Saturday, December 27, 2008

Life Insurance for Your Child


When it comes to a child’s future, parents and grandparents like to plan high and think big. Many buy extra life insurance for themselves, homeowners and personal insurance to cover assets, and begin a college fund, but have you ever considered buying life insurance for your child?
Life insurance is meant to provide income where income was lost in the event of a death, and since children don’t typically bring in money, you may be asking why they would need life insurance, right? Well, the best reason to have a child insured is in the event of their death. The child’s life insurance policy will cover final expenses, such as the funeral and cemetery costs.
Children’s life insurance may not be the right kind of insurance for every family, and if that’s the case for you, don’t worry, you can always look into getting a term life insurance policy with a small face value.
When children come of age, most policies give them the choice of purchasing additional insurance. If they do not wish to continue with that policy, they may set out and get their own, it’s actually quite easy for young adults to obtain good life insurance at a reasonable rate.
If you are interested in getting a life insurance quote for you or your child, log on to Insurance.com. Here you will be able to evaluate multiple rates from best-in-class life insurance providers – helping you find the best life insurance coverage for you and your family.
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Car Insurance: Teen Drivers and Single Parents



If your teen is away at school, living part-time with an ex-spouse, or spending a significant amount of time away from your single-parent home, you may be wondering if you are still required to keep them on your car insurance policy. Insuring a teenage driver can be an expensive endeavor, but depending on the circumstance and practices of your car insurance company, you may not be required to keep them on your auto insurance policy.



Divorced parents

The first thing single parents should do when deciding on which policy to claim their teen driver on, is to check the language in their car insurance policy or contact their auto insurance company for details. Some car insurance companies suggest that the parent who has custody of the teen while they are in school is responsible for having that teen driver on their auto insurance policy, while others say it is the parent who has custody of the child more than the other.

In some instances, if both parents have the same auto insurance company, the child will automatically be covered on both policies. The reason behind this is that some companies define "an insured" as "a person related to you by blood, marriage or adoption who is a resident of your household."

Honesty is the best policy

If you don't list your teen driver on your car insurance policy, you are risking more than you may know. For instance, if you neglect to list your teen driver during your application process or failed to add your teenager once they have received their driver's license; your auto insurance company could cancel your auto insurance policy for misrepresentation. Worse yet, if your teenager is involved in an accident or traffic violation and you don't have them on your auto insurance policy, you could risk having your car insurance policy become nonrenewable.

However, all auto insurance companies handle insuring teen drivers and single-parent homes differently. Some companies require that all drivers be named on both parents' car insurance policies, regardless of how much time they spend between households.

Worst case

scenarioIf your state permits auto insurance companies to void policies for misrepresentation, and your teen is in an accident and you file a claim, YOUR policy could be voided because you failed to tell them about your teen driver. So play it safe and contact your car insurance agent or company immediately once your teen has received his or her driver's license.

High risk teendrivers

Recently, The National Highway Safety Administration released the statistic below showing just how much of a risk teen drivers are to themselves and to others on the road.

  • In 2004, 5,896 teenage drivers were killed in traffic accidents. Teens accounted for 28% of all the drivers involved in motor vehicle fatalities

Teen drivers pose a higher risk of accidents than other groups of drivers, which is why the car insurance rates for this age group are so high. "On average, parents can expect to see a 50-100% increase in their car insurance rates once their teen has been added to their auto insurance policy," stated David Roush, CEO of Insurance.com. "However, many companies do offer parents discounts to help reduce the cost of insuring their teenager, such as 'Good Student Discounts' which are available to teen drivers who have a grade point average of 3.0 or above."

Car Insurance For Young Adults



Typically, young adults are going to pay more for their car insurance than anyone else under age 70, because they are considered the riskiest on the road. However, young adults can lower their auto insurance rate by taking a defensive driver course, raising their comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles, commuting through public transportation, buying a home or renters policy through the same car insurance company, or buying a safer car.


Ways to Save on Your Car Insurance

One way to save money on your auto insurance is to purchase a vehicle with front and side airbags, antilock breaks, automatic seatbelts and daytime running lights. Many auto insurance companies give discounts for these safety features, not to mention cars with these features are generally cheaper to insure! Another way to save a few bucks is to join an auto club, such as American Automobile Association (AAA), or taking advantage of discounts through your employer.

In the event you own an older vehicle, it may be a good idea to drop the collision and comprehensive coverages from your car insurance policy, because both coverages require you to pay a deductible in the event you file a claim, and in some cases, that may be more than your car is worth.

If you were recently married or are about to be married, you will notice a considerable drop in your auto insurance rates. That’s because insurance companies view married couples as more “stable” and less of a risk. Also, when you turn 25, you can expect to see a decrease in your auto insurance rate because auto insurance companies view people 25 and older as a more “stable driver”.

