Get a Travel Insurance Policy To Protect Yourself From Trip Risks

If you are thinking about traveling whether it is to another state or to another country, there are some precautions that you need to take; the most important of which is to purchase travel insurance in order to be protected in case any unexpected event or accident threatens to ruin your trip. Travel insurance will protect you from these unforeseen events and reimburse any costs that you may incur in due to them.

There are many things that can happen during a trip that can imply additional, non foreseen costs like accidents, emergency medical or dental bills, theft, luggage loss, cancellation, delays, etc. All these events result in additional an non expected fees and expenses that can add up to the overall trip costs if you do not have proper insurance and can even ruin your vacations if you are not covered.

There are many different travel insurance products but not all of them adapt to any circumstances. Thus, it is a good idea to contact good insurance brokers and tell them about your needs. They will be able to customize a product suitable for your trips’ particularities and will also find you an insurance company that is both reputable and competitive so you can get the best deal available.

If you do not want to resort to the services of a broker, then you can do some research yourself by looking for travel insurance quotes on the internet with your favorite search engine. You need to compare the results and contact the insurance companies informally. Remember not to sign anything till you have compared at least three different options because there are many unscrupulous agents out there searching for their next rip off victim.

Focus On the Coverage Rather than On The Price

When it comes to insurance, you should never purchase it focusing your decision on the price of the policy. Instead, you should concentrate on the coverage that the policy provides and only after selecting the proper coverage for your needs, you should then shop around requesting insurance quotes from different companies but specifying which kind of coverage you want.

After all, an insurance policy is useless if it does not cover what you want and purchasing travel insurance only implies that you will be protected against certain risks included in the policy. If just for the sake of bargaining you end up closing on a deal with a limited coverage that does not include a risk that you will be running you may end up with a useless policy or at least, you will be under-covered.

There are predefined packages that include travel and life insurance for those who travel frequently. These products can be advantageous as all the costs that are not related to the risk (i.e. administrative fees) are shared and not charged twice. However, if you have specific needs, if you run additional risks (visiting war-zone countries, epidemic zones, etc.) it is wiser to have your insurance broker customize a policy specifically for you.

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Husband sentenced over Nisha murder

A cheating husband who had his special constable wife killed so he could start a new life with his mistress is being sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Nisha Patel-Nasri, 29, bled to death after being stabbed with a 13-inch kitchen knife at her home in Wembley, north London.

Husband Fadi Nasri wanted her dead to pay off spiralling debts of more than £100,000 with the couple's £350,000 life insurance policy.

The Lebanese-born limousine hire boss was secretly leading a double life and "spending money like water" on his Lithuanian mistress Laura Mockiene.

In May 2006, the day after he and his wife's third wedding anniversary, he left her at home alone to meet her violent end while he went out to play snooker.

She was stabbed by violent, powerfully-built nightclub bouncer Jason Jones, who was given the job by Nasri's friend, drug dealer Rodger Leslie.

Nasri, 34, of Alderman Court, Barnet, north London, Leslie, 38, of Chesterfield Flats, Bells Hill, Barnet, and Jones, 36, of Hathaway Crescent, Manor Park, east London, were found guilty of murder by an Old Bailey jury last month.

All three are being sentenced.

The court heard that Nasri had been meeting Miss Mockiene for weekly sex sessions in hotels and even took her on a secret holiday to the Egyptian pyramids in the months leading up to the killing.

But his business was in trouble and he could not afford the lifestyle, so he killed his wife to pay for it in what police called "the final betrayal".

Treasurer kept city finances shipshape

KEVIN SWAYZE
RECORD STAFF

CAMBRIDGE

Frank Gowman's first stint as a city treasurer saw him working hard to justify a local government amalgamation, cracking numbers to make things look fiscally benign in a controversial merger between Sarnia city and Sarnia township.

"I was supposed to prove amalgamation was good," said Gowman, 56, who retires Friday after 18 years minding Cambridge's books. "I proved the taxes were going to go up (in the township) . . . The township opponents used my study as their main weapon against it." He left Sarnia as Queen's Park ordered the merger in 1991, when offered the job as deputy treasurer in Cambridge, close to friends and family.

