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There’s never really anything new in the world of marketing. The same ideas that sold three bottles of wine for the price of two in ancient Rome still work today. We all like to think we’re getting good value for money. The most usual approach is to offer volume for a discount. The more you buy, the less you pay. In the insurance world, we see bundles on offer. Pay less if you buy both an auto and home insurance policy. There will be further discounts if you insure multiple vehicles or several different “homes”, e.g. when your teens go off to college and need cover for their possessions. This is simple commercial sense. Unless your family is particularly unlucky, you are paying an increasingly large amount of premium income to the insurer which turns into more profit when you make no large claim. That earns a discount to reward you for your loyalty.

Well, here comes a new experiment from the motor industry. General Motors is flexing its muscles now it’s recovering from the Chapter 11 reorganization. During the last ten years, its reputation has taken a beating and sales of its brands has been declining year-on-year. The last financial year, 2010, was the first time it showed a profit since 2004. It has also shown a slight increase in sales volumes – the first increase after ten years of losing market share. To boost sales this year, it’s offering one year’s free insurance if you buy one of the eligible models. Before you all get too excited, this only applies to the good folk who live in Oregon and Washington, and the offer expires come September. But we can assume more of these offers will be made if sales in the models shows significant increase. So why is this potentially a good thing for you? Read the rest of this entry »

The majority of politicians have a split personality. One minute, the deficit is the end of the world as we know it. The next, there’s no reason to panic. Except, when you look round the neighborhood and see the number of homes going through foreclosure, all those people you know who are unemployed and businesses closing down, you realize the country has not yet recovered from the recession. With every dollar counting to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head, the challenge is to keep all the essentials in place within breaking the budget. In this, remember you always get what you pay for, so buying something cheap is often not giving you good value for your money. It’s always better to find goods or services of reasonable quality at a price you can afford.

So, from the earliest years, we’re taught to shop around. Family and friends laugh at us if we accept the first price offered in the first shop we walk into. Everyone knows you have to go into at least three shops to get an idea of how much goods of this type actually cost. Only then can we see what represents good value for money. Would you start walking round car lots and showrooms without having an idea of the current prices? Would you simply agree to pay the asking price? Almost everyone is prepared to ask for a discount. Haggling may not be everyone’s strength but, in these tough economic times, we should all make the effort. It’s the same with insurance to go with the vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »

When is a doctor not a doctor? When is a clinic not a clinic? All questions of this type sound a little nonsensical. You can check whether someone has a degree and the credentials to be a doctor. Similarly, you always rely on a doctor in a clinic to diagnose and treat your medical condition. Right? Well, not necessarily. Here’s a slightly different question for you. Suppose a nurse works in a hospital for years and has vast experience in dealing with certain types of medical problem. You have that problem and are lying in a bed when this nurse gets in an argument with an intern – that’s a new medical graduate going through supervised training. The nurse effectively tells the doctor-to-be he has made a mistake. Whose judgement do you trust?

In other countries, experienced nurses are trusted to make limited diagnoses and prescribe some drugs. This allows urgent treatment to be given. If a consultant has to be summoned to confirm the treatment, this delay could be dangerous to health. In America, doctors are careful to protect their status and reputation. There are also medical malpractice implications if nurses are allowed to assume responsibility for critical parts of the treatment regime. It’s therefore interesting to observe the spread of medical clinics in drugstores and other retail environments. As an example, the Minute Clinic chain has more than 600 outlets in 24 states. These clinics are staffed by family nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Why should they have become so popular? Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve definitely seen many of those cars that the TV show “Pimp My Ride” and many other love to highlight. It has become a real fad among car owners, especially the younger ones, to customize their vehicles for the purpose of reflecting their individuality through the car they drive. Sure, in such an individualistic society as we all are there’s nothing wrong or bad about such a fad. However, quite often when it comes to insuring such vehicles their owners tend to overlook the changes their car has be subjected to, believing that their policy will cover it in case of an accident. And it’s such a bitter feeling when they actually file a claim and get covered partially or denied coverage in general. What’s wrong with custom cars that insurance companies are so picky about them?

First of all let’s take a look at what the insurance company covers in the first place. When you purchase a policy the company is obliged to cover the losses to your car in its form as the policy was signed according to its market value or independent evaluation. What happens when you decide to customize it? You change certain parts of the car from original to custom and effectively alter the market value of your vehicle. Let’s agree that installing a stereo system worth of 6k to your 3k Honda Civic is actually altering its price in a drastic manner. And in case you end up filing a claim for the altered value and configuration of your vehicle the insurance company has the right to deny you with coverage simply because you’ve altered the value of the insurance object without informing the insurer. It’s like buying a cheap computer, upgrading it with the most advanced parts, and then trying to get a refund for the final value of your PC because there was a short circuit in your flat. Read the rest of this entry »

The fad for electric and hybrid drive is still on the rise these days, with more models being introduced by car makers and new incentives offered for purchasing such environmental-friendly vehicles. You see more of these vehicles on the road and it may look like a good bargain to buy one. But what’s the situation when you actually try to insure such cars? Are they on par with their carbon-footprint peers or there are some peculiarities when it comes to covering such vehicles?

