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Archive for April, 2011

There’s a set of common mistakes that car owners tend to make in terms of insurance, which all result in wasting the money in vain. These mistakes are rather trivial and it’s a real disappointment to see so many drivers making them over and over again. If you’re one of those drivers who feel that insurance got a little too expensive, make sure to check if you comply with the following list. If any of the following things apply you are on a sure way to wasting your money for nothing:

1. Not doing any comparison shopping

A common mistake for new car owners who don’t know much about insurance. They usually tend to take the first policy they come across and don’t even bother getting into the contents of it. Insurance is a competitive market with lots of offers from different providers that may have different quotes for the same vehicle. That’s why comparison shopping is a must, unless you want to show how you don’t care for money.

2. Not combining insurance policies

Most insurance providers that offer different types of insurance products tend to offer attractive discounts for combining more policies purchased from them. So if you happen to have a home insurance policy it might be a good choice to purchase auto insurance and health insurance from the same provider in order to get a good cut in premiums for all the products you use.

3. Keeping the deductibles at their lowest

There’s an inverse relation between the deductibles and the premiums you’re charged with. Meaning that the higher is the deductible the lower are the premiums. But of course, it may seem wrong to pay a lot of money out of own pocket when you have costly car insurance. Who needs cheap auto insurance anyway?

4. Neglecting possible discounts

There are many discounts usually offered by the insurance provider in order to stimulate customer activity. But why would you want to ask around for things like discounts? It takes some time and effort, right? And you won’t want your premiums to get lower either.

5. Paying services fees

You’re happy to pay service fees along with your premiums because the insurance provider wants you to. And there’s no problem about the insurer ripping you off with extra cash for the things they don’t have to charge. But maybe it really makes sense paying money just to be able to pay more money.

6. Buying coverage you don’t need

Of course, the more coverage you buy with your policy the better your vehicle will be protected from all kinds of risks. However, each coverage option you include into the policy adds up to the final premium and makes it more expensive. It’s always a matter of compromise between the coverage you really need and the one you can live without. Unless money don’t mean anything to you.

7. Not saving with low yearly mileage

If you’re not using your car too often there’s a special discount available. It usually applies to drivers who have less than 10,000 miles driven per year. If you’re close to this number you may consider driving a bit less in order to comply. That is, if you want to get cheap insurance.

When discussing pet insurance, many people relegate it to “important ONLY in catastrophic scenarios”, like major surgery – or even cancer – and therefore often do not consider it until their pet begins to age. However, health insurance can be beneficial to pet parents from the time you bring your new, furry family member home!

Certainly, most veterinary insurance covers the MAJOR medical expenses your pet may incur over its lifetime – from accidents and injuries, to major illnesses and hospitalization – but did you know that many pet insurance plans also cover annual wellness exams, teeth cleaning, and vaccinations and even spay and neutering expenses as well? While you may think those costs are minimal in a healthy pet, over his or her lifetime, you might be surprised at how much you will spend on prescription medications, lab tests, treatments and the occasional “after hours” emergency visit (which even the healthiest, most mindful of pets will experience at least once during their tenure with you!)

Beyond the basic coverage that you would expect from your pet insurance policy, some veterinary pet insurance plans also offer specialist care, ranging from an “Eastern approach” to the treatment of your pet (including acupuncture and holistic care) to veterinary specialties including ophthalmology, neurology and dermatology. Even chiropractic therapy, administered by a licensed veterinarian, is covered under some plans!

Of course, as our pets age (and they do age more quickly than we do), they experience the same aches and pains that we do. Arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and even kidney failure can affect the quality of life of our furry family members. To diagnose these problems, MRI’s, CAT scans, X-rays and other diagnostic tests are generally required to determine the best treatment plan. Veterinary pet insurance can significantly help offset these expenses.

Introduction

Although Secured Loans have their place in the mainstream market and in certain circumstances can be useful for high value, long term, quick turnaround loans for people with good credit ratings they are typically used by people who have struggled to extend their credit using conventional means. This article discusses the organisations that an Individual can turn to if they experience bad debt problems. It is also advisable that people with adverse credit talk to at least one of these organisations prior to taking out a secured loan.

The Citizens Advice Bureau

At the time of writing the Citizens Advice Bureau, funded by charity, has around 21,000 volunteers offering advice on the telephone, on the Internet at [http://www.adviceguide.org.uk] or at its 3,400 Surgeries spread across the UK. The Citizens Advice Bureau is no stranger to dealing with people looking at Secured Loans and last September produced a comprehensive report detailing what it saw wrong with the selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) for Secured Loans. At the same time it lobbied the FSA, OFT and one of the Treasury committees to get a better deal with consumers for insurance. As recently as May 2006 it also produced a report entitled ‘Deeper In Debt’ which discussed the problems their clients faced when coping with debt.

