Most insurance companies will classify insurance discounts in one of four categories. There is a simple, 4 part, breakdown that you can use to score the value of a companies discount for you. One company might be better for you than another based solely on discounts or credits offered. One company will have better rates and discounts than a retired couple where another might focus more on drivers from the age of 21 to 25. Learn about what credits are available to you with each company to know where your rates can be headed.
Learn about available discounts to be sure that you are getting the cheapest insurance rate available to you. If you are prepared with the knowledge of what is available to you, you will be able to ask the right questions, and make the right buying decisions, to ensure the lowest possible insurance rate
The four categories of insurance discounts are as follows:
1) Discounts you can receive right now
2) Discounts that will come with time
3) Discounts that will come when making your next purchase
4) Discounts due to Situation / Employment / Lifestyle
Insurance discounts add up to big savings year over year. Don’t let discounts that you can qualify for today pass you by. You should also know what discounts will be available to you in the future so that you are informed of what to ask your insurance agent or company for. Knowing the discount factors that impact a house or car insurance policy will allow you to make a better buying decision when shopping for that new home or car.
Be certain to communicate with your agent. An insurance agent is there to guide you. Simply reviewing your rates every couple of years will save you money in the long run.
This is part 1 of a 5 part series on insurance discounts. Look for parts 2 – 5 from this author. Each section will focus on any discounts, or credits, available under your policy.
Posts Tagged ‘ Insurance Agent ’
Seems sort of obvious, doesn’t it? But, there are different ways to notify the company that you’ve had a loss. And when you notify the insurance company can make a big difference in how your claim is handled.
The first place to look for information is on your policy. Many policies will have a telephone number listed for reporting a claim. However, I’ve seen policies that require the policyholder to notify the company in writing. So, make sure that the method of reporting your claim is acceptable to the insurance company. Likely, your agent has his name and telephone number on the policy. If so, call him and report the loss also.
Sometimes, an agent will have settlement authority to handle small losses, such as homeowner’s losses under $2,000.00. In that kind of instance, the agent could handle the claim for you. I’ve found this situation to be rare, though. Occasionally, captive agents (agents that work for only one company, like Allstate, Nationwide or Liberty Mutual) will have a small amount of settlement authority.
The first thing you should remember is that the agent is licensed by the Department of Insurance in his state to be an agent. There is a separate license for claims adjusters. It’s actually a violation of insurance regulations for an agent to do claims adjusting. It’s not his job to handle your claim, but to assist you in buying the coverage that’s right for you. Agents can be very helpful by making calls on your behalf if you’re having problems in your claim. They can be helpful in finding out key names and phone numbers for insurance company personnel that are handling your claim. If the agent has a large number of policyholders with that company, and his clientele represents a large amount of premium to that insurance company, it can be very helpful to have the agent call on your behalf when you’re having problems.
After all, it’s all about customer service, and keeping the promises made in the insurance policy.
Sometimes, the agent or an office secretary/customer service representative will fill out a claim form (called an ACORD form), and submit the claim form to the insurance company on your behalf. In this age of the Internet, frequently the claim form is electronic, and the agent will submit the electronic form by computer.
If the agent notifies the company on your behalf, and uses some type of form, ask the agent to send you a copy of the completed form. Then, you’ll be certain that the claim was submitted, and the date the claim was submitted.
Many times, however, the agent will have to refer you to the claims department of the insurance company. Your policy may have a telephone number for the claims department listed on the policy, and instructions how to make a claim.
Your policy requires you to notify the insurance company “in a timely manner” after you’ve had a claim. What is timely? It varies policy to policy. But each state has statutes of limitation that limit the amount of time after a claim occurrence that a claim can be made. Check with your state’s Department of Insurance to determine the statute of limitation where you live…or where the loss occurred. You’ll find a list of all of the Insurance Departments of all 50 U.S. states and their phone numbers in the Appendix, and at the website address shown below.
For example: you live in Minnesota, and own a retirement home in Florida. The Florida house gets hit by a hurricane. The statutes for Florida would apply.
