Ilyce Glink's BlogWelcome to Ilyce Glink's blog! Here you'll find Ilyce's latest insights on personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer issues. Come back often for timely and interesting posts on a wide variety of topics. Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Should You Cancel a Whole Life Policy?I had a conversation with Helen on the show about whether she should keep her $50,000 whole life policy, for which she pays $335 per year. Labels: Clark Howard, insurance, WSB
posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:49 PM
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Thursday, June 05, 2008 Latinos Face Financial Risk
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling and MSN Money just released their 2008 Financial Literacy Survey. Here are some stats about Latino Americans as found in this survey. Twenty-eight percent, or roughly 6.6 million Latinos, admit to struggling to pay their bills each month, sometimes skipping monthly payments, having accounts in collections or seriously considering filing for bankruptcy. For most households, housing costs comprise the single largest monthly expense. Roughly 1.7 million Latinos reported that they either paid their mortgage late or totally missed a payment in the last 12 months, putting their most important investment at risk. Twenty-one percent of Latinos admit to having no idea what they spend their money on. That's roughly 5 million people who are ignoring a basic step to financial freedom. Particularly frightening is the fact that 58 percent, or roughly 13 million, among the Latino population report no savings beyond that which is earmarked for retirement. These people are one emergency away from financial disaster. Further, 37 percent, which calculates to almost 9 million Latinos, have nothing saved for retirement. Combining these two numbers reveals that several million Latino adults are living on financial thin ice, unprepared for the inevitable emergency or retirement. Insurance coverage can substantially reduce financial risk. Consequently, having adequate coverage is a key component of maintaining good financial health. Thirty five percent, or more than 8 million, have no medical insurance. Fifty-nine percent lack homeowners insurance. Eight four percent have no renters insurance. Sixty-two percent do not have life insurance. That's roughly 14.7 million who will potentially leave their families in financial distress upon their death. Credit can be a double-edged sword, working for you or against you depending on the choices you make. Even though you can pay cash for many purchases, most will need a positive credit report when it comes time to buy a house or a car. The survey found in the Latino community: Forty percent state that they have no credit card. This means that close to 9.5 million people have no access to credit for an immediate purchase. Only 32 percent of Latinos have ordered their credit report, despite being able to get it for free at annualcreditreport.com. Although there is no single credit score used by all lenders, it is generally felt that a score over 700 allows the borrower the best available rates. Thirty-two percent of Latinos reported a score under 700. This subjects roughly 7.5 million adults to paying a higher interest rate and potentially restricts their borrowing power. Seventy nine percent, or roughly 18.8 million Latino adults, report that they have never received professional advice about financial issues. But the NFCC says help is available. "With both English and Spanish speaking counselors, the NFCC stands ready to assist anyone who reaches out for financial help. Additionally, counseling is either free or low cost, with all fees being waived in the case of hardship. We try to remove any barrier between the consumer and financial literacy," said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the NFCC. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates March 5-15 this year and included 1,001 adults. For more information visit NFCC.org. Labels: financial habits, financial literacy, insurance, Latinos, NFCC
posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 12:40 PM
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1 Comments:I am not sure not having a credit card is a bad idea in today's times. Credit card companies seem to be really taking advantage of consumers, especially those one minute late with a payment and now facing 30% interest. Typically, the less fortunate are carriers of this burden.
