My son bought his first car last week and when we went to insure it, we were certainly surprised at what it was going to cost us.

I have been with the same auto insurance company my whole driving life and have never questioned the rates that I pay. However, I was shocked enough when they gave us a quote for my sons’ insurance to check out what else was available.

I started my search online with a simple query in a search engine: “Auto Insurance Discounts.” Checking out some of the sites I found I was able to get many different quotes, most of which were much lower than my current insurance company quoted us. We chose a company that was reasonably cheap and gave really good coverage.

I then decided to see what kind of online auto insurance quote I could get since I have been an accident free driver for over thirty years. It was much lower than I had thought - so low that I could have saved myself thousands of dollars over the past thirty years. I promptly switched and am thus far very happy with my new insurance provider.

Mortgage Insurance

Mortgage insurance is insurance for the lender and is sometimes required by lenders on lower down payment loans. It’s insurance that protects the lender in case you’re unable to pay. Borrowers are able to purchase homes that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, due to high 20 percent down payment requirements.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is insurance on your mortgage designed to protect your mortgage company against non-payment should you not make your loan payments. Keep in mind that the goal of this insurance is to protect the lender, not you. Private mortgage insurance is frequently called for by mortgage companies because of the larger number of defaults that are a result of minimal down payment mortgages. The good thing about private mortgage insurance is that it allows borrowers to get into properties that they might not otherwise be able to purchase because of large down payment requirements.

ROP Term Life Insurance

When purchasing term life insurance, many buyers feel that their premiums are wasted should they outlive the term of their insurance policy.  Would you like Term Life Insurance that refunds your money if you don’t die? Well now you can, it’s called Return of Premium Life Insurance. ROP came about because many people outlived their term policies and had nothing to show for it.   What makes ROP different?

Return of Premium or ROP combines the benefits of traditional term life insurance with a return of premium feature. Simply put your family receives a lump sum death benefit if you die, otherwise if you win your bet with the insurance company and you live the insurer returns all your premiums. This money-back guarantee can be particularly comforting for those that believe death will not occur during the term of coverage.

Car Insurance

What value will your insurance company place on your vehicle after an accident?   If you get in an accident and “total” your car, it’s your insurance company’s responsibility to provide you with an amount of money that would purchase an equivalent car. Sometimes they don’t. They have their own formulas and will often consider quotes from various dealers that aren’t always fair, and this isn’t always a good indication of your specific vehicle’s true worth. The vehicle’s condition, mileage, and repairs tell the true story of the unique value of your car. If the value quoted to you doesn’t meet your expectations, you may want to present them with some local quotes of your own. It’s recommended that you keep a documented vehicle history as well, so you can present repair and maintenance receipts if there’s a dispute. Make sure the amount you and your insurer settle on includes sales tax for the purchase of your replacement automobile.

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