10 Insurance Myths Worth Knowing

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em insurance companies are here to stay. Many of us have strong views about what insurance is about but how many of these views are rooted in fact rather than fiction? Here are our top 10 insurance myths – they might surprise you.

1. My car insurance covers work

If you or any other driver is using your vehicle for anything other than personal use then tell your insurer. Whether you’re commuting to meetings or delivering pizzas you need to make sure you’ve covered for business use otherwise you might invalidate your cover.

2. I don’t need separate liability insurance Whilst motor and home insurance policies have liability sections these may not provide adequate protection. Depending on your personal circumstance you may need an umbrella policy that sits above your existing policies and provides a higher level of cover.

3. You only need flood insurance if you live on a flood plain Even if you don’t live in an area that has previously experienced flooding it doesn’t mean that it never will. Flooding can have a devastating effect on your home and belongings so make sure you’ve the cover in place to deal with it.

4. Healthcare insurance is a waste of money Whether this is true or not depends on where you live and what’s important to you. Whilst in the UK the National Health Service provides care to everyone and private medical insurance gives greater choice and speed when treating acute conditions, in the US universal healthcare does not exist.

5. I don’t need critical illness or disability cover You may think you can rely on the government to help if you are badly injured or disabled, however, even if you can successfully claim benefits this will take a long time and you’re income level will be reduced. Critical illness and cover for disability can help provide some financial protection if this happens.

6. I don’t need to insure for long term care costs Whilst most of us don’t like to think too much about getting old it is important to plan ahead, particularly if you don’t want your family to feel the impact. Investigate the different types of long term care insurance, take action now and you won’t have to worry later.

7. Everyone needs life insurance

Life insurance provides a lump sum for your dependants when you die, leaving them with some financial support. If you don’t have anyone who is financially dependent on you then you may not need life insurance.

8. Only the main breadwinner needs life insurance Think about what your spouse contributes to the household budget and the cost of outsourcing these services if they were to die. Once you’ve factored in the cost of childcare, transportation, cleaning, food preparation etc. you’ll be able to see the financial impact if they weren’t around and whether you could afford it.

9. Whole of life insurance is best

Whilst you are guaranteed that a whole of life insurance will pay out when you die the premiums for this type of cover are more expensive than for a term policy. Some people may be better off, therefore, buying a term assurance policy and setting up a regular savings account to make additional financial provisions.

10. Always make a claim

If you have insurance then you might want to use it at every opportunity. Think before you do though. Insurance is designed to cover unexpected catastrophes. If you keep making claims then your insurance premiums will go up.

Lloyd predominantly writes about business and personal finance matters. He is currently writing on behalf of SO Switch, who can help you find the cheapest home insurance.

Save on Gas, Don’t Drive

Listen, let’s be honest; the best way to save gas money is to not drive your car.  As silly as this may sound there are many people that make 2, 5 and even 10 small trips a day around their town that just aren’t necessary and waste a lot of gas.  You use much more gas driving around town, stopping and starting the entire time, than you do on the highway at a constant speed. So the 1st thing you can do if you want to save gas is use a bike, walk or plan your small trips and make one big trip to the grocery, school, hair salon, post office, doctors office or wherever.

Of course if you live in or close to a major city you can use public transportation, but if there’s no way to get around using a car then you’ll want to purchase one that gets the best mileage.  Below is a list of the Top 5 in that category with the only caveat that these comparisons are based on using gasoline 100% of the time.

The Toyota Prius is the #1 car on the road today for great gas mileage and delivers an average of 50 mils to the gallon.  That’s really good, no doubt, and you can get a late model Prius starting for under $27,000.00 also which makes it a great deal.

The #2 is a perennial favorite, the Honda Civic Hybrid, with an average 44 mpg.  This well-built and easy to maintain sport sedan is worth every penny of its relatively low price of under $25,000.00. The lower price really makes it almost equal to the Prius.

Honda makes the list again with the Insight with 42 mpg and that storied Honda value and reliability. It happens to tie with the Lexus CT 200h but, since the price is about $10,000.00 cheaper, we have to go with the Insight hands down. Of course the Lexus is a bit more luxurious so you’ll have to make up your mind if you want great gas mileage and are willing to pay a 10 grand more for cushy seats.

Toyota makes the list again with their Camry Hybrid and its 41 mpg average.  In our opinion it’s even better than the original Camry and, since it gets about 25% better mileage, it’s worth the price at just under $30,000.00

And there you have the Top 5 cars on the road today as far as gas mileage is concerned.  A great bunch of cars all they will save you many dollars at the pump during their life.

