Pay Less For Business Insurance & Keep Your Broker Honest

After 20 years as a commercial insurance broker who worked for five separate companies in the industry, I've seen a lot. And much of what I've seen is prospective clients overpaying for their commercial insurance.

Yes, there are a many great brokers out there, and you may even consider yours a friend who's looking out for you and your business. But there are also many unscrupulous ones who are just waiting to take advantage of the business owner who does not have the time or knowledge to figure out if their broker is doing a good job and if they are getting the best price.

Another dilemma business owners face when dealing with their long-time insurance broker is one of complacence. The broker has become comfortable and may even have gotten a bit lazy just counting on your renewal.

There is an initial benchmark that can indicate whether or not your broker is looking out for you: communication.
In fact, my clients often ask, ?How often should my broker and I communicate on matters other than premium payment??

Here's my answer: For most commercial insurance accounts spending over $100,000 of annual premium, and not including calls for claim activity or renewal updates, your broker should personally contact you no fewer than four times a year.

The more contact you have means the greater and more solid understanding your broker has of your business. And that means your broker can convey your business in the best light to an underwriter, which usually results in the lowest cost of risk. Depending on the size of your account, your broker should also be giving you written account activity updates about your account several times a year?quarterly or monthly if you have a larger account.

Bottom line: the more contact you have with your broker the better.

In addition, if you're a savvy insurance buyer, you'll speak regularly to your broker to give updates on the state of your company and changes in your business so your broker can be aware of what may need to change in your insurance coverages.

One method to knowing if you are getting the best deal is to shop your current broker with one or more other brokers or carriers. But even though this method will save you money, there are right and wrong ways to doing it. If you don?t know all the secrets about how the process works, you won?t know if you've gotten the best deal possible.

Read More

A Mortgage Broker Can Be Your Best Friend

That is right. A mortgage broker can be your best friend, or sad but true, your worst nightmare. Some people have not had a positive experience with a mortgage broker, it is a true fact. But so often a negative experience can be avoided. It is a matter of truly understanding what you need, and what you can afford before going to the mortgage broker to obtain it.

In many instances where the mortgage broker did become a nightmare, it was able to be tracked back to poor communication between the person looking for a loan and the broker. Good communication between you and your broker is a must at all times during the process. A completely understood set of parameters between you and your mortgage broker before he moves forward into finding you a loan is essential to success for both of you. Do everything you can to communicate openly and honestly ?with yourself and with your broker.

One has to keep in mind that the mortgage broker has the job of finding the right loan for you. And sometimes when he is finding the precise loan that truly will work for you, it requires that you sit down at the table, take a deep breath and honestly review all that he has presented to make sure you will be able to keep the commitments that he has laid out. If you look at the potential loan that the mortgage broker has presented with a brutally honest prediction factor of your own future, then you should have no trouble knowing if the loan is right for you. Don?t let your own desire cloud your own good judgment.

And if you cannot, with certain confidence, maintain that loan as it is written. Tell the mortgage broker. Let him know before you sign the papers and find yourself in the soup in the months or years to come. If he is truly operating in your best interest, then he will take that offer back to the lender and review the terms, rework the prices and bring you a better offer. If he can?t get a better offer with that lender, and if he is any good at all as a mortgage broker, then he will shop around for a different lender who truly can give you a loan that you, with good conscience, can uphold.

The mortgage broker is there to work for your best interest. He is there to make sure you get a loan that works for you for the long term. The mortgage broker has the job of presenting your case to the potential lender and finding an arrangement that will work for both you and the lender.

Remember to empower him with all the right information so he can empower you with an excellent loan. You will end up with a mortgage broker who actually is your best friend if you do! Don?t be surprised if you even invite him to dinner, just to say thanks!

Read More

Forex ? Trading Terminology Explained

Whenever a new discipline is undertaken, one of the most basic factors for success is familiarity with the terms utilized by those practicing in that area. Trading in the foreign exchange (FOREX) market is no exception. This article will help new traders understand some of the terminology common in the FOREX market.

While this is not intended to serve as a complete glossary for all the various terms to be encountered in the world of FOREX, the selected terms below commonly recur in the trading sector. In the process of studying them, one should commit the concepts and their meaning to memory so that efficiency will increase as trading activities increase. Although not difficult to comprehend, the terms must become thoroughly familiar so as to help developed a strong foundation for a never-ending education in trading the FOREX.

