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The Locator posted:Why is it that insurance companies will not give me a quote for coverage that is even remotely competitive with my current rates? It seems like at least one of the other big companies would be interested in my business and quote me into their preferred rates, but every time I try, I get a number that's anywhere from 50-80% higher than my current rates. It's strange. This just happened to me recently. Been with one company for a number of years, decided to shop around and see what was what. Got a quote from another company and the rep was falling over to tell me "this is the best you'll get anywhere!"... except it was almost 50% more than what I was currently paying at. Guess not!
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Oct 12, 2012 06:12
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Sorry! This thread totally goes in spurts and I miss a ton of questions. let me get them all."Bitter[HATE posted:" post="408335199"] I'd look at the larger companies. They are large and probably evil, but they are the best bet. They are safe, competitive, and have decent products. I used to work for Metlife, so I'm partial there, but others would be Prudential, TransAmerica, Genworth, American General, or USAA. You can also hit up an independent broker that can run all of those for you at once. That is what I'd do, but make sure you've heard of the company, and get multiple quotes. Some small companies have good deals, but for most people a large company with many assets and options is a good way to go. Cuckoo posted:This is more of a question about the job than the insurance itself, but you said you were a broker. If any of your industries offered a captive spot (as in, you sell only that company's plans and only that line of insurance) would you? If not, why? Well to be honest I no longer do this work any more. I've had to move on to something else because of my families unique circumstance, but I can still answer your questions. I wouldn't take a captive position unless I had a solid book of business and a steady flow of income guaranteed. The trouble is exactly what you said. If I work for one company and my product sucks, or the marketing sucks, or my company screws up and gets a ton of bad press-I pay for it. It is much better to have a wide range of products to offer. The flip side is if you're starting out, I'd recommend starting captive so you can build that book of business. Once you do that, you can go on your own and then, along with your experience, offer more product! So if you're already independent, you'd need a lot to pull you captive. Starting captive is great because the risk is mostly on the company and you're still learning. Knightmare posted:I've had renter's insurance for years now and still not sure how it works if my apartment went up in flames. Do I then make a list of my stuff for the insurance or do they just give me a check for how much I was covered for? I don't save receipts or anything and would probably forget a bunch of stuff if I had to list it out. How does that all work? Should I just take pictures of all my stuff? Renters is what you make of it. If you have a limit at say $30,000 and your place burns down, the max they will pay is $30,000. Now, you could make a list if you like. This allows you to verify that everything you lost is replaced at replacement value (if you have that) in the event htere is a dispute. Generally in a total loss there is no dispute. You pay premium for $30K, they pay out $30K. The issue is when there isn't a total loss and you're trying to claim your Xbox is worth $500....not gonna fly. If you have a list of why its worth $500 and all the games, now you have a case! Generally things that you'll want to have receipts for, you'll have listed separately on the policy. For example, I insured a goon and we listed out all 75 pieces of his collectables. For Auto-they generally go away after 5 years. Maybe 10 for the state you're in and carrier. It really depends. If its been more than 3 years ago, I'd run the numbers. You never know who may not care-Progressive usually only looks back 3 years and that is it.
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Oct 13, 2012 09:27
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The Locator posted:Why is it that insurance companies will not give me a quote for coverage that is even remotely competitive with my current rates? It seems like at least one of the other big companies would be interested in my business and quote me into their preferred rates, but every time I try, I get a number that's anywhere from 50-80% higher than my current rates. It's strange. State Farm is known for grandfathering people in. It is very possible that if you were to re-apply as a fresh customer to State Farm you'd get the same higher rates. I would also go find very preferred if it is that big a deal for you. Some companies like Hartford, Grange, or Metlife have very low rates for very safe drivers. If you're super clean, then you may be in luck there. Don't try Progressive or Geico. Atimo posted:I also work in insurance, but as a Web developer. Mostly dealing with claim intake, and adjusters though. I know very little about what are agents do on a day to day basis so this has been a great read. Thank you! If everyone could afford an umbrella I'd say you should get one. That is exactly the kind of thing it protects you against in the event your auto/home doesn't cover it. Remember, umbrella's cover the cost of defense. It doesn't mean it'll automatically pay out, it means they'll go to bat for you so you don't have to. Then if you do lose after that, THEN they pay.
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Oct 13, 2012 09:43
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Cool, an SA insurance thread. I'm an insurance broker too, for large commercial energy risks: pipelines, rigs, powerplants, undersea wells, etc. I do some more generic stuff, but the weirder the policy the more fun I have placing it.