Tips to Get More for Your Gasoline Dollar

Buying gasoline has become quite the costly proposition over the years, and it doesn’t look like it’s getting any simpler any time soon. Because of that, it’s time to re-evaluate your fuel economy and figure out what some of the best ways are to use less gas, and in turn, save some precious money that can be used elsewhere!

 

Do Your Research

In the market for a new car? Do your research on fuel mileage. Many new cars nowadays have picked up on the trend of high gas prices, and there are models from all shapes and sizes to be fairly gas-friendly and fuel-efficient.

 

Figure out not only which style car you may be in the market for, but what might be a good fuel mileage for you to strive for when it comes time to buy. This can save a lot of money, time, and a headache at the pump.

 

Walk

Yeah, walk! Maybe not across town, but re-evaluate all of your trips and figure out exactly what and when you could be walking instead of driving. Heading to the post office a mile away from your home? Walking might be easier, and it will certainly save money on gasoline.

 

Go through all the daily trips you make, and your errand route, and figure out exactly how and where you might do best walking instead of driving your car.

 

Public Transportation

Public transportation can be a big hassle depending on which city you reside in, but if you take the time to figure out bus routes or subway stops, you can come away a winner. In many cities, public transportation has become seamlessly integrated into life, and everybody can gain some value from it.

 

So do research in your city, and figure out exactly where you can use public transportation. Even if it’s only once or twice a month for certain trips, those miles add up, and every time using public transportation is a time not spent on gasoline in your precious automobile.

 

Make Efficient Trips

Re-think how and where you make your trips, and start to plan on doubling up errands and more. Instead of making two trips here and there, or running inefficient errands on opposite sides of town, figure out where you might be able to piggyback these trips, and save some cash on gasoline. It may not be huge, but even a few dollars can make a huge difference!

 

All in all, it’s up to you and you alone to become more fuel-efficient and travel smarter. Gasoline prices will continue to rise. Instead of acting like they surprise you, be proactive and save some money in the process!

 

Easy Ways to Save on Gas Money: Part Three

This is part three in my Easy Ways to Save Gas Money series.  I feel this topic is so important that it deserved an entire series devoted to ways on saving money on gasoline.  If households were to check their monthly and annual cost consumption on gas they might be shocked to see just how much it is costing them.

Here is a simple tip that too few people follow, keep your tires filled up with the appropriate level of air.  Believe it or not this can go a long way to saving you money on gas.  Properly inflated tired actually increase the miles per gallon for a vehicle.  Most newer vehicles even have an electronic system that monitors your tire pressure at all times.

I’ve talked in the past about buying a smaller car, or a hybrid, but what about buying something other than a car altogether.  Motorcycles and mopeds are a very efficient means of transportation.  They have small tanks, tend to be lightweight, and they consume a fraction of the gasoline that cars do.  Of course this only makes sense if you live in a warm weather region, and you ignore the forgone safety with these types of vehicles.

Make sure you drive at a consistent speed.  There is nothing new about this type, though many people often ignore it.  Speeding up and slowing down are gas guzzling no-no’s.  Staying at a steady consistent speed with help you maximize the miles per gallon that your vehicle can achieve.  That means that you shouldn’t be tailgating the car in front on you which will only lead to constant braking and speeding up.  Likewise, you needn’t worry about others tailgating you either, let them just pass you by, meanwhile you can maintain your slow and steady speed.

Easy Ways to Save on Gas Money: Part Two

As promised in my previous article I’m back with some more gas saving tips to help you save money!  To me this is a more important topic than most since a majority of us spend a ton of money gasing up our vehicles each and every day.  Just consider that wars are started over oil, gas prices affect the tourism industry, and they especially effect the types of vehicles people purchase.  Think about how quickly the residual values dropped on SUV’s and how important small car manufacturing became after the economic crash in 2009.  So read below for additional ways to save on gas money.

Car maintenance may be one of the most important factors in achieving maximum miles per gallon for your vehicle.  It’s quite simple, keep up with your oil changes, tire rotation, and routine annual maintenance and you will be surprised at how much better and more efficiently your car will drive.  Also, if you live in a cold weather state you need to make sure you winterize your car each year as well.

Discounted gift cards! Yep, that’s what I said, discounted gift cards area a great idea for saving money on gasoline.  I have touted this idea for savings on Christmas shopping in the past, but it actually works quite well for saving on gas as well.  If you go on one of those discount gift card sites you can purchase a discounted card at a fraction of the full price.  Even if you save 5% – 10% off a $100 gift card, that amount can really add up over a year, and unlike most other gift cards, you are guaranteed to get your use out of these.

Eco-friendly vehicles are great, but sometimes a smaller car is just better! If don’t have a large family to cart around then buying a smaller car can not only be less expensive, but the gas to fill them up will cost less as well.  Smaller fuel efficient vehicles can produce huge savings when you tally it up over a year.  The Big 3 have made huge strides over the past three years when it comes to small fuel efficient vehicles, so now you don’t have to compromise style or safety either.

