Car Insurance Slogans

Here are a few of the famous slogans and tag lines from popular insurance companies. These are new and old slogans and if you have any more to add post them in the comments. 

Geico Car Insurance: 
"15 minutes can save you 15% or more on car insurance
"Saving is so easy even a Caveman can do it".
".... there's an easier way to save money"
"Saving people money for over 75 years".

Nationwide Car Insurance: 
"Nationwide is on your side".
"Life comes at you fast"


State Farm Car Insurance: 
"State Farm is all you need to know about insurance."
"Like a good neighbor State Farm is there".
"We live where you live."
"Get to a better state"


Progressive Car Insurance: 
" Name your own price"
"Think easier think Progressive"
"You could save hundreds on car insurance"


Allstate:
"You're in good hands"
"The Right Hands Make All the Difference."
“Are You In Good Hands?” 

Structured Settlement Discussions

Structured settlements are used for a variety of reasons. The most common is to provide financial compensation over an extended time period. This could include monetary awards that stem from lawsuits or to payout lottery jackpot winnings. 
Structured settlements are commonly used to compensate victims of serious automobile accidents or injuries sustained in the workplace or caused by the negligence of another such as medical malpractice. 

When monetary awards are provided through structured settlements, recipients of the funds are referred to as the Annuitant. Payments are insured through an annuity held by a life insurance company and can be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. 

Insurer invest annuities to increase Annuitants' financial portfolios. Annuity payments provided to compensate injury awards are tax free. Annuities provided as lottery winnings may be subjected to state and federal taxation. 

Considerable flexibility exists when establishing structured settlements. Payments can be arranged to meet the Annuitant's financial needs. If Annuitants require special medical procedures, structured settlements can be arranged to pay additional funds to cover expenses. 

Or, if Annuitants will retire within five years, but receives annuity payments for life, structured settlements can be planted to provide supplementary funds at retirement. Once structured settlements are in suit terms can not be changed without court authorization. 

The duration of structured settlements is determined through the courts or representing lawyers. Medical injury compensation is often settled out of court. Lottery winnings compensation is regularized by state lottery boards. 

Structured settlement annuities might be paid for a predetermined period of time or for life. However, "life" may actually refer to a specific number of years based on life expectancy of Annuitants. 

When Annuitants are compensated for a specific time period, payments are referred to as 'period certain annuities.' If Annuitants die before structured settlements are paid in full, remaining payments can be assigned to a beneficiary. 

Annuities paid for life are referred to as life annuity structured settlements. Also known as 'period certain', life annuity settlements allow Annuitants to designate a beneficiary who receives remaining payments in the event of death. 

A less common structured settlement is known as 'lump sum' annuities. This type of structured settlement provides a lump sum payment in the future and is well-suited for settlements involving minor children. The settlement can be structured as a 'lump sum' which allows transfer of annuity payments to a beneficiary, or as 'life contingent lump sum' which does not allow assignment of beneficiaries. 

Two additional structured settlements include 'life annuities' which pay annuities for life, and 'temporary life annuities' which pay consistently for a specific number of years. With life annuities, Annuitants can elect 'life only' which offers no provision for assignment of beneficiaries, or 'joint survivor' which pays one beneficiary for the remainder of their life. Temporary life annuities end when Annuitants die and do not allow assignment of beneficiaries. 

As you can see, there are many ways to use structured settlements. If you are entitled to monetary compensation due to injury or for lottery winnings, consult with a lawyer to determine which method provides maximum funds and minimal tax consequences.

What is Business Property Insurance?

Below are just a few of the important ways business property coverage can help you in the event of a loss. (Some coverages may not be available on all policies or in all states)

• Business Income. Reimburses you for your actual loss of earnings for up to 12 months resulting from a covered loss to your property. Also covers extraordinary expenses you incur in order to continue operations after a covered claim.
• Computers & Media. Provides coverage for your computers, peripheral devices and media. Coverage is also provided for the costs to research, replace or repair lost or damaged data and software as a result of covered damage to computer equipment, certain power failures, or a computer virus. Business Income Coverage, if purchased, also applies to computer equipment, data and software.
• Business Personal Property Insurance (Contents) provides coverage for furniture, fixtures, merchandise, materials and all other personal property owned by you and used in your business. Coverage is at replacement cost.
• Property of Others. Protects you against loss or damage to the property of others that is in your possession at a job site or on your premises. This coverage would respond to claims for accidental damage to customer equipment in your care, custody or control. If you are involved in computer installation, system integration or network maintenance, this coverage can be essential.
• Laptop. Up to $10,000 for laptop computers, PDAs and similar portable computer equipment anywhere in the world, including while in transit. (Not covered if checked as baggage)
• Equipment Breakdown. Covers the cost to repair or replace equipment, such as computers, air conditioners, phone systems and steam boilers, following a loss or damage caused by mechanical breakdown or artificially generated electrical current.
• Lock and Key Replacement. Pays for rekeying of locks, up to a specified limit, at your business premises following the theft of your keys by a burglar.
• Money and Securities. Protects money and securities used in your business if they are stolen, destroyed or lost.

