Basic auto liability insurance policies are low-cost auto insurance policies with a minimum number of benefits. It is a contract between an insured person and the insurance company, in which the insured person pays a premium and the company, in turn, provides financial support within the limits of the policy.

Basic auto liability insurance policies consist of two types of benefits or coverage. They are coverage for bodily injury and property damage. Bodily injury liability provides protection from various claims and court cases that are filed against insured persons, in case the insured person is the cause of injury or death of another person. This type of coverage pays costs for the affected person or his relatives for the pain, suffering, and other hardships, and also for economic damages. This coverage is optional, as it can be selected if a person needs it.

In property damage liability, insured persons are protected from claims and court cases for the damage of property of another person as a result of accident. Property generally refers to the vehicle of another person. However, damage to lamp posts, fences, telephone poles, and buildings is also considered in property liability.

Basic auto liability insurance policies are affordable and simple. Once a policy is selected, a “Limitation on Lawsuit” option is obtained along with the policies. There are certain limitations on the lawsuit option. Legal action can be taken only if death occurs or the person is seriously injured with any one of the conditions such as displaced fracture, dismemberment, major disfigurement or scarring, loss of fetus, and also for other permanent injuries in which body parts cannot function normally.

Basic auto liability policies are risky and provide very less or sometimes even no protection for bodily injury. Two-wheel motorized vehicles and commercial autos are commonly insured using these basic auto liability insurance policies.

During the beginning of the first quarter of 2009 things don’t look too promising for our economy. More and more businesses are downsizing, because of slow business return, or are anticipating a significant loss of revenue. With the media and public attention on all of the businesses that are cutting their work staff, more companies are following the same trend. There are so many people that are currently unemployed and are looking for the good jobs in a bad economy. 

You may ask yourself, “What are the good jobs in a bad economy?” “Are there any recession proof businesses out there?” The answer to those questions is sure there are. However, you have to find the right business out there, where you will have job security. Here are a few fields, or businesses that always do well no matter how bad the economy is. Some of these include, but are not limited to the medical field, law enforcement, teachers, insurance companies, customer support, and online businesses. 

Now some of the jobs mentioned do require some type of formal training, or education. However, they are an option if you are willing to go back to school, and learn a new profession. Probably the most rewarding recession proof business would be an online business, or Internet business. The reason for this is you don’t need all of the schooling that is required for most other fields that are great during a so called recession. First of all you would need a computer, which almost everyone in today’s world has at least one computer in their household. Then you would need to have a great sponsor that is willing to share all of the marketing strategies with you, so you can produce similar results. 

Most people don’t realize the power and magnitude of the Internet. Think about it for just a second. When you have an online business, you can literally reach out to millions of people by just having them clicking onto your website. Plus, an Internet business can be a global business that is on autopilot. 

In conclusion, these may be hard times for many during this so called recession. However, keep your head up and look into many of the recession proof businesses out there. More so, look into an Internet business, where you can be your own boss, and have a very rewarding future no matter what state the economy is in. 

If a company is categorized as small-scale or is home-based, it might not even need business insurance but should focus more on Property and liability Insurance for any loss might affect the home rather than the business. Also as a matter of fact, there are criteria set which categorizes companies in the Medium to Large scale bracket to qualify for B.O.P. eligibility. BOP stands for Business Owners Policy, is awarded only to firms based on a minimum number of employees and other factors set by the insurance firm itself. Insurance companies have many names for products/or combinations thereof that adheres to a standardized set of basic rules set by the ISO(International Standards Organization) allowing them to become almost standardized elsewhere in the world.

Small business owners across the nation are feeling the sting of high health care costs. With the national average up ten percent from last year, and the added burden of the economic recession, there are a lot of companies that simply can’t hack it anymore. Waiting on health care reform at the present time is a lost cause. Even if an all-encompassing solution miraculously arrived today, the provisions set forth in it wouldn’t take effect for another three or four years. And people need health insurance now.

The cost of health care poses a huge threat to small businesses, which are referred to as the “backbone of our economy” by the president. With some individual businesses seeing as much as forty percent increases in their annual premiums, upsetting situations are ocurring. Many companies have minimized their plans, required employees to contribute more, or dropped plans altogether. Additionally, companies that do provide health care are reluctant to hire older, or riskier (as far as the health insurance companies are concerned) employees.

The current crisis has lead to a large number of cost containing solutions.

Wellness programs. Wellness programs are programs designed to promote healthy living. Setting a weight loss goal for the company with a financial incentive is an example. You can find calorie-counting charts online, as well as tons of literature.

