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Last Minute Travel Insurance

Many people purchase excellent travel tickets and vacations at the last minute. In fact, there are a significant number of web sites and companies who offer great deals on vacations and airline tickets for travelers who purchase their vacations and tickets at the last minute. You can obtain great prices because the travel company doesn't want to leave that seat unfilled and will discount the fair or vacation to fill it.

However, TFG Global Travel Insurance.com offers excellent travel insurance for last-minute travellers. You can obtain great travel insurance plans if you are traveling on short notice because our web site allows you to purchase travel insurance online in minutes and receive your travel insurance confirmation in just a few moments via email or later by regular mail.

If you purchase a last-minute flight or vacation, you may want to consider a comprehensive trip cancellation and interruption plan. Most vacation policies such as these do not cover cancellation because of an existing pre-existing condition if the travel insurance policy is not purchased within a set number of days.

Unfortunately, many last minute vacationers forget to get their travel insurance. Note that our web site does offer travel insurance to people who are already traveling. Some policies will cover you with a one or three day waiting period and you can print or take note of your policy and claims numbers if you purchase via the internet. It is a good idea to have access to your emails while traveling or use a Gmail or Yahoo email account to access your travel insurance policy documents.

Where can I get last minute travel insurance?

You can get a quote for a wide variety of travel insurance plans for both business and pleasure from TFG Global Travel Insurance via www.globaltravelinsurance.com/quote.htm

Travel Insurance is vital for business travellers.

Business persons who are traveling should make sure that they get adequate travel insurance when they travel on business. The Travel Industry Association of America recently reported that business travellers are taking approximately 5 work related trips per year. Business owners should make sure that they are and their employees are covered by a comprehensive travel insurance policy that will cover medical and evacuation expenses. Such costs could cripple an employee's finances and he or she may look to the employer to cover these medical costs, especially if they are on company business.

Employers should purchase a single or group travel insurance policy to cover employees while traveling for business. If employees are traveling more than one time per year, a multi-trip travel insurance plan is the most cost effective travel insurance plan. A group travel insurance plan can also offer great savings either on single or multi-trip basis. It is recommended that such a group multi-trip plan, which can be a stand alone plan or part of a group benefit plan, also cover the employee while he or she is on non-business trips.

Medical evacuation coverage is a must for any travel insurance plan as the costs can also run into the thousands of dollars and the travel insurance assistance provider can coordinate the evacuation details. Most travel insurance plans include medical evacuation, but it can be sold on a stand alone basis for individuals and groups. A business travel insurance plan can also aid in assessing your medical condition, provide translation or even legal help.

Some business travel insurance plans also include coverage for baggage loss, which is quite common these days, especially in some airports such as Terminal 5 at Heathrow. Some business travel insurance plans also include trip cancellation and trip delay, but these can also easily be purchased on a single trip basis.

For business trips to dangerous regions such as Iraq or Afghanistan, make sure you get a travel insurance policy that will cover terrorism and war risk. You may also want to obtain Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage to cover travel to dangerous regions.

If you are a business traveller this year, make sure that you check to see if your company travel insurance policy exists and if it will cover you while traveling on business and/or pleasure. Also, note that Expedia's online poll revealed that 19% of US travellers postpone or cancel holiday travel plans because of work reasons.

Where can I get business travel insurance?

You can get a quote for a wide variety of travel insurance plans for both business and pleasure from TFG Global Travel Insurance via www.globaltravelinsurance.com/quote.htm

Travel Insurance Information

1. What does it usually cover?

Travel insurance coverage varies from insurer to insurer, but there are two major types:

* Travel Medical & Evacuation Insurance: This covers the medical emergency expenses while you are on your trip
* Trip Cancellation & Interruption: This vacation insurance is probably the most common type of travel insurance policy sold in North America. It covers the non-refuntable trip costs if you can’t travel due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness or financial default of the travel carrier. It also covers you if you become sick during your trip and have to return home.
* Flight Insurance: Covers Accidental Death & Dismemberment while you are traveling on the commercial aircraft.
* Trip Delay: Provides a nominal reimbursement for travel delays such as plane departure being postponed.
* Baggage Insurance: Provides reimbursement for lost or stolen coverage that is usually part of a vacation insurance plan.
* Assistance: Most insurers provide a 24 hour hotline for help with medical care, transportation and accommodation needs, notification of family and friends in case of emergency.

The above plans are usually sold as single trip plans. But the vacation insurance and the travel medical and evacuation plans are also sold as annual multi-trip insurance plans that cover you throughout the year up to 1 month per trip.

2. How much does it cost?

The cost of annual travel insurance policies is dependent on one’s age, trip length, trip cost, the plan you want and coverage limits. Trip cancellation and interruption plans on a per trip basis are typically based on the cost of your trip, your age and amount of coverage you want. Most vacation insurance plans are between 4% and 8% of total trip price.

Travel medical and evacuation plans are quite inexpensive, especially if you are young.

3. Won’t my domestic insurance plan cover me?

It is important to know what coverage you may have through your home or health insurance, or on your credit card. However, only travel insurance provides trip cancellation/trip interruption coverage, protecting your financial investment. And not all health insurance plans will provide full coverage when you travel internationally or outside of a designated network area. (For example, Medicare does not cover health care expenses outside of the United States.) Medical evacuation coverage is rarely covered in most standard health insurance policies.

4. Why should I buy a travel insurance plan?

Here are six reasons to buy travel insurance:

* To protect your personal items while traveling
* To protect your financial investment in your trip
* To protect your health and well-being.
* To cover the high medical costs associated with getting sick or injured while traveling abroad that may not be covered by your domestic health plan.
* To cover the cost of being evacuated to a medical center of excellence or back home.
* Peace of mind

Travel insurance is a great value for travelers who are concerned about: their trip being cancelled, delayed or interrupted for reasons outside their control; urgent access to medical care while abroad, medical evacuation and payments for those services; and protection of personal baggage.

