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Posts Tagged ‘insurance’

It is an old saying — “Health is Wealth.” The most important step to maintain this wealth is to get a health insurance policy for you as well as your family. But, sometimes the premiums of such policies can leave you in and out of the budget situation. Can you really do something to bring down your premium? Read on to learn about the 5 quickest ways to lower your health insurance premium.

1. Adopt a healthy lifestyle

Living a healthy life has many benefits. Your healthy lifestyle can easily help you in bringing down the health insurance premium. Exercise regularly, eat healthy diet, avoid smoking and heavy drinking — and your visits to the doctor will surely be minimized. The healthier you are, the lesser you are represented as a risk for the insurance company.

2. Shop for the best available price

One of the best options to keep your premium lowest is to go out and shop around for the health care policy. This will ensure that you find the best available policy that fits in your budget. Do a thorough research before investing in any policy. You can get information from your friends and relatives or even Internet.

3. Take up plans with higher deductibles

Insurance plans with higher deductibles tend to have lower premiums. Typically, deductible is the amount you are expected to pay toward hospital, doctor, and other medical bills. Taking up a plan with a higher deductible may not be a universally applicable idea. If you’re generally healthy and do not fall ill very frequently, then you can take up this plan. This way you can keep your premium at a lower rate and avail basic health care facilities as well. But, if you have a history of some major consistent illness, avoid taking this plan.

4. Take up a policy early in your life

The premium varies to a great extent with the age of the person. Try and get a policy as early in your life as you can. For example, if you buy a policy at the age of 25, then you’ll have to pay lesser premium but, if you go for the same policy at the age of 50 you’ll end up paying a raised premium amount.

5. Get in touch with independent insurance agents

You can take help from independent insurance agents. These agents represent several insurance agencies and can guide you to pick the right kind of health insurance policy and then plan your premiums at an affordable rate. Since independent agents will compete to get the business – so you’ll get serious offers quickly.

Are you looking for ways to lower your Auto Insurance Premium? Auto insurance rates can spiral depending upon factors that include your age, past driving record, and other factors such as credit history. However, the trick is to find ways to lower the annual pay-off. We have pulled up for you the 5 quickest ways to lower your Auto Insurance Premium.

Tip 1: Hike up your deductible

Stop trying to get the ‘lowest deductible’, instead go in for a comfortably higher out of pocket payment plan. ‘Deductible’ is the amount that you would pay before your insurance policy kicks in. This is an easy way to reduce your periodic premium amount, however, be warned, in such a case, if something happens to your vehicle – you need to shell out more to cover the initial expenses, prior to going in for a claim.

Tip 2: Park your vehicle in a garage

One of the simplest ways to cut down on insurance premium is to park your vehicle in a garage, personal or commercial establishments. This helps in knocking off, in some cases, close to 20% of the premium. In a garage, the chances of your vehicle getting stolen or sideswiped are considerably lower. From a transaction perspective, parking in a garage could mean a difference between a preferred rate and a standard rate.

Tip 3: Shop around and bargain

Nothing beats the traditional ‘shop around to bargain’. Make sure you at least have three to four price quotes with you, prior to fixing on the service provider. Ensure that you are not shopping for price alone, but the whole deal.

Tip 4: Take a Defensive Driving Course

Not many people are aware of this. By volunteering for a state-approved defensive driving course, you can avail discounts in premium of up to 10%. However, do cross check with your insurer on this.

Tip 5: Downsizing Coverage

Well, downsizing coverage is perhaps the easiest way to lower your auto insurance premium. However, we suggest you to be careful and prudent, while taking this decision. This might save money, but, would also limit coverage.

It was not too long ago when contracts were made on a handshake and a promise. Individuals were not particularly concerned with things like insurance because they relied upon the goodwill of their neighbor to compensate them for wrongful damage. For a variety of reasons, including an increase in the speed and cost of auto wrecks, auto insurance soon became an important purchase for responsible individuals. Not long after, the federal government mandated that auto insurance be carried, at least minimally, by all car owners. The increase in the need for auto insurance over the last 10 years has led to increases in the complexity of insurance, while at the same time, amplifying the need to be more cost conscious in auto insurance purchases.

Buying auto insurance today requires as much dexterity as buying the automobile itself. It is important to know the factors that an auto insurance company considers when offering quotes. This will allow you, as the consumer, to know what steps you need to take in order to qualify for a lower quote. The five easy steps to a lower insurance quote are:

1. Portray yourself as a ‘safe’ candidate: Insurance companies are interested in managing risk. Consequently they offer drivers who are less likely to get into wrecks or at a minimum into wrecks of less severity, a lower insurance quote.

-Maintain a clean driving record, free of traffic violations or accident claims.

-Install anti-theft devices in your vehicle.

-Attend a Drivers Safety Training program.

-Buy a ‘safe’ vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety together collect information on safety related aspects of different vehicles. Buy an automobile that is officially designated as ‘safe’.

-Park your vehicle in a garage.

2. Show your Credit worthiness: As a risk management entity, insurance companies are also worried about getting paid on time. If you can show yourself to be credit worthy, there is less risk of you not making your payments on time, thus warranting a lower rate.

-Maintain a good credit score and clear up any errors on your credit.

-Cut down on the total number of outstanding credit cards to 2 or 3.

3. Practice Financial Wisdom: The way in which you structure and pay for your policy can lower the risk that an insurance company faces with respect to you as a customer. By taking steps to lower their risk, you receive a lower insurance quote and policy.

-Buy an annual policy instead of a six monthly coverage to get you a lower rate that remains the same for a year.

-Opt for automatic payment deductions from your bank account or your credit card to avoid getting charged for mail payments.

-Increase your deductibles on comprehensive and collision policies to reduce on the rates.

-Get loyalty discounts by buying your home and auto insurance from the same company.

4. Assess your Insurance Needs accurately: This is obvious, the more coverage you get the more it will cost you. Add-ons are killers in the insurance business, strip your policy down to just the minimum of what you need.

-If your vehicle is not used much or you have an old car with little market value, opt for minimum liability alone. It will cost you less.

-After fulfilling the legal mandate on auto insurance, insure according to your needs alone.

5. Other wise things that you can do: There are a number of other considerations that go into your insurance quote. Some of them are not reasonable steps to take, while others you can do with little effort which can translate into substantial savings.

-If your car is used only for a particular purpose, make your agent aware of it, as this will limit the cost.

-Students that make good grades are often eligible for a discount.

-Give up smoking; it can help you get better quotes.

-Change your occupation if you can help. A delivery boy carries a higher risk than a storekeeper.