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
A personal financial budget is a money allocation plan which is part of your financial plan enabling you to outline your financial goals. Establishing a personal financial budget is not difficult and has tremendous payoffs. You can better establish and regulate your financial resources, set and achieve your financial objectives, and make advance decisions as to how you want your finances best to function for you.
The main idea in creating a personal financial budget is to put aside a certain amount of money for expected as well as unexpected costs, based on previous expenses and bills, as well as define savings amounts in its optimal state. It therefore enables you to position yourself to build wealth in the long-term. In order to create a useful personal financial budget as part personal financial planning you must do the following:
Step 1. Determine how to allocate your compensation by first identifying your spending habits. Define fixed expenses (e.g., home, auto, utilities, insurances, etc.) thoroughly for a month and write everything down and add it all up. Even if your utilities fluctuate a little you can estimate the cost after an average month. Through proper determination of your “spending patterns”, you can immediately identify solutions for creating an effective personal financial budget for your needs.
For instance, when you have a steady monthly net income (after tax take home pay) of $5,000, you should subtract all of your identified monthly expenses from that income – making a list of the regular monthly amounts. Spreadsheets are often useful for keeping track of this information. Many people often create an excel spreadsheet budget to track expenses. There can be benefits to creating multiple year personal financial budget plans.
Step 2. Next, assess other bills, like those that may occur periodically during the year. These can be estimated and then subtracted from the amount of your income. You have one of two ways of doing this. The first way is to compute the total for a year, divide the total by 12, and subtract that monthly amount by putting the money into savings to build until you need it. The second way is if you have enough surplus you can just budget the full annual, semiannual, or other bill in full or in some other payment arrangement.
Step 3. The balance that remained after fixed costs can now be budgeted across miscellaneous household expenses and savings. Budgeting for savings is often overlooked and therefore often will not get done. A short-term 2-5 year savings goal needs a minimum 2-year personal financial budget plan so you can see where you are going. A short-term impulse buying view is often what prevents people from accumulating savings and building wealth.
Step 4. To best determine how to ensure you contribute to savings, you can do this one of two ways. You could use dollar amounts for a group call miscellaneous like gas, clothing, entertainment and groceries. Some people promote using proportions or percentages. But think about it, if your income increases, does that mean your miscellaneous expenses should or should your savings increase instead? So, using dollar amounts instead of percentages could be advantageous to your savings goal.
Step 5. Ideally you have a minimum of 3 cash or banking accounts. These expenses should be allocated across 2 checking accounts – the first for paying bills and for transferring money to at least a second checking account and one savings account ( if you do not have direct deposit across all of these accounts). The second checking account would be for your household, miscellaneous, spending money and not the recurring bills. Then a third short-term savings/emergency account (later adding longer-term savings accounts of course) but these are beginning steps that many people never put into practice.
These are ways to establish a basic financial plan and to prevent usage of non-allocated money for miscellaneous or impulse expenses. These are beginning steps that many people never put into practice that are beneficial and can be built upon, for long-term financial planning.
Legal credit card debt elimination is an unsecured program for credit card debt elimination. There are many legal agencies, which provide you the facility of eliminating your credit card debts.
Legal debt elimination agencies help you to get out of your debts by negotiating with your card provider to get a reduced balance, which you would be able to pay off in a reasonable amount of time. But most legal credit card debt elimination programs may result in negatively affecting your credit history.
Legal credit card debt elimination helps you to eliminate your debt much more quickly, usually within 90 to 120 days. Most agencies will demand you to minimize your credit card use during the period of debt elimination. Some agencies recommend to eliminate the credit card debts with the highest interest rates first. Others may recommend to eliminate those with smallest balances first.
Legal credit card debt elimination programs usually cover all unsecured credit card debts such as those with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express cards. Department store debts, gas station charge cards, and secured loans such as home, auto, and boat loans, and student loans are often not covered under this process.