Ever since, he's been on the other side of the amalgamation debate, consistently doubting promises that mergers mean tax savings for Cambridge residents.

He's consistently pushed for intermunicipal co-operation to save on taxes and improve services. Gowman cites the Waterloo Region self-insurance pool he helped set up as an example of how working together saved millions over the last decade. Over the same time, other Ontario towns and cities saw private insurance premiums soar due to natural disasters around the world, he said.

"I knew within the first week it was a good move," Gowman said of moving to Cambridge. He praises the positive, "team management culture" he sees getting things done inside Cambridge City Hall.

His career plan was always to take over from treasurer John McIntyre at his retirement. Instead the job was thrust in his lap in 1997, after a heart attack killed the city's first treasurer. Deputy treasurer Steve Fairweather has already been chosen by city council to replace Gowman.

Gowman was born in Brantford and lived near St. George for a about a year, before the family moved to Goderich, then to Cambridge for Grades 1 to 3 at Highland Public School.

After that, another move took him to Wallaceburg, where he attended high school.

He was studying math at University of Waterloo when he met Rosemary, whom he would later marry. The math teacher at Galt Collegiate Institute plans to retire on the same day as her husband.

Originally, Gowman thought he'd have a career in computer science, but in his third year he turned to accounting. All three of the couple's sons -- Richard, David and Paul -- took up the career torch in his stead.

"They didn't have a choice with me and a mom who was a math teacher," he laughed.

In 1976, Gowman started his first job as a junior chartered accountant at a private firm in Sarnia. In 1984, he took a job at Sarnia city hall as director of treasury services. Then he jumped to Cambridge.

"I've always appreciated the frankness and direction you have given to council over the years," Mayor Doug Craig said to Gowman last Monday, at the treasurer's last council meeting.

He praised Gowman and his department for helping keep council on track to retire the city's debt and financing the city's new $30-million city office building without any new debt.

While the four-storey office building earned Gowman warm words, it wasn't his favourite city project. His fear of heights prevented him from visiting his fourth-floor office while it was under construction. Now, four months after the building opened, he remains leery of some of the panoramic views from the windows.

Quick to laugh and full of self-effacing jokes, Gowman has the ability to make an eye-glazing city budget spring to life by comparing it to a family's household finances. What's good for one is good for the other, he said.

There's nothing wrong with debt, he said, so long as it's used judiciously as the tool it is. It's financially unhealthy to use it as a crutch to carry you from paycheque to paycheque -- or to feed interest payments that inflate the cost of civic projects.

In retirement, Gowman plans to continue his passion for curling, a sport he started at age 15 in high school. A skip at the Galt Curling Club, his teams have won provincial seniors championships.

Now, instead of walking to work, Gowman has time to go mountain biking on the trails near his Preston home, or play tennis at Victoria Park. He and Rosemary have no plans to sit on the front step and count the cars passing by.

"It's the choice, the ability to do what you want." Once, of course, he completes a year-long kitchen renovation Rosemary has ready for him to start next week.

kswayze@therecord.com

Ex-major leaguer is living history

100-year-old Bill Werber still recalls days with the Babe
Scott Fowler, The Charlotte Observer
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Happy birthday, Bill Werber. The oldest living major league baseball player turns 100 today in a south Charlotte retirement community. In front of about 85 friends and family, with a plate of fried chicken and barbecue, he will celebrate hitting the century mark.
Check that.

"I'm not celebrating it," Werber said. "I'm tolerating it."

Werber is by turns merry and cantankerous. He boasts a full head of white hair, zips around in a motorized wheelchair and lives alone in an apartment at The Carriage Club retirement complex. He remembers stories about playing alongside Babe Ruth 75 years ago more easily than he remembers his daughter's address. A conversation with Werber opens a fascinating window into a world most of us never experienced -- a world where roads were unpaved, haircuts were 35 cents and baseball on the radio was king.

I ate lunch with Werber the other day, carefully timing the visit to occur before his afternoon nap. His daughter Pat Bryant instructed me to sit on his left side and speak slowly and distinctly toward his left ear. But any fears I had of a one-sided interview were quickly allayed.

