Summer is coming to an end and the heating season, at least here on the East Coast, is not far off.  Along with the need to warm houses and the high costs of heating fuel, there may be a lot more people using alternatives, such as plug-in heaters and kerosene heaters to stay warm. With desperate times call for desperate measures, it is incredibly important for families to brush up on their fire safety tips in order to prevent the devastating loss of property and the invaluable loss of life.

Here are a few reminders of fire safety to keep the upcoming months safe for everyone.

1. Have a Plan – Regardless of how safety conscious you are, things can happen. Perhaps the neighbor’s house catches fire and you are trapped. You can not predict what will happen. It is essential not only to have a plan of escape but to also ensure your entire family understands what it is and how it works. Practice fire drills with every member of the household on a regular basis.

2. Install/Upgrade Smoke Detectors – Many families have smoke detectors installed in their homes. It’s always been a rule of thumb to change batteries during the time changes that occur during daylight savings timelines. However, just because the batteries are new doesn’t mean the contraption works. Perform a monthly test on all of the smoke detectors throughout the home and make sure you have an adequate amount of work detectors in your home.

           Recommendations for Smoke Detector Placement

• Outside each bedroom door, especially in a home with a large upstairs. In the event of a fire, all occupants of the home who are sleeping should be  able to hear the alarm loud and clear.
• At least one alarm on every level of the home, including the basement and  the attic. Again, placement and amount should depend on how well people  can hear the warning.
• For extra protection, install a carbon monoxide detector in the home as well.

3. Install/Upgrade Fire Extinguisher – Fire extinguishers do not last forever. They need to be inspected regularly and recharged if needed by a professional service. Extinguishers should be kept in an area where they are easily accessible and in areas, like the kitchen where it may be needed most often.

4. Check Electrical Systems – Fires around the holiday season are often sparked by overloaded outlets. If you use extension cords or outlet strips, it will be worth the investment to have a professional install new outlets to accommodate your needs. Do not run any cords under the carpeting. If a fuse is prone to blowing out, getting it checked out by an electrician.

5. Careful Smoking – If you must smoke, do it outside and make sure your cigarette is out completely before leaving it. Keep trash out of ashtrays. Never leave a burning cigarette unattended. Keep your lighters and your matches away from children of any age.

6. Candles – Candles are an increasingly popular way to create a pleasant atmosphere in your home. However, a candle left unattended can cause a lot of problems, especially with children in the home. Candles that are burning should be kept out of the way of children and high traffic areas in the home where they can be knocked over onto the floor.

7. Maintain Proper Insurance – In the event something does happen to cause a fire, having the proper insurance and paying the premium on time is important if you expect to fall back on the insurance in the event of an emergency.

Most people are familiar with the cute little duck that loudly quacks “Aflac” on television commercials. While the company’s mascot is easily recognizable, many people remain in the dark as to what supplemental health insurance plans cover.

What are supplemental health insurance plans?

As the name implies this form of insurance provides supplemental or “extra” coverage; designed to fill the gaps and holes left by deductibles and co-pays in standard health insurance policies. Specific plans may cover additional items such as lost income or added cost of living expenses due to a long injury or illness. Supplemental health insurance is a cash benefit paid to the insurer based on the specific plan or policy. Policies vary with a number of plans available for disease specific insurance (cancer), accidental death and dismemberment, accident health and hospital indemnity insurance.

Is a supplemental health insurance plan right for you?

You may be wondering why you would need “extra” insurance if you already have health insurance. Purchasing supplemental insurance is a personal choice that depends on several factors such as:

• Do you have special risk factors?

• How much insurance do you want to carry?

• How much insurance can you afford to carry?

• How much savings do you have available in the event you were unable to work for an extended period of time?

Before purchasing supplemental insurance you should first determine the level of coverage that you have through your standard health insurance policy. If you have a good policy most of your health insurance bills should be covered.

Do you have specific risk factors that make it more likely that you may be in need of this type of insurance coverage? Retired persons, elderly persons, large families or self employed individuals may be less able to handle the onslaught of medical expenses that go hand and hand with a medical emergency. Anyone who would suffer financially if they were unable to work, may consider the cash benefits worth the relatively low cost of the premiums.

