Cash Value Life Insurance: Five Reasons Why Cash Value Life Insurance is Death to Your Financial Future

Cash value life insurance is the most widely sold life insurance product in the world today. It is also the life insurance product that is WORST for your Finances.

These products are also known as:

• Whole Life
• Universal Life
• Variable Life
• Interest Sensitive Life
• Non-Participating Life (no “dividends”)
• Participating Life (pays “dividends”)

Why are cash value products a bad choice for your insurance needs? I could write a book about this, but here are five simple reasons.

1. Too expensive. All life insurance is priced at a cost per thousand dollars of coverage. Cash value life insurance is high priced. Term life insurance is very low priced per thousand. Better to buy term life insurance to make sure you have enough coverage.

2. Borrowing your own cash value. After you’ve paid a few years of premium into your policy, it starts to accumulate some stored-up money, which the insurance company calls “cash value” or “surrender value.” It is the amount of extra premium you have paid ahead that has not been used to cover your pure insurance costs. If you want your cash value, you must either surrender your policy and lose your coverage, or borrow the money from the insurance company and pay it back.

3. The insurance company keeps your cash value when you die. Your beneficiaries can’t have both your cash value and your death benefit. So, if you had paid into your $100,000 cash value policy for 40 years, and had accumulated cash value of $25,000, the insurance company pays $100,000 and keeps the cash value.

4. Surrender and cancellation penalties. In the first 1-10 years of many cash value policies, the cancellation penalties are so high that you cannot get out any cash value at all…or only a small percentage.

5. Generally life insurance “dividends” are tax free and you do not report them on your tax return. That’s because life insurance “dividends” are not true dividends at all, like what is paid when you own a share of common stock. In life insurance, the term “dividend” is used to deceive policyholders into thinking that life insurance is a comparable investment to securities. The IRS says that insurance “dividends” are a return of premiums that you previously paid for the life insurance policy.

I’ve tried to keep this as simple as possible. These five reasons should be enough to convince you that cash value life insurance is a poor product. If you need life insurance, look first at term life insurance. It is very inexpensive and allows you to buy the amount you need.

Car Insurance Claim Scams: How Rear-End Collisions Can Be Car Insurance Claim Scams

Car insurance claim scams happen in cities and rural areas. They happen at both day and night. They happen in sunshine and rain, at rush hour and on quiet roads. You need to know that there are people out on the roads that are planning and looking for someone just like you to catch in their scams. It’s all about filing fraudulent claims and collecting money from you and your insurance company.

Here’s just one example of a claim scam…The Staged Rear-End Collision.

A driver will quickly merge into your lane of traffic directly in front of you, then slam on their brakes. They are hoping that your car will hit their car in the rear end.

It doesn’t matter if they have Collision insurance coverage on their car, because if you hit their car, you’re at fault. Here in the state of Georgia, a traffic ticket for “failure to yield” is almost a certainty if you rear-end another car for any reason. And, if you’re ticketed, your insurance company is going to have a hard time proving that it wasn’t your fault.

The Car Repairs Scam

The other driver will collect money from your insurance company for repairs to his car. He may take his car to the body shop of his choice. Sometimes, the body shop is a partner in the scam, writing a huge estimate for repairs that may or may not ever get done. This part of the scam happens pretty quickly, and settlement usually happens pretty fast.

The Bodily Injury Scam

The driver will usually fake an injury. If there are other people in the car, it is likely that all of them will fake injury. These rear-end collisions are perfect for scammers, since injuries like whiplash are soft-tissue injuries and very difficult to prove. So, they might drag out an injury claim for months. Sometimes, the driver/claimant’s doctor, chiropractor or attorney may be part of the scam. The medical bills will mount up and the attorney will make a settlement demand, usually far in excess of the medical bills alone. For example, the claimant’s medical bills might total $10,000, and the attorney will make a demand for $50,000.

Another part of the Bodily Injury Scam is loss of income for the claimant. They might try to hit you for partial disability, either temporary or permanent. They might even try total disability. Remember, in this scam, ALL of the passengers will make the same claim for damages.

Can you see how fast the claim can go from a fender-bender to a huge claim with a demand of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

You can prevent this type of scam befalling you. Here are some tips:

• Keep plenty of distance between you and the car ahead of you AT ALL TIMES.

• Stay alert while driving, don’t allow yourself to be distracted inside your own car.

• Keep cell phone use while driving at a minimum. People develop “attention blindness” when they’re using their cell phones.

• Make sure you have a disposable camera in your glovebox at all times. If you do find yourself in a rear-end collision, use your disposable or cell phone camera to take plenty of photos of the damages on both cars. Take photos of the driver and all passengers.

Only YOU can protect yourself from being a victim of a Car Insurance Claim Scam.

If you have experienced a car insurance loss, you need to know winning insurance claim strategies. The insurance company will not tell you the claims process, but I will. I will show you how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, go to the website listed below.

Vehicle Theft: Five Tips To Protect Yourself From Vehicle Theft

Vehicle theft is the number one property crime in the United States, and it costs consumers more than eight billion dollars a year. Much of that cost is borne by insurance companies, and they pass along the costs in the form of higher insurance premiums.

Let’s face it. If a criminal wants your car, he’s likely going to get it. But there are things you can do to lower your chances of a car highjacking.

1. Be aware of your surroundings. Notice the physical area around you. When you park in the daylight, and you know you’ll be coming back to your car after dark, try to park in a well-lighted area.

2. Be aware of the people around you. Notice if anyone is following you, or coming toward you from any angle. Look at them directly! Criminals are cowards. They would rather not deal with someone who can give police a good description of them.

