My family and I jusr recently lost our home and everything in and around it due to fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt. We were renting to own, and not insured. The house aside, I have tallied up approx. 200,000 worth of our belongings. This does not include a value on “priceless and irreplacable” items, such as baby photos, antiques; nor does it include my portfolio and all of my work (about 20 years worth) as an artist. Not to mention all of my airbrush equipment.
We were having some financial trouble, power had been cut off.
I had rented a generator from a LARGE company. It would seem as though that is how the fire started. My spouse and another witnessed.
My spouse, not dealing with the stress very well, has ended up in jail, (I think he just “snapped”) after a confrontation with another party. I have been left to fend for myself and baby. My spouse has taught me to be resourceful,.. the art of survival. But, running out of resources. Lawyer I talked to not interested in the case.
Thank-you for your answers. But, I’ll explain further…
My spouse (and, no, it wasn’t a confrontation with me that landed him in jail) and the other witness, say they saw sparks flying out of the exhaust of the generator, the exterior wall, approx 5 ft away had caught fire. The LARGE company’s rep whisked the generator away. I rented it with a credit card, no cash, told them it was to power my house.
The fire chief told me that in this case, he’d report that the fire started just as we had explained, as he had no reason to lie, since we had no insurance. Also, he said that if there were to be an investigation, (arson suspected, or a death involved) they would have quarantined the area. But, there was not anything left to investigate; house and surroundings, leveled. Just ashes.
Finally, the figure of $200,00 was, I feel, modest; bargain basement prices; $40,000 worth of concrete molds, classic ‘67 chev, jet boat, harley parts galore, jeep, quad, antiques, my art gear, 15 G’s easy
Posts Tagged ‘Insurance’
Just lost ALL in house fire. no one hurt. No lawyer. no insurance. Have to sue big company. Any advice?
I have this idea called “market security insurance”: do you think it would work?
Every investor now and then wonders what it would be like to “put all his chips” on “the big one” and hope that one stock or sector fund will yield him amazing returns.
For example, if I had put my entire nest egg into Phoenix Real Estates Securities (PHRAX) last year (considering it’s good performance the years before), I would have received a 36.3% return on my portfolio last year.
Of course, only a fool would think of making such a volatile, risky bet.
But what if I offered the sale of a sector fund (or any other security deemed to have a good chance of yielding high returns) and promised to cover the portfolio’s losses up to 50% for a 8.5% premium? Or in other words, for 8.5% of your portfolio’s worth, I will cover all negative returns on your fund up to 50% at the year’s end, should this happen.
Seems silly, I know. Just wondering if this is a solid idea to build on.
The portfolios of property and casualty insurance companies are generally concentrated in?
a. liquid assets
b. mutual funds
c. U. S. Treasury bonds
d. primary securities
I believe it is: a. liquid assets
How many Conservatives out there are building up their Gold Portfolios? How about “Food Insurance”?
Yes… I said Food Insurance.
can a servicer and/or lender force place PMI (private mortgage insurance)? ?
Hello, I have searched far and wide to the answer to one question… can a servicer and/or lender force place PMI (private mortgage insurance)? When I closed on my loan I did not have PMI. After 1 year of residing in the home I could no longer afford the increased payments and I began to lease… long story short the tenant NEVER paid – so I put the home up for sale. I got an offer and my realtor submitted it to SPS (select portfolio servicing) for approval they signed off on the short sale and said their approval is pending approval by Radian the PMI company – the what??? I have never signed any documents that have any relation to PMI and I have never ever paid any PMI amounts…
Radian wants me to sign a promissory note for $50k on a total loss of $80k in order for them to approve the sale! I believe that this is illegal but is it?
What is the best long term investment? Stocks, real estate, or investment grade life insurance?
Stocks have a down side. Real estate may also have a downside, along with liquidty. Investment grade life insurance has limits.