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Oct 15, 2012 19:59
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I'm going to have a baby in mid November. The baby is going to go on my husband's insurance rather than mine since its better/cheaper for us. He talked to his HR and they said he has 30 days to put the baby on it before he has to wait until the add/drop period. I'm still really confused how its all going to work. What if the baby needs medical stuff right away? You're suppose to take the baby in for a visit with the pediatrician when its a couple days old. Insurance can't possibly be ready and set up by then can it? I don't want to have to deal with trying to get the baby on insurance right after giving birth. What is the process? Can we pre register the baby? Edit: I'm in NC if it matters.
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Oct 17, 2012 20:25
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I'm getting married, so I know how that works with my insurance, but I'm guessing a baby is the same way. I have 30 days to add my soon to be wife to my plan after the marriage, and the effective date is the day of our marriage. So I think in your case you've got 30 days to add your baby to his insurance, but the effective date would be the birthday of the baby. You might have to do some extra legwork to get the insurance to pay for a checkup a few days after the birth since at that moment in time the child won't be in the system, but the baby should have retroactive coverage.
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Oct 17, 2012 20:47
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Alterian posted:I'm going to have a baby in mid November. The baby is going to go on my husband's insurance rather than mine since its better/cheaper for us. He talked to his HR and they said he has 30 days to put the baby on it before he has to wait until the add/drop period. FISHMANPET is pretty much right. The effective date will be the baby's birthday for MOST policies. This does mean that if you have right away medical expenses you may have to put some up front. I'd get with your husband's HR department and get a specific printout of what his particular policy covers. Sometimes they do have a cooldown period, a separate deductible, or some other thing like that. Also, your insurance should have coverage for yourself and baby since a lot of it could be seen as pregnancy coverage, so I'd find out what exactly is covered there as well. Remember, almost all preventative care visits are 100% covered by insurance companies. A check up with the pediatrician should count as this at least and you'd only have to pay the co pay for any vaccinations and the like. If you get all the ducks in a row before baby comes, you should be able to have a seamless transition. They key is to talk to the insurance company because it can literally change from company to company or even position to position within the same company.
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Oct 18, 2012 07:28
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I'll call my insurance and see about that. I hate dealing with my insurance company though. They've given me so many issues. I'll have my husband get the info from his company. Do you know anything about the new women's coverage that went through in august? My insurance rolls over November 1st and I'd really like to take advantage of the breast pump program. I asked at my birthing class and the woman had no idea what I was talking about. Its the stuff outlined here 
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Oct 18, 2012 15:23
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I know about a lot of the womens healthcare stuff that came with the ACA, but specifically pumps I'm not so sure. I know about the extra time required and that you may be able to use some of your wellness plans to help with getting pumps, but I don't know about completely free pumps or stuff like that. Wellness things are key though. Mammograms, pap smears, all that stuff should be included with your plan. Your specific company may have a wellness plan for pumps and classes for sure. This is the tough thing when it comes to medical coverage-every company is different. If they hit the basic rules they are legal and a lot of other stuff is gravy that your company is willing to buy from them, which means someone that doesn't know your specific policy isn't going to know all the answers to these questions. One thing I will tell you is make sure if you're buying stuff for baby, keep track of it, preferably in a savings account. Remember, healthcare costs out of an HSA can result in tax credits for most things!
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Oct 19, 2012 01:14
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Back to car insurance. This isn't a question, so much as a recommendation to everyone regarding their own coverage. Make sure you carry a decent amount of uninsured/underinsured coverage. It's cheap as hell (relatively speaking), and it is what will take care of your medical bills (and pain and suffering) when the other guy is at fault, but too dumb to carry insurance, or a reasonable amount of it. I was in an accident a couple of weeks ago, and the other guy was carrying minimum liability. Luckily I only had minor injuries, and won't get near the personal injury coverage limit, but my car took $7500 to fix, plus 3 weeks of rental car for another $500 or so, which is 80% of the state minimum here. I called my agent today and to change my uninsured/underinsured coverage from $50,000 to $100,000 will cost me less than $2.00 for 6 months, on 3 cars. Kind of a no-brainer IMO, when that part of the insurance is for *me*, not the other guy. I'm sure this will vary based on what sort of other coverage you have (I already carry $100k/$300k liability), but it's worth investigating if you currently have very low limits on that portion of your policy.
