Insurance World

We have all heard the saying about no pain and no gain. That can also be true when it comes to finding low cost car insurance. The average insurance buyer avoids most of the responsibility when it comes to purchasing car insurance. They rely heavily on the insurance professional or the insurance company. Sometimes that approach works out fine but there is a decided advantage to the buyer who is better informed when shopping for car insurance. Here are some of the things that you need to consider when shopping for car insurance.

Do I want an Agent? – The agency system has been around a long time. The value of a good insurance professional is very high to a lot of people. They like having someone to counsel them on insurance. They don’t like dealing over the telephone or the internet.

Insurance Company – Once you decide on whether you want an agent or not then you can narrow down the field of insurance companies. You might want to select some familiar national names along with an independent agency.

All in One – There is a good chance that you will find lower cost car insurance by combining all of your insurance with one company. The multiple policy discounts along with the convenience makes it worth you time to compare your auto, home and even your life insurance.

Insurance Coverage – The shopping experience is a good time to get creative and ask a lot of questions about discounts and vehicle types. Question the need for coverage and buy what is most important to you.

Self Insuring – The days of low deductibles are slowly vanishing. Low deductibles are expensive and not worth the out of pocket expense. Higher deductibles means you are self-insuring for the first $500 to $1000 on collision and or comprehensive. This will save you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the policy.

Please see our recommended source for insurance quotes of all types. It is a site dedicated to quotes and is powered by Insure Me. Insure Me is the leading internet insurance quote provider. They are a broker of many insurance companies to give you the lowest rates.

Last month I had to drive down to London. I don’t like driving at the best of times but the rain, spray and heavy traffic on the M1 made conditions difficult. Radio 2 kept me company and the heater kept me warm. Then I hit that queue - six miles solid and I was soon an hour behind schedule.

They were still clearing up the accident when I got there. It was nasty. A lorry and what was left of two cars. Made me think, after all that could have been me. Yep, my life insurance is up to date and my Will was renewed only last month. The family would be well cared for and the mortgage repaid. Had I missed anything?

The business. What would happen to that? We have two directors, 7 employees, an overdraft and lots of insurance. Public Liability, professional indemnity, vehicles and stock are all insured. We even have legal protection insurance. Had I missed anything? I got to thinking.

Thank goodness it wasn’t George in that accident. A great guy and he’s been with us five years. He’s our top salesman. There again what if it had been my co-director who also owns 50% of the business? What would be the repercussions on the business?

Sales down, profits down, bank phoning all too politely to ask about the Directors guarantee on the overdraft. Then I’d have to try and buy his shares. I wouldn’t want someone else to get hold of those. At some stage I’d have to recruit someone of his calibre to continue the company going forward - that wouldn’t be easy! And recruiting top people doesn’t come cheap. That’s more time and more money. The personal problems …… the repercussions …….. the extra work ……… the extra stress ……..

Oh heck, I don’t want to think about it all. Quickly, switch over to Radio 1 .

Does all this ring alarm bells with you? 95.2% of UK businesses employ less than 10 people and these are precisely the organisations most at risk from the impact of severe illness or death of a key person. The risks of a key person being stuck down with a long term illness or death are real. 1 in 5 men suffer a critical illness before their normal retirement age. Then there’s the M1. The fact that it hasn’t happened so far might just mean your business has just been lucky.

Now to those actuarial boffins in insurance companies, risk and luck are flip sides of the same coin. And they can provide insurance cover for most risks. After all they too want to increase sales. But they’re scratching their heads about Keyman Insurance. Most of Britain’s 4.1million small businesses should have it but few do. What can it do? It can be structured to:

Provide an income stream to the company whilst the key person is incapacitated (compensation for the lost contribution from the Keyman)

Provide a lump sum to the business in the event of death (pay off the overdraft or simply bolster cash flow?)

Provide money for remaining shareholders to buy the shares from the original shareholder or their estate

You’ll need to talk to a Financial Adviser about these issues but they are all insurable. Can your business afford to take a risk it doesn’t need to?

Memo to myself – get Keyman Insurance!