Medical And Life Insurance 411

By William Patricks

In order to make sure that you are covered in the event of a medical emergency it is important to be aware of the different types of medical insurance. If you are uninsured, or do not have the necessary medical coverage, any major medical problem that you encounter will have a significant impact on your personal finances.

Most insurance plans are PPOs. PPO stands for Preferred Provider Organization. You will be limited to the doctors that your insurance company endorses. Depending on the size of your insurance company's network and your geographical location, you might have your pick of many doctors or just a few. Your PPO plan will pay a large portion of the cost for your doctor's visits and prescription. You will only have to pay a copay. Copay payments range from five dollars to around fifty dollars. If you have to have a surgery or an overnight stay in the hospital, your PPO will pay a set percentage of your total cost.

No matter what type of insurance plan you choose, there are several factors that are the same. The more you pay for your monthly premium, the less your co-pay will typically be. Mental health and substance addiction coverage are not part of the standard medical coverage, but may be offered by the insurance company, depending on the company and the state. If you are switching insurance companies, and you are already receiving treatment for an existing medical condition, it is absolutely critical that you find out if your new insurance will cover the pre-existing condition, if not it may not be worth it to switch.

A recent newcomer to the insurance industry is the HDHP. This High Deductible Health Plan is used in conjunction with a pre-tax savings account. You will have the option of either a Health Savings Account or a Family Savings Account. With an HDHP you will pay all of your health costs up-front, with the exception of preventative treatments. Most preventative treatments are covered in full by your plan. The money you contribute to the HSA and the FSA can go towards doctor's office visits, prescription drugs, and even vitamins. Money invested in your FSA can be used for child-care. Unlike a PPO you can have your choice of any doctor. There might be a list of doctors that will give you a small discount if you use their services.

The last type of insurance plan we will discuss is the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). HMOs differ from state to state, and among insurance providers, however they are typically geared towards older adults. HMOs require a Primary Care Provider (PCP) to oversee your care, and they will have to provide referrals for specialists before you can make an appointment. Similar to PPO, the HMO requires a co-pay, and the co-insurance varies based on the amount of your monthly premium. - 23211

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Cheap Mobile Home Insurance in Florida - Here's How to Get It

By Stacy Fox

Here's how to get cheap mobile home insurance in Florida.

Known for its hurricanes, Florida real estate requires that mobile home owners have homeowners and hurricane insurance. You know of course that mobile homes are more easily damaged by weather than are traditional homes.

Do your due diligence when it comes to hurricane insurance. While you are trying to find the best price, you also want the one that protects you best. Here are some of the other things you should consider:

First, think about how much protection you actually need. If you own the land under your mobile home , for instance, you only need to replace the mobile home itself.

Next, know the difference between actual cash value and replacement value. Actual cash value gives you the depreciated amount of your mobile home. For instance, if you have a 2000 mobile home, they will give you the cash value of the 2000 unit. But, if you have replacement value, you will get a current unit's value. Actual cash value gives you the less expensive policy.

You should also consider how much legal liability coverage you need. For instance, if you have a dog or lots of visitors coming over, you probably need more liability coverage than if you have a safer lifestyle. Still, it doesn't cost much extra to have a generous policy. If every penny counts though, this is one way to save a little bit of money.

You may want or be required to have flood insurance. Check with your insurer to see if they have lower rates with a combined mobile home owners plan than the National Flood Insurance Policy.

If you live in a senior's only park and are over the age of 50 you probably are eligible for discounts as well.

Finally, always inquire with your broker what deals he or she can make for you. There's generally more flexibility than you realize.

That's how to get cheap mobile home insurance in Florida. - 23211

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To get more information onCheap Mobile Home Insurance in Florida go to http://homeinsuranceprovider.net

Leverage - Is This A Strategy For You?

By Gnifrus Urquart

Leverage is a term used in investment circles to explain a type of borrowing. Its investment jargon, so it may sound complex. Its simply describes the process of borrowing to invest, where there is some kind of security underpinning the borrowing. This could be a house in a property loan, or stocks in a margin loan.

This article is all about the risks and rewards of borrowing to invest, or leveraging investment strategies. The information is general in nature and not intended as specific advice. As always, if you intend borrowing to invest, seek licensed financial advice before you do.

Before I understood money, my debt profile looked very similar to most peoples. I had a credit card which I always struggled to get back to zero, I had a large personal loan for a car I bought and a smaller loan for some furniture.

All these debts were used to fund consumables - objects for my pleasure. I learned that there are two issues with this. Firstly, the objects this debt bought all rapidly lost value. They were depreciating assets. Secondly, as I used the debt to purchase things I consumed, the interest on that debt had no tax benefits. I had to pay it all.

Things have changed over the years. I learned that debt is much more efficient when spent on investments. So now my credit card debt is negligible and paid off every month. My personal loans are completely paid off. Despite this, I have a lot more debt. I have a massive debt on an investment property. I have a margin loan for share trading. And I have a FOREX investment account which is leveraged at 400:1 (Which means I borrow $400 for every $1 I put in)

So what are the benefits of borrowing to invest?

When you borrow to invest, you increase your investment earnings potential. As you borrow money, you have more to invest. Therefore, the returns on your investments increase by the net returns on the borrowed money. Obviously the basic key here is to ensure your investment return rate is higher than the interest rates on the loan. If this is the case, you will always make money with the money you have borrowed.

