Pack your bags and grab the kids. The vacation of your dreams is about to begin. Just make sure you have properly secured your home before you head for the beach/mountains/jungle or you may return to a nasty surprise.
Secure All Windows and Doors –
Keeping your home locked up will deter most potential
Insurance
You have just closed on your home purchase and money is going to be tight for a while. Should you buy a home warranty to help you avoid out-of-pocket expenses or will it be a waste of money?
Before you decide if it will be worth it to you, you should understand what a home
The old phrase “you get what you pay for” really does ring true in some cases. There are some cases where quality is far more important than price. Would you consider discount brain surgery? Probably not… and if you would, we suspect it might be repeat business.
Medicine warrants a whole category of areas where
For many people, homeowner’s insurance is one of those things they reluctantly buy because their bank says they must. It adds around a hundred dollars or so a month, give or take, to the mortgage payment, and most people probably don’t think too much about it once they’ve bought it and the policy is in
Umbrella policies are aptly named, although they have nothing to do with rain or Mary Poppins. Like an umbrella, these policies form an extra layer of broad insurance protection over and above the liability limits of your existing policies. When properly constructed, they fill coverage gaps in your existing policies and create higher limits for
Mortgage Protection Life Insurance (MPI) is designed to cover your mortgage payments in case of a catastrophic life event. Policies can vary, but MPI generally covers your mortgage payments if you are disabled or lose your job, and will pay off the mortgage if you pass away.
Note: Because of the close acronyms, people sometimes
The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, although new to some Medicare beneficiaries, has been around before. In 2011, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period was altered and changed to the Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period. The disenrollment period took the open enrollment period’s place from 2011 until 2018.
In 2019, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period
Another Use for Your Credit Score You probably know that your credit score affects the interest rates you’ll pay for credit cards and loans. Did you know that your credit score could also affect your auto insurance rates?
It can in all but three states (California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii). Those three states have banned credit-based
Your Medicare eligibility date impacts the coverage that you qualify for. If you are eligible for Medicare before 2020, then your options will be different than those of Americans who become eligible from January 1, 2020 on. Since Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) in 2015, the plans with no
The Shutdown’s Housing Market Woes It’s a great time to buy a home, and you’re ready. You’ve saved up a suitable down payment, found a home, and settled on a lender. As an added bonus, interest rates are at their lowest point in the last nine months – despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
By Sean Harper, CEO and Co-Founder of Kin Insurance
The holidays may be the most wonderful time of the year, but they are also a time of increased risk. Consider the extra visitors alone. Every person who walks through your door brings with them the chance of an accident, another opportunity for injuries on
Have you ever enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, just to discover in January that your doctor doesn’t accept your new coverage, or to realize you should have stayed in a particular network? As a result, you had to remain in a plan that was less suitable for your specific needs for an entire year.
Do you monitor your Social Security number for any signs of fraudulent use? A new survey suggests you think that you should, but you probably don’t.
According to the 2018 Capital One Credit Protection and Security Survey, only one in seven Americans uses a service to monitor activity on their Social Security number – but
It is prudent to have insurance, but it is also smart to have the right amount of insurance for your needs. If your car is over-insured, you are simply giving away money to the insurance company, and regardless of how nice your insurance agent is, you can probably find a better use for that cash.
Your credit score affects many aspects of your financial life. It affects your ability to qualify for loans and credit cards, and the interest rates that you’ll pay if you do qualify. It may affect your credit card limits, rental fees or deposits, utility services, and cell phone/cable bills.
Can your credit score also affect
A poor credit score makes your financial life difficult in a number of ways. You receive poorer interest rates and terms on credit cards, it’s harder to qualify for mortgages, and, “When it comes time to get insurance, maybe your insurance premiums will be a little more expensive because you have a low credit score,”
If you’re a Medicare beneficiary, check your mail very carefully. You’ll be receiving a new Medicare card with an important new identification number that you’ll need soon.
Your current Medicare ID card contains a Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN), which is the same as your Social Security number. Your HICN serves as your identification for
Life Insurance isn’t for you – it’s for those you leave behind. Without sufficient insurance, your family may endure financial hardships on top of the shock and grief caused by your passing.
According to a recent survey from the online life insurance start-up Bestow, many people aren’t convinced enough of the benefits of life insurance
In a previous article, I covered the topic of life insurance quoting, rate classes, and approvals. The point was to make note of the fact that you, like most consumers looking for life insurance, may see quote info and take that as conclusive pricing – before underwriting has had a chance to assess your application
When using the Life Insurance Quote Comparison Tool on MoneyTips, you can see multiple carriers and rates. Daily, we receive new applications for life insurance through this channel. When I see a new application, I know that an intelligent person has made a choice to get coverage, and that they likely did some investigating before
Millions of Americans choose to supplement their Original Medicare benefits with additional coverage that helps to cover the gaps. Medigap plans in America are standardized, and for decades, Medigap Plan F has been a top seller. This is largely because it covers all of the deductibles, coinsurance, and copays that would normally be your responsibility
Many of you have put our online Life Insurance Quote Comparison Tool to the test and found that you can easily get life insurance quotes and find the best coverage available. When you are considering how much life insurance to buy, there could be a moment when you pause and try to wrap your head
Nearly 4 million people turn 65 every year here in America and many of them are looking forward to retiring soon. There’s a lot of financial planning that goes into retirement, such as when to apply for Social Security benefits and when to begin distributions from retirement accounts.
It’s also important to plan for your
Every year, floods cause significant property damage throughout America. Years ago, private insurers had difficulty providing economically viable flood insurance, so the government stepped in to subsidize the process. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was created in 1968 to provide flood insurance to properties that are
Coming into a new year seems to compel us to look back and to look forward. How was your 2017? What do you expect from your 2018? While we can’t change the things that are now in our rear view, we do get to envision and create what is in our forward view. As a
Every year, thousands of Medicare beneficiaries enroll in Medicare Advantage plans during the fall Annual Election Period. With low premiums and ancillary “extras” built in, these plans on paper appeal to many individuals. However, in all the election period excitement, people sometimes overlook aspects of Medicare Advantage coverage that are important. All too often, January
Everywhere you look, you see announcements, signs, banners, and flashing lights promoting a momentary lowering of the cost for just about everything. Everything, except for life insurance, that is. As I was researching this topic, I took a moment to Google “life insurance sale” to see what would come up. Here is what I found
Successful retirement planning requires a good understanding of what you want to do in retirement and a reasonable estimate of your expected expenses. Once you have a grasp of your likely retirement costs, you know approximately how much money you will need to salt away. However, one retirement expense is notoriously difficult to predict –
Did you quit smoking last year? Move into a gated community? Do you live within five miles of the nearest fire station?
These factors – and many others – make you a safer bet for your homeowner’s insurer, which means you can get a significant discount on your insurance premium. Something as simple as installing
What does it take to be financially prepared for potential healthcare costs in retirement? As the old saying goes, “Needing insurance is like needing a parachute. If it isn’t there the first time, chances are you won’t need it again.” Healthcare costs can add up for even the healthiest of retirees, so what can we
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