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Oct 19, 2012 03:26
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Yeah screw my car, if I get in another accident I would like 50k+ thank you very much. This is good advice. ^ This might only occur in no fault states. TLDR Insure bodily injury and you might receive a fat check. I suffered permanent damage to my eyelid and received settlement money.
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Oct 19, 2012 16:41
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The Locator posted:Back to car insurance. This isn't a question, so much as a recommendation to everyone regarding their own coverage. Absolutely. It's why I mention it in the OP. A lot of people shop on price and say "bah, I don't NEED that coverage, so I won't get it" and it ends up biting them in the rear end. It is important to remember about the "tiers" of coverage. If you're a top tier driver with no incidents and a good company, the price between coverage amounts is relatively small. Basically if you're a top grade driver for an insurance company it doesn't matter what limits you set, you'll be golden. If you're in a lower "tier" then you'll see a higher rate, but again, you'll see less dollar difference between the rates. If you're paying say, and only for example with the numbers,$20 for 50/100 and you're a super safe driver, you can probably go to 100/300 for $25/30. Not a big jump at all!
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Oct 20, 2012 08:36
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I posted this over in the D&D thread about our awesome healthcare system in the U.S. but I figure you're a good person to ask: Can someone in the know about these things explain what the gently caress the point is of including "discounts" in my healthcare premium for "signing" (selecting a radio button on a website) a pledge to not use tobacco and one pledge to eat right when I enroll? They've broken it out into two now, before it was just one "healthy living" pledge. If you take the pledge and claim a bunch of emphysema treatments will they turn you down? Is it just giving away some of your agency for certain conditions? Because yes, while smoking a cigar every three or four days might give me throat cancer so could literally dozens of other things. Also does anybody NOT just pick the radio buttons to save whatever they can? Are these legally binding?
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Oct 22, 2012 15:06
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Stew Man Chew posted:I posted this over in the D&D thread about our awesome healthcare system in the U.S. but I figure you're a good person to ask: Again health stuff varies from company to company but my understanding is this: You can sign up for the discount if you do the things required of the programs. These are called "Wellness" programs or "Preventative" programs in order to help save both you and the company money. These are most prevalent in company provided insurance plans because the company pays less money for you and you do too. The thing is, just as you say, enforcement. What is to stop someone from just signing up and then smoking 3 packs a day? Not a lot. However, I would expect with increased legislation coming down that companies will start cracking down on it. Now, I hope they don't go grabbing medical records or pulling your sick days or something, but I can see them sending an HR person around or an insurance company rep to see who smokes and who doesn't. When I worked for a large company we were supposed to log how much exercise we did throughout a few months and they'd give you a discount based off your log. The reason they've cropped up so much recently is because if people did follow them they WOULD save a lot of money. My guess is that there is an even larger kick back to the employer in terms of premium reductions as I bet if you are found in violation, guess whose rates get jacked up?
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Oct 23, 2012 04:32
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Thanks! Yeah I understand WHY these things exist and how preventive things help the risk pool out / make money for everyone, was primarily curious as to the enforcement on it. So far we haven't been followed up on, ever. And I work remotely, so there's nobody snooping around my office to catch me puffing on the back porch. Appreciate the input 
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Oct 24, 2012 16:11
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My problem is similar to Alterian's - I've got a kid on the way, and need to figure out insurance for it. The problem, though, is that in Minnesota, you can not get a child-only insurance plan, and adding it to either my wife's or my employer plan is prohibitively expensive. I pay nothing for coverage for just myself, but it's $450/mo to add a child to my plan, or about 12% of my gross income. For one child. My wife pays about $230 for herself, and it's $600/mo to add a child. That would make her health insurance costs about a third of her income. It looks like our options are: 1. She goes on an individual plan with her and the baby. A plan with the same insurer she has at work, with a $2000/4000 deductible, looks like it would run about $300/mo, so +$70 to our budget. She is adamant about not doing this because of pre-existing condition concerns, primarily the post-birth checkups and such not being covered. I have no idea if this is the case or not, but I think she's wrong here. 2. Put the baby on my employer plan. +$450 to our budget. This is the option of last resort. 3. I go on an individual plan with the baby and drop my employer plan. +$300/mo to our budget. I feel like at that point, I might as well just go with option 2. 4. My wife or I keep our employer plans, and also get an individual plan with the baby, maybe with a higher deductible to keep the cost down. I have no idea if this is even possible. I feel like the costs for everything except maybe option 1 are just obscenely high. Is there anything I'm missing here? Should we just seek asylum in a country with a functioning health care system? Elder Postsman fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Nov 8, 2012 |
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Nov 8, 2012 16:45
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dur posted:
Wow those are awful premiums. Option 4 is possible and it's what I'd recommend. I forget what the costs were but I remember when I looked for an individual plan for my kid it wasn't unreasonable. The premiums they're asking for are ridiculous.
