There are several tips to ensure that an car insurance claim is filed properly. Not every accident warrants a claim so it is good to know the basics if an accident should ever occur.
When an accident happens and people are injured the police should be contacted. In addition, there are provincial limits that require the presence of the police. An example would be a $1,000 limit in Ontario.
To ensure that more damage does not occur the car or cars should be moved out of the way of traffic. Then all parties involved can start collecting information for the insurance companies. That includes accident details, vehicle identification, names of all parties involved in the accident and the badges from the police officers and the emergency technicians. Pictures are also very helpful.
A driver-information exchange form can make the process a lot easier. The police officer or officers on site will have one available and it is a checklist that ensures that all information that in needed is obtained properly. Witnesses are also a part of this process and their info, like names and addresses, must be taken down too.
Both drivers must contact their car insurance companies and file a claim. The sooner that the company is contacted the better. The longer that it takes it may become more difficult. Also all information must be disclosed and if not that can lead to more problems.
The next step is to get the cars repaired. Do not get any work done on the car unless the insurance company agrees to pay for the repairs needed to get the car up and running. Repairs have to be checked upon completion and again at home. A receipt must be obtained too so that if it is needed with the insurance claim. Supplemental repairs may also be required if more damage is found so make sure that the insurance company can handle that.
The insurance company can also help to start the repairs faster with shops in the area of where the claim will be filed. It makes it an easier process to take a car to a shop that has ties with the insurance company.
Last time out, I told you what the first two things are that I will be doing now that I have steady employment again. In a moment, I will tell you what the two other things are. First though, I will reiterate that the first thing I will be doing is enroll in my employer’s investment plan, where they will be matching a certain percentage of what I will be contributing directly from my pay. The second thing on my list is to have an automatic withdrawal set up in my bank account to transfer a reasonable amount of money every two weeks directly into a tax-free saving account.
Now that I have my savings set up to start growing again without taking too much away from take home pay, I can turn my focus toward paying down the debt I amassed while I wasn’t working. In order to do this in the most efficient fashion, I must figure out which debt to pay down fastest in order to pay the least amount of interest across the board.
The three credit cards I have all have varying interest rates on them. Two of them have minimal balances while the third has a sizable balance because I transferred debt to that card for a promotional rate of 1.99%. Without divulging specific figures, let’s break it up this way. Card A and B have balances of $1000; Card C has a balance of $5000, where $2000 of that is my initial balance and the rest ($3000) is my transfer balance getting the special rate. Card A has a rate of 15%; Card B’s rate is 16%; and Card C’s rate on the initial balance is 19%. As I will continue to get the preferential rate of 1.99% for another five months and any money I put on Card C will go toward that balance and not the balance with the higher interest, it makes more sense to pay down Card B first, followed by Card A and finally Card C.
In order to do this right, I will make as large a payment as possible on Card B each month until it is paid out while I continue to make the minimum payments on the other cards.
The next thing I need to do is apply for a loan. Now, it might seem strange that I would want to borrow more money when I am already clearly in enough debt but this is no ordinary loan. It’s a magic loan! No, I’m kidding. There is obviously no such thing as a magic loan. The closest thing to it though is an RRSP loan. Now, I will go over the benefits of RRSP loans in more detail in a future post but the basics of it are that you borrow a certain amount and that amount is invested in RRSP’s. The amount is also a tax shelter. By using a calculator that is readily available online on a number of sites, I can figure out what amount borrowed will get me an amount in income tax return that I can turn around and directly pay out my loan with, or at least the majority of it. It’s like free money.
Well, that should do it. That should put me on track to making things happen for myself. Of course, every road to recovery is different but at least one of these suggestions will certainly help you get started too.
Joseph Belanger is a Toronto-based writer who blogs about film at www.blacksheepreviews.com
I know I told you already about my new job, or at least that I have one. What I may not have mentioned is that this particular job could afford me the opportunity for the first time in my life to seriously change my future. If I play things properly, I can pay out all my debt and maybe buy a place of my own within a couple of years. And with the money I have leftover, I can continue to dream so we’re good, I think.
I’ve been in this position before but I didn’t know it. I was never satisfied with what I had because I felt I wanted something more or at the very least, something different. Subsequently, in past employment situations, I did not take advantage of the opportunities I was afforded nor did I plan properly for the future. This time, I will not make those same mistakes.
The first thing I will do is go on a massive spending spree. Kidding. That would be horrible advice for a finance column. I would look great but it would still be horrible advice. No, the first thing I am going to do is get enrolled in my company’s investment plan. If you are fortunate enough to work for a reputable, successful company, you likely have a plan in place to invest in the company stock where the company will also match you a certain percentage. Last time out, I didn’t start investing in this plan until much later after I started. I didn’t think I was going to be there in the long term so I didn’t bother but it doesn’t matter. You should take advantage as soon as you can and for as long as you can. This is free money, people.
The next thing I am going to do is open a tax-free savings account. I will go into more detail on these accounts in a later posting but essentially, each individual who holds such an account can invest up to $5000 per year in stocks without having to pay any tax on the dividends earned as long as the investments come from this account. You can either do it all at once if you have that kind of money available to you or you can do what I plan to do, which is deposit a reasonable amount every time I get paid. You can likely set it up so that it gets debited directly from your account so you don’t even have to think about it.
