Yes, many attorneys may only work requiring an upfront retainer. Although FBIC are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice, FBIC is here to help and inform, and to let you know that there are tens of thousands of attorneys who specialize in cases where insurers deny claims and/or improperly settle claims aka "breach of contract" and/or "bad faith insurance" cases. Many if not most of these attorneys represent and work for claimants and insureds on a "contingency fee basis", in other words without your having to advance any money out-of-pocket.
A "contingency fee basis" generally allows for an attorney to legally protect your interests and pursue your case without expense to you unless the lawyer wins your case in which case the lawyer receives a pre-agreed percentage of any resulting settlement plus out-of-pocket costs paid out in the process by the lawyer. In many if not most cases, plaintiff insurance lawyers are used to only working for consumers and businesses on a contingency basis, which generally can be upwards in the area of 25-50% and in many cases is one-third of the amount recovered on your behalf. Many law firms will represent, work and initiate a lawsuit on your behalf without you having to pay any money ... the only way they get paid is if they bring a positive result and settlement for you against the insurer.
If you feel that your claim has been denied unfairly or believe that the insurance company in handling the claim has acted unreasonably, you owe a responsibility to yourself and others in the same position not to give up or simply let it go. It is important that you assert your legal rights and pursue your claim. Under this arrangement, many if not most claimants like yourself succeed in finding an attorney of their choice, fight and secure substantial settlement amounts.
It is important for consumers looking for an attorney to represent them and their interests to realize that generally, lawyers are extremely busy because of their heavy case loads and are not always able to return your initial phone calls. Consumers looking for a lawyer need to do their homework first by researching and finding lawyers in their area that specialize in the practice area and are best equipped to represent them as necessary in their case. The FBIC lawyer directory is custom-tailored to your needs and in just 15 seconds more or less, you can have a list of attorneys in your local area that specialize in cases like yours. Then it is up to you to be "politely" persistent in making contact with an attorney to discuss your case, find interest and set a meeting to see if the case is right for the attorney and for you to see if you are comfortable with the selection of having that attorney represent you. In some cases this can entail numerous and repeat phone calls on your behalf to the same attorney(s) until you are able to make contact with the attorney.
Once you have made telephone contact and/or subsequently possibly meet with an attorney(s), you can learn what they advise and think of your case and possibly what the case is worth in dollars. Generally, an experienced attorney will look at your case from different perspectives and reach a figure that he/she believes and/or thinks the amount the case would settle for. In the event that they feel that the amount the case would settle for is too small for them or an attorney to handle or represent you, there are still other options available to you.
As indicated, there are avenues and options available to you if the dollar value of your claim or case is too small to warrant the expense of an attorney. Some of these options may include your bringing your own legal action against the Insurer in small claims court. Numerous claimants have indicated they have won their case in small claims court and/or have won by default as no one showed up in court to represent the insurer and defend the case. Another option possibly available to you is by contacting a law school clinic and ultimately having a third or fourth year law student take on your case and represent you. Another option may also include researching the internet to find a non-profit lawyer organization or a pro-bono lawyer association to handle your case.
Search: Find-A-Lawyer Directory
The Find-A-Lawyer Directory is here to help you find a lawyer to represent or advise you, locally in your state or any state in the U.S. regarding an insurance related claim you may have against an insurance company involving the following insurance Practice Areas (and more):
Automobile
Business
Computer/Intellectual Property
Disability
Environmental
Fire
Health
Home
Life
Personal Injury & Accident
Professional Malpractice
Property & Casualty
RICO (Civil)
Theft
Toxic Mold
Wrongful Death
If you have or want individual health insurance coverage, you can do several things to help lower the costs of that health insurance, saving money while still having the protection of health coverage.
Don’t smoke or use tobacco.
Unlike group policies, almost all individual policies differentiate smokers from nonsmokers because the claims costs for smokers are much higher.
Cut out unneeded coverage.
Cut back doctor choice.
Raise deductibles.
When deciding between two deductibles on a health insurance policy, choose the lower deductible if you’re in doubt. You can raise your deductible later, anytime you want to. But to lower it, the whole family must qualify medically — not likely if you’ve just incurred some big medical bills.
