Here's where we will give you ideas about insurance and
getting the most protection from insurance policies. We will also give you ideas to help you speed up the claims process
and ideas about how to prepare for insurance claims.
TAKE A VIDEO
INVENTORY OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS
Update
March 20, 2013 Here is a fast and easy way to document your home inventory in case you need to make an insurance
claim after a fire or earthquake or mudslide or another disaster. Hire a professional cameraman using a high
definition video camera to go through your home and around your property taking video of your possessions -- furniture,
clothing, the house, hardscapes, pools, cars and tools -- or do it yourself using your own video camera or even your cellphone
camera. Transfer your video to a DVD or separate tape and keep it in a safe deposit box or send it to a friend or relative
living in another town, or even another state.
When
you shoot your video, either by yourself or with a professional cameraperson, you can use a microphone tp describe
what the cameraman is putting on video and you can describe its cost or rarity.
Remember to put the tape in a bank safe deposit box, or give it to a
trusted friend or store it at your desk at work in case there is a need for it. Do
not keep your home inventory inside your home! If you have a fire, your tape will be lost along with your home.
Most homes can be videotaped
for only $150 complete. Business property can also be put on a video inventory. A video inventory of your home
or business is especially vital after a major disaster -- and we certainly were reminded of this by the earthquake and tsunami
and then the nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan.
An
inventory of your home is needed to make an insurance claim and many homeowners and tenants forget to do this or put it off
-- until it is too late. Many insurance agents give their clients blank inventory booklets to fill out -- but they are
rarely used. So making a video is the quick way to do it. Pictures and video can also help to substantiate the
value of furniture and appliances.
YOU MUST ASK QUESTIONS WHEN BUYING LIFE INSURANCE
Update April 23, 2012 There is nothing easy about buying life insurance
because there are so many different types of life insurance and each policy -- and each company -- can have different rules,
costs, terms, conditions and what the rest of us call "fine print." So you must ask questions, and compare
policies. Sometimes you might not keep a policy for more than a few years -- so what happens? Are there surrender
charges, what happens to interest that is paid, what about commissions, when does a policy take effect, when does it lapse
if you fail to make payments, do you need a physical exam, and on and on.
Certified
Financial Planner Brian Gilder introduced me to a consumer who was attracted to a whole life policy because it was supposed
to pay him 7% interest on his money. But Gilder found out that the forecast of 7% interest was not true, and he suggested
that the consumer take a lower cost term insurance policy which would have given the consumer more protection at a much lower
cost -- leaving the consumer more money to save and invest on his own.
There is a
time when a whole life policy or universal policy is best, and there is a time when a term policy is best. Each individual
has to make this decision, but you must make an informed decision. Contact a professional so you fully understand the
differences among insurance policies and the benefits and liabilities of each kind of insurance.
Brian Gilder is with Gilder Financial Services in Beverly Hills and you can call him at 310-804-3767
or www.BrianGilder.com for information. Our Best Buys TV Show report is below.
LIFE INSURANCE WHEN YOU OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Update September 28, 2011 If you've spent years -- or your whole lifetime -- building
a business you know about the importance of insurance. Of course you need business insurance including liability insurance
but you also need life insurance. Life Insurance? Of course, because you will want your business to live on even
after you pass. And without life insurance your family -- your heirs -- could be unable to pay the estate taxes on that
fine business you built up and made so valuable from your years of hard work.
Bruce
Weinstein, a financial services professional with the Fraser Financial Group in Beverly Hills, told me that "the toughest
part of owning a small business may be deciding when and how to hand it down to the next generation intact and healthy."
And he says Fraser Financial Group "can show you how life insurance can provide the money to help pay your estate taxes
and achieve a smoother, easier transition."
For generations many families have
thought that life insurance was needed for the father and husband -- and traditionally men were the chief breadwinner.
But today, in many families, women are the main breadwinner as well as the owners and chief executives of their own businesses.
And because of that change, it is more important for women to properly plan for the future with life insurance. Bruce
Weinstein told me that he specializes in working with women business owners for life insurance and other personal and business
insurance needs.
Weinstein also helps women business owners with retirement plan
services, disability income insurance, long term care insurance and annuities.
Contact
Bruce Weinstein at the Fraser Financial Group at 8383 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 600, Beverly Hills, California.
A car insurance price war is raging in California -- and if you don't know that it's because you haven't
shopped around for a lower auto insurance quote. But Mario Sood, who is an independent insurance broker and represents
about 90 different insurance companies with no particular allegiance to any company, cautions that a lower priced auto insurance
policy might be full of loopholes that could cost you dearly should you have an accident. He says some of the new cheaper
insurance policies do not allow anyone else but the original car owner and policyholder to drive the car. There are
also restrictions and severe limitations on the amount of insurance and what is covered by insurance. And Sood also
warns that some consumers are being tricked into thinking that the "medical payments" part of their car insurance
policies is also "health insurance" and it certainly is not.
Mario Sood's
insurance office is called D-Zone Insurance Services and it has offices in both Southern and Northern California. In
the Los Angeles area, D-Zone Insurance Services is at 17208 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys. Call (818) 609-8691
or go to www.dzoneinsurance.com for information.
In Elk Grove, California D-Zone Insurance Services is at 8106 Sheldon
Road, #100. Call (916) 544-5111 or go to www.dzoneinsurance.com for information. D-Zone Insurance Services offers a full range of insurance products and because it is an independent
insurance broker it can shop around for the best products. California License # 0827141. Our TV report is
below.
Here on our new media website "Moneyman" Alan Mendelson who is the original Best Deals TV Show reporter
on KCAL9 and consumer advocate, shows you the best deals on TV, and the best buys, bargains and where savvy shoppers
go to save, and how to get the most for "your money" with the best of Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County,
Riverside County and San Bernardino County. Some content on www.alanbestbuys.com is paid advertising. The Best Buys TV Show is a paid infomercial program which may also include news and information
which is not sponsored or paid for by advertisers.
