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Insurance

Monday’s need-to-know money news

August 26, 2013 By Liz Weston

NannyHow your weekend Netflix binges could help you get a mortgage, the dangers lurking inside “flipped” homes, and what to expect when Mom or Dad rejoin the workforce.

Can Your Netflix Account Help You Get a Mortgage?
Orange is the New Mortgage.

4 Family Money Lessons From Top Companies
Financial education for the entire family.

Why Your Boss is Dumping Your Wife
It’s not why you’re thinking.

Buying a “flipped home”? Be careful.
Why it’s important to look beyond cosmetic repairs.

What stay-at-home parents need to know before rejoining the work force.
Preparing for the transition back to the work.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: family finance, flipping, home purchase, Insurance, mortgages, stay at home parents

Friday’s need-to-know money news

July 5, 2013 By Liz Weston

House With Tree DamageHow to prepare for a disaster, avoid the financial pitfalls that come with a speeding ticket and how to get the latest iDevice without destroying your family budget.

How to Plan for Any Disaster
Preparing for the unexpected.

Do Employer Credit Checks Damage Credit Scores?
Understanding employer’s right to access your credit information.

5 Tickets That Will Ruin Your Insurance
Slow down to avoid paying extra.

5 Frugal Summer Activities to Beat the Heat

Staying cool doesn’t have to melt your wallet.

Don’t Let Gadgets Devour the Family Budget
Sometimes the latest isn’t the greatest.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Budgeting, Credit Cards, Credit Reports, Credit Scores, disaster preparedness, disasters, FICO, FICO scores, Insurance

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

June 25, 2013 By Liz Weston

creditImproving your credit score, making the economy work for you, and how that video you just posted on Facebook could come back to haunt you.

How Can I Build My Credit Score?
Ten steps to better credit.

Buying a House? Don’t Make These Mistakes
Don’t be sidetracked by fixable mistakes.

7 Smart Money Moves in an Improving Economy
How to make the improving economy work for your money.

Don’t Let Your Social Media Footprint Kill Your Job Prospects
What you post on Facebook today could keep you unemployed tomorrow.

The Pros & Cons Of Cell Phone Insurance
Having insurance on a fragile smartphone sounds like a good idea. But does it make financial sense?

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: cell phone, Credit Bureaus, Credit Reports, Credit Scores, credit scoring, Facebook, FICO, FICO scores, homebuying, Insurance, social lending

Friday’s need-to-know money news

June 7, 2013 By Liz Weston

House With Tree DamageThe inconvenient costs of convenience checks, the effects of the sequester on the unemployed, how to save money by purchasing an energy efficient home, how to save your financial sanity when your kids move back home and why hurricane season means it’s time to check your auto insurance coverage.

The True Costs of Credit Card Convenience Checks

The checks sent by your credit card company under the guise of convenience could lead to some very inconvenient fees.

Why the Unemployed Are Seeing Smaller Checks

The effects of sequestration mean 11% to 22% cuts for unemployment checks.

Bill Would Sweeten Loans for Energy-Efficient Homes

Purchasing an energy-efficient home could land you a larger mortgage and a lower interest rate under a Senate bill introduced with broad real estate industry support.

How to Set Money Ground Rules For A Boomerang Kid

With over 13% of parents having a grown child living at home, it’s important to set financial ground rules in order to keep the peace.

Hurricane season: Make sure your car is covered

Hurricanes damage hundreds of thousands of cars, but insurer rules prevent last-minute buying of coverage. Now is the time to review your policy.

 

Filed Under: Liz's Blog, Saving Money, The Basics Tagged With: auto insurance, Credit Cards, Insurance, mortgage, mortgage rates

Is your dog blacklisted by insurers?

May 6, 2013 By Liz Weston

Dog teethMy column today, “10 dog breeds that rile insurers up,” discusses how your pet’s breed could cause some companies to deny coverage or charge you more.

The breeds include various types of terriers commonly called “pit bulls,” as well as Dobermans, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Huskies, Cane Corso and Mastiffs.