Pips
In a previous article, this author explained in depth the term ?pip?. Without reiterating here the full explanation, suffice it to say that a pip is the unit of measurement representing the smallest movement in the price of a currency. Gaining pips is the goal of every FOREX traders, as these units inherently indicate value.

Spike
Important news releases, such as the U.S. Non-farm Payroll Report (NFP), typically cause the price in the affected currency pairs to suddenly increase or decrease. Referred to as a 'spike?, this rapid price movement can take place in a split second and span a range of 50 to 100 pips in one direction. The occurrence of the spike gives traders a quick and rather unique opportunity to make substantial investment returns in a very short period of time when properly approached.

Retracement
There is a tremendous tendency for volatility in the FOREX. Retracement is the change in the direction of currency price against an established trend. It is often, but not necessarily, associated with rapid movements in the price, such as that which occurs during a news release, where the price first spikes in one direction and then retreats. This change can occur without even a moment's notice. Conversely, the reversal could be gradual, taking place over minutes or even hours.

Stopped Out
As a matter of proper risk management, a trader will utilize a stop loss to limit losses in the event the price moves unfavorably against the trader's position. The position is said to be 'stopped out? and, consequently, closed down if the stop loss trigger is hit, as previously determined by the trader.

Slippage
After submitting a limit order to be filled at a future price level, a trader may experience 'slippage?, which occurs when the broker cannot fill the order at the requested price, but instead at the first available price. Most of the time, this works to the trader's disadvantage by reducing the number of potential pips a trader might gain if the order had been filled at the price requested. Slippage is most likely to occur during a news trading event where the market tends to move rapidly. A few brokers will allow the trader to limit or avoid slippage by manipulating certain user preferences in the controls of the trading platform prior to attempting the trade.

Sandy Robinson, J.D., Copyright 2007

Read More

Shop Around For The Best Mortgage Interest Rate

If you are currently on the market for a new home, or you are looking to refinance your current mortgage, one of the most important things to you when shopping around for a home loan will be the mortgage interest rate.

Of course you will want your mortgage interest rate to be as low as possible, so take some time to shop around for the best deal.

Shopping around for the best mortgage interest rate is very important because you want to go with the best deal possible. Don?t just settle for the first lender you come across and go with whatever rate they may offer you.

By shopping around you can compare rates and products. The difference in one percentage point on an interest rate can mean thousands of dollars in savings over the course of a thirty-year mortgage.

Think of shopping around for a mortgage the same as shopping around for a new car.

When you are on the market for a new car, you visit two or three car dealerships, you speak with a few different sales people, you test drive a few different cars, than make your decision on the best car at the best price.

Treat the concept of shopping for a mortgage the same as you would if you were shopping for a car.

The mortgage industry is a very competitive one, and the mortgage companies are all too happy to compete for your business. The last thing a mortgage company wants is for you to give your business to their competition.

When shopping around, let the mortgage brokers or loan officers you are dealing with know that you are shopping around. By supplying them with this knowledge, they will understand the importance of coming back at you with the best deal they have to offer to make sure they secure your business.

Once you have a handful of loan officers make you their best offer, give your consideration to the one with the best rate and to the scenario that sounds the most reasonable.

Remember, once an offer is made to you, ask to see all of the particulars in writing. A verbal offer may sound great to you, but without the paperwork to back it up, it is worthless.

Read More

Playing Resistance Levels With Better Trades

I have been on traveling a lot recently, and it is amazing to me what people are saying about the stock market. Most reply, wow this is not a good time to be in the market while I am thinking "what an INCREDIBLE time to be in the market"!

If you stick to the basics, looking for good companies at support or resistance, that the odds of the trade working are so much better. However, a stock testing resistance and not being able to break through it seems like such an incredible play in uncertain times like today's market. Even if the market goes up, this stock already did. So when it doubt, looking for stocks that really have a chance of falling is always a good choice when selecting a play.

It is simple to learn how the downside works, whether you decide to sell stock short, buy puts, or write covered calls. Once you have learned the upside plays, learning the downside will only take about 10% of the effort to learn because you already know so much. The sad thing is that most people are missing the best money in the stock market if they are not playing the downside. Falling stocks mean FAST PROFITS! Who could ask for anything more?

