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American Collector Car Insurance Tips

myfreeforum — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:12:01 +0000

Can You Insure Your US Collector Car With Regular Auto Insurance?

Tips To Insure Your Classic, Antique, or Collector's Auto

One of the worst mistakes you can make with your collector car is to insure it using your standard automobile insurance policy.

Standard auto insurance policies are designed for cars that you drive frequently. Additionally, your regular car has parts that are readily available and the pricing is competitive. If your classic car is involved in an accident there are few reference guides for parts price lists for an insurance company to consult to get a realistic price to repair your car.

The cost of repairing your car will usually far exceed what your insurance company believes is the market value and they will not take into account all the money you spent restoring it.

Where To Find Insurance For Antique And Classic Cars

What can you do to make sure that you can take your beautiful car places to show it off and still have peace of mind?

You can get a special insurance policy that is designed for antique and classic cars. Fortunately, collector car insurance is usually cheaper than your standard policy. Standard insurance annual premiums can cost up to 500% more than those offered by a specialty program. The reason being that these special policies take into account the fact that you don’t drive the car often, you don’t drive it in the winter and you generally take really good care of it,

Actual Cash Value vs. Stated Value vs. Agreed Value

Still though just like your regular car insurance there are ways you to ensure you get the most coverage for the money. The first thing you should understand is the different types of value insurance company’s talk about: Actual Cash Value (ACV), Stated Value, and Agreed Value. ACV coverage is what insures most everyday cars and pays out a depreciated “book” value in the event of a claim. Some insurance companies offer Stated Value policies for collectibles but Stated Value can still depreciate vehicles because the policies generally require the insurance company only to pay “up to” the “stated” amount. For your classic car you want to use an “Agreed Value” because that type of policy guarantees you will get all of your money back in the event of a total loss. There is no depreciation of a car’s value with an Agreed Value policy. An independent valuation may be required by some companies and an extra charge may be added.

You also need to check whether the agreed valuation can be increased each year. Most classic cars increase in value every year and replacing it in the following years may cost a lot more. You also have to remember that replacing rare accessories and embellishers can be very costly too.

Check Collector Car Policy Restrictions

Most classic car policies have a limited mileage policy which helps bring down your cost but there are also restrictions on what purposes you can use the car for. Generally you can not use the car for commercial transportation of goods or passengers, for racing, or for daily transportation. Some policies get even more specific so make sure you read the fine print.

You want to enjoy your classic car to the fullest and you can’t enjoy it if you’re afraid to drive it anywhere. Getting the right insurance and the best buy for you money will preserve your fabulous car and your peace of mind.

Should You Buy Credit Insurance?

admin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:34:46 +0000

What Is Credit Insurance?

When you sign up for a new credit card or loan, you may get an offer for a product called credit insurance. This is supposed to cover the payments on your balance if you cannot pay if for reasons specified on the particular plan you sign up for. Some of these reasons may include death, disability, or unemployment.

A lot of people are getting this offers, for example, when they take advantage of 0% balance transfers or other special deals that draw them into new credit card companies or banks. Understand that the coverage will certainly add extra fees to the transaction if you are already expecting to carry a balance!

How much does credit insurance cost?

A lot of times, the amount you will have to pay for the coverage will depend upon the balance you have. So for example, if you have a zero balance on a credit card, you may not have to pay anything. The higher balance you have, the more you may have to pay. This balance is usually tacked right on to your credit card or loan balance, so it can make your debt grow AND make your minimum monthly payments higher!

When Does Credit Insurance Pay?

Again, the exact things that will kick off your coverage will be stated in the original plan. Be careful when you examine these. Your own claim will have to meet strict guidelines that are outlined in the fine print. You may not meet those guidelines, and then your money will have been wasted.

Also, be careful when you figure out exactly how much of the balance that your plan will cover.

Is Credit Insurance A Good Deal?

