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Flood Insurance Rates Rising Under Trumps Plan

The Trump Administration intends to roll out a new way to calculate flood risk in the next comings weeks under the National Flood Insurance Program which could cause flood insurance premiums to rise and property values to fall. Instead of focusing on whether or not a property is inside or outside of the 100-year flood plain, FEMA plans to use private sector data to calculate the “real” flood threat for each home and set the costs of flood insurance based on that data.

The change can be a good and bad thing for homeowners. On one hand, it would be the first real major advancement to improve the understanding of flood risk giving homeowners a proper evaluation of the likelihood of a flood in their home. On the other hand, communities that weren’t in the flood zone or near the flood zone could be facing the need to have flood insurance by the government. An unexpected cost that many families might not be able to handle.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) currently covers 5 million people as of 2017. Even with the increase in flooding due to climate change, that’s 10% lower than properties covered in 2009. The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing tomorrow on reauthorizing the NIFP. In 2012, the government tried to reform NIFP but failed to do so after a public outcry. The reason for the reform is that claims often outpaced premiums which caused the NIFP to have a debt of $30 billion in 2017. The current model that determines rates do not take into consideration flooding from intense rainfall. The new risk assessment system will take things like that under consideration when determining rates.

The goal is to have more transparent rates so people will get insurance coverage. The impact on what this will have on property values has yet to be seen but it will be interesting once the new premiums roll out.

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How Much Power Does Robert Mueller Have In The Russian Collusion Investigation?

It seems that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into collusion between the Russian government and the Trump administration to swing the results of the 2016 election is finally drawing to a close, and both Democrats and Republicans are somehow in agreement (on occasion) that things aren’t looking so great for President Trump.

With the possibility of impeachment growing more likely by the day, we’re all wondering: How much power does Special Counsel Robert Mueller have when it comes to the prosecution of crimes he found to have occurred during his investigation?

At the least, Trump will likely be indicted on charges for the violation of campaign finance laws. According to recent documents from the investigation, Michael Cohen was directed by Trump, and with Trump’s complete knowledge, to make payments to at least two women who accused him of sexual misconduct during the campaign. Hush money is a big no-no in the world of politics.

In these documents, Trump was referred to as “Individual-1”.

More telling is that Mueller made a sentencing recommendation in regards to Cohen’s crimes based on his (eventual) willing participation in providing evidence that could eventually be used to burn Trump. Could he do the same when it comes time to feed Trump to the wolves of American judgment?

There are a number of individuals who believe such indictments could might only occur after Trump vacates the Oval Office, but there is always the possibility that our representatives could try to oust him sooner than that with impeachment. Should we find ourselves in front of our televisions on such a day, it will be up to Congress to decide whether or not Trump has committed an impeachable offense. Unfortunately, they get to decide if his law-breaking antics during the 2016 campaign meet the definition of “impeachable offense.”

Because a two-thirds majority is required and the Senate is currently controlled by Republicans, an acquittal seems likely in such a case.

We don’t know how far the Mueller investigation probed into the Russian-Trump affair during the 2016 election, nor do we know how far they intend to press the matter once the investigation is complete. Even if the investigation finds that Trump committed these crimes and others, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will attempt to prosecute him. After all, we already know that our president is a criminal. We already know he has broken laws. We haven’t done anything about it yet. Sadly, we might not ever.

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What Is Reinsurance Litigation And When Is It Applied?

Whether or not you think that insurance is the devil’s work, it’s a fundamental component of business in the real world. Without it we’d be lost, and some of us would find ourselves in financial turmoil. Insurance provides us with an added layer of security for situations in which we risk liability, such as owning a car or a home, by transferring the greater share of responsibility to the company if something goes terribly wrong.

But what is reinsurance?

Well, it’s the same principle. That’s the short answer. When an insurance company decides to go through with an especially risky venture, it might want more protection for your policy.

The policyholder pays a premium in order to buy insurance, that premium usually representing either a small fraction of the risk, or something that will add up to a large portion of the risk when paid over years and years. Normally the insurer takes 100 percent of the risk outside of that premium. On occasion an insurer will not be comfortable with that level of risk.

It’s on these occasions that an insurance company will opt to “reinsure” the original policy through an outside reinsurer. The reinsurer will be given part of the premium paid by the policyholder in direct proportion to the amount of risk the insurer wants to take, whether it’s 30 percent, 50 percent, 70 percent, etc.

