Reader’s Question:

My brother will be insuring his first car soon here in Miami. I’d like to help him about his car insurance needs. What are the things that I need to know about Miami car insurance?

Tim

Miami, FL

Hello Tim! Every vehicle owner in Florida is required to purchase car insurance. As long as your vehicle is registered and licensed in Florida, then you need to maintain your car insurance policy in all of your vehicles. This law applies to all vehicles that have four wheels and more.

If your brother will stay here for seasonal time only, then he still needs to get Miami car insurance policy. That is if he chose to stay at least for 90 days in a year. This rule applies even if the 90-day period is not consecutive.

Just for clarification, the state of Florida only requires every driver to carry Property Damage Liability with the minimum amount of $10,000 and Personal Injury Protection of $10,000 minimum amount also. This means that your brother is not required by the law to purchase additional Miami car insurance coverage. In fact, it is strongly prohibited by Florida law that auto insurance companies require its policyholders to purchase additional coverages aside from Property Damage Liability and Personal Injury Protection. Additional coverages may only be offered but not required.

To buy a Miami car insurance coverage, you need to make sure that your brother will only purchase car insurance from auto insurance company that is licensed to conduct business in Florida. Moreover, if your brother chose to get his car insurance from an agent, that agent must be licensed also to sell insurance here.

For more information about car insurance, you may also check with the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Reader’s Question:

What are the other factors that affect the rates of car insurance Miami Florida? I have a teen daughter and I’m doing some research on how we can save on my car insurance since I will add her soon under my policy. I’ve already learned that place of residence, driving and credit history, type of vehicle and even gender all affect car insurance rates. Can you give me the factors that I am not aware of yet? Thanks a lot!

Johnnie

Miami, FL

Hello Johnnie. It seems that you’re doing a lot of research lately. I must say I am amazed on how much you know about the car insurance Miami Florida. Here are some additional information I can give you about car insurance.

Since you are a parent of a teen driver, it will be more practical to add you teen daughter under your car insurance policy rather than getting a separate policy for them. Since teen drivers are considered high risk drivers, getting a separate insurance for them will be more expensive. You may also consider enrolling your daughter in a driver’s education program because by doing that you may also get a discount from your car insurance company.

By the way Johnnie, how old are you? If you are 55 years old and above, you may also get a discount if you’ve completed a course about accident prevention. This course must be approved by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Remember that for you to qualify for the discount for mature drivers, you need to have a clean driving record after, no accidents and violations at all.

For more information about car insurance Miami Florida, you can ask your auto insurance agent.

Reader’s Question:

My cousin will be moving here in Miami by June. As early as now, I’m researching on information about car insurance in Miami. Can you share some information about that?

Lea

Miami, FL

Sure Lea!

Let me just share with you the things that I’ve learned that affect the rates of car insurance in Miami.

For one, driving history. This includes any past traffic violations and accidents. As much as possible it’s best to stay away from getting involved in any accidents and from disobeying traffic rules and regulations.

Also, the place where you live. If you live in a populated area where the chance of getting involved in traffic accidents or your vehicle being stolen or vandalized is higher, your rate of car insurance in Miami is also affected. Living in a place like that poses higher risk for auto insurance companies.

By the way, is your cousin a she? Because if she is a female driver, then that is good. Believe it or not but gender affects car insurance rates. Females are considered safer driver as compared to males.
And how old is your cousin? If she is younger than 25 and older than 65, chances are she might get higher car insurance rates. These age ranges are the ones who are usually involved in car accidents.

I assume that your cousin has credit cards. How good is her credit score? This is because, auto insurance companies in Florida are allowed to use credit history as one of the factors affecting car insurance rates.

For more information about car insurance in Miami, you can also contact the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Reader’s Question:

My brother just got promoted in his work and will be moving here to stay for good. He got some questions about car insurance in Miami Florida but I know so little about car insurance thingy. Please help. Thanks!

Edie

Miami, FL

Congratulations on your brother’s promotion! I’m hoping he’ll have a good stay here in Florida!

The requirement for car insurance in Miami Florida is simple. As you see, the state of Florida follows a no-fault system. This means that if you get involved in an accident, your own car insurance company will automatically pays for the damages on your part, depending on the limits that you have in your policy.

The minimum required limits fro car insurance in Miami Florida are as follows:

• For Property Damage Liability – $10,000
• For Personal Injury Protection – $10,000

You might be wondering what a Personal Injury Protection coverage is. This kind of coverage will pay for your own and your passenger’s medical bills. Meanwhile, Property Damage Liability coverage will cover for the damages incurred on properties.

I would also advise that your brother get additional coverage like Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury. This coverage will back your brother up in an event that he got involved in a hit and run accident or with a person who does not have sufficient insurance coverage.
For additional information about car insurance in Miami Florida, you can check with the Florida Department of Financial Services. It’s also best if you can ask your car insurance agent for any inquiries you may have. Also, you can try checking the websites to get an estimate of car insurance rates in your area.

