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Archive for July, 2011

Shopping for long term care insurance can’t be accomplished in two to five hours. This is not a typical insurance that you can just forget and replace it with other coverage. Getting long term care insurance entails time and proper planning to ensure that you’ll get good services once you reach retirement years or any time you need it most.You should be money-wise.

Assess your needs. The types of long term care services differ from one provider to another. What others need does not necessarily reflect what you also need. You have to weigh in some factors such as your age, medical condition, and financial stability before going straight to the insurer. Ignorance kills. You should always research about long term care insurance to avoid blunder and to help you organize everything you will need. Try to canvass the costs of long term care costs in your area. You can get average costs through Metlife’s survey of nursing home and assisted living facilities. Once you know the average costs of long term care in your area, you have clearer view on how you should finance the care.

Always consider policies that offer wide range of care such as nursing home care, assisted living, and home care. Most people prefer home care, but experts don’t recommend buying home care policies alone. Home care does not provide intensive care that chronically ill and disabled individuals need. Home care is limited to daily living activities such as walking, bathing, toileting, eating, and etc. It is advisable to get coverage that offer more than just daily living activities, because as you age you become frail and vulnerable to sickness that require series of treatments and supervision.

Protect yourself against the creeping costs in the future. Getting additional features or riders will significantly increase your premiums, but the protection it can give pays off. Inflation protection is one of the best LTC insurance riders that increases your premiums to cope with the inflation rate but the amount of premium is not affected. This is beneficial especially for nursing home care coverage whose rates are creeping faster than inflation rate.

Buy LTC insurance only from a reputable and established company with high financial strength rating and experience. You may check the ratings from agency like A.M. Best and Standard and Poors. Only commit to an established company with long years of experience because they have wider market reach and have enough reserves for future claims.

Know how long term care insurance works. The type of insurance policy usually depends on the person’s medical record. Many companies refuse applicants with pre-exisiting conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.

Before purchasing a plan, make sure you have read and understand everything stated in the policy. The insurer should explain what are covered under the policy, the limitations, the policy benefits, and exclusions. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recommend policies with the following features:

• One year coverage for home health care which includes intermediate and custodial care
• Additional coverage for patients with Alzheimer’s
• The policy must be renewable and cannot be cancelled
• The policy can be returned within 30 days or free-look period
• There should be no requirement that a person should be hospitalized first before qualifying for LTCi coverage.

There has never been a time in modern trading history when precious metals have made and continue to make consistent new highs for so long. This unprecedented price appreciation is one that will go down in the annals of precious metals history when all is said and done.

I have been involved with precious metals since 1977. I was trading gold and silver when the very few believed it was a legitimate investment opportunity. Then all of a sudden in 1979, bang, zoom the metals took off. Gold was soaring from a low of around $220 an ounce and ended in December 1979 at around $518 and wasn’t finished. Silver was equally as exciting going from a low of around $5 an ounce to a high of around $25 an ounce by years end. It was a thrilling time for precious metals.

The momentum carried over to about the third week of January 1980. Gold hit its all time high at around $850 an ounce and Silver had it highest closing on January 21, 1980 at $48 an ounce.

Let’s briefly examine some of the history at the time to discover what really happened and why.

In 1973, the Hunt family of Texas, possibly the richest family in America at the time, decided to buy precious metals as a hedge against inflation. Gold could not be held by private citizens at that time, so the Hunts began to buy silver in enormous quantity.

In 1979 the sons of patriarch H.L. Hunt, Nelson Bunker and William Herbert, together with some wealthy Arabs, formed a silver pool. In a short period of time they had amassed more than 200 million ounces of silver, equivalent to half the world’s deliverable supply.

When the Hunt’s had begun accumulating silver back in 1973 the price was in the $1.95 / ounce range. Early in ’79, the price was about $5. Late ’79 / early ’80 the price was in the $50′s, peaking at $54. It’s estimated that in 1979 the Hunt Brothers made approximately $2 billion on their silver holdings.

Once the silver market was cornered, outsiders joined the chase but a combination of changed trading rules on the New York Metals Market (COMEX) and the intervention of the Federal Reserve put an end to the game. The price began to slide, culminating in a 50% one-day decline on March 27, 1980 as the price plummeted from $21.62 to $10.80.

The collapse of the silver market meant countless losses for speculators. The Hunt brothers declared bankruptcy. By 1987 their liabilities had grown to nearly $2.5 billion against assets of $1.5 billion. In August of 1988 the Hunts were convicted of conspiring to manipulate the market.
The result: Silver crashed (Gold did as well).