5. Where can I get travel insurance?

You can get a quote for a wide variety of travel insurance plans from TFG Global Travel Insurance via www.globaltravelinsurance.com/quote.htm

About Travel Insurance

Travel insurance policies provide at least six types of coverage, intended for different types of travellers and trips:

1. Comprehensive travel medical insurance is for people who don't have any other medical insurance, even at home. Since most people who can afford it have health care coverage in their home country, often through their employer, comprehensive travel medical insurance is mainly of interest to long-term travelers who've left their jobs and lost their insurance coverage at home, or to those living and working outside their country of citizenship or permanent residence.
2. Emergency travel medical insurance is for people who have medical coverage at home, but whose health plan at home doesn't cover them while they are travelling. Emergency travel medical insurance only covers emergency services abroad; once you get home, you're on your own (or presumably, back under your regular home coverage) for any necessary follow-up treatment or continuing care. Most health insurance plans and health maintenance organizations in the USA include their own provisions for emergency care while abroad, at least for trips of less than 30 days. Check with your current insurer or HMO before you waste money on an emergency travel medical plan that duplicates your existing coverage.
3. Medical evacuation (medevac) insurance covers the cost of an air ambulance, attending physician and nurse, etc. if you are so badly injured, or become so ill, that you can't come home (or get to a suitable medical facility) on a scheduled commercial passenger flight. Medical evacuations can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but are rarely necessary. Even very badly injured travellers usually can come home on regular flights after no more than a couple of weeks of emergency treatment and stabilization abroad. Some of the activities most likely to lead to a need for medical evacuation, such as scuba diving and extreme sports, are often excluded from medevac coverage. Read the fine print.
4. Trip cancellation and interruption insurance covers the cancellation or refund penalties and the cost of getting home if you have to cancel your trip, or cut it short, for specified reasons. The covered reasons vary (read the fine print), but typically include injury or illness to you, a travelling companion, or a member of your immediate family. War and terrorism may or may not be included, or may be covered only at additional charge.
5. Supplier default insurance covers any money you lose because of the bankruptcy of an airline, cruise line, tour operator, or other provider of travel services. Supplier default coverage has been drastically cut back since 11 September 2001. Some travel insurance companies no longer offer it at all, while others pick and choose which travel suppliers they will insure. Read the fine print.

# Rental car insurance covers damage or theft to a vehicle you rent (usually referred to as "collision" insurance) and/or liability to other people or vehicles you injure or damage. Many credit cards include rental car collision insurance, but not liability insurance. If you own a vehicle, your insurnace may or may not provide liability coverage when you are dirving a rented vehicle. Read the fine print. Your liability if someone is killed or injured in an accident can be much greater than the value of the vehicle.
Source of travel insurance

Where do you find this sort of insurance?

Some travel agencies and travel suppliers offer travel insurance as an option along with travels services you buy from them. For example, Hotwire.com -- as a result of a suggestion I made to their president -- began offering trip cancellation and interruption and supplier default insurance for four percent of the cost of tickets purchased from Hotwire, with a US$12 per ticket minimum. Airtreks.com, with whom I am affiliated, offers links to a selection of travel insurance policies chosen to suit the needs of long-term, independent international travelers.

Some regular insurance agents handle travel insurance, especially long-term comprehensive travel medical insurance. If you're travelling for six months or more, or if you plan to travel regularly throughout the year, it may be cheaper to include travel coverage with your regular health coverage. Check with your regular insurance agent to see what they can offer.

You can also get travel insurance from specialists in the field. These include travel insurance companies, direct providers of medevac and travel emergency services, and independent travel insurance brokers and agencies that can help you compare the offerings of different insurers. Following are some of those I know of, with the types of coverage or services they offer.

These listings are not intended as endorsements. I've heard good and bad things about almost all of these companies. This is just a list to help you get strated on your own research, in case you have difficulty finding companies that offer this sort of coverage at all.

