Online Financial Tips

Archive for July, 2011

As we enter 2009, some significant trends are impacting the long-term care insurance industry.

Heightened consumer awareness, younger buyers, reformulated products and the intensification of multi-life sales — have led to a steady growth of long-term care insurance policies. Despite some adverse factors — in particular, the weakened economy — we anticipate that sales for the just-ended year will be in the 385,000 policy (and group certificate) range, with premiums up several percent over the prior year. For 2009, our predictions all point to continued growth in the number of Americans who are purchasing this form of protection.

What’s driving the continued growth of new policy sales, and how can insurance professionals capitalize in the year to come? The industry is benefiting from heightened positive coverage within consumer print and broadcast media about the importance of long term care planning. More importantly, many of the reports convey important information about the best ages to start planning (with a slant toward pre-retirement) and what constitutes appropriate and affordable coverage. News stories are actually telling consumers when and how to procure insurance protection.

Once primarily a senior product, buyers of long term care insurance continue to get younger. As recently as 2000, the average policy was written on a 67-year-old. Last year, according to Association studies, some 83 percent of all new individual applicants were under the age of 65, while the average age was 58. As a result of the significant demographic shift, leading insurers have retooled their product offerings to address the two primary concerns of younger buyers: affordability and the concern about paying many years for something that might not be needed.

The result has been the introduction of a variety of “life stage” long term care insurance policies that enable policyholders to lock-in their health insurability and purchase a more limited level of protection with the future ability to purchase additional coverage periodically in the future. Provisions for these policies vary, and it’s fair to recognize that the added coverage is purchased at attained-age rates. That said, the ability of agents to now allow pre-retirement-age buyers to “kick the tires” by owning some long-term care insurance offers one of the greatest opportunities to expand and grow market penetration into the future.

Looking ahead, three significant marketing opportunities will likely yield the greatest results for producers seeking to identify new prospects or convert their existing clientele into long-term care insurance prospects.

The first is recognition of maturing awareness among consumers. The industry has entered a new phase of awareness; one that requires focus on new messaging pertaining to health insurability, affordability and the ability to receive care in one’s own home.

For those targeting seniors, the increasing number of states rolling out LTC Partnership policies has generated a good deal of excitement among insurance agents who must now complete additional continuing education training. The opportunity to build sales — especially among middle-income consumers — will be predicated on the willingness and ability of states, insurers and agents to promote the importance of LTC planning, coupled with the key benefits provided by Partnership provisions. It’s still very early in that process.

Watch for the announcement regarding the Federal government’s long-term care insurance offering; currently the nation’s largest long-term care insurance group plan. The first Federal open enrollment resulted in some 270,000 individuals purchasing coverage. When the federal plan opens enrollment again (expected later in 2009), there will again be a most positive spillover effect that will boost sales across the country.

Finally, the message of affordability continues to provide the greatest opportunity to overcome existing mis-perceptions. Studies repeatedly validate what’s been known for well over a decade; that consumers perceive the cost of LTC insurance to be higher than it really is. A message of affordability always plays well. It’s one that, to date, has not been widely used; but expect that to change as more aggressive marketing techniques heat up.

For free audios on selling long-term care insurance visit the Producer’s Resource Center of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

If you have a credit score of 480, are in the midst of a bankruptcy that is not completed and have an income of only $800.00 per month, then guess what? You’re not going to be getting an auto loan approved! While there are sources that can get you a real car loan with bad credit, there is simply no such thing as guaranteed auto financing for bad credit. It’s a marketing ploy that lures people into dealerships.

Buy here, pay here. While there are car dealerships that promise to finance anyone regardless of their credit history, like most things – there is a catch. Large down payments are required by these types of establishments and the amount that you have to put down pays for most of the car. The remaining payments that you have to make, along with the high interest rates charged make these dealers profit at the expense of your financial predicament.

There are better ways of purchasing cars with bad credit…

Cash. As hard as it may seem, you can get a reasonable ride that will take you from point “A” to point “B” for a couple thousand dollars. It might not be the best looking car on the block, but will allow you to save money for something better in the near future. Being able to have a title in your hand and own what you drive is much more rewarding than having used that money at a buy here, pay here dealership that you’ll owe thousands to for a similar vehicle.

Online Lenders. There are companies that don’t have problems giving auto loans to people that have bad credit if they merely meet income requirements and basic guidelines. There are a few good companies online that can accomodate you, if you qualify based on your monthly income. Is auto financing guaranteed with these companies, regardless of bad credit? Absolutely not. You will however, have a much better chance of getting a real car loan without the headaches and hassles of using a buy here, pay here car lot.

Debt negotiation has become popular in the present along with the financial downgrade which the world is facing. This has not only raised consumer expectations in finding for the best relief services but also has provided debt settlement with a new dimension. Getting rid of debts through a professional negotiator has become a much more practical task along with settlement.

If you have any idea of eliminating your debts through settlement, then you need to have a total debt which exceeds $10k and a reliable settlement company which will assure your success. Eliminating your worries through a professional negotiator can be a very easy task because of its key feature of negotiation. This has helped the popularity of this concept to grow immensely.

Once a legitimate debt settlement company is consulted it will intervene between consumers and creditors as a third party providing a better cushion for consumers. It will not only eliminate consumer debts but also it will eliminate the rest of it through completely payable installments. This is another feature which has drawn consumers towards it.