Now lets’ discuss the present and look to the future. Many say there are similarities to the past regarding metals and there are. However, there are many more new and interesting facts to consider.

Here are the facts: the money supply is outrageously high. Federal debt is way over the top and the USD is becoming a second rate value to many on the international front. There can be little doubt that we will see the beginning of a multi-year rise in the price of silver. Here are some additional reasons:
1. Inelastic supply, 70% of the world’s silver comes as a byproduct of other metal production. As a result, silver production cannot be increased without much disruption to the other mining activities. That is overproduction of copper, lead, and zinc. It is a fact that silver supply from MINING is extremely inelastic, that is insensitive to price changes.

2. Inelastic demand. World industrial demand, for tens of thousands of small but high volume uses, is inelastic and price insensitive. For example a typical flat screen TV uses about 4/100 oz of silver. So, a very small amount is actually used in the TV yet it is vital, no silver means no TV. Because most end products use such a small amount per unit produced that the cost of silver per unit is a small percentage of the total cost. However, it is indispensable regardless of its price.

3. Shortage. The total annual world consumption of silver is greater than mine production and has been at least twenty years. Inventories held by Governments world wide are nearing the end. According to CPM total government stocks are at 180 Million ounces. Think about that, the US Government had 4 Billion ounces of silver stockpiled in my lifetime and now the total is not even enough to support the deficit.

4. Price control. Market supplies offered by the US treasury stocks in the 1960′s at government controlled prices, built up private stocks, discouraged production, and encouraged consumption. This had the effect to depress market prices after direct market sales had ceased. When the effect of price suppression (regardless of the reason) ends completely, the price will move naturally in the direction opposite the control to whatever level is required to ration the totally inadequate current supply to the most urgent demand. How long did it take to use up the 4 billion ounces of silver? How does the 180 million ounces in government hands now look?

One argument I get even from people who should know better, is that silver’s price cannot go up because so much still exists. From a historical point of view I would like to lay this argument to rest. There have been three speculative scrambles into silver in the recent past. The first in the time frame of 1967-1968, again in 1972-1974, and also as I mentioned above, 1977-1980, each of these multiplied the silver price from two to four times. In each case cited there was more silver available to the market than there is today! Yet somehow silver was able to rally with all that silver. Here we are today with more debt money than at any time in the history of the world, the lowest silver inventory on record, and I get brokers and dealers telling me, I just don’t get it.

For the record, I will state, there will be another, more frenzied, scramble that will carry silver prices to record highs that will repair all the excess paper money creation, price suppression, supply deficit, and bearish sentiment over the past three decades. This will become known as the Great Silver Sensation. It is important to prepare for what lies ahead. Silver is already soaring. New price highs are almost a daily activity. Ironically, it always seems to take investors by surprise.

All I can offer is the importance of being too early, once the move starts (which it already has) and the technicians are waiting for confirmation it may be too late. I was around for the great move in 1979-1980, it was very exciting to make more money per day than I was making in a month of normal work. I wish to go on record for recommending physical silver on a non leveraged basis first and foremost. I truly believe that most paper silver contracts will be settled in paper only. Build your silver fortress with real silver, silver is the most under priced commodity in the world. When the world’s industrial users inventories are below normal levels and for the first time they try to buy their requirements in a completely unhampered market, silver prices will continue to move upward as never before.

Finally, I took a look at how I could present to the newly initiated silver bull just how tiny the silver market is, in comparison to other markets. I took a look at Microsoft recently and calculated the market capitalization as 288 billion. (Share price times shares outstanding). If Microsoft paid a one percent dividend it would equal enough money to buy up the entire reported and unreported silver bullion in the world. Another way I thought about the true size of the silver market is the United States trade deficit. The Chinese average about one billion dollars per day being exported to them. Just think if they asked for payment in silver for just three whole days? It would wipe out the known and unknown silver supply.

So, to the answer the question of topic, ‘Why Gold and Silver Will Crash’; the answer is because they always do.

However, and this is a BIG HOWEVER. This crash will happen perhaps in 2 to 4 years from now and Silver will have peaked at around $150 an ounce and Gold around $2,500 (In my humble opinion).

Therefore, as I sated before, buy Silver bullion now while it is still cheap.

