What Your Insurance Agent Forgot to Tell You...

Learning about insurance is excruciating for some. How many times have you read about someone wanting to sit down and read a good book on insurance? Yeah, it doesn't happen often. And your insurance agent... do you think they are going to tell you all the insider insurance stuff?

So, if you have trouble reading a full article on any insurance subject or if your insurance agent is not your best friend, these quick tips will get you enough insurance knowledge to make you look like you know what you are talking about... and I bet you will learn a thing or two! Of course, going more in depth with your insurance knowledge is best so let this be a springboard for you to eventually dig into more insurance information!

So, here goes...

The Best Little List of Insurance Tips Ever:

1. One of the best ways to save on your auto, home, or health insurance is to reduce your deductible. You don't want to make a claim anyhow on an amount you can afford, so raise your deductibles to the top amount you would be willing to pay out of pocket before you insurance kicks in. Raising your deductibles can save you a lot of money so it is worth checking into.

2. Get to know your grace period! Just because you forgot to pay your insurance bill on time does not mean it is canceled. Most policies have at least a 30 day grace period in which you can make your payment and your policy will still remain in effect. So before you assume your insurance is gone, check out your grace period and pay up!

3. Keeping your policies with one agent can pay off. Sometimes you can find cheaper insurance at different agencies but there are two reasons to stay with one insurance company or agent: First, you can get a multiple policy discount and second, your insurance agent is likely to work harder for you when it comes to claims and service.

4. Ask for discounts! Don't assume your insurance agent will automatically give you all the discounts available. This is not because they don't want to but because they don't always know what discounts apply to you.

5. Credit and insurance goes hand and hand. Most insurance companies are partially basing rates on your credit history. Whether you think it is fair or not, it is happening. So, if you have some small credit issues get them cleaned up or if you can't and still want to save, shop around because each insurance company has a different way to evaluate your credit.

6. Skip the credit card insurance offers and warranties. Those offers by your mortgage or credit card companies to pay your balances are not worth the cost. It is always better to make sure you have a good life insurance policy to cover your debts. Also, extended warranties are just mini-insurance policies and they are hardly ever worth the amount you pay for them, especially if you take care of your items.

7. Need cheap health insurance? Choose a high deductible policy and haggle with your doctor! Yes, you are comfortable doing it with the used car salesman so why not with medical professionals? People do it, even insurance companies haggle and get rates reduced! Getting a high deductible insurance policy, or better known as "emergency insurance," will save you tons of money in premiums because it only kicks in usually after you have paid the first 5-10 thousand dollars (hence "emergency policy"). So, if you have other procedures the doctor would like to do that you will be paying for out of pocket... haggle with your doctor or the hospital. It sounds strange but you can reduce your costs and don't worry because others are doing it too!

8. You may not have to pay that "out-of-network" charge on your health insurance bill. As long as you followed your obligations of choosing an in-network doctor and an in-network hospital, if for some reason another professional at the hospital gives you care and they are not in-network then you don't have to pay. Your health insurance company will send you a bill anyhow, hoping you will pay but make sure you make it clear that you know you are not obligated to pay.

9. Insurance agents make way less on term life insurance. Term life insurance is basic life insurance that does what it is meant to do: it gives you a certain amount of life insurance for a certain amount of time. It is one of the most popular choices in life insurance because most families just get it while their kids are young... most people don't need life insurance when their dependents do not depend on them anymore. It is also very popular because it is the lowest cost option in life insurance and therefore gives you the biggest life insurance bang for your buck. That makes it a very low commission product. This is not to say that other life insurance options are not a good choice, but make sure you know why your agent is trying to sell you a particular life insurance product.

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