Archive for December, 2011
6 Steps to Improving Your Credit Score
It is undeniable – we are facing some hard economic times. In these times it is imperative that you keep your credit score as high as possible if you have any goals of buying a house or a car or anything else that will require lending. There are 6 key steps that you should strive to take in order to ensure the best credit score possible.
1. Reduce your open credit card utilization as much as possible
This may be the most important factor of all in boosting your score. If your credit cards are maxed out, you will be viewed as a high risk by many lenders. Strive to keep your utilization below 20% – if you’re already there, great! If not, put every extra cent you have towards reducing your utilization.
2. Make sure to pay all of your bills on time
This one is a no-brainer. If you establish a good history of on time payments, lenders will view you as having less risk and more credit worthy. Late payments can retain on your credit report for 7-10 years, so make sure that you keep up with the due dates!
3. Don’t close your old accounts!
Another important factor to your credit score is the average age of your accounts. By keeping an old card open that you don’t use, you add history to your report. If you were to go and close this account, your average history would be reduced thus decreasing your score.
4. Have a good variety and number of open accounts
This tip does not carry as much weight as some of the others mentioned above, but is also important. By carrying a mix of revolving (credit card) and installment (student loan, car loan) loans and paying them on time, you show that you are able to maintain responsibility which will increase your credit score.
Effective Ways to Reduce Workers’ Compensation Claims and Related Costs
Workers’ compensation insurance safeguards the employees, injured in the course of employment. In many states of US, it is a mandatory policy and is required by every company with employees.
Despite of all the preventive measures, instances of workplace injuries are increasing every year, forcing the business owners to spend huge amounts on compensation claims. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nearly 3.1 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported among private industry employers in 2010.
Hence, it is necessary for every employer to implement effective safety measures, not only to reduce compensation claims, but also to improve workplace safety and employee security.
Employing a comprehensive program, tailored to suit the organization’s specific needs and goals, helps the organization decrease the frequency as well as the severity of injuries at workplace. Following are few ways that can help you in establishing a risk free workplace, which further aid in reducing workers’ compensation claims and related costs.
Implement risk controlling measures
Employees working in industries, manufacturing plants, construction sites, etc., are often prone to on-job injuries and accidents. Working with heavy equipment using hazardous material raises employee safety concerns. Hence, every employer needs to follow a series of steps to improve workplace safety. These steps include – risk identification, risk assessment and risk control.
• Risk identification is identifying the possible hazard/risk. A hazard is anything that could hurt the employee or any other third party. For example, damaged or frayed electric cables are potential sources of accidents at workplaces.
• Risk assessment involves finding of all the potential outcomes of identified risks/hazards and the seriousness of the damage they could cause. In the above mentioned example, frayed electric cables, the harm could be an electrical shock.
Six Mistakes to Avoid in a Workers’ Compensation Deposition
The insurance company lawyer is taking your deposition because you filed a Virginia Workers’ Compensation claim. You claim you were injured on the job and you wish compensation and medical coverage. The insurance company lawyer hopes to trap you in a mistake that will cost you your case. There are Six (6) mistakes you should avoid in your deposition.
1. Don’t lie you must tell the truth. It is mistake to think you can get away with lying in your deposition. You need to be truthful about what happened to you. Remember your testimony in a deposition is under oath. Anything you say can and will be used against you are the hearing by the other side.
2. Don’t guess. If you do not know an answer then just say you do not know the answer to a question. This is especially true about distances and measurements of any kind.
3. Don’t fail to prepare. You need to review your medical history. You need to review what you have said on medical reports about your injury, accident reports about your injury, and recorded statements about your injury given to the claims adjuster. If a doctor did not take down a history of your injury, you will have to explain this omission.
4. Don’t fail to listen to the question. You are only required to answer the question. It is not a time to be making speeches. If you don’t understand the question ask for it to be repeated. Try to give truthful concise answers to every question.
5. Don’t fail to review Interrogatory Answers. If Interrogatory Answers have been already prepared and filed, you need to review them with your lawyer before the deposition. To the extent you can, you need to be consistent with any prior answers you have given.
Sometimes Financial Advisors Growth Is At The Expense Of Their Clients – A Marketing Fable
Once upon a time, in a town not far away… there was a little general store. It was a nice little store, full of things that you need every day, like bread and butter and soap and potatoes. It also had things you don’t need very often such as glue and seed and axes but were appreciated by the customers.
The best part about the store was the very nice people behind the counter, Mr and Mrs Chumly. Whenever I went in, they would always say “Hello, how are you today Timmy?” It didn’t matter who came in, they always knew who they were and said hello to them by name.
Outside the store was a petrol pump and cans of oil. When Dad needed petrol, he would stop for a while and chat to Mr Chumly. Whenever I had to go there for Mum, she would give me a list of the things she needed for the week. I would hand Mr Chumly the list and he would walk around behind the counter picking each item off the shelves.
He knew us quite well, because sometimes he would say things like “The list just says ‘soap’, but not what kind. It’s lucky I know that ‘Skin-off’ is her favourite, so I’ll give her that one” or at another times he would say “Your mum’s having another baby next week, so I’ll add some extra tins of food so you can look after yourselves while she recovers.” He never had a very big range of things, but always seemed to have the ones we needed. Mum and Dad would run out of money sometimes, so Mr Chumly let them ‘book-it-up’ until they could pay for it. He even sent us a Christmas card each year.
How to Cut the Cost of Your Small Business Insurance
Every business owner strives to reduce expenses as much as possible, as a firm’s profit is simply the amount of money left over after expenses are added up and the total is subtracted from the company’s income. This is true in all kinds of economic conditions, and applies to every category of business. However, it’s even more important for the owners of small businesses, especially in difficult economic times. If a small business owner wants his company to survive and prosper, he must reduce his expenses wherever he can. One area every small business owner should consider for cost reduction is insurance. Too many people simply pay their insurance bill every month without stopping to consider if there’s any way to lower their premium.
The good news is that there are actually many ways to lower the cost of small business insurance. Of course, coverage will vary from company to company, and firms in high risk industries, or high crime areas, will naturally pay more than firms which don’t face the same hazards, but generally speaking, almost every business person could be paying less than their current premium for insurance. How? Well, there are four ways to substantially reduce the cost of small business insurance. Let’s look at them.
First, the business owner can improve safety in the workplace. This might mean hiring a professional inspector to conduct a safety audit, but the expense is well worth it if it leads to reduced insurance premiums. The average person doesn’t have the expertise to spot many hidden or less well known safety hazards; calling in a professional who does have these skills can pay off substantially. A person should get a safety audit done, make all recommended changes, and then notify the insurance agent of the changes and ask for a reduced premium.