Wednesday, June 27, 2007

RV Insurance Questions and Answers

For those who are buying an RV, you may be wondering about RV insurance. Is it necessary? What kinds of RVs are covered by RV insurance? Is it the same as an extended warranty? Each of these questions is important and you should know the answers before you purchase a new or used RV.

1. Can I just use an auto insurance policy? Yes, you can. But, an RV insurance policy will cover the parts of the RV that the auto policy will not such as the stairs, the slideouts, and the awnings. These are some of the most common claims made for RVs. Not only that, if you have a towable RV or truck camper your automobile insurance will not cover it at all. If you have a towable, with some insurers you can have a combined policy which will cover the RV and the tow vehicle for a discounted price.

2. Where can I find RV insurance? You can find it through a regular insurance company, but they will not have the variety of products and RV policies that a company that specializes in RV insurance will have. For one of the best and easiest ways to shop for insurance you can go online, get quick free quotes, compare different companies, and apply. Just be sure that you are comparing policies with the same level of coverage.

3. Can I get RV insurance for my tent trailer? Yes you can. You can insure any type of RV from a truck camper to a full-size, ultra-luxury, diesel pusher motor home. It can also be new or used of any age.

4. What does the RV insurance cover? Most RV policies offer full coverage. This covers your RV no matter what happens and whose fault it is. A good policy will also offer total replacement for a new RV (less than 5 years old and with the original owner) that is totaled, or for a used RV (or one that is older than 5 years) you will get the purchase price back as a settlement in the event your RV is totaled.

5. How long does it take to apply? You can get a quote and apply and be approved in as little as a day.

6. Is it different than an extended warranty? Yes, an extended warranty covers engine repairs and appliances not accidents. This is why you need both.

Insurance and Risk Management for Small Business Owners

Many small business owners truly believe that when they have a proper and comprehensive insurance program for their business, they will be fully protected from financial losses. Setting aside the grey areas on the fine print of most insurance policies, there are many losses that insurance cannot be extended.

Some of the such losses that small business suffered after occurrence of accident; are lost of goodwill to customers due to failure to deliver merchandises on time; lost of faith from employees for not providing a conducive working environment, and many more losses which do not have financial impact initially but gradually translate into financially losses.

While insurance is important in indemnifying small business owners in case of fire damaging their properties and/or accidents that causing injuries and loss of life thus downtime in productivity, small business owners should practice risk management in order to create a more sustainable business and have a competitive edge over their competitors to minimize their lost time hence cost.

The basic methods of risk management are

1.Avoidance of Risk

Simple procedures and things that most small business owners took for granted can have huge impact when they resulted in accident. Always practice the maxim of prevention is better than cure.

2.Reduction of risk and losses

Be aware of the consequences of risk and accident, develop a loss prevention or reduction system to minimize the occurrence of risk and losses when risk happened.

3.Transferring of Risk

Transfer the risk to other parties like insurance company.

4.Keeping of risk and absorption of losses.

If transfer of risk is not possible, you may have to absorb some of the risk and/or losses. Some of the insurance policies require the insured to bear a portion of the losses term as deductible or excess.

Arranging a comprehensive insurance cover for small business is crucial for the survival, many small businesses have overlooked or ignored the important of a proper coverage for their business, when accident happens, they found themselves in a financial distress and thus loosing their customers to their competitors.

It is thus advisable to seek professional advice for a proper insurance coverage and more importantly practice good risk management.

Owning A Ferrari-Is It Worth It?

Driving a Ferrari has always been a dream of mine. I am unfortunate that I remember Danny Wild driving his red Ferrari around Europe in the Persuaders on TV back in the early 70s. But then when you do get to drive one, you realise that they are only designed to be driven one way, and thats fast.

But of course with speed limit, kids, other drivers on the road you will find that only a very small time can be dedicate to driving a Ferrari as it should be. In fact much of the driving you would do is totally unsuitable for a Ferrari. OK I will be honest with you, I dont own a Ferrari but I have driven one. I hired a car and drove it around a racetrack as it was designed to do, which a qualified instructor of course. This has totally changed my perception of why people must own a Ferrari.

I cannot now see any reason to own one at all, except as a status symbol. Nothing comes close to driving this super car around at 150mph, so much legal fun its amazing, but driving it at 30mph just seems so much of a hassle. Then my driving instructor came up with some facts. He said add up the cost of buying your Ferrari then add on the insurance, add on your yearly running costs in including servicing, tyres etc.

Then he said calculate how many hours you would actually get to drive your car. Then calculate how many hours you would drive the car as it should be driven. In both cases you get a ridiculously high hourly rate to own a car. So much so that to hire one like I did with professional instruction becomes a bargain.

So I have readjusted my dream, I will stick with my comfortable road car but when I fancy, to the racetrack I will go in the full knowledge I am getting a better deal than the rich and famous. There are many track deals around the UK stating from 99 why not give a try and see if your dream changes.