Some common users of COBRA are people that have recently lost a job, recently retired or are disabled. COBRA can be used to cover your spouse and children as well, if necessary.

Generally speaking, COBRA is more expensive than health insurance you have from an employer. The reason for this is that most employers pay a percentage of health care costs for their employees. Unfortunately, with COBRA you have to pay all of the costs yourself. Still, it is less expensive than getting insurance on your own usually because COBRA uses a special group rate for the health insurance they offer you.

The length you qualify for COBRA coverage varies depending on your circumstances. For example, if your major medical coverage ends because your employment ends (other than for gross misconduct), or because your hours are reduced, you and your qualified dependents are allowed to keep coverage under the employer’s health insurance for up to 18 months. But, people with certain disabilities qualify for 29 months. Finally, dependants that lose health insurance coverage qualify for up to 36 months of COBRA coverage.

The specific health benefits that a COBRA insurance plan usually includes are doctor care, hospital care – both inpatient and outpatient but not usually extended-stay care, surgery, prescription drugs, and even medical and dental needs. Life insurance is never included in any COBRA insurance packages. Furthermore, despite its eponymous name, COBRA insurance is not offered by just one provider and so it varies from provider to provider. The COBRA law stipulates certain basic kinds of coverage that its users must receive. Some providers might offer their users more than the minimum.

For more information about COBRA, visit www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html. You can also find a detailed brochure, An Employee’s Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA, on the Web at: www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/cobraemployee.pdf.

In an accident, under no fault laws, your auto insurance company will pay for your damages (up to your policy limits), regardless of who was at fault for the accident. The other drivers involved, if there are any, will be covered by their own auto insurance policies.

In theory this is supposed to help keep insurance costs lower as well as making claims processing an easier job. As of now, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah are all no-fault states.

If you do have no-fault insurance coverage - also called “personal injury protection” or “PIP” - your coverage is most likely pretty limited. This type of insurance usually only pays for your medical bills and lost income up to the limits of your policy. Your pain and suffering, as well as medical bills over the policy limits, won’t be covered.

If your medical bills and lost wages are greater than the policy limits of your insurance, you may be able to collect from the driver at fault by suing them directly, under certain circumstances. The rules on whether you can sue the driver at fault for damages not covered by your no-fault insurance will vary from state to state.

In some states, lawsuits against drivers at fault after your no-fault insurance has been exhausted are limited to “serious” injuries or death. “Serious” means something different in each state, but generally includes broken bones, severed limbs, internal injuries requiring hospitalization, etc.

In other states, you can only bring a lawsuit against the driver at fault for damages not covered by your no-fault insurance if your total medical bills are over a specific amount, which varies by state.

Once you’ve reached the limits on your homeowners policy then an umbrella policy will take effect. The deductible of an umbrella policy is the limit on your homeowner’s insurance, which allows for the additional coverage to kick in when your basic policy has paid its limit on your claim. For example, if your homeowner’s insurance policy is for $200,000 then your umbrella coverage deductible is $200,000; leaving uninterrupted coverage from the time you pay your initial deductible until the claim is paid.

Umbrella insurance is sold as a separate policy and is generally inexpensive to purchase. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that $1 million of excess-liability coverage costs between $150 and $300. Each additional $1 million of coverage is less than $100. The reason that it is so inexpensive is because umbrella policies aren’t used that often. And the larger your basic liability limit, the less excess-liability coverage you need and the lower your premium for excess coverage.

Basic homeowners insurance policies contain coverage from damage against many common things. Generally it will cover any damage to your home and its contents caused by theft and vandalism, natural disasters such as wind, hail and lightening, automobiles or aircraft, explosions and plumbing leaks, riots or civil unrest and fire or smoke. Additionally, basic homeowners insurance policies cover a general liability and compensation for housing should your home become uninhabitable.

Keep in mind though; every policy has an exception and limit to the coverage it provides. Make sure you thoroughly examine your homeowner’s policy so you can understand what is covered and what is not. Basic coverage may not always be sufficient for your needs.

Finally, basic homeowners insurance does not cover certain property damages such as floods and earthquakes. To be covered for these disasters you’ll need additional coverage. If you live in an area prone to these types of disasters you should look into that additional coverage.

Recently a study was released that graded the auto insurance companies and gave their premiums. This is a list of the top ten, with their grades and total premiums.

1.    United Services Automobile Association has $1.7 billion in premiums and scored an A+.
2.    USAA Casualty Insurance Company has $1.3 billion in premiums and scored an A+
3.    Interins Exchange of the Automobile Club has $1 billion in premiums and scored an A+.
4.    Dairyland Insurance Company has $92 million in premiums and scored an A.
5.    Auto-Owners Insurance Company has$380 million in premiums and scored an A.
6.    Sentry Insurance a Mutual Co. has $276 million in premiums and scored an A.
7.    Country Mutual Insurance has $527 million in premiums and scored an A.
8.    Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. has $115 million in premiums and scored an A.
9.    Mercury Insurance Co. (NYSE: MCY) has $674 million in premiums and scored an A.
10.    Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. has $255 million in premiums and scored an A.