3. Keep your car doors locked when you are driving. If you are at an isolated stop light, you are vulnerable to a highjacking. At least a locked door will slow a highjacker down a bit. But if ANYBODY taps on your window, drive away immediately.

4. Here’s a HUGE TIP for the ladies, but this scam works on men, too. One of the oldest tricks is that a highjacker drives up behind you and runs into the rear bumper of your car…just enough so that you feel it. Both of you stop your cars. If anybody from the other car gets out of that car and comes to your window, DO NOT ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW! Immediately drive to a well-lighted, high traffic location, like a convenience store, gas station or the closest fire or police station. If you have your cell phone with you, call the police and tell them what you’re doing.

5. Final tip. Buy a handgun, get a concealed weapons permit, and learn how to shoot your gun. Then you will be able to protect yourself and your property with a firearm. Remember that criminals are cowards. But if the criminal is the only one with a gun, your future doesn’t look to good.

Follow these five tips, and you’ll likely never have to deal with a vehicle theft.

If you have experienced an auto theft loss, you need to know winning insurance claim strategies. The insurance company will not tell you the claims process, but I will. I will show you how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, go to the website listed below.

Christmas Fire Safety: 14 Tips for Christmas Fire Safety

According to the United States Fire Administration (USFA), fires occurring during the holiday season claim the lives of over 400 people each year, injure 1,650 more, and cause over $990 million in damage. By following these tips, you can be sure of a safe and happy holiday.

Holiday Decorations

• If you use an artificial Christmas tree, be sure it is flame retardant.

• Don’t use flammable decorations.

• Keep decorations away from heat vents and other heat sources.

• Don’t burn gift wrapping paper in the fireplace. Wrapping paper tends to burn hotly and fast, and can throw off sparks that could start a chimney fire.

Christmas Tree Care

A Christmas tree on fire can quickly fill a room with fire and deadly toxic gases. Take special precautions when you bring a live tree into your home.

• Picking a tree: Needles should be green and not easy to be pulled from the branches. The trunk of the tree should be sticky from sap. When you’re picking a tree, stand it upright and bounce the tree trunk on the ground. If needles fall off, it’s probably too dry to buy.

• Tree care: Never stand a tree near a heat source, like a heat vent or fireplace. Heat will dry out the tree and make it a fire hazard. Keep the tree stand filled with water. Don’t keep a Christmas tree in your home longer than about two weeks.

• Tree disposal: Don’t burn it in the woodstove or fireplace. Best to take it to a local recycling center, where they will run it through a wood chipper. You might even be able to scoop up some wood chips and take them home for landscaping.

Holiday Lights

• Before you install lights: check each strand of lights for cracked wires, frayed wires, broken light sockets or kinks in the wires. Lights are really cheap. When in doubt, throw out the old lights and buy new.

• No overloaded electrical outlets. Connect all your strings of lights to an extension cord, and then plug the extension cord into the electrical outlet. Come back a little later and check the lights. If you feel the cords or plugs and they are warm to the touch, unplug them and change outlets. Plugs and wires should never be warm.

• Don’t leave holiday lights unattended. I handled a claim for some people who placed those single electric candles in each window. It sure was beautiful…but one of the candles caught the drapes on fire and burned the house down. Hundreds of house fires happen each year from unattended decorative lights.

Candles

• There are few things as pretty as lit candles. But only use lit candles when you’re present to care for them.

• Make sure the candles are in candle holders that are stable, and not placed where they could easily be knocked over.

• Never use lit candles on a Christmas tree. Never.

• Never leave the house when candles are burning.

Finally, make sure you have working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home. Test them once a month and keep them clean. Make sure they have fresh batteries at all times. Then, Have a Merry Christmas!

If you have experienced a property loss, whether fire, wind, flood or other, you need to know winning insurance claim strategies. The insurance company will not tell you the claims process, but I will. I will show you how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, go to my website at: www.insurance-claim-secrets.com

Christmas Thefts: Are You Protecting Yourself From Christmas Thefts?

Holidays are happy times…for criminals. Your property is far more vulnerable to theft than you realize during the holiday season. Let me show you some ways you can get ripped off, and how you can prevent it.

1. Christmas shopping. Many people go to malls and other shopping centers, and park their cars in the expansive parking lots. Shoppers take their packages back to their cars so they can shop more. Criminals watch this behavior and target those cars. If you leave your packages inside the car…even if it’s locked…you’re only a quick smashed window away from stolen packages. Put your packages in the trunk. I’m not saying that your packages are completely safe in the trunk. I’ve seen motivated criminals pop a trunk and get the loot within seconds. But you have a better chance if your stuff is in your trunk.

2. And while you were Christmas shopping….other criminals are stalking your neighborhoods looking for houses that look like nobody’s home. When you spend all day at a mall on the weekend, you might get a surprise when you arrive home. So, make sure that you have a monitored security system at home, and make sure it’s armed while you’re gone.

3. And when you went to Grandma’s house for a couple of days…the criminals might notice that your home is dark. Make sure you have the mail held at the Post Office, and tell your paperboy to stop delivery while you’re gone. Ask your neighbors to check on your home each day while you’re gone. Finally, call your local police and tell them the dates you will be out of town.

4. Remember that personal items stolen from your car are NOT COVERED by your auto insurance. You’ll have to submit any claim through your Homeowners or Renters insurance.

The year-end holidays can be wonderful times of family closeness, joy and deep religious meaning. Be careful, vigilant, and you stand a much better chance that your holiday won’t be spoiled by theft or burglary.

If you have experienced a property theft loss, you need to know winning insurance claim strategies. The insurance company will not tell you the claims process, but I will. I will show you how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, go to my website at: www.insurance-claim-secrets.com