Peace of mind is important, whether you use your car for work, leisure, or for taking the kids to school.

You want to know that if something happens to the car you can get things sorted quickly and stay mobile.

So you look for a comprehensive policy which has a 24-hour claim line and provides a replacement car while yours is repaired. But what other benefits can women expect when buying car insurance?

Replacement car seats

If you have a family, it may be worth checking the comprehensive cover will replace child car seats and booster seats if they are stolen from the car or damaged in an accident or fire.

Replacement locks

Cover which includes the cost of lock replacement is another useful benefit, and it could save you money if you are unlucky enough to lose your keys.

Personal possessions cover

When comparing car insurance policies, remember to look at the level of personal possessions cover on offer. If you carry valuable belongings, like your mobile phone, around in your handbag, then choose a policy that provides a good level of personal possessions cover. This way, providing you've locked the vehicle, you're covered if your handbag is stolen from your car on the day you forget to take the bag with you.

Help with recovering uninsured losses

Before you a buy a policy, see whether the insurance company provides assistance in recovering your uninsured losses from a third party. If it does, you have the reassurance of knowing that in the event of an accident caused by a third party, you'll receive professional help in attempting to recover uninsured losses, like your policy excess or a loss of earnings. Some policies also provide assistance to help you pursue a personal injury claim after an accident.

Protect your no-claims discount

Insurance statistics show that women drive safely and make fewer and less costly claims than men. When you get an AA quote you can protect the no-claims bonus that you've earned by driving safely.

Car security

If you can avoid it, don't park your car on the street at night. Better still, use the garage if your home has one and lock it at night – the extra security could bring a discount on your premium.

Also, insurance companies can advise on which security devices can help reduce your car insurance premium. Tracking devices and immobilisers are likely to attract a discount.

What you need to know about life insurance, including types of insurance policies and deciding on how much coverage you need.

1. All policies fall into one of two camps.

There are term policies, or pure insurance coverage, and the many variants of whole life, which combine an investment product with pure term insurance and build cash value.

2. Insurance is sold, not bought.

Agents sell the vast majority of life policies written in the U.S. because the life insurance industry has a vested interest in pushing high-commission (and high-profit) whole-life policies.

3. Whole life is expensive.

Policies with an investment component cost many times more than term policies. As a result, many people who buy whole life often can't afford an adequate face value, leaving themselves underinsured.

4. Whole-life policies are built on assumptions.

The returns quoted by the agent are simply guesses - not reality. And some companies keep these guesses of future returns on the high side to attract more buyers.

5. Keep your investing and insurance strictly separate.

There are better places to invest - and without the high commissions of whole-life policies.

6. Buy enough term coverage to fill your needs.

Life insurance is no place to skimp, especially with generally low rates.

7. Match the term of the policy to your needs.

You want the policy to last as long as it takes for your dependents to leave the nest - or for your retirement income to kick in.

8. Buy when you're healthy.

Older people and those not in the best of health pay steeply higher rates for life insurance - so buy as early as you can, but don't buy until you have dependents.

9. Tell the truth.

There's no sense in shading the facts on your application to get a lower rate. Be assured that if a large claim is made, the insurance company will investigate before paying.

10. Use the Web to shop.

Buying life insurance has never been easier, thanks to the Internet. You can get tons of quotes - and avoid the pushy salespeople.

Insurance

Insurance can be a boring topic. It’s not one of those things you think about every day. Or even every year. After all, a person obsessed with insurance would probably be a pretty paranoid person.

My friend Lynn works for a major U.S. insurance company. I recently asked her for tips to help people save money on auto insurance. I expected maybe a few quick ideas, but she went above-and-beyond with the following detailed list. If you own a car, you should read these tips. For readability’s sake, I haven’t blockquoted this, but it’s all Lynn.