The purpose of Decreasing Term Life Insurance is to pay off any capital that is owed if you die. The premiums for the policy are fixed and don’t increase over time, which makes them more affordable in the short term. However, there is no surrender value at the end of the term or if you cancel the policy early. So, if you live longer than the policy you don’t have any benefits.

As an example, if you have a five-year policy with a $10,000 benefit that decreases by $2,00 each year, at the end of the fifth year your coverage expires. Regular coverage will last until the end of your life on the other hand. Additionally, in the unfortunate case that you do die before your policy is up, your beneficiaries will only receive the amount equivalent to what’s owed on your mortgage, even if your benefits are greater than that amount.

Decreasing Tem Life Insurance is less expensive generally than level coverage, but it’s only recommended as a way to insure financial obligations that will be reduced with time and not as a general policy.

As far as the home itself one of the main factors is the age of the home. Since older houses tend to have more problems such as electrical, roofing and plumbing troubles then these homes tend to have more claims filed. As such this is one cause for rising premiums.

The location of a house is another factor in the insurance cost. Certain neighborhoods have more claims than others and that can increase your premium as well. Additionally the proximity of your home to a fire station or hydrant can affect your homeowner’s insurance rate.

Your house’s features can also affect your insurance costs. The larger a home, the more coverage needed and so the higher your insurance prices will be. Other features of your home that affect your rate include what type of materials your roof and siding are made of, what kind of amenities your home has (hot tub, swimming pool, burglar alarm, etc.) and even if you are a dog owner.

Then there is the matter of the contents of your home. The higher coverage amount you require, the higher your premiums. If you have expensive items such as art, antiques or jewelry your insurance rates will likely rise.

The final factors affecting your homeowner’s insurance rate are your liability coverage and deductible. Liability coverage is defined as “insurance for what the policyholder is legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury or property damage caused to another person.” And much like any other insurance policy the higher your deductible, the lower your insurance rates and vice versa.

It’s also required that drivers have minimum amounts of auto insurance in each state. To obtain this, auto insurance companies will review the driving record of people that apply for a policy. Different policyholders pay different premiums primarily because of the last 3 -5 years of their driving records and the risk that is associated with them.

Insurance companies believe that drivers who have had tickets or accidents in the past 3 – 5 years are more likely to have them in the future and are therefore more of an insurance risk. Additionally, insurance companies get your driving record from all states you’ve been licensed in over the past 3 -5 years, not just the one you currently reside in.

If your driving record has negative information in it then it’s likely your insurance rate will increase. And this is just at the initial application. Any time you request a change to your policy, add a vehicle or change the covered vehicle or when your policy is up for renewal, your insurance company can reassess your risk and increase your premiums. These increases usually come from an internal “point” system insurance companies use to determine how much riskier it is to insure you.

Basically, your driving record is the most influential thing on your auto insurance. It affects your initial rate as well as coming into play any time you change or renew your policy. And once you go over a certain amount of points you lose your license and without a license you also lose your insurance

If your coverage is job-based insurance then your pre-existing condition time period maxes out at 12 months and is only relevant to conditions that you sought treatment for in the 6 months prior to your enrollment in the insurance program. However, if you’ve had continuous coverage with another plan you can sometimes subtract from the waiting period. Continuous coverage is defined as coverage with less than 63 days of a gap in coverages.

Each state has its own rules for pre-existing condition exclusion periods. Generally they vary greatly, too. Check with consumer guides in your state to find out the specific information regarding pre-existing condition in job-based policies as well as individual policies.

The first benefit is that life insurance helps pay funereal expenses. This includes any expenses associate with a burial as well as probate and estate administration costs, debts or medical expenses that weren’t covered by health insurance. Mourning the loss of a loved one is difficult enough without added financial stress.

Life insurance can also provide a replacement for lost income of the deceased to help the surviving family members maintain their previous standard of living. This helps quite a bit especially if the family includes young children or dependant adults. Additionally life insurance can create an inheritance for your heirs even if you have nothing else to pass on to them. This also includes donations or gifts to charities.

Another benefit of life insurance is that it can help pay federal and state “death” taxes.  These estate taxes are the responsibility of your heirs so this helps them avoid taking a smaller inheritance or liquidating assets to pay for these costs. It can also help your family pay off debt, either yours or theirs, including student loans, credit cards and mortgages.

Finally, buying life insurance can create another source of savings for you and your family. If you have a cash value policy you can borrow against it or withdraw the money if needed. Cash value policies are a type of forced savings plans and the interest on them is tax deferred as well as tax exempt if the money is eventually paid as a death claim.

There are many reasons why having a life insurance policy makes sense. However, it all boils down to one fact – protecting your loved ones in the case of an unfortunate loss. And that’s the best reason of all.