Nurse hot Lines. Nurse hot lines are becoming more popular nowadays. This gives employees access to nurses 24/7, for helpful advice. It prevents unnecessary doctor’s visits, keeping claims to a minimum. It also helps with caring for a chronic disease such as asthma.

Employee choice insurance. Insurance plans that allow you to select which coverage you get are almost commonplace among businesses today. This allows employees to customize their plan, as well as avoid paying for unneeded services.

Small businesses can also pay higher deductibles and co-pays to reduce their costs. If it is still too expensive, then an HSA or FSA account may be the answer. These are health accounts used to pay for medical services, and are tax-deductible for business owners.

One of the main factors taken into account by insurance providers when you apply for an insurance quote for Northern Ireland is the fact that you live in NI. There are still insurance providers that simply do not want to give you insurance because of where you live and this stems back to the many years of unrest that was seen in Northern Ireland. Times have of course changed there, but some providers are still unprepared to offer the same deals they do to the UK, even now. If you want access to competitively priced insurance then you may want to search for cover with a specialist website.

Of course, other factors may affect your insurance quote. Here we look at some of them and look at ways which may help you to keep down the cost of your insurance.

The amount of excess

With most insurance policies you will have to pay so much as an excess towards a claim, if a claim were to be made on the policy. If you make a claim on your cover, you pay the excess in a lump sum before the insurance company takes over the rest of the claim. You are always asked to pay a minimum amount in excess, but you may offer to pay over this amount. If you opt to pay more for your excess then you may get a small discount on your insurance premiums.

The security of your home or car

The more security measures you have on your car, caravan, motorbike or home the less you may have to pay for insurance premiums. You may be able to get a percentage knocked off your premiums if you install things like a home or vehicle alarm, an immobiliser or tracking device on your vehicle or have security lighting, fencing and door and window locks on your property.

Where you choose to park your vehicle

If you park your car or motorbike overnight in a garage and have a good quality lock on the door then you may be able to save money on your car insurance quote for Northern Ireland. If you leave your vehicle by the side of the road it may be at risk to vandals, may be stolen or it may be damaged by passing vehicles. All of these risks may boost up the cost of your insurance.

A common form of life insurance coverage is “level term life insurance”. With this form of life insurance coverage, the premium is guaranteed to be the same for a given period of years. The common terms are 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, and 30 years. The longer the guaranteed level period, the higher the premium. You are locking in a rate and must pay for the length of the lock in.

The insurance premium paid each year is the same for the duration of the policy (contract). The cost is based on the summed cost of each year’s annual renewable term rates. A major factor in the premium calculation is the time value of money and is adjusted by the insurer. The longer term the premium is level for, the higher your cost.

It is more expensive to purchase life coverage the older you get. If you select a period of level premium that is longer, the higher cost years are averaged into the policy premium.

Find out if a level term insurance policy is right for you. The following would make a level term policy ideal for you;

1) You operate with a fixed monthly budget
2) You want to ensure your premium amount for a specified period of time

Speak with an insurance agent today. When shopping for Level Term Life Insurance coverage, compare rates from at least 4 companies. Level term coverage rates can vary much more than a standard life insurance policy due to the higher cost variations in the later years.

You should purchase your insurance company that is financially stable and highly rated. You can evaluate your insurance carrier by checking with the rating agencies who monitor the insurance business.

You have probably heard in the news lately that individuals with pre-existing health conditions cannot get health insurance coverage. One would naturally think that those persons need coverage more than anyone, but let’s look further at this situation.

First of all, we need to define a couple of key terms:

*Pre-existing condition-Most insurers define it as a condition that manifested itself and required medical attention within a 12 month period prior to the insurance being purchased.

*Insurance-This is the transfer of a large uncertain potential loss to someone else (the insurance company) for a small predictable loss known as a premium.

If my house is on fire, can I call an insurance company and purchase a policy to cover the loss? Certainly not. If I just wrecked my car, can I call the auto insurance company and upgrade my coverage? Of course not. If a loved one in my family just died, can I then purchase a life insurance policy for them? That’s absurd. I think everyone realizes what a pre-existing condition is by these silly examples. Insurance companies are not in business to cover things that have already happened. Remember, insurance is to cover a large uncertain loss.

In Virginia and other states, there are insurance companies such as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield that offer health insurance plans to individuals regardless of past medical conditions. These plans are known as open enrollment plans and there is no medical underwriting involved, therefore, health insurance is available to everyone regardless of the past health history. Most health insurance companies have a standard 12 month waiting period before the pre-existing conditions are covered and will give you credit for prior coverage with another insurer in some instances. This is one of the reasons for purchasing and maintaining health insurance coverage on a continual basis so that it can serve the purpose intended if needed.

