Maximizing Your Auto Accident Insurance Settlement
Reaching a settlement in an auto accident case with an insurance company is advantageous to both your and the company. You get the money that you are owed as soon as possible to pay back medical bills and fix your car. You also get more of the money that you are owed because you don’t have to pay for large court and lawyer costs. Insurance companies also benefit because many times they will pay less as well as lengthy court cases are expensive to insurance companies as well. However, to avoid being taken advantage of, there are several things that you should know to negotiate with insurance companies.
First, if you have any kind of personal injury involved in the case, make sure that you have proof of the visit your made to an emergency care unit as soon after the accident as possible. Insurance companies consider you having been injured if and when you seek care for your ailment. If you don’t seek care for an injury or you sought it later on or don’t have proof of it, your insurance company can negotiate down the amount they owe you because your injury won’t seem as serious.
If you have to have your car repaired, make sure that you also bring copies of any receipts from those repairs as well.
The most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with insurance companies is to remember that you are going through negotiations with the company, just like you would with a business deal. Make sure that you are prepared and have a plan before you even step up to the table. If there is lots of money at stake, you should considering hiring an attorney. They have much more experience with both negotiating in a legal environment and dealing with insurance companies and will make sure that you get the amount of money you deserve.
Commercial General Liability Insurance – On Purpose Versus on Accident Coverage
Commercial General Liability Insurance is a common insurance policy that is used in business to protect from accidents. The standard policy does not cover intentional actions by the insured. Doing actions on purpose versus on accident is a valid reason for an insurance company to deny coverage.
Let us look at some common actions that individuals and companies sometimes do on purpose and see if there is coverage or of coverage can be found for this exposure.
Intentional acts against the person: We see almost every day in our daily newspapers intentional acts of assault and/or battery from individuals of all walks of life. Punching somebody in the face on purpose is an assault or touching somebody without their permission can be a battery. Normally industries such as bars and taverns and nightclubs, etc. have these coverages specifically excluded in their general liability policy.
Another common intentional on purpose action that we see in the media is that of false imprisonment. This loss can arise when the insured has unlawfully detained someone from their liberty to leave the premises. False imprisonment claims typically occur at large retail chains were somebody is detained for questioning for a possible theft of property from the store.
In summary, these intentional acts that we see on a daily basis in the media are normally not covered under the basic commercial general liability insurance policy. It is important for you as the business owner to investigate whether or not your specific insurance policy has been extended to provide the needed coverages for these exposures.
Term Life Insurance – The Five Most Common Types Of Term Life Insurance Explained
Term Life Insurance is the lowest priced life insurance that is available to consumers. Unlike Whole Life Insurance, Term provides no Cash Value. This means that there are no funds building while you pay your insurance payments (premiums). Term is what is known as “pure” life insurance, with 100% of the premiums paid going toward the payment of your policy.
A Whole Life insurance policy will build a Cash Value because a portion of the premiums paid go toward the policy fund and the other portion go toward the payment of the insurance coverage.
Term life provides you with more Face Value coverage than other types of life insurance, for a “given” dollar premium.
There are five main types of Term Life insurance available, although there are other variables, such as Level Term, Decreasing Term and Increasing Term (The latter is only available as a “Rider”), we’ll just focus on these main five for right now.
#1. Deposit Term Insurance – This is a 10 year renewable policy where you will make a security deposit at the time of purchase. The insurance company will return the entire amount of the deposit, plus interest, as long as the policy is maintained for at least 10 years.
#2. Re-Entry Term Insurance – This is the least expensive type of Term. You can purchase Re-Entry at what are known as “select rates”, which are less expensive than standard rates. Each time the “Term” of the policy is up, you’ll need to submit proof that you’re still in good health in order to receive the select rates, which must be done by completing a physical exam. If you’re not still in good health, then you must continue to pay the amount (premium) on the original Term policy.
#3. Renewable Term Insurance – You may renew this type of policy at the end of the policy term without having to take a physical exam or provide proof that you are still insurable. You would still have regular increases in your premium amount as you grow older, but not because your health may be suffering. One common type of Renewable Term Life is called “Annual Renewable”. The premium on an Annual Renewable Term policy will automatically go up each year. Other types of Renewable Premium Plans include; Five Year, Ten Year and Twenty Year Renewable Term.
#4. Non-Convertible/Non-Renewable – This type of Term insurance will expire at the end of a given time. Example, 10-Year Term. It costs more than Re-Entry Term Insurance, but is less expensive than Renewable Term.
#5. Convertible Term Insurance – This type of Term has what is known as a “conversion” privilege. This means that you may convert this policy to a policy with a higher premium, such as Endowment or Whole Life. You can do this at any time that you wish and your new premium would be based upon your age at the time of the conversion. A reason for doing this would be so you may purchase a more “permanent” plan. Your health would not make difference in the premium costs at the time of the conversion.
An example reason for buying Convertible Term Life Insurance might be a young man or woman that buys a policy in order to take care of their final expenses and debts, just in case of the unexpected happening. When this young person grew older and married, then they may want to convert their Term policy into something with a long term Cash Value, while still maintaining the original Face Value of the policy. The only difference would be an increase in premium payments.