If the worst happens, and the claim costs must be paid to the policyholder, then the insurer pays 100 percent. After the claim is paid, the insurer can follow up by requesting reimbursement in the percentage agreed upon with the reinsurer. Reinsurance is just insurance for your insurer. It’s that simple.

One type of reinsurance is called facultative coverage. This policy is an added layer of protection when an insurance provider covers an individual for a single risk in a single contract. Additional risks require additional contracts.

Another common type is called a reinsurance treaty. This policy covers any number of risks based on a period of elapsed time. An example of this is when life insurance isn’t calculated when someone is estate planning.

An excess-of-loss reinsurance policy is considered non-proportional coverage, and this type of policy is put into place when the reinsurer agrees to cover costs only when they go beyond whatever the original insurance company’s retained limit was set at. This coverage mostly applies to acts of god during substantially costly events.

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Why Is Having Life Insurance So Important?

As you age, you start to understand the increased importance of having life insurance. No matter how well you have planned for your financial future with Lenzo and Reis, New Jersey Employment Attorneys, you cannot sufficiently prepare for unexpected death without proper life insurance coverage.

1. Protect Your Loved Ones.

The main reason you are going to want to adequately prepare for an unexpected death by getting life insurance for yourself is to properly protect your loved ones. If your loved ones are relying on you for their financial support, it is going to be absolutely necessary to get the right life insurance coverage. This is particularly important if you have young children that rely on your financial support because they will be vulnerable if something were to happen to you and you could no longer provide for them. Additionally, it is equally important for those families that might find it difficult to sustain a certain standard of living if one of the partner’s incomes disappeared overnight.

2. Leave More For Your Children.

Another big reason you would want to consider investing in something like life insurance is to provide a greater inheritance for your children. Being able to leave an inheritance for your children is one of the main reasons you would want to purchase a life insurance policy. By naming your children as beneficiaries, you will be able to help them secure a better future for themselves if something were to happen to you. This alone is going to allow your children to have a much more stable financial future which can really help them in the long run.

3. Avoid Being a Burden.

If you are someone that has a lot of debt, you are going to want to be sure to invest in the proper life insurance coverage to adequately cover them. Otherwise, any debts that you might have are going to be forced on to your family. You don’t want to leave a financial burden on your family if at all possible. By getting adequate coverage that is going to sufficiently cover any and all debts that you might have once you die, you should be able to alleviate the burden of debt. Along with this, your death is going to come with a lot of foreseen and unforeseen expenses including but not limited to burial expenses, funeral costs, and more. Thus, you will want to be sure that you have the proper insurance coverage that can help cover all of the expenses.

Overall, there are plenty of reasons you will want to make the investment in life insurance. Not only is it going to help reduce the financial burden on your family, but it can help you set up your children for a better and much more secure financial future. If you have a family, there is absolutely no reason to go without proper life insurance coverage with the affordable options available to choose from.

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Everything You Didn’t Know Was Covered By Homeowners Insurance

Sometimes it can seem like insurance is a silly creation only meant to make businessmen a lot of money. Maybe it is, and maybe it does. Other times it can come in quite handy, and not always in the situations you think. Here are a few uncommon–but (sometimes) helpful–situations in which you might be covered by your homeowners’ insurance!

 

  • Space Shuttles. If you survive an emergency space shuttle landing or the debris from a lost vehicle high above, then your homeowners’ insurance has you covered. You’ll be able to grab a hotel and eat on the dime of your insurance company, so don’t let these unlikely scenarios get you down. You’re also protected from blimp and helicopter accidents. And other homes.
  • Bikes. You have to opt-in to this kind of coverage. If you do, your bike is protected up to 3,000 miles from your home. In other words, if you take your bike on vacation in the states, chances are you can get a replacement if it’s stolen. The same kind of coverage protects you from lost luggage.
  • Dogs. Depending on the breed, your homeowners’ insurance will cover a family-owned dog bite. Considering these attacks are relatively commonplace, this is definitely one to keep in mind.
  • Accidents. You can be held personally liable for accidents that affect a neighbor’s property, but your homeowners insurance will likely help pay medical, funeral, and legal expenses incurred as a result. A tree in your yard might have fallen on their house, but at least you won’t have to pay for it.
  • Children. Kids are also sort of treated as if they fall under the accident clause. If your children haven’t reached thirteen-years-old, then any damage they cause to your property is covered by your insurance. Who knew?
  • Children, again. If your kids are in college, chances are they’re going to have to deal with stolen property sooner or later. It happens. The good news is this: your homeowners’ insurance covers that property.
  • Stones. Not the normal kind, but the graveyard kind. If someone vandalized a family grave away from home, you’re still covered for thousands of dollars of damage. Another one to remember.

