Homeowner's Insurance Help

The homeowner's insurance policy is personal insurance coverage for owner-occupied homes and second homes. The policy includes coverage on the building, contents, living expenses, and personal liability coverage.

Homeowner's Insurance Advice -

Learn what perils (fire, lightning, windstorm etc.) your policy includes. Are there different perils for loss to your building compared to the coverage provided for your personal property?

Does the policy pay for the replacement of your home after a loss?

Is the limit of coverage adequate? One estimate holds that 35% of homes are underinsured. Could you rebuild your home for the amount of insurance you have?

Don't rely on your home insurance to protect a home based business. Commercial liability is excluded by most homeowner policies. Coverage on business property (computers, file cabinets, reference books, office equipment) is limited as well.

Are your contents valued at replacement cost or depreciated value?

Consider large deductibles to control your premium - $5,000 or $10,000 may make sense.

Many insurers are reluctant to provide coverage for dog owners due to the concern of liability from dog bites.

Most policies exclude damage by flood and earthquake.

Most policies limit coverage for damage caused by mold and fungus.

Most policies limit coverage on jewelry, silver, guns and fine arts. Check with your insurance agent.

Does your policy include liability coverage for libel and slander?

If you travel overseas, check with your agent to determine coverage for property away from your home. Insurance on personal laptop computers may be limited.

Is your policy's bodily injury and property damage liability coverage adequate? Consider an umbrella liability policy for additional limits of protection.

Most homeowner's policies include personal liability for volunteer activities. However, the policy does not include coverage for events such as employment practices liability and mismanagement. Non-profit volunteers should check with the charity to see what coverage is purchased by the organization - director's and officer's coverage for example.

Alarm systems may qualify for policy premium credits.

Insurers may provide premium discounts for clients who buy auto and home coverage.

Some insurers provide credits on home insurance for nonsmokers.

REFILE-Allianz to start selling life insurance in Japan

TOKYO, March 26 (Reuters) - Allianz (ALVG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Europe's biggest insurer, said it will sell variable annuities through a Japanese unit of Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and may offer other products as it enters the world's second-largest life insurance market.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and others have established over several years a solid presence in variable annuities -- a hybrid of life insurance and investment trusts.

Variable annuities typically offer some guarantee to the principal and have struck a chord with Japan's growing number of retirees eager to shift some of their savings out of low-yielding deposits but worried about the risk of a pure stock or bond fund.

The market has already grown some 28-fold over the past five years to 16.5 trillion yen ($165 billion), but is still thought to have plenty of room to grow given it is just a tenth the size of the U.S. market.

"The potential is there," said Fitch Ratings Associate Director Megumi Usui, adding, however, that the entry of more Japanese insurers in addition to foreign firms such as Hartford was making the market tougher to crack.

"The market is getting quite competitive," she said.

Hartford Life held 24 percent of Japan's variable annuities market in terms of assets as of September, followed by Mitsui Sumitomo MetLife at 14 percent, ING Life at 13 percent and Tokio Marine & Nichido Financial Life at 12 percent, according to industry newspaper Hoken Mainichi Shinbun.
Allianz had said earlier this month that it would start selling variable annuities in Japan from April but had not given details such as its plans to sell the product through Nikko Cordial Securities, a broker recently acquired by Citigroup.

Allianz said it would consider additional sales partnerships while also looking at introducing other products, encouraged by deregulation last year that further eased restrictions on what insurance products could be sold through banks.

Bruce Bower, Allianz's Asia Pacific Chief Executive Officer, told Reuters in an interview that the company had not decided on its next product offering for Japan but that bundling healthcare insurance with annuities could be an option.

"Healthcare is a big industry in Japan and a growing industry in Japan. We'll explore what opportunities may arise to see whether it is viable for us to launch products in that regard," Bower said. (Editing by Louise Ireland)

Personal Finance: Can life insurance help you get that business loan?

