Category List For: Insurance
Health Insurance
As a political issue, health insurance is complicated. People stake out positions across the entire political spectrum, some calling it a “right” and others calling it a matter of “personal responsibility.” Social policies, of course, have to be considered even when you are making a personal decision about medical coverage for yourself and your family, but for professional people and business owners, politics has little to do with it. Read More…
Buying Insurance
If you asked most Americans to list “buying insurance” on their to-do lists, it would probably fall somewhere between “going to the dentist” and “listening to fingernails on a blackboard.” Young working adults, for the most part, don’t even have it on their lists at all, content to take whatever health or life insurance is offered by their employers or parents. At some point in their working careers, though, even young people start thinking about things like insurance and retirement, and the sooner the better, too. Read More…
Mortgages
Mortgages are contracts between you and a lender where you pledge a specific property to the lender as the collateral for a loan. Most people come up against a mortgage when purchasing a piece of real estate, usually a home. A mortgage is not a debt in and of itself, but rather contractual evidence that a debt exists between you and the lender. Read More…
Insurance
One of the classic insurance agent sales pitches went something like this: “Insurance is the one product you can’t buy if you wait until you need it.” It would seem that gas in the car’s tank fits that definition, too, but that’s not the point. The point is, insurance for today’s working men and women is an integral part of their financial plans – assuming, of course, that they have a plan at all. Read More…
Life Insurance
Not that many years ago – no more than, say, 50 – the major component of a personal financial plan was life insurance, specifically what is called “whole life.” While indemnifying the policyholder against death, as well as such optional conditions as disability or maiming, a whole life insurance policy invested part of the premium and thereby accrued cash value. Read More…
Auto Insurance
For most people, a house is the most expensive single, lifetime purchase. Of course, for those folks buying a new car every other year for 25 or 30 thousand dollars, the lifetime cost of car ownership can head toward half a million bucks. When you add in the mandated cost of auto insurance, and figure out the cost of upkeep and consumables, the lifetime cost of driving in good style would buy a few nice homes in most states, and be a decent down payment even in Boston or Los Angeles. Read More…
Annuities
Annuities are very interesting financial instruments, and one of the main products of insurance companies. Essentially they are “future repayment” contracts between you and an insurance company, which you fund with either a single lump-sum payment or scheduled remittances in advance of the first payout date. The insurance company agrees to make periodic payments of a certain calculated amount, according to an agreed-upon schedule. Read More…
Homeowners Insurance
Homeowners insurance is meant to protect your most expensive asset- Your home.