 

The list goes on, so do some research when looking over your homeowners’ insurance policy. Take advantage when you can!

 

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Flood Insurance In The Wake of Hurricane Florence

The good news is that South Carolina is the second-highest insured state in regards to flood insurance with 65% of properties in a flood zone having insurance. The bad news North Carolina, the state the suffered the most flooding, only 35% of the homes in a flood zone have insurance.

Hurricane Florance parked itself on North Carolina bringing 90mph winds, storm surges, and flash floods.

The one thing that Hurricane Harvey taught residents of the United States is that flood insurance is important. Since the devastation in Midland and Odessa, Texas and Louisianna, over 145,000 new policies were written. But federal officials state that there are too many Americans that do not have flood insurance simply because most property insurance doesn’t offer it. Floor insurance is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency aka FEMA.

The issue is that many Americans who should have flood insurance aren’t in a flood zone and aren’t mandated to have it. And who would opt for extra insurance when they aren’t mandated by FEMA, especially when the area they lived in hasn’t been flooded in several years.

Data has shown in the past 5 years that North Carolina and South Carolina that residents with insurance have dropped 3% and 6% respectively.

Fortunately for FEMA, when Hurricane Florence hit it was downgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane the amount of damage is less severe than originally thought. Since Hurricane Katrina, FEMA has been shelling out billions of above what they collect in premiums. In fact, Hurricane Harvey and Irma caused FEMA to reach it’s max borrowing limit at $30.5 billion. In order to renew the flood insurance program, Congress forgave FEMA’s $16 billion in debt.

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How A DUI Impacts Your Insurance

Being pulled over for a DUI requires that you call a DUI defense attorney immediately. However, if you are convicted of a DUI, there are several repercussions ranging from losing our license, breathalyzer installation. Yet, one thing that many are not prepared for is how immensely your car insurance will be impacted by this conviction.

Most states require to fill out a form known as an SR-22 with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. This form gets sent to your insurance. They then usually classify you as a high-risk driver or chose to drop you completely, even if you have no prior accidents or anything else on your driving record. When you are moved to a high-risk policy, insurance can double sometimes triple its rates.

Depending on what state that you live in, a DUI can stay on your driving record from 3 to 7 years making switching auto policies almost impossible. Keep in mind the infraction will stay on your criminal record forever.

In the event that you get into an accident while you are driving under the influence, you can be dropped from the policy as well. It depends on which liability coverage you had but most insurance companies believe that DUI is intentional not accident and are probably not even covered under your insurance.

 

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What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

It seems silly to pay even more for car insurance than you already do, but sometimes a small monetary increase to your bill can ultimately help you save thousands. If you are involved in a car accident have you wondered what would happen to you if the other car owner doesn’t have insurance? This is where uninsured motorist coverage comes into play, according to http://thompsonlawtx.com/

Uninsured motorist coverage is only used when the at-fault driver doesn’t have enough liability coverage or doesn’t have any.

In every state except New Hampshire for some reason and in Washington DC, it’s illegal to operate a car without insurance but surprisingly 1 out of 8 drivers were uninsured in 2012. And just because a driver has insurance doesn’t mean they have liability insurance. If you are involved in a car accident and you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage and the person at fault doesn’t have insurance, you will need to pay out of your own pocket for property damage and medical expenses.

There are two types of uninsured motorist coverage:

  • UMBI: uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage covers medical expenses, lost wages and injury-related expenses for you and your passengers
  • UMPD: uninsured motorist property damage covers exactly what it sounds like property damage to your car

There are twenty-two states/districts that require you to have uninsured motorist coverage:

  1. Connecticut
  2. District of Columbia
  3. Illinois
  4. Kansas
  5. Maine
  6. Maryland
  7. Massachusettes
  8. Minnesota
  9. Missouri
  10. Nebraska
  11. New Hampshire
  12. New Jersey
  13. New York
  14. North Carolina
  15. North Dakota
  16. Oregon
  17. South Carolina
  18. South Dakota
  19. Vermont
  20. Virginia
  21. West Virginia
  22. Wisconsin

If you do not live in any of these states it is still highly recommended to purchase this insurance to make sure that you are protected in the event of an accident.

