Where to Get Inexpensive Medical Insurance for Children

Children need regular medical care to grow up healthy and strong, and children's medical insurance is necessary to provide the ongoing care they need. Here's how to get inexpensive medical insurance for children with a reliable company.

Government Health Insurance Programs for Children

Every state in the U.S. has a government sponsored health insurance program that covers babies, children, and teenagers. These programs are available to low-income families at little or no cost. They pay for doctor visits, hospital fees, and prescription medicines.

To find out if you're eligible for a government health insurance program and to learn more about these programs, visit the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service's Insure Kids Now website at: insurekidsnow.gov.

Private Health Insurance Plans for Children

Indemnity (fee-for-service) plan - If you don't qualify for government health insurance and want a plan that allows you to use your own doctor and hospital, then an indemnity plan is what you want. These plans pay most of your medical expenses (usually 80%) after you pay a deductible of anywhere from $500 to $2,000. Indemnity plans are the most expensive health insurance plans.

Managed health care plan (HMO, PPO, POS) - If you want a plan that will save you the most amount of money, but doesn't allow you to choose your doctor or hospital, then a managed health care plan (HMO, PPO, POS) is what you need. These plans assign you to a network of hospitals and doctors which you use for your health care. PPOs and POSs will allow you to choose a non-network doctor for an added fee. With these plans you pay a co-payment for each doctor visit (usually $5 to $10), and your insurer pays the medical bill. These plans are the cheapest health insurance plans.

Inexpensive Private Medical Insurance for Children

To find inexpensive medical insurance you have to comparison shop, and the quickest and easiest way to do that is to go to an online comparison website where you can get rate quotes from a number of companies. Insurance premiums can vary by hundreds of dollars for the same insurance, so the few minutes you spend at an insurance comparison site will be well worth you while.

Term Life Insurance for Californians

It can be a truly daunting experience for anyone who is looking to purchase California term life insurance. Common in many industries, insurance is no exception; you will find the use of words that are defined in a way that is much different from the common or traditional definition. Because California term life insurance has some of its own vocabulary, it would be extremely beneficial for anyone looking to learn more about their policies to conduct some research and education on their own to make the process a lot less intimidating and a lot more clear. There are a lot of terms and vernacular that can potentially be unfamiliar and confusing to anyone buying term life insurance for the first time.

Here is a brief explanation of some of the more widely used terms.

Term Life Insurance Terms:

Beneficiary - The beneficiary for a term life insurance policy is whatever person has been designated by you to receive whatever benefits are outlined in the California term life insurance policy upon your death. You can designate that your policy benefits be dispersed among several beneficiaries, a single beneficiary or even a charity if you wish.

Proposed Insured - As it relates to the purchase of California term life insurance, the proposed insured is the person who is actually applying for the coverage.

Attained Age - Some term life insurance companies used the attained age as a means of determining the age in term life insurance premium calculations. This method actually uses the actual age in years of the proposed insured person. Months are not considered when it comes to arriving at the attained age for a proposed insured person.

Nearest Age - The nearest age method when it comes to determining age for a California term life insurance actually takes months into account by looking at whether the proposed insured person is closer to their last birthday age or their next birthday.

Premium Mode - The term premium, as it pertains to term life insurance, is the amount that is charged by a life insurance company for a California term life insurance policy. The premium mode, on the other hand, relates to the frequency in which the insured pays these premiums. The total annual term life insurance premium tends to be somewhat higher when the insurance payments are spread out over a year instead of paid in a single lump sum. If you choose to break your annual premium into two or four payments, you will probably have to pay an extra couple of dollars per payment. Some insurance carriers may also charge a bank fee; so familiarize yourself with possible fees before making these decisions.

Coverage Amount or Face Value - This 'coverage amount' or 'face value amount' is the initial dollar amount that is chosen for the policy coverage for your California term life insurance policy. If you buy a term life insurance policy for $250,000 for example, that is the coverage amount or the face value, which is the amount that will be paid out to the beneficiaries that you have designated upon your death.

