Wednesday 29 June 2011

Why You Need Boat Insurance


Some people simply overlook boat insurance. They think that nothing bad is going to happen, when in reality, bad things often happen involving boats!

If you own a boat, you need boat insurance. In fact, many states now require boat owners to carry Watercraft Liability insurance before they transport or operate a boat. If your boat has been financed, your lender will almost always require you to carry full coverage boat insurance.

Again, most people don't think anything bad will happen – but bad things do indeed occur!

Vandalism is one problem that you may encounter. This is especially true if you dock your boat in a marina. Vandalism can also occur when you park your boat at your home, or at a hotel when traveling.

When you shop for insurance, make sure that vandalism is covered on your policy. Most issuers of boat insurance will only offer you the Watercraft Liability – but in most cases, you need more coverage than that! Theft is another possibility. Cars are stolen all the time – but boats are stolen as well. In fact, stealing a boat is easier than stealing a car!

Boat insurance should cover you in the event of vandalism, theft, sinking, fire, storms, capsizing, stranding, collision, and explosion. Furthermore, the insurance should cover the boat, the motor, and the trailer used to transport the boat. The boat should be covered no matter who is operating the boat, as long as they are legally allowed to operate the vessel.

Boat insurance will typically cover you in the event of malfunction as well. If something happens to your motor, it should be covered by your insurance. It should also cover you in the event that your boat needs to be towed back to shore.

What you are covered for depends on what type of coverage you purchased through your insurance agent. For this reason, it is important to know what type of coverage is available. Not all insurance companies will offer all types of coverage, but they will offer Watercraft Liability and Watercraft Medical payments.

Watercraft liability covers you just like car liability insurance protects you in the event of an accident where you are found to be at fault. Medical payments will cover medical expenses incurred by you and the occupants of your boat that are the result of a boating accident in the covered water vessel.

Optional insurance usually includes coverage for reasonable repairs, emergency services to your boat, motor, or boat trailer, and wreck removal. Wreck removal is very important coverage to have. If you boat sinks, it will need to be raised before an insurance company can access the damages and pay your claim. This is very expensive, and in most states, the law requires you to remove wrecked or sunken vessels.

Boats may be luxury items – but they are very expensive luxury items.

Repairing or replacing a boat may not be something that you can easily afford – but in most cases, you will find that boat insurance is quite affordable. However, if you are thinking in terms of cost, and you think that you cannot afford the boat coverage, you can be certain that you will not be able to afford to repair or replace the boat either!

No matter how you look at it, you need boat insurance, even if you just purchase the watercraft liability coverage. Again, most states now require this liability coverage for water vessels, and if the boat is financed, the optional coverage may be required as well.

Discuss your boat insurance coverage needs with your insurance agent to determine what coverage is right for you and your boat.





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Women’s Cheap Car Insurance


As sexist as it may sound, gender sometimes place a significant role in a person’s car insurance rates. Women drivers usually get cheaper car insurance rates than men drivers, because statistically, of the two genders, women drivers are more conscientious drivers, who drive safer vehicles, and who file less car insurance claims. Sure, not all women drivers are better drivers than men drivers, but the statistics have spoken loud enough for many of the car insurance companies in America to listen.

However, American car insurance companies are not the only companies that have taken notice and began to offer cheap car insurance policies to women drivers; the UK is also offering lower car insurance rates to women drivers. There are many companies and organizations throughout the UK dedicated solely to helping women get cheap car insurance rates, as well as providing car insurance tips and advice to women drivers. A quick search of the Internet will bring up many of these organizations.

Of course, while women drivers may statistically get lower car insurance rates than men drivers, women drivers are subject to the same criteria as men are subject to, such as:

• Driving records and histories of the driver and/or policyholder
• Location in which the driver and/or policyholder lives and parks her car
• Safety, make, model, and year of the vehicle being insured
• Credit history of the policyholder
• Age and experience of the driver and/or policyholder

For women drivers to optimize their ability to get cheap car insurance rates, they must practice safe driving habits of their own – rather than riding the coattails of the safe women drivers before them – as well as continue to drive safe vehicles and park their vehicles is safe locations, regardless of the area in which they live. Women drivers should also pay attention to their driving records and credit reports, as well as make improvements whenever necessary and possible.




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Worst Case Scenario: Will Your Home Buildings Insurance Cover You?



Nobody likes to consider the ramifications of a worst case scenario, least of all the financial consequence. However, did you know that if a major storm (of the likes we experienced in the UK in the late 1980s) struck the UK today, almost one-half of all homes in the UK would have inadequate home buildings insurance to cover the cost of repairs!

Valuation of your home buildings insurance – is it being done correctly?

Before you consider the value of your home, ask yourself a quick couple of questions:
- what is the principal reason why you have home buildings insurance?
- who assess the value of your home buildings insurance?