One of the major advantages CAB has over other Debt counselling advisers is their accessibility. You can literally just pick up the phone for a quick chat or just pop into one of their local advice centres. The CAB also has a very detailed website that contains a Frequently Asked Questions section, advise on how to cope with Debt, where to get the best deals on credit, how to give yourself a financial health check and where to go for further advice. The CAB is also renowned for its fact sheets and with regards to Secured Loans produces them for advice about County Court Judgements, Mortgage arrears, negotiating with creditors and provides a jargon buster. It also has a series of sample letters that can be used to help getting debts suspended or used to negotiate a re-payment plan.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service

Whereas the CAB deals in general advice the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) specifically deals with coping with bad debt – so is ideally placed to offer advice on Secured Loans. Although it is physically less accessible than the CAB, as it only has eight operational centres, it does provide a free phone number – 0800 138 1111 – where you can get specific and immediate advice. For those who don’t like talking to someone in person they can also be contacted via email the address of which can be found at [http://www.cccs.co.uk/contact/contact.htm]

Perhaps it is the sign of the times that the CCCS founded at one centre in Leeds in 1993 grew to four centres in 1996 and now have eight dedicated centres and two satellite sites, one in Northern Ireland and one a partnership with Direct Debt Line in East Sussex.

The CCCS is a registered charity and is fully funded by the Credit Industry. As is the case with the Citizens Advice Bureau it has a website that provides full details on how to cope with mounting debt problems. Unlike the CAB it is specifically targeted at people with financial difficulties.

The National Debt Line

The National Debt Line was set up in 1987 to provide purely telephone self-help guidance for people with credit and debt problems. All their advice is free, confidential and entirely independent and they can be contacted on 0808 808 4000. The National Debt Line is funded by the charity Money Advice Trust that is in turn funded primarily by the large players in the credit and finance sector. Most of these are also some of the larger players in the Secured Loans market like Barclays, GE Capital Bank, Lloyds and Paragon.

National Debt Line will also provide on request a selection of Self-Help packs and fact sheets most of which are relevant to someone looking for a Secured Loan. As the service is telephone based their website is limited to information about the Agency only.

Conclusion

If anyone is struggling against debt and needs credit advice prior to taking out a secured loan it is advisable to contact one of these organisations. The Citizens Advice Bureau because of its easy accessibility may be the best place to start, but for specific advice on taking out loans and whether there is another way of doing things it may be advisable to go to one of the specialist agencies like The National Debt Line or The Consumer Credit Counselling Service. Surprisingly both organisations are not that well known but both offer comprehensive advice on bad debt and, quite poetically, they are both funded either indirectly or directly by the organisations providing secured loans.

By Adrian Hudson [http://www.we-introduce-you.co.uk/]

Trading gold and silver can make you a fortune. The best way to trade gold, silver or other precious metals is to trade futures contract. Now, trading futures can be risky. Futures contracts move fast and show a lot of volatility. Traders profit from this volatility. But, if you are not comfortable with risk then you can keep on trading gold and silver ETFs like the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) or the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and other precious metals ETFs. But the point is this that anyone can learn futures trading and profitably trade gold and silver futures contracts.

Let’s illustrate this precious metals trading strategy with an example. A gold futures contract consists of 100 ounces. Now, the margin requirements can vary from one broker to another but it is generally around $5,000. This means you can control 100 ounces of gold with $5,000. Each point the gold futures contract moves up or down, you make $10 or lose $10. Suppose, you bought the gold futures contract and it moved up by 50 points. You make $500 less the commission and other fees).

Let’s get back to our gold trading strategy. Suppose, you buy one gold futures contract that means 100 ounces of gold. It closes up by 30 points in the next few days. You are happy. By the end of the week, it gains another 20 points. You sell your gold futures contract. So, with this one gold futures contract you have made 50 points. That means $500. This is your first trade in a series of four trades.

Now, you make your second trade by buying two gold contracts as the gold market is in an uptrend and you are confident that it will continue to do so for the short term. You wait for a few days and the contract is up by 50 points by the end of the week. You sell your two contracts and take profit of $1,000. You have just completed the second trade in your series of four trades.

Next week you buy three contracts. Rumors are flying about gold prices rising again. You want to profit from it. This time, the contract goes up by 100 points. You sell your three contracts and realize your profit of $3,000. This is the third trade in a series of four trades.

Suddenly gold prices drop like that did a few days back. You are shocked. But don’t worry; this is the way markets work. You wait for a few days and the prices again start climbing. You buy four gold futures contracts this time. You wait a few days before the contracts each move 50 points. You sell all the four contracts making a nice $2,000. This was the fourth trade in a series of four trades.

Your net profit is $500+$1,000+$3,000+$2,000=$6,500! Not bad! Now, you will start all over again with a new series of four trades repeating what you did above.

