Finding the Best Insurance + Free Quotes!

Shopping for insurance involves comparing quotes received from a variety of sources. Any insurance provider should be able to provide the shopper with free insurance quotes. Insurance agents, whether they are found brick-and-mortar offices or online, are accustomed to providing these quotes to potential customers.

When seeking out free insurance quotes for auto insurance, the shopper should be knowledgeable about the different facets of auto insurance policies. Auto insurance policies can cover just liability, or they can also include comprehensive and collision insurance. When purchasing a policy with liability only, the shopper can expect to pay less. However, if an unfortunate event happens to the vehicle, the auto owner will not be reimbursed for the value of the automobile. With comprehensive and collision insurance, the shopper can expect to pay more. The benefit of the additional premiums paid is that the owner will be reimbursed should the automobile be damaged, destroyed, or stolen.

Many states mandate a minimum amount of liability coverage that can be sold. Often, this minimum liability amount is around $25,000. This means that an auto owner is protected for up to $25,000 for any liability incurred in connection with operating their automobile. For example, if a driver collided with another car, the insurance company would reimburse the owner of the damaged car for the actual cash value of his or her vehicle, up to a maximum amount of $25,000. Liability coverage is usually sold in increments of $25,000, and coverage can be purchased up to $500,000. Amounts of $100,000 and $150,000 are commonly carried by car owners. Liability insurance is relatively cheap when compared to comprehensive and collision coverage.

For many car owners, comprehensive and collision insurance is the most important insurance to carry. Many owners could not withstand the financial loss involved with their primary vehicle suddenly being destroyed or damaged. Unfortunately, this coverage is expensive. To make the coverage cheaper, the shopper can ask that the deductible of the policy be raised to a higher amount. First-dollar coverage is the most expensive insurance available. This is where the policy owner pays no out-of-pocket amount in the event his or her car is damaged. Deductibles of $250, $500, and even $1,000 are more common, with the higher deductibles reducing the overall cost of the insurance policy.

When seeking free insurance quotes, the shopper should consider how high of a deductible he or she is willing to consider. Usually, if a shopper has money in the bank, a higher deductible is a better deal. With wealthier shoppers, purchasing substantial insurance makes a lot of sense. For car owners that are not as fortunate, purchase the state's legal minimum may be the best bet. Shoppers can often play with and manipulate the various coverage amounts on online insurance quote websites to see, in real time, the changes to the annual premiums that occur when more or less coverage is selected. At the end of the day, the shopper must determine what coverage fits his or her individual financial situation the best.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6861780

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Top Insurance Degree Universities

What Type of Work Would I Do if I Worked for an Insurance Company?

Many insurance company employees prepare insurance contracts and handle customer service questions. Investigators, examiners and appraisers may personally visit claim sites to determine if claims are legitimate.

If you are looking into the following degrees. . .

- Doctorate
Doctor of Business Administration - Leadership
Ph.D. in Management - General

- Master
MBA - Risk Management
Master of Business Administration - General

- Bachelor
BS in Business Administration - Finance
BS in Business Administration - General

. . .Then check out the following schools:

Walden University
Kaplan University
Colorado Technical University
DeVry University
Strayer University
Baker College (Online)
The University of Liverpool

All the above schools have wonderful programs that will almost ensure you a job right out of college! Earn a great salary, and follow your dreams!

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Get your Insurance Degree Today

Insurance Degree Programs Overview

Insurance degree programs train students for a career in insurance and risk management, life and health insurance or actuarial services. The most common insurance degree programs are bachelor's-level programs. However, there are also associate's, master's and doctoral degree programs available. This article includes examples of each program.

Associate's Degree in Life and Health Insurance

An associate's degree in life and health insurance provides students with the knowledge to administer insurance policies and provide advice on investing policy payouts. Insurance degree programs at this level prepare students for entry-level positions in life and health insurance or the financial services industry. Associate's degree insurance programs are intensive to economics, management and customer relations.

Educational Prerequisites

In order to enroll in an insurance associate's degree program, students must have a high school diploma or GED. Some colleges require associate's degree students to take college entrance examinations and achieve a satisfactory score prior to enrollment.