Pre-existing health conditions should not prevent someone from purchasing individual health insurance and have coverage for those conditions. The only reason for these conditions to be excluded from coverage for 12 months is to prevent insurance abuse. None of us would purchase coverage until we needed it if insurance companies were required to cover losses that have already happened or started to happen. That’s not the purpose of insurance and insurance companies would all be bankrupt if it worked that way. Herein lies one of the problems in the current effort to reform health care by requiring that insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions, in other words, after the house is already on fire.

As part of the terms of a mortgage loan, most lenders require borrowers to carry property insurance. But simply meeting the requirements of your lenders does not necessarily mean that you are adequately insured. To be sure that your real estate investment business is properly covered, understand what your risks are, how much liability you are able to accept, and what types of policies are available.

The basic types of business insurance include:

- General liability and property coverage. Liability insurance protects you if someone is injured while on your property. The insurer not only pays the damages, but also funds and handles your legal defense. Property insurance covers your physical assets–building, equipment, furnishings you own, fixtures, etc. In most cases, your property insurance will not cover the tenant-owned contents of a rental unit; your lease should clearly state that tenants are responsible for insuring their own belongings.

- Umbrella policy. Umbrella policies provide additional liability coverage after the limits of your underlying policy are reached. For example, if someone was injured on your property and required $300,000 in medical treatment but the liability limit of your underlying policy is $250,000, your umbrella policy will pay the additional $50,000 (provided, of course, the limit of your umbrella policy is at least that amount).

- Automobile. If your company owns vehicles or if you use your personal car for business purposes, you need appropriate coverage. Such insurance typically includes bodily injury liability for injuries you or another authorized driver cause someone else; medical coverage for treatment of injuries to the driver and passengers in your vehicle; property damage liability; collision (damage to your car from a crash); comprehensive (damage to your car not resulting from a crash); and uninsured motorists coverage. Be sure your vehicle insurance complies with the laws of your state and offers you sufficient coverage to protect you financially–which means you may want higher limits than the law requires.

- Life. Various types of life insurance can be designed to protect your company, investments, and family in the event of your death. Life insurance is often part of buy/sell agreements in partnerships, where the insurance is used to buy out the interest of the deceased.

- Workers compensation. If you have three or more employees, you are probably required by law to provide workers compensation insurance. Laws regarding this coverage vary by state; check with your insurance agent and state insurance department to find out exactly what you need and how it is purchased.

- Business interruption. This coverage is designed to replace lost income, pay ongoing expenses, and cover the costs of setting up in a temporary facility if necessary when a business is unable to operate due to a covered peril (such as fire, storm damage, vandalism, etc.). If you have rental units that cannot be occupied due to a covered peril, business interruption insurance may replace the lost rent revenue.

- Destroyed or damaged records. If your business records are destroyed or damaged by a covered peril, this insurance will compensate for the inability to collect income and the cost of reproducing the records.

Beyond the traditional types of insurance are a variety of specialty policies offering coverage you may or may not need, such as flood, earthquake, and terrorism insurance. If you work from home, be sure your business equipment is covered and that you are protected for business-related liability. Most homeowner policies provide only nominal coverage for business equipment and activities, so check with your agent to determine if you need a separate business policy or if you can add an endorsement to your homeowners policy.

Managing Your Insurance As much as you’d probably like to, insurance isn’t something you can take care of once and then forget about. In addition to making sure you have coverage each time you buy or sell a piece of real estate, you should do an annual review of your needs, your coverage, and what new products are available that might work for you. Keep records of all your assets in case you need them to document a claim. If you make changes to existing policies, follow up to make sure the necessary paperwork was completed properly. It may be your agent’s job to do the paperwork, but it’s your responsibility to make sure you have the right coverage in place.

Keep in mind that insurance companies often structure their policies differently, so if you change any of your insurers, study the new policy carefully to be sure you really have the coverage you think you have. Don’t buy a policy based on rates alone. Be sure the coverage is what you truly need and the company is financially sound with a reputation for good customer service.

Remember that insurance is essentially a gamble–you’re betting that you’ll need it and the insurer is betting that you won’t. Be sure that you can still come out a winner whether you win or lose the bet.

Introduction
Flood Insurance protects your house & possessions from loss by rising water from the outside. Think about a river or creek overflowing into your home… a frightening thought. Homeowner’s and other property insurance specifically exclude this peril.

If you own a house in a known flood risk area (i.e., the 100-year floodplain) with a bank loan, your mortgage bank will normally require flood insurance. For most homeowners, handling this mortgage bank flood insurance requirement is all they focus on and they ignore their true flood hazard. Then when a major storm does come, they have inadequate flood insurance coverage often with too little coverage on their house (often only the home loan balance) and no contents protection.

