What You Should Know about Florida Term Life Insurance

Everyone knows what life insurance is: it is a policy designed to help pay for your funeral and other final expenses as well as care for loved ones after your death. There are several types of life insurance from which to choose, but Florida term life insurance is often the most popular choice because it is the most affordable.

Understanding the Basics

Florida term life insurance is incredibly straightforward and simple to understand. Generally, those who purchase it pay monthly, bi-monthly, semi-annual or annual premiums to protect themselves and their families for that term. Most of the time, purchasers select a term length before purchasing their policies. The most common term lengths are 10, 20 and 30 years but there are other choices available. Since the benefits are only guaranteed during this term, the premiums are usually less expensive than those associated with whole life insurance policies.

When Term Life Insurance is a Good Idea

People who are deciding between insurance policy types may want to lean toward Florida term life insurance for several reasons. First of all, it is affordable and will help provide for a family’s needs—and even replace your income—in the event of your death. You can add it to a whole life insurance policy during the time that you are raising children so that you can enjoy additional peace of mind and coverage for their needs. When used carefully, and when certain types of plans are selected, these policies can even provide longer term protection for paying off a mortgage or even a college education.

Types of Term Life Insurance Policies

There are several types of policies inside the Florida term life insurance category. Select term life insurance is the most popular; it allows you to choose the length of your term. Although your insurance premium cost may go up after the term ends, as long as you pay on time, you can often maintain guaranteed coverage afterward. Return-of-Premium policies are a bit more expensive, but they will allow you to get everything you’ve paid in premiums back at the end of the term if you outlive it. Some of these policies are guaranteed until the age of 95. Finally, there are policies designed only to help pay off mortgages and college tuitions in the event of your untimely death.

Disadvantages of Term Life Insurance

While it is obvious that there are plenty of reasons to consider Florida term life insurance, there are also some disadvantages of which you should be aware. The premiums are generally affordable during the term, but once your term expires, you could find yourself paying quite a bit. If you miss a payment, your insurance carrier has the right to reject your policy—even if there are still years left on your term. Finally, there are often times when term life insurance policies expire and individuals have a difficult time finding a new policy that is anywhere near as affordable.

If you have questions about the benefits and downfalls of Florida term life insurance, you should speak with your insurance agent about your situation. Term life insurance isn’t right for everyone, but it may be right for you and your family. 

Five Little-Known Florida Auto Insurance Discounts

Everyone knows that they can save money on their Florida auto insurance by avoiding tickets, driving safely, and purchasing automobiles that have high crash test ratings. However, there are a few things that might really surprise you when it comes to auto insurance discounts. Listed below are five of the most little-known auto insurance discounts available.

Find Your Soulmate

As strange as it may seem, falling in love, getting engaged and eventually getting married can save you some big bucks on your Florida auto insurance. Insurance providers also associate getting married—and in some cases, even engaged—with an advanced level of responsibility. This means that once you’ve got that ring on your finger, you can expect your insurance rates to go down by around 15% depending upon your insurance carrier of choice.

Be a Genius

There are some Florida auto insurance companies out there who will actually provide a discount of 8% to 10% to individuals who belong to a group known as Mensa—a group reserved for those who have intelligence quotients at the top 2% of the population. If you do not score as highly on the standard IQ test as you had hoped, there are still other brainy discounts of which you can take advantage. You can get discounts for belonging to particular sororities or fraternities, attending certain schools or even scoring at a certain level on your SAT or ACT tests.

Promote Your Carrier on Social Media Sites

Another great way to enjoy a Florida auto insurance discount is to ‘like’ your carrier on Facebook or add a predetermined hashtag to your rave review about the company on Twitter. Although the discount may not be permanent and it may be small in nature, any discount is worth obtaining—especially if it’s as easy as clicking ‘like’. This is something that insurance companies are doing to help promote their brands. However, keep in mind that ‘liking’ the carrier will mean that you will see posts from them in your News Feed.

Go Paperless

Insurance companies spend a lot of money to print policies, billing statements and more, and then they pay even more to send these to you via postal mail. If you request to have all of these things delivered to you electronically instead, you could save as much as 2% to 5% on your bill annually. This may not seem like much, but if you combine it with other easy-to-get discounts, it can certainly add up.

