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Shopping for Life Insurance QuotesFinding Great Life Insurance Quotes Can Help You Save Thousands!
By Bobbie Sage, About.com Guide
So, you have decided to shop around for life insurance quotes. Want to save a few thousand dollars on your next life insurance policy? Well, think about how long you pay for life insurance and how much of a life insurance quote difference of $5 per month would make over a 30 year term life insurance policy. Now take that figure ($1800) and think about how much more that would be if you would have had it to invest. It really adds up!
Many people don’t realize how much a small increase in life insurance premium can add up over the course of a life insurance policy. What often happens when one is shopping around for life insurance quotes is that they don’t bother to worry about just a $5 a month difference, but as you can see from above, it pays to pick the lowest of your life insurance policy quotes.
Now that you know to pay attention to every dollar when shopping for your life insurance quotes, lets look at a few ways to shop around for the best life insurance quotes so you can start saving thousands on your next life insurance policy!
1. Determine Your Needs: First you will want to get a good idea of just how much insurance you need. If you have not taken the time to research your needs then you will not be able to make an informed decision when the insurance agent or company that you are acquiring your insurance quotes from accesses your life insurance needs.
1. Pick Your Life Insurance: Term orWhole Life? These are the two basic types of insurance and vary in how they work. Research these choices so again, you can make an informed decision when acquiring your life insurance quotes.
2. Shop Online and Locally for the Best Life Insurance Quotes: Don’t assume online is always the best deal. It can be convenient but also having the convenience of a local agent can be helpful. When determining where to get your life insurance quotes take the time to contact many companies. Of course the bottom line price should not be the determining factor in your choice, but using the cost of the life insurance quotes is a good place to start comparing. Be prepared for medical questions and a medical exam and don’t worry… just because one company may deny you that does not mean another company will. Also, make sure know the financial strength of your chosen companies to compare.
3. Check for Extra Discounts: Once you have found a handful of companies that have similar low life insurance quotes, now it is time to dig deeper and compare their particular life insurance products. One good comparison area is to evaluate the various additional savings features offered by each company. These include discounts for automatic drafts, organization memberships, and multiple insurance packages from same company (life and disability).
4. Understand the Life Insurance Policy: And of course, when shopping for your life insurance quote and comparing companies, you will want to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. For example, some life insurance companies may give you a 3 month quote price and some may give you a 6 month quote price. Other areas to look for in comparing life insurance policies equally are: fixed premiums (premium stays the same throughout the policy), return of premium (your premium will be returned at the end of the policy if unused), guaranteed renewable policies (you will be able to renew the policy after it has expired), and the exclusions (benefits that are not included). Also, be aware of the “free look” time. This is the time in which you can change your mind after acquiring the policy, usually somewhere within 10 days.
You Purchased an Affordable Life Insurance Policy, Now What? Maintain my life insurance policy? Yes! It is great that you found an affordable life insurance policy but purchasing your affordable life insurance policy is just the first step in being a responsible life insurance policy holder. If you want to get the most out of your life insurance policy and you want it to protect your loved ones like it should, there are steps you need to do in order to make sure your life insurance policy stays current and safe.
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Tips for filing an insurance claim
1. Evaluate whether or not you should file an insurance claim: Did you know that just when you call your insurance company with a question about possibly filing a claim it is often recorded on your insurance record? It is important to keep your insurance record clean and one way is deciding whether or not you should file a claim. It doesn’t matter if the accident is your fault or not, you should ask yourself first if you can pay for the damage. Simply put, if you can pay for it yourself without financial hardship, don’t file the claim.
2. Fill out your What to do After an Auto Accident Worksheet: This worksheet, which when you click on the title is provided for print-out, will help you keep track of the information you will need to file your auto insurance claim. It is important to get every detail of the accident documented and to try to find witnesses that would be willing to talk to your insurance company to back-up your story.
3. File the claim ASAP: You will want to file the claim as soon as possible with your insurance company. Even if it is not your fault, your insurance company will handle the claim process as your advocate.
4. Prepare for a possible call from the other insurance company: If there is a dispute between the two parties in the accident, you may get a call from the other driver’s insurance company asking for your version of what happened at the accident scene. If this happens make sure you document everything you say and the name of the customer service agent you talked too.
5. Finally, getting your car fixed: If you had body damage to your vehicle this is when you will finally get it fixed. After your claim is approved, you will likely get a call from your insurance company about sending an insurance adjuster out to assess the damage or asking you to send your car to a pre-approved shop to get it fixed.
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How to Get a Multi Policy Discount
Save with Multiple Insurance Policies
Insurance companies want your business, all of your business. Multiple lines of business spread the risk out for the insurance carrier, meaning hopefully if you have a claim on one policy you will not on the other. This is why the multi policy discount was created, to entice you into placing multiple policies with the same carrier. The multi policy discount is one of the biggest and best discountsgiven by insurance companies. Make sure you are getting the best insurance price possible by learning how to get a multi policy discount.
Multiple Policies with the Same Carrier
The simplest way to get the multi policy discount is by moving all your policies to the same insurance carrier. Look for an insurance company that offers coverage for all of your policies. If your current car insurance provider does not offer home insurance and you are shopping for a home, look into switching your car insurance to a carrier that offers both auto and home to get the multi policy discount.
Types of Policies Eligible for the Multi Policy Discount
Auto Insurance typically only sees a multi policy discount when combined with a home policy. It can be a renter’s policy or a home policy, but a traditional home policy usually has the biggest affect on your car insurance rate. Check with your insurance provider to see if the multi policy discount is available if you have amotorcycle, boat, or RV.
Home Insurance should always be paired with your car insurance. The discount can range from 15 to 25 percent depending on your insurance carrier. Generally, the only way a home is eligible for the multi policy discount is if the auto is insured through the same provider. The multi policy discount will be applied to both the auto and home policies.
Boat Insurance can also receive a multi policy discount if combined under the same insurance provider as your auto and home.
RV Insurance can usually benefit from the multi policy discount too if combined under the same insurance provider as your auto and home.
Tips to Help Get the Multi Policy Discount
If you are switching agencies for any given reason but want to continue with the same carrier you are still eligible for the multi policy discount. For example, if you are moving to a different state and need to switch your home insurance immediately but want to wait to switch your auto, you would still qualify for the multi policy discount by going with the same insurance carrier. Be sure to inform your new insurance agent you have another policy with the same carrier.
Multiple policies in the same household are also eligible for the multi policy discount. For instance, a teen driver in the household with a separate auto policy is often eligible for the parent’s home multi policy discount if insured through the same insurance carrier. Verify this discount with your insurance provider.
Get the multi policy discount before you switch all your policies over to a new carrier. As long as you commit to switching all your policies over in a given time period, you can get the multi policy discount on a policy in advance. For example, if you switch your auto insurance to a new carrier but want to wait to switch your home policy until it renews, let your new carrier know about the future switch. Most of the time, you can get the multi policy applied to your auto insurance before you switch your home, saving you some cash.
Bundling all insurance policies with one insurance carrier is usually the fastest way to save on household insurance expenses. Streamlining your policies through one insurance carrier will not only save you money but also time figuring your bills and filing a claim. It is possible to find savings a la carte, but it is extremely difficult to beat the multi policy discount.
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