Mark Carolin » Insurance

Life Insurance For Elderly

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:07:30 +0000

Life insurance is available for elderly persons up to age 85.

Elderly persons should not purchase term life insurance. Whole life in an amount suitable to pay for burial and funeral expenses is very affordable. A $10,000.00 policy can be purchased for under $100.00 per month and with a first day, full benefit. What this means is, if you pass away tomorrow after purchasing a senior life insurance policy, the full $10,000.00 will be paid to your beneficiary.

If you have significant health problems, such as a history of heart disease or kidney problems, you may not be eligible for a first day, full benefit policy. In this case, you will be offered a graded or modified death benefit policy. These types of special insurance policies do not pay the full death benefit for 2 to 3 years after the policy has been purchased. During the 2 or 3 year period, depending on the company your purchase your policy from, only a portion of the face value of the policy will be paid. In some cases, all premiums paid into the policy plus interest will be paid to the beneficiary.

Whole life coverage for seniors is best. The monthly premium is guaranteed to never increase, regardless of health or age. The face value is guaranteed to never decrease. The cash values are also guaranteed.

If you are elderly, you can compare life insurance quotes online with special websites that allow you to see the prices that different insurance companies charge for final expense insurance . These types of websites are available for your convenience.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:51:56 +0000

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) was founded in 1851. As its name implies, the company is a mutually owned financial protection, wealth accumulation, and income management company. It’s headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. Today, the MassMutual Financial Group handles marketing efforts for MassMutual Life Insurance and its affiliated companies and sales agents. MassMutual has been made famous by its enduring tagline, “We’ll help you get there.”

Today, MassMutual has over $500 billion in assets under management. MassMutual’s major affiliates include: OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; MML Investors Services, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC; and MassMutual International LLC and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

Recently, the MassMutual Financial Group launched its multimedia “Good Decisions” market campaign, designed to assure clients and consumers during times of economic and financial turbulence.

“At a time when consumers are faced with complex decisions every day, the notion of feeling confident about your choices has significant relevance. The ‘Good Decisions’ platform speaks to consumers in very meaningful and tangible ways as they make the choices that will impact their financial future. With our financial strength, broad range of quality products, mutual form of ownership that puts clients’ needs first, and strong network of financial professionals, MassMutual is well equipped to help our clients make good decisions… As an industry leader for more than 150 years, MassMutual has built our business on the strength of sound decision-making. Regardless of where our clients stand on the planning spectrum, we want them to understand and share that sense of confidence when they choose MassMutual,” says John W. Chandler, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

MassMutual Life Insurance’s products and services include life insurance, annuities, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement planning products, income management, and the full gamut of products and services for individuals, business owners, and corporate and institutional markets.

MassMutual on the corporate level prides itself on always seeking to do the right thing for its policyholders. Since the long-term interest of the company’s policyholders is one of their highest priorities, maintaining the financial strength and stability of the company is considered by its governance to be of paramount importance. However, MassMutual Life Insurance Company is also proud of its traditions of generous philanthropy. The Fortune 100 company’s leaders do not see these two priorities as mutually exclusive nor as conflicts of interest.

“We are keenly aware that as a company, our actions, and behaviors impact our stakeholders, and we take pride in our role as a responsible corporate citizen. We are fully committed to sustaining the continuous hard work needed to meet the responsibility we have to our policyholders and customers, our employees and agents, and the communities in which we do business,” says MassMutual’s Stuart H. Reese, the company’s Chairman, President, and CEO.

MassMutual is also proud of its mutual ownership structure. It cites its advantages here as including: there are no conflicts of interest between policyholders and shareholders; the receiving of dividend payments by policyholders; and immunity from the merger trend and “hostile takeover” bids that could disrupt or diminish service.

At the end of the first quarter of 2008, the independent insurance company rating group A.M. Best Co. announced that it affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A++ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aaa” for MassMutual Life Insurance and its health insurance subsidiaries. The ratings firm also affirmed the debt ratings of “aa” on the existing surplus notes and “aaa” on notes issued under MassMutual’s funding agreement-backed securities (FABS) programs. And it affirmed the AMB-1+ commercial paper rating while stating that the outlook for all ratings is stable.

Mortgage Life Insurance Rates

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:18:40 +0000

Mortgage life insurance leads can be a nice profit generator for any insurance agent. It is often used as a method by which individuals or groups of people can buy health insurance without paying the full value upfront. The mortgage life insurance leads are generated mainly through major search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN. By putting the mortgage life insurance leads on such search engines, one can raise the most motivated prospects possible.

