When you purchase homeowners insurance, one of the factors in your policy is the replacement cost – what the insurance company will pay to rebuild your home if it is completely destroyed. What you may not know is that your insurer may not pay if your insurance isn’t equal to at least 80% of that cost.

Your insurance company will use a combination of the information provided on your home appraisal and current market research in order to determine what your replacement cost is, but there are a few other things you should know about this part of your insurance:

1. Costs Change: As the cost of construction supplies fluctuates, so, too does the cost of rebuilding your home. For this reason, it’s a good idea to request an updated estimate every three or four years, and adjust your coverage if necessary.
2. Rebuilding is not the Same as Buying New: Don’t assume that the going price of new homes in your neighborhood is a good indicator of the cost to rebuild a home. There are several factors that go into rebuilding costs, including the existing infrastructure, the cost of supplies and equipment, and whether or not there are government subsidies in play.
3. Insurers Aren’t Always Right: While the analysts at insurance companies are often pretty rigid when it comes to replacement cost estimates, they’re not always right. If your house has custom features or other characteristics that make it unique, do your own research and present your findings to your insurer. They may increase their estimate.
4. Older Homes Cost More: Most of the time, older houses cost more to rebuild than newer ones, especially if they’re over fifty years old. Partly, this is because of changes in construction materials, but also it’s because older homes tend to have a lot more customization. To offset this expense, you may be able to use a “functional replacement cost” endorsement, which will specify that your home will be rebuilt to the specifications of a newer home.

The bottom line is this: it costs money to rebuild a home, and you want to make sure that money comes from your insurance company, and not your pocket. If you believe the insurer is underestimating the cost to replace your home, you have to get involved.

We all have emergencies crop up from time to time – things like unexpected car repairs, or unplanned travel – and some of those things may require a hefty amount of cash. Where can you find it? Well, if you have a life insurance policy with a cash value, you may be able to borrow against it for fast funds with low interest. How do you do that? Here are some tips:

1. Review your policy to estimate the cash value. Most likely, this information will actually be on your most recent annual statement. Whatever the value is, you should assume that you can’t take more than 90% of it.
2. Make a note of the contract number on the title page of your policy or on your statement, and then call your insurer’s office during regular business hours. Be aware that insurance companies typically have hours from 8:30am – 4:30pm, and not from 8-5.
3. Speak with an agent or customer service representative about what your exact cash value is, and how much of it you may borrow, then go through whatever question-and-answer session or application they require.
4. In most cases two things will happen:
   1. Your premium will be increased by the amount of your required loan payments.
   2. You will receive a paper check, not a wire or electronic transfer. Your signature on the check will signify your acceptance of the loan terms.

Remember that not every life insurance policy allows you to borrow against it, so be sure to check on your policy. If you’re shopping for life insurance, and foresee the need to borrow as a possibility, make sure that feature exists before you commit to the policy at all.

Whether you’re applying for life insurance, getting your annual flu vaccine, or just having a physical, it is inevitable that you will have to survive being stuck with a needle. If the very thought makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone – many people are squeamish about needles. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to stay relaxed during a blood draw or vaccination. These tips were inspired by the folks at Lab Tests Online:

• Breathe in, breathe out: Begin by taking three slow breaths through your nose. Release your breath through your mouth, taking a count of six to do so. Be sure that when you breathe your posture is good, and you’re breathing into your abdomen rather than your chest. (You should feel the breaths all the way to your diaphragm.)
• Practice a little self-hypnosis: Hypnosis is really just a relaxation technique. To do this, visualize every muscle in your body, beginning with your toes. Mentally instruct the muscles to relax, and let tension ease away.
• Have a Conversation: Most insurance examiners and blood lab technicians are accustomed to people being uncomfortable with needles. Let them know about your nervousness, when you get there, and keep chatting with them while they work. If nothing else, it will distract you from the actual needle stick.
• Don’t Look: Most of the time, it’s not the actual injection or blood draw that bothers us, but the anticipation that it might hurt. An easy trick is to focus on something on the other side of the room, but looking anywhere except the tech will usually work. If you have to, you can even close your eyes.

Needle sticks are a necessary part of life, and of life insurance and health insurance. By staying relaxed you can make them easier for you and for the person providing your vaccination or doing your blood draw.

If you’re like many people, your health plan is one of the benefits of your job. You may not have a lot of choice about which insurance company to use with such a plan, but there are still ways to maximize the coverage your employer provides, and save yourself some cash – an important opportunity when even corporate health insurance plans are getting more and more expensive.

• Pick your plan carefully. When you first enroll in the employee benefits program, or when there’s an open enrollment that allows you to tweak your coverage, you’ll probably be able to chose between different providers and levels of coverage. Be sure to analyze the different deductibles, co-payments, caps on out-of-pocket expenses, whether or not there’s prescription coverage, and what the lifetime maximum benefits are. Make your decision based on all of these factors, and on what your access to quality care will be.
• Take a good look at what your medical needs really are. If you’re a single person in excellent health, go for lower deductibles and higher co-payments. If you have chronic health issues (like asthma, allergies, or diabetes) or children, choosing lower co-payments might be easier on your finances, even if that means a higher deductible.
• Consider a flexible spending account. Flexible spending accounts are sort of like savings accounts that are designated for health care, but the money is pulled from your paycheck before taxes are taken out. You can use them to pay any number of health-care expenses, from eyeglasses or contact lenses to chiropractic care, but the catch is that any money you haven’t used by the end of the year is considered forfeit.

These are just a few of the ways you can get more out of your corporate health insurance. Your company may also offer health incentives that improve your physical condition and will help you save money on health insurance, albeit indirectly.