Cast B2007

Archive for June, 2011

When you are looking for insurance on the vehicle you drive, everyone accepts you could change to a different vehicle tomorrow. It’s the same with a rental home. People who do not own their own homes often move on a fairly regular basis. Put the other way around, many people feel able to change their insurers more or less at will. If one insurer hikes their premium rates, many shop around and find another insurer with lower rates. That’s the way the world works. But, when it comes to buying cover for your life, there’s a big change.

The first policy you are looking to buy may be for a fixed term, making it unlikely you will cancel. If you buy a whole life policy, this is an even more permanent commitment. Given the policy depends on you building up the cash value, you are not expecting to change insurers unless there’s a crisis that requires you to surrender or sell the policy. This means both sides of the proposed bargain are going to look more carefully at each other. You want to feel confident you are buying a policy with the right terms for your particular circumstances. You also want to be reasonably sure the company is financially sound and likely to be around to pay out in thirty or more years from now. On their side of the fence, they want to ensure you are not going to die tomorrow – that means a medical exam.

If all you want is a policy with a short term for a small amount of money, a young man will be waved through with only a nominal check on your health. But if you are older and/or you ask for a larger amount of cover, the checks will get more real. The first rule to understand is that you cannot rely on your regular doctor to provide a medical report. You will always either be seen by an employee of the potential insurer, or referred to an independent person with medical expertise. Depending on the level of protection demanded by the insurer, you may find the exam will come to you. Many life insurance companies operate with mobile testing facilities that will visit your office or home. This provides an opportunity for a detailed questionnaire on your medical history and a basic set of samples for testing. But the more comprehensive tests will always require you to go to a clinic or hospital where you can be put on a treadmill for measurement of your breathing capacity, heart performance, and so on.

Remember you will be subject to a standard range of tests to determine whether you are currently taking any drugs. This ensures your honesty in disclosing existing medical conditions and also looks at your lifestyle to confirm you are not currently taking anything illegal. If any problems are detected, you may be asked for further tests or time may be allowed for you to take remedial action, e.g. to quit smoking, eliminate street drugs or lose weight. Life insurance rates are based on your health as it is. A healthy young person will be offered a low rate. Anyone with lifestyle or health issues will either be offered a high rate (as a deterrent) or refused outright.

The process of student loan consolidation is getting very popular and common these days among the students. There are many organizations offering these services for the benefits of students. This helps the students to pay the education fees easily and in a cheap way.

Information about Loan Consolidation

Various student loan consolidation programs are scheduled, in which they give counseling for applying and managing debts. Loan consolidation process involves bundling of different loans borrowed by the student, to cover their education expenditure to a single loan. With this, they have to pay one monthly payment instead of different payments and to a single lender.

The rate on which the interest is charged is fixed and is calculated by taking up the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans that you are willing to consolidate, which are further rounded up to the nearest one-eight of one percent or 8.25, which ever of the two is less.

Am I Eligible For The Loans?

It is must to study the eligibility criteria before applying for the student loan consolidation. Some are mentioned below:

You are dealing with more than one lender at the time of applying loan consolidation.

Must have eligible loans of more than $7500.

You do not have any student loan consolidated until date or have gone back to school due to some reasons and have acquired new student loan.

In case you have started repaying your loans or are in six month grace period following graduation.

Consolidation of loans is an easy task and can be easily availed by students and even by their parents. For the student debt consolidation, you can contact any bank or credit union that deals with Family education loan program or directly from the U.S. Department of Education. No matter from where you get the loans consolidated, the terms and conditions for applying the loan are similar everywhere.

Before doing research and applying for student loan consolidation, it is important to know the loans that can be consolidated. The list of such loans is below:

Guaranteed Student loan

Nursing Student Loans

Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans

Direct Plus Loans and Federal Plus Loans

Health Education Assistance Loans

Health Professions Student Loans

Auxiliary Loans to Assist Students

Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans

Federal Insured Student Loans

Federal Supplemental Loans for Students

Federal Perkins Loans

Loans for Disadvantaged Students

National Defense Student Loans

National Direct Student Loans

To sum up, you should choose the best option and the best times for getting the loans consolidated, because it can be done once unless you move back to school again or take any new loan.