Everyone is a little cautious when it comes to their individual businesses most especially if the business they have is hazardous in nature. Businesses that have a high incidence of accidents and other highway emergencies often have heavy commercial or personal vehicles like dump trucks. As with any business, you should strive to protect your assets and employees and not take them for granted. You need to consider having your business insured to have the protection you need during times of calamities and emergencies.

Here are some tips for dump truck insurance that you need to consider before getting one.

The first of the tips for dump truck insurance is you must understand beforehand that getting insured is not a waste of money, effort and time. It is mandated by law in any state that you register for asset protection especially when the need arises. In this case, knowing that your business is hazardous in nature, you don’t need to think twice about getting insured. In fact, it should be your top priority. Consider it an investment that you really need simply because you do! Another of the tips for dump truck insurance is when it comes to money, don’t look at the price of the policy; instead, look at how much you’ll benefit from it if you get the best policy no matter what the quote is. It’s your money, anyway – you are simply investing it in the right people so that when something unexpected happens you have a financial back up to help you deal with the stress and burden you’ll have in the future.

As a businessman, you also need to consider the background of your drivers. To be able to qualify for a good policy, you need to evaluate your workers and see that none are involved in drugs and drunk driving or other incidences that are violent in nature or in a way contributed to events that resulted to something unpleasant. Drivers’ training will also play an important role in acquiring the best policy in the market. Another is experience, which will be looked at by the company before they fully put their confidence in your business.

Another of the tips for dump truck insurance which you need to consider is to make deals with established, reputable companies. Strong companies who have been in the business for centuries and are in good standing even when the economy flutters are the ones you should go for. These companies offer the best policy benefits that you and your staff can enjoy because you are confident that you will be covered no matter what. When choosing your policy you must see to it that you are aware of the coverage and limitations set upon by the company in the agreement before signing. Have an agent explain to you all the details that you must know. Take time to learn about the flexibility of the policy in relation to different accidents or emergency scenarios. It is indeed important to know the ins and outs of your policy to really appreciate it, let alone know that what you are paying for will deliver when the need arises. So don’t just settle for cheap policies that will not cover all damages acquired during accidents and emergencies. Choose a policy that will be most beneficial to your staff and business.

So what is Commercial Insurance?

Put very simply, Commercial Insurance is protection for your business. From new start businesses to those well established; an unexpected event could destroy your business if adequate cover isn’t in place.

With so many insurance products and providers, it would be easy to think Commercial Insurance was a complicated matter. It doesn’t however need to be this way. Commercial Insurance can easily be broken down into 3 keys areas:

Keep it legal Protection How to buy


Keep it legal

Certain types of cover are required by law. Employers Liability insurance, which covers claims from employees for accidents and sickness they may suffer as a result of working for your business, is one type of cover that must be purchased. You will also need to purchase at least third-party motor insurance for all motor vehicles used by the company.

Protection

Ensuring you have the right cover and protection is vital so time should be taken to ensure you find a policy (or policies) that give you exactly the level of cover you require. This again need not be a complicated task if you break down your requirements:

Insure your people – many firms are often dependent on the people they employ. Insurance is available which will protect the business in the event of employees being unable to work. Types of cover available include Keyman insurance, income protection, directors & officers insurance and private health & critical illness cover.

Insure the common risks – certain risks are common to all businesses. These include fire, theft and equipment failure. It is worth investigating (or getting someone to investigate for you) whether common risks such as buildings and contents insurance, cover for money and goods in transit and business interruption insurance can be covered under an all-risks type policy. This may save your business time as well as money.

Specialist cover – depending on your industry and requirements, policies can often be packaged together with some even being industry specific with packages tailored to cover specialist sectors like engineering or manufacturing. Other specialist cover available includes public and product liability and professional indemnity cover.

How to buy

Commercial Insurance is more often than not purchased using an Insurance Broker. The benefit of using a Broker is that they are insurance professionals who can recommend policies to you whilst searching the market to find you the best possible deal.

A good Broker will offer a personalized service and will understand your needs and that of your business. When looking for an insurance provider it is often worth checking to see if they are well established, have schemes with the leading insurance companies and whether they offer a local and personalized service.

If you follow these simple tips then the chances are you and your business wil get the right cover, protection and peace of mind.

Here are eight tips to help you save money on your business auto insurance policy without sacrificing your coverage.