Guidelines for Underwriting - Underwriting guidelines are used by insurance companies to determine how to base their term life insurance coverage. These guidelines include many factors about your lifestyle, including your health and hobbies. Criteria for underwriting guidelines when it comes to California life insurance also typically includes age, gender, use of tobacco, weight and height, history of heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure and valve replacement in your family, your driving record, occupation, service in the military, any foreign travel or foreign residency and any felony or criminal activity.

Multiple Car Insurance Quotes - How to Get the Best Rate

Getting multiple car insurance policies through the same insurance company can save you a lot of money on your insurance. Here's how to get the cheapest multiple car insurance quotes with a reputable company.

Why Get Multiple Car Insurance?

Having one or more cars insured with the same company can save you up to 15% on your auto insurance. Another benefit is that you have only one insurance company to deal with, and only one bill to pay.

How to Get the Cheapest Multiple Car Insurance Quote

The easiest and quickest way to get the cheapest multiple car insurance quote is to go online to an insurance comparison website (see link below). The advantages of using one of these sites are:

* You get quotes from multiple insurance companies, not just one, so you can compare those quotes and choose the cheapest one.

* It only takes a few minutes of your time, saving you hours of visiting insurance company websites or calling local insurance agencies.

* Most insurance comparison websites only affiliate with A-rated companies, so if you choose to purchase your insurance through them you know you'll be dealing with a solid, reliable company.

How to Lower Your Premium

Increase your deductible - Increasing the deductible (what you pay toward insurance claims before your insurer will pay) can save you up to half on your insurance bill. This will also prevent you from making too many small claims which could cause your insurer to cancel your policy.

Request discounts - Auto insurance companies offer all kinds of discounts and taking advantage of them can save you a lot of money. Some of these discounts include:

* Multiple policy discounts for having both your homeowners policy and your auto insurance policy with the same company.

* Safety discounts for having airbags, anti-lock brakes, or other safety features installed on your car.

* Security discounts for having an auto alarm or an anti-theft device installed on your car.

* Senior discounts if you are over the age of 50.

* Safe driver discounts if you have an accident-free driving record for three or more years.

* Low mileage discounts for driving less than the average driver.

* Professional discounts if you're in the military, law enforcement, or other designated professions.

Auto Insurance Coverage, Looking For Cheap Quotes

Car insurance is designed to protect you, your vehicle, and other parties, although the level of cover that you choose will determine the level of protection that you get. Car Insurance is the price you pay to protect yourself, your passengers, and your car against unexpected losses. Shopping for car insurance is the only way to save money on car insurance. Getting your hands on affordable car insurance is easier than you may imagine. Comprehensive car insurance is the best cover option but also the most expensive.

Auto Insurance

Have you had trouble finding the best rate for your car insurance?

Insurance is often considered as one of the most effective financial tools for people in today's world. Insurance companies bear all expenses that you have paid cover for, which ensures that the concerned person need not pay a penny to repair the vehicle. The consequences of driving without automobile insurance are far too costly, both in time and money, to make the gamble worthwhile. In order to find cheap deals on any type of insurance you need to ensure that you compare the different deals on offer. Making a claim on your insurance is usually pretty straight forward and simple, and can also often be done online or by phone. Whatever type of insurance cover you take out, you should ensure that you compare the plans available from a number of companies and you should carefully read through the policy and the small print before you commit.

Insurance Policy

When you consider getting yourself an auto insurance policy, it is important that you make adequate general enquiries before hand. If you are buying a new car or changing your auto insurance policy, go online to compare auto insurance quotes.

Firstly, you should check whether the insurance company whose policy you choose to buy is giving you the best deal or not. If you insure 2 or more vehicles on the same policy some companies may give you a discount. The other benefits of car insurance policy include annual replacement cost analysis along with twenty four hours claims. If your net worth is more than $300,000, you should carry coverage of $200,000 a person and $500,000 an accident, and perhaps an "umbrella" policy that will bolster coverage even further. Your own insurance policy guarantees you immediate compensation for damages, medical expenses, lost wages, essential services, rental car arrangements etc.