"I'm still sharp," Werber told me early in the interview, grinning wickedly. And he is. Words like "bellicose" and "interlocutor" rolled off his tongue. He told me about his first-ever at bat in the major leagues, in 1930 for the New York Yankees, offhandedly remembering the name of the pitcher, catcher and plate umpire.

Werber took two strikes and then four straight balls, never lifting the bat off his shoulder.

"I was too scared to move," he said. "Paralyzed."

Ruth came up a couple of batters later and slammed a deep ball to right.

"I knew it was going into the right-field bleachers," Werber said. "But I said to myself, 'I'll show these Yankees how fast I can run.' So I put on a burst of speed and ran around the bases. The third-base coach was hollering for me to slow down, but I ran on in at full speed. I crossed home plate before Babe got to first base -- he took those little mincing steps, you know. When Babe came in to the dugout, he sat on the bench beside me. He patted me on the head and said, 'Son, you don't have to run like that when the Babe hits one.' "

Werber was a superb athlete, a third baseman who played in the majors for 11 years at the height of the Depression, ending his career in 1942. He was a good player, not a great one, who led the league in stolen bases three times. He won a World Series in 1940 with the Cincinnati Reds, when he batted .370 in the series and had 10 hits.

As a 5-foot-10 guard, Werber also was the first All-American basketball player Duke ever had, in 1930. But the NBA didn't exist then, and so if you were going to make a living in sports, baseball was your shot.

Werber grew up in what is now College Park, Md., home of the University of Maryland. He spent most of his life following baseball back in Maryland, working at the insurance agency his father founded. Although he never made more than $13,500 in any one baseball season, he cleared more than $100,000 in his first year selling insurance. His business sense allowed him to retire very comfortably, although it was not impeccable. He once told the patriarch of the Marriott family that he should never consider expanding into the hotel business.

When he retired, Werber moved from Maryland to Naples, Fla. He spent 28 years there until poor health forced him to move to Charlotte, near daughter Pat. He has spent the past 10 years living in a retirement home here. His left leg was amputated below the knee when he was in his early 90s, a complication of his diabetes. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski phoned Werber during his recovery, a call he still treasures.

Werber's secret to longevity?

"I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I married a lovely girl who never got mad," Werber said.

Kathryn "Tat" Werber died in 2000, after she and Bill were married 70 years. They produced three children. Bill Jr., at age 77, still runs the family insurance business in Maryland. Pat, 73, lives in Charlotte. Susie Hill, the youngest daughter, is 60.

The whole family has major Duke connections, and all remain huge Duke fans, none more so than Bill Werber, who skips his normal 9 p.m. bedtime whenever the Blue Devils have a late basketball tipoff.

He doesn't watch baseball anymore, though. The pro game moves too slowly now, he believes, and he doesn't like the excess hair sported by players like Johnny Damon.

Much like my own grandparents, Werber is not politically correct all the time. He has strong opinions about the national anthem. He believes it should only be sung by men with powerful voices -- "no trilling," Werber declared -- and only to the roll of drums. He has written baseball commissioner Bud Selig about that and other matters, he said.

"He always responds," Werber said of Selig, "but he never says anything."

Werber, on the other hand, has lots to say. He's opinionated. He's mesmerizing. And he's 100 years old today, surrounded by folks who love him and still sleeping every night all the way through.

His is a life well-lived, one brushed by men like Ruth but ultimately painted by those much closer to him.

In his apartment, Werber displays zero pieces of baseball memorabilia, but the walls are covered with pictures of his family.


sfowler@charlotteobserver.com or (704) 358-5140

Early retirement not recommended

FINANCIAL MAKEOVER. Ending careers at age 55 would entail a major reduction in couple's lifestyle, experts say
PAUL DELEAN, The Gazette

A cancer scare got Ed and Chloe Kilgour thinking seriously about something they had kicked around casually over the years: early retirement.

"So far so good, there's no sign of a recurrence, but you're not considered cancer-free for five years," said Chloe, who underwent the cancer surgery last year, and like her husband of 20 years, is 48.