Note: This summary outlines in general terms the coverages afforded under some policies. Examine the policy carefully for any exclusions, limitations, or any other terms or conditions that may specifically affect coverage. The terms and conditions of the policy prevail.

Why do I need Business Property Insurance?
Even if you run a home-based business and have home insurance, you'll need to protect your business assets with separate contents and computer insurance; your home owner's policy probably will not cover business equipment.

Contents and computer insurance protects your business equipment from perils such as fire, storm damage or theft. To determine how much property or contents insurance you'll need, create an itemized list of your business' assets and their individual dollar values. Then decide which assets you actually want to insure and for what value.

In some cases, you may decide against insuring a particular asset, because it just doesn't warrant the cost of the premium. In other cases, the premium may be well worth paying.

Business property insurance is typically packaged with additional coverages for property issued to you by a client that is temporarily in your custody and Business Interruption Insurance that pays for loss of earnings when operations are curtailed or suspended because of a covered property loss.

Why You Need Landlord Insurance

Maybe you’re moving up to a bigger home and holding on to your former residence as a rental property. Or maybe you’ve tried to sell your home without success. Whatever the reason, if you’re thinking about renting out your home, you need to look into landlord insurance.

Homeowners insurance covers your house if it burns down, your possessions if there’s a break-in, and medical and legal bills if someone gets hurt on your property. Problem is, homeowners insurance might not offer protection if you decide to rent out your home. Landlord insurance does. Set aside half a day to research policies.

Renting out your home raises risks

Homeowners insurance typically covers owner-occupied, single-family residences, says John W. Saunders, president of Slemp Brant Saunders, an independent insurance brokerage in Marion, Va. When your home doesn’t meet that definition because it’s being rented out regularly, it’s no longer covered.

Most homeowners policies will cover an occasional short-term rental if, say, you’re going away for a few weeks, says Dave Millar, a partner at Riley Insurance Agency in Brunswick, Me. “But if you have a summer home you’ve decided to use as an income property and are putting different people in there every week,” he explains, “that’s a lot higher risk for the insurance company.”

The risk is also higher for both you and your insurer when you rent out your home on a full-time basis. You have an increased responsibility for injuries on the property, whether to your tenants or your tenants’ guests, says Bob O’Brien, vice president of Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance in South Portland, Me.

Insurers also experience more claims on tenant-occupied properties because tenants typically don’t care for properties as well as owners would. Renters are less likely to either identify or report maintenance needs, says O’Brien, and may be unfamiliar with a home’s systems like the location of the water shut-off.

Look into landlord insurance

When you decide to become a landlord, inform your insurer and ask about a specific landlord insurance policy, sometimes known as a dwelling fire policy or special perils policy. Coverage from a basic landlord policy isn’t quite as broad as a homeowners policy, says O’Brien, but it includes big risks like fire, wind, theft, and ice damage.

There are several levels of dwelling fire policies: DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3. The higher the number, the better the coverage. “A DP-3 policy might provide replacement cost on the house and theft of contents coverage for your belongings,” says Millar.

Expect to pay 15% to 20% more for landlord insurance than you did for homeowners insurance. In recent years the average cost of homeowners insurance was $822 a year. Tack on 20%, and that would put the average annual premium on landlord insurance at about $986.

A landlord policy covering a one-year rental for a home in Maine insured for $370,000 and personal property for $10,000 would cost $1,170, for example, says Millar. Expect to pay even more if you allow short-term rentals. The same insurance for the home if rented by the week for 12 weeks during a year would be $2,170.

Other insurance policies to consider

Landlord insurance typically covers the house itself, other structures on the property such as sheds, the owner’s possessions (but not the tenant’s possessions), lost rental income if the house is damaged and uninhabitable, and some liability protection for the owner in case of injury or a lawsuit. Policies vary, however, so read the fine print. If lost rental income isn’t included, you might be able to add the coverage for an additional $50 a year, says Saunders.

Also consider an umbrella policy that provides additional liability protection beyond the limits of your landlord policy. “If you’re talking about owning more than one house, and your net worth is starting to build up, then you should consider an umbrella policy,” says O’Brien. You can usually get an additional $1 million worth of liability coverage for $250 to $300 a year.

Finally, O’Brien advises that you require tenants to buy renters insurance that protects their own property. Remember, landlord insurance only covers the owner’s property. In recent years, the average cost of renters insurance has run $182 annually.