1.
Travel insurance companies and travel service providers
* International Medical Group (IMG)
http://www.imglobal.com
Coverage: Comprehensive travel medical insurance. (Expensive but genuinely comprehensive coverage. IMG is the primary provider of medical insurance for Peace Corps volunteers, and a leading insurer of missionaries and other expatriates from the USA living and travelling in the Third and Fourth Worlds.)
* WorldNomads.com
http://www.worldnomads.com
Coverage: Bundled package including medical evacuation, emergency medical, and trip cancellation and interruption. (No supplier default coverage. Optional add-on coverage for cameras and personal electronic devices typically excluded from coverage by other policies. Based in Australia, but covers citizens of any country travelling anywhere outside their country of citizenship. Designed for long-term international travellers without other health insurance.)
* Travelex
http://www.travelex-insurance.com
Coverage: Emergency medical, medevac, trip cancellation and interruption, supplier default. (In addition to travel insurance, Travelex operates currency exchange and travel service offices in each major world region. So if you want a company with regional staff to help you if things go wrong, or if you want coverage for the default of any airline or travel supplier, you should consider the offerings from Travelex.)
* Travel Guard International
http://www.travelguard.com
Coverage: Emergency medical, medevac, trip cancellation and interruption, and supplier default. (Supplier default coverage excludes certain airlines and tour companies, but includes all those not specifically listed. Travel Guard voluntarily covered those travellers who had purchased their insurance, and whose travel plans were disrupted after 11 September 2001, even though their insurance didn't cover war and terrorism and they could legally have refused to pay. But they might not do so again)
* CSA Travel Protection
http://www.csatravelprotection.com
Coverage: Emergency medical, medevac, and trip cancellation and interruption. (No supplier default coverage.)
* Seven Corners, Inc.
http://www.sevencorners.com
Formerly "Specialty Risk International, Inc. (SRI)". Coverage: Emergency medical, medevac, trip cancellation and interruption, liability. (No supplier default coverage.) Liability coverage is an unusual optional add-on. Bundled with medevac coverage it provides a package tailored for people who already have general-purpose health insurance.
* Highway To Health
http://www.highwaytohealth.com
Coverage: Emergency medical, medevac, and trip cancellation and interruption. (No supplier default coverage.)
* Access America
http://www.accessamerica.com
Coverage: Emergency medical, medevac, and trip cancellation and interruption. (Supplier default coverage is limited to a few selected airlines and tour operators, mainly the largest and most expensive, and excludes all companies that aren't specifically listed as covered.)
* Safeware
http://www.safeware.com
The leading specialists in the USA in personal computer insurance, including laptops, peripherals, and accessories. (Standard annucal package covers theft, accidental damage, water damage, and damage in transport. Coverage offered to USA residents only, but covers damage while at home or travelling worldwide, and can be renewed while continuing to travel outside the USA, as long as you remain a Usa resident.)
* MEDJET Assistance
http://www.medjetassistance.com
Services: Emergency medical transportation. (For a fixed annual fee, MEDJET Assistance will provide air ambulance transportation to the hospital of your choice, worldwide, if you are hospitalized. That's much more generous than typical travel insurance, which only covers transportation to the nearest hospital they deem suitable -- not necessarily the one nearest your home -- and only if their doctors decide it's essential. A subscription to MEDJET Assistance will get you home if you're hospitalized. Period. If you have insurance, but it doesn't provide for medical evacuation, this may be the way to go. Note, however, that the standard MEDJET Assistance plan doesn't cover you if you are out of your home country for more than 90 days at a time. You have to pay a higher "expatriate" rate for coverage for longer stays abroad. MEDJET doesn't own or operate planes, but contracts with local air ambulance operators.)
* AirMed International
http://www.airmed.com
Services: Emergency medical transportation. (Like MEDJET, AirMed offers prepaid medical evacuation services for a flat annual fee, with a higher rate for stays of more than 90 days outside your home country. Their are two major differences: AirMed owns and operates its own planes, with its own staff -- which may or may not give better sevice than a local contractor, but may take longer to arrive from their base in the USA. Airmed only provides medevac services if, in their judgement, it is medically necessary.)
2.
Independent travel insurance brokers
Each of these brokers offers a selection of travel insurance policies from multiple insurers. Note that none of these brokers offers any policies I can find that include coverage for supplier default.

Travel Insurance, Annual Travel Insurance, Holiday Insurance

ANNUAL TRAVEL INSURANCE
This is ideal for frequent travelers because it covers unlimited trips annually with 17days free ski insurance for just US $210 per adult. It is also a cost effective family travel insurance with a premium of just US $396 for 2 adults and up to 4 children. Stay up to a maximum of 45 days per trip.

SINGLE TRIP TRAVEL INSURANCE
Provides coverage for one-off trips ranging from 5 up to 180 days, for longer coverage please fill out the Contact Us form for favorable rates. You also have the option of adding coverage for Ski Insurance & Scuba Diving Insurance. This policy is also suited for long business trips.

WINTER SPORTS TRAVEL INSURANCE
Provides coverage for sports like skiing, snow boarding, and ice skating. If you travel frequently we suggest you consider taking our Annual Multi-Trip Insurance coverage, which includes 17 days of FREE Ski Insurance (Winter Sports) Coverage.

WATER SPORTS TRAVEL INSURANCE
Provides coverage for scuba-diving with air bottles to a depth of up to 30 meters. It also covers you for surface water sports, other than white water canoeing and rafting.

HOLIDAYGUARD TRAVEL INSURANCE VALID FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL ONLY!

Do You Need Supplemental Health Insurance?

If you had an accident and were hospitalized tomorrow, could you cover all the deductibles, co-pays and lost income out of pocket without strain? Chances are that even if you have excellent health insurance, an unexpected hospitalization or medical emergency could hit you hard in the pocketbook. Supplemental health insurance can help cover the gaps that your standard health insurance policy leaves open, as well as provide cash for living expenses and replace lost wages.

How is supplemental health insurance different than standard health insurance?
Standard health insurance policies pay your doctor or health provider for services provided to you. You may be responsible for a co-pay or a deductible, and your provider typically handles all the insurance paperwork. Your health insurance benefits go directly to the health care provider.

By contrast, supplemental health insurance policies typically pay you a fixed amount for specific incidents when you use health care services. For example, if you slip and sprain your ankle, your standard health insurance policy will pay your doctor’s bill, but you will still be responsible for the co-pay or deductible. Your doctor’s office will bill your insurance company for its money, and bill you for any excess. If you have a supplemental health insurance policy that pays out $50 for a doctor’s visit, you can make a claim on your policy and the insurance company will send you a check for $50 which you can use toward the deductible or co-pay, or put toward other expenses.

What benefits can I get under a supplemental health insurance policy?
The benefits to which you are entitled under a supplemental health insurance policy depend on the individual policy. There are many different types of supplemental insurance policies, each designed for different purposes. Some, like the well-known Aflac, are meant to help cover expenses that typical health insurance policies leave lacking by paying you cash when you have to visit the doctor, are hospitalized or are out of work because of illness or injury. Others are designed specifically to help with prescription costs, or to pay benefits for catastrophic illnesses or disabling accidents. Some are strictly hospitalization polices, and some designed to pay for long-term care. Many supplemental health insurance policies are designed specifically to help cover the gaps left by traditional Medicare health insurance.

Who should carry supplemental health insurance?
Supplemental health insurance is not a necessity for everyone, but it can help protect you financially if you are not prepared to meet unexpected medical expenses. Typically, you should consider supplemental health insurance if you are self-employed, on Medicare, have small children or are financially unprepared to deal with large medical bills or time off from work due to illness or injury.