Program Coursework

Students enrolled in an insurance associate's degree program can expect to take classes in the following:

• Life insurance
• Health insurance
• Insurance marketing
• Insurance information management procedures
• Investments and economics
• Insurance administration
• Customer relations

Popular Career Options

Upon graduating from an insurance associate's degree program, students will undertake such careers as:

• Insurance billing specialist
• Insurance solicitor
• Actuary assistant

Bachelor's Degree in Insurance and Risk Management

Students desiring a career in insurance and risk management must learn to prepare various insurance policies, such as automobile, health, commercial property, commercial liability and personal property insurance. A bachelor's degree program in insurance and risk management also trains students to help individuals assess their personal and business insurance needs, underwrite insurance policies and navigate tax issues. These insurance degree programs also focus on risk assessment, law, ethics and insurance agency management.

Educational Prerequisites

Prior to enrolling in a bachelor's degree in insurance program, students must have either a high school diploma or GED. Some colleges prefer students to have earned an associate's degree in business administration or a related field prior to embarking upon a bachelor's degree program in insurance. Students should also have a solid background in algebra, calculus, English and communications.

Program Coursework

Students embarking upon a bachelor's degree program in insurance will have a curriculum containing the following courses:

• Ethics in insurance
• Casualty risk assessment and insurance
• Legal insurance issues
• Personal risk assessment
• Personal property liability issues
• Accounting
• Employee benefit determination
• Insurance and financial planning

Popular Career Options

Students graduating from an insurance bachelor's degree program can expect to find employment in the following areas:

• Actuarial services
• Insurance claims
• Risk assessment
• Underwriting
• Insurance sales

Master's Degree in Insurance and Risk Management

A master's degree program in insurance and risk management includes more advanced liability, property and corporate risk classes than those required for bachelor's insurance degree programs. In addition, most master's degree insurance and risk management programs require the student to prepare a thesis.

Educational Prerequisites

Students wishing to enroll in an insurance master's degree program should have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college and submit both high school and college transcripts and letters of recommendation.

Program Coursework

Master's degree programs in insurance and risk management typically contain an internship, as well as the following classes:

• Commercial property insurance
• Commercial liability insurance
• Life insurance
• Advanced practices in property insurance
• Advanced practices in liability insurance
• Employee benefits
• Risk management for corporate entities

Popular Career Options

Students who have successfully completed a master's degree in insurance and risk management program may seek one of the following careers:

• Insurance investigator
• Management analyst
• Corporate risk assessment specialist
• Insurance broker

Doctor of Philosophy in Insurance and Risk Management

A Ph.D. program in insurance and risk management prepares students to conduct research and teach at the university level. Students learn both applied and theoretical aspects of insurance, risk assessment and employee benefits. Prior to completing the program, students must conduct doctoral research and present a doctoral dissertation.

Education Prerequisites

In order to enroll in an insurance doctor's degree program, a student must have earned a 4-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college and have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0. Students must also submit transcripts, essays, college entrance exam scores and letters of recommendation.

Program Coursework

Doctor of Philosophy programs in insurance and risk management contain the following classes:

• Liability insurance
• Property insurance
• Health and life insurance
• Risk assessment and management
• Employee benefits
• Microeconomics
• Valuation
• Research in corporate finance
• Statistics
• Capital market theory

Popular Career Options

Students with a Ph.D. in insurance and risk management are typically employed in the following areas:

• University insurance professor
• Insurance research and development specialist
• Market research analyst

Source: http://education-portal.com/insurance_degree.html

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State Farm Continues To Provide Lowest Insurance Rates

State Farm Insurance Co., California's biggest auto insurer, intends to cut drivers' rates by 5.4%, an action that will pressure competitors to continue a downward price trend. The news Thursday means $133.8 million in premium savings for State Farm customers in California.

It provoked an angry dispute, though, between Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, and state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush over whether regulators should be investigating excess profits at insurers and ordering even greater premium reductions.

Huge sums are at stake in a state where driving is a necessity for most people. Of California's 20 million drivers, 15 million are insured. In 1995, the average premium for a 30-year-old motorist with a clean record was $566, while a 30-year-old with one ticket and one accident paid $1,129.

State Farm's proposed reduction requires Insurance Department approval. It follows a cut of 1.7% in September, and is the latest in a series of premium reductions.

Consumers Union policy analyst William Ahern replied with accusations that Quackenbush "has decided to protect excessive auto insurance rates and profits in California."

Source: http://articles.latimes.com/1996-08-16/business/fi-34920_1_state-farm
From Associated Press

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Medicare Updates

There's some bad news for those looking for easy ways to trim Medicare spending.

The Congressional Budget Office says two major approaches tested in recent years mostly failed to reduce spending.

