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Banktime provides you with the following information on everything you need to know about insurance. Whether you are looking for home insurance, auto insurance, or for ways to save on online insurance quotes, we will walk you through the process. Following is an overview of everything you need to know about insurance:

Insurance is a form of risk management used to hedge against the risk of a loss. Purchasing insurance is basically transferring the risk of loss from an individual to an insurance company. When transferring that risk, the insured pays a premium, which can be considered a small loss to protect against the possibility of a large loss, which would be covered by the insurer. There are many types of insurance out there offered by many different insurance companies.

Insurance companies offer different coverages at different rates and have differing levels of reliability. There are many factors that go into choosing an insurance carrier. The first thing you should do is to do some comparison shopping, obtaining insurance quotes from various companies. The more information you have, the better off you are. If nothing else, knowing the rates of competitors could help you negotiate your rate.

Obtaining insurance quotes is an important part of the decision process when it comes time to become insured. Obtaining quotes from various insurance companies allows you to compare the rates, coverage and more, and is an invaluable tool for comparison shopping for insurance.

Whether you are searching for auto insurance, health insurance, or life insurance for yourself, your family or a business, obtaining quotes from the leading insurance companies is a good way to narrow down your options. If you are healthy, individual coverage can often be cheaper than group coverage provided by your employer. Group coverage gives everyone the same rate, so the insurance company picks a rate somewhere in the middle and people in poor health might be paying less for their coverage than they would in an individual plan while healthy people might be paying more. If possible, decline coverage that you do not need. Most insurance plans, however, do not give you that option. Most insurance plans have preset packages that cover certain things and you cannot eliminate any part of that package.

Of course, you should consider more than price and the amount of coverage. You need to take into account the customer satisfaction rating of the company. Do they have a lot of complaints or are they generally well-liked? Check out consumer reports websites and magazines as well as the Better Business Bureau. Upon learning the reputation, rates and coverages of the companies, it is much easier to make an informed decision when shopping for insurance.

Auto Insurance

Some form of auto insurance is required in most American states. In addition to helping repair or replace your personal vehicle in the event of an accident, auto insurance protects your assets in the event that you are deemed at fault in a crash.

Auto insurance quotes can be obtained quickly and easily. You may call the insurance agent directly, or in most cases, go online to request a quote. Many online services allow you to receive multiple quotes from various insurance companies by filling out a single simple form. However, if you only want auto insurance quotes from specific insurers, you may visit their sites separately and fill out the information form for each company.

While most states require auto liability insurance, some states have guidelines regarding the minimum amount of insurance a driver must purchase. If a vehicle has been financed, or is relatively newer, you would want to have full coverage. You need to decide how much coverage you need and whether you want all the options offered by many insurance companies, such as roadside assistance, towing and recovery, or rental reimbursement.

Types of Auto Insurance

Most states require that you have at least liability insurance if you operate a vehicle on a public road. Bodily injury and property damage liability pay for damage inflicted on others in an accident in which you are deemed at fault. It covers medical bills, lost wages, damage to their car or any other property damage. Some states have a minimum amount of liability coverage that every driver must have.

Personal injury protection (PIP) covers your own medical expenses, as well as that of any of your passengers, if the expenses are not covered by another driver’s liability insurance. It also covers funeral costs. 16 states require PIP. If you have good health insurance, however, you may want to either skip PIP altogether or get the minimum required coverage if it is required in your state.

Collision and comprehensive coverage pairs for repairs to your own vehicle in the event of an accident. If your car is totaled and you have collision and comprehensive coverage, the insurance company will cut you a check to buy a new car.

Uninsured motorist coverage covers covers your property and medical bills in the even that you are involved in an accident with someone who has no insurance. Some insurance companies automatically include uninsured motorist coverage in your liability coverage. If not, you may want to consider purchasing it separately.

Auto Insurance Tips

There are many different facts that that can get you a discount on your auto insurance, such as car alarms, air bags, a safe driving record, and insuring more than one thing with the company. Ask the insurance agent what discounts are available to you.

Another way of saving money is by choosing a high deductible. A deductible is how much money you will pay out of pocket in the event of an accident. When choosing a deductible, you need to assess how much money you can afford to pay, both on a monthly basis and as a one-time out of pocket payment. Because accidents aren’t scheduled, you need to make sure the deductible is not so high that it would put a financial burden on you at any time. However, having a low deductible results in a higher monthly payment.

Contrary to what you may believe, you do not have to tell your insurance company about everything that happens to your car. If you get minor damage, such as a scratch or dent, that would cost less to repair than your deductible, pay for it on your own and do not notify the insurance company. All information you give them will affect your rate.