Mortgage life insurance quotes and rates are provided by all of the various insurance companies. These mortgage life insurance programs have the power to protect one’s finances with all of the advantages that these companies can provide. So the mortgage life insurance rates provided by the various companies become a major factor in from among choosing insurance policies. After one adopts and combines the mortgage life insurance coverage, the various insurance companies credit one’s mortgage life insurance, usually at a constant rate of ten percent per annum, for the express purpose of insuring one’s life in the near and/or distant future. But one should always carfefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of such homeowner’s insurance rates. It is not always conducive for all the people to fulfill the financial formalities of these insurance rates.

Sometimes it may happen that people find it difficult to pay premiums at the rates put by the companies. In such cases one should look for mortgage life insurance discounts. These rates are often softened by the insurance companies on certain conditions, like a sudden mishap.

How is Life Insurance Taxed?

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:04:15 +0000

Any smart person looking into obtaining life insurance will eventually ask the question how is life insurance taxed? Over the years, that question has become more and more difficult to answer because of the way that many life insurance policies have become investment vehicles. It’s always a good idea to consult a competent professional on any financial matters but this article will give you some information so that you will have some general knowledge about the relationship between life insurance and taxes.

Many insurance policies today will take the premiums you pay and invest them in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other types of investments. With these investments the cash value of your policy can grow. But, the money earned on an insurance policy is generally tax-deferred meaning that no tax is due until the money is paid out or the policy is terminated. The tax-deferred earnings on an insurance policy can help the growth of the cash value of that policy a great deal. And if you need some cash but are worried about paying taxes on money you take out of your insurance policy, you can usually borrow money from your insurance policy and since borrowed money is not income you will not pay any income tax on that money. You will have to pay it back though.

But what about when the benefits are paid out, are the benefits subject to any taxes? When you pay your premiums on your life insurance policy the premiums are paid with after-tax dollars. Therefore, money that is paid out by your policy will generally be tax-free. For example, if you pass away and the beneficiaries named on the policy are your children, your children will not have to pay income tax on the money they receive from your life insurance policy. However, estate taxes may be applicable depending on the size of your estate and various other factors.

Life insurance policies can be used to creatively reduce estate taxes by a considerable amount. But estate taxes are a whole different subject and beyond the scope of this article. There are circumstances where taxes are applied to life insurance but when used correctly life insurance can greatly reduce the amount of taxes that you or the loved ones you leave behind have to pay.

Credit Card Insurance – Is It Worth It?

admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:47:59 +0000

Most recently I have been bombarded with offers from various credit card issuers for insurance programs that are “free” for the first thirty days, but you have to sign up right then.

Disability Insurance – I have heard both sides on this issue and it may or may not be something you want to consider depending upon who you work for. The disability insurance will pay minimum payments on your credit card if you are ill or unable to work for at least 30 days. (Check your policy offer for details.) If you keep a low balance-to-limit ratio this insurance might not be a bad idea. If however, you are running close to your credit limit, since the insurance only pays the minimum payments, that plus the charge for this insurance coupled with the accrued interest may cause you to go over your credit limit incurring even more costs and causing credit issues – which is what you were trying to avoid in the first place. This type of insurance might be alright if you think layoff or disability is a real threat in your life but on the average, the industry pulls in millions and most consumers never use the insurance. On the other side of the coin, all insurance is a gamble, you bet you need it and the insurance companies bet you don’t.

Life Insurance – If you don’t take any of the other insurance that is offered, you might want to at least consider this one; depending on the balances you carry. If you should die, the insurance will cover the balance on your bill as long as it’s up to date and not over your credit limit. Without insurance, your creditors will attach a lien to your estate that will have to be paid before your survivors receive any of their inheritance money.

As always, check with your financial professionals before signing up for any program that impacts your financial future.

Kentucky Audit Blasts Spending at County Insurance Provider

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:02:56 +0000

The association that sells and manages insurance programs for Kentucky’s 120 counties operates with a “self-serving culture” that has resulted in millions of dollars in questionable spending the past three years, according to a critical report by the state auditor.

State Auditor Crit Luallen today released a special examination of the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo), which found that as KACo’s revenues increased 75 percent from 2003 through 2008 to more than $5.7 million, the level of discretionary spending by the organization also increased dramatically– on parties, adult entertainment, expensive meals, sporting events, some employee retirement benefits, even condo rentals for executives.

