When looking for the best insurance price quotes you can get, it doesn't matter if you're shopping for Car, House, Health, Life or Commercial insurance - if you don't know the jargon you're likely to wind up over-paying or buying the wrong coverage. Below is an essential guide to some of the more crucial insurance quote terms to keep you on the right track.
Insurance Price Quote Terms:
Deductible - Deductibles reduce the price of insurance because you pay a predetermined amount of the loss or expense BEFORE the insurer pays. You select the deductible and the higher you choose, the lower your premium.
Premium - the premium is the cost of the insurance. It is how much you or your company pays for the coverage.
Property and Casualty - this describes a part of the insurance industry that covers damage to property or persons injured in an accident. Auto, home-owners and business liability insurance fall under this category.
Life and Health - This is the part of the insurance industry that covers life and health insurance as opposed to property and casualty.
Umbrella Policy - This is broader coverage than the original underlying policy. For example, a homeowner's policy that also includes a general liability provision of $1 million for personal lawsuits might be considered an umbrella policy.
Automobile Insurance Price Quotes Terminology:
Collision - Getting price quotes for collision gives you the cost of covererage for damages to your own vehicle from a collision or accident.
Comprehensive - This term also applies to that aspect of your car insurance that compensates for "non-collision" types of damage like fire, water, malicious mischief or theft.
Liability - this coverage compensates another person for damage you may have caused to their car, personal injury, property or pain and suffering. Homeowner policies also contain liability coverage to protect you from assorted cases of personal injury lawsuits.
No-fault - About 50% of the states require "no fault" insurance which pays for damages to vehicles, property and persons no matter who is at fault in the accident.
Health Insurance Price Quotes Terminology:
Ancillary Care - Ancillary simply means "additional" or "related" or "extra". It applies to policies that not only have basic coverage but have additional (ancillary) coverage for prescription drugs or eye care, for example.
Cobra - The "Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act" is a Federal law that requires companies to offer extended health care coverage to terminated employees for a period of time. This coverage is typically paid for by the ex-employee but at group rates.
Co-payment - This is a health insurance term for how the portion you pay for a visit or procedure. After your co-payment and deductible the insurance company covers the rest of the bill.
Fee for Service - This is the type of health Insurance that allows you to select any Doctor and pays for some agreed percentage of "reasonable and customary" fees. You then end up paying the difference.
H,M.O. - "HMOs" are created to deliver complete health coverage for a predetermined fee. Although insurance price quotes for these organizations generally call for you to use their MD's and hospitals thus restricting your selection.
P.P.O. - "Preferred Provider Organizations" are networks of doctors who charge on a fee for service basis but typically at a discount pre-negotiated by the insurance company. Thus insurance companies will usually pay a larger share of your bill if you go to one of their "preferred providers."
Life Insurance Price Quotes Terminology:
Annuity - Annuities are policies that pay while the insured is alive for a specified period of time. They are typically offered by Life insurance companies as a vehicle to supplement retirement or disability.
Term Life - Term life is life insurance in effect only for a specified period (term) of time. If death occurs during this period, the insurance is paid. If not, the coverage must be renewed or it expires.
Universal Life - A Life policy connected to an investment account and market rates. The benefits are not set but change based on the returns achieved. Thus insurance quotes for these policies need to be flexible.
Whole Life - A policy based on a fixed rate of return and with pre-determined premium that build cash value while the policy is in force. The insurance benefit is fixed as well.
Undertsanding insurance price quote terminology is your best preparation for obtaining insurance price quotes that make sense and that meet your needs. You are able to ask the right questions of agents and insurance companies giving you quotes, and you will be able to compare apples to apples when evaluating multiple insurance quotes and policies. Now that you're ready to request quotes you will find companies ready to quote insurance rates right on line. A good place to start is to scroll back up to the top of this page for a short list of reputable companies ready to give you fast and competitive quotes.
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