Easy Ways to Save on Gas Money

Saving money on gas isn’t always that easy since we can’t always change the amount of miles we have to drive.  Being a recently married man I’ve started to realize just how much money two people spend on gas each month, and it’s not a small amount.  In fact, it’s one of our large routine expenses, and probably outpaces our monthly food bill.  This is exactly why I want to provide you with some helpful tips on how to save money on gas.

First and foremost, consider the distance you are driving to and from work each day.  I understand that we can’t always change jobs or change homes based on a long commute, but sometimes we can.  There was a time I worked in the city and the drive was quite a pain from where I was living, when my lease ended I cut my commute (and gas bill) in half!  If you have the opportunity to move closer to your work it shouldn’t be an idea that is easily dismissed.

I’m not a big fan of credit cards, but if you can use one properly then they can be a gas savers best friend!  I have a Costco card that provides an additional cash back discount on all gasoline purchases each year. In fact, even though I’m a Costco member I signed on to this card for the gasoline incentive.  They provide 2% back on all of our gas purchases throughout the year.  With as much as spend this could be an added $100 back each year, combined with the other card incentives that isn’t half bad.

Hybrid eco-vehicles are too often dismissed as well.  They are becoming more mainstream and less expensive than they once were.  While I see the future being in battery/solar vehicles I don’t think the technology is quite there, and certainly not affordable enough for the everyday consumer.  However, we recently bought  Jeep that utilizes an eco-friendly engine and works sort of like a Hybrid.  This adds MPG which is a great thing!

Stay tuned for follow up articles with more gas saving tips!

Fuel Costs and Commute

I’ve been leasing cars my entire life, I’ve really never been a fan of buying a new car.  Obviously driving a new car every few years is ideal from a vanity standpoint, however, it can also be more economical than one might think.  I may never own my vehicles outright, but then again a vehicle is one of those depreciating assets that only loses value over time.  Fuel economy it one of the technological aspects that the government often mandates improvements, and the auto companies are forced to oblige.  To think of how many more miles I get to the gallon now versus 10 years ago simply boggles my mind.

Due to suburban sprawl, and partially because of a dominant auto industry, we have never really taken advantage of a healthy public transportation system.  This means citizens in my area are handcuffed to gasoline prices and fuel economy more than you will ever know.  I used to work in the downtown area, which was about a 40 mile drive for me, and a lot of stop and go traffic during the winter.  I loved working down there, but refused to live there.  This created quite the burden when it came to how much I spent on gasoline each month.

Fast forward several years later and I work about 10 miles from my house, and not only that, 9.5 miles my commute is all free way.  I also live close to my friends, my parents, and my wifes parents, which means less driving on a social level as well.  Gas prices tend to bounce up and down throughout the year, but they will never be back to the days of less than $3.00 a gallon, so we need to stop complaining and start solving the problem.  Remember the world’s economy revolves around the law of supply and demand.  Lessen the need and demand for oil, and you increase the supply, which in turn will actually lower the gas prices.

Hopefully this simple advice can help you save a few dollars, and perhaps hold off on bankruptcy a little longer ;)   In all seriousness, if you find yourself close to bankruptcy, look for other options such as Debt Free Direct bankruptcy advice, they have alternatives to help you avoid destroying your credit history as well available lines of credit.

 

Keep a Close Commute

I live in the Metro Detroit area, and while Detroit itself tends to get an unfairly bad rap, the views on the surrounding areas tend to go right along with it.  We actually have some of the nicest suburbs in the entire country, after all Oakland County is one of the wealthiest.  Don’t believe me, consider all of the auto executive money floating around, the number of Fortune 500 headquarters we have throughout the area, and even the sheer number of atheletes that live in the area.  Do an internet search of the country clubs in the metro area and that will highlight it even more.  My point being, because of the highly desirable areas to choose from we have created quite the suburban sprawl out here.  This has created numerous issues for all of us in metro Detroit.

The issues you ask, are wide ranging.  Due to suburban sprawl, and partially because of a dominant auto industry, we have never really taken advantage of a healthy public transportation system.  This means that we in the state of Michigan are handcuffed to gasoline prices and fuel economy more than you will ever know.  I used to work in Downtown Detroit, which was about a 40 mile drive for me, and a lot of stop and go traffic during the winter.  I loved working down there, but refused to live there.  This created quite the burden when it came to how much I spent on gasoline each month.

