Term Life Insurance for Hazardous Occupations

Those who choose to really live life on the edge need to make sure they have adequate life insurance coverage as the risk for losing their lives goes up dramatically. One of the biggest aspects that underwriters evaluate when choosing to grant coverage is an individuals career choice and their overall choice of regular hobbies. If an applicant is of greater risk to a carrier, premiums are higher and possibly issued for a certain number of years. An applicant could be subject to review upon renewal. The bottom line is that applicants who risk their lives regularly will pay a higher premium than the average person as rates are tailored according the average person.

Term Life Insurance for those with Hazardous Occupations

For some people, regular participation in hazardous activities is not a matter of hobby but is their livelihood. Many people count extreme activities as their primary source of income, such as pilots, aviation or scuba diving instructors or mountain climbing guides. Top professional surfers, race car drivers and motocross riders depend on their thrilling professions to make a living. Unfortunately, all these people can expect higher life insurance premiums.

These professions, however, do not necessarily mean unreasonable term life insurance rates. You can still get affordable coverage if you obtain necessary licenses and take all the classes you can to make you experienced and prove that you are safe. For example, commercial airline pilots are not subject to extra fees. It is best to inquire about a carriers necessary requirements so that you can meet them before applying for coverage.

Participants of Extreme Sports

Many thrill seekers like to engage in extreme sports. Some common extreme sports include, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, dirt biking, hang gliding, mountain climbing and scuba diving. Other more extreme sports are bungee jumping, parachuting, and hang gliding.

Insurance companies are not all or nothing in their regulations. For example, most people do not regularly participate in the more novel extreme activities like bungee jumping and parachuting. Those activities are generally reserved for milestone events such as birthdays or anniversaries. In other words, premiums are not going to be affected by trying something once.

To be fair, most life insurance companies will charge a flat extra on your premium to cover the risks incurred for regularly participating in extreme sports and activities. This flat extra will usually double the average rate. As you get older, however, your rates could nearly triple as age is always a factor in underwriting policies anyway. As you age, most people start slowing down in any regular extreme sport participation. In that case, immediately contact your provider and your rate will drop effective immediately. Another possibility of obtaining cheaper term life insurance is if you asked to be covered for everything except the extreme sport in which you regularly participate. For example, if you regularly scuba dive, you would be covered for any death occurrence except in the case that you die while scuba diving. It seems extremely fair to be covered and paid for everything except the excluded activity you list.

The best way to find the best possible coverage if you regularly participate in extreme sports or activities is to shop around for insurance. Premiums that cover adrenaline junkies can vary significantly between carriers. If you are involved in a relatively new high-risk sport, many companies may not have developed their rate policies for that specific activity. On the other hand, other carriers may be charging way too much since they are one of the few to cover it.

If you love extreme sports or your profession involves putting your life at risk more frequently than most, be sure you shop around and compare rates before buying a life insurance policy. Educate yourself as much as possible about your sport or activity. For instance, if there are licenses you can get, it is wise to obtain them. Take any class you can that will make you more experienced in that activity.

Sharon Taylor writes articles for eQUOTE Life Insurance. eQUOTE is a leading Internet life insurance company providing families with no-obligation term life insurance quotes and other helpful insurance resources.

Bottom Line Health

Choosing a health insurance plan is not as easy as it used to be. The distinctions among health plans have begun to blur as health benefits companies compete for your business.

Although there is no best health benefits plan, there are carriers that are a better fit than others for your business and your employees health care needs.

As chief executive officer of VISTA, a health benefits company, I am not immune to the skyrocketing cost of health care. As an employer, I face the same challenge you do of keeping health care costs affordable for VISTAs 1,000 Florida employees. My responsibility also extends to more than 10,000 South Florida employer groups and 330,000 VISTA members.

While many CEOs, presidents and CFOs complain about the cost of providing health benefits for their employees, they are rarely engaged in the process of selecting a health benefits company. Fortunately, South Florida employers enjoy a highly competitive marketplace when it comes to purchasing health benefits. While there are many carriers to choose from, the differences among each are few. The network of providers, plan designs and services are all very similar.

So all things being equal, why pay more? How do you know which health benefits company is the right fit for your business? Ask yourself these questions.

As an employer, how much can I afford to contribute to the premium?

What benefits will serve the majority of my employees?

Will offering employees more choices save or cost me money?

Does the plan have an adequate number of providers?

Evaluating cost

Business owners are searching for ways to reduce their health care expenses. Look for a carrier that administers your health benefits plan efficiently.

Administrative charges are a carriers overhead costs. They are included in your premium and can vary significantly. These charges include processing and paying claims, answering customer calls, marketing and advertising costs, and broker commission payments. Carriers with lower administrative costs usually are much more affordable than those with high administrative costs. When reviewing proposals from health benefits companies, ask what they will charge you for administrative expenses.

Offering employees a choice

Giving employees the freedom to choose their health plan will help educate them about the valuable benefit you offer, satisfy their need for health benefits and keep your premium contributions within your budget. Plan choices may vary by co-payment, network access and employee contribution. It will be the employee, not the employer, who is responsible for evaluating and choosing his or her health benefits plan.

Employees will have to determine how often they use health care services, what they estimate those costs to be and how they want to access and pay for those services.

An adequate provider network

No health benefits plan covers every health expense an employee may have or includes every physician. You are purchasing group coverage. As a business owner, you must evaluate whether the health benefits pIan you are considering offers an affordable level of benefits and a network that provides adequate accessibility for your employees.