What kind of supplemental health insurance is best for me?
The best supplemental health insurance policy is different for each person, and will depend on your specific needs and circumstances. For a young family, for instance, a supplemental insurance policy that pays benefits for wellness care can be enormously helpful, as can a hospital indemnity policy that will pay out a cash benefit if a parent is unable to work because they are hospitalized or out of work due to illness. Older adults should consider whether a long-term care policy or a supplemental policy that pays out a lump sum for catastrophic illness will be useful. Older adults and families may also find that a prescription benefit plan is essential to meet medical expenses that aren’t covered by Medicare and traditional insurance.

Renters insurance in the dorms

Many people get renters insurance because they understand that even if they don't own the property, they might have things inside that property that are worth a lot of money. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the fact that when you are renting a property, you want to have the items that are in that property covered by renters insurance. Many people wonder about the dorms, and if renters insurance will cover you while you are in the dorms.

Renters insurance is usually meant for an apartment or rental home. Therefore, if you are student in the dorms you want to check with the rental insurance company and see if they have a separate student insurance policy that you can get to protect your items while you are at school. Even if you aren't in a rental property, you still want to protect the things that you own. Therefore, student insurance might be something that you want to think about. A dorm is just like a rental home, in that it is somewhere that you can live while you are going to school. It is still susceptible to theft, fire, and water damage, so most insurance companies will offer a type of renters insurance that will work on someone living in the dorms.

If you are interested in renters insurance, and you are less than 18 years old, you should talk to your parents about insurance. Chances are that they will be able to get you on their insurance policies, which will mean that you will be able to have your belongings covered while you are at school. However, remember that in order to make this type of claim for renters insurance, you have to make sure that you are always locking your door, and keeping your belongings somewhere safe. While you are in the dorms, you will want to be sure that you keep your most expensive items at home with your parents, so that if your dorm room is broken into, you will be able to not have everything that you love stolen from you.

If you are not able to get renters insurance as it is, you will probably be able to get regular insurance that you can use for your dorm. This is often easier because the insurance company will offer you or your parents a good deal a small insurance policy ,just enough to cover the items that are in your dorm room. This way, you will be able to have your belongings covered. It is often easier to cover your belongings then to worry about covering your dorm room, because you will often be changing the places where you live from semester to semester. Renters insurance might have to be redone in a situation like this, but with a regular insurance policy you will not have to worry about redoing your insurance, you will simply keep it on the items that it covers, no matter where those items are. This is often the easiest thing for students to do.

How to Find the Best Renters Insurance

If you’re renting an apartment, condo, or house instead of purchasing your own home, you need to contact an insurance representative so that your belongings are covered. Remember, your landlord’s insurance on the property only covers the property itself, not your belongings. However, renters insurance varies greatly from one company to the next. How do you find the best renters insurance? Use the following tips when you’re looking for the best renters insurance for you.

Shop online for renters insurance.
While there are both online and offline insurance companies to consider, by shopping online, you can do the work more quickly. Shopping online also gives you the advantage of doing your rate comparison when you have time, even if that’s not during normal business hours. Online, you can shop for insurance even on the weekends and in the evening when traditional insurance companies have their offices close. Of course, it is probably a good idea to also shop around offline, but shopping online can give you a good start to understanding the averages prices you can expect in your neighborhood.

Consider your deductible carefully.
When it comes to renters insurance, you should always calculate what you’ll need to have your possessions covered if, for example, the entire building would burn to the ground. For most people, having a higher deductible is fine. If you can afford to pay the first $3,000, $5,000, or even $10,000, your monthly premium will be much, much lower. At the same time, however, don’t cut yourself short. If you have a very high deductible and later can’t afford to put that kind of money toward replacing possessions, you might not see any kind of money from your insurance company until you do.

Look for a company that’s friendly and helpful.
Buying renters insurance is tough. Insurance is something that many people don’t 100% understand, so you’ll be relying on an insurance representative to help you decide what kind of coverage is right for you. You should go with an insurance company that you representatives that are willing to help, not just drones who want to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. Some insurance companies don’t even have representatives to help you until after you make a purchase – they only have web pages and automated phone services! Instead, look for a company that is friendly and helpful in answering your questions.

Remember, not every insurance company is built the same way. While you’ll undoubtedly have dozens and maybe even hundreds of options for renters insurance, not all of them will be the right choice for you. In order to find the best choice possible, shop around and closely compare the services they offer. While price is important, it is also important that you find a company that fits nicely with what you need out of your insurance. Renters insurance isn’t a huge expense, but it is best to give your business to a company that you trust.

Renters Insurance for College Students Purchased Term by Term

College students are one of the biggest groups of people that have renters insurance. This is because college students usually do not own their homes and are not usually able to do so. Therefore, they are able to be renters, and this means that they are able to get renters insurance.

There are several ways that college students can get renters insurance. One of the things that they can do is make sure that they are buying renters insurance term by term. It is important to remember that most college students live their lives term by term. Each January and each September marks a new chapter in the life of a college student. Therefore, it only makes sense that the college students are able to get their renters insurance term by term.

Term by term renters insurance is something that you can do for college students. This allows them to be able to readjust their renters insurance with each term of school. The reason that this is a good idea is that each term can be different for a college student. Sometimes students go to different towns or different schools for some of their schooling. Therefore, one semester they might be living in a place that is much more prone to robbery than the semester before, and this means that they might want to readjust their renters insurance to cover them a little bit better. It is important that they are able to do this because they can make sure that each semester they have the exact coverage that they need for their belongings.