Online Auto Insurance Quotes

Online auto insurance quotes can be a great way to find out how much you can expect to pay for car insurance. You can sit down at any time of the night and do the car insurance comparison yourself by requesting free quotes from the various online car insurance companies. One of the best ways that we found is to go online and compare the different automotive insurance policies. Insurance companies and brokers provide free online rate quotes that allow you to easily compare costs and coverage. To get online car insurance quotes ten years ago, you would have to call an agent who would send a quote to you via email.

Car insurance is the most widely purchased type of insurance coverage. One of the most common issues with cheap car insurance is companies that simply avoid filling claims should an accident or bodily injury arise. Saving money today on your car insurance is really of the easiest things you can do and often one of the most overlooked ways to free up money for your household expenses.

3 Buying Car Accident Insurance Tips

Buying auto insurance can seem like an overwhelming task. There are many things to consider that can potentially save or cost you a lot of money and stress over the years. Here are some car accident insurance tips that can make this task much easier.

Tip #1: Drive A Low Profile Vehicle

Some cars carry high insurance costs based upon the perceived risks associated with those cars. For example, if you drive a sports car, most insurance companies will presume there is a higher inherent risk and assign a higher rate on your insurance policy. For much lower rates, drive a low-profile vehicle that does not raise any red flags with your insurance carrier.

Tip #2: Keep Your Credit Report Clean

Your credit report is often used by the insurance carrier to determine the amount of risk they assume to offer you a policy. Though most insurance carriers won't proactively tell you that your credit report is used to determine your car insurance rates, there is a strong correlation between a person's credit rating and the risk an insurance carrier assumes in offering that person a policy. Pay your bills on time and review your credit reports annually to ensure they are clean of errors.

Tip #3: Install A Car Alarm Or Anti-Theft System

Often, you can save money on your car insurance rates if you install a anti-theft device. Your rates are largely a result of the perceived risk that a car insurance company assumes in carrying your policy. Installing a car alarm in your vehicle lowers this perceived risk. As a result, your rates may be lowered.

The car accident insurance buying tips you have discovered above should save you some time and money in the near future. One other thing you should always do is shop around. Try to get quotes from as many car insurance companies as you possibly can before you choose your insurance policy

How to Find No Medical Life Insurance Quotes Online

Have you recently heard about no medical life insurance quotes? Yes, life insurance really can be obtained without being forced to undergo a medical exam or some other form of physical exam or test. Are you wondering if you really can get life insurance without an exam? The truth is, yes, you can actually obtain life insurance without having to undergo any physical tests, blood tests, urine analysis or medical exams. Not everyone will apply for no medical life insurance, but it is a viable option for a lot of people and the benefits far outweigh any drawbacks or costs involved.

No medical life insurance has changed the way that term life insurance and other forms of life insurance are both bought and sold on the Internet. New doors have been opened for many people regarding their life insurance policies as life insurance policies have become more affordable and easier than ever to obtain. In recent years, no medical life insurance quotes have also been attainable, providing term life insurance without requiring a medical examination of any kind.

Finding No Medical Life Insurance Quotes Online

No medical life insurance is a recent addition to the line up of different types of term life insurance that can be purchased to protect you and your family. You have finally been given a chance to purchase life insurance that does not require you to go through a medical examination beforehand. This type of life insurance is providing new chances to people who want to explore a wide range of different choices and options rather than settling on what appears to be the cheapest or easiest option to obtain. When comparing various term life insurance rates online, one of the fastest ways to save on money is to forgo the medical exam is by applying for no medical life insurance. The interesting thing about the application process is you are not required to pay a visit to your local doctor, or even worse, a doctor who is assigned by the insurance company. No medical life insurance quotes may end up proving to be a little pricier right off the bat, at least as far as monthly premiums are concerned. This is typically well worth the extra money if it means not having to worry about health problems or medications when signing up for term life insurance.