Getting legal credit card debt elimination is a difficult and lengthy process. There are many types of credit card debt elimination plans. It is helpful to have short-term and long-term goals in mind before you go for debt elimination. Before signing a contract ask contacting creditors for a lower interest rate. Remember that usually you are not permitted to engage in any new obligations after a credit card elimination process has started. You also have to make your minimum monthly payments on time to the credit card company until the debt is eliminated.
You have to beware of credit card debt elimination programs that are illegal and charge an interest. According to federal and state usury laws charging interest on credit cards is illegal.
There are quite a few companies that carry the label of Christian debt consolidation and this may sound contrary to the beliefs of the Christian community. Many of these Christian debt companies push the belief that it is more Biblical to use the services of a company run or based on Christian principals.
Take some time to talk to people in the Christian community and you’ll soon discover a debate on if Christians should go into debt at all. It does not matter if you are talking about debt for a home or credit card debt – money owed is money owed. Some believe that it is not OK to borrow for anything – home, auto, or anything.
Some use the justification that if the item is an asset with the potential to appreciate in value then it is OK. Another justification comes from the belief that if an item can produce income or is worth more than the amount owed or the repayment does not put extra pressure on the budget – it is fine.
These debt companies point to the scriptures as a guideline on debt and borrowing. For example they point to
(Romans 13:8) ‘Owe no man any thing, but to love one another’. In Proverbs the writer warns, ‘Just as the rich rule over the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender’ (Proverbs 22:7). They also push the fact that biblically as a borrower they must pay back what is owed. ‘The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously’ (Psalm 37:21).
As a Christian it is difficult to be committed to serving the Lord and working in the church when you are burdened with debt and must put all your attention into working to cover debt. These companies hold a commitment to helping Christians get back on their feet financially on the road to being debt free. Getting control of your finances is an incredible empowering feeling.
With the name Christian in the title some people will be more comfortable and assume the company will be looking out for their best interest. However, these companies cannot discriminate on whom they assist. So why are companies offering Christian debt consolidation services simply not an organization doing debt consolidation?
Since these companies must treat all individuals the same, the fact of being a Christian service should make no difference in the advice they can offer. Choose a company that best meets your financial needs and not only because of the name in their title.
You may be looking for a home & auto insurance quote. Perhaps you have heard of brokers and never really known how brokers operate. They are independent insurance agents. They work differently than insurance agents that are affiliated with one company.
An insurance broker works with many companies to provide you with many quotes. He then sells you the policy you prefer. It is his job to service that policy, just as if he worked for the company. In a way, he does because the company pays his commission.
The broker can sell you home and car insurance. He may also be able to sell you health, life, dental, and many other types of policies. His objective is to fulfill all your insurance needs.
There are advantages to working with insurance brokers.
Insurance brokers do not have company loyalty. They may have preferences of which companies are easier to work with, but they do not have to push any company. They are not bound to any agreement that forces them to favor one company. This gives you more choice. You can get as many quotes as you want. The insurance broker will search the different companies. When he finds a company whose policy meets your needs, he will present it to you. You will get not one, but several quotes if you want them. You may have warning if a company is in poor financial condition. Your broker would not steer you to a company that is failing. It would be bad for you, of course. More importantly for the broker, it would be bad for him. If the company went under, he might not get his commission. Your broker can work with different types of policies. Even if you go with different companies for different policies, this is true. You can get a home & auto insurance quote by you broker from one company. On the other hand, he may find better deals by getting you policies with different carriers for each.
There are disadvantages to working with insurance brokers.
Brokers may not be as interested in servicing your policy. They are not a part of an insurance company that prides itself on service in most cases. They are simply a go-between for insurance companies and consumers. They may feel that they do not want anything to do with you once they have sold you a policy. Insurance brokers may try to get you to switch policies often. Brokers get paid a lower commission for renewal contracts than for new policies. For this reason, they are more inclined to switch you to a different company. That way they will get a new policy commission every year or two.
An insurance broker can get you a good home & auto insurance quote. However, you should prepare yourself for problems that might come from poor servicing or constant switching of policies. If you do use a broker, you need to be aware of the disadvantages.