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Nov 9, 2012 13:57
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dur posted:
Your wife is probably correct here. Until 2014 (and it remains to see what happens then), insurers can still deny claims for adults with pre-existing conditions for insurance policies purchased on the individual market. This could be waived if she gets some sort of certificate from her current insurance that says she was covered for XX amount of months/years/whatever prior to purchasing the individual coverage-- I forget what they call that but you might want to look into that.
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Nov 9, 2012 14:12
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StdNormDist posted:Wow those are awful premiums. Option 4 is possible and it's what I'd recommend. I forget what the costs were but I remember when I looked for an individual plan for my kid it wasn't unreasonable. The premiums they're asking for are ridiculous. It wouldn't be an individual plan just for the kid - that's not even possible to buy here in MN. It would be a plan for myself and the kid, meaning I'd have double coverage. That seems like something that could cause a lot of issues - like each insurer saying "no, the other insurer should cover that" - if I ever need anything. sheri posted:Your wife is probably correct here. Until 2014 (and it remains to see what happens then), insurers can still deny claims for adults with pre-existing conditions for insurance policies purchased on the individual market. This could be waived if she gets some sort of certificate from her current insurance that says she was covered for XX amount of months/years/whatever prior to purchasing the individual coverage-- I forget what they call that but you might want to look into that. Well, that's disappointing. The individual plans we're looking at are with the same insurer she's with through her employer; would that make any difference?
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Nov 9, 2012 16:11
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dur posted:It wouldn't be an individual plan just for the kid - that's not even possible to buy here in MN. It would be a plan for myself and the kid, meaning I'd have double coverage. That seems like something that could cause a lot of issues - like each insurer saying "no, the other insurer should cover that" - if I ever need anything. Sorry, you're right--it was a while ago and I misspoke. Depending on your demographic and medical history it still might be significantly less than just adding your kid to one of your employer-provided plans, but the double coverage thing could be tricky. If you decide to do that check each plan description for the section on "Coordination of Benefits" and if you still have questions, ask the customer service line(s) how to resolve which plan is Primary or Secondary.
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Nov 9, 2012 19:26
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dur posted:My problem is similar to Alterian's - I've got a kid on the way, and need to figure out insurance for it. The problem, though, is that in Minnesota, you can not get a child-only insurance plan, and adding it to either my wife's or my employer plan is prohibitively expensive. I pay nothing for coverage for just myself, but it's $450/mo to add a child to my plan, or about 12% of my gross income. For one child. My wife pays about $230 for herself, and it's $600/mo to add a child. That would make her health insurance costs about a third of her income. Sorry I missed this. Those premiums are sky high. Like seriously. I ran insurance premiums for a guy who had frickin cancer and they were not much higher than those. What kind of plan is your employer offering? That is super high premium for a group policy. It very well may be worth while to go for the individual plan over the group plan. Also, have you looked into a family plan with you, wife AND baby at either of your employers? Perhaps with all things considered that may be a cheaper route than keeping the insurance separate. If you do the whole family on your plan and its $450, maybe that is cheaper than splitting it up over all of them? I'd also look at private insurance for the entire family. I can't imagine your premiums would be much higher than what the group is offering.
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Nov 12, 2012 21:45
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Woo I recently lost my job and will be out of insurance at the end of the month. I can probably afford COBRA but don't want to; since I'm under 26 I'll probably see if I can get back on my parents' insurance. It looks like this is okay under Obamacare according to NYT and the Chicago Sun-Tribune. I'm worried I'm showing symptoms of diabetes, and kind of want to see a doctor soon (hey, I've got plenty of free time!) For employer insurance plans, I shouldn't have to worry about being denied to a pre-existing condition, right?
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Nov 20, 2012 01:47
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This is probably a dumb question but as a renter with renter's insurance do I need to keep a record of receipts or make a list or take pictures of the stuff I own? What if there's a fire and I say my $1000 TV is worth $6000? I remember this being the subject of some British cartoon that I watched when I was like 11, I think the main guy was a dentist. Random but that's what made me think of this.