Available Term Life Insurance Options

There are many different options that tend to be available to you when it comes to no medical life insurance policies. As an example, you can purchase a hospital plan, travel insurance or a funeral insurance plan. Travel insurance is life insurance that is specific to accidents that are caused while traveling. Term life insurance only covers you for a shortened, pre-determined amount of time, and travel term life insurance does not require a medical exam in order for you to apply and to qualify. There is actually an overwhelming percentage of life insurance plans available that simply do not require any exam whatsoever. These are great term life insurance policies for senior citizens who are typically hard to insure, or anyone who is not interested in wasting their time with an additional medical exam. Whatever policy you decide to choose, keep in mind that there are plenty of options available to you for no medical life insurance, and these options are worth pursuing no matter who you are.

How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?

As we all know, this subject is something that we could all use a little education on no matter who you are.

You might be asking manually this subject: "How much life insurance do I need?"

Some fiscal advisors will tell you to multiply your yearly wages by seven. Others will tell you to buy only enough life insurance to exchange the wages you are quoted to make between now and retirement. Some might suggest you buy only enough life insurance to obscure your near debts.

While you perhaps can do all of those calculations in a little, they won't give you the right answer. Modestly put, calculating your life insurance desires takes research. It forces you to do an array of all of your finances, and to think long and hard about how your beneficiaries would assert their lifestyles lacking you. You also must deem inflation and, if you have spanner, imminent academy training outlay.

We have had a lot of fun during the first portion of this article and hopefully you feel as though you have a firm grasp on the topic.

What not to do

What's the amiss way to analyze how much life insurance you need? Here are some ordinary but misguided manners.

1. Multiply your yearly salary by seven or eight: While it's an easy formula, it fails to take into a regard your individual desires and obligations. Life insurance experts say threes a good venture you'll buy too little or too much obscure age, cleanly by with a formula such as this.

2. Compute your "guise life survey:" This manner gives you the wages you will earn from your near age pending your retirement age, arrogant a evaluate of notice that rehears salary increases throughout that episode. The glitch is it does not take into a regard what your beneficiary's explicit desires will be. You also end up with a numeral that forces you to buy an enormous calculate of life insurance, probably more than you may need. "There are all sorts of landmines in this," says Michael Snow don, an instructor at the train of economic forecast in Denver. "When you analyze this way, you're effective with broad brush strokes."

3. Case your debts. This involves export only enough life insurance to obscure debts such as your finance, learner advance bills, or outstanding car comments. This manner does not deem any imminent debts or desires, such as spawn heed or academy training outlay.

A classic formula

Many experts say the best way to isolate a smart life insurance numeral is through a desires assay, which can be crushed down into an easy formula: brief-idiom desires + long-idiom desires - subsidizes = how much life insurance you need. Snow don says this manner is "perhaps the most accuevaluate loom in what is an inaccuevaluate and blurred knowledge."

Experts notify you do an assay at slightest once every three being, or when you have had a chief life change. For example, if you have a new baby, you have to reanalyze academy training desires and spawn-heed outlay. If you own a home, finance is forced your leading fiscal burden. Because your finance stability decreases with each payment, it's important to enter those revised numerals in your calculations.

Five steps to a desires assay

March 1

Add up all of your concise-idiom desires. These can be sited into three categories: ultimate expenses, outstanding debts and crisis expenses. Among ultimate expenses are medicinal, hospice, and funeral expenses, attorney or architect fees, probate incite outlay (if you do not have a will), and any outstanding taxes that would need to be salaried if you died. Among outstanding debts are esteem license stabilities, vehicle advances, academy advances, and all other outstanding bills. Crisis expenses should enter money coolness for medicinal emergencies and repairs to your home or car.

Calculating ultimate and crisis expenses can be complicated, because you don't have a sparkler sphere that tells you how much your medicinal or hospice expenses will be, or if you even will have any.

March 2

Next, add up your long-idiom debts, which enter your finance and academy education.

Calculating training subsidize is tricky because you have no idea where your spanner will be ready to academy. Perhaps the best manner is to use the near mode academy loss in the United States and the number of being away your spanner is from inflowing academy. The mode academy outlay for the 2002-2003 train year were $4,081 yearly for a community, four-year institution, and $18,273 yearly for a guinea, four-year institution, according to the train lodge.