I am not sure that most of these plans are the best choice. Think about some good and cheaper alternatives to buying credit insurance. It is usually quite expensive for the amount of coverage it supplies, and the people selling you these policies have incentives to turn on the hard sell!

If you are paying $15.00 a month for a plan that will only make minimum payments on one credit card balance, you are probably not taking advantage of the lowest cost choice!

Credit Insurance Alternatives

You could put the extra amount of money aside in a savings account so you are prepared for an emergency. If you are spending $15 a month on credit insurance, add that to your cash account so you can save $180 a year!
You could also use the extra money to help you pay off your credit cards faster. That way, you will not need the coverage!
A life and disability policy will probably be a more affordable and flexible way to provide security. Remember that credit insurance will only pay on the particular loan it is assigned to. The cash proceeds from a typical life or disability policy will pay the beneficiaries cash they can use any way they need to use it.

Home Business Insurance To Think About

FinanceGuy — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:47:32 +0000

Why Consider a Home Office For Your Business?

Is Your Home Business Insured?

Nobody will argue that having a home based business has many advantages. It can add to your productivity and qualify of life.

You can skip the long and boring commute while spending thirty seconds moving from your bedroom to your home office. You can also skip paying somebody else for rent, and instead you may even be able to deduct your home office or business storage space. And finally, you will be better able to arrange your schedule to accommodate your business and family needs.

Be Careful About Skimping On Business Insurance

But be wary of falling into the trap of neglecting to think about home business insurance. Many owners just rely on their own personal insurance to cover their commercial property, liability, and vehicles. But this could be a very risky mistake.

You cannot assume that your homeowners insurance, for example, contains enough home contents insurance to cover your office equipment and supplies.

Likewise, you cannot always assume that your personal auto insurance will be sufficient to protect your vehicle when you use it for business. You may need to add an extra rider or purchase additional commercial car insurance.

It is important to evaluate your existing coverage to determine if you need to add more protection or purchase a small business policy. Even if you run a home business, you must treat it like a business!

Funny Insurance Claims and Stories

FinanceGuy — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:42:53 +0000

Is Insurance Funny?

Specialty Insurance - Tom Jones?

Most of the time, when we need to make an insurance claim, it is not an amusing event. However, as Jimmy Buffet sings, If we could’t laugh, we would all go insane! So let’s take a couple of minutes out of our very serious day to consider some funny insurance claims and stories. Our criteria here is simply to present some stories that are weird or amusing, and we hope to generate a few smiles.

Methods To Our Madness (Mwahhhh)

Believe it or not, there is actually some educational value to this post. You may not know that you can purchase specialty insurance for many unique events. This is actually a common type of business insurance policy. For example, let us say you are running a charity hole in one golf event. You can purchase a policy to cover your event against the rare chance of one of your participants actualy sinking that putt!

Funny Insurance Claims Forms

Here are some funny quotes from insurance claims forms. I’ll warn you that some of this is grim humor, but I’ll bet you’ll crack a smile all the same!

A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
The telephone pole was approaching and I was attempting to swerve out of its way when it struck the front end of my car.
The guy was all over the road, I had to swerve several times before I hit him.
Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I haven’t got.
An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.

OK, these claims made me laugh in spite of myself.

Weird Insurance

These may be funny, extravagant, hard to believe, or just weird!

Alien Abduction Insurance – By the way, the same London insurance company also writes a policy in case you are eaten by alience, and not just kidnapped. Goodfellow Rebecca Ingrams Pearson (GRIP) is the British brokerage that has this market covered!

The best part of this story is that the company has actually paid out a 1 million pound claim, but that claim was made by a business partner.

The same company will also issue policies against other calamaties from other dimensions. If you are concerned about turning into a Werewolf (of London?), they can insure you!

Celebrity Insurance

It actually does not sound that odd that Bruce Springsteen may have insured his voice for $6 million dollars. After all, that voice is his business and a lot of people depend upon it But it does seem a bit odder that Tom Jones insured, not his singing voice, but his chest hair for $7!