Since the operation, she's had 55 in her sights as a potential retirement date.
That would mean giving up some of her pension entitlement as a teacher, however, and she's not sure the numbers support doing that.

Because she started in the profession a little later than some of her colleagues, she would be entitled to 42.6 per cent of her five best years' salary at age 55, vs. 63 per cent at age 60 and 70 per cent at 63. ("But I don't want to work that long").

In 2007, she earned $68,973.

Ed, who works in management for a multinational company, made $87,000. His company provides generous benefits that include employer-only contributions to a defined-contribution pension plan and health and dental coverage for both partners that continues after retirement.

Through work, he pays $50 bi-weekly for supplemental coverage that includes long-term disability, three times his salary in life insurance and an extra $100,000 in coverage on his spouse, and up to 90 per cent coverage for dental and prescription costs. She pays for an extra $70,000 term life-insurance policy through her alumni association and long-term disability coverage through work.

The Kilgours (not their real name) have no children. They also have no wills.

"We're afraid of wills. We don't want to talk about death. Because we didn't have any children, it was never a priority," Chloe said. "Wouldn't it just automatically go to the other person anyway in case of death?"

Their bungalow, purchased on the West Island almost 20 years ago for $97,000, now is worth about $240,000, based on what others in the neighbourhood have sold for, Ed said. They would like to keep it as their retirement home.

The house is mortgage-free, but they still owe $46,000 on a lakefront cottage in the Eastern Townships they purchased four years ago. They figure it's worth $100,000 now, after several upgrades.

They own two vehicles, one paid for, the other a recent $22,000 purchase with four years of interest-free payments to go.

For an emergency fund, the Kilgours have about $5,000 cash in various bank accounts. They pay their Visa bill completely every month, but are carrying about $5,500 apiece on their individual lines of credit.

Both also have significant retirement savings, and have maximized RRSP contribution room.

Chloe's two RRSPs are worth about $90,000. She also has $11,000 in Canada Savings Bonds purchased by payroll deduction.

Ed has a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) from a previous job now worth about $130,500. His RRSP totals $164,000 and his pension plan is at $78,000.

In an unregistered account, he has two stocks and $50,000 in cash after selling shares of the company that employs him earlier this year. He figures about $20,000 of that is capital gain.

Homeowner's insurance for less

By Kimberly Blanton

After years of rising rates, consumers are seeing the tide turn

After years of unrelenting increases in homeowner's insurance costs, consumers are ready for relief.

more stories like thisIt used to be that auto insurance was far more costly than homeowner's coverage in Massachusetts. But years of regulation have kept auto insurance prices in check. Meantime, homeowner policies have gone through the roof: Premiums rose 9.2 percent last year, on average, and are up 80 percent since 2000, according to the Massachusetts Division of Insurance and the Center for Insurance Research in Cambridge.

"Now it's your homeowner's that is $1,500 and auto is $500. It's changed the dynamic," said Glenn Montgomery, owner of Brownstone Insurance Agency in Boston.

Oddly, it is deregulation of the auto insurance market in Massachusetts that is bringing long-needed relief to homeowners. Insurers now competing for auto coverage are trying to attract new customers by offering breaks on homeowner's insurance for customers who agree to bundle the auto and homeowner's policies under one company.

For homeowners willing to do so, some companies are offering substantial discounts of up to 20 percent off the home policy. However, there may be trade-offs in terms of coverage as a result of being bound to a single insurer.

That means consumers need to be vigilant on a number of fronts. Agents advised customers to always shop around and get multiple quotes, three or even four if possible. And get them from more than one agent.

Massachusetts' property-casualty insurance system is unusual for its heavy reliance on agents, who each represent a fixed number of insurers. Consumers may often maintain a relationship with an agent for decades, but those who shop with a single agent effectively limit the number of insurers bidding for their business.

There are different types of homeowner's policies, from bare-bones coverage that pays for only certain listed damages, to mid-level policies that suit most homeowners. There are higher level policies that provide more extensive coverage and cost more.

Carefully compare the quotes you receive. Richard Powers of C.A. Powers & Sons Insurance in Boston said policyholders should ask agents for the backup documents that spell out the coverage. "Put them side by side to compare. You shouldn't depend on a phoned number of $500," he said.