How to Save on Insurance
Given all the insurance coverage you need — health insurance, homeowner’s insurance, life insurance, auto insurance — those costs can take a large bite out of your bank account. Fortunately, you can reduce the amount you pay for insurance without jeopardizing protection.
To some people, a lower deductible (the amount you have to pay before insurance starts paying the bills) means you “get something” from an insurance plan. Others point out that plans with higher deductibles are cheaper.
In general, high-deductible plans are much less expensive than low-deductible plans. If you can raise and set aside the money you’d need to make your deductible, you can save on your insurance premiums.
Insurance is intended to cover risks you can’t afford to bear on your own. The higher the deductible, the lower the premium. By raising your deductibles to $1,000 from $250, you may be able to reduce your premium by as much as 25 to 30 percent.
Just make sure you don’t raise your deductible so high that you can’t pay that amount in case of an emergency.
Back to Basics: Everything you need to know about life insurance
What would happen to your loved ones if you died?
If your income is important to their coping financially, they could find themselves short of money very quickly. Even if you’re not a breadwinner – perhaps you devote your time to the home and the children – your death might increase the financial strain because of the cost of paying for childcare and other costs.
Life insurance will provide your family with a guaranteed cash lump sum or an income for a fixed period of time to help them cope in the event of your death.
It can make the difference between your loved ones struggling financially and maybe having to move home, and their being able to pay the mortgage or the rent and maintain a similar standard of living while coming to terms with your death.
Here, we explain how life insurance works and help you decide whether you need it, and how much cover you should get.
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What is life insurance?
Life insurance pays out a lump sum or a regular income to your partner or family if you die within the policy ‘term’ – for this reason it is also known as ‘term insurance’.
There is another type of life insurance known as ‘whole of life’, which pays out whenever you die. But this is generally viewed as an investment and financial planning tool – for protection purposes, term insurance is your best bet.
With a term insurance policy, you can choose between ‘level’ cover, which pays out the same amount no matter when you die, and ‘decreasing’ cover, where the amount paid out reduces as your mortgage is paid down (lowering your premium).
With an ‘increasing’ policy, you pay a higher premium but the amount that would be paid out increases to take account of inflation during the term of the policy.
Getting the right policy
With term assurance, you decide how long the policy runs for and how much is paid out if you die within this term.
If you go for the ‘family income benefit’ option, the pay-out will be in the form of a monthly income rather than a lump sum. These monthly payments can be linked to inflation, but they will only continue until the policy comes to an end. So if you die six months before the policy ends, your family will only receive six payments as a result.
Couples also need to decide whether to insure both their lives separately or to take out a joint life insurance policy that pays out either on the first or second partner’s death.
Do I need life insurance?
Mortgage lenders usually insist on their customers taking out a life insurance policy when they take out a mortgage. This protects their financial interest and means the mortgage can be settled.
But most people take out life insurance to protect the people who rely on them financially, such as their children.
If you’ve paid off your mortgage and have no dependents, you have a less pressing need for cover.
Similarly, single people often feel that they can do without life cover because they do not have to worry about supporting any dependents after their death. However, younger couples without children often decide that life insurance is worth paying for, particularly for the main breadwinner.
This is so that the surviving partner will not have to worry about money while he or she grieves.
Whatever your situation, if you are considering life insurance, check first whether your employment contract includes a “death in service” benefit that will go to your family should you die.
You need to work out whether this is sufficient protection and you may decide to top it up with a personal policy.
Remember, the size of your premium will be affected by the amount of cover you have.
How much cover should I have?
Experts reckon 10 times the annual income of the main breadwinner is a good ‘sum insured’ for any family. This allows plenty of breathing space if the worst happens.
Many ‘death in service’ arrangements provide four times salary.
What factors affect the cost of life insurance?
The type of life insurance policy you choose, and of course the sum assured, will have a big impact on the cost.