Hire safe drivers: Your insurance premiums will go up considerably if you hire an employee with points against their license because they pose a greater risk of accident to your company. Instead, make sure you hire employees with clean driving records or, reserve the driving duty for those who do. Invest in training: Making safe driving classes mandatory for your employees will show you insurer that you are serious about safety and will train your driving employees to act properly when on the road. This will help reduce the risk that they pose and will help reduce your rates. Raise your deductibles: It is no secret that increased deductibles lower premiums. It is important that you review your budget annually and impose deductibles that you can afford to pay. As your revenues increase, it is possible that your deductibles can too. But make sure that you do not get too aggressive with your deductibles and that you can afford those you set. Otherwise, you could be setting yourself up for more financial damage than an expensive premium would create. Review your coverage annually: When you simply renew the same insurance policy over and over without reviewing it, you could be missing subtle changes that have occurred in your business and that should be reflected in your policy. For example, it is possible that you have too much insurance on company vehicles that have lost value over the years or, maybe you are covered for incidents that you and your drivers have little risk in encountering. It is important to review all these factors annually so you can stay on top of inefficiencies and streamline both your policy and your premium. Lower your limits: Keep track of the value of your fleet and lower your limits accordingly so that you can keep your policy affordable. Your company vehicles lose value every year and, if they are driven often, may lose value at a faster rate than a normal car. There is no point in having a high limit if your cars aren’t worth that much, unless you are looking for replacement value instead of actual value. When it comes to medical and bodily injury coverage, be sure not to lower your limits too aggressively since these costs tend to increase over the year rather than decrease. Invest in anti-theft devices: Make sure you have tracking systems, steering wheel locking devices and alarms to help reduce the risk of theft and reduce your insurance premium. Also, make sure your cars are stored in well-lit areas to further reduce the risk of vandalism or theft. Safety features: Make sure your cars have safety features such as airbags, automatic seatbelts and anti-lock brakes. All of these automated safety devices will help reduce injuries when accidents occur which reduces the possible medical expenses and reduces your insurance company’s risk. Reduce endorsements: You can add endorsements like driver-other car and non-owned vehicle, but these endorsements will increase your premium. Evaluate their cost in relation to having a separate policy for your family or not allowing employees to drive their vehicles for company business.

Remember, when it comes to controlling premium costs, it is all about reducing the risks your insurance company takes on. Whether those risks involve exposure to claims or the expense of potential claims, your reducing exposure to them will always result in lower premiums. Plus, you’ll get the added benefit of reducing your own company’s exposure to these insurable incidents which, even when covered by insurance, can put a cramp in your business operations as well as your wallet.

People who have trucks as a part of their company usually look with distaste on the insurance they have to take out. They’re being overcharged in every way possible and there might not seem to be a solution. Fortunately, the answer comes in commercial truck insurance, formulated just for them. If you need it, it’s easy to get online and start comparing quotes.

Before you can get commercial truck insurance quotes, you need to know what kind of quote you want. Before you can know this, you need to look up all the information you can find about your options. You can get all these to your fingertips in a moment, thanks to the search engines provided by Google and other companies. Not only do they help find information, they can help find quotes themselves.

Even knowing just what you want in terms of a quote, you’re going to get a lot of options. You’ll have a wide selection of reputable options, but you’re also going to have to sort through all of these to be sure you get what’s right. Of course, a good quote is going to come from a good company, so the company should be where you look first.

Truckers drive at a level most other people are unfamiliar with, and so they are typically held to a higher level of responsibility. This means that things like points on your drivers’ licenses will have an especially big effect on what you’ll have to pay. You need to be sure your drivers are safe on the road to get the best deals on the kind of insurance you need.

When you have a lot of accidents on the road, there are liability concerns to consider, especially when it comes to protecting your workers. In looking at your commercial truck insurance quotes, you will have to take this as a precaution in finding the types of policies that will work in your position. Sometimes you can even pick the coverage for your own specific situation.

You should look into things like rental services and towing options. These will cost you a little more, but the price won’t have a huge effect on your final bill. With these, you can specify your coverage to meet your exact needs. More importantly, you will have all ends covered, allowing the most protection possible for all workers covered under the plan.

You should look over your quotes in great detail, seeing everything they have to offer. This isn’t only for the sake of seeing that your policy provides everything you want, but also allows to check that it doesn’t give you anything you don’t want. A policy that includes everything isn’t worth the extra money if you don’t need all that it has.

Even with a bad reputation, you could still find commercial truck insurance coverage, but no matter what, you don’t want to be surprised by hidden fees. Take into account what your company does when you go looking for insurance, and when you do, try to find it on the internet, where there will be people to help you out no matter what time of day you’re searching online.