The second benefit you can get from borrowing to invest is a possible tax benefit. In my situation where I have borrowed to purchase an investment property in Victoria, as I rent out that property and earn an income from it, the interest payments on that mortgage become a cost associated with that income. As such, in my circumstance, I can claim those interest payments as a tax deduction. This means that while my asset is making me money, the tax office is actually giving me a discount on my borrowing by making it tax deductible

This works exactly the same in the margin loan I am using to help with my stock market investments. I have borrowed some money in a margin loan (I usuall try and keep the leverage here at about 1:1, so every dollar of my own I invest gives me another to invest) and pay interest every month on that loan. My stock market strategy pays me my consistent income every month, which is more than the interest on the margin loan. And then, at the end of the tax year, I deduct the interest payments from the money I earned, gaining a tax advantage.

Those are some of the benefits you can gain by borrowing to invest. There are risks too though, so it is very important to get independent financial advice if you are thinking about leverage.

The first risk with borrowing to invest is the same with all loans. Loans come with obligations. You need to be able to fund the repayments, both the principle and the interest. So you need to do your sums properly and work out whether your income can cover these repayments. If you mess this up and over-extend yourself, typically your lender will come and seize your goods and assets and sell them to get their money back. This is never a good position to be in.

A margin loan is treated a little bit differently. If you borrow too much or the value of your investments drops suddenly, you will be at risk of paying margin calls. This means your lender will ask you to pay off a portion of the loan, so that the outstanding loan is in a reasonable level when compared to the reduced level of collateral. This can be quite a large issue if your investments drop by a long way. If you cannot meet the margin call obligations, your lender has the right to sell your investments.

Finally there is the investment risk. When you borrow to invest, you do so with the intention that the income earned from the money you invest, exceeds the interest the borrowing accrues. If the interest is higher than the investment earnings, you are losing money.

All risks with investing can be mitigated with strategy. That is why it is so important to speak to a licensed financial adviser before you invest and especially before you borrow to invest. So if you are considering leverage, speak to an adviser about risk mitigation. Leveraging your investments can definitely be financially rewarding, but only when you properly understand and manage your risk and when it is backed up by a consistently high performing investment strategy. - 23211

About the Author:

Gnifrus Urquart has enjoyed impressive success investing for many years. As such, he enjoys discussing investment strategies and offering trading tips to others interested in investing

What is the Average Cost of Texas Home Insurance?

By Stacy Fox

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says the average cost of Texas Home insurance in 2009 is $1409, a 28 percent increase over 2008. That's 58 percent higher than in Florida, which is the next most expensive state. The national average for home insurance is just $804.

The reason the average cost of Texas home insurance is so high is because of the number of claims due to hail, tornado and wind damage. There also is the issue of mold. In 2003, the state legislature passed a law requiring companies to pay out for mold treatment. This increased the overall cost of homeowners insurance as well. While both mold and weather damage are low-ticket items, there are a lot of them so it adds up.

Is it fair that Texas residents have to pay so much for claims that are low compared to hurricanes and earthquakes. Well, you have to realize that in Florida, for instance, homeowners are required to purchase a separate hurricane rider which is in addition to their normal homeowners insurance. This makes the cost of their homeowners insurance look like it is lower but for comprehensive coverage, they need additional insurance.

Another issue is catastrophe funds. Texas requires it while other large states like Florida and California do not.

This, however, comes as no relief to Texans who constantly see their insurance rates rise by double digits each year.

The state legislature is not blind to what is going on. They are looking at ways to lower insurance rates. For instance, one proposal requires that the largest insurers get permission from the state to increase their rates. They do, however, have to be careful. If they push the insurance companies too far, they might respond by not offering any coverage in the state. That would be worse than having high insurance rates.

However, the legislature cannot stop the weather related property damage so even if there is relief in future rate hikes, Texans are likely to continue to have among the highest rates in the country. - 23211

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The average cost of Texas Home Insurance is just one of the topics covered at http://homeinsuranceprovider.net. Go there right now to find other valuable insurance resources.

Car Insurance Policy Free Online Quotes Guide

By Stacy Fox

When you look at car insurance policy free online quotes, the bottom line is price. These price comparison sites offer you a glimpse of how much various policies are going to cost.

In almost every state, drivers are required to carry, at a minimum, liability insurance. Liability insurance protects the other driver in case of an accident. There is medical coverage in case someone gets hurt and property coverage in case their vehicle is damaged.

Liability coverage only protects the other car; it does nothing for you. If you are worried about getting your own car repaired after an accident then you need comprehensive coverage. If you decide against comprehensive coverage, know that you have no protection for your own vehicle if you get in an accident.

There are many websites that calculate the cheapest price car insurance. Car insurance policy - free online quotes come from the data you input into the site. Some of the data include your age and zip code. Generally, you will supply four to five pieces of data to get your quote.

Progressive Insurance was the first company to use this tactic. They showed their rates compared to other companies. Usually (but not always) the rate they showed for their own company was lowest.

Other companies now use this tool. They have different insurance parameters which allow their policies to be lowest in comparison to the other companies on the list.

But the insurance companies aren't the only ones that have policy calculators. Many independent sites will show you what insurance is the cheapest for you. They do this because they have affiliate relationships with each of the companies on their site and get a commission when you buy a policy.

The cheapest policy is not necessarily the best one for you. You need to read the fine print before making a selection.

Remember, an insurance policy calculator is just a tool. You can comparison shop, but keep in mind that there's more than just the rate. And that's the latest word on car insurance policy free online quotes. - 23211

About the Author:

Car Insurance Policy - Free Online Quotes is just one of the topics covered at my Auto Liability Insurance Site. You can find lots of details about protecting yourself and your car at http://AutoLiabilityInsurance.org