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Archive for February 18th, 2010

When you are looking around for a house to buy, the cost of home insurance is not always the most important thought on your mind. Even if you do think about it, the most common consideration is the state of repair and how easy it would be to repair or rebuild should there be a fire. This confidence continues when buying the insurance policy. You sign up for an all-perils policy and take the words at face value. If you are insured against all perils, that surely means you can sleep peacefully at night. Except that confidence is too often misplaced. Looking around the US right now, it’s one of the coldest winters on record with heavier snow fall than usual. When the weather warms, the melting snow will flood into the rivers… That’s a joy to come. So let’s list the most common events that damage your home: landslides, subsidence, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. Live in the wrong states and we add earthquakes. Now take out your policy and check that exclusion clause. You will see some mysterious phrases like “surface water”. That excludes every possible source of water no matter whether it comes in as a high tide, wind surge, rain or local sewage drains backing up. When you add up everything not included, even the top-of-the-range policies from the supposedly best insurers often end up as covering rebuilding costs from fire and wind only – that’s wind and not tornadoes or hurricanes. Read the rest of this entry »

The costs linked to health insurance are constantly on the rise while most small businesses are looking to minimize their budget spendings these days. Due to this the Congress has provided a new viable option for small businesses to keep their employees covered in the form of has (health savings accounts). What are the benefits of using has in a small business and how it is different from typical group health insurance plans? This article will explain it all. Read the rest of this entry »

In most states, car insurance rates are likely to go up for at least 3 years if you are convicted of drunk-driving. You will also become familiar with SR-22.

Different states use different terms for drunk driving: driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated or operating a vehicle while intoxicated. If convicted of any such offense, your insurance rate is likely to go up before you can drive again. Read the rest of this entry »

In case you have the possibility to opt for employer-sponsored group health plan there’s a really important decision to be taken. Most employers, especially big companies or small businesses within purchasing pools, offer their workers a wide range of plan types, which typically include both HMO and PPO health plans. Being the most popular of all plan types, these two have distinct features, and understanding the difference between them is really important for having adequate insurance coverage for you and your entire family. So let’s take a closer look at each to have better knowledge of pros and cons they deliver. Read the rest of this entry »