When a student is doing a term by term renters insurance program, it is important that they are able to look at the different parts of the semester and what their needs will be. The term by term renters insurance works best with a student who is able to take responsibility for doing this each semester, because it means that they will have to do paper work and renew their renters insurance each time they start a new term at school. This is something that is important to remember. If a student forges to renew their renters insurance, they might not be eligible to cash it in if something happens to their belongings. Therefore, it is important that if a student decides to do term by term renters insurance they are responsible enough to do this each semester.

When it comes right down to it, it is important that students are able to get term by term insurance as well as they can and are able to be responsible. You want to be sure that you are able to take care of this and that you will use it in the same way as the regular renters insurance. You want to be sure that you are keeping track of the items that you have in each of your rental properties. Be sure that you keep very close track of what you are doing with your belongings and what you have in each home.

Insuring Your Home Business Equipment

The internet has made it easier than ever for people to work from home, either in their own home-based businesses or as an employee working off-premises in a telecommuting position. While this is a good thing for most home business owners, it also opens the typical home business owner to losses they don’t expect. If you use a computer, specialized business equipment, tools for your business or even a fax machine, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise if they are lost, stolen or damaged.

The simple fact is that many homeowners expect their homeowners’ insurance to cover everything in their homes. That may not be the case. If you run a home business and use items and equipment at home for business purposes, chances are that your coverage for that equipment is severely limited. Most typical homeowner policies limit coverage for business equipment to no more than $2,500 – for everything. If the business property is not in the home when it is damaged, lost or stolen, you may only be able to collect 10 percent of the value. That means that if your $3,000 laptop, which you use for business recordkeeping, is stolen from your car, the most you can collect for it is $250 – unless you’ve had the foresight to insure it separately or cover it with a rider on your homeowner or car insurance policy.

When you’re considering insurance for your home business, it’s important to discuss your needs with your insurance agent. There are many types of coverage that you might not consider, but with which your agent will be familiar. In addition, there are pieces of equipment that you might not think of as ‘business equipment’, but that your insurance company most assuredly will. Some of the important items and things you should consider when purchasing insurance for your home business equipment are:

1. You may be able to increase coverage for business equipment with a rider or endorsement on your current homeowners’ insurance policy.
Talk to your insurance agent about the possibility of getting a rider on your current policy to cover specific business equipment in your home. For just a few dollars a month, you may be able to increase the coverage for the computer and communications equipment that you use for business purposes, or even for the furnishings in your home business office.

2. Don’t forget the “tools of the trade” that you keep at home.
Even those who don’t work at home often bring their business tools home with them. This goes beyond carting your laptop back and forth with you from the office. A chef who brings his knives home, a barber who carries his kit back and forth – or just brings it home to cut the kids’ hair – could find themselves laying out thousands of dollars to replace those pieces if they’re lost or stolen in a burglary. A rider on your standard homeowner policy should be enough to cover business equipment that you occasionally bring home with you.

3. If you work full time from home, consider purchasing in-home business insurance.
When you work exclusively from home, replacing your business equipment may be just the tip of the iceberg. Home business insurance is designed especially for those who work from home. It will cover your equipment and tools, as well as increasing your liability coverage to insure you against injuries to those who are in your home for business purposes and insuring you for interruption of business. It’s a worthwhile investment if the loss of your laptop or tools will cost you money because you can’t work without them.

4. Don’t forget your inventory.
One of the most common home-based business types is sales. Whether you sell cosmetics to friends or have your own home-based party business, one of your most valuable assets is your at-home inventory. Many sales representatives have several thousand dollars worth of inventory on hand for demonstrations and sales. A fire or burst pipe could end up costing you thousands if your insurance doesn’t cover it.

Who Should Insure Their Hobby Equipment?

Do you need insurance for your crafting and hobby equipment? Many of us have invested significant amounts of money in the pursuit of our leisure time activities. Unlike those who collect things for fun – stamps, coins and other valuables – hobbyists, crafters and sports enthusiasts seldom think of their equipment in monetary terms, but they should. Think about your favorite activities and the things you own to help you enjoy them. If they were lost or damaged in a fire or flood, could you replace them easily? If not, you may want to consider an insurance rider specifically to cover those items.

But what about my homeowners insurance?
Some of your equipment may already be covered under your contents cover by your homeowner insurance. Before you talk to your insurance agent about a rider or extension of coverage, go over your policy and decide if it is adequate to cover replacement of your most important pieces of leisure and hobby equipment. There are a few considerations that are important in making that determination:

What is the value of each piece of equipment?
Most homeowner policies limit the amount you can claim per single item. If that limit is $1,500 and you own a camera that will cost $1,800 to replace, you’ll only recover $1.500 for it. You’re on your own for the remaining $300. The easiest way to deal with a limit that’s too low if you own several expensive pieces of equipment is to increase the coverage limit. It will be less expensive than separate riders as well.

Where do you store your equipment and supplies?
Equipment and items that are stored outside your house, in a detached garage, shed or outbuilding, for instance, may not be completely covered by your insurance policy. If you have a home workshop or office in the garage or former shed, talk to your agent about an extension to cover property stored there.

Are some things covered by separate insurance?
Some items may be covered by other insurance that kicks in when you register a product or warranty, or by insurance provided as a perk with purchases on a particular credit card. Check the coverage before you go to the expense of adding an unnecessary rider.

Hobby and Leisure Supplies and Equipment
Most people consider the big ticket items when totaling insurance – game consoles, ski equipment, mountain bike, digital camera. Many hobbyists, crafters and sports enthusiasts also build up quite a collection of smaller ticket items related to their interest. A fly fisherman, for instance, may have built up an impressive collection of flies and tying supplies, none of them very expensive on their own. Taken as a whole, however, they could cost several hundred or even thousand dollars to replace. While you don’t need special riders to cover those things, it is important to have an inventory of sorts to help evaluate your loss in case of an accident or misadventure.
The same holds true for many other hobbies. A fire or break-in could leave you facing the expense of replacing a few thousand dollars worth relatively inexpensive power tools or inventories of craft papers, fabrics and yarns. Your insurance company isn’t likely to pay out that sort of cash for ‘craft supplies’ unless you can back up your claim. An up-to-date inventory of supplies on hand may seem like an unnecessary annoyance, but it’s not difficult to keep up to date once you’ve spent a few hours setting one up.