If you have some more normal insurance needs, you may want to get a fast online insurance quote!

Do you have any funny insurance stories to add? Register for free and comment away!

Business Owners Policies for Small Business

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:45:33 +0000

Understand Business Owner Policies (BOP)

It is actually easy to understand business owners policies (BOP). Compare them to personal homeowners insurance policies. A home policy covers property, buildings, and liability. It actually packages different types of coverage into one policy, and only one premium must be paid every month.

You can tailor a BOP to your own unique business needs too. Compare that to the way you can adjust limits on a home policy to make sure you have enough coverage for personal property.

Insurers market different packages, and they can be custom made for some businesses, but there are some typical packages.

Coverage for property, like buildings, inventory, and equipment, is typcial.

Consider your liability needs. Your business may need professional liability or protection against a claim that an employee has caused damage to a customer.

Protect your business against theft. This could include burglaries, or even inside theft from employees.

Coverage for liability in case a customer claims damage from an injury on your property.

Business Cars – Protect your company vehicles.

Sometimes a BOP may include specific coverage for a particular business, or you may need to purchase them on their own. A discussion with a qualified business agent or company will help you understand what your unique business needs, and what other similar companies in your area buy.

Why is the BOP a Popular Choice for Small Business?

It is just simpler to combine coverage, rather than have to keep up with several policies. Many small businesses choose to buy a package like this.

Some examples of small companies who are interested in a package deal would be dentists office, beauty salons, stores in strip shopping malls, and sandwhich shops. Some home business owners who have outgrown their personal homeowners policy also turn to one.

Look For a BOP

In the old days, all a busy business owner could do would be to call around and set appointments with multiple insurance agents to find local coverage. These days, online quotes and forms can speed up the process.

Find Business Owners Policies in your local area with a fast and free safe business owners policy quote.

Bernard Madoff Insurance? Can Victims Get Claims Settled?

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 17:50:09 +0000

Can Anybody Collect From Madoff’s Professional Liability Insurance?

I assume that Bernard Madoff must have had some sort of profesional liability insurance, like E&O (Errors and Ommissions) or D&O (Directors and Officers). Some of his financial victims may be able to claim a share of the proceeds in a suit, though I cannot imagine that the limits of his liability policy was anything close to the final total of the money people lost.

The Sad Story of Mr. Madoff

This is such a sad story. For instance, did you know that Mr. Madoff left college to start his first investment firm with $5,000 he had earned as a life guard? He should have been a proud American success story. Now he will probably be a story about greed and ambition gone awry. And it is one thing to consider his actions, but a whole other thing to wonder why nobody stopped him until he gave himself up!

It certainly isn’t making the insurance business any easier. Professional liability companies were already sweating under the weight of the housing problems, and now they have Madoff – a one man financial scandal.

Have Your Professional Liability Insurance Premiums Gone Up For Your Business?

Even ethical and well meaning professionals may have to pay a lot more for professional liability insurance too. As claims mount, premiums are sure to follow as insurers struggle to stay afloat.

Look at the types of business insurance article for a place to compare business insurance quotes if your premiums have shot up!

Type of Small Business Insurance

admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:51:09 +0000

If you are starting a small business, you have probably put some thought into business insurance to protect your assets. We found a good article on types of small business insurance that owners may consider. You will not find a one size fits all plan, but some policies are designed to simplify the process for small enterprises, and to come with affordable price tags.

You need to consider your property, like your building and your business car. You also need to consider different types of liability coverage in this lawsuit prone society. Some companies need professional liability insurance, while some will need insurance to protect themselves from damage claims that people make against their products.

Of course, group health plans for small business are hot topics these days, and group life insurance benefits can help cover your employees. Some life plans are designed to protect the enterprise against the loss of important employees or owners.

Ease the process with online business insurance quotes.