Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Car Insurance - "The ideal city car to cruise through the credit crunch

A car manufacturer has launched a new model especially designed for those suffering from the current economic crisis, car insurance customers may like to hear. Citroen has launched the new C1 Splash, described as "the ideal city car to cruise through the credit crunch," as a bid to help motorists cut costs during the current crisis. According to the manufacturer, the new model offers 62.8 mpg and falls into insurance group one, providing its customers with both cheaper fuel and insurance costs.

The C1 Splash is cheap on road tax letting off 106 g/km CO2 emissions and it also includes air conditioning, central locking, side airbags and electric front windows with a choice of two colours- metallic Electra Blue or Lipizian White, which are exclusive only to this model.
Prices for the C1 Splash model begin at £7,345. Meanwhile, Tayside police have ordered drivers to ensure they take adequate safety precautions during the weather conditions. Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman said: "Maintenance is key and ensuring that the vehicle is serviced correctly is extremely important…Brakes, tyres, lights, batteries, windscreens and wiper blades must be in good working order."

news source : http://www.onlyfinance.com/

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Unemployment call center to be built

SALISBURY -- A 20,000 square-foot call center for screening unemployment insurance claims is breaking ground --at an undisclosed Wicomico County location -- and construction can't come fast enough, says the director at the cramped Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations' regional office where the workload has reached record proportions.

Claims for first-time benefits recently doubled in the last year at the Salisbury center, one of five opened a decade ago to consolidate walk-in unemployment insurance services in Maryland counties and enabling victims of unemployment to file claims by phone or on the Internet.
Claims center director James Wolf isn't revealing the 3-acre location of the new call center ---- or the current one, either -- because the facility is structured to render services strictly by telephone or online.

"We've been on the phone system for 10 years; I don't discuss where we are," said Wolf, a 33-year veteran with DLLR. "We absorb a great percentage of the state workload, taking calls from where an operator is available."
Southern Builders has won the contract to erect the single-story building in the Salisbury area. By this fall, the operation should be moving into a space that can comfortably accommodate its 60 workers, with room enough to increase staffing by 30 positions, Wolf said in an interview. Currently, the office rents space to field 20 percent of the state's unemployment insurance claims
Link
Nationwide, applications for first-time claims are expected to rise as economic uncertainty continues. Since last year, the Salisbury center is handling more than 1,000 a week, Wolf said. The number reflects a national recession that last week alone added an additional 500,000 or more Americans to the ranks of the unemployed and further swelled the number of former workers eligible for unemployment insurance. By comparison, the Salisbury office, which consolidated six offices in Easton, Cambridge, Chestertown, Crisfield, Salisbury and Snow Hill, handles between 500 and 600 "during what I call normal times," Wolf says.

"We need more space and we need more people now," he said. "Whether we (hire to capacity) depends on economic conditions down the road, but that is our plan."
Jobs at the Eastern Shore call center, for the most part, start as contractual with an opportunity to become full-time. Pay starts at $13.42 per hour for claims takers and $15.14 per hour for adjudication specialists, the bulk of positions. Many current workers were recruited with call center experience from former Call Center Services and Bar None, an auto loan center, Wolf said.

The new location becomes the last among the state's five centers pre-equipped specifically for call center functions, behind Baltimore, College Park, Cumberland and Towson, he said. "The rub now is that rented space is not enough to add additional staff; we've needed additional space for some time," he said.
"We've had an unprecedented increase in the number of initial unemployment claims."

news source : http://www.delmarvanow.com/

Friday, January 16, 2009

Car Insurance

Unlike other types of insurance like pet or health, this is one type of insurance you must have by law if you drive a car on the roads. The Road Traffic Act 1988 says that you must have some kind of insurance or protection against liability to third parties in the event that personal injury is inflicted upon them, or that their property is damaged, as a result of your use of the road. Quite simply, other people must be protected against any damage caused by using a vehicle. By being insured, the car driver protects innocent parties against costs due to injury, damage to their vehicle, and legal costs.

• Types of car insurance


There are three main types of car insurance:


• third party

• third party fire and theft

• comprehensive insurance cover


• Third party only

Third party is the minimum legal level of insurance you can take out. ‘Third Party Only’ insurance only covers damage or injury caused to someone else, including passengers. It doesn’t provide any cover at all for your own car or property. So if your own car is in an accident and needs repaired you’d have to either pay the repair bill yourself, if you are responsible (legally viable) or claim from the other party if they are responsible. You won’t get any money back if your car is stolen either.