How Much Homeowners Insurance Do I Need?

We all know by now that homeowners insurance is something that all homeowners need
to protect their investments. Of course, for mortgage holders, the lenders who gave the money to purchase the home will require you to have homeowners insurance. Even for people who own their home without any debts or liens, the big question is, “how much homeowners insurance is needed?” – Let’s explore what level of insurance you will need for your home to ensure you are adequately protected.

Generally speaking, you need to purchase homeowners insurance that will cover:

The replacement cost of your home to 100 per cent of its value. Most insurance agents, brokers and companies will recommend to home owners and buyers that they insure the house for 100 per cent replacement cost. This will cover the rebuilding of your home, minus the cost of the land. This replacement cost value is not how much your home is worth in the real estate market, such as it would be if you sold it, but rather the cost to rebuild your home where it stands now at the current costs of construction. There is the option to purchase 80 per cent replacement cost coverage, and this homeowners insurance is much cheaper than 100 per cent coverage, however, if you do have a loss, the amount that you recover will be considerably less and can leave you with out of pocket expenses to replace and rebuild your home. It’s important that you review the current costs of construction and update your homeowners insurance regularly; however your agent/broker/company should do this for you yearly when your insurance policy renews.
The full contents of your home. This part of a homeowner’s insurance policy is called personal property coverage. This covers your furniture and possessions for the most part, but can also include jewelry, paintings, electronic equipment, etc, up to a certain value. However, it’s important that you double check with your insurance company and your policy what is and isn’t covered with your personal property coverage and what the upper limit is that you can claim in these categories. In general, your insurance company will assume that the possessions are worth approximately 50 per cent of the value of your home that you’ve insured it for. It may be best to do a full inventory of your household items and their approximate values to give to your insurance company so they can adequately insure your contents.
The cost of living elsewhere if you experience a loss. If you do experience a loss in your home, chances are you will have to reside elsewhere while your home is being rebuilt or repaired. Most homeowner’s insurance policies will include coverage for hotels, living expenses and meals that you will incur the cost for while your home is being repaired or rebuilt.
Liability. This part of a homeowners insurance policy covers you in the event that someone else is hurt on your property or in your home, or if something around your home or in your home causes damage to someone else’s property. Liability coverage will also cover legal bills if you are sued for any of these cases.
Be sure to speak with your insurance agent about what you are covered for, specifically, to make sure that your policy is adequate coverage for you, your contents and your home.

How to Switch Business Insurance Plans Without a Hassle

You have heard horror stories about your existing business insurance company. Here comes a friend who switched to this new company with a great insurance policy with more affordable premiums and payment plans. As you retire in your bed that night after hearing your friend's story, you wanted to switch business insurance the very next day. Wait a minute there. Read on first before you do.

Should you really switch?

There are lots of insurance companies out there and there are some that come with a great deal. Sometimes, asking around for a great business insurance plan is all it takes to find the right one for you.

If after a thorough research and careful study you found that your current insurance policy deserves a goodbye, then don't hesitate to let it go.

How to cancel your old policy

If you were already decided to switch business insurance plan, don't forget to cancel your old policy. Inform your agent or broker that you wouldn't want to continue your premium plans and give him or her the exact date of termination. The date of termination would determine how much you would still need to get out of a terminated policy. Don't ever leave your current insurance policy without formally informing a representative from the insurance company.

Furthermore, cancelling your old policy in a formal way will remove any problems along the way, such as an agent or a broker denying the fact that he was informed of insurance policy cancellation and continues to bill you even after you have "verbally" informed them (such as a cancellation over the phone). Create a letter indicating such termination. As businessmen often say, "Keep everything in black and white."

Get a new policy before anything else

But before you do cancel your current business insurance plan, get your new policy first. This is to prevent from having a non-insured period while your business is running and is fully operational. When something unfortunate happens and your business, unluckily, doesn't have insurance policy within that period, you'll be faced with the major disaster of your business career. In insurance, especially with business insurance, it is better to have double or overlapping policies at the same time than to have none at all.

When's the right time to switch policies

You may switch business policy and inform your current business insurance company of the cancellation when it's renewal time. This is to save you from all the expenses that you might incur if you terminate the policy abruptly. Some insurance companies charge policy holders a certain amount (most of the time a huge amount) for abrupt termination.

In summary, it is not really that hard to switch business insurance plans, especially if you have the money. However, if you are practical and you want to save money, the suggestions above would help you switch business insurance plan without a hitch. As they say, to succeed in business, careful planning is essential. And planning your change of insurance plan is one of the many things that you can do to keep your business in shape.

Ways to Reduce Your Business Insurance Costs

Depending on the number of policies and coverage limits that your small business has, you may find that insurance premiums are taking a pretty healthy bite out of your operating budget. Insurance premiums vary and often depend on a wide variety of factors. However, your business’ insurance itself is based on the type of risks that you face. So, in order to reduce your insurance costs, your organization must take the necessary steps to reduce risks. While the ideas, methods, and programs described may need to be tailored to fit your organization, the basic concepts will correlate to a way to reduce a risk associated with a particular type of business or commercial insurance policy.

Auto Insurance is one of the first places to examine cutting insurance costs. First, you need to make sure all vehicles leased or owned by your organization are maintained properly. Second, do annual driving record checks on all employees who drive company vehicles, and if you don’t currently have one, create a driving policy for your organization. Your business’ driving policy should state the offenses that would eliminate and employee’s ability to drive a company vehicle. Require that employees attend a defensive driving course or, have a defensive driving course consultant do a course for your organization periodically.