Transparency is important here. When you set yourself up on an investment plan with your company, the money is debited directly from your pay before you are taxed on it. Yes, you will have to pay tax on it later when you decide to cash it out but hopefully the money earned on the matched investments from your employer will offset that and it won’t matter. The money you deposit in your tax-free savings account should also be debited on your pay day directly from your account. For me, this means that before I get used to a certain amount on each paycheck, I will budget for whatever amount I take home after these transactions. It’s like I never made that money but really it is sitting somewhere else getting bigger the whole time.
In part two of this column, I will continue on my path to financial fun times and I will let you in on how.
Joseph Belanger is a Toronto-based writer who blogs about film at www.blacksheepreviews.com
Writing allows for a certain amount of anonymity and that in turn affords me the opportunity to divulge all of my financial mishandlings to you. I’m sure I won’t let you in on some of the bigger blunders but I have no shame in telling you that last week, I bounced a check. Ok, maybe I feel a little shame.
It was the first time this had happened to me in years. The truth of it was that the payment that would go on to be returned was only short by less than five dollars. Regardless, my bank that I have been doing business with for years now, did not see this measly amount as something that they could let slide. Subsequently, there were penalties that needed to be paid.
My bank charged me $40 for the unholy inconvenience they suffered for having to return my payment. The other institution to which I owed the money charged me an additional $26 for what was now a late payment. That is nearly $70 in charges for a shortage of 5 bucks. I would be livid but my doctor recommends against angry tirades.
It seems to me that the people who bounce checks are those who are struggling financially. It isn’t that I think banks should reduce their fees to a mere slap on the wrist for these clients but those that are struggling will certainly continue to struggle as long as they have to pay these kinds of fees. If they couldn’t afford the payment, how does the bank expect them to cover another 70 bucks?
As I mentioned before, it wasn’t the first time I ever bounced a check but it was the first time I bounced one since I began working in the banking industry. I figured I could no longer allow ignorance to continue being my bliss and so I did some investigation into the consequences of bouncing checks. What I discovered is that I already suffered those.
The fees that the banks charge are the most severe consequences of bouncing checks, assuming you are not making a habit out of it. They are not reported to your credit bureau. That said, your bank itself does keep a record of how many times you bounce a check. This could make it difficult for you when it comes time to ask your bank for financing. If you asked for financing at another bank though, they would not know your NSF (insufficient funds) history unless you gave them permission to ask your bank.
The other danger that you risk is that the company or bank that you were supposed to pay can and quite likely will report your late payment to the credit bureau. If it happens often enough, they may even refuse to accept checks or automatic withdrawals as a method of payment from you.
The best way to avoid bounced checks is to attach a credit card or a line of credit to your bank account as an overdraft protection. You could also just apply for an overdraft protection account. There are fees for using the overdraft but they are minimal in comparison to the NSF fees. Trust me; they are teeny tiny in comparison and so worth it!
Note about the author:
Joseph Belanger is a Toronto-based writer who blogs about film at www.blacksheepreviews.com
I’ve been telling everyone this lately but I’m not sure if I mentioned this to you. I probably did but regardless, I just got a new job. I was flown out to Calgary for training, put up at some moderately reasonable hotel and I have been learning the ropes ever since. The one thing that hasn’t happened yet with this new job is that I still have yet to get paid. My not having had an income for the last few months makes this somewhat problematic.
The truth of it is, I am going to get paid next Thursday. When that happens, I will try my hardest not to hit the shops but that’s not the point here. The point I’m trying to get at here is how I am going to make it from now until then without any money in the bank.
Have you ever heard of a payday loan? It sounds sketchy, I admit. I will also admit to never having applied for one so I cannot attest to the actual experience, which I’m sure varies from one institution to the next. Now, when I use the word, “institution”, please note that I am not referring to a bank. Chartered banks do not offer payday loans as short-term bailouts are not the least bit profitable to banks. If you want a payday loan, you will need to go to what I can only think to describe as a money store such as the following:
I call it a store because you are effectively buying money in addition to borrowing it. A payday loan ordinarily requires you to pay a certain fee just to get the loan. This fee is then added to the potentially exorbitant interest rate you would have to pay on the money borrowed. Combined, these amounts can get so high that they can almost be considered as criminal, which in Canada, is any lending that has an interest rate of over 60%.
Rates on payday loans are not as high as that but do range on average between 15% and 30%. Rates on a personal loan at a chartered bank are generally under 10%, in case you wanted to compare. From what I gathered in my online research, the way it works is you can apply for up to 50% of your regular net earnings for a two-week period. You provide a void cheque or a post-dated cheque for the amount of the loan plus applicable fees to the lender. Two weeks later, you return to pay the loan and if you don’t, the lender will either debit the account you provided or simply cash your cheque.
The interest may not look like much in the short term but it is definitely high and there are definitely alternatives to this approach. Overdraft protection on your bank account and cash advances from your credit cards both carry hefty interest rates and should not be used as frequent safety nets but will still come to less than a payday loan will. Other options are a little more humbling but, being the snob that I am, I would still sooner ask a family member for a short-term loan than walk into a money store. On that note, I need to call my mother.
Note about the author:
Joseph Belanger is a Toronto-based writer who blogs about film at www.blacksheepreviews.com