Decreasing term life assurance, for example, is generally cheaper than level term assurance because the sum assured goes down in line with your mortgage debt (but is only really suitable to cover a standard repayment mortgage on which the capital reduces consistently over the years).
Other factors that will be taken into account when calculating your premiums include your age, sex, general health and lifestyle – for example, if you smoke or drink a lot of alcohol.
Extras such as critical illness insurance, which pays out if you contract one of the conditions on a pre-determined list of diseases, can make a big difference to the cost too.
How can I cut the cost of life insurance?
As explained above, the amount you pay for life insurance will depend on a number of factors, including the type of policy you choose and how you live. Easy ways to cut the cost of life insurance therefore include giving up smoking, reducing your alcohol intake and losing weight if necessary.
For healthy, young people, the most basic life insurance policies start from just a few pounds a month.
But whatever sort of life insurance you want, it is vital to shop around to ensure you are not paying over the odds.
MoneySuperMarket allows you to compare the cost of policies from leading insurance companies in just a few minutes, or you can speak to a qualified adviser who can search the market and advise you on the right policy.
Call us for free, impartial advice on 0800 170 1970.
How often should I review my life insurance?
It is a good idea to review the level of life insurance you have whenever you celebrate a major life event such as getting married, having another child or buying a more expensive home. Otherwise, the cover you have could prove insufficient to prevent your loved ones suffering financially in the event of your death.
Does life insurance always pay out?
Life insurance claims are generally fairly clear-cut, for obvious reasons. Figures from the Association of British Insurers indicate that only 2% of the life insurance claims made in 2012 were rejected, mainly because of fraud or because the policyholder failed to disclose important information when applying for cover.
It’s worth remembering that claims can be turned down if you fail to disclose even minor details about your health when taking out a policy.
To ensure that your loved ones receive the financial help they need should you die – and do not face a battle for a payout – it is therefore crucial to give full and accurate information when applying for life insurance.
Insurance – An Overview
In today's world we hardly come across anyone who is not familiar with the term insurance. Our life is uncertain, we do not have any idea what will happen in our future. But insurance has become one of the great ways to secure our future. Getting the right introduction to insurance is important so as to get more familiar with the term. Well, you get started the right way here.
The idea of insurance is very simple. It can simply be defined as an instrument used for managing the possible risks of the future. Throughout our life we may face many kinds of risks such as failing health, financial losses, accidents and even fatalities. Insurance addresses all these uncertainties on financial terms. So one should understand the importance of insurance in their life. With us, you will get to know all the types of insurance plus the benefits.
As insurance covers risks against financial losses, it should not be taken as an investment instrument. There a need of insurance in every stage of our life and risks always increases with the changing environment of our life. Insurance is essentially a mechanism that eliminates risks primarily by transferring the risk from the insured to the insurer. It’s never too late to get insured. Insure now and secure your financial future. Learn how to buy insurance online. Different types of insurance companies discussed will broaden your horizon on insurance.
In the last few decades we have seen numerous changes in the insurance industry since the need for insurance is more evident now than earlier. People's spending patterns are changing and more & more resources are needed for immediate consumption. So review your insurance portfolio from time to time. This site will teach you everything you wanted to know about insurance.
What Is Insurance ?
What is insurance?
Well it simply means protection against future contingent losses. The concept of insurance is very simple; it involves paying someone to take on a certain risks. An insurer is a company selling the insurance and the one who is buying the insurance is called the insured or policy holder. Read on to know all about insurance.
When you buy an insurance policy, you agree to pay a certain amount of money called premium to the insurance company. The company, in turn, agrees to pay a specified amount of money in case something covered by your insurance is damaged, lost, or stolen.
Insurance allows you to protect against any financial loss that can arise due to the happening of any unexpected events in your future. There are two ways in which you can insure in, one way is to visit an agent and consult him for the best option you can avail for your situation. The other way is to research and choose on your own, the type of insurance which will be best suited for your situation.
You can buy insurance to cover any risk, the risk that you will die, or that you will become ill and require medical attention, or that you will have a car accident, and many others. But before buying any insurance policy, it is necessary for you to know about the different types of insurance. A thorough information on insurance is important.