Workers compensation claims and health insurance is another place where a small business can reduce their costs. Implementing job safety programs and wellness incentives can be a cost effective way to cut these costs. For example, start a “we walk together,” program. These programs challenge workers to use combined steps to walk across the country, using inexpensive step monitor to count the amount of steps they take in their everyday life. The program encourages employees to walk more which will facilitate weight loss. Studies have shown that over weight individuals have a higher cost of medical care than others. Other ideas could include a support group for employees trying to quit smoking or emailed nutritional updates and advice. Training programs for accident prone positions, new employees, and annual fitness tests could also reduce your costs.

Taking steps to reduce you risk of major property loss may help reduce your property insurance costs. Simple upgrades to your property will go a long way. So, adding things like smoke detectors, fire sprinklers, and bolt locks will decrease chances of major loss. Also, make sure that your business’ valuables and equipment in your office is evaluated and appraised annually. This will ensure that you are not over-insuring equipment that has loss value due to age and use.

The costs associated with a generally liability policy is a little harder to reduce, due to its broad nature. However, if you don’t currently have procedures in place for handling employee complaints for unfair termination, discrimination, and harassment, you should seriously consider it. Although it may not reduce your liability premium considerably, it couldn’t hurt.

The simplest way to make sure you are getting the best deal is to review your policy annually and shop around. Do not let long business relationships and comfort prevent you from saving money where you can. Also review your risks to make sure you are not paying for coverage that you do not need.

How Your Driving Record Affects Your Insurance Premium

One of the best ways to reduce the auto insurance premiums that you pay is to maintain a good driving record. Even in states that have no-fault insurance, your premium will be affected if you make an accident claim or get a traffic ticket. Even if the accident is the other driver’s fault, you may see an increase in your insurance premium if you make several claims against your policy in a short period of time. On the flip side, however, auto insurance companies have begun to reward good drivers as well as punish bad drivers. Your good driving record can not only reduce your annual auto insurance premium, it may entitle you to special perks, discounts and even reduce your deductible.

Take a look at some of the special treatment you’ll get from your insurance company just for avoiding accidents and following the rules of the road.

Lower Premiums
The biggest benefit to keeping a clean driving record is, of course, a reduction in your auto insurance premium. If you have no accidents or traffic tickets – particularly moving violations – on your record when you apply for auto insurance, you’ll start out at a lower rate.

It gets better, though. Maintaining your safe driver record will do more than keep your auto insurance premium low, it can reduce your premium further. Most insurance companies will apply safe driver points, or give you a percentage discount against your premium for each year that you go claim-free. Those discounts can add up to a considerable amount over the course of a few years. In most cases, you can even take your safe driver discount with you if you switch insurance carriers.

Forgiving Your Accidents
If you already have accidents on your driving record, a few years with no accidents or traffic tickets can remove them from your record. Many auto insurance companies now offer “accident forgiveness” as a perk for drivers who maintain a good driving record. They may remove older accidents from your driving record, and take back premium increases that resulted from those accidents or traffic tickets.

Some auto insurance companies even offer accident forgiveness in reverse – if you’ve had several years of safe driving with no claims against your policy, your first accident won’t result in a premium increase. Be aware though, that if you have a second accident in a short period of time, you may end up with a double whammy from it.

Cutting Your Deductible
Another huge benefit that you’ll get from maintaining a safe driving record is reduced deductibles. Many insurance companies will now reduce the deductible you’re required to pay before your insurance kicks in by a percentage for each year you go without an accident. Some auto insurance providers will actually do away with your deductible altogether after several years without an accident or traffic ticket. This can be an enormous benefit if you’d originally elected to pay a large deductible in return for smaller premiums.

Special Discounts and Other Perks
As if saving money on your insurance isn’t enough a reason to maintain a safe driving record, some insurance companies now offer special safe driver rewards programs that are similar to credit card reward programs. The details vary from company to company, but you may earn discount cards for travel, hotel and leisure destinations and even cash back on your insurance for each year that you go without an accident or traffic ticket.

Understanding Your Car Insurance

Many people who think they have sufficient car insurance often find themselves facing an unpleasant surprise when they need to file a claim. It's important to take the time to understand exactly what your car insurance policy covers before you find yourself involved in an accident or needing to make a claim for other reasons.

Whether you're thinking about purchasing a new policy or simply want to verify what your current policy covers, it's important to understand several facts about car insurance. Pay close attention to all of the terms and conditions that impact how much your insurer will pay, and under what circumstances.

What is a Deductible?
The deductible on your car insurance policy represents the out of pocket expense you will be responsible for paying following a covered event. If you're policy has a $500 collision deductible, that means you'll be responsible for paying $500 toward the cost of repairing your car following a collision. Many times, companies that promise reduced insurance premiums offer policies that have high deductibles.

When selecting the best deductible for your policy, stop and think about how much you can afford to pay out of pocket at any given point in time. It's a good idea to put enough money in your emergency savings account to cover your deductible amount, just in case you have a car accident. Many people choose higher deductible policies to save money, but protect themselves by making sure they have enough money in the bank to pay the higher amount if they need to do so.

What are Limits of Liability?
Insurance policies are available with varying limits of liability. If you have a $300,000 limit of liability on your collision coverage, that means you are covered for damages causes as a result of a collision of up to $300,000. If you are involved in a covered collision, your insurance company will be responsible for paying the difference between your deductible and your limit of liability. However, if there is more than $300,000 of damage, you will be responsible for paying the excess yourself.