In most cases, the answer to the first question is you need to have home buildings insurance because it is a requirement under your mortgage agreement.  The answer to your second question is also likely to be your home mortgage provider, because they feel they know the value of your home better than you do.  So, what’s the problem?  Well, the problem is, each year your home mortgage is going down, but hopefully the value of your home is going up.  As your insurance is principally to cover your outstanding mortgage, a disparity - between the value of your home and the outstanding mortgage amount - will rapidly arise. Therefore, it is vital that you keep control of valuing your home for home buildings insurance purposes and always ensure that the insurance relates to the actual value of your home, not the outstanding mortgage amount.

Improvements to your home – are they being included?

Likely as not, over time you are going to do some building work to your home.  Maybe you’ll add an extension.  Put in a greenhouse.  Add a conservatory.  Etc.  The question is – are all of these add-ons being included in the additional value they bring to your home, or are you only continuing to insure the main part of the home that was part of the original policy?

Increased costs – have you factored these in?

Nearly every insurance policy comes with an excess amount.  Essentially what this means is that you have to pay a threshold amount before you can claim against the insurance company.  Fine, let’s take an example: say you bought your home in 1980 and set the threshold amount at £500.  Would you get more or less in materials and labour today if you were still maintaining an excess sum of £500?  Answer, far less and you’d be claiming on your insurance far sooner, which in turn means your premiums are likely to be higher.

As you can see then, home buildings insurance is not as simple as guessing what you think the value of your home is.  It takes certain precision and year-on-year upkeep if you want to make sure you’ll be sufficiently insured should the unfortunate worst case scenario occur.






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Your car insurance


Automobile insurance is an increasing expense for almost all Americans. We can't afford to have it, and we certainly can't afford to not have it. When researching car insurance companies and comparing policies, it is a good idea to follow these easy guidelines to get the most coverage for your insurance dollars. Get discount car insurance quotes from as many carriers as you can. Automobile insurance rates may vary drastically depending on the model of your car and the type of coverage you need.
Consider as high a deductible as you can reasonably afford, since higher deductibles translate into lower insurance premiums. Review quotes and policies carefully to make sure you are only paying for coverage you really need.

If you have homeowner insurance, ask your agent if you are covered already for certain items you might be charged again for on your auto policy. After you have gotten quotes from different car insurance carriers, it is usually a good idea to create a spreadsheet to help you avoid comparing apples to oranges. Set up a scenario with car repairs and medical expense to best compare the coverage differences under real-life situations. Once you have chosen the two least expensive automobile insurance policies for the coverage you need, contact a reputable body shop in your area for a referral.

Automobile body shops deal with insurance companies every day, and you want to make sure the company you send your premiums to each month will be responsive and fair if you have to make an insurance claim. The body shop probably has a good insider opinion on how the insurance company operates, how long it takes to get an adjuster to view the damaged vehicle, how long it takes to get paid on a claim, how fair the estimate was, were used parts requested versus brand new parts and so on. Trust me, a 10 minute talk with a reputable body shop manager can reveal a lot of great information about an insurance company and how they tend to handle their claims.

A few dollars difference in premium dollars to get coverage from a company that handles their claims properly may save you a world of hassle in the event of an automobile accident.





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Young Female Cheap Car Insurance


If you’re a female driver, you already have a head start for getting cheap car insurance. Car insurance companies take into consideration statistics claiming that, overall, female drivers are:

• More likely to drive a safer car than male drivers.

• Less likely to commit traffic violations and get traffic tickets than male drivers.

• More likely to choose an economical car that gets good gas mileage and doesn’t cost a fortune to repair.

According to statistics, female drivers also file fewer car insurance claims to their car insurance companies than do male drivers; whether this means that female drivers are involved in fewer accidents or that they just don’t report every bump and scratch is up for interpretation.

In any event, statistically speaking, most female drivers are less risky to insure than most male drivers, which means they are more likely to get cheap car insurance than are male drivers.

However, if you’re a young female driver, you still have an obstacle to overcome. It’s a big obstacle, actually – your age. Young drivers, regardless of gender, normally don’t get the cheap car insurance quotes that older drivers get. Car insurance companies take precaution when offering car insurance quotes to young drivers – male and female – because they are inexperienced. Of course, inexperience means a great risk for car accidents.

Don’t let these statistics discourage you. Being a young female driver also means you have time to start taking the necessary steps to build a great driving record. As long as you drive safely, preventing car accidents, and obey the rules of the road, preventing infractions and tickets, you will avoid points on your driving record. Car insurance companies look at a driver’s driving record when deciding how cheap the car insurance quote should be.

Also take a driver education course. Most high schools offer them, but if yours doesn’t you can take one from a private company in your area.





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