What expenses are covered by supplemental insurance plans?

We have established that this insurance covers “extras” that your standard insurance may miss. Here are a few examples of expenses supplemental insurance may cover.

• Transportation costs

• living expenses

• child care needs

• out-of-pocket hospital expenses

• diagnostic testing

• private duty nursing services

Insurance needs and personal finance decisions vary greatly from person to person and you should make any decisions regarding supplemental insurance benefits based on your specific situation.

It’s about time for “open season”.  I’m not talking about the hunting season - instead, I’m referring to the period of open-enrollment for your health plans.

The majority of employers will be requiring their workers to contribute even more to their health insurance costs as 2009 predicts healthcare costs to increase anywhere from 6% to 10%.  Some employees may share the price increase with higher premiums, while others will face higher deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance options.

Don’t be the person who finds out about changes to your healthcare coverage when you receive a bill in the mail that you weren’t expecting for charges that weren’t covered by your health insurance (but that you thought would be covered).

Avoid the surprise by reviewing the 2009 open-enrollment materials for changes to the plan offerings and terms.  In particular, look for:

• New plans: In an effort to keep health insurance affordable, companies roll out new types of health plans.  Weight the pros and cons of each carefully before selecting a new type of plan.  Do you want the new high-deductible plan that requires more of yoru day to day expenses coming out of pocket; or do you want a limited-benefit plan to cover routine office visits and immunizations but limit more expensive coverage?
• Look at what you’ve been paying:  go over your healthcare costs for the previous year or two.  Will your health care needs be about the same or different for 2009?  (Are you planning a baby or surgery?) Make your choices based on expectations for health care needs.
• Preferred doctors: an HMO requires that you choose providers from a list of participating providers.  Is your preferred doctor on the list for your chosen health care plan? Give them a call to find out if they plan to participate in that particular health care plan in 2009.
• Wellness rewards:  some employer health plans offer low or even no-cost coverage for generic drugs that control chronic conditions (like diabetes or hypertension).  Preventative screenings are often covered 100% to encourage you to take preventative measures for your health.

Making educated decisions regarding which healthcare plan is best for you (and your family) is the best way to reduce your healthcare costs for the new year.  Be prepared to compare and ask questions that help you choose the best plan for your unique situation.

Most frequent travelers agree that having travel insurance
to protect you against some of the biggest and most expensive problems of traveling is well worth the time and expense.  Whether traveling for a weekend in the next state over or taking a long distance holiday in another country – having travel insurance can help protect you should the unthinkable happen.

Travel Insurance Basics and Options

Sometimes it makes sense to select the bare minimum in order to save money on things, but travel insurance may not be the expense to skimp on.  The typical travel insurance policy covers basics, including:

• basic medical expenses while traveling
• emergency assistance required while traveling
• lost luggage
• cancellation fees
• accidental death or dismemberment (pays your family like a life insurance policy)

These coverage options are great, and may be covered by the credit card you used to book your flight or travel arrangements.  There are times when you need additional coverage, however, such as when you are traveling with expensive equipment or personal items.  Having coverage for theft of your luggage or personal items can help you if you need to replace stolen items on your trip.

Additional Considerations for Travel Insurance Coverage

Depending where you are traveling, sometimes it makes sense to purchase additional coverage for high-risk locations, extreme sporting adventures, or long term travel are all good options for additional coverage.

High-risk locations: When traveling to war zones or high-risk terrorist activity countries, your standard travel insurance is not likely to include coverage for injuries occurring due to war conditions, coverage for terrorist activities or for emergency evacuation from dangerous places.  If you need to travel in these extreme conditions, you’ll need additional coverage through supplemental policies to make sure you have the coverage you need.

Sports:  If you intend to go mountain biking, water or snow skiing, or sky diving (among other “extreme sports”), your travel insurance is not likely to cover these activities because they result in higher rates of injury and pose a greater risk for the insurance company.

