- Purchase the amount of liability coverage which makes sense for you.
- Select the optional coverages you want.
- Decide which company to purchase insurance from.
- Don’t base your decision solely on price. Other factors like service and claim response are extremely important in selecting the right insurance.
One way is to look for competitive pricing. An independent agent works with many companies and can provide you comparative rates and insure that your are getting the same coverage.
Another way to lower the cost is to change your deductible. By raising your deductible you may lower the cost of your automobile insurance almost 10% You must be able to pay the deductible amount in case of a claim. You can also look for discounts that you may be entitled to. Some examples of discounts that may be available are: multiple cars under the same policy, carrying a homeowners policy with the same insurance company, different groups or associations.
1) covers the property of the insured and
2) provides personal liability coverage to the insured.
- Get the amount and type of insurance that you need.
- Determine the amount of personal property insurance and personal liability coverage that you need.
- Select any additional endorsements you want to add to your policy. For example, do you want the personal property replacement cost endorsement?
First Named Insured is the first “named insured” listed on the policy declarations (front page of the policy). This insured acts as the legal agent for all named insureds in initiating cancellation, requesting policy changes or accepting any return premiums. The first named insured may also be responsible for payment of the premiums.
Additional Insured is an entity to which a policy’s coverage is extended. An additional insured must be added to the policy prior to a claim being paid. There must be a tied to relationship between the additional insured and named insured. Being an additional insured on another’s policy does not eliminate the need for someone to have his/her own Commercial General Liability policy.
Important factors include:
- Income sources (and amounts) other than salary/earnings
- Whether or not the individual is married and, if so, what is the spouse’s earning capacity
- The number of individuals who are financially dependent on the insured
- The amount of death benefits payable from Social Security and from an employer sponsored life insurance plan
- Whether any special life insurance needs exist (e.g., mortgage repayment, education fund, estate planning need), etc.
It is recommended that a person’s insurance advisor be contacted for a precise calculation of how much life insurance is needed.
It must first be recognized that in any life insurance purchasing decision, there are at least two basic questions that must be answered:
- “How much life insurance should I buy?” and
- “What type of life insurance policy should I buy?”
The question contained in (1) involves an “insurance” decision and the question contained in (2) requires a “financial” decision.
The “insurance” question should always be resolved first. For example, the amount of life insurance that you need may be so large that the only way in which this needed amount of insurance can be afforded is through the purchase of term insurance with its lower premium.
If your ability (and willingness) to pay life insurance premiums is such that you can afford the desired amount of life insurance under either type of policy, it is then appropriate to consider the “financial” decision–which type of policy to buy. Important factors affecting the “financial” decision include your income tax bracket, whether the need for life insurance is short-term or long-term (e.g., 20 years or longer), and the rate of return on alternative investments possessing similar risk.
Credit life insurance is frequently recommended in conjunction with the taking out of an installment loan when purchasing expensive appliances or a new car, or for debt consolidation. Is credit life insurance a good buy?
Credit life insurance is frequently more expensive than traditional term life insurance. Further, if you already own a sufficient amount of life insurance to cover your financial needs, including debt repayment, the purchase of credit life insurance is normally not advisable due to its relatively high cost.