In a sense, this is the easiest of all the questions to answer because it all comes down to a choice between two basic types. Term life is what you might call a pure form of insurance. You agree a fixed amount payable in the event of your death during the term set. If you die, the company pays that amount. If you are still alive when the term expires, you are now without insurance cover. Because the majority of people are finding their life expectancy rather better than they had thought when young, the insurers do not pay out on many term policies unless there’s an accidental death. No one can predict a traffic accident. So the premium rates are low, offering potentially very good lump sum payments to your family for a relatively small outlay.

The second major type offers permanent protection while accumulating a cash value. The so-called whole life policy offers a basic minimum lump sum plus a bonus from investments. In the majority of cases, the management of the investment is delegated to the insurer but, if you think you can do better, there can be options for you to guide the investment. We then get into a small jungle in which you have to judge how much risk you want to accept. In a variable life policy, for example, you can abandon the fixed lump sum in favor of greater returns from the investment account. Universal life gives you the right to borrow from the insurer or actually withdraw some of the accumulated cash value should an emergency arise. This also has greater flexibility, allowing you to vary the amount of premium you pay. The maximum control comes to you through a universal variable policy. This has separate accounts and you can manage where your money goes as between stocks, bonds and the money market. If you make good decisions, there are good tax free returns.

When you are young, a term life insurance policy can give you low-cost protection during the first years of your adult life. The question you have to ask is whether this represents the best long-term value. Should your health not hold up, renewing the term or switching to whole life may become impossible unless you bought a convertible term policy. The other factor is inflation. If you buy a whole life insurance policy early, the premium may start off higher but, over time, it becomes more affordable as your pay rises. If you delay, the cost of the whole life cover rises as your life expectancy falls. What you may find a slight struggle when you buy during your twenties, will cost you significantly more if you ask to buy the same amount of cover during your forties. Equally important is the question of a medical. As a young buyer, the insurer is likely to wave you through without any comprehensive medical exam. But as the years pass and your weight rises, the risk of different diseases and disorders increases. You may find it more difficult to buy whole life even if you can afford it. Life insurance is all about taking the decisions at the right time. In reality, all this should be discussed with a knowledgeable advisor before you make any commitments. Early mistakes can lock you into unfortunate policies.

1. You must have a website. Own your own site and create and manage it yourself. This saves time, money and, in the long run, you have artistic control.

2. Create an art blog. Here you can express your creative thoughts and show off your current projects to the world. It’s easy to set up using Blogger, a free blog service. Talk about free publicity! If a blog doesn’t work for you, consider starting an e-mail newsletter, in which you can offer monthly raffles and let clients know when you have new work or shows.

3. Visit sites such as Zapp or ArtFairCalendar for free information on upcoming shows, fairs and festivals. If you get into an art fair, be sure to go to the free teaching/learning seminars and workshops, where you can learn more about submitting digital images (including DPI requirements), and about framing and matting-and where you can network with other artists.

4. Advertise. Put an image of your work-with your website included-in your car window or on the bumper with a magnetic sign.

5. Use free publicity from your local weekly paper, daily newspaper or your state’s magazine is icing on the old art cake. Send out PR releases via e-mail in the middle of the week when reporters/editors are less busy.

6. Take classes. Do a Google search for “free art classes online.” You can also brush up your skills with affordable online art classes.

7. Consider a home office deduction on your income tax return if your studio is in your home. More information on this deduction can be found on the IRS website and at Bankrate.com.

8. Shop around for your printing needs. Sometimes the smaller printing shops in your neighborhood will be cheaper and give you better results than the larger operations. For business cards, try Vista Print. They offer 250 business cards for free.

9. Get a sales tax license in your state (the logistics vary state to state).

selling your art, but it also gives you a sales tax exemption on items purchased for resale. It will save you money when you buy supplies or have framing done. Keep all your receipts-even if you’re a hobbyist. You can deduct your expenses on your tax return.

10. Check out the Freecycle Network, where people give away free stuff. Join up and search your area’s listings for art supplies.

First, a Warning

Don’t confuse the cost of insurance alone with the cost of owning a car. Rather, paying more for insurance could actually save you a lot of money. Someone who pays a lot might have better coverage, which saves you a financial crisis if you should get into a bad collision. One of the reasons some states have such high rates is because they mandate a higher level of coverage than other states. They do this for a reason: to protect their citizens from being bankrupted by a crash.

In Michigan, costs are partly so high because the state requires that medical coverage be unlimited for life, meaning that if someone is permanently disabled in a collision, the insurer could wind up paying their bills for tens of years. Companies charge more to take on that risk, but Michigan legislators believe it is an important protection for people in their state.