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Thursday, April 24, 2008 California Tops List for Fewer Auto Insurance Rate Increases
Aside from the great weather in southern California, residents are sitting pretty because they probably get a good deal on car insurance. The Consumer Federation of America today released the results of an auto insurance study that found states with more regulation of the industry save consumers money. Fifteen states require auto insurers to submit rate increases to them for approval before putting them in effect. Among those, California did the best job of saving drivers money. From 1989 to 2005 rates increased only 12.9 percent, which beats the next lowest, New Jersey by almost 8 percent. States whose rates were the highest included Hawaii, DC, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont. The study attributes the cost savings to state regulation and says that states where regulation is lacking, where consumers rely on a more free market system, they pay more. To see the full study go here: Labels: auto, California, Cars, Hawaii, insurance
posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 2:47 PM
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Sunday, March 16, 2008 How to File an Insurance Claim
In the aftermath of the devastation in Georgia this weekend (with an estimated $150 million in damage), Russ Longcore, author of Insurance Claim Secrets, offered up these 10 tips for anyone filing an insurance claim. 1. Slow down. Don't accept a fast payment from your insurance adjuster if it means you close your file. Insurance companies love to make fast payments. But if you accept a payment before you know all your damages, you'll be giving your insurance company a big discount. Worst, you won't be able to get the repairs done for the money. 2. Notify the Insurance Company. Make sure you notify the insurance company the way the policy tells you to. You can put your claim in jeopardy if you don't do it right. 3. Mitigate your damages. That's a fancy term for protecting your property from further damage. Put a tarp over the roof...plastic over a broken window...that kind of protection. The expenses you'll incur are covered by your policy. 4. Take LOTS of photos. Don't rely on the adjuster...it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to prove your claim. The adjuster might not get to you for days. You may need to make temporary repairs to get your business back working, or your home livable. Cleanup might mean you're throwing away stuff you should get paid for. Make sure you've made a photo record of your loss. 5. Start a document file. Keep everything related to this claim in one place, like a box. Keep all receipts, claim documents, photos, EVERYTHING in that box. 6. Open a checking account just for handling the money for the repairs. This keeps you from mingling the funds with your normal household or business funds. It also makes record keeping easier. 7. Don't just blindly accept the adjuster that the insurance company sends to your home or business. Interview the adjuster to find out if they are trained to handle your loss. If your adjuster has two years or less experience, call his supervisor and DEMAND another adjuster. 8. If you need money to begin demolition of cleanup, ask the adjuster for an advance. If you need funds for Business Income or Additional Living Expenses, ask the adjuster for an advance. It's done all the time, but many times the insurance company won't volunteer it. 9. Record EVERY conversation you have with your adjuster. Keep a diary of adjusting activity. Don't EVER trust an adjuster to work on your behalf. His paycheck is paid by the insurance company. He's on THEIR SIDE. 10. Call a Public Insurance Adjuster (PA) to evaluate your claim. Public Adjusters are licensed through the State Department of Insurance to represent policyholders, not represent the insurance company. Hiring a PA will usually result in you getting more money in your settlement than if you just accept the offer from the insurance company. Think about this... you hire doctors when you're sick. You hire attorneys when you have legal issues. You hire accountants to handle your books or file your taxes. So, in this case, when you do not know the insurance claims process, why would you hesitate to hire a claims professional to represent you in the submission of your claim? At the very least, you should consult a PA to find out if it makes economic sense for you to hire a PA. Your claim might not be big enough to warrant a PA, but you won't know unless you ask one. By the way, don't ask your insurance company adjuster if you need a PA. What would you expect them to say? Russell D. Longcore Author of http://www.insurance-claim-secrets.com/ My blog is at: http://insurance-claim-secrets.blogspot.com/ Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year Award 2008 Labels: insurance, insurance claims
posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:02 PM
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Thursday, January 03, 2008 What's Toyota Doing in This Commercial?
I like Toyota cars as much as anyone, but the company is running a new commercial that seems to encourage insurance fraud. The ad shows a guy shoveling a huge amount of snow on top of his already buried car. Clearly, he's waiting for something. The next thing you see, a huge snowplow slices his car in half. Now you can get a new car, the announcer suggests. The ad is funny, clever and seasonal, but my insurance policy would be invalidated if it turned out I had planned my own cars destruction. Let's look at it another way: If you drive your car onto the train tracks and it dies and you get out and try to push it off the tracks, that wouldn't be insurance fraud. That would be an unfortunate series of events leading to a bad accident. But, if you drive your car onto train tracks, get out of the car and leave it for a train to hit so that your insurance policy kicks in to buy you a new car, is that considered insurance fraud? It might be. Hopefully, this won't be one of those situations where life imitates art. Labels: Cars, insurance, Toyota
posted by Ilyce Glink at 6:36 AM
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1 Comments:I've seen the Toyota commercials also. The one I remember involves a FAMILY pushing a huge boulder down a hillside which then slams into the side of their car. I agree that Toyota could use a primer on how to pass along better ethics and values...
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 Congress Votes to Extend Mortgage Insurance Tax DeductionIlyce is hosting the Clark Howard Show today on WSB Radio. Here's some more information about the mortgage insurance tax deduction mentioned on air. Labels: Home, House, insurance, Mortgage, pmi, Tax, tax deduction
posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:53 PM
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