Fast forward several years later and I work about 10 miles from my house, and not only that, 9.5 miles my commute is all free way.  I also live close to my friends, my parents, and my wifes parents, which means less driving on a social level as well.  Gas prices tend to bounce up and down throughout the year, but they will never be back to the days of less than $3.00 a gallon, so we need to stop complaining and start solving the problem.  Remember the world’s economy revolves around the law of supply and demand.  Lessen the need and demand for oil, and you increase the supply, which in turn will actually lower the gas prices.

Hopefully this simple advice can help you save a few dollars, and perhaps hold off on bankruptcy a little longer ;)   In all seriousness, if you find yourself close to bankruptcy, look for other options such as Debt Free Direct bankruptcy advice, they have alternatives to help you avoid destroying your credit history as well available lines of credit.

How to Save Money on Petrol

How to Save Money on Petrol

The cost of petrol sets each driver back an average of £1300 each year according to a recent survey by the RAC. With the economy getting tougher and these petrol costs rising even higher, ways in which British drivers can save money are invaluable to us all. Fortunately there are a variety of ways in which this can be done.  

Need for Speed?

If you want to avoid having to take out a payday loan to cover the cost of your petrol, you might want to start by fixing up on the speed of your driving. Unsurprisingly the speeds at which we drive at have an impact on our petrol usage.

However, saving petrol through controlling your driving speeds doesn’t necessarily entail driving slowly more of the time. There is little petrol difference between a driver of around 40mph with one of 30mph, or one at 50mph to one at 60mph. Instead the need for less speed becomes apparent when your car hits levels above 75mph. It is when this happens that your car really eats up its fuel.

The reason is simple; at very high speeds your engine will rev higher and as a result no longer be in the economical 2,000 to 2,500rpm band. It will thus be forced to work much harder to run and as a result drink way more petrol than normal.

Figures from our Department for Transport back this understanding with conclusions that driving at 70mph uses up to a significant 15 percent more than at 50mph. In addition, driving at 80mph can use as much as 25 percent more petrol than at 70mph.

Control your speeds to prevent yourself from going too fast.

Go Easy on the Revving

Never let the rev count go too high before changing gear. Letting your revs top 2,500 and 2,000 per minute on a petrol and diesel car respectively labours the engine in too high and therefore increases fuel consumption.

Handle Speed Bumps Correctly

One costly mistake constantly made by British drivers concerns speed bumps. Rather than driving along speed-humped roads at a steady 15-20mph, many of us brake hard, accelerate and then brake hard again for the next speed bump, drinking loads of petrol in the meantime.

Easy on the Air Con

While the effects are less noticeable at higher speeds, air conditioning can add between 5 percent and 7 percent in fuel costs when driving at low speeds. Crack the window open instead if you want to feel cooler but also save money on petrol.

Easy Tips to Save Some Gas Money

Do you feel frustrated every time you gas up? Increasing price of gasoline is something we have to face whether we want to or not. Since gasoline price is something we have no control over, the only way we can save on this expense is to make the gasoline stretch. There are ways we can squeeze a bit more distance out of a gallon of gas. We just have to change some of our driving habits in order to achieve it. Stretching your gasoline consumption to even just a mile will matter in the long run.

 

  • Reduce your speed – driving at fast speed is not economical. The faster your car goes, the more gas it uses because speed increase drag or turbulence. Next time you’re in the freeway, drive the speed limit. You’ll save a lot of fuel and the journey won’t take that long anyway.

 

  • Check your tires – Make sure your tires are not under-inflated. Under-inflated tires have more rolling resistance and thus, they use more gas to keep the car moving. Check your tires at least once a month. Invest on a good tire gauge. Make sure the tires are still cold when you check so you can get an accurate reading.

 

  • Brake properly – A car uses more gas as it accelerates. A moving car doesn’t consume much gas to keep moving. It is wise therefore to keep the ride smooth to improve mileage. Slamming on the brakes would require you to accelerate once again. Observe the cars ahead of you. You don’t really need to step on the brakes unless you will make a full stop.

 

  • Check your air filter – A dirty air filter restricts air flow and affects the car’s performance and economy. Get a new one when light no longer passes through when you hold it up to the sun.

 

  • Check the gasoline cap – Make sure it is tightly screwed on after every fill-up to avoid evaporation.

 

  • Use the aircon minimally – If you are driving leisurely, consider turning off the aircon, opening the windows and enjoying the natural breeze. This will help you save fuel. However, if you are driving fast, it is wiser to pull up the windows and use the aircon instead to avoid wind resistance. Park your car in the shade. You won’t need to turn your aircon on full if it’s not hot inside when you get in.

 

  • Lose the weight – For every 45 kilograms you carry in your car, fuel efficiency drops up to 2%. Go through your car and see what can be tossed out. Chances are you are lugging around unnecessary stuff that burns fuel.

 

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