KACo, a public, non-profit association primarily funded by public dollars and governed by county officials, offers lobbying and financing services and sells insurance to member counties, which pay insurance premiums and membership dues.

The majority – more than 90 percent– of KACo’s revenue comes from fees paid by the insurance and financial programs administered by KACo staff. The insurance portion of the organization is regulated and audited by the Kentucky Department of Insurance. County membership dues are not a large source of income for KACo, having averaged only about $130,000 each year since 2003.

The state auditor’s report claims that a culture of overspending flourished as board members, management and staff spent funds on lavish dinners, alcohol, sports and entertainment tickets, staff birthday meals, adult entertainment, and fancy Christmas parties. The exam found nearly $2 million charged on agency credit cards over a three-year period, with $1.4 million having inadequate or no supporting documentation, an unclear business purpose or was excessive in nature.

The lack of board oversight included weak internal controls, minimal conflicts of interest and ethics policies, and no whistleblower policy, the audit report says.

The exam reviews KACo’s finances from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2009 and makes 40 findings and more than 150 recommendations to improve board oversight and management operations.

“Our examination provides the leadership of KACo the proper tools to continue to strengthen accountability and to fulfill its responsibilities to the counties and the taxpayers,” Luallen said. “I believe the public expects no less. In this current economic downturn, when our counties are struggling, our citizens have no patience for waste and excess from those who hold their trust and handle their tax dollars.”

Luallen’s office announced its plans to audit both KACo and the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC) in July after media reports raised questions about spending at both organizations. Luallen said the KLC audit would be released in the coming weeks.

Luallen said KACo should have found ways to return increases in revenues to its member counties as lower membership dues and insurance premiums or as additional training programs instead of on wasteful spending.

She said the KACo board has taken steps recently as a result of public scrutiny and media reports to begin to achieve greater accountability. She also said that there were some board members and employees of KACo who resisted excesses evidenced in the exam and who worked effectively, despite the culture that developed.

Luallene said the KACo board has indicated it would move forward with reforms in reponse to her examination.

The audit uncovered $1.4 million in questionable credit card charges that lacked adequate documentation of their business purpose, including:

* KACo paid $219,144 for 77 restaurant charges that each cost more than $1,000. Examples include: an $8,857 meal at Mike Dikta’s Restaurant in Chicago; an $8,161 meal at Z’s Oyster Bar and Steakhouse in Louisville; a $7,237 meal at Sal’s Italian Chophouse in Lexington; and a $7,082 meal at Starker’s Restaurant in Kansas City.

* In 2007 and 2008, the organization spent $48,426 for two board Christmas parties for management, staff and board members. After brief board meetings that were held during the day, these individuals, along with their guests, were driven to Spindletop Hall in Lexington by a tour bus to attend the Christmas parties each year.

* KACo spent $43,000 on alcohol, although auditors believe the amount is significantly higher based on information provided through staff interviews.

* The organization also spent $28,700 in entertainment ticket purchases, including university football and basketball game tickets, and Kentucky Derby tickets, along with other entertainment venues.

* Auditors found a $1,814 credit card charge for 13 tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in 2008. The tickets were for entertainment for five board members, along with spouses and companions, during a bond closing in New York City.

* The organization spent $11,593 on staff birthday lunches, $7,262 on staff Christmas gifts, $3,053 on other board and staff gifts, $8,119 on air travel insurance, $2,385 on conference meals and $890 on adult entertainment.

* Adult entertainment charges included escort services on two occasions and four charges at two different strip clubs. These were charged to KACo credit cards of the former executive director and former board president.

Besides the $1.4 million in undocumented credit card expenses, auditors also found other instances of questionable expenditures by KACo.

According to the exam, KACo offers two retirement benefits for its employees: one in the County Employee Retirement System (CERS) and a 6-percent match in the Kentucky Public Employee Deferred Compensation Authority. Over a three-year period, KACo paid $622,355 for the employee 6-percent retirement match.

Additionally, auditors found that KACo spent $334,300 to pay board members for meetings, $278,154 for legal defense for convicted officials, $247,944 for a sports advertising contract, $83,000 for donations and sponsorships, and $12,600 for use of two condominiums.

Auditors found KACo rented two condominiums: One used by the organization’s product development manager in Frankfort at a cost of $11,000 over a 10-month period and another Frankfort condominium for its former executive director for $1,600 for a two-month period.

The list of expenditures can be viewed at www.auditor.ky.gov.