Georgianna G. Latino
news@theadvertiser.com
Most businesses run on credit, or at least ready access to it. Without credit at reasonable rates, many businesses would find it nearly impossible to carry out expansion plans or get through times of tight cash flow. That's one reason businesses watch interest rates so closely. A lower rate usually means better access to more credit at lower rates.

Life insurance may be a player in the credit game. When banks evaluate a loan application from a business client, they frequently take into consideration whether a key employee in that business has life insurance. In the event that the employee's loss causes a business disruption, the life insurance could serve as a means of secondary collateral. In a sole proprietorship or other closely held business, a life insurance policy can possibly be a deciding factor to the bank as to whether or not to grant the loan. The chances for obtaining a loan approval may be enhanced if the business itself is named as the policy beneficiary.

A life insurance policy can help in the following ways:
# It may make a lender more willing to grant credit or a loan.

# It may open access to higher amounts of credit.

# In some instances, it may result in a more competitive loan rate.

Which insurance is right for you?

Term is often used, especially when:

# Protection needs are short-term or limited, such as to cover a single loan for a specific period of time.

# The situation calls for a high dollar amount of coverage.

# Dollars are tight. Term insurance provides coverage for a lower immediate premium dollar than does permanent insurance.

# Most businessowners prefer no-frills protection. You can buy it when you need it and drop it when you're done.

However, term life insurance has its drawbacks:

# It's pure cost. Unlike permanent life insurance, term provides no living benefits in the form of cash value accumulation.

# If you need coverage for more than a short period of time, keep in mind that the premium cost is likely to increase over time. Eventually, as you get older, the cost may become prohibitive.

# If you experience health problems and become uninsurable, you may not be able to buy coverage when you next apply for it.

Many business owners opt for permanent life insurance.

Cash value accumulation can be an important feature of permanent life insurance for businessowners, especially since many businesses rely on credit on an ongoing basis. In fact, it's not uncommon for business owners to routinely assign insurance benefits to their lending bank.

In a nutshell, here are several of the highlights of purchasing a cash value, permanent life insurance policy:

# Once you buy it, you can keep it for life, as long as you pay your premiums. The death benefit protection is with you for life as long as you pay your premiums. With term coverage, on the other hand, there is always the risk that the term insurance will expire and you may become uninsurable as you get older. Then you might not be able to purchase insurance, which can compromise your access to credit.

# The price doesn't go up. It remains level.

# The cash value that accumulates can be borrowed against at a competitive interest rate. (However, it's important to remember that loans against your policy accrue interest and decrease the death benefit and cash value by the amount of the outstanding loan and interest.)

The reality of business is that businesses rely on credit, and life insurance can sometimes help you get that credit. For more information on how life insurance can help your business and family you should seek the advice of your insurance agent, tax professional and/or attorney.

Georgiana "Shelly" Latino, LUTCF, is a partner with New York Life securities. Her column appears twice a month in The Daily Advertiser.

Comparing Rates and Companies

This section gives you steps you can use to help you get to the bottom line. Comparing the prices of term insurance versus cash-value policies is virtually impossible.
When you’re ready to start shopping for life insurance, do the following:

• Decide which kind of insurance: The first thing you must do is decide which kind of policy you want (if you could afford it): term, whole life, universal life, or variable life. You must also decide which riders, if any, you want. Review the information in the previous chapters, which explain the details of each kind of policy and rider and goes over the pluses and minuses of each.
• Look for insurance companies: Seek out at least five or six companies and/or agents who sell the kind of policy you want. Eliminate any companies that you have doubts about. If you speak with any independent agents, remember to find out which company would be underwriting your insurance.
• Ask for quotes from each of those remaining companies or agents: Be certain that each quote represents the same amount of death benefit with all the same riders/ options you want. If possible, ask the agent or company to break down the charges so you can more easily compare the policies — which is particularly important when you evaluate cash-value policies. If you’re unsure as to which kind of policy to buy, get quotes for all the kinds of policies. Only then can you accurately decide which one is best for you.