What You Need to Know About Structured Settlements

Structured settlements are periodic payments designed to meet the future needs of claimants. The payments can be scheduled for any length of time, including the claimant’s lifetime.

Benefits

• Claimant receives money when it is needed, correlated with the actual need for funds.
• Claimant does not have to pay income tax on payments received from a “Qualified” structured settlement.
• Claimant avoids the risk of mismanagement of funds.
• Money is invested at a competitive rate of return.
• Payments can be made for a claimant’s entire lifetime, with guaranteed funds left to a beneficiary. Under this option, the claimant cannot outlive their payments.

What Are The Tax Advantages?
With personal, physical injury claims, the payments are tax free, regardless if paid in a lump sum or periodic payments. However, if the claimant were to invest the lump sum, the interest earned may be taxed. With a structured settlement, the interest earned by the annuity will continue to grow tax free for the life of the annuity. This means that claimants could receive more money with a structured settlement than if they were to settle by receiving a single cash payment!

How Do They Work?

A structured settlement is typically funded by the defendant’s purchase of an annuity, owned by an assignment company. The assignment company is a third party who takes the place of the defendant and makes the promise to pay the claimant.

Are The Payments Flexible?

The annuity benefits can vary from monthly payments for medical expenses to a large lump sum payment for a retirement home. The options are virtually endless, and are predetermined at the time of settlement.

Show Me A Comparison:
A 46 year old male was injured on the job. At the time of settlement, he had to choose between a cash lump sum payment of $100,000 or a structured settlement proposal. He opted for the structured settlement that will provide monthly payments for the rest of his life, with a 20-year guarantee, to be paid to his beneficiary if he dies within the 20-year period. Each month he will receive $500.

3 Key Things to Remember After a Car Accident

Step 1: Call 911

After any auto accident it is important to call the police not only to document the accident but also to have a credible witness to the accident scene. The police add a trusted witness to the accident which can be all the difference in an auto case. May well meaning people get in a situation of trying to be the ‘Good Guy’ in an accident and not calling the police. Often this backfires when the other party suddenly claims they were not at fault or their insurance company takes no responsibility for the crash due to lack of evidence. 

Step 2: Collect Evidence

If you have already called the police you should have a good source of evidence already. However you should not leave your case up to the officers on scene. Make sure to take pictures of all vehicles involved in the crash (too many is better than too few). Also if there were any eyewitnesses to the accident collect their name and phone number for later testimony. Often those involved in the accident are distressed and distracted and fail to get phone number of eye witnesses before they leave. Evidence you collect could be critical to prosecute an auto injury case.

Step 3: Seek Medical Attention Promptly

This can be a constant battle with the insurance companies. The at fault party’s insurance will be quick to point out if it took the defendant a week to seek treatment. While the defendants insurance will look to complain about cost of treatment or doctor selection. The main thing to remember is to take care of your medical needs. Either the day of or after an accident see your doctor at least for a checkup or to look at any injuries. Keep all paperwork and information from your doctor visits which may be needed in court.

Last but not least, don’t hesitate to call a personal injury lawyer to answer any questions about your case.

What is Personal Liability Coverage and Why is it important?

A personal liability insurance policy protects an individual from the risk that they may be sued and held responsible for injuries and damages caused to others. These policies cover both legal costs and any legal payouts for which the insured would be responsible if found legally liable. However, the legal payouts are only up to the primary liability policy limits. Without this coverage, individuals would be forced to pay out of pocket for any damages and legal fees.

Why You Should Consider a Personal Umbrella Policy (PUP)

If you’re sued for more than the primary liability amount covered on your personal home, auto or boat policy, you could be personally responsible for the amount that exceeds your primary liability limit.  A personal umbrella policy is a second layer of liability coverage that sits on top of the primary liability coverage offered by your personal policies. 

Who & What can personal umbrella insurance cover?

• The named insured and all resident relatives
• The costs of legal payouts against you when a covered lawsuit exceeds your primary (also known as underlying) liability insurance limits 
• Primary policy coverage gaps, including personal injury liability protection situations such as false arrest, wrongful entry, defamation, humiliation, libel, slander, invasion of privacy
• In court proceedings, an attorney can be hired and retained for you. Their fees are typically covered outside policy limits

Who needs a PUP?

Many of us do. Quite simply, we live in a lawsuit-happy world. If you have assets and you're ever found at fault in a serious automobile accident or sued for a personal accident on or away from your property, you’ll want all the coverage you can get. That's why a personal umbrella policy makes sense for so many drivers and homeowners. It’s affordable supplemental insurance that’s there when your primary insurance hits its limit. That can make a world of difference for expensive lawsuits.