Hatts

It’s unfortunate, but many unscrupulous people are using the current economic situation as an opportunity to make a quick buck off of unsuspecting people. One of the most common areas for fraud is with home insurance online. While most companies provide reputable services, there are some people who will hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to perpetrate a scam.

Some sites will perform a “bait and switch” by offering you free home insurance quotes, only to provide you with coverage that doesn’t meet the terms laid out in the quotes. Only a close review of the contract will tell you what you are getting. Or some con artists will quickly set up fake companies to collect premiums and then never pay out claims. You won’t know your insurance is bogus until something goes wrong.

Another common tactic is to collect “personal” information such as social security numbers, checking accounts and other items in the guise of getting a home owner insurance quote. It’s critical that you do the research and confirm that an online site is legitimate before giving out any information online.

There was a time when seniors had little or no options when it came to their unwanted life insurance policies. But today, the secondary market for life insurance policies allows seniors to sell their life insurance policies for more than their cash surrender value through senior life settlements insurance. The amount of the sale is typically three to four times more, proving to be a smart solution to unwanted life insurance policies.  

In the last four years alone the life settlements industry has grown to provide over $8 billion in additional income to seniors in America, according to the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA). Unlike in the past, this industry is now highly regulated and offers a new source of tax revenue to the U.S. treasury. The following are statistics provided by LISA that reveal how the life insurance settlement industry has grown to become a door for financial assistance to seniors around the nation.

In 2008, the industry grew to a whopping $16 billion from only $10 billion in 2005. Several professional companies and institutional investors have flooded the marketplace, allowing for smooth transactions between policy holders and interested buyers. According to LISA, more and more states now regulate life settlements yet consumer awareness remains limited. Because of this, many seniors are unaware that they can benefit from the life settlement option.

Although most of us prefer not the dwell on our own deaths or even think about the funeral, preplanning may not be such a bad idea after all. Funeral costs are high—about $4,500 to $5,500 for an adult, according to some estimates. However, the cost of an adult funeral can quickly reach $10,000 or more. That’s where burial insurance comes in handy. Burial insurance allows you to make pre-purchases of items such as a casket or cremation, grave marker, hearse, flowers, burial plot, and other associated items/services.

When you begin to shop for burial insurance quotes, MSN Money recommends a few things to keep in mind:

• Find out whether your state allows burial insurance (some do not).
• Find out if the agent and funeral company hold verified licenses. Even if you’ve received an insurance quote, don’t assume that the business is operating legally.
• Discuss any potential burial policy with your family and lawyer. It should be consistent with any will and/or estate planning.
• Ask the funeral home for a written list of available goods and services.
• Ask about contingencies such as what happens if you move, if the cemetery runs out of burial space, or if the items you select are no longer available at the time of your funeral.
• Specify details such as the location of the grave site, the type of burial container, the marker, and whether digging and filling the grave are included in the cost of the plot—often they are not.

A free insurance quote may attempt to entice buyers with a low-cost policy, but be sure to perform your due diligence and find out the details. Your peace of mind—and your family’s—is worth it.

Before you begin to shop around for disability insurance quotes, decide how much coverage you need. Can you afford to live on a bit less than your current salary? If so, your premiums will be lower than if you require almost the full amount. Another thing that will drive up the premium listed in an insurance quote is the length of time before benefits to kick in. This is known as the waiting period. If you can go, 120 days, for example, you’ll end up paying less than if you can wait only 30 to 60 days.

Another consideration, according to the Insurance Information Institute, is how the policy defines disability. Does it cover you only if you cannot perform the customary duties of your current occupation? Or does it cover you only if you cannot perform the customary duties of any occupation suitable for your experience and level of education? Other policies will limit benefits to three years if you cannot perform the duties of your own occupation to three years. After the three years are up, you will receive benefits only if you cannot perform any occupation.

You may also want to request free insurance quotes that include benefits which account for cost-of-living increases or benefits that allow you to work part-time while still receiving some of your lost full-time income. If you have questions about your policy, be sure to ask an insurance professional for help.

A new law in Maine now requires life insurance companies to tell senior clients about the option of life settlements as an alternative to the lapse or surrender of a life insurance policy, reports Marketwire.  The law also stands in the way of life insurance companies from performing any misconduct related to life settlements. Washington State and now Maine have joined forces in an effort to protect property rights of life insurance consumers. In addition, both states are working to ensure that policyowners can search and find a market value for policies that would otherwise be surrendered or lapsed.

In an interview with Marketwire, Life Insurance Settlement Association Executive Director Doug Head said, "These new laws are terrific developments for senior consumers, and are expected to be adopted in numerous states.” He added, “These measures respond to the documented evidence of carriers trying to block life settlements through threats to insurance agents and providing misleading information to seniors."

The new law, Chapter 376, requires insurance companies to send a notice to seniors facing the lapse or surrender of their policies. The notice will include financial alternatives and common products offered by life settlements investment providers. According to the article, life settlements can provide seniors with 300-500% more than the cash value of a life insurance policy. Because almost 90% of life policies are lapsed or surrendered, senior life settlements insurance has a good chance of becoming the next most valuable option for seniors. 

