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Auto insurance, life and travel insurance quote


   Are you covered if the worst should happen to you, your car or your business? It is a morbid thought but if you don’t address it now your family may struggle to cope financially if you are unable to support them, your business may go into decline and your car could go unreplaced in the event of an accident.

   However, the good news is that all these worries can be alleviated with a little simple investment in insurance. There are many different types of insurance and you can soothe your worries away by insuring anything from your health to your motorbike and everything in between. Anyone who has suffered an illness, accident or loss without insurance will assure you that recovery, whether it is financial, physical or mental, is a much speedier and gentle process when you have the cushion of insurance to help you on your way.

   Life insurance will provide for your family, providing a lump sum and often ongoing financial support. Life insurance can even pay off your mortgage and a life insurance settlement will help your family to cope after you have gone. This life insurance settlement can be organised in advance and you can even write your will at the same time.


Water Damage or Flood?

I was just reading, again, the headlines about the recent terrible flooding in the Midwest. It worries me that unfortunately, a lot of people do not have flood insurance. And, when water damage happens to one's house due to a flood, they are often left with a mess and no help from the insurance company. But, it is still important to contact your insurance company if you sustain water damage because sometimes you may have coverage for water damage depending on the situation.

Water damage is covered under a homeowners insurance policy if the problem is due to a storm, such as a tree falling on your roof then rain coming in. So, even if there are storms then a flood, you should be able to get coverage for the water damage due to the storm damage, but the flood damage will only be covered under a flood insurance policy.

Annuities and Retirement

The main types of assets you can use to balance your retirement portfolio are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, and cash (Certificates of Deposit).

Annuities are an insurance product that can be a valuable part of your portfolio. Annuities are unique in that they can provide you income for the rest of your life and there are different types of annuities to choose from for your particular needs. Here are some great articles on annuities:

  • Is

    an Annuity Right for You?
  • What's the Buzz About Equity-Indexed Annuities?
  • I live in NY and was pulled over in Maine for going 30 over the speed limit and then to find out my license was suspended. They said that they were both criminal offences. What should I expect in court? Should I get a lawyer?

    Maine and New York are both members of the Drivers License Compact (DLC) meaning that the Maine traffic court or ME Bureau of Motor Vehicles will alert the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles if you are convicted of the criminal speeding offense and driving with a suspended license.

    Maine Revised Statutes (MRS) Title 29-A Section 2412-A states that operating while your driver's license is suspended or revoked is a Class E crime.

    If

    the suspension was for OUI or an OUI offense, the court shall impose a minimum fine of $600, a term of imprisonment of 7 consecutive days and a suspension of license of not less than one year nor more than 3 years consecutive to the original suspension. The penalties may not be suspended.

    For all other types of suspensions, the minimum fine for a first offense is $250, which may not be suspended by the court. The minimum fine for 2nd and subsequent offenses is $500, which may not be suspended by the court.

    As for the speeding ticket it sounds as if it is a criminal speeding which is listed under MRS 29-A Section 2074. Here it states that a person commits a Class E crime if that person operates a motor vehicle at a speed that exceeds the maximum rate of speed by 30 miles per hour or more. The complaint for a violation of speed limit must specify the speed at which the driver is alleged to have operated the car.

    A person who operates a motor vehicle on the Maine Turnpike or the Interstate Highway System at a speed that exceeds the posted speed of 65 miles per hour by less than 30 miles per hour commits a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not less than $50. This would not apply in your case since you were going over the limit by 30 mph or more.

    According to the penalties listed in MRS Title 17-A (section 1252) for a Class E crime, the court can imprison you for a time period not to exceed 6 months. And from section 1301 under 17-A it states that:

    A natural person who has been convicted of a Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D or Class E crime may be sentenced to pay a fine, unless the law that the person is convicted of violating expressly provides that the fine and imprisonment penalties it authorizes may not be suspended, in which case the convicted person must be sentenced to the imprisonment and required to pay the fine authorized in that law.

    It then lists in this section of ME law that the fine amount for a Class E crime cannot exceed $1000. Also in Maine any person who is convicted of operating after suspension may have their license suspended for a period of 60 days. Persons convicted of the certain offenses may have their licenses suspended for a period of 30 days. Speeding by 30 miles per hour or more over the speed limit is one of these offenses. So the time of your license suspension in Maine will also go up do to these citations you received if you are convicted of them in court.

    It is a good thing that you were not in an accident that caused injuries in Maine while driving with a suspended license. According to the ME driver's manual a new provision in 29A MRSA 2464 creates two criminal offenses for persons, who while driving with a suspended or revoked license, cause serious bodily injury or death.

    If the person causes serious bodily injury, the offense is designated as a Class C crime. If the person causes death, the offense is designated a Class B crime. The Secretary of State is required, upon receipt of the conviction, to suspend the person’s license for five years for the Class C crime and ten years for the class B offense. The fines and imprisonment times for Class B and Class C crimes are way higher than those for a Class E.