While electric motor vehicles haven’t been around for long enough to speak about any lengthy claims history, hybrid cars have been on the market for almost a decade and insurance providers have all the statistics they need to determine adequate insurance rates for such vehicles. And to much surprise, owning a hybrid vehicle doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll get better insurance rates. Read the rest of this entry »

If an employer is out looking for vital information about a new employee’s background then performing a lookup social security numbers is an appropriate way for doing that. This will provide all the address history and names a person has been using in the past making it easier to track his or her record for that given period.

Have A Background Check
A background check on a prospective employee shows all the details about his or her whereabouts as well as criminal records if any for the last few years and this will help determine whether that is the right person to employ. This furthermore shows his or her past employment records about the companies last attached to and his or her behavior there. The best place to do a lookup social security numbers are public bureaus since their services are free of charge. This however does not mean that private agencies are bad but you can also check on them but at a fee.

The world seems unsettled. Looking over to North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf States, there’s a move for people to claim more democratic rights. That’s great except for the fact most of our oil comes from that neck of the woods. Those of you who follow the financial news will already know the spot price for crude has been rising fast as dealers worry about whether supply can be maintained. We’re already seeing the results feed through to the pumps as the price of gas rises through the $3 per gallon mark. The doomsayers are predicting we’ll be back up to $4 and higher come the summer and fall unless everything calms down quickly. Whether the predictions turn out right is not important right now. We should all be using less oil anyway. Sooner or later it’s going to run out. If we use less now, that delays the problem of replacement until later.

Whether you’re into environmental issues or just can’t stand paying all those extra dollars to fill up your tank, there’s a growing movement in the insurance market you should be watching. This is the pay-as-you-drive policy. This is a very simple change. At present, the majority of companies offer discounts to those who say they drive less. But there’s a lot of cheating going on and it’s been difficult for the insurers to keep tabs on who plays by the rules. Well, technology is catching up with drivers in a real sense. Alongside the fitting of GPS transmitters, many new makes and models also carry on-board computer systems that monitor the performance of the engine and all the consumables like brake pads. This is great because, when something goes wrong, it’s easier to hitch your vehicle up to a computer and ask it what’s wrong. So, for insurance companies, you can have your vehicle transmit data on how many miles you drive at different times of the day. This will give you major savings if you only drive a few miles at off-peak times. Obviously, this will produce discounts for seniors and homemakers who only make short trips during the day. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many who complain about all the irrelevant factors insurers take into account when setting premium rates. It’s unfair for them to look at where we live. And just what do out credit scores have to do with how well we drive? They are all for the assessment of risk being personal with the lowest premiums going to the drivers who manage to act like angels, avoiding accidents and never picking up tickets. In reality, this is all a matter of pure luck. No matter how well or defensively you drive, this fails to consider the maniac behind the wheel of the other vehicle that comes plowing into you. Or the magic day you got pulled over and the officer took pity on you and waved you on with a verbal warning.

So what do you do if you pull the short straw of the day and pick up a speeding ticket? Well, the first decision is whether to fight. Sometimes, going to court to argue the merits can pay off. The officer may be ill that day and no one appears to give evidence against you. Who knows. Anything is better than picking up those points. Except. . . except there are some states where you can do something to take back time. In California, Florida, New York, Wisconsin and, now, Michigan, there are driver improvement programs. Read the rest of this entry »

Whenever you start thinking about insurance, the first thought tends to be about the risks of different types of traffic accident or the ways in which you might lose the vehicle. You make lists of collisions, vandals writing their names on your bodywork, thieves driving the vehicle away, floods carrying your car off, and so on. Then you get to all those other personal factors like where you live, what your credit score is, and so on. After a while, you wonder how you can hope to find cheaper cover when, so often, whether you make a claim or the amount of the damage has nothing to do with the way you drive. Now add in the fact that you have no control over the cost of gas or of how much the body shop will charge to repair any damage and there’s a temptation to give up. Except that’s a bit negative.

No matter what you may fear, insurance is really all about whether you are going to make a claim. Those who have the best track record, have the lowest premium rates. So don’t give up. If you have a defensive style of driving and avoid all the most obvious situations in which you may get into an accident, the insurer will reward you over time. Then you ask whether there’s any way in which you can speed up time. Read the rest of this entry »

…Your credit score is made up of 5 parts with your credit history making up the biggest part at 35%. Negative credit like late payments, collections, charge offs, judgments, liens, and bankruptcy will lower your credit score. While paying on time over time will raise your credit score.

Here is what makes up your credit score:

* 35% – Payment(Credit) History
* 30% – Debt to Limit Ratio
* 15% – Credit History Length
* 10% – Types of Credit
* 10% – Inquiries

As you can see the bulk of your credit score is made up of payment history and debt to limit ratio. Your debt to limit ratio is how much you owe compared to owe much credit available you have. This will be covered in another article, but it is very important to create a budget and pay down your bills. We will focus on payment history and what you can do to improve it. Read the rest of this entry »