Also, over 25% of flood damage happens each year to properties outside of a known flood risk area (100-year floodplain). Central Texas had a recent example of an “out-of-the-blue” rain event that caused very intense flooding well beyond the known flood risk areas. The so-called “Marble Falls Rain Bomb” in June 2007 damaged over 100 homes & business around the city of Marble Falls with a very sudden 19 inch rainfall. A “Preferred Risk Flood Insurance Policy,” available to homeowners beyond the 100-year floodplain, can protect your home and possessions at a very modest price.

My city of Austin is part of the Central Texas “Flash Flood Alley” and has a long history of major flooding along its creeks and the Colorado River. Dams located on Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, built in the 1940′s, has helped control the very destructive flooding of the Colorado River. Today, the biggest risk is along the many creeks in our urban areas and the Colorado River south of Lady Bird Lake dam. Shoal, Bull and Walnut creeks in North Austin plus Onion and Williamson creeks in South Austin have considerable history of inundating adjacent areas.

Our neighboring Hill Country also has many creeks subject to flooding plus several major rivers that can rage with great torrents after heavy rain. The Llano and Pedernales Rivers both have had major flood events in recent years. The Llano River, surging into Lake LBJ has caused major flood damage along its normally calm waters on several occasions.

The hardest part of understand both your flood risk and flood insurance policies is the terminology. Most folks are confounded by its mix of insurance and engineering terms. Once you have a key to decipher the flood insurance nomenclature, things will make more sense. You also want to understand what your “Flood Zone” designation means. Finally, I have included an overview of the main components of a flood insurance policy.

Flood Insurance Terminology:

Base Flood Elevation – This is the level at which there is a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. A building that is located on land below the “Base Flood Elevation” is inside the 100-year floodplain.

Elevation Certificate – Clarifies the relative elevation of your house in relation to the know flood risk. This allows for more accurate rating of the flood insurance policy and may reduce your flood insurance rates.

Flood Maps (“FIRM” – Flood Insurance Ratings Maps) – Created by FEMA’s (Federal Emergency Management Agency), these maps were created to determine which land areas are likely to be flooded. These maps are based on surveys of the elevation of land areas relative to known flood risks (creeks, rivers, lakes, etc.).

Floodplain – Any normally dry land area that is susceptible to being inundated by water often because it is adjacent to a watercourse. The 100-year Floodplain is the land that would be inundated by a 100-year flood event.

Flooding – Rising water from outside enters a structure. An example would be a house inundation from a flash flood. The flood peril also includes mudslide.
Hundred Year Flood – An engineering term used to describe the relative flooding risk. A house that is located inside the Hundred Year Floodplain is considered to have a 1% chance of being flooded in any given year. Most mortgages require that a house that is located in a Hundred Year Flood risk area must be insured for flood.

LOMA (Letter of Map Amendment) – Document used to establish that a building is not located in a Special Flood Hazard Area. A typical situation in which a LOMA would be important is when a part of a house lot is subject to flooding in a 100-year storm but the house itself has been built at a higher elevation.

National Flood Insurance Program – This is the government agency that provides insurance for the flood peril in the United States. Insurance companies are licensed to sell flood insurance policies for this government agency. All financial backing, rules and contract terms are set by the National Flood Insurance Program which is part of FEMA.

Special Flood Hazard Area – A geographic area that is prone to flooding. An example would be an area adjacent to a river that has an elevation low enough to be subject to flooding.

Flood Zones Designations:

A – River / stream flood risk
AE – River / stream flood risk with mapped base flood elevations
AO – River / stream flood risk with shallow water depths (1-3 feet)
AH – River / stream flood risk with shallow water paths (flows of 1-3 feet)
V – Coastal or Storm Surge flood risk
VE – Coastal or Storm Surge flood risk with mapped base flood elevations
X – Not a Special Flood Risk Area (elevation above the 100-year floodplain)

Flood Insurance Overview

Property Coverages:
Building – Provides protection up to your limit for damage or destruction of your house or other dwelling from peril of flood including rising water and mudslide.
Contents – Provides protection for your clothes, appliances, furniture and other possessions at your residence from peril of flood including rising water and mudslide. Flood Insurance offers “Actual Cash Value” as the basis of settlement. Contents coverage is optional and has a separate deductible.
Secondary Structures (fences, sheds, etc.) – None (No coverage is extended to secondary structures from the standard flood policy. Coverage is only available for the main structure.)

Loss of Use: None (not available which is unfortunate)

Helpful Links
FEMA / National Flood Insurance: FloodSmart.gov
Visit our website for more information on Flood Insurance: http://www.quoteaustininsurance.com/pages/home/flood-insurance.php