Note that every insurance company is different — not all of these ideas work everywhere. The first thing you can do to save money on auto insurance is to self-insure as much as you can afford. Do this in the following ways:

• High deductibles. Everyone preaches this, yes, but it’s usually the easiest way to cut costs. Usually. (If your car is over ten years old, the savings may be minimal.)
• Remove towing. Good maintenance and planning can save you money. Don’t run out of gas. Don’t lock your keys in your car. Make sure you have a spare and know how to change it. Sometimes your car will break down, but if your car is well-maintained, it won’t happen often. You pay $10 – $30 a year over the life of your policy and one tow costs $100. Note that in the event of an accident, towing is almost always covered under collision.
• Remove car rental. Small economy cars cost about $20 – $25 per day to rent. Car rental is $20 – $40 per year. Play the odds. If you rent a car on vacation, your insurance will cover you while driving that car. Don’t pay for the extra coverage. The only things it offers are:
  1. Zero deductibles. You go all year long with your deductibles, why change now? Also, if you pay for the car with a credit card, they may pay for any out of pocket in the even of an accident.
  2. Downtime coverage. Downtime means that while the rental car you wrecked is in the shop being repaired, it can’t be rented out to other customers and they can ding you for the daily fee. This may be an issue if they can show that all other cars were rented out and they lost money because of you — Hawaii is notorious for charging this. But, again, it’s a risk you might decide to self insure rather than pay $21 a day for the insurance.

Aside from self-insuring, there are other steps you can take to save on car insurance.

• Shop ahead. Before you buy your next car, check on insurance. Many people assume that SUVs are expensive and Neons are cheap. This is not necessarily true. Some companies will increase your liability based on the cost of damages your type of vehicle may inflict — big trucks cause big damage. However, they also rate the autos based on how likely they are to be damaged in an accident, how often they are stolen, and how badly driver/passengers are injured. That Neon (or Jetta or Honda) is going to be a lot more expensive than you think. Many companies will have websites that will give you lists of safe and lower priced cars. (Saturn is a low insurance car because it has dent-resistant doors.)
• Think twice about after-market gizmos. If your vehicle is totaled or stolen, the insurance company will determine a fair market or actual cash value. They will look at your vehicle as a “whole package.” Even if you paid for $3,000 in after market items (wheels, spoilers, stereos, exhaust, etc.) they may only add $1,000 in value to your vehicle. It’s not dollar for dollar.
• Have all of your insurance in one place. Often, the more types of policies you have, the more you save in discounts.
• Find out if your insurance company offers any low-mileage breaks that you qualify for.
• Can you take a safety-driving course? Some companies offer a discount for this.
• Do NOT pay monthly. Your carrier will charge anywhere from $3 to $5 per month for this type of billing. Pay every six months if possible. If you must pay monthly, do an auto pay — the charges are less because they only send a bill if the amount changes.
• This might not be a money saving tip, but insurance companies are state regulated. They must file their rates with the state and be able to justify any increases these are public record as are any types of complaints or fines. For example, if you’re in Oregon, you can check out your company and/or agent.

• Most companies now use aspects of your credit to determine your rate. It is illegal for them to do this mid-term — as long as your policy is continuous without any lapses, they can’t use external info to change your rate. They can only use claim and ticket info. However, all newly added vehicles can be affected by credit. If you have good credit, this may be to your advantage. You are allowed to request that they re-check your score once per year. However, whatever the score is, you’re stuck with it. If it comes back bad and it raises your rate: too bad. But, if you have a policy that was written when your credit wasn’t so great, request that they check it again after things look better.

Precautions you should take

Here are several precautions that should help you avoid being "taken" by a  scam:
1. Never sign papers you do not fully understand.
2. Get all "promises" in writing.
3. Beware of any loan assumption where you are not formally released fromliability for your mortgage debt and contracts of sale.
4. Check with an Attorney or your Mortgage Company before entering any deal with your home.
5. If you are selling the house yourself to avoid foreclosure, make sure you check to see if there are any complaints against the prospective buyer.

You can contact your state's AttorneyGeneral, the State Real Estate Commission, or the local District Attorney'sConsumer Fraud Unit for this type of information.

Do a Pre-foreclosure sale if you haveexhausted every other option.
This will allow you to sell your property and pay off your mortgage loan to avoid foreclosure and damage to your credit rating.

You may qualify if:
1) The "as is" appraised value is at least 70% of the amount  you owe and the sales price is 95% of the appraised value,
2) The loan is at least 2 months delinquent prior to the preforeclosure sale
3) you are able to sell your house within 3 to 5 months An additional benefit to this option is the assistance you will receive with the Seller-paid closing costs.

Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure 

As a last resort, you may be able to voluntarily "give back" your property to  the lender.
You will still lose the house, but it will help your chances of getting another  mortgage loan in the future.

You can qualify if:
1) you are in default and don't qualify for any of the other  options;
2) your attempts at selling the house before foreclosure were  unsuccessful;
3) you don't have another FHA mortgage in default.

Main points To Remember 

1. Make every effort to not lose your home and damage your credit history. 

2. Call or write your mortgage lender immediately. 

3. Stay in your home to make sure you qualify for assistance. 

4. Arrange an appointment with a housing counselor to explore your  options. Call HUD-approved housing counseling agency. 

5. Cooperate with the counselor or lender trying to help you. 

6. Explore every alternative to losing your home. 

7. Beware of fraud. 

8. Do not sign anything you do not understand. 

Remember that signing over the deed to someone else does not necessarily relieve you of your loan obligation. 

9. Act now. Delaying can't help. If you do nothing, YOU WILL LOSE  YOUR HOME and your good credit rating.

Every business, large or small, should have insurance in case something goes wrong, but just how much coverage does your business need? Insurance is a must for any business, no matter the size, but the amount and type of insurance will vary depending on your company. A home business with no employees will need a different kind of coverage than a larger one with 100 employees, so make sure you know which is right for your business type. Your insurance company should be able to help you decide just what kind of coverage and how much, you will need, but it’s a good idea to have an understanding before you start shopping around. Educate yourself, then start looking for insurance providers.

Types of Business Insurance 

You will need to choose more than one type of insurance, according to your business needs. In some cases, your insurance company may package several kinds of coverage under one business package and this may be cheaper, so make sure you ask before buying each one separately.

Workers’ Compensation: 

This covers you for any injuries incurred by employees while working for you. It doesn’t matter if you are not the responsible party, the employee is still eligible for compensation in many cases. This type of insurance will cover things like lost wages for time away from work, loss of limbs, diseases that occurred as a result of the job and death, among other things. If you have an employee, you should consider this insurance.

Property: 

Property insurance is very important as it protects both the place of business and the equipment you need for your business. In some cases, it will also protect client property if it is in your possession at the time of theft or damage. You can often add specific types of insurance, such as flood or fire.

Casualty: 

This type of insurance helps to protect you in case of injury or damage to business property. It is often combined with property insurance and the two are quite similar.

Liability: 

In case of negligence by your company or by one of its employees, where someone else is harmed, liability insurance covers the mistake. In short, if the company is sued for negligence, this insurance coverage will protect it. There are several types of liability insurance; most of them are packaged under one name.

Commercial Auto: 

Since your regular car insurance doesn’t cover company vehicles, it’s very important that you insure your business vehicle correctly.

Health: 

Not all companies offer health insurance and while it is not mandatory in most places, you may wish to include it as a bonus for employees. A good health plan can keep employees around longer and helps when you want to hire someone who is debating more than one choice in jobs.

Life and Disability:

If one of the main people in the business were to die or become injured, this could have serious repercussions for the company. To help prevent this potential issue, life and disability insurance is useful.

Unemployment: 

This type of insurance isn’t always required, so check with your state’s laws before looking into this. It is meant to help out employees who have been laid off.

How Much Coverage is Required? 

The amount of coverage you opt for will depend on a few different factors. First, the size of your business is important. If you have just a handful of employees, you may not want to offer health insurance, for example. Anyone running their business on their own will not need any of the employee related insurance types.

When it comes to liability insurance, consider how much contact you have with clients. A store or theme park would need some heavy liability insurance against potential client injury, but a home based writing business wouldn’t require anything, as there is no direct contact with the customers. Finally, the cost is a very big deciding factor.

Like other types of insurance, business insurance allows you to adjust what you pay on a monthly or annual basis, according to how much you want to pay out in deductibles before the insurance kicks in.
This will depend on your budget mostly, but is also affected by your business needs. In some cases, you may not require flood insurance, for example, so you could eliminate this from the property insurance and reduce your premiums. Take a close look at which types of coverage you really need.

The best thing to do, once you have familiarized yourself with the various types of business insurance available, is talk to your insurance agent. She will be able to guide you toward the right business package for your company and help you decide which types of insurance you need. Price several different packages through different insurance companies to find the best deal. You can save quite a bit of money by shopping around.