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127 million Americans are overweight, not counting the 69 million that are obese. Where we live influences our diet and lifestyle — and maybe even how much we pay for life insurance. Understanding how carriers use different health ratios to determine policy rates, is the beginning to realizing savings.

20 MOST OBESE STATES 1 Mississippi 2 West Virginia 3 Alabama 4 Louisiana 5 (tie) South Carolina, Tennessee 7 Kentucky 8 Arkansas 9 (tie) Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma 12 (tie) Missouri, Texas 14 Georgia 15 Ohio 16 Alaska 17 North Carolina 18 Nebraska 19 North Dakota 20 (tie) Iowa, South Dakota   MedicalNewsToday.com

Why You Pay More for Extra Pounds
Obesity is a more serious problem than wondering how you look. According to WebMD.com, someone who is 40% overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as an average-weight person. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions, including heart disease and strokes. When determining life insurance policy costs, carriers use a simple adage: “The more a person weighs, the more they pay.” Specifically, the formula begins with an individual’s proportion of body weight to his/her height, known also as “physical build.” It’s no secret that the more a person weighs in relation to their height, the greater their risk for long-term health complications and a shortened life span.

Good News for Being the Exception
Direct medical costs of obesity alone top $100 billion annually, and the price tag keeps skyrocketing. Just as adding some extra pounds will negatively affect your life insurance premiums, losing weight can help you lower your life insurance costs. Not only will losing a few inches off your waistline help you lead a healthier life; but you can also start realizing savings on your life insurance. Make sure you notify your life insurance provider of any weight loss you have achieved, even a loss of a few pounds could lead to savings.

Losing Weight and Comparing Life Insurance Companies means Savings
If you do not see a reduction in your life insurance costs after notifying your life insurance company about your recent weight loss success, it’s probably a good time to compare quotes. Many life insurance companies will offer the same coverage, but at drastically different prices. Therefore, taking a few minutes to compare multiple life insurance quotes can help you maximize your savings!

Fortunately, many people have the ability to win the battle over obesity by making simple dietary adjustments and lifestyle changes. However, others may require the direction of medical and nutritional experts for more serious health issues. Other than the obvious health benefits, it’s good to know that term life insurance carriers may reward you with substantially lower premiums when you reach your target weight.

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Posted by InsZo at 3:17 PM | Permalink

The Audi A6 and Honda Pilot are among the 2007 Safest Vehicles according to the IIHS, the organization behind the “Crash Test Dummies.” Next to your driving record, vehicle safety is one of the most important factors to how carriers determine your premium. Is your car on the IIHS' 13 Safest Vehicles list?

Every year the IIHS rewards the safest cars with the Top Safety Pick award. To earn such a rating, each vehicle has to achieve a ranking of “Good,” the highest possible ranking, in three tests:

Can you save hundreds of dollars on your auto insurance?   13 SAFEST VEHICLES 1 Audi A6: manufactured in Dec. 2006 and later 2 Audi A4 3 Saab 9-3 4 Subaru Legacy: equipped with optional electronic stability control 5 Hyundai Entourage 6 Kia Sedona 7 Mercedes M class 8 Volvo XC90 9 Acura RDX 10 Honda Pilot 11 Subaru B9 Tribeca 12 Honda CR-V 13 Subaru Forester: equipped with optional electronic stability control

high speed front crash, high speed side impact, and a test of the seat restraints to see how well they prevent head and neck injuries.

A new standard for 2007 is all vehicles must offer Electronic Stability Control (ESC) to earn a Top Safety Pick award.

Driving a Safe Vehicle can Mean Savings
Many car insurance companies offer discounts for various safety features on your vehicle, including air bags, alarms, factory-installed mechanical seatbelts and antilock brakes. When getting updated insurance quotes, be sure to indicate such safety features as they might lead to additional discounts.

The Safer You Drive–The More You Save
It seems pretty obvious that if you avoid accidents and don’t get any tickets or moving violations, your car insurance rates should be reasonable.

Avoiding accidents and tickets for a year can lead to safe driver discounts. If you have had a fender bender, or received a ticket, shopping around and comparing car insurance quotes can help you find a reasonable auto insurance rate.

Where You Live and Your Car Insurance Rates
Where you park your car at night has an affect on how much you pay for car insurance. There are some areas, mostly urban, where car thefts are more likely to happen. Living in an area where crime is more likely to occur will likely raise your car insurance rates. Finding other discounts that relate to you can help keep your car insurance rates reasonable.

Whether the car you drive won the Top Safety Pick award, or recieved negative results on a couple tests, you can still find ways to save. Avoiding accidents and tickets, and choosing a safe place to live can all help keep your car insurance rates manageable. Shopping around and comparing quotes is still the easiest and most effective way to find savings on your car insurance.

Posted by InsZo at 2:52 PM | Permalink

The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In fact, the risk of identity theft has become so prevalent that most major insurance carriers now offer Identity Theft insurance protection through their standard homeowners and renters insurance policies.

What is Identity Theft Insurance?
Identity Theft insurance reimburses victims for the cost of restoring their identity and repairing the damage to their personal financial information (e.g. credit reports). Insurance reimbursement can include lost wages, administrative expenses such as phone bills, certified mailing and notary costs, and even attorney fees if necessary.

The average victim spends over 170 hours trying to repair the damage done to their personal financial information.

Increasingly, insurance carriers are including identity theft insurance in their standard homeowners insurance policies; otherwise offering it as a stand-alone policy or as optional coverage to their homeowners and renters insurance policies.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that these policies generally cost between $25 and $50 a month for $15,000 to $25,000 worth of coverage.

What Identity Theft Protection is Right for You?
As with any insurance product, it is important to shop around for the best Identity Theft insurance coverage as rates and protection levels vary from company to company. When considering the appropriate policy deductible, consider the various costs associated with the crime.

The Cost of a Stolen Identity
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, an independent non-profit organization, the average identity theft victim spends over $800 on administrative expenses alone (phone, postage, notary, etc.). This cost does not include the potential threat of lost wages, compromised work performance and elevated stress levels. The average victim spends over 170 hours trying to repair the damage done to their personal financial information. This laborious and frustrating time can include removing negative marks on credit reports and reapplying for credit accounts and loans. Further compounding the nightmare, many of these stressful tasks can only be conducted during working/business hours.

Protect Your Identity: Simple Steps Could Save You a BIG Headache
With online shopping becoming increasingly popular, you should make sure your computers security settings are up to date. This means updating anti-virus software, make sure your firewall settings are set, and that your operating system is updated. It is always a good idea to use caution when dealing with unknown pop-ups or attachments in e-mails.

It is also a good idea not to store personal information, such as your social security number or credit information on your computer. For non-electronic files, such as bank statements and credit card info, either shred them before throwing them away or tear them into as many little pieces as you can before disposing them. This will prevent would be identity thieves from finding important financial information when going through your garbage.

If you ever suspect that your identity has been stolen, it is critical that you contact your bank and credit card companies immediately. These financial institutions should be able to help you with alerting the credit bureaus and directing you to the appropriate resources. Having Identity Theft insurance can help you get your life back on track more quickly in the event your identity is stolen.

Posted by InsZo at 2:42 PM | Permalink