Long term: if you’re traveling for unspecified or long periods of time, you will want to look at long-term travel insurance policies as they are different from the standard coverage.  People going abroad to work or on missionary trips would benefit from long-term policies that cover the entire duration of the trip.  If traveling as a student, there are specific travel insurance policies that offer health care, trip cancellation and other services specific to students.

There are various reasons why people rent. One reason may be they do not want the hassles and expense that comes along with owning a home. Renting, however, does not exclude you from certain expenses or liabilities. Have you considered what will happen if your apartment or home suddenly became unlivable because of a storm or fire? You can assume your property is protected by the landlord’s insurance. It most cases you would be wrong. The landlord’s coverage most likely will only cover the structural part of the property so if the building goes up in smoke and you lose everything, the landlord will not be responsible for your stuff.

Protecting yourself as a renter is important. Any number of things can happen at any time. Like a homeowner, you need to look closely at insurance. Many insurance companies offer an HO-4 policy that will cover your personal property from such things as fire, lightning, vandalism, theft, damage caused by plumbing, heating, or air-conditioning problems, and explosions. Two things rental insurance will not cover is loss from earthquakes and floods. A separate policy is required for that type of coverage if you are living in a region where that would be a concern.

Insurance companies offer policies based on Actual Cash Value, which pays for what your belongings were worth at the time of the damage or theft, and Replacement Cost Value, which will reimburse you for what it costs to replace the items.  If you bought a new mattress five years ago for $1,000, ACV coverage would pay you for what the mattress would be worth today; an amount considerably less than it was five years ago. With RCV, the insurance company would reimburse you the amount it would cost to buy a new mattress today. Most insurance companies use the ACV policies, which carry lower premiums than the RCV coverage but the ACV policy also will pay out less money that the RCV. Both types of policies also will subtract the deductible first.

Like most insurance, your premium for renter’s insurance will depend on where you live and other factors. Keeping a higher deductible can keep your monthly payments lower. There are discounts available for things like smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. It is important that you keep an accurate and updated inventory of your all of your property. A good way to keep track is to videotape everything you own. Keep the video and all receipts for items in a firesafe or a bank safe deposit box off premises. In the event something does happen, you will not need to worry about retrieving your documents from your home.

Not only is the cost of people’s health care increasing steadily, but the costs of taking care of your dog or cat’s health is also much more expensive than many pet owners expect. Some pet owners choose to skip veterinarian checkups for their pets due to the expense of the care, but pets quickly become a part of your family and no one wants their dog or cat to suffer from health related problems. Fortunately, many pet illnesses can be prevented or relieved through routine vet care – which is made more affordable if you purchase pet health insurance .

Customizable Pet Health Insurance

Similar to our health insurance, you can customize your pet health insurance in order to control costs and coverage options. Some health insurance for pets only offers discounted office visit plans, and offers low monthly fees for that coverage; while others help you pay for any pet prescriptions or dental work they might require in addition to routine office checkups for a higher monthly premium.
Most veterinarian offices accept and prefer pet owners who carry health insurance for their pets. They realize that pet owners who pay monthly or annually for their pet’s health insurance are more likely to make and keep their scheduled appointments.

Using Pet Health Insurance Requires Claim Form Submissions

When you enroll in a pet health insurance plan, you’ll receive claim forms in the membership package. Some companies allow you to print claim forms from a website if you need more; or you can call and order more from the provider.

Whenever you need to submit an insurance claim for your pet, you fill in the form, attach the appropriate documentation from your pet’s veterinarian, and mail it in. You will pay for the price of the pet’s care at the time of visit at most veterinarian offices, and get reimbursed from the health insurance company after they’ve processed the claim for all eligible services covered under the policy.

What Does Pet Insurance Cover?

Just like your own health insurance, you can select different coverages and types of insurance for your pets. Most will include a variety of procedures that are performed at the veterinarian’s office or animal hospital as the basic coverage; and then you have the ability to add on additional services like dental health, prescriptions, or specialists.

If you find it easier to pay a small amount each month than it would be to come up with a few hundred dollars each time your cat or dog needs to see the veterinarian, you are a good candidate for pet health insurance and should look at your coverage options.

