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Insurance

Your credit score may matter more than your driving record

August 6, 2015 By Liz Weston

CRO_TOC_Cover_09_2015The vast majority of auto insurers use credit information to help determine your premiums, except in the three states where it’s not allowed (California, Massachusetts and Hawaii). Credit scores don’t just matter–a new special investigation by Consumer Reports has found that sometimes your credit scores matter more than your driving record.

The researchers hired a company called Quadrant Information Services, which gathers the mathematical pricing formulas insurers have to file with the states. They used the data to create 20 hypothetical policyholders and analyzed what happened when various ratings factors were changed. In Kansas, for example, a moving violation would boost a single policyholder’s premium by $122 on average, but a good (rather than a great) credit score would increase it by $233. A bad score could drive it up by $1,3o1.

The credit scores insurers use aren’t the same as the ones lenders use, and you have no right to see the insurance scores that are being used to judge you.

The researchers get a bit off track when they imply that using credit scores discriminates against the poor, because that isn’t something that’s backed up by research. But you should have a right to see any score that’s being used to judge you, and to challenge the accuracy of the underlying information that goes into the score.

 

 

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Reports, Credit Scores, Insurance, insurance scores, premiums

Q&A: Term life insurance

July 13, 2015 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My husband doesn’t qualify for term life insurance because he is overweight and pre-diabetic. Although he’s working on getting in shape, I’m afraid something might happen. I should add we have a 3-year-old daughter, and he is the main breadwinner.

What would you suggest we do to ensure we are covered if something were to happen?

Answer: Just because your husband was turned down by one insurer doesn’t mean others won’t accept him. Even people who are obese or who have diabetes can find coverage, so your husband shouldn’t accept that he’s uninsurable.

Look for an independent agent or broker who works with several companies rather than a captive agent who works for just one or two. A fee-only financial planner may be able to help you find a good agent. The planner also could recommend an appropriate amount of coverage.

Your husband also should investigate any coverage he might have through his job. Many employers provide a base amount of coverage as a benefit (frequently $50,000 or one year’s pay) and often allow workers to buy additional coverage without requiring medical exams.

The downside of employer-sponsored group life insurance is that he may not be able to buy as much coverage as he needs. He may need 10 times his annual salary, for instance, but his group policy may max out at five times his salary. Also, the policy may not be portable — it may end if he’s laid off or quits, for example.

The best strategy will depend on the costs he faces. But one approach may be to buy as much employer-provided coverage as possible and supplement it with an individual term policy purchased on his own.

If his health improves, he could boost his individual coverage while buying less of the employer-provided kind.

Filed Under: Insurance, Q&A Tagged With: Insurance, life insurance, q&a

Monday’s need-to-know money news

February 2, 2015 By Liz Weston

Household-Budget1Today’s top story: Why treating your household like a business could help your budget. Also in the news: The money moves you need to make right now, why it’s going to get tougher to get a student loan, and how to take advantage of the home office deduction.

How to Manage Your Household Budget Like a Business
Thinking of your home as a business can help keep your budget on track.

The Money Moves to Stop Procrastinating and Take Care of Now
No more excuses.

The Student Loan Rule Change That Could Hurt Parents With Bad Credit
Getting a student loan just became more difficult.

Tax Season: Demystifying the Home Office Deduction
Making sure your home office is legitimate.

Nationwide ad meant to be jarring
The insurance company defends depressing Super Bowl ad.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: advertising, budgets, home office, home office deduction, Insurance, money moves, Student Loans, Taxes, tips

Get free financial advice

October 6, 2014 By Liz Weston

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailNeed some free, one-on-one financial help from a qualified advisor with no strings attached? Check out the Financial Planning Days being offered around the country throughout October and November.

These events are brought to you by a host of reputable organizations: the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the Financial Planning Association, the Foundation for Financial Planning and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Kiplinger is the national media sponsor.

Given how hard it can be to find good, un-conflicted advice–let alone getting it for free–these sessions can be a real boon. Even if you don’t sign up to talk to a CFP, you can attend one of the informational workshops on various financial planning topics.

Sound good? Check out this link to see if there’s an upcoming event in your area. LA and OC peeps: your events will be held Sunday Oct. 18, so register now!

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Budgeting, CFP, CFP Board of Standards, Credit, Estate Planning, FPA, Insurance, Investing, Kiplinger, Retirement, Taxes

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

September 3, 2014 By Liz Weston

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailToday’s top story: Home Depot is latest retailer to suffer a major data breach. Also in the news: How to organize your finances based on your personality type, which banks are the best and the worst with checking account fees, and three tips that could help you pay off your mortgage early.

Home Depot Data Breach: What to Do If You’ve Shopped There Recently
The latest big name target of credit data theft.

Four Ways to Organize Your Money Based on Your Personality
The best organization strategies based on your personality.

The Best and Worst Banks, Based on Checking Account Fees
Some of these fees will astound you.

3 Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early
Even a year early can make a big difference.

3 Types of Insurance You Need – And 3 You Don’t
Choose wisely.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: data breach, Home Depot, Identity Theft, Insurance, mortgages, organizing, tips

Q&A: Maximizing retirement benefits

July 28, 2014 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I don’t know where to turn. My husband is 76. He has a federal government pension and collects Social Security but he has only a $17,000 life insurance policy. We still have a $229,000 mortgage and no savings other than my small 401(k). I am 59 and also a federal worker. Do you have any suggestions or guidance for me? Is there such a thing as an insurance policy that could pay off the mortgage if he passes before me?

Answer: Buying a life insurance policy on your husband that would pay off your mortgage isn’t necessarily impossible, but it would be expensive and might not be the best use of your funds. You can explore that option, of course, but you also should research your own retirement resources and what’s likely to remain after he’s gone.

Will your husband’s pension make payments to his survivor or will it end when he dies? How much will your own federal pension pay you when you retire? How much will Social Security pay you, and how does that compare with your survivor’s benefit (which is essentially equal to what your husband is receiving when he dies)? What are your options for maximizing those benefits?

You also need to know if your Social Security benefits could be reduced because of your public pensions. Some federal employees and employees of state or local governments receive pensions based on earnings that were not subject to Social Security taxes. When that’s the case, their benefits could be reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision or the Government Pension Offset. Most federal employees hired after 1983 are covered by Social Security, but just in case you should check out the information at http://www.ssa.gov/gpo-wep/.

Once you have an idea of your income as a widow, you can compare that with your expected expenses and see whether continuing to pay your mortgage will pose a burden. If that’s the case, you might consider downsizing now to a place you could afford to buy with cash or a much smaller mortgage. Reducing your expenses also could help you build up that 401(k), which will help provide you with a more comfortable retirement.

Establishing a relationship with a fee-only planner now will help you prepare for the future and give you someone to turn to for financial advice should you be left on your own.

Filed Under: Estate planning, Financial Advisors, Insurance, Q&A, Retirement Tagged With: Estate Planning, Insurance, q&a, Retirement

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