If you decide to lower your rates by reducing your limits of liability, it's important to understand that you open yourself up to potential financial risk if you are involved in an accident that causes a great deal of damage to other people's property. It's also important to understand that there are different types of liability, and the limits can vary from one type of covered event to another. Make sure you know exactly what liability limits are associated with your insurance policy, so you can be certain that the coverage you have is adequate.

Mandatory Car Insurance
If you live in an area where you are required by law to carry automobile insurance, you're required to have liability coverage. This type of insurance protects the interests of other people who might be injured or experience damage as a result of an accident that is your fault. If you purchase only the minimum coverage required by law, you aren't taking any steps to protect yourself or your vehicle. You'll need to add comprehensive or collision coverage to your policy if you want to make sure you are fully protected.

Make an Educated Decision
When you understand the basic facts about car insurance, you'll be better able to make an educated choice about the best policy for your needs. Don't select car insurance on price alone. Make sure you understand exactly what protection you are paying for when you purchase an automobile insurance policy.

Learning what auto insurance is required by law

It’s a widely-known fact that if you drive without auto insurance then you can be facing severe penalties if you are pulled over. You might receive points against your driving record, large fines, and possibly even may face some jail time. Just as the penalties for uninsured or underinsured driving vary from one state to another, the amount and type of insurance that is required by law can be quite different as well. To help make sure that you don’t get in trouble for not having the insurance that your state requires, it’s important that you know exactly what the law states is the minimum insurance level for your vehicle. If you aren’t sure or you worry that the law might have changed since you took your driver’s test, there are a number of easy ways for you to find out.

One of the easiest ways to find out what insurance level is required by law in your state is to look it up on the internet. There are a number of websites dedicated to providing useful information such as this, and these sites can usually be found quite easily using the internet search engine of your choice. Make sure that you can verify how recently sites such as this have been updated, though, because you don’t want to trust the information that’s on a site which hasn’t been updated in years. Laws can change over time, and it’s possible that sites which don’t update frequently (or at all) won’t have the latest legal information.

Another good source of information on the insurance required by law is your local Department of Motor Vehicles. Since the DMV is responsible for licensing drivers according to the current legal standards, it stands to reason that they would have the latest information on the laws concerning auto insurance. You can ask a DMV worker directly for this information, look at a driver’s test preparation manual, or even check your state DMV’s website. The DMV offices can be quite busy during peak hours, though, so make sure that you come relatively early in the morning or in mid-afternoon to avoid crowds that occur during lunch breaks or after school.

Yet another source of reliable information is your local police department. Similar to how the DMV has the information because they work with the licensing procedures every day, the police department will be able to provide you with the information that you seek because they are the ones who have to enforce the laws set by the state. You can visit in person or contact them over the phone, though make sure that you use their standard phone number and not the emergency services number if calling.

Finally, you can always ask an insurance agent at a reputable insurance company in your area as many insurance companies won’t sell automotive coverage that falls below that which is required by the state. Even online insurance providers tend to have state requirements programmed into their systems so that they will automatically pull up the latest requirements when you go to buy insurance. Just make sure that you don’t end up buying additional coverage that you don’t need if you’re only looking for the minimum coverage that you can get in order to be legal.

How to Be an Insurer’s Ideal Driver

Auto insurance premiums can take up a hefty chunk of your monthly budget, but there are ways to reduce the amount you pay for auto insurance coverage. Here are seven tips to help you get your auto insurance company’s cheapest premium rates.

1. Follow the rules of the road.
One of the things that will impact your insurance premiums – and impact it hard – is a moving violation on your driving record. Stay within the speed limit, stop at stop signs and remember to get your vehicle inspected at regular intervals to keep your registration and inspection stickers up to date. A moving violation on your driving record can increase your premiums for up to ten years. A DUI conviction can have a devastating effect on your insurance premiums.

2. Take a defensive driving course.
It’s not just young drivers that will benefit from going to driving school. Many insurers will lower your premium if you take a defensive driving course. The insurance companies love statistics, and the statistics show that people who complete defensive driving courses turn out more courteous, less aggressive drivers who are far less likely to get into automobile accidents.

3. Stay in your job for more than three years.
Insurers, like banks and finance companies, have a picture of their ideal customer. The more stable and settled the driver, their statistics show, the less likely they are to take risks when driving. Fewer risks mean less accidents. Stick with your job, stay at your current address and get married, and you’ll see your premiums decrease steadily with each step you take toward stability.

4. Move to a safer neighborhood.
There is, of course, an exception to the above rule. Insurers also look at the place where you garage your car when determining your premium. Inner city neighborhoods typically carry the highest penalties to your premium. A nice home in the suburbs will net you a substantial reduction in the amount you pay to insure your car, especially if you carry theft insurance.

5. Build a driveway, or better yet a garage.
Where you park your car also has an effect on your insurance premium. Parking on the street increases the chance that your car will take damage. Off-street parking will decrease your premiums. Having a garage, and using it regularly to park your car makes you a more careful driver in the eyes on the auto insurance company and that translates to lower premiums.

6. Pay for small repairs yourself rather than making a claim against your insurance policy.
If making repairs to your car after an accident will only cost a small amount above your deductible, it may be worth it to pick up the cost yourself rather than filing a claim. It may seem counter-productive – after all, you pay insurance to pick up those costs, don’t you? However, many insurers now offer reductions in premiums and deductibles for remaining claim free over time. Do a bit of math and decide whether it’s more cost-effective to pay a few bucks out of pocket, or pay higher premiums for years to come.

7. Review your policy annually and update it when necessary.
Don’t just accept the renewal policy that you’re sent each year on your anniversary. Instead, sit down and go over the policy to make sure that it still suits your needs, then take an hour or two to shop around and see if you can get a better deal with another insurer. Do this even if you plan to stay with your current insurer. If you find that you’d get a lower premium for the same coverage elsewhere, you may have a bargaining chip to bring your insurance premium down.