WARNING: If you wait more than a month after your loss to notify the insurance company, they will be instantly suspicious. In those cases, you should expect to receive one of two forms from the insurance company before they begin their investigation of the loss:
Non-Waiver Agreement. This basically states that the insurance company is going to do a thorough investigation of the claim, but that their investigation does not commit them to pay the claim. It states that they do not waive any of their rights under the policy, and that the insured does not waive any of his rights by cooperating with the investigation. The insurance company wants the insured to sign this form. However, if the Insured refuses to sign the form, the insurance company will send him a….
Reservation of Rights letter. This states basically the same thing as a Non-Waiver Agreement, but the Insured does not have to sign it.
Don’t forget to write in your claim journal the date, time, who you spoke with, the phone number you called, and what was said when you reported your claim. That information could be very valuable later if you have problems with your claim.
Most likely, you’ll receive a claim number from the company when you report the loss. Write the claim number in your journal!!! Don’t expect the insurance company to quickly send you a form that has the claim number on it. Sometimes, it may be many days before the claims department sends you any correspondence, and you will likely need to speak with them before then.
WARNING: What about a situation in which someone else is at fault, and you’re making a claim against the other person’s insurance company? This could happen in an auto accident, or if someone causes damage to your house, or your contents. EVEN IN THIS SITUATION, you must notify your own insurance company that you’re involved in a claim.
The reason is that third party claims don’t always turn out well for you, the claimant. Sometimes, the other person’s insurance company denies liability or denies coverage. Sometimes, the other person’s insurance company drags the process out. Sometimes, the other person’s insurance company makes a settlement offer far below the fair value of the claim. Months may pass, and you have suffered a financial loss that is not getting paid.
What if you, or someone in your family, is injured in the claim…and the other guy’s insurance company won’t accept liability?
Those things might occur weeks or months after a loss. In many cases, you can short-cut that process and make a claim against your own insurance policy to repair the damages. Then your insurance company will do something called “Subrogation.” That is, they will pay your claim, and then contact the other person’s insurance company and demand reimbursement, including your deductible.
So, if you don’t report your claim right away, the policy might allow that insurance company to deny your claim based upon late reporting.
Besides, your policy REQUIRES you to notify the insurance company “promptly” after you have a loss of covered property. That requirement is there no matter who is at fault for the damages.
Don’t get caught in this technicality! Don’t lose your right to collect what you deserve when you notify the insurance company.
Sep
In this article I will just break down insurance so as to take the confusion out when shopping for one:
Insurance covers 4 key components:
-Life
-Property
-Income
-Health
Depending on your age, income statues, and life stage you may need anywhere from two to all four types.
An insurance policy has 3 major components you should look at when purchasing it:
1. The Premium
This is your most recognizable and easiest part to understand. Your premium is the payment you pay for that policy whether you pay for it yearly, semi-annually, or monthly. The size of the premium determines the type of coverage you will receive with your policy
2. Coverage
The coverage determines what the policy covers or does not cover in case you will ever file a claim, such as a health emergency, or property damage (accident).
3. The deductible
The deductible states how much money you will have to pay before your insurance starts their coverage, whether it is $500 or $3000, you have to put this money down first on an expense before the insurance coverage kicks in (except life insurance policies).
Sometimes the deductible is a percentage, such as 10%, and comes in various forms and added terms such as you will be covered up to $1 million in expenses, or after you pay $500 you will pay only 20% of your bill.
So the deductible comes in various shapes and forms and you must look at these more carefully than the premium, to see what kind of cash you will have to fork in order to coexist with the insurance payments.
The most important part of your insurance policy is your coverage and then the deductible. For your purposes you must examine what is covered and what is not (such as car theft). You don’t want to be happy only paying $60/month on your car insurance, only to find out when it’s stolen that it was not part of your coverage.
I will add one last segment to this article which is how you can buy insurance.
