Auto Insurance Online Glossary:
Accidental death and dismemberment coverage: coverage that will pay you, your family members, or other occupants of your car a set amount, under the terms of the policy, for certain serious injuries or death resulting from an accident while in your car.
Actual cash value: an amount equal to the cost of replacing a damaged item with a new one, minus depreciation.
Adjuster: a person who investigates and evaluates for an insurance carrier the damages caused in an accident.
At-fault: responsible for an accident.
Agent: an insurance salesperson who sells and services policies. An independent agent usually represents two or more insurers in a sales and service capacity and is paid on a commission basis. An exclusive agent or captive agent represents only one company, usually on a commission basis.
Arbitration: a determination made by impartial experts as to the value of property or the extent of damage.
Assigned risk plan: a state-supervised insurance plan for people who are unable to obtain insurance coverage in the regular market. The cost of this insurance is substantially higher.
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Binder: a temporary insurance contract that provides proof of coverage until you receive a permanent policy from the company. A binder is subject to the payment of a premium.
Bodily injury liability: insurance that pays for another person’s bodily injury or death in an automobile accident caused by you. It compensates those people for pain, suffering, and other personal hardships, and will also pay for some economic damages (i.e., lost wages).
Broker: an insurance salesperson who deals with agents and companies to find insurance for consumers. Cancellation: a termination of a policy before its normal expiration date.
Claim: a request for reimbursement for damages on an insured loss. Your claims to your company are “first-party claims.” Claims made by one person against another person’s company are known as “third-party claims.”
CLUE report: short for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange which keeps insurance claims history.
Collision coverage: optional insurance that pays for physical damage caused when your own car hits another car or object, regardless of who is at fault. Collision coverage may carry a deductible -- a stated amount that you must first pay out of your own pocket.
Comparative fault: a method of attributing fault to each driver where both contributed to the cause of the accident.
Comprehensive physical damage coverage: pays for damage to your auto caused by fire, theft, vandalism, flood, falling objects, or hail. This coverage may also carry a deductible.
Conditions: part of an insurance policy that states your obligations and those of your insurance company.
Declarations page: the front page of your policy containing information such as the exact name of your insurance company, the policy number, your coverages, the amounts of your coverages, and your deductibles.
Deductible: the amount you must pay from your own pocket for each claim or accident before the company pays on a claim. The bigger the deductible, the cheaper the coverage.
Depreciation: the decrease in value of your vehicle or its parts due to wear, tear, and age.
Exclusion: a provision in an insurance policy that denies coverage for certain losses, persons, or property.
GAP coverage: pays for the gap between the amount due under a lease and the actual cash value of the car at the time of the accident.
Identification card: a wallet-size card issued by your insurance company to indicate your policy number and coverage.
Liability: any legally enforceable obligation.
Liability insurance: insurance that pays when you are liable for injuries to other Persons or damage to their property.
Limits: the maximum amount of benefits the insurance company agrees to pay on a loss.
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Medical payments: insurance that pays the medical and funeral expenses for you or any passengers riding in your car at the time of an accident. Medical payments will provide coverage whether the accident was caused by you or someone else.
Negligence: failure to exercise a generally acceptable level of care and caution that results in injury or damage to a third party.
No-fault insurance: a form of insurance available in many states under which each driver in an accident files claims for losses, such as medical expenses, with their own insurance company, regardless of who caused the accident.
Non-renewal: the termination of the insurance contract by electing not to renew the policy at the anniversary date.
Nonstandard company: sells insurance at high rates to drivers with poor driving records or other problems.
Occurrence: an event that results in an insured loss.
PIP (personal injury protection): commonly referred to as “no-fault” insurance. This was designed to pay promptly -- regardless of fault or negligence -- for actual economic losses (e.g., medical expenses, lost earnings, and other reasonable and necessary expenses related to injuries sustained) to a driver or passenger injured in the car and to pedestrians injured by your car, because of its use or operation. It applies to personal injuries only, not for physical damages to the vehicle.
Policy period: the amount of time an insurance contract or policy provides coverage.
Preferred risk: a person or risk less likely than the average person or risk to make a claim. A preferred risk usually qualifies for a lower premium.
Premium: the amount you pay for insurance.