Your bottom line

In South Florida, there can be as much as a 15 percent difference in cost among the health benefits companies you have to choose from. The health plan you select should be cost-competitive and offer a choice of health plans and an extensive provider network to meet the needs of your group.

Whether your company has 20 employees or 1,000, your level of engagement in the decision-making process is vital in determining how health care costs will impact your companys bottom line. Standing on the sidelines could be a price you cannot afford to pay.

RONALD J. BERDING is CEO of VISTA, a health benefits company headquartered in South Florida with more than 330,000 members. His expertise in health care and insurance spans 30 years. Berding was a member of the Gov. Chiles Task Force on Claims Payment and the Small Group Insurance Reform Committee under Florida Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher. He also served as chair of Floridas Consumer Assistance Plan. VISTA, through its affiliated companies, Vista Healthplan Inc., Vista Healthplan of South Florida Inc. and Vista Insurance Plan Inc., offers a choice of health benefit plans including health maintenance organization (HMO), preferred provider organization (PPO) and point-of-service (POS). Contact Berding through VISTAs Web site, http://www.vistahealthplan.com, or at (954) 858-3000.

Insurance For DJs

DJ Insurance

Insurance is a very important consideration for the mobile DJ entertainer. There are many companies that provide DJ insurance and they should be compared carefully before the DJ chooses an insuance provider.

DJing has become much more of a respected job in the last few years, and since mobile DJs have to transport their equipment by vehicle, most car insurance providers have now started providing DJs with liability insurance.

Cost of the premium for the DJ insurance should not serve as the chief purchasing decision. Rather, the effectiveness of the policy should outweigh all other factors in the decision making process. You get what you pay for.

The saying with insurance is, "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." How true.

You do not want to be stuck without DJ insurance. As a DJ, you are a subcontractor, and though you will be setting up equipment on outside grounds, you will not be covered under the insurance policy of the catering halls or restaurants you provide services in. You have to protect your neck.

You will need your own DJ insurance policy, and now is the time to start pricing one. It is a simple matter of visiting the websites of several insurance carriers and filling out many of their quotes online. You are not commited to purchasing, and you will find the best plans and rates. You should go to the websites of many of the car insurance providers and fill out their DJ insurance forms online. If they're not readily available, email your request.

Let the DJ insurance companies fight for your business. By filling out the forms online, you will not even have to leave your house, and you will be protecting your future. The last thing you want is a lawsuit because some drunk party guest tripped near your speaker. Without insurance, you can be help personally responsible.

Whether you plan on starting your career as a mobile DJ tomorrow or a year from now, the time to find the right DJ insurance policy is now. It's more important than any of the DJ equipment you will use.

Do not proceed any further in your DJ career until you've filled out at least three insurance quotes. It will be the wisest move you make in your DJ career. I guarantee it.

Fill those quotes out now.

Ray Mardo serves as a consultant and training director for the top DJ entertainment companies on the East Coast. He is the author of the best selling DJ training course "Making Money As A Mobile Entertainer." Ray is semiretired from DJing and is enjoying a career online and as a filmmaker/writer. More info on DJ insurance can be accessed at http://www.raymardo.com/dj-insurance.html

Umbrella Insurance

Umbrella insurance is meant to shield consumers from charges that go beyond what their traditional insurance covers. In auto coverage, an umbrella plan will kick in after a traditional liability or comprehensive insurance plan stops paying. For example, if you're in an accident and are found to be at fault, the insurance you have will pay for the charges up to the limit that you have placed on the policy. A $15,000 liability policy will pay for the first $15,000 damages, but if your bill comes to $40,000, you're liable for the remaining $25,000. An umbrella insurance policy will pay that bill, and you'll be left in reasonable financial condition.

Umbrella insurance doesn't just cover damages due to car accidents. It can also protect you from becoming financially devastated if you're sued for something that is beyond your control. If a person is damaged on your property, or by something on your property (even a tree!), you can be held legally responsible. Although some states do protect certain assets from being seized, such as your home or vehicle, it is easy to see how much damage even a small lawsuit can do to your financial security.

The cost of umbrella insurance varies by state and by your location in that state. The cost is different for the same reasons that traditional insurance is different, so whatever factors influence the cost of your traditional auto insurance can be expected to play a part in the cost of your umbrella policy. A good range of cost for umbrella insurance is between $200-$300 per year. For that small amount of money, the insurance can contribute up to five million dollars of a lawsuit claim, making it well worth the small increase in the cost of premiums.

Because of the nature of umbrella insurance, it carries a high deductible, sometimes of more that $200,000. Of course, you are not paying that amount out. This is the amount that "you" have to pay before it kicks in, but "you" if often your primary car or homeowners' insurance. Most companies that sell umbrella insurance will require that you have auto insurance and homeowner's insurance that is equal to your deductible. This ensures that you don't have to pay any more out-of-pocket than necessary.

There are times that it's better be "self-insured." This simply means that you are responsible for paying all of your insurance costs, which translates into an easy concept: you don't have insurance! Those who choose to be self-insured do so because they don't expect to ever need it. For example, if you don't drive but once a week, or you're a hermit and don't invite people to your home, you could possibly afford to be self-insured. But if you're a typical, extroverted American who uses a vehicle on a daily basis, it would be to your benefit to consider an umbrella insurance policy.

Tristan Andrews is a writer for California Car Insurance.