A big secret to playing a trade, when you are not quite sure of the market direction, is to set alarms (bracket trade). I set alarms in my REAL TIME MARKETS that go to my cell phone and my computer. These alarms are real time and come to me instantly, which is critical. It takes my broker a few minutes to call me when I set them with him. The alarms allow me to follow my plan, and not have to worry in between. The alarms also give me TIME FREEDOM and I don't have to watch real time charts, which most of the time get you out at the wrong times. If you set the alarms, make sure you have one set to get you out immediately if a trade goes against you, but you can check first to see if the stock is just kissing good-bye a price and heading the right direction before you get out. You can find REAL TIME MARKETS on my home page. Just one trade will be worth the fee for the whole year!

Looking at the statistics that may give us some direction of what the market is possibly going to do is the Put-Call ratio, the VIX Index and the Commercial Traders.
1. As of last week the Commercial Traders increased their shorts from 4.8% to 5.2%. This means they were 4.8% more short than long in the now they increased their shorts another .4% from the week before indicating a bottom is not yet formed in the market. 2. The put call ratio has tested the high of a soft resistance but has a lot more to go to test the lows we saw this last two years. This is a second confirmation that the bottom is not yet hit. 3. The VIX index is the same situation, it tapped almost 40 - a soft resistance, but a market close price of 50 is a more serious number that called that last two market bottoms. This makes a third confirmation of a bottom not being reached in this last pullback.

Based on these we might consolidate and head up some, but it seems like we have some bearish movement due us to get to a serious bottom still.

In my LEAPS class I teach you some bearish trading - as a matter of fact, I teach you when you write covered calls how you can make money twice when you are falling versus just once - along with how to insure a stock or an entire portfolio. Would it be wonderful to trade with peace of mind in any market? You bet it would.

Darlene Nelson with BetterTrades

Read More

Playing Resistance Levels With Better Trades

I have been on traveling a lot recently, and it is amazing to me what people are saying about the stock market. Most reply, wow this is not a good time to be in the market while I am thinking "what an INCREDIBLE time to be in the market"!

If you stick to the basics, looking for good companies at support or resistance, that the odds of the trade working are so much better. However, a stock testing resistance and not being able to break through it seems like such an incredible play in uncertain times like today's market. Even if the market goes up, this stock already did. So when it doubt, looking for stocks that really have a chance of falling is always a good choice when selecting a play.



It is simple to learn how the downside works, whether you decide to sell stock short, buy puts, or write covered calls. Once you have learned the upside plays, learning the downside will only take about 10% of the effort to learn because you already know so much. The sad thing is that most people are missing the best money in the stock market if they are not playing the downside. Falling stocks mean FAST PROFITS! Who could ask for anything more?

A big secret to playing a trade, when you are not quite sure of the market direction, is to set alarms (bracket trade). I set alarms in my REAL TIME MARKETS that go to my cell phone and my computer. These alarms are real time and come to me instantly, which is critical. It takes my broker a few minutes to call me when I set them with him. The alarms allow me to follow my plan, and not have to worry in between. The alarms also give me TIME FREEDOM and I don't have to watch real time charts, which most of the time get you out at the wrong times. If you set the alarms, make sure you have one set to get you out immediately if a trade goes against you, but you can check first to see if the stock is just kissing good-bye a price and heading the right direction before you get out. You can find REAL TIME MARKETS on my home page. Just one trade will be worth the fee for the whole year!

Looking at the statistics that may give us some direction of what the market is possibly going to do is the Put-Call ratio, the VIX Index and the Commercial Traders.
1. As of last week the Commercial Traders increased their shorts from 4.8% to 5.2%. This means they were 4.8% more short than long in the now they increased their shorts another .4% from the week before indicating a bottom is not yet formed in the market. 2. The put call ratio has tested the high of a soft resistance but has a lot more to go to test the lows we saw this last two years. This is a second confirmation that the bottom is not yet hit. 3. The VIX index is the same situation, it tapped almost 40 - a soft resistance, but a market close price of 50 is a more serious number that called that last two market bottoms. This makes a third confirmation of a bottom not being reached in this last pullback.

Based on these we might consolidate and head up some, but it seems like we have some bearish movement due us to get to a serious bottom still.

In my LEAPS class I teach you some bearish trading - as a matter of fact, I teach you when you write covered calls how you can make money twice when you are falling versus just once - along with how to insure a stock or an entire portfolio. Would it be wonderful to trade with peace of mind in any market? You bet it would.

Darlene Nelson with BetterTrades

Next article: How To Become A Successful Stock Trader?

Previous article: Liability Insurance - A Policy for Responsibility

Read More