As a responsible parent, you know that keeping your home and family safe is always a top priority. While a responsible adult will be able to provide for himself (or herself) and the rest of the family, there are unexpected situations that can negatively impact the quality of life of the entire family, such events include but are not limited to house fires, flood, earthquake, death of the head of the household, etc.

When any of the events mentioned happens, your savings account may not be enough to cover for the expenses of your family and the expenses incurred in order to get everything back as it was before the mishap, this is where an insurance policy comes in handy. There are two types of insurance policies that no family should be without, those are home insurance and life insurance, let's take a look at each one of them.

Homeowners Insurance

"Home is where the heart is" -- this is a beautiful quote that homeowners hold dear, most property owners will undoubtedly say that they would have no idea what they would do if they were to lose their house and the valuable possessions they have in them. Thinking about such cases insurance companies have created special policies that cover private properties. Whilst the details of the policy may vary from company to company their purpose is one and the same, to protect the home of the account holder.

The details of the policy will also change from state to state, for instance people who live in California may have to pay a higher premium for earthquake insurance because of the fact that such a state is known to have many earthquakes. A higher premium may also be required in order to insure a property from floods. When it comes to setting the coverage of a home owners insurance policy, the providing company will assess the situation in order to come up with a reasonable figure, this means that if a property is located close to a fire station it is very unlikely for the house to be destroyed due to fire, the same can be said of people who purchase protection from alarm companies.

Term life insurance

Some will say that this concept sounds very much like traditional life insurance but, it is important to note that there is a difference between the two, a traditional or whole life insurance is a policy that accumulates value over time and it is not possible to outlive the policy. With term life insurance a beneficiary is only covered for a set amount of time, this may be 5, 10 or 20 years, and this type of policy does not accumulate cash value.

The purpose of a term life insurance is to provide for the financial responsibilities of the policyholder in a way that is affordable. When we compared these two types of policies we can see that whole life policies are often more expensive than those that are arranged by a term but this does not mean that people who opt for term life insurance will not receive the same type of benefits that goes with whole life policies do.

As you see, homeowners and life insurance are to policy types that you and your family cannot live without, this is because if something were to happen to you or your home, your love ones with the thrown into financial oblivion.

Themoneyalert.com offers more information about home owner insurance as well as Term insurance. To get an affordable Home Insurance Quote visit our website today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Jarred

Unfair Claims Practices

Insurance companies refused to settle thousands of claims after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and showed America just what Unfair Claims Practices can look like. But Unfair Claims Practices happen in more than just hurricanes losses. Insurance companies deny and delay claims on a very regular basis.

What do you do when your insurance company drags its feet and will not settle your claim? How do you tell what actions are just simply annoyingly poor customer service, and what actions violate the law?

How do you know if your insurance company is treating you fairly and lawfully after you have filed an insurance claim?

Every state has Unfair Claims Practices regulations to protect policyholders and claimants from being abused by insurance companies in the claims process.

A state regulator's primary task is protecting the interests of insurance consumers. Check with your state's Department of Insurance to find out the regulations in your state.

Let me give you some examples of Unfair Claims Practices:

* Attempting to settle a claim based on an application which the company changed without the insured's knowledge or permission. The simplest example of this is when an insurance company changes the date of the application. But it could be any information on the application that might be altered.

* Failing to act promptly after receiving information concerning an insurance claim. Many states require response within 15 days. When there's a storm like Katrina, you might have to wait weeks to meet your adjuster. But that might be an Unfair Claims Practice.

* Delaying a claim investigation by requiring unnecessary reports or documents which contain substantially the same information. Recently I witnessed a major well-known insurance company send a claim to their Special Investigations Unit (SUI), and then take recorded statements from the insureds...and then ask the insureds to submit to an Examination Under Oath. In my opinion, that was Unfair Claims Practice perpetrated by that insurance company.

* When applicable, failing to pay a claim quickly, fairly and equitably. Unethical insurance companies could just stonewall you by telling you it is still investigating your claim.

* Failing to promptly settle claims where liability is reasonably clear under one portion of the policy to influence settlements under any portion of the insurance policy coverage. For example, your auto insurer can't refuse to pay your bills under the medical coverage in your policy so you'll settle your uninsured motorist claim.