Proof of loss: documents that you give the insurer to support your request for payment of losses.
Pro rata cancellation: revocation of a policy by an insurance company that returns the unearned premium to the policyholder.
Property damage liability: this coverage protects you from claims and lawsuits by people whose property is damaged as a result of an accident you caused.
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Rescission: the company voids your policy back to the beginning. There is no coverage at all and the company will return the money you paid.
Short rate cancellation: cancellation by the insured of an insurance policy for which the returned, unearned premium is diminished by administration costs incurred when the insurance company places the policy on its books.
Underwriter: an individual in an insurance company who determines what insurance risks will be accepted and on what terms.
Underinsured motorist coverage (UIM): provides coverage for bodily injury caused by a driver who is underinsured. It does not cover damage to your car.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UMBI): insurance that covers the insured and family members if injured by a hit-and-run motorist or an uninsured driver, provided the other driver is at fault.
Unsatisfied judgment fund: a special fund which, subject to several restrictions, pays individuals for bodily injury arising out of the use of a motor vehicle for their damages if the individual obtains a judgment against the responsible party and is unable to collect on that judgment.
If you are looking for home insurance, auto insurance, property insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, or life insurance, it's very important to understand all your insurance options. The insurance information on this website will help you understand the different choices available for your insurance needs.
Buying insurance of any type can be a very stressful experience. With all the different companies advertising lower rates and better coverage it can be extremely difficult to find the best policy for you.
While buying any kind of insurance can be a difficult decision, when you want to buy health, life or pet insurance the process can be even trickier because you are dealing with the life and health of your family and pets.
Nobody wants to think about insurance. It's boring, it's expensive and finding the right insurance policy for your particular situation is time-consuming. It's also one of the most important decisions you'll have to make. Basically, the purpose of all insurance is to protect yourself or your family against the financial impact of a tragedy. Insurance is not to help you budget moderate-sized expenses, but to protect you against the truly catastrophic.
There are two ways to buy insurance. One way is to go to an insurance agent to whom you explain your situation and trust that insurance agent to suggest the insurance that is right for you. The other is to find cheap insurance on your own. You research the various types of insurance policies available, decide what you need, and then comparison shop among the various insurance companies. The advantage of going to an insurance agent is that an honest and competent insurance agent can review your situation and make suggestions. The advantage of buying insurance on your own is that you usually pay less for the same amount of insurance.
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Auto Insurance/Car Insurance - The Internet has created increasing competition between auto insurance/car insurance companies. It is easier than ever for consumers to shop for low auto insurance/car insurance rates, to analyze coverage and compare premiums. Still, studies have shown that people don't shop around for auto insurance/car insurance in the same way they might shop for a new car. Also, people tend to stay with the same auto insurance/car insurance company for years. Why not prove these studies wrong? Put the power of the Net to work for you and save money in the process.
You can save on auto insurance/car insurance in five ways: Make sure you get all discounts you qualify for. Keep your driver's record clean and up-to-date. Adjust your coverage to assume more risk. Drive a "low profile" car equipped with certain money-saving safety features. Shop around for a good, low cost insurance provider.
First, let's look at the auto insurance/car insurance discounts you might qualify for. auto insurance/car insurance discounts fall into a number of categories: Low-risk occupations. Professional organizations. Combined coverage. Discounts for safety features. More risk assumed by driver. Discounts for senior citizens. Low-Risk Occupations.
Auto insurance/car insurance is a numbers game. Adjustors collect information about what types of people get into accidents. Over the years they see a trend. Drivers that work as engineers tend to get into fewer accidents. Why? It would be fun to speculate about the reasons (pocket protectors — need we say more?) but the insurance companies don't really care about that. All they know is that, in fact, engineers are a low risk. Since there is less chance that they will wrap their cars around the trunk of a horse chestnut tree, they charge engineers less for insurance. Simple.
But you say you are a teacher instead of an engineer? You might still be in luck. There may be auto insurance/car insurance discounts for teachers. You never know unless you ask — and unless you shop around. Not all auto insurance/car insurance companies are the same.
