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How to Get a Good Deal on Auto Insurance

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A trip to the local grocery stores makes it obvious that we live in a time of options. A variety of the same product makes it difficult to choose just one. It is a time consuming event to decide which one of the multiple types of product a consumer really needs. Further, how do we decide if there is a noticeable quality difference between the generic brand and the name brand? Finally, is there enough of a price difference to justify choosing one product over another?
Auto insurance is much the same way. There are an overwhelming number of companies and products to choose. The good news is that, because there is a vast array of options, the market is very competitive. Consumers have to determine their need, shop around, and put the competitive market to work for them.

Determine Your Need

Each state sets minimum auto insurance requirements. These minimum standards are intended to guarantee that all drivers have some level of insurance protection. Rarely are these minimum standards sufficient to cover the assets of most motorists. Here are the basic types of insurance that motorists will want to consider:

- Property damage liability covers the repair or replacement of the other party’s car and property. – Consumers should make sure they have enough liability protection to cover the high cost of automobiles. – Uninsured motorist insurance will pay for the medical, rehabilitation, and suffering expenses of the victims in your car. – Personal injury protection covers medical, rehabilitation and related costs for household members. – Collision provides coverage to repair or replace the policyholder’s car after an accident. – Comprehensive insurance covers the automobile and its contents in the event of theft, fire, water or other unfortunate events.

A deductible amount will have to be determined along with the necessary coverage. A deductible is the amount of money that the insured will be required to hand over to a repair facility before the provider will pay.

Shop Around

The Internet has radically simplified the auto insurance shopping process. There are a number of companies that will present a quote through an online process. Some sites will allow consumers to compare rates across several companies at once. Be sure to check each company’s financial rating and ask around for referrals before selecting a provider.

Ask About Discounts

The highly competitive field of auto insurance has caused some companies to offer discounts for things like educational achievements, safe driving records, and vehicle safety features. Also, most companies will offer discounts for insuring multiple lines such as home, boat, and automobile. Ask a potential insurer what discounts are available before making a final decision.

It may be a good time to review any existing policies already in force. Have there been any lifestyle changes that require a policy modification? Do you need to add additional coverage such as rental car reimbursement or roadside assistance? Consumers can get a good deal on car insurance by determining the needed coverage, shopping around, and putting the competitive market to work for them.

Quit Smoking to save money on your life insurance quote

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Does smoking affect my life insurance quote?
Yes, smokers tend to pay more for online life insurance quotes compared to their non-smoking counterparts. This means that in the UK, there are approximately 10 million individuals (ASH, 2014), who are paying more for their life insurance premiums simply because of their choice to smoke.

Why do smokers have to pay more?

As expected, heath is a major factor that is taken into consideration when taking out a life insurance policy. It is a sobering reality but smoking is associated with many health-related problems. Recent statistics by ASH (April, 2014) show that every year, over 100,000 smokers in the UK die from smoking related causes, accounting for over one-third of respiratory deaths, over one-quarter of cancer deaths, and about one-seventh of cardiovascular disease deaths. For this reason, insurance companies view smokers as high-risk customers who are more likely to claim on their life insurance or critical illness policy and this risk equates to higher premiums for these smokers.

How much will smoking raise your premium?

Smokers’ premiums will vary depending on the insurance company, lifestyle variables, age and health but on average the cost is often double compared to non-smokers.

For example:

Case study: A 39 year old, administration male worker who smokes. Life Insurance term 25 years up to £100,000 cover = £14.86 per month.

Case study: A 39 year old, administration male worker who does not smoke. Life Insurance term 25 years up to £100,000 cover = £7.77 per month.

Therefore you could save £2,127 over the life of the policy.

How do life insurance companies define smokers?

Most insurance companies define a smoker as someone who has used a tobacco product in the past 12 months. Usually they do not differentiate between different types of products such as cigarettes, cigars, pipes or chewing tobacco. The same applies to user-habit. Irrespective of whether you are an occasional smoker or a pack-a-day smoker, the insurance companies view the health risks as significant for all smokers. Individuals are urged to respond to the insurer’s questions honestly and accurately because, if one is discovered to have been deliberately deceptive, (validated through medical records and medical examinations) the life insurance claim may be denied.

Are you classed as a smoker if you use e-Cigarettes?

In recent years, electronic cigarettes have experienced a surge of popularity with approximately 2.1 million adults in Great Britain currently using them (ASH, 2014). Although e-Cigarettes do not contain any tobacco, they do contain Nicotine. According to the Association of British Insurers said there is “a lack of medical evidence as to any long-term health benefits” regarding e-Cigarettes and added that “an insurer is increasingly likely to ask if the proposer is using nicotine products, as opposed to what is the weekly tobacco consumption”. Therefore to qualify as a non-smoker, individuals should be tobacco and nicotine free for over 12 months, including e-Cigarettes, nicotine patches and gum.