* Failing to promptly and clearly explain the policy or the law for either denying a claim or offering a compromise settlement. If you get a denial letter for your claim, the letter should quote the policy language directly that applies. No quote, could be Unfair Claim Practice.

* Attempting to persuade insureds not to invoke and use the arbitration process. Also, an insurance company is prevented from appealing almost all of the arbitration awards in favor of policyholders as a way to force a settlement of claims.

* Misrepresenting significant facts or insurance policy provisions. Insurance companies sometimes deny claims on their misinterpretation of the policy. Then, it's up to you to change their minds.

* Refusing to tell an insured what is happening with a loss within a reasonable time after receiving a completed proof of loss statement. Many policies require the insurance company to accept or deny the proof of loss within 30 days after receiving it. It's in your policy...read it.

* Denying claims without a reasonable loss investigation. The problem comes with the definition of "reasonable." Still, insurers sometimes try to settle a claim using a "lowball settlement offer" without much investigation, just to see if they can make the claim go away.

* Offering very low settlements to encourage insureds to sue. That would cause the length of time for a claim settlement to stretch out, possibly for years. The only ones who benefit from that delay are the insurance company...and the attorneys

* Settling claims for less than the amounts a reasonable person would expect. Insurance companies regularly make "lowball offers" for settlements to their own policyholders as well as third-party claimants. The insurers will pay the LEAST amount of money in a settlement that the policyholders or claimants will accept...always. That's one way to maximize profits.

If you think that your insurance company examiner or adjuster is has committed an Unfair Claims Practices action, talk to that person's supervisor. If the situation doesn't improve or get entirely resolved, file a complaint with your state's insurance department.

Copyright 2008 by Russell D. Longcore

P.S. I wrote a book that YOU need!

check out: http://www.insurance-claim-secrets.com

NUMBER ONE at Amazon.com in its category!

My blog is at: http://insurance-claim-secrets.blogspot.com/

Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year Award 2008

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Longcore

Russell Longcore - EzineArticles Expert Author

When you buy your home, do you feel as if you're spending a lot more than the actual price of the house? For example the interest on your mortgage seem like a lot for the first few years! And you might even feel that getting mortgage insurance is money down the drain too.

Mortgage insurance is a backup plan in case a homeowner defaults on their loan. Don't jump to the conclusion that if anything happens this insurance policy will help you pay off your loan. This policy actually helps only the lender and no one else. Part of your monthly mortgage goes towards the premiums for the mortgage insurance.

The only way you can avoid this mortgage insurance is if you can put at least twenty percent of the mortgage down. This twenty percent mark applies also if you have repaid your mortgage to that mark. Once you have done that, your mortgage insurance policy can be cancelled.

You might be asking, how much are you really paying for your premiums. Depending on the insurer, this may vary, however it should exceed $100 per month. This is on top of what you already pay into your mortgage. So say if you're paying $900, your monthly mortgage becomes $1000. It could make that different between a two three figure to a four figure mortgage.

If you're not happy with this, what else can you do? Can you shop around? Generally the premiums are all pretty similar. Private insurers can offer more options, they will have the average plan for the average homeowner as well as more specialised plans that are more affordable.

Check with private companies to see what kind of loads they insure. They might not deal with high risk loans and they will change higher premiums due to the high possibility that the borrowers may default. They may only insure those who have already given a percentage of down payment.

The FHA offers a program for those who may need a little assistance, with the whole home buying process. They teach subjects such as budgeting, how to qualify for a loan, how to find homes in your price range, how to keep your home in good condition and hence retain its market value. Those who have successfully completed the program are eligible for a reduction in their FHA mortgage insurance premiums, which is a reduction of half a percent from the original price.

So you may still be asking, which is better, lender or private? Well that would really depend on your situation. In an ideal world you would want a policy that doesn't cost too much, as you will be paying for several years to come. Private mortgage insurance can offer you lower premiums for qualifying the loan, but you will have to attend and pass special programs before that happens. So take your time and think carefully about which one you want to go for.

Richard Tyler is a happily retired investment guru who ran several successful businesses during his earlier years. He now shares his wealth of knowledge on investment, business and strategic wealth management at Invest Money Stocks. For more free useful articles on mortgage please visit Invest Money Stocks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_T._Tyler