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Nov 20, 2012 02:07
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Brady posted:This is probably a dumb question but as a renter with renter's insurance do I need to keep a record of receipts or make a list or take pictures of the stuff I own? What if there's a fire and I say my $1000 TV is worth $6000? Taking pictures is a good idea. Your renters policy is going to either pay a claim based on "actual cash value" or "replacement cost". An "actual cash value" policy will pay on whatever something is worth now, so a 5 year old plasma TV might get a few hundred. A "replacement cost" valuation will pay to replace with a like model. Insurance fraud is usually a crime in most places and people who get caught can see jail time.
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Nov 24, 2012 05:03
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Congrats OP, you just convinced me to buy renter's insurance!  Especially since I'm taking an extended vacation at my parent's place and my apt will be unoccupied for 7 weeks...So what are some common ways my insurance company (GEICO) will try to screw me if it comes time to make a claim? Living in Los Angeles, I already checked the earthquake and water from the ground coming the gently caress back up and flooding the place coverage. Does renters insurance cover items I own but not physically in the apartment at the time? I have photography equipment (DSLR, lenses, flashes) worth a few thousand and an Omega watch worth a few thousand as well. If I get mugged on the street for like $6000, what then? Also, I'm moving in July and the policy is for 1 year. Do I get a pro-rated refund when I cancel with them? Or can the policy transfer to my new apartment? INTJ Mastermind fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Nov 24, 2012 |
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Nov 24, 2012 05:37
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A good coverage to get is backup of sewers and drains. It's often like $15 a year, but if a neighbors toilet breaks and water damages your place, you're covered through your renters insurance (and her liability if she has it).
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Nov 24, 2012 20:01
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Sorry. With the job and the baby coming I don't get to check this thread as often.fivre posted:Woo I recently lost my job and will be out of insurance at the end of the month. I can probably afford COBRA but don't want to; since I'm under 26 I'll probably see if I can get back on my parents' insurance. It looks like this is okay under Obamacare according to NYT and the Chicago Sun-Tribune. For employer insurance policies, no. They offer the health insurance to the whole group, you're part of the group, you sign up, you're in. Group policies spread the risk across the whole group, so if you're healthier than the rest of the group, tough noogies, you pay the group rate. If you're not, then hey, you get subsidized overall by the group. They cant' pick and choose what to cover or not cover on a case by case basis. They CAN choose what to cover based on class basis. Like "All people who have diabetes have to wait a year for treatment", is legal, but rare. I'd get a job, get covered, then get checked out. Even if its under your parents, I'd get checked out when you have insurance, not before. Unless you're in serious condition that is. Brady posted:This is probably a dumb question but as a renter with renter's insurance do I need to keep a record of receipts or make a list or take pictures of the stuff I own? What if there's a fire and I say my $1000 TV is worth $6000? The easiest way to look at this is to look at what your total renters policy covers. If you bought a $40,000 policy, the insurance company will cover you for $40,000. Not to exceed that number. Renters policies are usually pretty easy going. If you pay the premium for $40K, they'll pay up to $40K without too much hubbub. They just need to see proof of a covered loss, like a break in, fire, etc. So, this means if you claim your TV is $4000 and it was only worth $1000, well, if you're still under the blanket $40K then they'll usually pay it. The thing is, if you were paying a premium for $40K and you're using more money than what you expected for the TV, then that is on you. You'd only be screwing yourself by paying a higher premium than what you have actual stuff. The thing is, if you're intentionally paying a higher premium and then set fire to your stuff so you can get more money, then that is fraud. If you have a legitimate loss, then "TECHNICALLY" its not fraud. This is something called indemnity, or the idea that the insurance company has to "make you whole" and not have you profit from the loss. If you bought a policy for $100K, lost everything in a fire, but only had $50K of stuff, they only have to pay you $50K to indemnify you, or "make you whole". Back to the original point; yeah you can take a photo if you like. Most insurance companies aren't picky with renters policies. You have a covered loss, they'll pay out without a problem most of the time if they are a decent company. The times you want to make an itemized list is if you have collectables or small valuables that are not worth a ton individually, but may need special coverage. If you DO have a lot of valuables you're worried about, say items worth more than $1000 or so each, I would consider scheduling, or separately listing, those items. INTJ Mastermind posted:Congrats OP, you just convinced me to buy renter's insurance! You have the two coverages I'd choose right off the bat. Water back up is key since it is NOT covered under home owners or renters policies by themselves for most companies. If you're worried, you can always do the safe thing and take pictures and send them to your agent or the company. Items off premises yes and no. If its in your car parked at your place, yes! If you're out walking around and get mugged you can have that covered if you choose "mysterious disappearance" coverage on certain items. Sometimes "Special Personal Property" is what this is called. It means they'll cover the items no questions asked. Its a bit more expensive, but its the way to go if you're worried about that kind of thing happening. Generally renters policies will have a small bit on property they'll cover no matter what but it caps out really low at like $1000 or so. Talk to your company and get that special property coverage, or if its cheaper, itemize those things to cover them for special property. Or stop walking around with $6000 worth of stuff.