Compare the types of damages to your home that each policy would cover, and what they exclude from coverage, especially if you live in a coastal area and may be subject to storm damages. See how much the company will provide to cover your living expenses while the house is being repaired. Make sure the personal liability and medical coverages are comparable from policy to policy.

If you're shopping for a home and curious what it would cost to insure, you can find out if the property has had any history of problems or claims that may result in higher premi ums. Choice Point maintains a database of claims called Clue, or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, and buyers worried about a property might want to request the seller provide such a report before closing.Continued...

Loose change

THE BUSINESS OF POETRY

Launched in 2007, The Australian Poetry Centre is housed in the suitably romantic surrounds of Glenfern, a National Trust property in Inkerman Street, East St Kilda. While there's a revival of interest in the spoken word, the centre's director, Teresa Bell, says, "A real shift needs to be seen in the mainstream support of publishing and selling poetry, which, of course, comes down to getting people to buy it." Poetry salons are held at Glenfern on the fourth Sunday of each month.

A LITTLE RAY OF SUNSHINE

Centrelink advises that the collapse of finance companies such as Fincorp, ACR and Bridgecorp may result in higher rates of payments for victims on the age pension. Deemed income on investments is assessed by Centrelink, so those affected by failed investments should speak to a financial information service officer on 132 300. In some cases, revised assessments will be backdated to when the company first got into difficulty.

THE FRUIT-AND-VEG FACTOR

The cost of retiring has increased again. The latest figures from Westpac-ASFA show that the annual cost of a "modest" standard of living for a couple in retirement is now $26,339 a year. The "comfortable" standard is $48,648. Higher food prices are a major factor, with fruit (up 9.6 per cent) and vegetables (up 7.9 per cent) leading the charge.

STAKE YOUR CLAIM

As at November 30, last year, ASIC has identified $458 million waiting to be claimed from old bank accounts and life insurance policies. Amounts range from $1 to $3 million (from a company takeover). To start searching, see fido.gov.au.

Term Life Insurance, Providing Your Family With Financial Security

When it comes to unexpected death, which is naturally everyone's favorite subject, term life insurance is the most economic approach to providing your family with financial security. Thanks to low monthly premiums, the amount of benefits offered through term life insurance is significantly higher than whole life insurance. But did you know that not all term life insurance policies are the same or that there are term options that you can include in the your coverage?

The insurance market is filled with various term life insurance companies, and each boasts it's own set of rules, regulations, and guidelines. And rates, levels and options vary from company to company as well.

What may seem like a “real bargain” may in up costing you more in the long run if you do not read the policy terms. Check out a few of the things that you will want to keep in mind when determining which term life insurance plan is right for you.

Annual Renewable Term – Annual renewable term life insurance is renewed every year. The premium is based upon one year of coverage, but the policy is guaranteed to be renewed for a certain number of years. Premiums increase with age. So, if you make it to the ripe old age of one hundred, expect your term life insurance premiums to skyrocket under this insurance plan.

Level Term – Level term life insurance features premiums that are the same amount throughout the length of the policy period. The longer the time frame of the coverage, the greater the premiums.

Conversion Privileges –Various life insurance companies offer an option on their term life insurance that allows the policy holder to convert their coverage into a permanent life insurance policy-these clauses are called conversion privileges Permanent life insurance builds equity for the insured in comparision with term life insurance which simply offers insurance without the option of cash annuity benefits.

Life Insurance Companies – Thoroughly investigate the life insurance company offering you coverage. This is particularly true if you are receiving online life insurance quotes from a third-party website. Visit each company’s website and take a look-see. Is the insurance company listed in your local Yellow Pages? Are there agents representing the insurance agency located in your area? And do they appear to be a viable entity that will be around for a long while?

Compare term life insurance policies and companies before you purchase something. Be as picky about the policy parameters and the insurer as life insurance companies are about insuring you. When it comes to life insurance companies, famous names are all apart of the game, but do not let their name recognition lull you into a sense of security. Treat finding the optimum term life insurance plan as you'd treat finding a really killer pair of shoes-shop.

By: David G. Petten