Also, don’t buy insurance coverage that you don’t need. While buying comprehensive insurance for a newly-leased $20,000 car makes sense, doing so for a $500 clunker does not. Don’t pay more for your insurance than the cost of the car.

Life Insurance

Life insurance protects against financial hardships caused by the loss of a loved one, because they are no longer earning a salary, because of the high cost of funerals, or other factors. There are several different types of life insurance, including term life, whole life, variable life, universal life, and universal variable life.

Term life insurance is insurance coverage for a predetermined set of time. It is the least expensive because it the least likely to pay out. Often term life insurance policies expire without the filing of a claim. Term life insurance is often used to ensure continuing payments on large expenses, such as a house. Someone with a 20-year mortgage, for instance, may purchase a 20-year term life insurance policy to ensure that, in the event that a family member paying the mortgage dies, they could still pay for the house. Once the mortgage is paid off, there would be no reason to continue the coverage.

Whole life insurance is a permanent life insurance that accumulates a cash value from your premiums. Whole life insurance policies will always pay out as long as the insured does not die from a cause excluded from the contract.

Variable life insurance is also a permanent life insurance, but unlike whole life insurance, it has account flexibility. It is designed for the policy holder more willing to take risks because it does not guarantee specific cash value during your lifetime. The cash value is invested in different accounts, such as mutual funds, and has the capability of accumulating wealth, but it also carries the risk of any investment, a loss in value.

Universal life insurance also provides permanent protection and the ability for the insured to receive market interest rates for the policy. Unlike variable life insurance, however, you do not have the ability to invest it it multiple accounts.

Life Insurance Tips

Before purchasing life insurance, you need to determine the purpose of the insurance. How much coverage do you need and for how long? Is the policy for a specific thing, such as to pay for a mortgage or your children’s education?

If you are insuring against the possibility of the lost wages of the family’s bread maker, you need to determine that person’s salary and if you need to continue receiving that same pay or if you can get by with a smaller amount.

Health Insurance

Anyone who owns a television, radio or computer or has ever talked to another human being knows that there is a heated healthcare debate raging in the United States. Healthcare in America is considered by many to be unaffordable. However, what everyone needs to keep in mind is that health insurance is treated much differently than any other type of insurance. Other types of insurance are purchased to protect against catastrophe. You buy auto insurance to protect you against totaling your car, but it doesn’t cover oil changes, replacing a transmission or routine maintenance. You buy homeowners insurance to protect against a fire burning your house down, but it doesn’t cover repainting the house, re-shingling the roof or leaky pipes. However, health insurance covers not just getting hit by a truck or having open-heart surgery, but also sports physicals, routine check-ups and more. Because health insurance is used so much more, the insurance companies have to pay out more, which in turn causes them to charge more for the coverages. It’s simple economics.

Prior to World War II, nearly every health insurance policy was an individual insurance policy. In an individual insurance policy, a person agrees to pay a certain premium to the insurance company, who agrees to reimburse the insured for the cost of healthcare. The insured often has to satisfy a co-pay or deductible before the insurance company pays. Contrary to popular belief, individual insurance is still sometimes cheaper for individuals, provided they are healthy and do not have a bad credit history or a history of filing claims.

In recent years, group health insurance has been the most popular form of insurance. Group health insurance is most often offered by employers, who pay part of the premium for all of their employees and the employees pay the rest. In group insurance policies, every member pays the same rate for the coverage, despite their health and history. For that reason, it is usually cheaper for those in poor health but can be more expensive for those in good health.

A downside to group health insurance, aside from the fact that you are not rewarded for good health and habits, is that you lose your insurance in the event that you lose your job. To protect against this, you can purchase COBRA coverage, which, for a limited time, allows you to keep your group insurance plan at the same price.

For health insurance, like any other type of insurance, you should shop around and obtain quotes from a variety of sources. Even if your employer offers group insurance, don’t assume that it is your best deal.

Types of Health Insurance

With traditional health insurance, the consumer pays a monthly amount, called a premium, to the insurance company, which the company then holds and invests until the money is needed. When the patient needs healthcare, they submit a claim to the insurance company. The company then pays a portion of the expenses, as outlined in their contract.

Health management organizations (HMO) became popular decades ago due to the rising cost of healthcare. HMO’s have a group of in-network healthcare providers that provide healthcare at reduced rates. They are willing to offer these discounts for the guaranteed business of being part of the HMO’s network. HMO’s will not cover any visit to a healthcare provider outside of the network. HMO’s generally require referrals to see a specialist, again favoring in-network providers.

