When people are younger and feeling the need to protect the long-term financial interests of their new families, they buy life insurance. Years then pass. Many policyholders remain financially secure and, when life finally ends, pass on significant benefits to their dependents. But a proportion of people find their financial position worsens when they retire. With no regular source of income, savings can run down and, if a family or health emergency strikes, the continued occupation of the home can come under threat.

When people look at the assets they hold, they see the life insurance policy. Does it hold any value? The answer you get depends on who you ask. The insurance company that sold the policy will discuss two possibilities. The first assumes the policy has a cash value. The company will allow you to draw down on that value or to use it as collateral for a loan. The second is the so-called “cash surrender value”. This terminates the contract you have with the insurer and, because it is no longer obliged to pay out, it returns some or all of the money you have paid as premiums over the years.

In reality, neither of these options is very attractive. The insurers usually push a loan with a rate of interest that eats up the rest of benefits over the years, i.e. if the loan does run for years, it effectively becomes the only cash ever paid out by the insurer. The CSV is also very poor value, paying out a pittance now rather than the full amount later. And because the insurance industry is powerful and has real influence over the news media and magazines, there is little coverage of the alternative. Or, if the alternative is mentioned, there are many horror stories to warn people away. The insurance industry wants to maximize its profit and does not want anything getting in the way.

The alternative has been standard in Europe for decades. Given the bad press Europe gets, this is probably the kiss of death, but you should understand this is a tried-and-tested program to realize the value in life insurance policies. In the US, if you are older and have a policy worth not less than $250,000, there are willing buyers who will pay significantly more than the CSV, albeit less than the face value of the policy. The right to transfer life settlements was established some ninety-nine years ago in Grigsby v. Russell, 222 US 149 (1911) but a formal secondary market is only now really growing. It works like a brokerage with agents introducing buyers to sellers. The cash prices paid are substantial. This is not a scam. It is not a new “sub-prime” disaster waiting to happen. This gives you cash in your hand for your old life policy. So never allow your policy to lapse, never surrender your old policy and, unless you are desperate, never borrow on the cash value. Selling on the secondary market releases far more value.

So, when you are getting life insurance quotes, prefer policies with a face value of not less than $250,000 and always make the extra effort to buy a policy with a cash value – if not as you first policy, then as soon as you can afford it. You need to allow time for the policy to build up value. So, when evaluating the life insurance quotes, look for premium rates you can afford. You will lose the chance on the secondary market if you cannot afford long-term payment.

Health insurance market sure looks confusing to those who have to deal with it for the first time in their life. But as with anything that seems complicated at first, health insurance is quite easy to understand when you take some time to learn the basics of it. Of course, don’t expect to become an insurance market specialist overnight but the following tips will certainly help those inexperienced with health insurance shopping to get a decent policy for a fair price.

What you can get?

Individual insurance plans – the most common option for people with normal income, especially those who aren’t offered with group insurance by their employers. The vast majority of insurance companies offer such policies and the diversity of coverage options is very wide here. However, make sure to learn what are the requirements in your state and check if the insurance company is licensed in your area before getting the plan.

High risk pools – some pre-existing conditions will make it hard for you to get typical individual health insurance. That’s where high risk pools may come in handy. Such plans are available only in certain states, so make sure to learn if there are any in your area. If yes, then it would be a good option for those who are considered to be a high risk policy-holder. The rates are relatively high here, but for some it may be the only option for adequate coverage.

HIPAA coverage – this type of insurance best appeals to those who have been recently dropped of employer sponsored group coverage and don’t fall under COBRA coverage too. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act health insurance can be purchased in any state and is particularly useful to those who have pre-existing conditions. Thus, it’s a good alternative to high risk pools or an option where the pools are unavailable. Speak to your insurance agent to decide which option is better for you.

Where you can get it?

Insurance agents – these are independent individuals that provide health insurance quotes and plans from numerous companies. Each insurance agent has his own selection of companies he provides services of, and if there are any question he is the person to ask. However, first make sure that the agent you’re speaking with is licensed to work in your area before getting any services or signing policy contracts. You can do that at your state’s insurance department.

Department of insurance – while not being a direct seller of health insurance, the state insurance department can give you valuable information on local agents and providers you can buy from safely. If there are any complaints about any particular provider, this is the place to learn about them.

Online sellers – the recent trend in many insurance companies going online, as well as the development of independent sources can be a very helpful and easily accessible source of information regarding health insurance. It is very easy to get health insurance quotes online with these sites and shopping for a plan takes you only a couple of minutes.

Let’s start off in Florida where State Farm has just sent out notices to 15% of the 810,000 people holding home insurance that their policies will not be renewed. For the record, the insurer has to give six months’ notice of its intention to refuse renewal. This is supposed to give adequate time for all homeowners to make alternative arrangements. This move to drop some 125,000 policies is quite significant so what’s going on? The answer is unfortunate and going to become a problem around the country. Every state has a Department or Office of Insurance that’s responsible for licensing and regulating the selling of insurance. One of the standard conditions in every one of the fifty US states is that each licensed insurer should have adequate capital reserves to pay out on all claims as and when they fall due.

Before the recession, this was not a problem. All the insurers had their reserves invested in stocks and bonds. While the DJIA and other exchanges continued on an upward trend, the world sat back and assumed nothing could go wrong. This overconfidence meant that insurers were slow to pull their money out of the markets when the recession started to hit. As a result, almost all the insurers lost a big slice of their capital worth. In early 2009, State Farms in Florida realized it was likely to be insolvent in about two years if the projected number of claims were made. It approached the local Office of Insurance and did a deal. It would reduce the number of homeowners insured and increase the premiums for the remaining policyholders. This would reduce its exposure to claims and increase its capital reserves. Even with this plan, A M Best reduced the rating of State Farm to “fair” based on the expected continuing deterioration in its earning capacity.

When a company with some 18% of the market in homeowner policies admits it’s within two years of insolvency, this is a serious concern. Now look with a clear eye at the rest of the insurance companies. They are in the same position, struggling to meet claims out of the reserves in hand. And thereby hangs a slightly different story. There’s no federal insurance industry. Every insurer is obliged to set up separate subsidiaries to trade in each US state. In theory, the obligation to hold reserves is specific to each state. But the larger companies have been moving money around from one subsidiary to another, always ensuring there’s enough in hand on each reporting date. This is close to dishonesty because, if you ask each Department or Office of Insurance, they will tell you the insurers must have permanent reserves and not merely the qualifying amount on the reporting date. But the insurers have been getting away with their sleight of hand for the last eighteen months.

So when you are looking round the local state’s market for a homeowners insurance policy, do not simply get multiple quotes through this site’s search engine. You should also check in with A M Best for the latest rating on the companies offering the most competitive terms. If you expect to stay with the same company for some time, make sure it’s financially secure before you buy the policy. Otherwise, when you come to make a claim, you may find all those premiums will be lost and that homeowners insurance policy is just so much waste paper.