Quit smoking to save money

The benefits of quitting smoking are plentiful. Not only does it increase health and fitness, it can also improve one’s bank balance. Combined with the decrease in premium prices and from no longer paying for expensive cigarette packs, ex-smokers may find they have more disposable income to spend on other, more rewarding things.

Quit smoking? What should you do next?

If you have been smoke and nicotine free for a minimum of 12 months contact your insurer and you are likely to qualify for lower insurance premiums. However it may be advisable to compare life insurance premiums with other companies to see if there are any cheaper alternatives available on the market.

How Driving Licence Insurance Can Save you Money

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If you were asked to list your most highly prized possession, it’s likely your driving licence wouldn’t make the top 10. Yet, when you consider all that it enables you to do, it might be worth a little reconsideration.
Having a driving licence affords a level of independence and freedom that previous to, would not have been possible. Whether it’s popping to the shops at a moment’s notice or not having to rely on train times to dictate your daily plans, it’s safe to say that your little pink card makes life a whole lot easier. So what are you doing to protect it?

With life’s everyday demands and stricter sanctions on speed limits, it can be all too easy to tot-up points on your licence. These can, in turn, lead to a driving ban. In the UK last year, 92,136 motorists were disqualified from driving (IAM, 2014) emphasising that licence loss is very much a reality.

If you were at risk of losing your licence how would you cope?

The legal fees involved in a motor prosecution defence can be eye-wateringly expensive, not to mention stressful. And if you were disqualified as a result, adapting to your new circumstances can be difficult. Without the freedom to drive away at a moment’s notice, you’d have to rely on taxis and public transport to get from A to B. In time, the daily cost of travel can really mount up, an added expense you could do without.

The great news is that there are many insurance products out there specifically designed to give disqualified drivers a helping hand. Some insurers for example, offer a disqualification benefit, providing monthly instalments to the insured during their disqualified period. This benefit can be used to finance alternative transportation costs, providing a clever way to combat post-ban bank-balance woes.

Typically, these policies also include much more than just a disqualification benefit, offering services such as motor prosecution defence to try to prevent your disqualification. Always in the hands of a trained professional, motor prosecution defence provides another way to save money by side-stepping unexpected legal costs, helping to evade or at least reduce the effects of your prosecution.

Insuring your driving licence will help ensure that, whatever lies in the road ahead, life can drive on smoothly.

Five Surprising Secrets About Internet Advertising Agencies

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The world is changing every single day, and perhaps the biggest changes are those that deal with technological advances in every facet of life. These changes don’t wait around for anyone, and if you’re trying to run a successful business in this day and age, internet advertising agencies are probably the best way to help keep up with the times. These specialized companies are aware of the changes happening from moment to moment, and they are well-versed in finding the data to help structure a promotion strategy that best suits your business.
As with most digital or net-based things, there are a lot of players in the digital agency field, which makes it pretty hard to know who has your best interest in mind or who happens to be blowing smoke. The truth is that it isn’t easy finding the right internet advertising agency. It takes work to find the right agency for you.

Of course, it also helps knowing a few secrets about these agencies and how they operate. It’s like pulling back the curtain a bit and seeing how the sausage is really made. If you’ve thought about bringing in an internet advertising agency to help your bottom line, here are a few things you may not have known:

Balance Between Consistency and Quality — When it comes to digital content, being consistent with the amount of posting you do and when you post are all critical for success. It’s also important to remember that it has to be quality content both in message & the actual product.

Video Is King — Some agencies shy away from video content as a cost-cutting measure or because they don’t specialize in it. Unfortunately, video is king in the digital content world, and if you don’t have at least a few toes dipped in that pool, you’re really missing out.

Interaction Is Vital — A good agency will push you to engage with your customers & the public in ways you may not have before. Previously, you might have hammered out a pretty good marketing strategy & set it into the world to work its magic. That’s a thing of the past now. Without meaningful interaction on your part, your content will fall flat.

Intrusions Must Be Avoided — Internet ad agencies are always on the fine line of capturing people’s attention with content and bugging them without too much content. If an agency is pushing for what feels like an inordinate amount of content, you should probably step in & say, “Whoa.”

The Scientific Method — We remember it from elementary school, and in the same way it allowed us to grow a plant from a pinto bean, making digital advertising & marketing work for you is a science. You have to ask questions, form hypotheses, experiments, and so on. It takes time to get results, so you need to be patient.

Internet advertising agencies are a part of the business landscape nowadays, so rather than shrink away from working with them, it might be a good idea to see what some of these agencies have to offer. You might find that their expertise in the digital world may be the edge your business needs to get things moving in the right direction. Keep in mind that not all agencies are created equally, so do your homework and take your time in finding the agency that suits you best.