Preferred provider organizations (PPO) emerged as a competitor to HMO’s. PPO’s are structured much like HMO’s, but give more flexibility to patients and healthcare providers. They offer cheaper rates for in-network visits, but do still cover visits to healthcare facilities outside the network, though at a lesser rate. This gives the patients more options if they need a second opinion, are traveling, or want to see a specific specialist.

Medicare is a national health insurance run by the government to pay for medical coverage for low-income senior citizens. Healthcare providers charge reduced rates to Medicare members, with the government, and by that mean the taxpayers, paying the rest of the bill. Because there is more money being used in Medicare than being paid into it, the program is going bankrupt. Medicare has four parts:

Part A: This is provided at no cost to all recipients of Social Security and covers hospitalization, home health, and residential healthcare services.

Part B: This can be purchased by anyone who has Part A coverage for a fee based on their income. It covers outpatient care such as office visits, and surgeries.

Part C: This is a plan with private insurance that supplements Medicare coverage. Patients who choose this plan pay a premium (which, of course, is subsidized by taxpayers) and covers medical payments not covered by Parts A or B.

Part D: This plan uses private insurance to supplement Medicare coverage by offering a variety of plans for cheap or free pharmaceutical drugs.

Medicaid is similar to Medicare and is administered jointly by the federal government and individual states and covers the low-income, disabled, and elderly. Like Medicare, it is being run poorly the the government and is going bankrupt.

Dental Insurance

Dental insurance is often overlooked by Americans because, unlike the British, for example, we have good teeth and don’t really think about them much. Another reason dental insurance is often neglected is because so many people have a fear of dentists.

Dental insurance is often separate from general healthcare plans and is usually considerably cheaper, at least in terms of the premium. While costs of healthcare and dental care have increased greatly over the years, only health insurance has gotten more expensive. Generally speaking, dental insurance costs the same as it did years ago. Due to that reason, dental insurance often has either high deductibles or co-pays or have low limits in the amount of money the insurance company will pay out for a procedure. Dental insurance is only meant to make dental care more affordable to the consumer, rather than pay for it entirely.

Aside from the traditional dental healthcare providers, there are also exclusive provider organizations (EPO). EPO’s are similar to HMO’s in that they offer discount prices to consumers due to contracts with healthcare providers. Like PPO’s they pay for services rendered rather than retainer fees or salaries.

Homeowners Insurance

Homeowners insurance protects your home against catastrophe, such as a fire or hurricane, as well as liability if someone has an accident within your home. Damage caused by flood or earthquake normally is not covered by your standard homeowners insurance, so if you want to cover damage from those events, you would need to purchase flood insurance or earthquake insurance. You can also insure your personal property contained within the home, such as televisions, beds, surround sound and more.

Before buying homeowners insurance, you should make a list of everything you want to cover and get an appraised value, including on your home. Like other insurance, you can often get discounts for certain features, such as deadbolt locks, security alarms, and storm shutters. When choosing a value to insure your house, do not underestimate the costs of repairs. If your home is destroyed, it will cost you more than the value of the home, since you also have to pay for construction costs.

Renters Insurance

If you are renting your home or a room in a home, your possessions are likely not covered by homeowners insurance. Therefore, it is a good idea to buy renters insurance, which protects your belongings from disasters and theft. In addition, renters insurance can cover you from liability if someone injures themselves at your home. Your specific contract will state all of the insured risks that are covered in the renters insurance.

When it comes to buying insurance, regardless of the type of insurance, you need to start by deciding what you want to cover and getting quotes from a variety of sources. Compare the coverages and rates and see who offers the best deal. However, price and coverage should not be the only consideration when choosing an insurance company. You also need to consider their reliability and customer service reputation. A company that is hard to deal with or slow to pay for a claim may not be worth using even if they are the cheapest. You should also look at how stable the company is, how long they have been around, their financial situation and more. Choosing an insurance company, and the insurance plan to buy, is an important decision and one that should not be made without doing a lot of research. Since you’re reading this, you’re off to a good start. Good job, you. I’m proud.

There are some crazy forms of insurance out there – and I’m not talking old-hat news like pet insurance or the policy that JLo reportedly took out on her famous bubble butt. The insurance industry is booming, which is (on one hand) a rare bright spot in an economy that could best be described as “floundering.” Is it any wonder though, really? We live in a world fraught with uncertainty and fear. Those looking to hedge their bets against identity theft, outdated technology, runaway grooms, kidnapping, or giving birth to twins (something I myself never worried about, but the joke was on me with that one) can soothe their jangled nerves, however, because you can buy a policy to protect against any of the above. I even read – and no, this is no jest – that the Zombie Apocalyse Insurance Company will, for fifteen dollars a year, offer peace of mind against the event of an undead invasion.

