Archive for the ‘advice and how-tos’ Category

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Friday Filmstrips: A look at Pet Insurance

May 6th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, friday filmstrips, pet insurance

As much as many of us consider them so, our pets are not actually our children, and as such their medical expenses are not deductible. Unfortunately, some animals have expensive medical needs, even so. Certain large breed dogs are prone to hip issues, for example, while some small breeds are more likely to get seizures.

Even for pets without hereditary diseases, the owner’s first question when seeking treatment for an accident or injury is not, “What can you do for my animal?” but “how much will this cost?”

One answer is to get pet insurance, and this video takes a look at four different pet insurance plans:

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Monday Filmstrip: Who Chooses Your Home Repair Contractor?

May 2nd, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, friday filmstrips, homeowners insurance

Look, we’re pretty certain that everyone’s watching news about the death of Osama Bin Laden, and not reading blogs today. For that reason, we’re offering an extra video this week. The subject: Who chooses the company that fixes your home after you’ve had flood or fire damage?

This is an important question, as many homeowner insurance companies may try to make you work with their vendors. Remember: your homeowners insurance covers your home, but you select the contractors who do repeairs.

Friday Filmstrip (on Monday): Insurance and Funding College

April 25th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, friday filmstrips

State Farm Insurance used to have a web series called the MommyCast. While it’s a bit cutesy, the information in the videos is good. Today, we’re sharing an extra video, all about using insurance to fund college.

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Friday Filmstrips: Renter’s Insurance

April 22nd, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, friday filmstrips, renters insurance

We often talk about renter’s insurance on this blog, but it pays to be reminded why you need it. This video, from ApartmentHomeLiving.com via YouTube, explains it all:

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Tornado After-care?

April 19th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, homeowners insurance, tornado insurance

If you live in the mid- or southwest, you’ve probably heard tornado sirens once too often. In fact, as I’m writing this, we’re under a tornado warning here in Texas. We’re not likely to see any damage in my neighborhood, but all across the country people have died in tornadoes in the last week. It’s pretty awful.

As with hurricanes, most of the damage from tornadoes is covered by your existing homeowners, condo, or rental insurance policies, and fall into the “windstorm” peril listed within. Hail is also specified in some policies, generally in regions where hailstorms are common. In addition wind and hail damage to your car is covered if you have a “comprehensive” policy.

So what should you do if you’re affected by such a storm? The Property Casualty Insurers of America (PCI) has this advice:

  • Call your insurance agent or insurance company immediately.
  • As soon as it’s safe to do so, inspect your home and cars for any damage.
  • Make a list of any missing or damaged items, and take pictures of damaged structures, vehicles or possessions. If you still have the original receipts for those items, find them.
  • Take steps to prevent further damage to your property, or to ward off possible thieves.
  • When dealing with repair contractors, run background checks. If necessary, you can ask your insurer for a recommendation.
  • Keep detailed records of anything you spend – from repair costs to emergency housing – until your home and/or auto are restored to normal conditions.

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Buzz: What Today’s Woman Needs to Know and Do

March 30th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, insurance news, insurance specialists, women and insurance

Even though all Americans are living longer, women still tend to outlive their husbands, or not marry at all, which means they need to be active in their retirement planning before finances in their golden years become an issue.

To help with that, the MetLife Mature Market Institute has partnered with WISER (Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement) to offer a comprehensive free publication called What Today’s Woman Needs to Know and Do: the New Retirement Journey. It’s available for download from the Mature Market Institute.

The publication speaks to the different challenges that women face as they mature and offers assistance with financial planning issues, with such tools as a Retirement Savings and Planning Checklist for every decade of a woman’s life, with guidelines for women from age 20 through their 70s. There’s also a glossary to define common financial terms, as well as other resources.

According to data from a MetLife Mature Market Institute study, financial planning is a major issue for the modern woman, especially since women still earn less than men, with 62% of career women expressing concern that they may never have enough money to retire.

Explains Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., the director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute, “While women today have more economic opportunity than ever before, they also have a great deal more financial responsibility. Compared to previous generations of women who likely had a pension [theirs or their husband’s) and a deed to their mortgage-free home, many of today’s women are less prepared. They may now have a 401(k), 403(b) and/or IRA savings, a Social Security benefit and Medicare benefits, but they may not have pensions and private health care coverage. Many are likely to have a mortgage or other debt. New approaches are, therefore, required.”

No matter how old you are, this publication is worth checking out.

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Do You Have an Emergency Fund?

January 13th, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in advice and how-tos, insurance specialists

No matter where you live or what you do, having an emergency fund is a smart idea. This way, if some sort of catastrophe hits your area, or there’s a family emergency that requires you to spend an extended period away from work, you won’t be forced to dip into your retirement fund or go into debt to rebuild your life, or fund your time off the job.

Most experts recommend that your emergency fund be equal to six months of your salary, so if you typically take home $2500/month, work toward an emergency fund of $15,000, even if you have to do it $25 or $50 at a time.

You should also keep your emergency fund in a lower-risk account, something that’s really stable and allows you easily access your money without penalties. A regular savings account held in an FDIC-insured bank is an excellent first step, and once it grows large enough, you can move part of it into a money market account or a certificate of deposit (CD) to earn better interest.

Since building an emergency fund takes time and patience, realistic goals are the key. Nationwide Insurance offers some fantastic tips for getting you started:

* Decide on an amount you can live with, perhaps 5% of your paycheck
* Save through automatic payroll deduction, so you won’t have a chance to spend the money
* Think of it as you think of a bill − something you have to pay
* Skip one big expense this year and use that money to launch your emergency fund
* Put your tax refund or company bonus into the emergency fund

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