    Since these are criminal offenses that you are charged with and may involve jail time being given to you as part of your penalties in court you may want to seek legal counsel to help you minimize your penalties. A lawyer familiar with this area of Maine law can tell you more about the actual penalties that judges normally hand out for these violations and what to do to prepare for court.

    I live in Oregon I was stopped for expired tags and didn’t have insurance. I have not been in an accident, do I have to now get SR22 insurance even if I carry regular auto insurance?

    According to the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles Services (DMV) they can require you to file SR-22 certificate for a variety of reasons including (just to name a few) if:

    • You failed to provide proof to DMV that you have liability insurance,
    • You have been convicted of driving without insurance,
    • You have been involved in an uninsured accident,
    • You are applying for a hardship or probationary permit, or
    • At

      the time of reinstating your driving privileges following a DUII suspension.

    So if you failed to provide proof of liability insurance to the DMV or were convicted of driving without insurance you can be required to obtain and maintain a SR-22, even if you were not in an accident while uninsured.

    The OR DMV defines an SR-22 as a certificate from an Oregon-licensed insurance company certifying that you have purchased liability insurance that meets the minimum required limits of coverage (ORS 806.070 and 806.075).

    The SR-22 provides proof to DMV that you are insured. If you cancel your insurance or the insurance company cancels your policy before your suspension period is over, the company must notify DMV that the certificate is canceled. You will need to get a new SR-22 certificate on file with DMV within 30 days or your license will be suspended.

    If you are asked to prove "future financial responsibility" by having an SR-22 on file with DMV, a copy of your insurance binder or your insurance card is not considered acceptable proof. Also, your insurance must cover all vehicles operated by you and/or registered in your name.

    It sounds as if you do have auto insurance now on your vehicle; however the state is requiring you to file the SR-22. So while it is good that after you were ticketed for driving without insurance you rectified the problem by getting insurance, the state still mandates that you prove to them you have insurance. This is done with the SR-22 form an insurer will file with the state on your behalf. If you current auto insurance company files SR-22 then you just need to speak to them about doing this for you and paying the fee that is associated with this.

    If your insurer does not file SR-22 forms in Oregon then you will need to find a car insurance provider that does. You will need to switch your insurance coverages over to the new company and file the SR-22 through them and cancel your old policy with the company that does not deal with SR-22s.

    As you are likely aware of now after being cited for being an uninsured motorist, driving without liability insurance in Oregon can result in fines, suspension of your driving privileges, and your vehicle could be towed. If your vehicle is towed, you are subject to the towing and storage fees. This is in addition to any fines you may have to pay.

    If a judge convicts you of driving uninsured, you will need to file proof of future financial responsibility (SR-22) with DMV for three years, or your driving privileges will be suspended. This is in addition to any fines you must pay the court. So you will need to maintain your SR-22 filing with the state of Oregon for 3 years to keep your license from being suspended.

    Talk to your current auto insurance agent about filing the SR-22 form for you and also shop around for auto insurance rates for the insurance you need along with the SR-22.

    What happens to a vehicle that is totaled out by an insurance company?

    It reallyВ dependsВ upon state laws and an insurance company's own internal guidelinesВ whatВ happensВ to a car once it is determined to be a total loss. In general though the insurance company will takeВ possession of the vehicle at the time of the settlement with the car owner and then sell it for parts, sell it to a junkyard for scrap or if it can be repaired sell it at an auction as a salvage vehicle.

    If it is sold at an auction it will

    have a salvage title and in some states once the car has been repaired it will then get a rebuilt title to show that it is road worthy. If the car is sold to a junk yard it may be parted out or it may be crushed. It will depend upon the extent of the damages.

    The monies the insurance company receives for the vehicle from an auction, junkyard, etc help offset the cost of the claim they paid out for the vehicle being declared a total loss.

    So state laws and insurance company guidelines will dictate what an insurance provider would do with a totaled car. For example in Illinois it depends upon how oldВ the totaledВ vehicle is.

    The ILВ DOI states that to minimize "chop shop" crime, Illinois law lets you keep a totaled vehicle only if it is nine years old or older, or if the vehicle has incurred only hail damage that does not affect the operational safety of the vehicle. In that case, your insurance company may, but is not required to let you keep your vehicle. If you have a newer vehicle, you must give the vehicle and clear title to your insurance company before they can settle your claim.

    You can contact your state's insurance regulatory body for state law information and your car insurance agent for information on what their procedures are for regarding what they are allowed toВ do with a vehicle once they total it out and take possession.

    I am staying in Ireland for about 1 year and tend to stay here for the next 5 years. I have an Indian driving licence and want to know what must I do to exchange it to an Irish driving licence?

    Both Ireland and India are members of the UN Convention that allows those with foreign licenses to drive in their country. Over 100 other countries are party to the International Convention on Road Traffic that we are referring to. This Convention is intended to establish uniform reciprocal privileges on [...] Continue Reading...