Finance Tips

Depending on the breed of your dog, you may either not qualify to receive insurance from certain companies or you may face a significantly higher home insurance premium. Many insurers believe certain types of dog to be dangerous and therefore high-risk. So although dog owners consider their pet to be as much as family-member as anybody else, they must also be considered expensive assets in terms of homeowner insurance.

There is a debate raging between dog owners, organizations and home insurance companies around the topic of breed discrimination. As the temperament of dogs can vary greatly even within a breed, it is controversial to consider any one breed more high-risk than another. Never-the-less, dog owners should be aware of whether their particular breed is deemed dangerous by their insurer so they can estimate their liability coverage and the price of their quotes.

The factors and criteria by which homeowner insurance companies determine how dangerous different canine breeds are can vary between companies. Dog owners should be well aware of how dangerous their pet is deemed to be before taking out or renewing their cover.

Because of the varying criteria used by different companies to determine the risk-level of each breed, dog owners should research and compare home insurance extensively before settling for a policy. They should also speak to an agent for guidance but shouldn’t be surprised if the agent refuses to offer any cover at all or if he/she does, it is at a high rate.

The size of the dog is a key factor in how dogs are evaluated for home insurance. Small dogs are less likely to be a problem as they might be less likely to bite. Larger dogs, however, will always be evaluated by how violent they are, could be or the harm they are capable of inflicting.

The bite is another key factor is determining the risk level. Breeds with a history of inflicting frequent bites to humans are inevitably going to cost more to insure than those without. Unfortunately, the dog owner has to pay the price, fairly or unfairly, for the history of the breed of his dog. However, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, 4.5 million Americans suffer dog bites every year so it is an important factor that must be carefully considered.

Reputation of the breed is also a key factor. Insurance companies collect reports involving dogs made by authorities such as the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and use them to judge the risk level of the breed and how dangerous it is to its owner.

Highest risk Canine Breeds according to Homeowner insurers

The following breeds are considered as the most high-risk and those homeowners should avoid:

• Akita
• Alaskan Malamute
• Chow Chow
• Doberman Pinscher
• German Shepherd
• Pit Bull
• Presa Canario
• Rottweiler
• Siberian Husky
• Staffordshire Bull Terrier
• Wolf hybrid

Dog owners with any of the above breeds can expect to pay a high homeowners insurance premium. In some cases, dog owners can consider themselves lucky even to find a homeowners insurance provider willing to insure them and their beloved pet.

Welcome to 2010. Look around the states. Yes, they all have different perils for drivers to face. For some, it’s the weather with snow and ice making driving dangerous during winter. In others, it’s hurricanes and tornados. But leaving aside all the different types of peril, there’s one big problem for everyone with a vehicle on the road. All the major insurers are pressing for rate hikes. State Farm, Allstate and Geico have been leading the charge. And we are not just talking hikes of one or two percent. In Florida, for example, State Farm is raising rates by an average of 9.2%, while Allstate went for a shock-and-awe average of 16%. Even though the recession is slowly easing, the US is facing the highest levels of unemployment seen for decades. Rate increases like these hurt everyone struggling to make ends meet. Is this just gouging by the insurers? Like the Wall Street bankers, are they only interested in their bonuses? Should we think of insurance companies as the new carpetbaggers, using political influence to their own crooked ends? Just why are the insurers making such egregious demands for more money when most of us are down and out?

Lining up the questions like this gives little chance of answers favorable to the insurers. Does that make us biased? Hell, yes! Increases like this when the economy is on the bottom will only lead to more people driving without insurance. As more drop out of the legal framework, the premiums rise for the rest of us. The costs stay the same. They are just divided among fewer insured drivers. Worse, we now have to add additional uninsured and underinsured coverage. It costs more for those who want to stay legal on the road. Are there any justifications for these increases? Well, if you ask a talking-head for the insurance industry, the blame gets spread around. We start off with the rise in the cost of medical treatment. It seems the healthcare services have all been hiking their charges to treat those injured in traffic accidents. Evidence? Well, following very public contract disputes in California and Connecticut, we now have the stand-off between United Healthcare and Continuum Health Partners in New York. The hospitals want increases. The insurer is asking for cuts of between 7 and 10%. In these circumstances, the insurers are actually standing up for their policy holders. If healthcare costs can be reduced or held stable, premiums can also be stabilized.