Professional Organizations and Auto Clubs - Have you ever been about to pay $100 for a hotel room, only to discover that a AAA discount saves you 15 percent? Now you're paying $85 and feeling proud of yourself. It's similar in the insurance business. Affiliation with AAA — and certain other professional organizations — will lower your rates. You should check with your employer to see if there are any group insurance rates. At the same time try checking directly with the auto insurance/car insurance company representative when you inquire about the cost of policies.
Combined and Renewal Discounts - A big source of savings is to insure your cars with the same company that insures your house. Make sure you ask if combined coverage is available. This will lower your payments on your auto insurance/car insurance and make your homeowner's policy cheaper too.
It's also important to make sure you are getting a "renewal" discount that many auto insurance/car insurance companies offer. This is a discount given to people who have been with the same insurance company for an extended period of time. If you have carried insurance with a company for several years, and not had an accident, your auto insurance/car insurance company likes you. Think about it. You paid them a lot of money and they didn't have to do anything except send you bills and cash your checks. True, they were ready to do something if you got in an accident. But you didn't get into an accident so they're happy and want to continue their relationship with you. A renewal discount is a good incentive to urge you to return. And it's a good reason for you to stay with them.
Auto insurance/car insurance discounts for Auto Safety Features - Auto safety features will also lower your payments. Heading the list of money saving safety features is antilock brakes. Certain states — such as Florida, New Jersey and New York — encourage drivers to buy cars with antilock brakes by requiring insurers to give discounts. Check to see if you live in such a state, or if the insurance company you are considering gives a discount for this feature. Automatic seatbelts and airbags are also frequently rewarded with insurance discounts.
Assume More Risk - Two powerful ways to bring your coverage down is to assume a higher risk. This is done in two ways. The most dramatic reduction can be realized by dropping your collision insurance on an older car. If the car is worth less than $2,000, you'll probably spend more insuring it than it is worth. The whole idea of driving an older car is to save money, so why not get what is coming to you?
Another way to redesign your auto insurance/car insurance policy — and save money in the process — is to ask for a higher deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay before your insurance company begins paying the rest. In other words, you pay for the little dings and bumps and let your insurance company pay for the heavy hits.
For example, a common deductible amount is $500. This means if an accident you're in causes $1,500 worth of damage, you pay $500 and the insurance company pays $1,000. You could, however, set your deductible to $1,000. This still covers you against heavy losses, but it may decrease your monthly premium by as much as 30 percent.
As a final note, if you are being strangled by high auto insurance/car insurance costs, keep this in mind when you go car shopping next time. The more expensive and higher-performance the car is, the higher the premium will be. This is particularly true of cars that are frequently stolen, or are expensive to repair. The auto insurance/car insurance company keeps this in mind when setting its insurance rates for this vehicle. Shop for a low-profile car and get your kicks in other ways. You'll love the savings you'll see on your auto insurance/car insurance.
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Health Insurance - Do I need health insurance? The short answer is yes. It's no secret that medical bills are outrageous. A single trip to the doctor's office can cost you upwards of a thousand dollars. If that isn't enough, the average cost of medical care for a broken leg is near 20 grand. So, unless your last name is Rockefeller, health insurance is probably a good investment.
Employer: The best way to get health insurance is to find a job that offers it as one of the employee benefits. Employers are able to get cheaper insurance, through group plans and then offer those discounted rates to their employees. Sometimes, and employee will have to pay a percentage of their monthly premium, but in rare cases, and employer will cover the entire premium for an employee. Chances are, you will have to fork over some money for any dependents, however.
Self-Employed and Individual Coverage: Those that are self-employed are sometimes the hardest hit by rising healthcare costs, because they have to pay for individual coverage. Most major health insurance companies will not give you group status until you have at least two full-time employees. And the more employees you have, the cheaper your rates. For the self-employed, there are sites on the Internet promising coverage, based on "National group" plans. They say they will combine all individuals across the nation into one group. However, these sites often have very high premiums, offer little coverage, and you end up paying more in the long run. Your best bet is to meet with a reputable insurance agent in your area to explore your options.
Government: For low-income individuals Medicaid and Medicare are popular federal programs, but there are options in some states for free coverage. For example, Illinois offers free health insurance to all children, if their parents are below poverty-level. Adults must cover their own insurance, however.
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Life Insurance - Term life is the simplest and least expensive type of policy. It's pure insurance with no cash value account. A term life policy has only one function: to pay a specific lump sum to whoever you've designated, upon a specific event - your death.