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Why Is Car Insurance So Expensive For Teens?

Driving is perhaps the most ubiquitous adult skill, yet it is learned much later on in life than most other skills. Naturally, as a child cannot be trusted to safely drive a motor vehicle. Thus, in most states, teenagers obtain a drivers permit at the age of 16. This permit allows them to drive with another legal adult in the car. In this case, a legal adult is anyone holding a driver’s license that is over the age of 21. Then, at the age of 17, the teen becomes eligible to take a driver’s road test. If they fail, they can try again. If they pass, that permit is upgraded to a license — allowing them to travel anywhere on their own. For many, this entails purchasing a car, or using a relatives vehicle to commute. Although this is an exciting time, it can come with many unforeseen difficulties. Car insurance is one such difficulty for many.

Teen Car Insurance

Although it is common knowledge that car insurance is pricier for teen drivers, many don’t realize just how much more it costs. On average, for the teen driver car insurance costs $2,267 a year. For adults, this figure is less than half, priced at just $815 per yer. There are a variety of reasons for this astronomical difference in price. To insurance companies, these reasons seem entirely justified. However, teens and their parents may feel differently on this issue.

Why So Expensive?

There are a multitude of reasons that teen car insurance is more expensive than car insurance for adults. Primarily, these have to do with safety and risk analysis. Below is a list of reasons of why car insurance is so expensive for teens:

  • Young drivers have no record
  • Young drivers have less experience
  • Young drivers are more likely to become distracted
  • Young drivers are more likely to be reckless
  • Young drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident
  • Young drivers pose a financial risk

Although most of these reasons are relatively self-explanatory, let’s take a bit more of an in-depth look at the ones that aren’t. Insurance companies use your driving record to see how safe a driver you are, and adjust your quote based on past accidents/claims. Without a record, their quote will have to be on the higher end. Furthermore, young drivers are likely to become distracted by cell phones, loud music, and other things while driving. This poses a danger to the driver and a risk to the insurance company. Lastly, according to years of statistical analysis, younger drivers are more likely to get in an accident. This may be due to inexperience, distraction, speeding, or simply poor choices. Thus, the above reasons all contribute to higher insurance costs for teen drivers. If you stay safe and responsible, in a few years these costs should drastically decrease!

 

 

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Travel Insurance From Your Credit Card Provider

When most people think about the rewards associated with owning a credit card, they imagine reward points, cashback, and air miles. Did you know, however, that many credit cards now come with free travel insurance? When you use those cards to pay for trips, not only do you earn points and air miles, you also get free complimentary travel insurance coverage. The insurance typically covers lost luggage claims and the cost of medical treatment in the event of an illness or accidental injury.

Perhaps one of the most popular cards for seasoned international travelers is the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. When the card is used to pay for travel costs, spenders can enjoy lots of benefits including a reimbursement of up to $10,000 in the event that a trip has to be canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. The card also provides up to $500 of cover for travel delays and cover for lost or stolen baggage. Furthermore, the travel insurance benefits extend to a cardholder’s immediate family members, even when the main cardholder is not the one traveling. Unfortunately, the card does have a steep annual fee of $450, so you need to be a frequent traveler in order to justify the fee.

The Citi Prestige credit card is another card that is popular with frequent travelers. It providers baggage delay cover of up to $500 per traveler. Make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully, as the insurance benefits do not cover items purchased during the trip.

The American Express Platinum credit card is arguably the best card for providing medical emergency insurance cover during a trip abroad. A cardholder can call the Premium Global Assistance Hotline at any time during their trip if they require medical attention. The hotline team will coordinate medical evacuation from the site of injury or illness. Falling seriously ill while overseas is one of many international travelers’ biggest fears, as the cost of international healthcare can be thousands of dollars. The Platinum Card From Amex offers travelers peace of mind.

So, before you book your next travel plans, make sure you check whether any of the credit cards you already have offer free travel insurance. If none of them do, it might be worth applying for a new credit card that does. A benefit like this could help you to save a lot of money when it comes to obtaining insurance for your international travel. What’s more, some of the best credit cards also offer zero fees on all foreign currency transactions.