The following graphic breaks down the most expensive medical procedures by cost and takes a closer look into the rising cost of healthcare in our country. Take a look to learn more.
(Click to enlarge)![IG 024 HealthProcedureCost Final Thumb 002 The Cost of a Cared For Nation [Infographic]](http://carrington.edu/cccblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IG_024_HealthProcedureCost_Final_Thumb_002.jpg "The Cost of a Cared For Nation [Infographic]")
[Via: Carrington College's Health Information Technology Program]
If your vehicle is ever totaled in an accident, did you know your auto insurance may not give you enough to pay off your loan balance? The minute you drive off the dealer’s lot, the value of your new vehicle starts to depreciate. In some cases it can take years before the value catches up with your loan balance. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident your insurance company may not value your car high enough to pay off the loan and you could end up making payments on a vehicle that’s sitting in a junk yard.
You can prevent this from happening by purchasing GAP insurance. GAP stands for Guaranteed Auto Protection and it can be vital for anyone borrowing money for a brand new vehicle. With GAP insurance, you don’t have to worry about whether your car’s value matches the loan balance. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, this coverage will bridge the gap between what the insurance company says your car is worth and the actual amount you still owe on it.
When you buy your new vehicle from a dealership, the salesperson and the loan officer are probably going to try to sell you GAP insurance. They make it easy by adding the cost of the insurance to your loan so you don’t have to pay any money out of pocket. This small convenience could mean you end up paying a lot more than necessary. Not only is the GAP insurance through a dealership overpriced, but you’ll also pay interest on it until the loan is paid off.
So let’s take a look at what this can mean for you. The coverage from the dealer can cost $500 or more. Let’s say you finance your vehicle for five years at 10% interest. That’s an extra $50 dollars per year in interest just for the gap coverage. Add that amount to the initial cost of $500 and you’re spending $750 or more for coverage you may be able to purchase for a fraction of that cost.
Before you decide to add GAP coverage to your auto loan, be sure to check with your auto insurance agent first. Although it’s not advertised, many insurance companies offer GAP coverage for brand new, previously untitled vehicles. This is a special endorsement you must request at the same time you add your new vehicle to the policy. Surprisingly, you can often purchase this valuable coverage for less than fifty dollars a year. Compared to the price you’ll pay through the dealership, that’s a savings of $500 or more for the same coverage.
Another advantage to adding the coverage to your insurance policy is that you can remove it at any time. Once you’re confident the value of the car is higher than the loan payoff amount, you simply ask your insurance agent to delete the coverage from your policy. When you add the coverage to your auto loan, you’re stuck paying for it until the loan is paid off completely.
Business liability insurance is a must-have for all businesses. Even if you run a small operation (e.g., bed and breakfast, pet sitting service, house cleaning service, local newspaper), you need to have liability insurance for your business.
Liability insurance covers injuries and damages suffered by a third party. Do not expect to collect from any claim against it. Liability insurance is meant to pay for any obligations you might incur in case someone gets hurt while he or she is on your business property or when there are property damages or injuries caused by you or your employees.
Not a few people have commented that doing business in America is like working in a legal minefield where even minor issues or senseless disputes end up in lawsuits. You may have read about the millions of dollars ruled in favor of plaintiffs. If you don’t want to risk everything you have worked for, you need to protect yourself and your business from any possible legal threat.
Ideally, you should have liability insurance in place before you launch your small business. Remember, anything can happen or go wrong anytime, anywhere. Consult with your insurance agent for the appropriate policy and coverage you need. There are basically four types of liability insurance:
This is the most common and offers a broad coverage of protection against lawsuits arising from auto accidents involving your business vehicles, property damage, or injuries to anyone anywhere you’re doing business such as when someone trips on your tripod if you’re a photographer or if your waiter burns a guest with the flambé he’s carrying. Some liability coverage may include libel, slander, and infringement on intellectual property. (You’ll definitely need this if you run a freelance writing business from home.)
This type of liability insurance is for those who are in the service industry. It covers errors made during the performance of a service such as the malpractice insurance for doctors, and errors and omissions insurance for financial advisors, lawyers, accountants. and other professionals.
This type of liability insurance is for business owners who are in the manufacturing industry. It provides protection against accident, injury, or death that may be blamed to any product you manufacture or develop. Its coverage is best appreciated by toy producers and car manufacturers.
This liability insurance protects you from possible lawsuits your employees might file against your business because of injuries or sickness or for wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and discrimination.
Go online to find the best rates for your business liability insurance. If you wish, you can use an aggregator service to receive multiple quotes from different insurance companies so you can easily compare and make an educated decision. As you go about shopping, you will notice that the rates for a claims-made policy are lower than the rates for an occurrence policy. Don’t merely go for the cheaper premium; learn more about the package you are getting instead.
The occurrence policy is more expensive than the claims-made policy because you remain protected long after your policy lapses. As long as the incident occurred while the policy was in force, any claim against you for that incident will have to be paid by the insurance company regardless of the time of filing. This means that if you get sued three years from now for an incident that happened today, your current insurance will answer for any financial settlement that may be ruled against you in the future even if you have switched to a new insurer by then.
The claims-made policy, on the other hand, provides protection only from incidents that occur during the term of the policy and for which claims must be made within the same time period or for the duration that you are insured with the same insurance company without lapse or gap of coverage.
Shopping for car insurance is not fun, but it is important. If you choose to drive without car insurance, you put yourself, your family and your assets at risk. In addition to those serious risks, driving with car insurance is against the law, and if you are caught you run the risk of losing your drivers license for a long time.
But even though car insurance is a vital purchase, it is not a cheap one. The high cost of car insurance is one of the most common reasons drivers cite for going without this vital protection. Fortunately, there are some things drivers can do to lower the high cost of car insurance and get the protection they need. Putting together your own buying guide before you shop is one of the best ways to get the most comprehensive coverage at the lowest possible price.
Before you start shopping for car insurance, you need to know exactly how much coverage you need. If you already have a policy in place, you can check the details within that policy and use those coverage levels to shop for a new, and hopefully cheaper policy.
If you do not currently have insurance, take a look at the value of the assets you own and buy insurance coverage worth at least that much. Most states have a mandatory minimum amount of coverage drivers must have, but that amount might not be sufficient to cover your potential liability.
You might not realize it, but how well you pay your bills could have a big impact on how much you pay for car insurance. That is because many car insurers consider not only your driving record but your credit record as well. Those companies claim that there is a statistical correlation between an individual’s credit score and their likelihood of having an accident, but no matter what the reason, it pays to be prepared.
Take the time to pull a copy of your credit report and review it carefully. Notify the reporting agency of any inaccuracies and demand that they be removed from your credit report. If your credit truly is bad, seek out companies that base their rates solely on how well you drive.
Collision coverage provides reimbursement for damages to your vehicle caused by an accident, while comprehensive coverage protects you if the car is damaged by a natural disaster, or if it is stolen. If your car is an older model, it might not make sense to carry full comprehensive and collision coverage on the vehicle, since the maximum the insurance would pay is the book value of the vehicle.
To determine if collision and comprehensive coverage still makes sense, find the value of your car and compare it to the cost of that portion of the insurance coverage. If the cost of collision and comprehensive coverage exceeds 10% of the value of the car, you are probably better off dropping that expensive insurance.
Taking these things into account and knowing where you stand can reduce the cost of the car insurance you need without compromising your protection or putting your personal assets at risk. Taking just a few minutes to prepare can allow you to save hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on your car insurance over the course of a year.
Posted by Mark in 