The death benefit and the policy limit are the same - a $200,000 policy pays a $200,000 death benefit. The policy protects your family by providing money they can invest to replace your salary, as well as to cover final expenses incurred by your death.
Other types of life insurance provide both a death benefit and a cash value account. Their premiums are larger than term life premiums, because they fund the savings account in addition to buying insurance. These policies are often referred to as cash value policies. They include:
Whole life insurance provides permanent protection for your dependents while building a cash value account. With this type of insurance, the insurance company manages the policies various accounts.
What whole life insurance does: It pays a death benefit to the beneficiary you name and offers you a low risk cash value account and tax-deferred cash accumulation. It provides a fixed premium which can't increase during your lifetime as long as you continue to pay the planned amount. It allows the insurance company to exclusively manage the cash value account in your policy. It provides you the option to receive dividends from your policy or apply them to reduce payments. It offers you the right to withdraw from the policy during your lifetime.
What whole life insurance doesn't do: It doesn't offer the account flexibility to invest in separate accounts such as money market, stock, and bond funds. It doesn't allow you the account flexibility to split your money among different accounts or to move your money between accounts. It doesn't offer premium flexibility. It doesn't offer face amount flexibility.
Variable life insurance provides permanent protection for you and is the type of life insurance with account flexibility for the more risk-oriented policy holder.
What variable life insurance does: It pays a death benefit to the beneficiary you name and offers you low-risk, tax-free cash accumulation. It allows the death benefit to vary in relation to the fund returns of the cash value account. It allows you to borrow from the policy during your lifetime.
What variable life insurance doesn't do: It offers no guarantee to the amount of cash value during your lifetime. It doesn't offer you premium flexibility. It doesn't offer you face amount flexibility.
Universal life insurance provides permanent protection for your dependents and is more flexible than whole or variable life.
What universal life insurance does: It pays a death benefit to the beneficiary you name and offers you a low risk cash value account and tax deferred accumulation. It allows you to earn market rates of interest on your cash value account. It offers the right to borrow or withdraw from the policy during your lifetime. It allows you premium flexibility. It offers face amount flexibility.
What universal life insurance doesn't do: It doesn't offer you the account flexibility to invest in separate accounts such as money market, stock, and bond funds. It doesn't allow you the account flexibility to split your money among different accounts or to move your money between accounts.
Universal Variable life insurance is the type of insurance which gives you more control of cash value account policy features than any other insurance type.
What universal variable life insurance does: It pays a death benefit to the beneficiary you name and offers you low risk tax deferred cash value options. It offers separate accounts for you to invest in such as money market, stock, and bond funds. It offers premium flexibility. It allows you to make withdrawals or to borrow from the policy during your lifetime. It stipulates that if you terminate the contract in early years you will receive less cash value total return than in a whole contract.
What universal variable life insurance doesn't do: It requires you, the policyholder, to devote time to manage the accounts. The policies long term success is contingent on the investment you make. It doesn't work well with small premium amounts because your premium must cover your insurance and your accounts.
Deciding if you need life insurance is a completely different story. There are many questions you will need to ask before you decide if life insurance is a good investment and how much life insurance you need.
Do you have any dependants? If you live alone or do not have anyone that relies on you for support you probably don't need life insurance. However, if you have a spouse or minor children, you will want to make sure they are taken care of.
How long until your dependants become self-sufficient? If your spouse is capable of working or your children are nearing adulthood you will not need as much life insurance as you would if your spouse is disabled or your children were very young.
How much debt will you be leaving behind? You will want enough life insurance to cover any outstanding debts so your loved ones will be taken care of. If you have a mortgage on your home or large amounts of credit card debt you will want enough life insurance to cover the expenses.
How long will your estate be tied up in probate? Probate is the court process of determining how your estate will be managed and distributed according to a will or state law if a will is not available. Your estate will be tied up in probate if you do not name a beneficiary in your will.
The best way to avoid probate is to name a beneficiary. However, if your estate will be tied up in probate, you will want enough life insurance to cover your dependants' expenses until the estate is settled.
Once you've answered these questions you will be better suited to make a decision on whether you need life insurance and how much coverage is right for your situation.
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