• Third party fire and theft


‘Third Party Fire & Theft’ is similar to ‘Third Party Only’ but also covers your losses if your car is stolen or catches fire. Again, though, just like third party it doesn’t cover you against accidental damage.


• Comprehensive


Just as its name suggests, comprehensive car insurance provides a high level of cover and if your car is worth more than £5,000 then you’d have to choose this type anyway.

You will usually be covered for everything that a Third Party Fire and Theft policy would cover but even better. It will pay out, up to a certain limit, if you accidentally damage your own vehicle and lose or damage your personal belongings from the car. Broken/damaged windscreens will usually be covered too. You can also opt – or it is sometimes included – to add 'personal accident' or 'medical expenses’ cover to your policy.

news source : http://financialadvice.co.uk/news/

Small firms seek health care fix

Pam Knuth has worked at Kennewick's The Purple Parasol for nine years, but does not have employer-provided health coverage to show for her years of work at the bridal and special occasion store. "If you don't work for a big company you can't get medical insurance, and you can't afford to get your own," said the 45-year-old Kennewick woman. Knuth is covered by her husband's plan, but some of her co-workers haven't been so lucky. Shirley Giarde, co-owner of The Purple Parasol, which also has a Walla Walla location, said several employees have left because she hasn't been able to offer health insurance as a small-business owner.

"That's why we lose some of our really good employees. They need insurance," Giarde said. "I totally understand, but there's no insurance out there I can buy." And even Giarde pays more than $700 monthly for her and her husband's health insurance, yet still was more than $100,000 in medical debt after her husband was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy in 2007. Some small-business owners across Washington and the country echo Giarde's plea for government playing a stronger role in guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health coverage in a report released Thursday by the Washington Small Business for Secure Health Care Coalition, a group of more than 1,000 small-business owners and self-employed people who advocate for affordable, quality health care.


Taking the Pulse of Main Street: Small Businesses, Health Insurance and Priorities for Reform is based on a survey of 1,200 small businesses in 12 states -- with nearly 200 respondents from Washington and more than half of those from Eastern Washington. In Washington, 94 percent of small-business owners surveyed considered the affordability of premiums, co-pays and deductibles "very important," while 82 percent said the same about coverage for all necessary medical services, according to the report. Ana Ochoa, who owns La Estrellita, a Pasco children's clothing store, said her husband had to get a second job that provided health coverage for their family, which includes six children. But the coverage still doesn't cover many medical costs for her 5-year-old son who suffers from a disorder that causes medical problems like seizures. The family pays more than $7,000 yearly on his medical costs, Ochoa estimated


"And that's just one of my kids," Ochoa said. "If they do put (health insurance) out there, make sure it's worth it and it's affordable. You want it within reach." One-third of survey respondents said they offered health coverage to employees, and 81 percent of small employers with coverage estimated they pay 5 percent to 10 percent or more of payroll for health insurance, the report said. "We as small-business owners, we're the engines that drive this economy. But the health care crisis is driving us into the ground," Giarde said. "The country is looking to small businesses to create jobs and help revitalize our economy. We need a real health care fix to fulfill that promise."


Twenty-six percent of Washington survey respondents said they'd be willing to contribute 4 percent to 7 percent of payroll to quality health coverage, while 29 percent said they'd contribute 1 percent to 3 percent of payroll. Twenty percent said they wouldn't contribute, according to the report. "We are willing to contribute to health care, but we can't go it alone," Giarde said. In Washington, 54 percent of small-business owners surveyed said they supported a public alternative to private coverage, while 30 percent wanted the creation of more private plans.


A majority of state respondents also supported more public oversight of private insurers and believed government should play a strong role in health care, the report said. "For all that we've done in this country," Knuth said, "we can go to the moon but we can't figure out how to make health care work."


news source : http://www.tri-cityherald.com

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Welcome to All-Type Insurance

All-Type Insurance & Financial Services is an independent insurance and financial agency that provides comprehensive coverage in property and casualty, life, health (including group services) and financial products, notably 401ks, IRAs, retirement planning, rollovers, and college funding to individuals, businesses and institutions in Texas.

Between them, our principal officers and professional staff have over 60 years of professional insurance and financial experience. We are proud of our professionalism and constantly seek to upgrade, improve and enhance our knowhow and skills, to better serve our customers.


news source : http://www.all-typeinsurance.com/