filed a claim before with the company, it helps give a better assess on how the company handles claim payments. If you don’t have this, look it for customer satisfaction surveys or contact customers to ask questions. Only do this, if their contact information is readily available.

Things to Consider Before You Buy Your First Life Insurance

Life insurance is one of the most important insurance policies anyone can buy. The benefits are too many, especially if you have dependents. Deciding to purchase a life insurance policy is just the first step. You have to actively ensure you are getting the best. This is one policy you don't want to leave for a mediocre.

Why Do You Need It?

Undoubtedly, life insurance is very useful to anyone with dependents. Before you purchase the policy, you should have a good, personal reason why you need it. You shouldn't just settle for it because everyone is doing it. Do you have mortgage you would not want to burden your love ones? Truly ask yourself what exactly you hope to achieve with the life insurance.

How Much Coverage Do You Really Need?

What you are going to determine is what is called a death benefit in the insurance circle. This is the amount of money your dependents will get when you pass away. This is not some random estimate. There's usually an online tool you could use or just visit a professional life insurance experts - like those in Greater National Group.

What Type of Life Insurance Do You Want?

There are basically two types of life insurance policy - Term and Permanent insurance policy. Get to know what each of them entails and the benefits and premium offered for both. Learn insurance terminologies as well to ensure you understand the basics of insurance.

The Experience Level of the Insurance Company

This is your first time purchasing life insurance. This means you don't have the luxury to settle for a half-baked insurer. Take time out to research the company's experience and reputation. They should have paid client's death benefits without much hassle.