Long-term disability insurance will assist you in the event you become partially or fully disabled. In the event you become disabled and your disability will not let you work for an extended period of time, your long-term disability insurance policy will be available for you to withdraw funds. The terms of each long-term disability insurance policy will vary. For instance, the time period that is considered to be “long term” is different with different policies. Also, the policies will differ on the pay out options. Some policies will pay a set amount and some will pay you a percentage of you normal income.

Not all policies will include all of these terms so it is important that you take the time to find a policy that covers the needs of your lifestyle. Essentially, you want to find a policy with the following terms to ensure you get what you need:

• Find a policy that will pay you benefits no matter if you are partially or fully disabled.

• Check how the policy defines the term “disability”. Some long-term disability insurance policies will pay out only if you are considered unable to work any job, not just your own job.

• Find a policy that will not just pay you for a few months. You want one that will pay you until you turn 65.

• Find a policy that will include adjustments for cost of living increases.

• Request an overview of any policy you are interested in so you can use it to compare to other policies.

• Go with a company that has a good reputation with no financial concerns. Make sure the insurance company you deal with, as well as the agent is licensed to sell insurance in your state. This is important for when you are shopping on line.

• When you are ready to get your policy, make sure you are as accurate and honest on your application as possible. If you hide information and provide inaccurate information, the insurance company can deny you a policy.

There are a lot of people who will get the opportunity to purchase a long-term disability insurance policy through their employer and unfortunately a lot of employees will not take advantage of this type of insurance. They will only consider this kind of policy when something happens. If you are not eligible to get a long-term disability insurance policy from where you work, you should contact your insurance agent and inquire if they have a solid understanding of long-term disability insurance. It is not wise to purchase a cheap long-term disability insurance policy but you can certainly work at finding a policy that is affordable for you.

One of my buddies recently went out and bought one of those ride-on lawn mowers from a dealer around here, and when he was closing the deal they asked him if he wanted to finance it, and like most Americans he didn’t have a whole lot of money, so he did. Then they asked him if he’d like a policy that would pay if off if he dies for only $10.00 a month! He wasn’t dumb enough to fall for that gimmick, but surprisingly, many people are. I’m sure there’s been some guy who died with meaningful life insurance, but at least his riding lawn mower was paid off! Let’s face it, there’s a lot of insurance policies that nobody ever needs.

The first thing you should never do when it comes to insurance is buy insurance for things that you can easily afford. My wife’s engagement ring is $1000, and the insurance was $5 or $10 a month on it, and we passed. I could write a check for that several times over and still have plenty of money in the bank, it just wouldn’t affect me. If you can easily pay to replace an item if it should break, you are self insured and don’t need an insurance policy on it.

You should also never buy insurance if the likelihood of disaster in that area is very improbable. Statistically you don’t need it and never will, but there are people out there who buy terrorism insurance. You don’t need hurricane insurance in South Dakota, and you don’t need flood insurance when you live in an extremely high elevation. Those things just aren’t going to happen. Don’t buy an insurance policy unless there’s a reasonable chance of needing it. Buy good insurance policies such as life insurance, health insurance, automobile insurance, and get a homeowners policy, but after that, there’s very little you need.

Don’t insure things that do not need to be insured. Life insurance for children is a great example of this. Children don’t create any income, so there’s no need to get a big check if they were to die, yet thousands of people get suckered into Gerber’s life insurance policies for children each year.

Finally, don’t buy insurance policies in which the majority of your payment does not go toward insuring the product. Extended warranties are the worst offender here; usually only about 10% of your payment goes towards the cost of the insurance. The rest is given toward commission and advertising. If it sounds gimmicky and is heavily marketed, you probably don’t need it!

Everyone needs good reasonable insurance policies, such as health insurance, automobile insurance, home/rental insurance, and term life insurance if someone is dependent upon your income. Don’t fall for insurances that you just don’t need, such as pet insurance, cancer insurance, mortgage life insurance, extended warranties, and all of those heavily marketed but useless policies.