The U.S. Department of tutoring rumor academy outlay traditionally have risen at about 5 percent yearly, so you need to numeral out what the loss will be when your spawn goes to academy. (To analyze what outlay will be in the imminent, see the last segment: A must-know: the equation for the imminent survey of money. Also be surely to analyze what the complete training wills loss while charming into a regard the augmented outlay each year.)

March 3

Next, analyze family maintenance expenses. These enter such necessities as spawn heed, food, clothing, value bills, entertainment, tour, and transportation. Compute this numeral based on a year's merit of expenses, then multiply that period the number of being you want to supply this wages.

Once you've done that, add your concise and long-idiom debts and your family maintenance expenses.

March 4

Now that you've tallied all of your wages desires, numeral out what subsidizes you have to unite them. To do this, add all untaken savings, stocks, bonds, mutual subsidizes, untaken life insurance (such as group life through your employer), and societal refuge. You and your husband can find out how much you'll get through the societal refuge Administration (SSA) by visiting the Sass website, where you can get a quote of how much you should have in societal refuge profit. Also add your near salary, and presume 5 percent compounded notice each year if you force salary increases over time.

It's important to regard only liquid assets (those that could be hastily converted to money) among your subsidizes. You shouldn't regard stuff such as your home or vehicle mobile, because promotion them for money when you're consumed would mean altering your family's lifestyle.

March 5

Deduct your subsidizes from your calculate expenses. The numeral you get should rehear the calculate of life insurance you should buy.

Don't be impressed

Snow don says the ultimate numeral that shows how much life insurance a guise desires can be pretty alarming. If you end up with an astronomical numeral that forces a premium that is too high, he suggests you go through the assay again and wish areas for which you think you can allocate excluding money.

"Many people will look at the ultimate numeral and say, 'I can't do that,'" Snow don says. "You have to look at it, numeral out which is the most crucial, commence making adjustments, and go from there."

A must-know: the equation for the imminent survey of money

Calculating your life insurance desires will force two equations you may have chosen up in Finance 101: the imminent and near survey of money.

The imminent survey of money equation tells you how much your money will be merit in a given number of being while earning a given evaluate of notice. This equation is necessary if you are calculating how much money you'll need in the imminent because of inflation or what your overthrow profit will be if you wish to invest the money at a given notice evaluate.

The near survey of money equation tells you what your money is merit before it has been invested for a given number of being at a given evaluate of notice. This is important if you have an calculate of money you need in the imminent, and you need to know how much life insurance obscure age you should buy now.

If this sounds phobia to you, don't trouble. As long as you have a calculator (preferably a fiscal calculator, which is worn by acregardants and finance professionals), these equations are no sweat.

Here's how the imminent survey of money equation factory: Say that mode academy training outlay are $20,000 yearly for a guinea four-year institution, and you want to numeral out how much it will loss in four being if academy outlay keep ready up 5 percent per year. You would multiply 20,000 by 1.05 (1 rehears the near loss, and .05 is 5 percent inflation) four period (or 1.05 to the fourth strength).

We hope that you have found this article interesting and eye catching to say the least. Its objective is to entertain and inform.

Group Life Insurance and Your Small Business

By the end of this article, you should have gained enough new knowledge on this subject to be able to explain its main points to another person.

In order to retain hard-effectual, top-grade employees, it is important to propose a kind of profit to help soothe the pot and inveigle them to adjourn at your business. That is why proposing group life insurance to your small business is a good idea. It's not only a good supplement to free individual life insurance, but it is also expense-effectual and inexpensive when compared to an employer paying for medicinal or a retirement graph.

How to institute

Group life insurance isn't normally proposed to companies with fewer than 10 or 15 employees, and when it is proposed, it is proposed as a part of a "menu" graph. This just means that there is different worker profit, such as group fitness, group life, or group long-tenure or succinct-tenure disability that employees may be able to add on to their modern group fitness insurance graph.