Once a legitimate service provider starts handling this process, consumers are more likely to receive a total debt reduction that may exceed 50 percent of their debt sum. This is a very important feature of relief services and has become a reason to why consumers are advised often to pick legitimate options. Mainly, unsecured debts can be eliminated through settlement which negotiates them on behalf of consumers. Therefore, it has become a perfect elimination method in the present which increases consumer hopes of a new and steady start.

Long Term Care Insurance is one of the most valued insurance plans in the market in today’s society. Certain types of long term care insurance policies also have some very nice tax advantages. With more and more people trying to purchase Long Term Care Insurance to protect themselves in the late part of their lives, the demand for this type of insurance has gone sky rocketing high. Long Term Care is usually referred to as Nursing Home Care or extreme Rehabilitation Care after an accident or in case of an illness.

Some of the most common reasons for Long Term Care Include aging, car accidents, diseases, illnesses and dementia symptoms. Nowadays with the cost of the health industry rising, the need for Long Term Care Insurance is very important because an accident can happen to anyone, in any place, at any time.

It is estimated that a single year in a retirement community can cost as much as $50,000 and cost for more luxurious nursing homes can reach up to $100,000 a year!! Rehabilitation centers are much more expensive because they need doctors available at all times and specialists that can treat certain patients with specific needs. Home care can also qualify for a type of Long Term Care since the patient will need some sort of person watching over him/her at all times and they would be spending money; not to mention they might need equipment to take home depending on the severity of the case.

Tax Qualified is one of the two types of Long Term Care Insurance and in fact it is the one that is most used today. This might be due to the fact that Non-Tax Qualified insurance gave money away too easily without asking for anything in return from the policyholder. It was more than likely because of that reason that insurance agencies started putting requirements in order to receive the Long Term Care Insurance reimbursement. Like all the other coverage in any other type of insurance, this system has some advantages and some disadvantages.

Some of the advantages that the Tax Qualified (or TQ plan) are that for tax purposes these kind of insurance is treated like accident insurance or health insurance. This means that Tax Qualified Long Term Care Insurance premiums are concerned to be a medical expense; hence the premiums are based on the policyholder’s age and inflation. The younger the owner of the policy, the less he will be able to deduct from his taxes. Another good thing to note is that no benefits you receive from the Long Term Care Insurance can be taxed.

Some of the disadvantages about the Tax Qualified type of Long Term Care Insurance are that there are some requirements before the insurance company actually pays the policyholder any money. By being qualified this means that the policies are conformed to the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPA). Under this kind of Tax Qualified plan you are required that your Primary Care Physician (PCP) or one of the company’s doctors certify that you are unable to perform two activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, etc for a period of at least 90 days. Also, the Doctor that checks to see the things mentioned above will have to give the patient a Plan of Care in order for the person to get any benefits. Keep in mind that you can also be eligible for benefits if you require substantial supervision to protect yourself due to a severe illness.

One of the most important things to understand is that a Tax Qualified policy as mentioned above is considered to be like a health insurance policy. This means that you would be able to itemize your deductions. To be more specific, if your total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross annual income; you can write-off your deductions. Unfortunately, most policy holders do not exceed that 7.5 % that would allow them to take this deduction.

Are you considering a home equity loan, but are not sure how they work? If you are in the market for a home equity loan, then it is very important that you understand how they work before you go any further. So, how does a home equity loan work?

First, let’s go over the reasons why you might get a home equity loan. You might take out a home equity loan to add on to your home, start a business, or consolidate debts. These are the only three reasons why you should ever borrow against your home. If it is not going to add value to your home, make you money, or clear up your debts, then you should leave your home out of the equation.

Now let’s answer the question, how does a home equity loan work?

A home equity loan is similar to a credit card against your home. The rate is usually a fixed percentage plus whatever prime happens to be at the time. It would look something like this Prime + 0.75%. So this means that the rate on a home equity loan is going to fluctuate.

This type of loan is one that once you pay it down far enough you can take out more against your home. It is basically a line of credit against your home. For example, if you take out a $10,000 home equity loan and you pay it down to $5,000, then you can usually take out another $5,000 if you want.

This can be very dangerous is you are not good with your finances. You have to be careful and only take money out when you really need it. Now you can answer the question, how does a home equity loan work, so you can start searching for your loan.

If you are looking for a gas card, you have probably been told to explore your options well. To do this, you must first know that there are different types or classifications of gas cards out there. Basically, gas cards can be classified according to cash out, credit status and rewards.

Cash Out. Prepaid and credit are the two types of gas cards according to cash out. The first requires that you pay upfront while the latter works on credit and you pay after the billing period-one month. There has been a lot of debate as to which type is the best. The answer actually lies in your preferences and habits. If you prefer not to be hassled by due dates, then you go for the prepaid type. However, go for the credit if you are not keen on keeping track of things. The balance on the prepaid card will be irrecoverable. In instances when you loose a credit gas card, all you need to do is call your card company and have it canceled.

Credit Status. There are some individuals who have bad credit records and they usually do not get approved for credit card applications including gas credit cards. But if they do, they will need a collateral or deposit. The card they get is called a secured card. Therefore, the two types of card according to credit status are: secured and unsecured gas credit card.

Rewards. When it comes to rewards, cash back card and general rewards are the two types. The first type only offers cash back, which is usually preferred by most gas card users. Cash back can be used for gas purchases and you earn rebates on them too. However, general rewards cards that offer airline tickets will appeal to you if you travel by plane frequently.