Switch Early

There are a lot of factors that insurance companies will consider when determining the risks involved with insuring you, and your previous insurance coverage is a big one. If you want to switch providers, you may be eligible for a significant discount by switching at least seven days before your old policy expires. Furthermore, if you have maintained insurance coverage without any lapses and you have been with the same provider for more than a year or two, you may get even larger Florida auto insurance discounts.

Some other things that you can do to enjoy little-known discounts include becoming a member of AARP, living in a retirement community and even choosing a low-risk career. When you combine these discounts, you may be surprised at how affordable Florida auto insurance can become. 

How to Save Money on your Florida Homeowner's Insurance Policy

When it comes to today’s economy, the importance of saving money simply cannot be stressed enough. Fortunately, there are a few ways for you to save money on your Florida homeowner’s insurance policy without skimping on the things that are really important to you, your family and your home.

Raise Your Deductible

While you never want to raise your deductible so high that you won’t be able to afford it in a crisis, it is important to find a good, happy medium when it comes to the cost of your premium and the amount of your deductible. Most insurance companies recommend that consumers start out with a deductible of at least $500, but if you can afford to bump that deductible up to $1000 instead, you could save as much as 25% on your Florida homeowner’s insurance policy. This is quite a savings and that money could be put to great use elsewhere.

Buy Policies from the Same Insurer

Since it is likely that you also purchase health and automobile insurance, it will almost certainly save you money when you combine these policies and allow the same insurer to handle them all. Many insurance companies provide some significant discounts to those who choose to combine their policies—or ‘bundle’ them, to use industry terms. If you carry two policies, you can save as much as 20%. Individuals who have three major insurance policies with the same company could save 30% or even more.

Disaster-Proof Your Home

If you find a good insurance company, you can get discounts for doing things that may protect your home from certain disasters. For instance, if you install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, you will get a small discount. However, if you install a security system that automatically notifies police, fire and rescue services in the event of such emergencies, your discounts could climb substantially. Adding things like storm shutters or even resurfacing your roof could also pay off over the course of a year or two, so be sure to look into these, as well.

Increase Your Credit Score

Although it may not seem like your credit score should have much to do with the amount of money you spend on your Florida homeowner’s insurance policy, it just might. Insurers use all kinds of information to determine the risks involved in insuring you and your home. In order to increase your credit score, you should always pay your bills on time, avoid taking out new lines of credit that are not necessary, and keep all of the balances on your credit cards as low as you possibly can.

Review Your Assets Annually and Make Changes as Needed

When you purchase a Florida homeowner’s insurance policy, you will need to gather information regarding all of your assets and their values. Many things depreciate in value over time, and people often fail to report this depreciation to their insurance companies in order to have their premiums reduced. For instance, if you purchased a mink coat for $7000 in 2007, then chances are that the coat is no longer worth the $7000 you paid for it. Small things like this can make a world of difference in your insurance premiums, so be sure to do this once a year.

Overall, there are plenty of ways for you to save money on your Florida homeowner’s insurance policy. Aside from the ones mentioned here, you should also consider the cost of insurance when purchasing a home by determining whether or not that home is in a flood or earthquake zone. This can cause premiums to skyrocket in some cases 

Do You Need Florida Long-Term Care Insurance?

Amidst all of the expenses of daily life such as bills, mortgage payments and even saving for retirement or college, Florida long-term care insurance may seem less-than-necessary—especially if you’re still young. However, purchasing this insurance now ensures that you will receive the best care possible in a long-term care facility.

What Constitutes “Long-Term Care”?

Long-term care is that which is provided to you either in a nursing or rehabilitation facility, or, in some cases, even in your own home. This care is deemed necessary when you are no longer able to perform the basic functions of daily living such as bathing, taking medications, ambulating to the restroom, cooking meals and more. While many people associate long-term care with age and frailty, plenty of young people find themselves in need of this care after serious accidents or illnesses, as well. This is why Florida long-term care insurance should always be a part of your health insurance package, regardless of your age or current health condition.

What Your Insurance Plan Covers

Most medical insurance plans cover hospital stays, doctors’ visits, surgeries and other things of that nature. However, whether or not your personal plan covers long-term care is something you’ll need to speak with your insurance agent about. Unfortunately, most insurance plans do not cover stays in rehabilitation or nursing facilities, and while some of them may pay for a nurse or nurse aid to come to your home for things such as dressing changes and medical needs after an illness or injury, they won’t cover an individual—or non-professional—coming into your home to help you take care of your basic needs. Florida long-term care insurance is necessary for covering these costs.