Nonpartisan analysts looked at experiments that promoted better care coordination for the chronically ill, trying to keep them out of the hospital. They also studied experiments that changed the way doctors and hospitals get paid, rewarding quality instead of volume.

A report issued Thursday concluded neither approach reduced spending.

Care coordination increased spending in some cases, when added fees for monitoring patients were taken into account.

Payment for value only seemed to save money when providers were given a fixed amount and encouraged to use it efficiently.

Both approaches are part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/medicare-savings-ideas-missed-mark-220504316.html

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Get the Best Home Insurance!

Hunkered down at home in Great Falls, Va., during the blizzard of 2010, Doug Colley and his wife, Christina, discovered a sparking surge protector that quickly set their bedroom on fire. Engulfing smoke drove the couple out into the cold with only their coats and Christina's purse. Fire trucks from several area firehouses responded, but they couldn't reach the house because 3 feet of snow covered the couple's half-mile-long driveway. The Colleys watched as the fire consumed their home of 32 years and, along with it, a lifetime of belongings.

Build a Good Policy

Keep in mind that you're not insuring the market value of your land, just the cost to rebuild your home, garage and any other buildings. Your policy should include an inflation guard that is keyed to regional costs and, ideally, adjusts your coverage every year. Building costs can change not only with the economy but also after a disaster, when contractors and materials may be in short supply, says Don Soss, a vice-president of Fireman's Fund. That's one reason it's also smart to purchase extended-replacement coverage, which covers the difference if the price to rebuild exceeds your dwelling limit. Your policy probably already has 25% extra coverage built in, but you can buy more in 25% increments -- usually for $30 a year -- up to another 100%, says Michelle Rupp, an independent agent in Seattle.

New building codes often create a discrepancy between the limits of coverage and the actual cost to rebuild, says Kathleen Stalter, risk-services manager at Fireman's Fund. After a disaster, municipalities may quickly tighten their codes. Some insurers include full building-code coverage, but most include either an extra 10% of the dwelling limit or a flat $25,000, which may also have to go toward removal of debris. You can beef up your coverage by buying an endorsement -- often called a building-code upgrade. It will cost about $50 to $75 a year to double your protection to 20% of the dwelling limit.

Take Stock of Your Stuff

In the event of a total loss, you usually have 180 days to provide your insurer with a list of everything you owned, from sofas to soup spoons. Before the fire at their home, the Colleys had begun an inventory but hadn't finished it -- and it went up in smoke, too. "Think about having to imagine yourself in every room of your home, trying to remember everything in it," says Doug.

You can create a detailed listing or just take photos or make a video. Open cupboards, closets, drawers and storage boxes and shoot those, too. Not only will the images jog your memory, they will also assure insurance adjusters that your furniture really was high-end or antique, and not just starter stuff from Ikea. The Colleys have asked family members for holiday photographs taken in their home that show heirloom antiques in the background.

Get appraisals of valuables and, if necessary, purchase a personal-articles floater to cover them beyond the normal limits of your policy. Such coverage typically costs $17 per $1,000 of property value annually. Fireman's Fund even offers a "collections" endorsement that would cover the contents of a wine cellar.

Focus on the Fine Points

Rebuilding almost always takes longer than you anticipate, so look for a policy that provides 24 months of coverage for comparable housing and related expenses (called loss of use coverage). If your insurance company offers a fixed dollar amount with no time limit, divide that amount by 24 months to compare the coverage with that of other policies.

You'll need liability coverage in case you (or a family member) are legally responsible for causing injury to someone else at home or elsewhere. Given that medical (and legal) expenses can quickly mount, Rupp urges clients to buy as much liability coverage as they can afford. To increase the standard limit of $300,000 to $500,000 would cost about $20 annually, says Rupp.

Overlay your homeowners coverage with an umbrella policy providing at least another $1 million of liability protection. To determine your premium, insurers will assess your exposure to risk, including the number of homes you own (and their location), as well as your vehicles and whether you have young drivers in your family. The deeper your pockets and the higher your profile -- are you likely to be quoted in the media or do you sit on a nonprofit board? -- the greater your need for coverage.

You can get a $1-million umbrella policy for about $150 to $300 annually. The next $1 million of coverage will cost about $75; each $1 million after that, about $50. Before insurers sell you an umbrella policy, most will want you to have a minimum of $250,000 of liability coverage on your auto policy and $300,000 on your homeowners insurance, and they may require you to buy both policies from them.