The really big problem, however, is whether the insurers can pay all the claims we make. The insurers have low capital reserves. Why are the reserves so low? Well, it’s back to the recession. When the insurers collect in the premiums, the money is invested until it’s needed to pay out the claims. Just as our 401k investments have taken a big hit, the insurers suddenly found their investments had lost value. Now, the state Insurance Departments are insisting the capital be replaced. In some states, the insurers have agreed to reduce the number of people they insure. In the rest, the premiums are to rise. This means, no matter where you live, it’s going to be harder to find cheap auto insurance. Harder does not mean impossible. Using the search engine on this site, you can still find cheap car insurance, but you may have to look more carefully at the discounts on offer and accept a higher deductible. This may not all be the fault of the insurers, but it sure feels like it.

Many people are looking nowadays to get an online insurance quote but they are put away by giving too much personal information. The good news is that most of the insurance companies have realised this and now you can get an online insurance quote easily without you have to divulge sensitive information about yourself.

The reason why companies ask such questions is that they can provide you with a more accurate insurance coverage if you choose do so. This is a logic thing if you stay and think about it. However, you may want to check the reputation of the company if you want to provide more personal information. Otherwise, you can look for another insurance quotes websites.

Get Here Your Online Auto Quote!

The reason why you may be asked all this question about yourself and the car you drive is to obtain for yourself a better premium coverage. You see, the insurance companies don’t like to take risks, so in order to give you a fair insurance premium or a minimum one, they need to know what city you live, what kind of car model you drive, your past claims, etc. Another thing that influence tremendously your auto insurance coverage is your credit score, and your job. Some jobs are deemed less safely for car insurance companies.

So, if you are looking for a cheap auto insurance quote you may want to provide this kind of personal information for a more accurate auto coverage. Otherwise, you will get a far higher quote than you may disserve it and pay more. Unfortunately, based on these information as well as others your insurance rate can vary significantly.

For some of us, there is no better remedy than buying ourselves a hot rod, rat rod or classic car as a way to resolve a mid-life crisis. You may find some real bargains out there if you look long enough. Remember, “one man trash is another mans treasure”. In my opinion, the best place for true bargain hot rod or rat rod for sale is at eBay Motors. However, like any automobile purchase, you need to do a little extra homework before placing that winning bid on your new hot rod or rat rod.

Therefore, to help you make a wise purchase decision, and put you in the seat of the hot rod of your dreams, I offer up these tips:

Read The Auction Listing

This seems obvious, but, all too often, it is easy to get excited about a listing and then miss the fine print in a listing which may disclose additional terms or mechanical defects. A vehicle history report can uncover title problems, odometer tampering, and prior damage to the vehicle. Also, don’t be shy about contacting the seller and asking him/her questions regarding the history and condition of the vehicle. If the seller seems unwilling to give you straight-up answers, find another seller.

Call Your Insurance Agent

Sometimes insurance companies have special premium provisions for some classic cars or hot rods. So it’s best to find out how much your rat rod will cost to ensure before you spend your hard-earned money. Also, there are a number of insurance companies which specialize in insuring vehicles considered classic cars or hot rods. Since most of these types of vehicles are secondary transportation and not used as a commuting vehicle, they are classified as having lower risk, and thus, can carry a far lower insurance premium.

Taking Delivery

For instance, you found this dealer with a number of terrific hot rods for sale in Texas. However, you live in Florida. To take delivery, you’ll have to travel to Texas pick up the car yourself. Better yet, you can make arrangements with a car transport company to deliver the car to you. Just be sure and get a number of quotes before signing a delivery contract.

As I stated previously, there are some real good bargains to be had on eBay Motors. Just make sure you have done your homework so you may enjoy your new hot rod or rat rod for many years to come.