Life Insurance As An Asset Class Within A Portfolio
We use AAA rated investment grade life insurance as the “safe” or bond-like component of a retirement portfolio. These policies grow tax-deferred, pay out tax free, and grow with the power of compo…
How Can a Life Insurance Policy be a Good Investment?
A dear friend of mine forwarded a link to a discussion on CNBC about how life insurance is a good investment. Now, I have to admit, I have always known that a life policy with a cash value option is a good product to have in your portfolio. I was really happy to see someone who agreed with me.
Here is the link:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=697206891
Whether the economy is good or bad, you cannot go wrong with a life policy that allows you to save in a cash value account. Why? Because your cash value savings is tax-free! Yes, this is one of those very few places that the government still allows us to save tax-free. With a guaranteed interest rate of 2-4% on most of these life policies, if you calculate in the fact that you are not going to pay taxes on the GAINS, it’s a win-win situation.
Why is tax-free savings a good thing? Here is an example of how taxation works:
If you take a dollar and double it 20 times and minus the tax, you will have about $28,466 left.
But, if you take that same dollar and double it 20 times, without tax, you will have about $1,048,576!
This example should show you the power of saving tax-free.
Here is a great explanation of EIUL that I found on line:
Equity indexed universal life insurance offers a unique combination of affordable life insurance with the ability to accumulate cash values that grow with the upward movement of a stock index without the normal downside risk associated with the equities market. Combine the benefits of upside cash value growth potential with the tax benefits associated with life insurance and a minimum guaranteed interest rate and you have an optimum vehicle for accumulating cash.
The important part to understand is that you are participating in the market, BUT you are not going to be participating in the downside risk. What that means is you will enjoy the gains, but if the market goes down, your cash value does not go down in the slightest. You will keep all your gains and not risk a dime.
I recommend that everyone should at least look into an EIUL policy as a way to diversify your investment portfolio without much risk. There are many things you need to know about an EIUL policy, and your insurance agent can help you determine if it is right for you. Some of these policies can be expensive to purchase. There are also limits to how much you can put in this account each year, but the good news is, the amount you can save within the policy is always more then the annual limit on an IRA. Also remember, this is tax-free savings, not tax deferred.
Should You Buy Gold as an Investment or as Insurance?
As an investor, you should always know what your objectives are. One of the biggest traps investors fall into is buying a gold position that has little or no relationship to his or her objectives. Gold is not for everyone. Buying gold is usually used as an insurance policy in case other investments such as stocks go down.
Gold is in a bull market right now because its core fundamentals are so outstanding. It is also doing well because the stock market is tanking. You see, that is the “insurance” part of gold. When stocks go down, gold often goes up. A position in gold will often offset your losses in the stock market in troubled times.
The price of gold may jump up to thousands of dollars per ounce in the current rally or it may struggle and fall lower. No one knows for sure even if they pretend to. One thing is for sure: if the stock market continues to fall, things will look good for the gold investor. Gold is the ultimate alternative investment because it is tangible.
Many people, including the die hard stock investors, often still see gold as the most undervalued asset group in a standard portfolio mix. In general, gold becomes more desirable in times of banking failures and tough economic times. Also, like all investments, gold becomes more attractive to more people the higher it goes. People don’t seem to want to miss out and that is why both gold and stocks tend to go up too high before they fall back.
Before you invest in gold, you should carefully consider what percentage of your overall portfolio you wish to risk in gold-related investments. If you are thinking about investing in gold, it is worth giving the same consideration to your purchase as you would to any other investment. When you buy gold investments, you lower risk in your investment portfolio.
As more investors realize that gold is a great way to profit in today’s uncertain climate, more fund-makers have been happy to supply the means with which to buy gold. There is a whole world of excellent alternatives out there for investors who wish to invest in gold. Just be sure you understand what your gold objectives are before you allocate too much of your portfolio towards it. Gold can be a great addition to any portfolio but only in the right amounts. Putting too much of your net worth into gold would be the same as gambling.