Long-Term Care is Not Always Long-Term

When most people think of long-term care, their imaginations are filled with visions of elderly individuals or those who have serious injuries that have rendered them residents of nursing homes for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, in a medical sense, long-term care isn’t always life-long. For instance, if you break your leg in an accident, you may not be able to get around and do the things you once could, and you may not be able to properly care for yourself during the healing process. While it may only take three months or so for you to ‘get back on your feet’, so to speak, the care you receive in a facility or at home is considered long-term care.

Choosing a Plan

If you’re interested in finding out whether or not your insurance covers long-term care, or if you want to purchase Florida long-term care insurance, you should first speak with the provider who supplies your health insurance. Oftentimes, you can get long-term care insurance added to your plan for just a few additional dollars above and beyond the cost of your premiums. If your provider doesn’t offer this type of insurance, there are plenty of companies across the nation which specialize in this insurance.  

If you’re lacking Florida long-term care insurance, don’t put it off. You may think that being young and healthy will keep you out of the nursing and rehabilitation home, but you never really know what’s around the corner. If something should happen, you’ll be glad you made the decision to purchase this coverage. 

Finding the Gaps in Your Florida Insurance Coverage

It’s easy to let certain things ‘slide’ when you’re short on money, but living with gaps in your Florida insurance coverage isn’t the best idea. It is important to analyze all of your insurance policies—health, life, auto and more—in order to determine where the gaps are and how to fill them on a budget.

Life Insurance

Life insurance isn’t a luxury; it’s something that everyone needs to have in place whether or not they have a family depending on their income. Many of the people who maintain life insurance believe that they have enough to cover their expenses and their families’ way of life once they’re gone, but this isn’t always the case. You should take the time to carefully review your life insurance policy and ensure that the amount of money your family or beneficiary will receive after your death is enough to cover all of your final expenses, outstanding bills and current lifestyle for a period of at least one year—perhaps even two. If you have young children, you may even want to consider carrying enough to cover their living expenses until beyond their college years.

Homeowner’s Insurance

If you are a homeowner, you should carefully examine this Florida insurance coverage, as well. Depending upon where you live, flooding, earthquakes and more could be potentially devastating to your home and therefore your family. Unbeknownst to many, some insurance policies simply do not cover floods or earthquakes—especially in areas that are prone to these events—and you will have to purchase it separately. If you’re not sure what your policy covers, call your insurance agent and discuss it. It may cost more annually to add these forms of coverage to your plan, but it could make a world of difference if disaster strikes.

Auto Insurance

If you’re on a serious budget, you may think you can get by with carrying only your state’s minimum insurance coverage. Although this will get you by legally, it may not suffice if you’re involved in a serious accident. Your $50,000 in liability coverage may cover a car that is totaled when you are at fault, but it certainly won’t cover all of the expenses if the totaled car is a brand-new Porsche or other luxury car. When this happens, if your insurance isn’t enough to cover the damages, you will be sued for the rest—and you’ll be ordered to pay out of pocket. You should take a look at your Florida insurance coverage as it relates to your automobile as well as those of others and ensure that there is enough there to cover even the most unlikely of accidents.

While it likely isn’t your intention to have serious gaps in your Florida insurance coverage, they likely exist as they do for millions of people. If you aren’t sure where the gaps are and how to fill them, talk to your insurance agent as soon as possible to review your policies. Your situation—as well as your insurance needs—can change over time, and it is crucial that you maintain insurance policies that will cover you in any possible event. 

Getting Florida Auto Insurance after a DUI

If you have been convicted of a DUI in the state of Florida, it will stay on your record for 10 years. During this time, purchasing insurance can certainly be difficult. While some insurance companies may be lenient if it is your first offense, you may find yourself in the high-risk pool. You may even be required to pay high rates for minimum coverage.  

Your First Offense

If this is your first conviction for a DUI, then you may not notice much change as far as your Florida auto insurance goes as long as you continue to pay your premiums on time. Even if your driver’s license is suspended, you might be able to continue to pay for your insurance as you normally would in order to keep it effective. This often depends on the insurance companies as some will drop your policy soon after learning that your license was suspended. If this happens, then you’ll really have a problem because you’ll be forced to shop for a new insurance carrier with not only a DUI on your record, but also a cancellation.