By Pat Mertz Esswein | Kiplinger – Tue, Nov 29, 2011 11:21 AM EST
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/upgrade-home-insurance-070000189.html

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Read This: The best Life Insurance benefits!

Life insurance is one of those financial products that can give people the heebie-jeebies. It can sound confusing and complicated, and it involves thinking about a very scary proposition: death.

But life insurance really isn't as frightening or complex as it seems. It's actually a fantastically useful and flexible estate-planning tool that can provide income-tax-free security for your loved ones. It can also provide liquidity to pay estate taxes, especially if your estate largely consists of assets such as real estate or a closely held business that you may be reluctant to sell to raise cash. (If the policy is owned by an irrevocable trust, the insurance payout can avoid estate taxes too.)

Here's a rundown of some of the basics of life insurance:

1 'How do I buy insurance?'

You can go directly to an insurance company or use a broker, either in person or online, that compares products from multiple insurance companies and can help you find the best quote.

You also can check if your employer, union or trade association offers a group life-insurance policy. Group life-insurance policies may not offer as much flexibility as some individual policies, but they typically don't require a medical exam -- a boon for those in poorer health seeking to be insured.

When you're shopping for policies, stick to companies with high financial strength ratings from firms such as A. M. Best, since the last thing you want when spending money for peace of mind is to have to worry about your insurer going bust.

Most individual life-insurance policies require you to get a medical evaluation so that the insurer can assess your health and longevity risks. That's typically arranged by your insurance broker or the insurer, at no cost to you. In most cases, a medical technician will come to your home or office to get some vital stats and blood and urine samples.

2 'Do I need insurance?'

You generally can skip life insurance if you're single with no dependent kids and don't expect to have a taxable or debt-ridden estate. Also think twice about forking over for life insurance if your premature death wouldn't affect the ability of your surviving partner to pay for daily living expenses.

But do consider life insurance if you have dependent children, are a business owner or if your spouse doesn't work or you have a big income disparity. In these cases, if you die prematurely, a life-insurance policy can help the survivor pay for your family's day-to-day cost of living, including mortgage payments or help your business remain viable after your death.

There are many variables to factor in when considering how much life insurance to buy. It depends on your current and projected income and assets, your family's annual living expenses, the length of the policy you are considering and whether you have any specific future economic needs -- such as a child's college tuition, a special-needs child who needs lifelong support, or expected estate taxes to pay off. Your insurance broker or salesperson can help you come up with a coverage amount that's suitable for your situation.

3 'Term or permanent?'

Life insurance, in its most basic form, can be divided into two categories: term and permanent, also called cash-value. Term life, the simplest and cheapest form of life insurance, is when you buy an insurance policy that lasts for a set period, typically 10, 20 or 30 years.

A term policy, which usually costs just a few hundred dollars a year if you're in good health, is appropriate for people who only want life insurance for a limited number of years -- such as until your children are grown or until you reach retirement age.

Permanent or cash-value life insurance, by contrast, lasts for the remainder of your lifetime. These policies are often used for specific estate-planning purposes, such as funding future estate taxes or for ensuring the continuity of a family business.

4 'Why the cost difference?'

Permanent insurance is more costly than term life insurance because it lasts longer and because it provides more than just a death benefit: It also has an investment component in which money accumulates tax-free within the policy.

In other words, a portion of your premium is placed in a separate investment account; this money grows tax-free while the policy is in force. (How it's invested depends on the policy.) As more money builds up inside the policy, you might eventually use this stash of cash to help you pay the policy's premiums.

Many insurers tout the tax-free investment benefits of cash-value policies. Not only does the money grow inside the policy tax-free, but your beneficiaries don't have to pay income taxes when they receive the policy's payout. A cash-value policy might make sense if you have already contributed the maximum amount to other tax-deferred investment accounts, such as 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts.

On the other hand, the higher premiums, commissions, and sometimes limited investment choices might not make a cash-value account worth it.

Some people choose to buy a special kind of permanent policy called a "second-to-die" or "survivorship" policy.

These policies pay out when the second person in a couple -- you or your spouse -- dies, and the money generally goes to your children or other heirs. They typically cost less than traditional permanent insurance because they are based on the life expectancies of two people, rather than one.

Posted by: Rachel Emma Silverman | The Wall Street Journal – Tue, Nov 29, 2011 3:29 PM EST
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/know-life-insurance-101-040100569.html

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