We hope that you have gained a clear grasp of the subject matter presented in the first half of this article.

An in reliant insurance agent is typically worn with businesses consisting of fewer than 1000 employees. This agent may endorse group fitness insurance embrace age that affords a tilt of penalties from some different companies. On the middling, most employers will retain all their group insurance harvest - fitness, life and disability - through that one agent. Once retained, the employer will then pay a set total per $1,000 appeal of group life insurance.

For example, if an employer pays 25 cents for every $1,000 of a $50,000 fatality help, it will expense the employer $10.25/month for that worker ($.25 x 50 = $10.25).

What group life insurance graph to propose your employees

On middling, small policies are proposed on a guaranteed matter base, which means no medicinal exam is requisite from any of the employees that are insured. It is important that employees understand that group life insurance isn't destined to take the place of individual life insurance policies, because group graphs normally only embrace someplace from $10,000 to one year's salary. One year's salary isn't enough to buttress a worker's reliant in the happening of their fatality.

The penalty of a group insurance embalm is detenureined by the number of employees, their gender, middling age and print of business that you organize. The more unsafe or "unsafe" the job, the more a group will pay per $1,000 appeal of group life embrace age. Also, the group's ratio is not unnatural if a worker suffers an awful medicinal train, but continues to work. After the statement has been mattered, a worker will continue embraced in the happening they necessary to take a desert of absence. However, if the worker is on disability or takes a desert of absence before the group life insurance statement is mattered, they will not be embraced under the graph awaiting they revenue to work.

Reevaluating your small business' group life insurance graph

Better ratios are normally given to better employers because of the total they hoard in premium, versus that of slighter employers who don't hoard as greatly. Tiered life insurance policies also typically continue with better employees, due to the detail that they are better able to afford them. Regard fewer of the dimensions of your group, it is important to reevaluate your group insurance graph evenly.

A group life insurance graph should be reevaluated and reassessed when your group grows significantly, hires executives with better salaries, increases in number of employees, the demographics of the worker population changes, or when it improves previously proposed profit. By scrutiny back with your agent as your business grows, you may be eligible for an inferior life insurance ratio.

When looking for a new or different insurance graph, there are a few different options that an employer can look towards. The first and most chief life insurance graph typically embraces one year's appeal of salary. The next stride up would be to develop your profit with a graph, such as a group unanimous life insurance graph, which can propose two to three time an worker's salary, as well as proposing a portability comprise which allows the worker to continue embraced after they desert or retire. A group unanimous life insurance helps erect money towards prospect premiums, but is normally proposed by companies with over 1000 employees, because the money estimate account must be individually managed. Also, the employees are allowed to pay in as greatly, or as little, as they want.

The classification of the worker is also a detenureining detailer when judgment about separation group life insurance graphs. For example, an employer may indicate to do a lifeless fatality help payout for certain employees, where as those who retain upper positions (i.e. managers, supervisors, etc.) catch profit copy to one to three times their salaries.

Family embrace age

Spouses and children may be embraced in certain wholesale group life insurance graphs, where the group may propose a set payout to a partner, then a certain set payout to each of the reliant children. When an employer begins proposing developed profit, the expenses may be agreed openly to the worker. An employer can propose so greatly of a certain help, but if a worker would like to add more to it, they may have to institute paying for it. Also, blood and urine samples will be full, tests for whether or not the worker is a smoker or not will be run, and a medicinal exam will necessary to be done to guarantee the recipient will be embraced.

Also, when it comes to proposing voluntary group life insurance graphs, it is a good idea to study insurers who propose the comprises that you would like to afford. These may comprise portability policies, acceleration fatality profit, or even a waiver of premium profit.

From beginning to end, this article has helped you to learn more about this topic than you probably thought you would ever know.

8 Basic Auto Insurance Terms You Need to Know

There are eight basic auto insurance terms that will help you understand your auto insurance. These basic terms will allow you to at least be familiar with what you are purchasing and what your policy will pay if you are in an accident. Number 8 is very most important and deserves extra attention.