You will find a wide variety of insurances such as life insurance, vehicle insurance, home insurance, health insurance and many others. But these insurance policies vary and it depends on the insured which insurance to opt for. Most of the insurance companies will have all these services enlisted with them.
In order to opt for a company that suits your needs, it is important that some amount of research is done. You can consult your financial advisor so that you get an insight of the insurance companies which will provide you the best deals. Interact with genuine people, they will guide you and enhance your ability to financially stabilize your self.
Get the right information on insurance and insurance companies so as to choose the insurance policy that fits your needs and financial plans.
Benefits Of Insurance
Insurance is a defensive measure against the financial losses that might occur in our future. There is always a need of insurance in order to protect our financial future. Buying an insurance policy will benefit you in many ways.
One of the basic benefits of insurance is receiving the financial compensation in case of actual occurrence of the loss, hazard or damage. It also relieves the policy holder from all the worries and anxieties they have about how they would meet the cost of risk.
Some of the insurance benefits given below:
Easy to afford
One of the great advantages of insurance in today’s world is the low insurance rate and premium one has to pay. We always look at the insurance rate and the other associated benefits before we choose any insurance policy. The lesser the insurance rate, the more the affordable insurance becomes.
Easy accessibility
The easy accessibility of insurance is another benefit of insurance. One has an easy access online to a wealth of information about insurance, insurance companies and their policies. You can search, compare and select their insurance coverage just by the click of a mouse right from your home.
Pre-tax insurance benefits
Pre-tax benefits are added advantages to the policyholders. These benefits help them to save a large portion of their tax payment. When the tax-payment gets reduced, their disposable income increases.
Reduce losses and risks
Insurance can also help in reducing losses. Many insurance companies employ surveyors who go out and look at premises which people may want to insure. Based on their experience and suggestions, they offer ways to reduce risk and hazards which could injure employees. Their advice on behalf of insurance companies cannot help but reduce the likeliness of the risks occurring
One of the benefits of insurance is the use to which the insurance company puts the money it holds in the common pool. The money collected as premium is not used immediately; they hold the money until one of the member of the pool suffers a loss. The money it holds is invested in a wide range of investments which will go towards aiding government, industry, commerce and consequently the whole country. Optional insurance benefits are also given by the companies to their policy holders in order to entice them to access their insurance package.
One will find that with time, more and more insurance companies have cropped up. The competition among them has increased and each company is trying to lure all the customers into its fold. You will come across more and more innovative insurance benefits for the consumers.
Important Insurance Terms You Should Know
Insurance is always associated with many unique terms. Hence it becomes necessary for us to know about the important insurance terms before buying any policy. Understanding these terms will help you to search affordable insurance policy.
Here are some of the useful insurance terms and their definitions given below:
Actual Cash Value (ACV) : It is the value of an item at the time it was damaged by the insured event. ACV is calculated as Replacement Cost Value (RCV) less depreciation.
Claim: A request for an insurance company to pay for a loss. Claims to your own insurance company are known as 'first insurance company' while claims made by one person to another person’s company are called 'third party claims'.
Claimant: A person who makes a claim against a party based on legal liability.
Coverage: It is the range of protection that you are provided under an insurance policy.
Deductible: It is the amount you are required to pay before the insurance company begins to pay.
Depreciation : Decrease in the value of an item due to age, usage, wear and tea. Most things decrease in value as they age.
Exclusive: Things that are not covered under the policy.
Grace period: It is the amount of time between the payment due date and when the policy will be canceled if payment is not received.
Liability insurance: Liability insurance pays the loss of other people when you are responsible for that loss.
Peril: It is the cause of the possible loss or damage.
Policy: Policy is the legal document issued by the insurance company that outlines the general terms and conditions of the insurance.
Policyholder: The one who buys the insurance is called policyholder or insured.
Premium: It is the amount you need to pay to the insurance company.
Underwriting: The process of selecting risks for insurance and determining in what amounts and on what terms the insurance company will accept.
Get familiar with the above given common insurance terms so that you can choose the right insurance policy for yourself.