Who Needs Flood Insurance? Me?

If you live in a flood prone area, you probably already know a few things about flood insurance. You know that most homeowners insurance policies do not cover floods caused by storms. You may have neighbors or friends who have lost everything they own because of a sudden flood caused by a hurricane or sudden storm. And even though we tend to associate flood damage with coastal areas, they can occur in every state. A lot of flood damage is caused by melting snow in areas that are thousands of miles from the coast!

Flood insurance comes from a special policy that is backed by the federal government with cooperation from local communities and private insurance companies. Dozens of private insurance companies write and service flood insurance policies for the government, and the policies are financed through insurance premiums. So you will generally contact a local property insurance agent, which could be the same person who would handle normal homeowners or auto insurance companies.

Many people don't realize they need flood insurance. However, statistics show that over a quarter of homes will suffer flood damage during the course of a 30 year mortgage. Only 9% of homes, during the same mortgage period, will suffer fire damage. Of course, almost all homes are protected against fire damage through normal homeowners policies, but they are not protected for flood damage! Furthermore, average claims for those who do have flood damage, and are protected by flood insurance are from $15,000 to $20,000! You can see that the claims are not trivial. Also consider that you will need temporary housing or relocation assistance if you cannot stay in your home while it is being repaired, or if it must be rebuilt somewhere else.

Where To Get Flood Insurance Program Help

You can visit the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) website for more information on the National Flood Insurance Program. You can download a flood insurance manual, and also learn how to assess your own property's risk of flood damage.

Some of the information on the FEMA website is aimed at homeowners, but other information is highly technical. You may want to get help in a form that has already been broken down for your situation, and your local area. When you want to obtain flood insurance, an experienced local property insurance agent will probably be able to help you out.

For more information on Flood Insurance in the US email us at info@myquotestore.com

Renters Insurance Facts - What You Should Know

By Brian Stevens

Homeowners need home insurance and renters need renters insurance. If you're a renter and you don’t have renters insurance, you're risking financial disaster. Here are some facts about renters insurance that you should know.

FACT: Renters are not covered by their landlord's policy

Property owners purchase insurance coverage for their buildings, not their tenants. This insurance covers the building itself from loss. It does not ...

* Cover your possessions if they are damaged or stolen.
* Pay your living expenses if your home or apartment is damaged and you have to live somewhere else during repairs.
* Cover you if someone is injured while visiting you.You need to buy renters insurance to provide these coverages.

FACT: You have more possessions than you think

It only costs a couple hundred dollars a year to buy renters insurance. If you walk around your house and take inventory of everything you own, you'll realize it would cost much more than that to replace everything.
Renters insurance covers all your possessions including:

* Electronic equipment
* Sports equipment
* Clothes and shoes
* Musical instruments
* Furniture.
* Appliances
* Kitchen items
* Tools
* Jewelry

FACT: Renters insurance is cheap

You can buy renters insurance for only tens of dollars a month or a couple hundred dollars a year. This will buy you about $30,000 worth of coverage for your possessions and $100,000 worth of liability coverage to protect you from personal liability lawsuits if someone is hurt in your home.

How to Find a Job in Insurance

by Laura Adams

Do you have your insurance license and are ready to take the industry by storm? Are you an experienced agent, adjuster, underwriter, or broker looking for an exciting new challenge? Regardless of the level of your insurance industry experience, looking for a new job can be a time-consuming and frequently frustrating process. A big part of the job search process is knowing where to look for insurance positions.

Licensing is an important part of working in the insurance industry. Some companies will require that you hold a current applicable license before agreeing to hire you, while others are very willing to assist you in procuring the appropriate license(s). This requirement can even vary from department to department within the same company, so it will be necessary to check on the licensing requirement for each position when applying.

The following tips and tricks are designed to take some of the headache out of your search, by giving you some guidelines on steps you can take to land your ideal insurance industry position.

Depending on the type of insurance you are most interested in, visit the recruiting departments of various insurance agencies to inquire about available positions. If there are no current vacancies, ask if you can submit your resume to remain on file should future openings match what you are seeking.

Contact recruitment and contract employment agencies that work in the insurance industry. Aligning yourself with a recruiter can give you access to jobs that are often not advertised to the public. The great thing about recruiting agencies is that allow you to “apply” for positions at multiple companies simultaneously with a single resume submittal, since most recruiters will shop your resume around to all of the available openings.

Use the internet to your advantage. Searching for “insurance”, “underwriting”, “broker”, “agent”, “adjuster” or any number of other insurance-related terms on major job boards such as Monster.com and Hotjobs.com will unearth hundreds of available openings – just be aware that competition for these positions is stiff since hundreds of other professionals are looking at and applying for the exact same jobs.

Colleges and universities often have a database of available positions in the school’s Career Center. Career Center advisors are also excellent sources of information on how to network in the industry and get your foot in the door. Schools that offer business, accounting, and financial degrees are especially likely to have insurance contacts. Note though, that many school limit Career Center resource access to current students or alumni.

Network, network, network! Let friends, family, and casual acquaintances know that you are on the market for a new position. Since most companies are much more willing to interview (and potentially hire) candidates who have already been vouched for, it’s important to get the word out that you are available and seeking a new opportunity.

If you aren’t deadset on working in a particular insurance field, take advantage of the wide range of positions available in the industry. Expand your job search to investigate opportunities in:

o Auto insurance
o Health insurance
o Workers’ Compensation
o Other types of business insurance (such as E&O, EPLI, etc.)
o Life insurance
o Home owner’s insurance

Don’t be averse to accepting a contract, junior, or “training” position. This are often a great way to get you foot in the door in the insurance industry. It also gives you a chance to evaluate an organization and department to ensure it is a match before fully committing yourself to a long-term full-time position.

Searching insurance industry-specific job boards for available opportunities is a great way to target only those jobs that in the insurance industry.