Louisiana has problems with its legal system that send insurance prices through the roof. Claims resolutions are simply too expensive, and it hits consumers in their premiums.

The 10 Most Expensive States and Districts

1. Louisiana (the most expensive state in the country)
2. Michigan
3. Oklahoma
4. Montana
5. California
6. South Dakota
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Georgia
9. Illinois
10. Connecticut

The 10 Most Affordable States

1. Maine (the least expensive state in the country)
2. Vermont
3. Ohio
4. Wisconsin
5. New Hampshire
6. Iowa
7. Massachusetts
8. North Carolina
9. Arizona
10. Tennessee

The Influence of Cities

Insuring a vehicle is a whole lot more expensive in big urban areas. There is more traffic, more pedestrians, and more stress-meaning a higher risk of collisions. The statistics back this up, which is why people living and working in the big city pay more for coverage. In stark contrast, rural areas are always in the lower section of costliness within states. Things tend to be cheaper in the country, because there are fewer cars and fewer opportunities for devastating collisions.

The 5 Most Expensive Cities

• Detroit, MI
• Philadelphia, PA
• Newark, NJ
• Los Angeles, CA
• Hempstead, NY

Other Costs to Consider

As far as the expense of owning a vehicle, insurance is only one factor in the equation. You have to add in taxes, fees, the cost of depreciation, financing and interest payments, fuel costs, maintenance prices, and repair fees. These prices vary by region, state, and city. Of course, most crucially, they vary by individual situation.

No matter how high the average cost of owning a vehicle in one place is, there are always some people who go about things super smartly and save a lot of money. Good credit? Loans wont’ be as expensive, and neither will coverage. Have a handyman in the family? Don’t worry so much about maintenance costs! If fuel is expensive, get an electric vehicle.

People with great driving records and who pick extremely safe vehicles will save a lot on car insurance. There are hundreds of ways to go about saving money, so don’t be discouraged by state averages.

Who knows what it will cost next year?

A couple years ago, Washington, D.C. was the cheapest place to get car insurance. Politics change a bit each year, as do mandates and car insurance rates.

When it comes to writing insurance policies, the decision is all about risk. Based on what you tell the insurer, the actuaries estimate the chances you will have an accident the next time you drive, or that your home will be flattened by a tornado, or that you will catch the H1N1 brand of influenza. It’s the most scientific form of gambling our society has been able to develop. If all the sums work out right, you are protected financially should any of the risks occur and the insurer will make a profit. So when it comes to insuring your life, the actuary needs to call in different professionals. Although you may give completely honest answers to questions about your own health and the health of your immediately family, there are many things you do not know. Sometimes, families are not honest with each other when it comes to health problems. Sometimes, you may not have been to see a doctor recently and so be unaware your own health is less than good. To protect everyone, a medical examination will usually be a condition when the amount of cover requested is high, or you are older, or you admit possible health problems.

Some insurance companies employ paramedicals who can bring a mobile service to your home or office. Others will give you the name of a specific doctor or a clinic and wait for you to make an appointment. Note that, almost without exception, when something more than a token amount of insurance has been requested, no reference will be made to your regular doctor. The insurers only accept evidence from independent medical personnel.

Let’s say you are still young and there are no untoward signs in your own or your family’s history. The exam is likely to be fairly straightforward, going through lists of questions about your current health and lifestyle. In this remember you may be tested to ensure your answers about not smoking and no abuse of drugs are truthful. If you appear heavier than you admitted on the proposal form, there may be more tests for diabetes and other diseases that can affect the overweight. If you have admitted to health problems, the tests can be fairly intensive if you are older and asking for significant amounts of cover. This is not just measuring pulse rate and blood pressure. You can find yourself supplying a range of samples, submitting to an EKG and getting up on a treadmill to prove lung capacity, stamina and a healthy heart. Only those who pass with flying colors will be offered the larger amount in cover.

In one sense, the whole experience of a medical exam is something of a deterrent. It takes up time and can be intrusive. Yet we have to advise you to go through several exams. The reason is simple. Life insurance companies approach risk assessment in slightly different ways. What some may consider significant is more routine to others. To get the best deal, you have to get as many offers as possible. This means being prepared to go through as many medical exams as it takes. Only when you have all the offered life insurance policies in your hands can you judge which one represents the best deal for you and your family.