Reader’s Question:

Would it be a good idea to get a term life insurance policy for our grand parents in Miami, Florida?

Gunther

Miami, FL

Term life insurance policies are usually more beneficial for younger people who only looks into a relatively short-period of life insurance coverage, usually they want to give financial security to loved ones in case something happens to them and they leave behind financial obligations like student loans or mortgages. These policies usually expires after about ten or twenty years or can be renewed if the option is available. The reason why your grand parents there in Miami, Florida might not benefit from this kind of life insurance is because by the time their term ends, they may already be too old or have too many medical or health conditions that would make having to renew the policy mean having to pay substantially higher life insurance premiums, given the provider agrees to even renew their policy to begin with.

Your grand parents may find it much practical to go into a whole life or permanent life insurance coverage. Although the premiums may be comparatively higher than a term life policy. Your grand parents are assured that they will have full lifetime insurance coverage that would not subject them to regular medical exams and would pretty much give a stable rate. This kind of policy also usually comes with a cash-value feature where part of their premiums are “saved and grown” and can be used for their future financial needs.

Tags: cheap term life insurance, life insurance rates, life insurance advise

Reader’s Question:

I just want to know why smoking is a big deal to life insurance providers here in Florida.

Ulysses

Miami, FL

Nice question, Ulysses. As you may know, smoking is said to be one of the factors that cause, among others, heart, lung and brain-related diseases. Meaning, if you are a smoker, the life insurance provider may view you as a potential victim of diseases linked to smoking, thereby making you a potential higher risk client to them. It only follows that the higher you are deemed to be “at risk,” the costlier your life insurance premium will be. After all, insurance companies, just like any other businesses, intend to make a profit.

The cost of a life insurance is determined by making use of mortality tables. Mortality tables are based on statistics showing annual mortality rates. It is through these figures that life expectancy is computed. Age, gender and use of tobacco are the three main variables used in mortality tables. These mortality tables, in conjunction with your family history, occupation and the place where you live or work, are used by the life insurance companies to come up with quantitative figures on just how much of a risk you are. As recent studies attribute a lot of major diseases to smoking, (and smoking being one of the variables used in mortality tables), I think it is just sensible for life insurance providers there in Florida to ask you if you are a smoker.

Tags: life insurance, smoker life insurance

Reader’s Question:

I live in Miami Florida. What are the typical rates offered by insurance companies? In addition, If I plan to purchase a life insurance, what are the factors that may increase the insurance premium?

Jordan

Miami FL

There are three main categories of rate plans; preferred, standard and preferred plus. For preferred and preferred plus, the client is required to get health measures to get a highly beneficial rate plan. Health measures include blood pressure and cholesterol check ups. The person will be qualified when he/she the result shows a healthy physique. For people with health problems, standard insurance rate can be issued. Rates however my vary from one insurance company to another.
You can access the internet for specific insurance rate of the company or contact the agent that offers the policy.

Women live longer than men based on a research so life insurance providers normally give lower premiums to women. Bad health, unsafe profession or recreation, being overweight are few of the factors that can increase insurance premium. Age of the person also plays a role in the account of the policy. You can contact an insurance agent in Florida.

Tags: life insurance rate

Reader’s Question:

I’ve never been good at numbers. Can you help me come up with a realistic death benefit package? I am applying for life insurance in Orlando, Florida.

Kelsey

Orlando, FL

You don’t need to be good at numbers to come up with a death benefit amount that would accurately reflect your family’s needs, Kelsey. What you just need to know is just that – your family’s needs. I will give you a simple step by step procedure on how to estimate your death benefit amount abut the inputs can only come from you, Kelsey.

First step is to estimate the funeral or burial costs you might need. There are many information about this, on how much an average burial in Orlando, Florida might cost these days. You can also try to imagine if you will suffer from sustained illness and would require prolonged medical services, which will surely incur bills for your family. Next step is to enumerate your outstanding obligations such as home, auto, and other loans – factor that in as well.

Next, Kelsey, let us look at your household expenses, Kelsey. How much does it take to run the house – this includes the bills, the groceries, the house help (if any), allowances for the children, school expenses. Of course you’d want them to continue the lifestyle they are accustomed to so you might as well include family entertainment, recreation and vacations. Don’t forget to take note that since these expenses are repetitive or cyclical in nature, you need to multiply these by the number of times you need them (or how long), and of course you need to use your imagination here and do some assumptions. Remember to write down all your assumptions so it will be easy to go back to your computations.

Lastly, let us look at the future expenses, both required and desired. Required will be educational costs for the children particularly college education. The desired expenses will be those that you had planned to give your children as a surprise, say a new car on their graduation day, and throw that in, too.

All of these needs and wish list would form part of your death benefit package. Once you have this amount, you can go online and search for free quotes (you can do that on this page, just provide your zip code) to see how much this particular death benefit package costs. Even with the same death benefit, insurers from Orlando, Florida will vary with their proposal and it will be good for you to look at the proposals carefully in your convenient time.

Tags: affordable life insurance, cheap life insurance, life insurance leads