You can do so in one of the following ways:
-from an insurance agent that is not associated with the company
-an agent of the company
-directly from the company
A perk of buying directly from the company is that the policy will probably be cheaper as there will be no commission if it’s online. However, independent agents can offer you more choices because they are not bound by one insurance company.
The best way to go is based on your needs. If you need very simple car insurance you can probably go online directly to the company, but if you need a more complicated policy that you have never encountered before, it will be wise to speak with a good agent.
How do you find a good agent? Well, that’s a big mystery; you can find a good agent just like you can find a new mechanic: by asking for referrals from friends and coworkers. If they have been with an agent for a long time and can relate a good story where the agent provided them with a really good service, that’s probably a good bet.
So something has just happened to your home, and you need to file an insurance claim. It doesn’t matter what. It could be fire damage, it could be water damage, or a tornado could have ripped through your living room while you were watching reruns of Doctor Who. Regardless, you need to get it taken care of, but once you called in your claim, something happened that was comparable to the disaster that preceded your claim: a whirlwind of confusion.
The first thing that you might have noticed is all the people that are involved in your claim. First of all, you have the insurance agent who sold you the policy in the first place. This will be the person who represents the company. You also have the insurance adjuster, which is the person who has been assigned to review and approve repairs according to the coverage that you have.
If you have a mortgage, then your mortgage company will more than likely be there to make sure that your property is restored, as they have a vested interested in its future stability. There is also a restoration contractor, and this person is extremely important. Basically, the restoration contractor exists to make sure that your home is restored, and that it is restored within the insurance company’s guidelines. There are certain contractors that you should hire for this, as not every single contractor is well versed in insurance related repairs.
There are some insurance companies that might require you to get multiple estimates for your property damage. Why exactly? If your policy states that you need to, it’s simply so both you and the insurance company can get the best price. Many insurance companies however already know the best price and they probably have a contractor in mind for you. With some companies, you luck out in this area and can simply make one call to take care of the entire claim.
One thing that you may have to deal with in your claim is property depreciation. This is a rather unfortunate fact of life, and it happens because property values can decrease over time. Whether it is because of use, or because the facilities within the house aren’t up to date. This can adversely affect the payout you receive from your insurance companies in some cases. That’s not to say that this is always the case, and you may in fact find that your home is at its full value at the time of the incident.
It’s not easy, having to deal with an insurance claim. In fact, it can get very confusing for someone who is not ‘in the know’. If you have any complex questions however, you can always speak to your insurance provider and they will more than likely be quite happy to provide you with the information that you need. Failing that, and if your claim is likely to be quite large, you might want to approach a claims assessor. They will ensure that you receive every penny that you deserve, not allowing insurance companies to hide behind small print – plus they are often useful for impartial advice and information on your claim.
So learn all you can, and make sure you’re up with the latest real estate terms. In the end, it should all work out for you.
Sep
Insurance agents are the insurance company’s front liners to its clients and potential markets. They are the ones who search for customers, aid them in selecting the right insurance products to meet their needs, and provide continuing support.
Often, being an insurance agent is part-time job, something that career people do on the side to earn extra income from commissions. But while it is work that can be done on leisure time, insurance agents are also tasked to reach monthly customer quotas. A person?s sales and marketing abilities come into play.
Most insurance companies train their agents to give them full comprehension of the products they sell. But while seminars and training are available for recruits, insurance companies often prefer to hire college-educated applicants. This is because a background in finance and accounting is necessary to be successful in selling insurance policies.
Previous experience in sales is, of course, a big boost. A working knowledge of the use of information technology, such as the Internet and computers, is necessary to ensure that relationships with clients are kept intact. An applicant who has a background on presentation skills, sociology and psychology, may already have an edge over other applicants.
An insurance agent may have control over his time and schedule, but he has to travel a lot to meet clients. Sometimes, he may have to work weekends and past normal office hours just to be able to present to potential customers. Most often, these presentations do not necessarily result in clients actually buying a policy.
Before insurance agents can get into the field, they must be fully licensed and must have passed the necessary exams to ensure their comprehension of financial policies. There are different exams for different kinds of accreditation.