These so-called “breed lists” aren’t used by all insurers and tend to change as the types of dogs involved in attacks change (something that’s often related to breed popularity). There’s a reason that “nippy” dogs such as Chihuahuas and dachshunds aren’t on these lists: although they may be more likely to bite, they can’t do the damage that a bigger breed can. The average insurance claim for a dog bite is nearly $30,000, which implies a whole lot of pain.

If you own a dog that’s on an insurer’s breed list, or if you simply want to avoid expensive lawsuits and the possibility of harming others, there are plenty of ways to reduce your liability to dog bite claims. Among them:

Shop around. Every insurer has different criteria, so getting quotes from a number of different companies can help dog owners find coverage. An insurance broker who is knowledgeable about various insurers’ policies can help with the search. Larger insurers may be more accommodating than smaller ones. For example: State Farm, the largest homeowners insurance company, says it does not discriminate by breed but does require dog owners to answer questions about their animals’ history and behavior.

Spay and neuter. Sexually intact dogs are more likely to bite than spayed or neutered animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mind your kids. Don’t leave infants or young children alone with any dog, the CDC advises. Teach children not to approach unfamiliar dogs and to remain still if approached by dogs they don’t know, or to roll up into a ball and stay motionless if knocked down by a dog. (If an unfamiliar dog is leashed and with its owner, make sure your child asks the owner first if the dog is friendly and if it’s okay to approach. Your child should know to let the dog sniff first before petting.) Kids should be taught not to disturb dogs that are eating, sleeping or tending puppies. Most dog bites occur “during everyday activities and while interacting with familiar dogs,” according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, so be vigilant about how your child behaves with dogs. Don’t let a child or anyone else tease or threaten a dog.

Don’t encourage aggression. Wrestling or even tug-of-war can trigger aggressive behavior in your pet. Dogs that have already demonstrated such behavior (lunging, biting)  “are inappropriate in households with children,” the CDC notes. Yes, such dogs can be trained, but the risk to your kids is too high.

Socialize and train your dog. The CDC recommends teaching all dogs “submissive behaviors,” such as rolling over to expose their belly and giving up food without growling. Training can help with these behaviors and others that can make dog ownership easier. Shelters and pet stores are two places to look for low-cost training. Use a leash in public so you can control your dog, the AVMA advises.

Dog bites are no joke. They send some 800,000 Americans every year to emergency rooms and other medical providers for treatment, according to the AVMA. Half of those victims are children, since kids are much more likely to be seriously injured if bit. (I was going to include a photo of what a dog bite did to a young girl’s arm, but decided it was just too graphic.) Senior citizens are the next most common victims.

So do the right thing. Your dog–and your neighbors–are counting on you to be a responsible owner.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: dog bites, homeowners insurance, Insurance

“Cheap” insurance could cost more in the long run

February 11, 2013 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My homeowners insurance just went up 25%. I’ve made no claims and made no changes. I want to get quotes from other providers, but I’m afraid I’m going to get some type of “teaser” rate. I tried changing companies a few years ago and the rate was good, but when it came time for the renewal, they doubled the price! Again, I made no changes nor had any claims. So, now I want to change, but I’m afraid of falling into the same trap. Any suggestions?

Answer: You can’t assume you’re locking in a low rate for life when you buy homeowners insurance. Companies that want to expand their market share may lower their prices awhile to lure customers away from their competitors, then raise premiums when their claims costs go up or they simply want to cut their risk.

The company’s reputation for customer service should be at least as important a factor as price in your decision-making. Check the complaint surveys that many state insurance departments maintain on their websites to see which companies have the best (and worst) reputations.

One way to reduce your homeowner premium is to increase your deductible. Raising the amount you pay out of pocket from $250 to $1,000 can lower your premiums 25%. You should be paying small damages out of pocket anyway, since filing small claims can cause your rates to rise.

You also should shop around every few years, even if a company doesn’t dramatically raise your rates, to make sure you’re getting a decent deal. But again, chasing the lowest-cost insurance could be only a short-term win — an insurer that charges slightly more could be the more stable, and consumer-friendly, choice.

Filed Under: Insurance, Q&A, Saving Money Tagged With: California Department of Insurance, homeowners insurance, Insurance, insurance premiums, property insurance

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