You can make these four trades again and again starting from scratch after each four trades. After each four trades, you remove the profit and start again small. This way, you reduce your risk of losing all your profits if the market suddenly moves against you. This is how professional gold traders trade and this is how you should trade. You must have observed that their is nothing much in this gold trading strategy. That’s what it is and that’s how you should keep it!

Thinking of buying a Hummer or SUV? Think having a large car will help keep your rates down?
Think again.
Larger vehicles are actually likely to cost you more to cover.

Why Big Cars can Cost More

Conventional wisdom suggests that larger vehicles will fair better in an accident, therefore there will be less damage to repair. This is partially true – your car will probably suffer less damage, but many car accidents involve more than just your car.
If you have a large car and you are involved in an accident with another car, your large truck may do more than average damage to the other car, ultimately increasing costs and, as a result, your premiums.

The Most Expensive Big Vehicles to Insure

According to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the five cars linked to the most expensive damage to other cars are the Dodge Ram 2500, the Toyota Highlander, and (in the top 3 positions) Hummer strong and H3 variants. These are particularly large and burly vehicles, and they tend to cripple the vehicles they encounter on the road.

Other Reasons for a High Premium

It’s widely understood that small, fast sports cars cost more to insure, for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is that drivers of those vehicles tend to be more reckless and have a poorer driving record. The same is true of Hummers, which are known for being frequently pulled over for traffic violations. This translates into higher premiums.

The Exception to the Rule

Although some large vehicles can be especially pricey to insure, it’s certainly not always the case. Minivans are relatively large vehicles, but they actually are among the least expensive vehicles to insure. Sounds contradictory, right? Well, there are two important differences between these vehicles.

Unlike the vehicles mentioned above, the minivan is not likely to inflict as much damage to vehicles it hits. Although minivans are larger, they lack the bulk and momentum from utility-style trucks designed to haul heavy cargo or – in the case of the original Hummer – military weapons like anti-aircraft guns and missiles!

Minivan drivers also tend to be females (who have better driving records as a whole) and drive during the day rather than late at night or early in the morning, which peak hours for traffic accidents.

How to Act on This Information

In short, if you’re looking to keep your car insurance rates low, avoid purchasing one of the vehicles mentioned above, and opt for a vehicle which, on average, tends to produce lower car insurance rates for its drivers. And, of course, drive cautiously and keep your driving record as clean as possible!

If you are absolutely intent on purchasing one of these vehicles, compare car insurance quotes aggressively online. Seeking quotes online will allow you to instantly compare rates between various providers so you can get the best deal possible.

Doing so will save you hours of phone calls and waiting on hold, or waiting in offices, and sorting through agents attempting to sell you policy add-ons you don’t really need.

If you have ever spent some time on shopping for different types of insurance you have certainly noticed that the rates may fluctuate a lot depending on what data you provide while quoting. It doesn’t look much like ordinary shopping with the same prices for everyone. When you get a quote even the slightest details you think are not important may contribute to the final amount you will have to pay for insuring something. And this is especially noticeable when it comes to insuring your car.

There are a lot of factors that are taken into account by the insurance company when setting a particular rate for a particular customer. Some people think that the questions they are asked when quoting for auto insurance are used for statistics. However, each and every piece of data you enter to the form has a certain influence over the finally rate you will be charged with. So let’s take a look at these factors in order to understand what exactly shapes the premiums we have to meet in order to have our cars insured.

All insurance companies use the same of factors when calculating their rates, since each of these factors is confirmed to be able to reflect the degree of risk associated with insuring a particular driver. These factors include car make, model, engine volume, top speed, repair costs, theft rates, security options, driver’s record, credit rating, marital status, education, place of residence and history of previous claims. Some of these factors are more important than the others, yet every company uses a different weight for each of them when calculating their rates. Moreover, the methods of calculation may vary from company to company and this results in different rates even if you’re providing identical sets of data when quoting with different providers.

Let’s take a closer look at these factors in order to understand why they influence car insurance quotes. Things like engine volume, top speed, make and model significantly influence the driving style a vehicle is operated with. If the car is too powerful or fast it will provoke more risky behavior and will result in more frequent insurance claims. That’s why muscle and sports cars usually have the highest car insurance quotes. Theft rates, repair costs and security options determine how likely it is that a particular car will cause a quote and how much it will cost to settle it. For example, luxury cars usually have higher theft rates and repair costs that’s why their owners typically face high car insurance quotes.

Driver-related factors are also very important. Things like driving experience and credit rating can indicate how likely the person is to file an insurance claim. Education and marital status are also taken into account because it was observed that married drivers with higher education tend to file claims far less often than their single and uneducated peers.

As you see, each factor is taken into account by the insurer because they want to measure their risks and give an adequate price for covering your vehicle. That’s why you’re asked to provide all this information when getting car insurance quotes.