High Risk Insurance

Most of the time, if you are convicted of a DUI, you will be required to pay much more for Florida auto insurance because these insurance carriers will view insuring you as a risky endeavor. In some cases, and generally if you are reinstating your license after a suspension, the court may order you to file an SR-22 document. This is often confused as a separate type of insurance, but it is actually a document you must file when the courts have ordered you to maintain a certain minimum in the form of liability insurance. This means that you will pay much more for basic coverage than other drivers for the entire time that the SR-22 is kept on file.

What are High-Risk Pools?

High-risk pools are maintained by each state and are essentially an assigned-risk pool for risky drivers. Each Florida auto insurance company is required to handle its portion of this pool, whether it will earn a profit or be required to absorb a loss because of it. When you cannot find a private insurance company to insure you, you will likely land in this pool. Regardless, there are insurance companies out there who are required to provide you with coverage, albeit at a much higher rate—and only for the absolute minimum coverage that is necessary in the state of Florida.

Improving the Situation

In many cases, there isn’t much you can do to improve your insurance rates after filing an SR-22 or falling into the high-risk pool until your DUI has come off your driving record or you are no longer required to keep the SR-22 on file. You’ll likely just have to bite the bullet and pay the higher rates. However, in other cases, and especially if you have been with the same insurance company for a long period of time and have maintained a good driving record other than the DUI, you may be placed on what is known as a ‘probationary period’. During this time, you will pay higher rates; however, if you do not receive a single traffic ticket or violation, your insurance rates will go back to normal.

The best way to avoid getting stuck with high Florida auto insurance rates due to a DUI is to simply avoid drinking and driving. Unfortunately, once your rates have gone up or your insurance carrier has cancelled your policy, high rates are simply something you will have to live with until your driving record returns to normal. 

Florida Renters Insurance offers Peace of Mind

Those who own their homes understand the importance of covering these structures—and all of the valuable things within them—against losses due to fire, flood, storm damage and more. Florida renter’s insurance offers most of the same benefits with one very notable exception: it does not cover the structure itself.

Homeowner’s vs. Renter’s Insurance

Florida renter’s insurance is a lot like homeowner’s insurance because it offers many of the same coverage types. If the home you are renting is struck by lightning, catches fire due to issues beyond your control or is damaged due to a flood or storm, your landlord is responsible for all of the structural damage that occurs. However, the insurance your landlord carries will not cover your personal losses for things like furniture, electronics and more. All of this responsibility falls on you, so it is good to know that renter’s insurance is quite easy to obtain and often more affordable than many individuals may think.

Choosing a Coverage Amount

The cost of the Florida renter’s insurance premiums will vary somewhat based upon several different factors, including the types of coverage you choose and the overall value of your property. Before purchasing coverage, go through your home and take pictures of all of your valuable items. If you own things of extraordinary value, be sure to have them appraised and documented. Then, add up the value of all of your belongings and purchase a policy that will cover more than this amount. You may choose to purchase a policy that will pay the replacement cost of these items or one that will give you the actual cash value of your items in the form of a check following a loss.

Liability Coverage

Most Florida renter’s insurance policies also include liability coverage. Liability insurance will protect you if someone is injured or suffers bodily harm while inside your rented home. For example, if you are hosting a birthday party and a friend trips over a rug, falls and breaks his or her hand, you could be at risk for being sued. Liability insurance is available for this very purpose, and the amount of coverage you choose will have a direct impact on the cost of your premiums. You may choose $10,000 in liability coverage for a lower premium; you may also choose $50,000 in liability coverage for a broader coverage range, but this comes with a higher premium.

Other Things that May Be Covered

There are numerous other benefits associated with Florida renter’s insurance, such as the ability to cover items that you take with you when you travel. This should be examined closely, however, as not every policy covers items like engagement rings, cell phones, suitcases and more. Renter’s insurance can also cover you in the event of a theft, but it is still up to you to determine whether or not you want to receive the actual cash value of the stolen property or the replacement cost.

Although your rented home’s structure is covered under your landlord’s homeowner’s insurance policy, your personal belongings—and your liability if someone is injured in your home or on your property—are not. Fortunately, Florida renter’s insurance is quite inexpensive and can make replacing items or paying for legal claims simpler and easier.