Before you call or ask for a quote, have your auto policy in hand. Inform the agent of your deductible amounts and limits of liability, medical payments, uninsured motorist, towing and labor and rental if needed. This way you are comparing exact coverages in comparing premiums.

Multi line Discounts

All insurance companies give discounts for multi line policies. Meaning that if you have your auto, homeowners, life, health or business insurance with the same company, these discounts will be applied to all policies. If you are satisfied with a certain company, it could be to your advantage to have them quote all your insurance needs. Many times you can save hundreds of dollars with multi line discounts.

Auto Deductibles

The comprehensive and collision deductible amount for your auto policy will greatly impact your premiums. Simply, the lesser the deductible, the higher the premium. The greater the deductible, the lower the premium. Comprehensive and collision deductibles can range from zero to one thousand dollars. Having the highest deductible can save you hundreds of dollars yearly on auto insurance.

Homeowners Deductibles

Deductible means that the insured pays the first part of every loss up to the amount of the deductible. This reduces the cost of insurance by reducing the number of small claims. It is wise to carry a large deductible on your Homeowners policy in order to lower the cost of insurance.

Note: Did you know that an insurance company can and will cancel your homeowners policy for filing too many claims within a certain period of time. Many people tend to view their homeowners policy as a home maintenance policy. Filing too many claims (reguardless of the size in dollar amount) will result in a policy cancelation. When this happens, you will pay double to triple the amount for another homeowner policy. Most insurance companies will cancel a policy if the policyholder files three or more claims within a calendar year.


Homeowners Scheduled Personal Property:

The homeowners policy is designed for use by the "average" homeowner. Many homeowners have needs that exceed the coverage limits of the homeowners policy.

Any item that is valued for more than the policy limit, needs to be listed in a scheduled personal property endorsement. This includes jewelry, furs, cameras and equipment, musical instruments, silverware, golf equipment, fine arts, postage stamps and coins.

Many insurance companies now offer an option for Identity Theft protection, that can be added to your homeowners policy. It is a good idea to check the availability of the identity theft option with your agent.

Do You Need A Personal Umbrella Policy?

A Personal Umbrella insurance policy can provide more extensive Liability coverage than a personal lines policy. A Personal Umbrella policy is simply a Liability extension to one's homeowners or auto policy. Some insureds need more extensive Liability coverage to protect assets. A Personal Umbrella pays when ones homeowners or auto liability has been exhausted. For instance, if you carry $100,000 liability on your homeowners or auto insurance and are found liable by the court for $300,000. A Personal Umbrella policy pays the difference between your homeowners or auto liability limit.

Whole Life vs Term Life

Insurance companies are investors, they invest your premiums into funds that yield much more profit than the cash value of your whole life or universal life policy. Take your money and do the same. Invest into a mutual fund.

You can buy term insurance for pennies on the dollar compared to universal life or whole life. Take the difference you would have to pay between a whole life policy versus a twenty year term life policy and invest the savings in a mutual fund.

Being properly insured can save you thousands of dollars and circumvent unforseen financial disaster. Carefully evaluate your insurance needs to insure that you are adequately protecting your assets. Please visitBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Hi everybody! Charles this is a fabulous article! I make a living selling insurance and I know full well that many of the insurance leads I deal with don't even know this stuff! By reading articles like this one and the many others that are around, people are going to have much more of an idea as to what insurance policies will best suit their situation. When the education provided by articles such as this one, work hand in hand with the insurance marketing, I think we'll see some really fantastic results. What matters to me is that people get the coverage they need.

Good info Charlie, but this comment is sort of misleading to a degree.

You can buy term insurance for pennies on the dollar compared to universal life or whole life. Take the difference you would have to pay between a whole life policy versus a twenty year term life policy and invest the savings in a mutual fund.

If a person does this, there are several issues that you are not addressing.

1. They will still have burial costs and possible probate charges. Those are PERMANENT needs, which term insurance only protects them against, during that term period. Which brings me to issue #2.

2. There is no guarantee they can get insurance after the initial term policy has expired, unless the term policy has a convertible option within it. That allows them to convert any portion of the term insurance, to whole (permanent) insurance, prior to the expiration of the term.

3. They will pay a higher premium due to being older when/if they take out more insurance as they get older, whether it is term (which they can not obtain usually at age 65), or whole life.

4. Unless you begin investing the money when you take the term out, the philosophy will not work. A term policy with a return of premium, forces the savings, and gives them their money back, to use as a lump sum, to purchase a single premium policy, should they still be able to obtain insurance.

Any financial plan should include insurance, for permanent needs, such as death, probate, and possible estate taxes, and some term, which should only be used to cover needs that will/can be paid off over time, such as a mortgage, college expenses for kids, debts, etc.

The money that one makes from mutual funds, while it can be greater, is not exempt from probate should they die. That means potentially 6-8% of that money is going to be used to pay the probate charges. This means EVEN IF YOU HAVE A WILL, your net worth STILL GOES THRU PROBATE. Only insurance and annuities bypass probate, and go directly to the heirs. That means their heirs/survivors receive more money and less time getting it.

If a person has life insurance, the insurance company pays for the funeral, debts, college, anything that the insured had planned to provide for in the event of their death. If they decide they don't need insurance, then the insurance company's obligation becomes the individuals obligations. Funeral, debts, college, etc. expenses left for their survivors.

Yes I'm an insurance agent, but when life insurance is explained and provided properly, it THE MOST IMPORTANT INSURANCE ONE WILL EVER BUY.

Why I say that is homes, cars, belongings can be replaced if lost. When we die, our income is lost forever to our families, which can cause them to lose the house, cars, belongings, etc., yet most people will have insurance on the others and not themselves.

The industry needs to do better at educating the public on proper choices, so they are not taken advantage of by agents who are just looking for a large commission check.

All [color:#6633FF]insurance companies give discounts for multi line policies. Meaning that if you have your auto, homeowners, life, health or business insurance with the same company, these discounts will be applied to all policies. If you are satisfied with a certain company, it could be to your advantage to have them quote all your insurance needs. Many times you can save hundreds of dollars with multi line discounts[/color]

Multi-rate quotes are not ALWAYS the cheapest quotes, if you are shopping based on price alone.

What you should really concern yourself with is

1. How are they rated? - Are they financially secure to pay off if I need them?

2. Are they really knowledgeable about the type of insurance? - Most agents who sell automobile and home owners, are not as up-to-date as someone who just does life. It isn't because they don't try, but a person should find their niche, and focus on becoming an expert in that field, instead of trying to diversify, and not really covering all bases adequately.

The best solution is to shop 'by category', instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket. Diversification is good for more than just investments.