KACo was founded in 1974 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation by a group of county officials. Its membership includes all 120 county governments of Kentucky. It was initially formed to offer educational programs, cooperative undertakings and issue advocacy but over the years had expanded to provide various products and services including insurance. The KACo insurance units include:

* Commonwealth Insurance Company, Inc (CIC), a for-profit corporation that provides employee dishonesty fidelity bond coverage, business income coverage, and extra expense coverage exclusively to the members of KALF.

* KACo Insurance Agency, Inc. (KIA), a wholly owned subsidiary of KACo and a for-profit corporation. KIA was originally formed to market the KACo group health plan, but has expanded in recent years to also market public official bonds, excess earthquake coverage, and spectators’ liability coverage.

* KACo Worker’s Compensation Fund (KACo WC), an unincorporated association created by KACo that allows county governments and other public agencies to pool resources and creates a self-insurance fund for the provision of worker’s compensation coverage. In addition, the KACo WC Fund also provides risk management and loss control training to the counties and agencies that are members of the fund.

* KACo All Lines Fund (KALF), a group self-insurance pool to provide liability insurance products, including products such as auto liability, general liability, property, law enforcement liability, public officials liability, employment practices, and intentional tort and criminal charges defense. KALF also offers risk management and loss control training.

What the story does not affect the rate of auto insurance claim?

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:04:46 +0000

Many auto insurance companies consider your credit and personal information when determining the amount of premium paid by your insurance. So if you call back on car insurance, keep in mind that many insurers are looking at your credit history to determine your automobile insurance rates. I hope that we will be able to tell why and how.

The reason why some insurance companies use credit information, because I believe that there is a direct correlation between the consumption of credit history behaviors and expected claims that occur in the month of May Accordingly, they believe that people with a performance better credit are less likely to severe insurance losses.

Many insurance companies still use your age, driving, the type of vehicle if you live to determine what you should pay for your insurance. So, if you do not have a credit history yet, companies that use credit history in the month of May is not the best for you. May they not allow you to qualify for certain discounts, which could lead to an increase in premiums. Companies that use credit scoring will continue to use other factors to determine the premium.

They can also use your age, driving, the type of vehicle if you live to determine what you should pay for your insurance. It ‘just an insurance company, and also look at my credit information without my permission? The answer is yes. The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act says “reasonable procedures. And ‘the purpose of this title to require that consumer organizations adopt reasonable procedures to meet the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a way that is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevance and proper use of such information in accordance with the provisions of this title.

If you think your credit history is much better to find the insurer, make sure that the insurer has your name, address, social security number, and date of birth. Some insurance companies will be directly to your credit report, in setting tariffs, but most use what is called “credit insurance.” Credit insurance has been developed using statistical techniques and methods to predict the probability that a consumer will have higher losses than expected. These are similar to that used by lenders to predict the reliability of the applicant to repay a loan.

http://www.carinsuranceezine.com/

Where to Get Cheap Homeowners Insurance in New Hampshire

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:38:24 +0000

Homeowners insurance costs in New Hampshire are rising, as they are all over the United States. In fact, while the average cost of homeowners insurance increased by eight percent last year, some homeowners have seen increases as high as 70 percent. So what can you do to find cheap homeowners insurance in New Hampshire?

Look for Discounts

Insurance companies offer many discounts that directly lower the cost of your premium. Common discounts include:

* Multi-policy discounts for insuring both your home and your vehicles with the same company

* Loyalty discounts, when you stay with the same company for a certain number of years

* Non-smoker’s discount is no one in your home smokes

* Safety and security discounts for installing smoke detectors, burglar alarms, deadbolts, fire extinguishers, window locks, and other security devices

Ask your insurance company if there are any additional discounts you might be eligible for and take advantage of them.

Raise Your Deductible

The deductible is the amount you pay toward any claim before the insurance company begins to pay. Raising your deductible can save you 15 to 30 percent on your premium.

Maintain Good Credit

Insurance companies now use your credit history to determine whether to insure you and what rate to offer you. By maintaining good credit, you qualify for a lower rate.

Shop Around

You can potentially save hundreds of dollars on your homeowners insurance by shopping around and comparing prices. But you don’t need to go visiting all your neighborhood insurance agencies.

Instead, you can sit down at your computer and visit an insurance comparison website. At these websites, you just fill out a simple online form with your insurance information to get quotes from various companies.

On the best insurance comparison websites, you can even talk online with insurance professionals. Once you complete your form, you’ll receive homeowners insurance quotes from several A-rated insurance companies. Then all you have to do is choose which company you want to insure your home.

Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com/homeowners-insurance.html or click on the following link to get New Hampshire homeowners insurance quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more tips and advice in their Articles section.

Learn What Credit Insurance Can Do For You

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:06:09 +0000

Almost every time you make major or smaller purchases you apply for some type of credit. No matter if you are buying a house or a car, or you just go and buy some appliances or electronics for your home you’ll use some type of credit. And more or less every time you use a form of loan there are big chances that you’ll be asked to also buy some form of insurance for your credit. Before proceeding with buying any kind of insurance you should know what you’re paying for. Credit insurance is a type of insurance made on a debtor in favor of a lender and it is intended to pay off a loan or the remaining balance if the insured dies or is unable to make any more payments. The insurance for credits comes in various forms; the typical form includes credit life, credit property insurance, credit disability and involuntary unemployment. Usually all these coverages come all together with the same credit insurance. Some of them will have a value for you and some may not have. You can opt for which one of them you want to pay with one small exception: credit disability and life coverage cannot be sold separately.

Credit life coverage is actually a type of life insurance that pays off the loan or the remaining balance in case you die. The payment of the life credit insurance on this type of insurance for the credit always goes to the lender as he is the beneficiary of your policy. The credit disability insurance is the type of insurance that makes your monthly credit payments during a certain fixed period of documented medical disability. While this type of insurance can help you keep a good credit report and history, it will not make the monthly payment forever and will not, for sure, pay off all your balance. In such situations it is best to try to get back on your feet and pay by yourself the loan because, as the time passes, interest and insurance charges continue to add up to your already existing balance and you’ll end up paying more than your original credit.

The other two types of credit insurance are: involuntary unemployment insurance and credit property insurance. The involuntary unemployment insurance is very much similar to the disability insurance: the insurance makes the monthly minimum payments for a certain period of time while you are involuntary unemployed. Like we said before is better to not let this situation go on for a long period of time. The credit property insurance is different than all the other insurances in the way that it cancels the debt you owe for the items purchased if the property purchased is destroyed by certain specified risks like: fire, flood, accident, earthquake, etc.

No matter for which one of the above credit insurance you opt, it is most important to read and know the full details of the coverage. This way you’ll be able to know which one of them best suites your needs and select that particular one or maybe a combination of two or more of them. Also, you should consider your financial status before purchasing insurance for the credit. Or maybe you’re considering making several purchases from different places and each one of them asks for insurance. But this cannot be so cost effective. If you have more accounts and intend to insure all off them maybe you should think of buying a traditional insurance; an insurance agent or broker can be of big help in such a situation. He will help you make the necessary comparisons and finally with choosing the right insurance type for you.

Last but not least you have to make sure you qualify for the credit insurance you’re going to buy. These types of insurances are sold without any screening to anyone that makes a purchase on credit. Often, many people do not qualify for the insurance they are buying but the company that is selling you the insurance will not bother asking you if you think you qualify or not. So, it is you, the borrower and the buyer of the insures, that has to carefully read and understand how the insurance works and be fully aware of any special claim procedures or limitation clauses included into the insurance. It is only your responsibility.

Simplified Ways of Applying for Automobile Insurance Quotes

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:30:38 +0000

When going through the process of searching for cheap automotive insurance quote, there is an easy process that you can go through online that will assist you in finding the right company for your needs. When looking online for car insurance, there are many ways you can go about getting the quotes you want. As I mentioned above, you can use a comparison website that will allow you to receive different quotes from different companies at the same time and you are only required to enter your details once. If you would prefer not to use this type of service, you can go to each website of the insurance company that you want a quote from and fill out their individual forms to receive your quote. This process allows you to choose all the companies that you receive the quotes from.

Receiving Automobile Insurance Quotes Online

Once you have decided which way you want to receive your direct auto insurance quotes online, there are some things to keep in mind. When going to individual websites to ask for quotes, make sure that you enter the same details about yourself on each form. This will help ensure that you receive accurate quotes on the same amount of coverage from each company. You will need to make sure you are honest about your driving history and credit report, as if you are not, this will come out eventually and cause an increase in the amounts you were quoted. The insurance companies will verify this information. There is no way to get around this.

When you are using the online portion of an general auto insurance company, you always have the option of calling their main number to speak with someone to get all your questions answered. If you have doubts or any type of question, it is important to contact them to clear it up. Some auto insurance companies will offer online chat to an insurance agent. This can be helpful when looking for insurance as you can get your questions answered or get help walking through the detail process of the form. The main page of the site should tell you if they offer online chat and if it is available at that moment in time or not.