When searching for home and auto insurance, a consumer has many options as to who to do business with. Television commercials and online advertisements abound in today’s society. Everyone needs insurance, and insurance companies are battling for clients.
In the world of insurance agents, there are two types of agents: captive agents and independent agents.
An insurance agent that is captive represents one company and independent agents represent multiple companies. The largest and most well-known insurance companies (All State, Farmers, American Family) go only through their own “captive” agents. Other well known but less known insurance companies (Met Life, Travelers, Hartford, Progressive, etc) go through independent insurance agents.
When you walk into an office of a captive insurance agent, he/she will quote you with the one company that they carry. When you walk into an office of an independent insurance agent, he/she will shop all the companies that he/she represents and set you up with the company that matches you the best in terms of lowest rates and best coverages.
The insurance market is very complex. When looking for a rate quote, there are numerous factors which these companies must consider. Because some companies look at different factors in different ways, insurance rates can greatly vary for one person between different companies.
For example, let’s say that Suzie wants an auto insurance quote. She has a pretty good driving record. She has not had any major violations in the past few years. Two years ago, when she was at college and would travel to her parents’ home and back on the weekends, she picked up two defective vehicle tickets.
The officer could have given her speeding tickets, but he reduced them down for her.
When Suzie went to get an insurance rate quote, she found that most insurance companies will give her higher insurance rates because of those two tickets. She would have to pay hundreds of more dollars each year. As her agent continued searching for her, he found an insurance company that would not rate her higher because of the tickets. This particular company does not rate ‘defective vehicles’ as anything abnormal, thus though she had two tickets, she had access to the very lowest rates the company had to offer and she was able to save hundreds of dollars each year.
If Suzie had gone to an agent who was captive, he would have set her up with the one rate that he had to offer. She would have missed out on the money that she was going to save.
The more proactive the insurance agent is, the more he can search for ways to save his clients money. It is a good idea to not only seek an independent insurance agent, but a very proactive insurance agent. Understanding the difference between these two types of insurance agents can save you a lot of money on your insurance. colorado insurance insurance.
Although equity indexed annuities have been around for a number of years, equity indexed universal life (EIUL) insurance is a relative newcomer to the life insurance marketplace. EIUL is a spin on universal life (UL) insurance, a popular policy type because you can increase or decrease your death benefit as your needs change and your premiums can be adjusted accordingly. UL policies also build a cash value against which you could borrow or even use to pay your premiums.
The equity indexed concept is relatively simple: the amount of interest credited to your policy’s cash value is tied to the performance of a particular index (the S&P 500 is one of the most popular), so that in years where the index performs well your interest crediting rate will rise, and in years where the index performs poorly, your interest crediting rate will fall.
Most policies guarantee that your interest crediting rate will never fall below zero so that you won’t lose money (you just won’t make it). They also have a cap as to how high a crediting rate they will pass on to you. This range of possible rates is often described as offering “upside potential with downside protection.”
How It Works
Typically, the big choice facing life insurance buyers is whether to go with a “safe” universal life policy that offers a minimum guaranteed rate but limited potential for cash accumulation or to go with a more “risky” variable life policy that offers greater potential for earnings but no protection against losses in the market.
EIUL insurance is an attempt to fill the gap between these two approaches. EIUL is universal life insurance in which the cash value is linked to a certain index. If the index is higher at the end of the year, your cash value may go up. If the index stays flat or goes down, your cash value earns the minimum guaranteed interest rate (say, 2 percent). You should note, however, that when your index goes up it doesn’t mean that your cash value increase will reflect the full index increase, due to fees, and dividends and capital gains aren’t included in the cash value’s calculation.
But are these new products the best of both worlds? Let’s take a look at both sides of the coin.
The Pros and Cons
One advantage of EIUL is the potential for higher interest crediting rates than a traditional universal policy. Another advantage is that it offers greater protection from market downturns than a variable life insurance policy.
Stephan Mitchell, product & competition analyst for Pacific Life Insurance Co., based in Newport Beach, Calif., points out that while these products are not a cure-all, they can offer “an attractive middle ground for buyers who saw the market downturn of 2001-2002 and are looking for some guarantees.” These products can offer some peace of mind to buyers looking for a mix of guarantees and some potential for cash accumulation.
However, there can be disadvantages to having an equity indexed product. The chief disadvantage of an equity indexed product is that it comes equipped with slightly higher risk than a traditional universal policy. Also, the cap rate
What are the main differences between insuring with an independent insurance agency vs. a captive agency? Many people are not sure of the differences so this article designed to help explain these differences.
A captive agency is an agency that writes usually through one company. They are usually multiline companies which means they can write several different lines of insurance like, home, auto, boat etc… but only through that one company. Their customers desire to be insured with the company based on brand recognition.
An independent agency is just the opposite. An independent will shop your coverage’s through multiple carriers sometimes 20-30 of the best carriers in the industry to find your best price. These carriers will usually specialize in that particular product and sometimes that is all they do. This is usually a good thing as they know that one product or line of insurance very well and are priced competitively to write a lot of that one product line.
If you prefer the captive route you are at the mercy of how competitive that one carrier is. More times than not, price is important but not necessarily the main focus with insuring with a captive agency. On the other hand, the independent side will tend to be more competitive in price but with carriers that are strong but not as well know as the captive carriers.
In the State of FL the captive agencies are having the most difficult time due to major restrictions on the property side. Many captive agencies have major restrictions or are in the process of cancelling their entire property book of business. Most of the business since the 04 hurricanes has shifted to the captives because of restrictions and price issues.