1. Premium Your Premium is the cost of your insurance policy. Most companies allow you to pay by the month as well six months or yearly.

2. Claim If you get into an accident your claim is a demand for payment under your insurance policy. What you will receive is based on the terms, limits, and conditions of your policy.

3. Deductible Your out of pocket cost when making a claim. You decide when you purchase your policy what your deductible will be. A higher deductible will lower your Premium

4. Collision Coverage known as "Collision" Pays for the repairs to your car when it hits, or is hit by another vehicle or object.

5. Comprehensive Physical Damage Known as "Comprehensive" pays for damage other than a collision. Such as a fire, auto theft, flood or vandalism.

6. Property Damage Liability Pays for damage to other peoples property or auto when your vehicle causes the damage.

7 Bodily Injury Liability This coverage protects you if you injure someone while operating your vehicle.

8. Subject To This term takes the most study and will pay off when you review it before you are involved in an accident. It is often seen as "Subject to the terms, limits and conditions of your policy." it is the meat of your policy and will tell you exactly what will happen, when it will happen, and how much you will be paid should you have an accident.

Your auto insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company. It is important to know the basics and to review the "Subject To" provisions so that there are no surprises if you are involved in an accident. A few minutes spent with your agent reviewing the details of your policy is time well spent.

Home Insurance - 10 easy tips to pay less

Whether you live in Arizona, or any other state, home insurance is an important subject. While it is imperative that you have home insurance, you also want to be sure that you are getting a great deal on your insurance as well. Saving money is important, so here are ten good tips that will help you save on home insurance.

Tip #1 - Compare Multiple Quotes -

One of the best things you can do if you want to save on home insurance is to compare rates of various companies. The easiest and fastest way to compare multiple quotes is to do it online with only one form. Be sure you compare the coverage as well as the price.

Tip #2 - Choose a Higher Deductible -

Something as simple as just choosing a higher deductible can also help you to save. If you think that you can afford a higher deductible if something happens to your home, then a higher deductible can definitely lower insurance premium.

Tip #3 - Insure Your Home and Not the Land You Own -

Many people insure both their home and the land the home is on. Instead of insuring both your home and the land it is on, insure only your home if you want to save.

Tip #4 - Buy Multiple Insurance Policies from One Company -

Purchasing various policies from the same company will help you save money. Usually if you purchase more insurance policies with one company, you will be eligible for a discount on all policies you hold with the company.

Tip #5 - Take Inventory of Your Possessions and the Amount of Coverage You Have -

Each year you need to take inventory of your possessions and how much coverage you have. You may find that you have more coverage than you really need. Lowering the amount of coverage when you don't need it will save you money.

Tip #6 - Consider the Cost of Insurance before Purchasing Your Home -

If you are planning on purchasing a home in the near future, one thing to keep in mind is the cost of home insurance. You may want to choose a home that will not break your budget.

Tip #7 - Protect Your Home against Disasters -

If you check with your home insurance company, more than likely they will be able to give you some tips on protecting your home against disasters to save money. Some of the things you may be able to do to protect your home include using better roofing materials, adding storm shutters to your home, or reinforcing it against earthquakes.

Tip #8 - Add more Security Features to Your Home -

Security is important to the safety of your home and your family. By adding burglar alarms, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and other types of home security, you can save money and provide more safety for you and your family.

Tip #9 - Keep Your Credit Looking Great -

Believe it or not, if you have bad credit, you are going to end up paying more for home insurance. Work on improving your credit by paying all of your bills on time.

Tip #10 - If You Smoke - QUIT! -

There are some home insurance companies that may charge you a surcharge if you smoke, so just taking the initiative to stop smoking can help you save.

Life Insurance - Term Life versus Whole Life

A battle is raging in online communities between those who believe that term life insurance is the only kind of life insurance to buy and those who tout the virtues of whole life insurance. Strong opinions abound, but what are the facts?