Once upon a time, young adults longed for the day that they would finish their schooling and escape the family coop. There’s a new generation of college grads on the rise, however, and things are quite different in America. The children of the 60s and 70s now have adult kids of their own, and these kids can’t find jobs. If they do manage to find a job, they don’t like it. I read a great editorial on this subject in USA Today, written by an author whose daughter is in the midst of applying for her first full-time post-college job. The author says that she is not personally worried about her own daughter, who longs to live on her own and has worked steadily since high school (and balanced two jobs, an internship, and a full course load during her final year at college). This is one young woman who will find her way in the world.

With a surprisingly low amount of hoopla, a greater number of large corporations have expanded their insurance coverage to meet the needs of employees who are transgender. Some of the biggest names in the business that include transgender treatment as covered expenses include Coca-Cola, Campbell Soup, and Walt Disney. This trend rides the wave of awareness fostered by transgender rights advocates who are pushing to get employers and insurers to view the transgender diagnosis and sex reassignment the same way that the American Medical Association does – as a legitimate medical condition and not as something optional.

Pop quiz time! You are an American retiree trying to decide where to buy a home in which to spend your golden years. Where, oh snowbird, do you fly? If you answered “south,” you would have gone with the answer that many seniors do. There’s a reason that retiring in Florida is such a cliché: the elderly love the warm weather and tend to flock down here in droves when they are done working and are ready to settle into a retirement nest. The heat is good for old bones that might be sensitive to cold, and the presence of lots of other elderly folks means that retirees and pretty much guaranteed a social life, housing/amenities/healthcare that is suited to their stage in life, and a living situation that will make them happy.

The Orlando Sentinel reported recently that many seniors in the state of Florida – which is swarming with elderly folks – are reacting poorly to the news that there will be no cost of living adjustment (COLA) added to Social Security checks for a second year running. As word spreads that checks would remain static through 2012, older Americans are bracing themselves for cutting back on everything from grocery bills to charity donations to entertainment budgets.

Everyone has faced tough changes with the sweeping damages of the Great Recession. It seems that the elderly of our nation may be next in line to pay their toll to the struggling economy. Thanks to significant cuts in government payments for patient care and decreased construction of new nursing homes, the number of spaces available in nursing homes is taking a dive right at the point when the aging baby boomer population is beginning to need them. Geriatric advocacy groups have called this situation a crisis, warning that we could get to the point where seniors requiring full-time skilled care may not be able to get it when needed, thanks to shortages. Mark Parkinson, head of the American Health Care Association, opines that America is “at a tipping point” with regards to the nursing home situation. And really, the timing is absolutely terrible.

Hoarders need help. If you have ever watched the hit TV show on A&E about these people, their mental illness, and just how much work it takes to get them help and clean out the years of animal debris, dirty clothing, trash, and miscellaneous nastier materials stacked floor-to-ceiling that have turned their abodes into something closer to animal warrens than human homes. Hoarders’ homes are not just unattractive – they are also dangerous. People who can’t stop acquiring items and have a hard time getting rid of them are placing themselves and their family members at a higher risk of fire and injury, among other pitfalls.

Dogs are commonly called man’s best friend, and with good reason. Your pup may be loving, loyal, protective, and struck dumb with sheer excitement when you walk through the door every day. Still, as a pet owner you should be aware of the fact that all it takes is a single bite from Fido to cause you serious financial distress. The Insurance Information Institute reported last year that the average financial damage resulting from a dog bite claim was over twenty-six thousand dollars. To put that in perspective in a tongue-in-cheek way, that’s about thirty-three thousand cans of Alpo dog food.

If you have elderly parents who are not in the best of health, the stress of taking care of them can be devastating. One of the biggest responsibilities of grown children trying to help out their aging parents is taking a hand in their healthcare. Making sure your parents stay in good health is hard enough work, let alone given the state of the currently very-overextended healthcare system.

Is there anything more frustrating than getting a speeding ticket? As someone who, at one point, had racked up quite a lot of them, I can attest that the answer is no. If you just received a speeding ticket, what is your best course of action? If this is your first ticket (at all, or at least in six or seven years), you may just choose to pay the fine. Barring that, you might avail yourself of the option to take a safe driving class in-person, by video, or online to erase the infraction from your record, if that option is available in your state. If you take either of these routes, you are unlikely to notice an appreciable impact to your car insurance. If you have had one or more previous tickets within a short time, however, you will quickly see the error of your lead-footed ways.