Thursday, December 24, 2009

Auto insurance defined: Understanding Auto Insurance Coverage


Auto insurance or car insurance protects you and your vehicle from any damage occurred due to an accident and acts as safety device from sustaining any loss. Not only accidents, your vehicle can also be covered from damages due to vandalism, adverse weather, theft, fire and other scenarios.
Auto insurance is a “necessary evil” which is necessary for all automobile owners. But it is not enough to have an insured vehicle; the main thing is to have an insured vehicle the with best auto insurance. To have the best auto insurance policy you need to understand the “in and outs” of auto insurance coverage terms as follows:

Collision Coverage:
This part of auto insurance policy provides your safe side when your car hits another car and you pay for the repairs, without making any difference who is at fault. Policy providing wider collision coverage can be considered as the best auto insurance policy.

Comprehensive Coverage:
Covers each and every damages to your vehicle, whether it is accident or falling of a tree branch or what so ever on your car.
Deductible: The amount of money you pay at the time of filing a claim. Higher deductibles = lower premiums.

Effective date:
The time period for which your auto insurance policy is valid. Don’t let your policy lapse.
Endorsements: The term endorsement includes all possible discounts and additional coverage which can be offered to you on your car insurance. Discounts like multipolicy discount, student discount, and multifamily discount can change any normal auto insurance into best auto insurance.
Exclusions: Includes things that are not covered by your policy. Small list of exclusions indicates toward best auto insurance policy.

Glass Coverage:
You can elect free glass replacement after any accident, if your auto insurance policy includes glass coverage.

Physical Damage:
Damage or loss of a car from collision, fire, theft,
Substandard Risk: Risk not meeting the normal requirements of an auto insurance policy. Protection is provided in the form of a waiver, special policy, or higher premium. People with poor driving records may be considered Substandard risks.

Health Insurance Premium Increases – and what you as an Employer Can Do about It


We just got notice that our annual health insurance company has raised the premiums for Catalogs.com about 17%. I was told my insurance consultant that out of hundreds of companies he is representing, ONLY Catalogs.com has the same number of renewals as last year. When I questioned “What do you mean by this?” he went on to tell me that out of hundreds of clients that he is personally servicing, EVERY OTHER COMPANY has had either layoffs or has decided, with our fabulous economy, to stop offering health insurance as an option.
I was flabbergasted! But in retrospection, maybe I should not have been so surprised. It is quite unfortunate those companies have suffered so much, and that one of the MOST expensive components on P&L’s is employee health insurance.
At Catalogs.com, we decided that it was worth the extra hours and hours involved in obtaining competitive quotes from 8 different health insurance companies, and keeping constant the same percentage that we pay for our employees. We ended up switching plans, offering an HMO that had very low co-pays and excellent prescription benefits, and still keeping the plan affordable for ALL employees. Of course it would have been more profitable to have simply reduced the percentage we pay, but that would NOT have been a good outcome for our employees.
Employers … remember the basics … look out for the well being of your employees, do everything you can to make them healthy and productive … and most importantly, try to be fair and keep them happy. Trust me … it will help you sleep better most nights.