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Nov 25, 2012 08:32
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I'm a 29 year old male. I'm healthy and a non-smoker. My parents cosigned on about $15,000 of student loan debt that is still outstanding, and I want them to be protected if I'm unable to pay it back. What do you think my prospects are for finding a term life insurance policy with a very low value? I run my insurance through USAA  but the minimum value they are offering in life insurance is $100k, which is more than I need by a lot. I just want something that will pay out <$50k with a term of 10-15 years and is dirt cheap.
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Nov 29, 2012 21:15
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celestial teapot posted:I'm a 29 year old male. I'm healthy and a non-smoker. My parents cosigned on about $15,000 of student loan debt that is still outstanding, and I want them to be protected if I'm unable to pay it back. What do you think my prospects are for finding a term life insurance policy with a very low value? I run my insurance through USAA For less than 50K and a 15 year term, you should be able to get something pretty cheap. Google something like term life insurance quotes and you should find some sites that will quote several companies for you. I did this about a year ago and it worked pretty well-- contact the companies who's quotes I liked. (I ended up going with Prudential-- they were one of the cheaper ones, coverage is great, and the underwriting process went pretty smoothly).
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Nov 30, 2012 03:17
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Thanks for the anecdote. I'll do some googling.
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Nov 30, 2012 20:41
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First post from my phone so bear with me Get the 100k. The difference in premium between 100k and say 50k is going to be a few dollars a month and you are getting the double coverage. I usually recommend against getting tiny amounts because the insurance per dollar is so much more at the 100k mark. I'd guess a 29 y o would pay 30 some odd for 100k and maybe $29 for 50k. Getting the 100k is a no brainer. Of course ask for quotes and compare but you won't find a lot of reputable companies that will write less than 100k or so.
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Dec 3, 2012 20:29
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Jastiger posted:Items off premises yes and no. If its in your car parked at your place, yes! If you're out walking around and get mugged you can have that covered if you choose "mysterious disappearance" coverage on certain items. Sometimes "Special Personal Property" is what this is called. It means they'll cover the items no questions asked. Its a bit more expensive, but its the way to go if you're worried about that kind of thing happening. Generally renters policies will have a small bit on property they'll cover no matter what but it caps out really low at like $1000 or so. Talk to your company and get that special property coverage, or if its cheaper, itemize those things to cover them for special property. Depending on the carrier, they may have separate limits for property taken off-premises or in your car. This is important to know because if you have a $3000 laptop or camera stolen from your passengers seat or get mugged on a trip, it may or may not be covered. There may be several property exclusions: - Artwork or jewelry above a certain amount - Firearms - Collectibles - Anything used in a professional or business capacity These may require a separate piece of coverage known as a "floater." Also, make sure your property coverage is either "SPECIAL" as Jastiger mentioned or "ALL RISK." What's the difference between property coverages? Knowing this is important, because sometimes you'll think you'll be getting a great deal on an insurance policy only to realize it excludes most of the common causes of loss (e.g. theft)
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Jan 17, 2013 18:19
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sheri posted:For less than 50K and a 15 year term, you should be able to get something pretty cheap. Google something like term life insurance quotes and you should find some sites that will quote several companies for you. I did this about a year ago and it worked pretty well-- contact the companies who's quotes I liked. (I ended up going with Prudential-- they were one of the cheaper ones, coverage is great, and the underwriting process went pretty smoothly). I advocate finding a local broker via search, Yelp, or referral from a friend or coworker. Not just because I'm an indie myself, but I think it's important the people remember to support local commerce when possible, plus it's nice to have an actual human accountable for things. Also, if something goes sideways with underwriting, it's much easier to deal with a broker that's agile enough to work towards a resolution. For young, healthy people this is generally not a problem, but carriers can fluctuate wildly in their underwriting practices (did you know that having an immediate family member with cancer or heart disease can dramatically affect YOUR premium?) or turnaround time. Take Prudential, for example. They'e always been a very fine carrier. They're backed up right now by several weeks and have been notoriously picky with underwriting. You might not get this level of detail from an internet-based aggregator. The Jizzer fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Jan 17, 2013 |
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Jan 17, 2013 18:25
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MoraleHazard posted:Cool, an SA insurance thread. I'm an insurance broker too, for large commercial energy risks: pipelines, rigs, powerplants, undersea wells, etc. I do some more generic stuff, but the weirder the policy the more fun I have placing it. Amen. Weird poo poo is what keeps me going. I can do vanilla stuff all day long but being hit with a total curveball that makes me actually work is fun, and more rewarding when I'm done.