We usually shop for life insurance quotes for ourselves and our spouses only; rarely do we consider life insurance for a newborn or a child. Still, an insurance quote for a newborn will reveal that this type of insurance is typically inexpensive and makes a certain amount of sense in the unlikely and tragic event that the child passes away. Should the child grow up healthy and strong, he or she can receive ownership of the policy upon becoming an adult.

Life insurance for children doesn’t always make good financial sense. Life insurance is designed to protect families against the loss of income resulting from the illness or death of one of the family’s breadwinners. As children rarely fall into this category, life insurance for a newborn or child makes less sense than life insurance for the primary breadwinners.

What if the child has a difficult time buying life insurance as an adult because of illness or disability? Only in very rare cases would this be inducement to purchase life insurance for a child, experts say. Even people with serious medical conditions can generally find coverage through high-risk policies.

So when you’re considering a free insurance quote, make sure you purchase sufficient coverage for yourself and any other income earners first. Depending on your situation, life insurance for children may or may not be a good idea.

When you receive home insurance quotes from online providers, you will notice that homeowners insurance policies include coverage for your possessions—generally 50% to 70% of the amount of insurance on the structure of your home. (If the insurance quote is unclear on the percentage, be sure to ask.) Depending on the value of your possessions, this may or may not be enough to replace the items that you cherish most. After reviewing free insurance quotes, to determine if you need more coverage, create a home inventory following these steps from the Insurance Information Institute:

• Make a list of your possessions, noting the make and model and the value of each. If you have related sales receipts or other documents detailing the worth of the time, be sure to include them with the inventory.
• Items such as works of art and jewelry may have appreciated since you purchased them. Have these items appraised and include the appraisal with the inventory. In some cases, they may require separate insurance.
• Take pictures or videotape your possessions and create supporting notes.
• Store your inventory, pictures, and/or tapes in a safe deposit box or at a friend’s house. In the event that your home is totaled, these items will be safe and intact when you need them.

Going to see a doctor can be a nerve-wracking experience for anyone, and for many travelers, seeing a doctor while living or traveling abroad can be even more frightening due to language barriers and differences in cultures, customs, and expectations. To make the process go as smoothly as possible, here are a few tips:

• Purchase international health insurance or travel health insurance. As in the U.S., the cost of medical care can be extremely high. Purchasing coverage will provide financial benefits if you need medical attention/supplies while you are overseas. For students, some providers even offer international student health insurance geared towards students’ needs.
• After purchasing international medical insurance or travel health insurance, familiarize yourself with your healthcare options in the place(s) where you will be staying. Contact the local U.S. embassy and obtain a list of healthcare providers in the country. Go to http://www.usembassy.gov/ to find the website of the local embassy.
• Contact healthcare providers in advance if you anticipate requiring medical care. If you are not fluent in the native language, see if any of the offices have English-speaking staff members who can translate. Also, it may be a good idea to verify that they will accept your international health insurance or travel health insurance.
• Bring documentation with you. In some cases, it may be helpful to obtain a physician’s statement detailing any prior aliments and the proper treatment before you travel. Other documentation to pack includes any relevant medical forms and ID bracelets.

You may have already considered a life insurance settlement—selling your life insurance policy as a larger financial planning strategy. Whether you wish to use the money to purchase a better life insurance policy or to remodel your home, it is still a major business decision. In order to make sure you are making the right choice, visit a professional financial advisor. During a life settlement transaction, a financial advisor will have your interests in mind and should examine your overall financial situation and find out if senior life settlements insurance is even an option, perform due diligence by finding a qualified life settlement provider or broker who is backed by reputable funder, and seek to gain the highest market value for your life insurance policy by comparing multiple offers.

In addition, financial advisors will understand that life settlements are not for everyone. Typically, you must have owned the life insurance plan for at least two years, you must be 70 years of age or have a life expectancy of 12 years or less, and your plan must have a minimum face value of $250,000.

Are you interested in getting some much-needed cash through a life settlement transaction?  For many older men and women who may be struggling to make ends meet due to the current state of the economy, the sale of their life insurance policy to a third-party investor is a way not only to pay the bills, but to ease stress on both themselves and their families.  It is also an excellent way to unburden yourself from a life insurance policy you may no longer want or premiums you might not want to pay anymore.

How do you know if a life insurance settlement is right for you?  There are a few criteria that you should keep in mind to see if you’re eligible to participate in this type of transaction:

- While it’s possible for people as young as 55 to take advantage of life settlement, it is generally reserved for policy holders that are 70 years old or older.

- The policy should be at least two years old and have a minimum face value of $50,000.

- Investors are looking for low cash surrender values and yearly premiums lower than 8%.

- Senior life settlement is an option for a variety of different policy types, including Whole Life, Adjustable Life, Universal Life, Variable Life, Term (if the policy is convertible), Survivorship (any type), and Joint First to Die.