When it comes to making real estate purchases, often time’s people really want to buy a home without having a decent down payment. People are starting families and need a place or live, or just cannot wait until they can save up a decent amount of money for a down payment. In the old days, these people would just not be qualified for mortgages, now through the use of private mortgage insurance, people with little or now down payments can now get into homes.

Quite often people purchase a home only to realize they cannot afford it; they end up getting behind and foreclosed on. The bank then has a house on their hands and when they sell it they often do not make enough to cover the cost of the loan because foreclosed homes are usually sold wholesale and are sold at a discount. Often the homes which have been foreclosed on because the owner no longer owns it and often leaves it in a mess when they do eventually get evicted.

Banks and Mortgage Companies have decided that they had enough of losing money. They gave customers who wanted mortgages two options. The first is that they can give at least a 20% down payment on their home. This way if the home gets foreclosed on the bank believes that they can at least get 80% of their money bank and with the 20% down payment they will not lose any money on the sale.

The other option for customers who cannot come up with a 20% down payment, have to pay for what is called private mortgage insurance (PMI). In some areas, PMI is also called lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI). Banks almost always require you to pay for PMI if you do not have a 20% down payment, otherwise they will not give you the loan. If you have PMI and get foreclosed on, the bank will sell the house for whatever they can get for it, and then the insurance company will cover the difference that the bank was not able to make on the house. This way the bank will not lose money.

Private mortgage insurance costs about $50 per month for every $100,000 of mortgage that you have. So if you had a $150,000 you would have to pay $75 a month for the insurance. You can eliminate your private mortgage insurance by having at least 20% equity in your home. You can figure out what your equity percentage is by having a professional appraisal done by a company which is approved by your mortgage company. The appraisal will probably cost about $300. If your mortgage balance is less than 80% of the appraisal, then the mortgage company is required by law to drop the private mortgage insurance.

You can get more equity in your home in two ways, you can either pay down the mortgage by giving the bank extra principal payments which is always a good idea (a mortgage calculator will assist wit this), or if your home appreciates in value, you will also gain equity in your home. In most cases it will be a bit of both which allows you to drop PMI.

Wise consumers know that protecting what they own is smart in order to prevent a financial loss.  Whether or not it is a wise decision to choose optional insurance is based on several factors

Most major purchase loans either require insurance or at least give the option to purchase insurance as a means of protection.  The rule of thumb is that if a purchase is a large amount (one in which that a financial loss could not be covered with cash on hand), then insurance should be considered.  For the purchase of a house or automobile, insurance is required by the lender in order for them to protect their investment as well.  However, less expensive items that are financed are subject to debate on whether or not they are good candidates for insurance coverage.

Loss Factor.  The first question to ask should be directed at the potential loss of the item in question.  If the financial impact incurred by the loss of the item exceeds the ability to pay out of pocket for its replacement, then insurance should be considered.  In addition, if one owns items of great sentimental, artistic or historic value, then insurance should be considered.  If an item is purchased for the express purpose of preserving life, health and/or safety then insurance also would be a wise choice.

Cost Factor.  Some insurance is not worth the cost given the nature of the item.  Often, you will find yourself being offered insurance on a piece of electronic equipment like a television.  The insurance providers make a bundle on this type of insurance.  Most consumer electronics are designed to rigorous quality standards such that if you have issues with the equipment, it would probably show up within the manufacturer’s warranty period which is normally one year.  If the loss of the item in question is only several hundred dollars, then insurance would be considered a waste of money.  Generally, entertainment items are not considered worthy of insuring unless they are part of maintaining the livelihood of the owner.

Minimal Cost.  The case in which the above could be discounted has to do with the total cost of the insurance.  A small amount under five percent of the cost of the item might render it a good candidate to be insured.  Especially if you can pay cash for that insurance and avoid rolling it into a monthly payment.

Insuring simply for convenience sake is not wise. Sometimes the loss underscores the importance of taking care of one’s property and is best left to the experience of the owner.  This might be the case in the course of family life where parents are attempting to school their children on the value of items and their ultimate care.

Whatever choices are made regarding insuring items which are under a loan agreement one must carefully weigh the risk and then make the wise choice.