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Jan 19, 2013 18:00
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I have a question about whole life insurance. How is cash value determined? If I'm not mistaken, they take a portion of your insurance premium and put it in a "savings account" where it earns interest, correct? Is the interest rate usually fixed or variable? One would think with current low interest rates it may make sense to opt for term until rates rise if they are fixed...
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Jan 20, 2013 05:50
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ifuckedjesus posted:I have a question about whole life insurance. How is cash value determined? If I'm not mistaken, they take a portion of your insurance premium and put it in a "savings account" where it earns interest, correct? Is the interest rate usually fixed or variable? One would think with current low interest rates it may make sense to opt for term until rates rise if they are fixed... Without getting too complicated, traditional Whole Life works like this: (Premium) - (Administrative Expenses) - (Cost of Insurance) = (Deposit to Cash Accumulation Account) Then, each year you get (Cash Value) * (Interest) + (Dividends) = (Cash Accumulation) As a rule, the cash accumulation in whole life is at a fixed interest rate, but most whole life policies also return non-guaranteed dividends based on the carrier's profit, which can provide a significant boost in the actual return. The dividends (not the interest return) can be used for a number of things: 1. Returned as a cash payment. This is taxable to the extent that it exceeds your cost basis (i.e. the amount of premiums you've put into the policy) 2. Reinvested into the policy in the form of "Paid-up adds," additional chunks of insurance that add to the total policy value and generate additional interest/dividends 3. Premium reduction - once this is high enough it can even offset the majority (in some cases, the entirety) of policy premiums 4. Leave them in the policy to accumulate more cash. There are alternative types of permanent insurance policies such as Universal Life which allocates and accumulates money differently (it's not geared towards cash generation in the same way a whole life policy is), Indexed Life wherein returns are linked an market index such as the S&P 500, and finally Variable Life which are tied to an underlying investment portfolio. An entirely different discussion is whether whole life policies are appropriate given a certain situation (beware of advice from anyone who says "yes, everyone should have whole life" or "whole life is a waste of money, avoid at all costs!") and which carriers are left that still have a decent product (very few) .
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Jan 20, 2013 18:22
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Is there typically any discount to be applied (without changing coverage) to a vehicle's insurance premium when you own the car outright? I just paid off my car and thus have no lienholder, and I don't want to drop full coverage (it's still a valuable vehicle, and I'm not crazy). Can insurance get cheaper for me now?
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Jan 21, 2013 21:04
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How does credit card rental coverage work if you have no primary auto coverage? My current insurer appears to cover rental vehicles, but my previous one would only cover a rental if it was a loaner while mine was in the shop.
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Jan 22, 2013 02:25
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Powerlurker posted:How does credit card rental coverage work if you have no primary auto coverage? My current insurer appears to cover rental vehicles, but my previous one would only cover a rental if it was a loaner while mine was in the shop. On my amex, it'll pick up any damage to the rental car under a certain amount (I wanna say 125k). But there's no liability coverage.
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Jan 22, 2013 02:33
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canyoneer posted:Is there typically any discount to be applied (without changing coverage) to a vehicle's insurance premium when you own the car outright? I just paid off my car and thus have no lienholder, and I don't want to drop full coverage (it's still a valuable vehicle, and I'm not crazy). Can insurance get cheaper for me now? The easy way to answer "Will X affect my insurance premiums" is to ask yourself the following: Will X increase or decrease liability (the likelihood of having a claim on my car or the total possible claim amount)? (Short answer: No.)
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Jan 22, 2013 03:45
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