Car Accident Insurance Claims – How to Pay For Auto Damages
To get money from your car accidents insurance claims, you first need to know which insurance policy will pay for your vehicle damages. There are two main insurance policies that pay for your car repair costs. The first place to look is the….
Liability Insurance
If you want money from your car accidents insurance claims, you will need to file a Third Party Claim against the other driver’s Property Damage Liability insurance. A Third Party claim is whenever you want to file an accident claim against another driver’s insurance provider. The driver and the insurance company are the first two parties; you are the third.
Usually, the liability insurance is enough to cover the cost of an average car accident.
Even if the other driver purchased your state’s minimum liability insurance requirement, you will find that it is enough to pay for your vehicle repair. For example, New York’s state minimum property damage liability insurance is for $10,000. Other states minimum requirements fall between $5,000- $25,000.
The first thing you should do is get a copy of the other driver’s insurance policy. This way you can check how much money you can potentially get from his/her liability insurance. The liability insurance will be listed as three numbers where the first two numbers are for bodily injury limits and the third number is for property damages.
For example, a New York State Liability insurance policy may read 25/50/10. You would read this as “$25,000 for each injured person with a $50,000 limit per accident and $10,000 for property damages.” Now you know the most you can get from your car accident property damage insurance claims is $10,000. You can then determine if this will be enough to pay for your vehicle repairs.
However, just because the insurance company can afford to pay for your damages, doesn’t mean it will. You still have to show the other driver caused your car accident. This means you have to collect evidence such as photographs, car accident reports, statement from witnesses etc. The car accidents insurance claims process can also take months to complete because insurance companies aren’t really in a rush to pay for your damages.
This makes dealing with another insurance company really frustrating and time consuming. To avoid this you can file a car accident insurance claim under your….
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage is an insurance policy with your own provider that pays for your car repair costs, regardless of who caused the auto accident. The benefits of filing under your collision coverage are that:
You are guaranteed to get money for your car damages. You save time because you don’t have to collect evidence against another driver. The car accidents insurance claims process is smoother since you are dealing with your own insurance company, instead of another insurance provider.
The whole process can be completed quickly and you can receive an accident settlement check within a few short weeks.
However, the disadvantage of filing under your own collision coverage is that you will have to pay a deductible. The deductible is typically a few hundred dollars which you must pay out of your own pocket. Once you have paid the deductible, the insurance company will pay for your repair costs.
So you need to decide whether it is worth paying the deductible to get your vehicle fixed quickly, or not pay the deductible and prepare to convince another auto insurance company to pay for your car damages.
This can be a tough decision and there is no right or wrong answer.
Liability Insurance Overseas
The last thing you want to be responsible for on holiday is being liable for an accident. You could end up being sued by someone half way across the world, having to keep in contact, and possibly standing trial in another country all because of a simple collision. If you get international liability insurance before you start driving in another country, your insurance company will simply either pay the amount that the other driver is demanding or counter-sue them. Either way, you will not be financially responsible for any of it, aside from paying your deductible.
Getting Liability Insurance
Getting liability insurance can be done via searches on Google or Yahoo containing the keywords liability insurance abroad and the name of your destination. When you find one, make sure you read reviews on the insurance provider that you have found. This will connect you to real life experiences people have had with that particular company and save you lots of time and hassle yourself that could have gotten you into some real trouble if you had to experience it first hand.
Coverage
Liability Insurance will cover any medical, repair, or legal fees that you are held responsible for in an accident. This means that during your trip overseas, you will not have to worry about getting sued by a local for not knowing the rules of the road in that particular country. This is an excellent insurance plan that you should not cut corners on because chances are, if you’re involved in an accident overseas, you will be held responsible.
Cheap Car Insurance Secrets – Untold, Undisclosed and Completely Legal
Do you know the secrets to getting cheap car insurance? When you’re looking for cheap car insurance quotes with different companies, or even checking with your current company, you need to know the best ways to save money.
The insurance companies won’t tell you about these three simple techniques to put money back into your wallet. These are perfectly legal and I highly recommend everyone look into applying them to their current insurance.
Secret Technique #1 – Annual Mileage
Part of the cost of your insurance is based on how much you estimate you will drive in the year. The more driving and higher mileage you expect to put on your car equates to a higher risk of getting into an accident. This leads to your car insurance rates being adjusted accordingly.
Take 20 seconds and figure out how many miles you think you’ll drive. Now call up your insurance company and see what they have listed. If your estimate is lower than what they currently have then tell them to lower it. If what they have is higher… just leave it be.
Secret Technique #2 – Renter’s Insurance
If you are renting an apartment, home or condo definitely look into getting Renter’s Insurance from the same company that provides your auto insurance. Often times the discount you get on your auto insurance for having multiple policies, is greater than the entire cost of the renter’s insurance. Essentially, you get more insurance and more protection and it all costs you even less money.
Even if you live at home with your parents or don’t even need Renter’s Insurance, you need to look into it. Not checking on it may actually cost you money.
Secret Technique #3 – Multiple Cars, Multiple Drivers
Do you have roommates? Try to get everyone onto one insurance policy. The ‘multiple-car discount’ can be significant.
If you have roommates or family living with you and they are older than you, simply adding them as a driver (not their car) may also bring down your insurance premiums. If they are older they likely have more driving experience than you. Hopefully, they have a clean driving record, as well. If so, simply listing them on your policy should help to bring down your rates.