January 28, 2014 Roof insurance: ACV versus replacement cost If you live in one of the states hardest hit by wind and hail damage these past few years, you may have a gaping hole in your roof insurance coverage without even knowing it. A string of unusually costly years for roof damage claims in…
January 16, 2014 Northridge Earthquake Anniversary: Despite retrofits, are homes any safer now? The 1994 Northridge earthquake — which shook Southern California 20 years ago Friday — caused $20 billion in damage, much of that to buildings. About 82,000 residential and commercial units were affected. Some homes were outright destroyed because they were not bolted to their foundations,…
January 3, 2014 Work from home? TCB Thanks to the Internet, FedEx, Priority Mail and UPS – more and more people are avoiding the drag of commuting by working from home. If you’re one of the estimated 43 million Americans in this mode – you’ll want the right insurance in place. You…
December 27, 2013 Safety First For 2014: Do A Home Insurance Checkup Safety First For 2014: Do A Home Insurance Checkup By KATHLEEN DOLER, FOR INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 12/26/2013 06:25 PM ET View Enlarged Image Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires — some significant natural disasters made the news this year, from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines to…
December 7, 2013 Don’t Bark UP the Wrong Tree – Pet Insurance Tips If you are among the 70 + million households in the US that own a dog or cat, you may not have considered pet insurance. But one emergency visit to your vet can make you rethink that decision. There are lots of pet insurance plans…
November 26, 2013 Too Good to be True? Enjoy this week’s holiday, and: THANKS FOR GIVING… your time, your expertise and your dollars to keep UP strong. So far this year we’ve sent you monthly money-saving tips and the straight scoop on flood and car rental insurance, employer-provided disability policies, home air quality…
November 13, 2013 5 Factors That Could Raise Your Insurance Rates Insurers consider a dizzying number of factors in determining premiums, so it’s often challenging for consumers to understand why they’re paying higher rates than their neighbors or co-workers. “All the consumer can do is ask questions when they buy insurance and get comparison apples-to-apples quotes…
November 4, 2013 The Private Financial Information You Must Share Recently, my husband and I decided to make some money moves to reduce our taxes and diversify an investment holding. One of the steps required transferring funds from our online brokerage firm to our regular checking account with our credit union. See also: Benefits and…
October 30, 2013 What’s UP with Renter’s Insurance? Here’s a quiz for renters – 35% of all the households in the U.S… True or False? A nearby fire leaves your clothing, furniture and rugs smoke damaged and waterlogged. Your landlord’s insurance will cover the costs of moving and cleaning and replacing your property.…
October 21, 2013 Auto insurance: Downshift with caution For the average driver, premiums are up 23% over five years vs. 7% for overall inflation. A 40-year-old man now typically pays $1,510 and up to $2,700, says Insure.com. Perhaps you’re thinking that if you just drive down your limits a bit, or switch to…
October 21, 2013 Consumer Watch: Renters Insurance Can Be A Good Buy Julie Watts reports on why it may be worth a few hundred dollars to insure your possessions.
October 16, 2013 Cost of Flood Insurance Rises – Along With Worries By LIZETTE ALVAREZ and CAMPBELL ROBERTSONMIAMI — Sharp increases in federal flood insurance rates are distressing coastal homeowners from Hawaii to New England and are starting to hurt property values and housing sales in areas just beginning to recover from the recession, according to residents…
October 3, 2013 More Bay Area Residents Live In Flood Zones Under New FEMA Maps Tens of thousands of homeowners in the Bay Area and across the country are getting a wakeup call. New maps from FEMA show they are now living in flood zones. Mark Kelly reports.
October 1, 2013 Be Patient With The Health Insurance Exchanges t’s time to start shopping for health insurance on the new exchanges also known as marketplaces) created by the federal Affordable Care Act. To get the scoop on what consumers should know when these marketplaces open, InsuranceQuotes.com chatted with Amy Bach, executive director of United…
September 1, 2013 A Healthy Attitude Today is a big day in the health insurance world. People with no insurance or who need to change their coverage can now start researching new plan options. As this phase of the Affordable Care Act takes effect, do your best to get information from…
August 5, 2013 Do You Need Life Insurance in Retirement? Life insurance helps protect your spouse and children from poverty in the case of your untimely death. However, once your children become self-sufficient and you and your spouse accumulate significant assets, there’s less of a need to keep paying the premiums for life insurance. Here’s…
August 5, 2013 DON’T BOTHER…DO BOTHER When buying rental car insurance: Don’t bother checking the “yes” box and paying for Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) coverage if you’ve got a credit card that offers that same coverage. Most credit cards provide that insurance to their cardholders free of charge as long as…
July 30, 2013 Group vex: Is one enough? If you depend on your earned income and want to build yourself a safety net, you can buy long term disability (LTD) insurance that will replace that income if you become ill or injured and unable to work. You can buy it as an individual…