I hope this helps shed some light on the differences between the two types agencies. to find out more, contact us at the number at the top of your screen. Orlando Insurance Agency
Life Insurance. Doesn’t it just conjure up some insurance salesman knocking on your door trying to sell you a policy that covers you for accidents only, for a small amount and costs you the earth? No? It doesn’t too me either because those days are long gone!
I prefer to call it “Life Assurance” anyway, because it is assuring you that your life is convered in the event of death and that what your life is insured for, will be paid out to your estate or policy owner.
But how many of you actually have this cover in place? I know of lots of my friends, who are in their 20′s who don’t have the cover because 1) they don’t know anything about (lack of education) and 2) they don’t think they need it and see it as an extra cost. How little they know… like anything, the earlier you start, the cheaper it is…
Following are 10 important reasons why YOU should have life assurance and why those around you too should invest in this:
Reason 1
Hello? Do you have any bills, like maybe a mortgage?? This alone is a pertinent reason to have life assurance… it means that should you die, this major bill will be paid off and not left to your survivors to deal with!
Reason 2
Young, fit and healthy? No ailments? Then this is the best time to get life assurance! Your premium will be small and if you take out a policy that allows you to keep the same premium until the age of 65, you will have considerable savings… the earlier you start, the better. And then if you develop any health issues throughout your life, it doesn’t matter, because you already have the cover in place!
Reason 3
Are you married? Do you care about your spouse? Then is it not thoughtful to make sure that your spouse does not have to worry about money should you pass before they do and vice versa? I know a couple who cancelled their life insurance and then 6 months later he was diagnosed as having stomach cancer, and died 18 months later… leaving behind a wife and two children still at home and a mortgage… and no monetry relief for his family. Is this what you want to put your partner through?
Reason 4
Want to leave a legacy for your future grand children? What better way then ensuring your estate will actually have some legacy to pass on! You can elect in your will to have the proceeds of your life assurance paid directly to your estate and then as per your will, divy up the proceeds.
Reason 5
Peace of mind… yours that is. If you can’t afford health insurance or any other insurance, you can afford life insurance… and should you develop a terminal disease… your life insurance will pay out a lump sum upon confirmation of this, allowing you to fulfil any dreams you have not achieved or to get your affairs in order.
There are many more reasons I could go into here, but you get the gist… just like you wouldn’t risk not having your car insured or your house or contents… how can you not insure your number one asset… yourself?
There are plenty of fantastic financial advisers out there. If you don’t have one, a great place to start is your bank, they have trained staff that can guide you… just make sure you read through any quotes you receive etc and make sure you understand just what you are being covered for.
My 2 cents worth 
Got questions about health insurance? Here are the top 10 health insurance questions and answers:
1. What kinds of health insurance plans are there?
There are two basic types of health insurance plans – indemnity plans and managed health care plans. Indemnity plans let you choose your own physician, while managed health care plans – HMOs, PPOs, and POSs – assign you to a network of physicians and hospitals. Managed health care plans are less flexible, but much cheaper than indemnity plans.
2. What’s an HMO?
With an HMO you pay a monthly premium for which you are assigned to a network of physicians, specialists, and hospitals who provide your medical care. A primary care physician oversees your care and you can only see physicians within your network. Prescriptions may completely covered or partially covered and generally require a co-payment of $5 to $10. This is the cheapest type of health insurance.
3. What’s a PPO?
A PPO is similar to an HMO, but it allows you to visit non-network physicians without a referral from your primary care physician. You may have to pay for the non-network physicians fee, then get partial reimbursement from your PPO provider. Co-payments are generally $5 to $10, and this plan costs a little more than an HMO.
4. What’s a POS?
A POS plan is a combination of an HMO and a POS plan. You choose a primary care physician within your network, but you can also see physicians outside the network. If your primary care physician refers you to an outside physician your POS provider picks up the costs. This is the most flexible and the most costly of the three managed health care plans.
5. What is a deductible?
A deductible is the amount you pay toward a claim before the insurance company pays.
6. What’s coinsurance?
Coinsurance is the percentage of your medical expenses you have to pay after you pay your deductible.
7. What is a co-payment?
A co-payment is the amount you must pay when you visit a physician.
8. How do I choose a health insurance plan?
Ideally, you want to choose a plan that will give you the most amount of benefits for the least amount of money. If you want to continue seeing your current physician, find out what plans he or she is associated with. And if you have special medical needs, make sure the plan you choose will provide for those needs.
Other things to consider when choosing a health insurance plan are:
* What are the co-payments, deductibles, and coinsurances?
* Does the plan cover pre-existing conditions?
* What is the waiting period for pre-existing conditions?
* Will the insurance company give me good service?
9. Where can I get cheap health insurance?
Insurance premiums vary substantially from one company to another, so you want to get quotes from several companies in order to get the best price.
The quickest way to get quotes from different companies is to go to an insurance comparison website. Once there you’ll fill out a short questionnaire, then receive your quotes. The best comparison sites only deal with A-rated insurance companies so you know you’ll be getting a reputable company. They also have an insurance expert on call to answer your questions. (See link below.)
10. How do I know I’m getting a reliable health insurance company?
One of the best places to check out an insurance company is your state’s department of insurance website. You can also visit J.D. Power & Associate’s website (jdpower.com) to get consumer ratings on insurance companies, and A.M. Best’s website (ambest.com) to get financial ratings.