Living With Mom and Dad

If you still live with your parents, but don’t own your own car, you are still eligible to remain on their policy. This will save you money because your parents are considered lower-risk drivers and will likely have a better auto insurance rate than if you had car insurance on your own. However, if you purchase your own vehicle, most car insurance companies will require you to buy your own insurance, to avoid any confusion as to who the car belongs to.

Financial Picture

To save money, you should look into what other insurance coverages you already have and see if you’re paying for double-coverage. If you have health insurance through your employer, you can waive Personal Injury Protection (PIP), which pays for your medical expenses in the event of an accident. At times, some car insurance companies will allow you to limit medical damages under your uninsured motorist coverage in exchange for a lower premium.

Just be careful as to not sacrifice adequate car insurance to save a couple extra bucks. For instance, if you’re in a major accident with an uninsured motorist, and your medical bills are high, you will end up paying for those bills, not the uninsured motorist!

If you think you’re paying too much for car insurance and would like to get quotes from other auto insurance providers, log on to Insurance.com’s auto insurance comparison application. Here, you will be able to evaluate multiple rates from best-in-class insurance providers – helping you find the best and cheapest auto insurance coverage for your budget.

Car Insurance, Pizza Delivery, and Your Child

Here's a "pizza" advice for you about car insurance. If your child plans to use the family car on his or her part-time pizza delivery job, you'll need to check with your auto insurance provider to see if you'd be covered if your loved one were to get into a fender-bender in the line of duty.
"If your child is delivering pizza as part of his part-time job and is driving your car for business then it's your personal auto insurance policy that's on the hook if there's an accident or some other incident that could result in a claim being filed," according to Don Griffin, vice president of personal lines for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, in Des Plaines, Ill.
Griffin's advice? "Notify your auto insurer in advance that you're going to let your child use the family car to deliver food as part of his or her part-time job. The insurer will probably charge you extra, but that'll be a small price to pay when considering that if you fail to notify your insurer in advance and your child gets into an accident driving the family vehicle on the job, you may get an unpleasant surprise of no coverage when you file a claim."
Insurance.com agent Brad Vermilion said many insurers will shy away from covering your child using your family car for delivering pizza. "This type of job creates a lot of risk," points out Vermilion. Uncertainty about determining insurance pricing is a key reason why auto insurers aren't necessarily enamored with the idea of insuring a vehicle used to deliver pizza.
"The car is driven to a lot of places at different times of the day and night, and it would be difficult for the insurer to be able to accurately price the risk," observes Vermilion. "You might have to shop around to find a company that would provide protection under that set of circumstances. That could entail purchasing a commercial auto policy, which would figure to be significantly more expensive than your private passenger automobile policy. But it'll definitely be worth the extra money. You'll have some peace of mind knowing that there will be insurance protection if junior gets in a fender-bender backing out of the driveway of one of his pizza delivery customers."
A cautionary message comes from Dave Snyder, vice president and assistant general counsel, of the American Insurance Association, in Washington, D.C. "Maybe," says Snyder when asked about whether your auto insurance policy would come into play in the pizza delivery scenario. "Check with your insurance agent or your insurance company about possible policy exclusions that would be applicable in this situation. There's no substitute for checking with people in the know regarding your personal insurance situation."

Affordable Car Insurance

Affordable car insurance shopping can help you save money.



As you shop for affordable car insurance, remember that what companies offer can vary greatly. With insurance from Progressive, you get extras, including our concierge level of claims service, 24/7 availability and local claims service, at no extra charge. Does your company offer the same? Think about your goal: Does affordable car insurance mean the cheapest price, or does affordable
car insurance mean getting the most for your money?

Consider these things during your search for affordable car insurance:

How much coverage do you need?

Planning your insurance budget involves knowing what you need and what you want, then choosing your coverages based on how much you can pay. If affordable car insurance is your goal, make sure you choose coverages that meet your needs. Pay attention to insurance limits, too. For the same cost, some companies may offer higher limits while others may offer lower limits.

How much can you pay out of pocket if you have a claim?

Affordable car insurance can include optional coverages — Comprehensive and Collision, Uninsured Motorist, etc. — that protect your vehicle if it's damaged. With these coverages, you choose a specific amount — your deductible — to pay out of pocket if you use these coverages. Make sure you can afford to pay your deductible if you have a claim.

Do you have coverage through another source?

If you want affordable car insurance, make sure you're not paying for the same things twice. Think about whether or not you have the same or similar coverage through other non-insurance avenues. For instance, if you have a car warranty or AAA, you may have towing coverage for breakdowns. If so, you may not need Roadside Assistance coverage on your auto insurance policy.

What are you getting for the price?

What you pay is only one aspect of affordable car insurance. What you get from it is just as important. Shopping for affordable car insurance means comparing quotes and seeing what you'll pay for coverage from different companies, so choose similar limits across all quotes to make apples-to-apples comparisons. You may find that some companies charge more for affordable car insurance than others. Also consider factors such as accessibility, customer service, claims handling, etc., to see who offers what you want.