Both term life insurance and whole life insurance pay a sum of money--the death benefit--to an individual named in the policy, known as the beneficiary, when the policyholder dies. The purpose of any life insurance is to protect a family against the financial burdens that accompany the unexpected, premature death of a family member, especially one who is a main source of income for the family. The insurance money replaces the policyholder's income, allowing the family to make house and car payments, pay utilities, save for higher education, and anything else it was doing before the death of the loved one. Some insurance professionals advise taking out a policy with a death benefit equivalent of 7-10 years of a breadwinner's annual salary, providing the family with a financial cushion that should last several years.

One of the differences between term life and whole life is the period the policy covers. The difference is reflected in the names of the policies. A term life insurance policy insures the policyholder's life for a set period of time--the term. The term can be any amount of time, but policies generally are sold in increments of ten years, up to 30 years. For example, a person who takes out 20-year term policy on his thirtieth birthday will be covered by the policy until he turns 50. If he dies at any time during the term, the death benefit will be paid. However, if the policyholder dies the day after his fiftieth birthday, no benefit will be paid, because the policy will have expired.

A whole life insurance policy insures the policyholder until death--thus the name whole life. As long as the premiums are paid, the policy remains in force. The premium amount for a whole life policy is set at the beginning and does not change. This is one of the reasons that whole life policies are popular for insuring children: the cost of the premiums remain the same throughout the child's life, even throughout adulthood.

Because term life policies routinely expire without paying a death benefit, they cost 5 to 10 times less than whole life policies do. Affordability is the main advantage of term life. Term life advocates argue that the low cost allows flexibility that matches or surpasses the benefits of whole life. With the low premiums, a person can afford to purchase another term life policy after the active one terminates. In the example above, the person with the 20-year term policy that expires on his fiftieth birthday can purchase another 20-year term policy. Even though the policyholder will pay higher premiums at 50 than he did at 30, over the long haul he still will pay less than with whole life. By the time the next term policy expires, when the policyholder turns 70, he presumably will not need another policy, because his family will no longer depend on his income.

Critics of term life point out that there is no guarantee that a person with term life can get another policy. If the person develops a serious illness, such as cancer, he or she might be deemed uninsurable. A key advantage of whole life is that the policy cannot be cancelled, no matter what medical condition the policyholder develops.

Whole lifers also point out that if the term policyholder outlives the policy, all the premium money is gone. Neither the policyholder nor his family will ever see that money again. The opposite is true with whole life insurance: the money paid in premiums is guaranteed to be paid out in the death benefit. With whole life, the insurance company also agrees to pay the policyholder a sum of money should the policy be cancelled at any point. This amount is known as the surrender value or the cash value of the policy. The cash value can be used as collateral for a loan, or it can be borrowed from the insurance company.

The term lifers argue that even with the accrual of cash value, a whole life policy is a poor investment. They say that a person who needs insurance is better off taking out a term life policy for the same amount as a whole life policy and investing the premium savings in stocks, mutual funds, or even bonds. This would give the person the same amount of life insurance coverage but a larger return on investment.

The investment strategy proposed by the term lifers is sound. Virtually any investment will out-earn a whole life policy. There is a problem with the term life insurance solution, however. It assumes that people will save the difference between the whole life and term life premium amounts. Americans are notorious for taking whatever money they save in one area and spending it in another. It also assumes they have the skill and know-how to invest the savings in something that will outperform whole life insurance. Investments are not guaranteed to grow, as whole life is. It is always possible to lose money on an investment.

The choice between term life and whole life depends on a person's goals, tolerance for risk, and investment style. A person who wants to insure his or her life until death, no matter what illness or condition they develop, probably should opt for whole life. That person will enjoy the security of knowing that the premium money will be paid back in a death benefit and the policy will earn cash value. They will enjoy the convenience of getting life insurance and savings in one payment. A person who cares only about protecting his or her family during the peak earning years and is willing to accept the risk of not being able to get insurance later should opt for term life. This person will pay much less for the insurance, and, if he or she is a disciplined and savvy investor, will be able to invest the savings in riskier but most likely more profitable vehicles.