Types Of Insurance

Hey people, today im going to write a few words about insurance. 

There are different types of insurance. Some types of insurance are required by law(such as vehicle insurance), while the others are voluntary.

There are certain situations when some institutions demand that you have insurance in order get credit, travel abroad, take car on lease and so on. The most common types of insurance (in no particular order) are:


- Property insurance, (buildings, equipment, houses and possessions),which provides protection against most risks, such as fire, theft or damage caused by weather or flood.

- Car insurance which provides protection against damage to your car resulting from theft or accident

- Insurance against accidents, securing people in case of unexpected events while performing their regular work, or during free time, ensuring the payment of pre-agreed amount of money in the event of disability or death of the insured person.

- Voluntary health insurance that covers medical expenses, or provide payment of all or part of the agreed sum insured if there is a serious illness or surgery.


- Life insurance provides benefits for the  family of the deceased or another designated beneficiary. There are two basic types of life insurance: insurance against death and a mixed insurance (insurance which provides life insurance with savings features).

- Annuity insurance, which provides payments in advance of the contracted amount of money continuously, immediately after a single premium payment or after the contract period.

Some insurance policies (eg, insurance against accident, life, health insurance) may be group or individual.


Group insurance is usually offered through employers or organizations (eg, travel agencies, banks). All employees or members eligible for insurance may participate in group policy, regardless of age or physical condition. The premium for group insurance is calculated based on the characteristics of the group as a whole, such as average age and degree of job risk. It is usually cheaper than individual insurance.


If you can not access group insurance, consider buying individual insurance. Unlike group insurance, buying individual insurance is done directly from insurance companies or through agents or intermediaries.

The degree of risk determines whether you qualify for and how much insurance will cost you.

There are many kinds of products for each type of insurance. They offer different levels of protection and price vary considerably. It pays to investigate different insurance offers not only due to the cost of insurance, but also because of the level and scope of insurance coverage that you need.

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15 years of .mp3 format

Yup, 15 years have passed! Cool, huh?
Patented in 1987, but it was named ".mp3" in 1995.

.mp3 was developed in institute "Fraunhofer" in Erlangen, Germany. There, the scientists were looking for best compression alogorithm, and the song used in experiments was Suzanne Vega - Tom's diner. :)

The idea was to separate and compress only parts of the song that can be registered by human ear. (Because every song has a lot of frequencies that can not be registered) Using this metod, thay "tricked" the ear by only playing registerable parts thus reducing the size to only 10% of the original size.

The name was given in a poll!

First .mp3 player was made in 1994, and when it was made, all major electronics manufacturers belived that it was too complicated and that will never catch on... Oh my, what a mistake...

In 1995, poll was taken among employees in order to name this extension... The original name was (and still is) ISO MPEG Audio layer 3, but it was too long and complex, so they came up with name ".mp3".

So for listentng to our favorite music in mp3, we need to thank "zee Germans"!

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Fun and mostly useless facts - part 2

Its trivia time! This time mainly about science and super bowl!

- A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.

- Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.

- Ten per cent of the salt mined in the world each year is used to de-ice the roads in America.

- The Chinese were using aluminum to make things as early as 300 AD Western civilization didn't rediscover aluminum until 1827.

- The only rock that floats in water is pumice.

- As of 2006, the cost of a 30-second commercial on average is $2.5 million. The first famous Super Bowl commercial was a 1974 ad for Noxzema featuring Super Bowl legend Joe Namath.

- No network footage exists of Super Bowl I. It was taped over, supposedly for a soap opera.

- Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving.

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Stock or Bonds in 2011? That’s The Wrong Question

I found this very informative text, so i tought to share it with you. It is written by Charlie Farrell, well known investment advisor.

"If you’re wondering whether you should invest in stocks or bonds in 2011, that’s like wondering if you should breathe air or drink water in 2011. Stocks and bonds are as different as air and water. It’s not one or the other, it’s both, and that seems to be a point that most investors still don’t understand.

I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve read suggesting that investors load up on stocks and dump bonds this year. They approach the stock vs. bond question as if it’s only an issue of which will provide the better return in 2011. That’s not the way to analyze these two options.

First, there’s no proof that any market strategist can consistently predict market returns each year. Yes, ask 1,000 analysts, and someone is bound to be close for the year on stock and bond market returns. But you can’t find one who gets it correct each year. So why would you load up on stocks or bonds based on what one of these strategists thinks? They’re just guessing, and if they’re wrong, which they usually are, then you have to live with the consequences.

Second, on average, stocks should do better than bonds in any given year. Why, because stocks are riskier and investors should be rewarded over the long term for taking on that risk. So predicting stocks should do better than bonds is nothing more than predicting what should happen.

But here’s the problem. Stock returns are not guaranteed. That’s why they’re risky. If stock market returns of 10% were guaranteed, then of course there would be no reason to have bonds; nobody would buy them. The reason prudent investors use high-quality bonds is to hedge against the possibility that stocks might go down in value for periods longer than anticipated.

For bonds, let’s just look at the safest type of bond you can buy, which is a US Treasury bond. If you buy a 10 Year US Treasury bond today, you’re guaranteed to receive about 3.35% interest each year for 10 years and then you get all of your money back. Don’t expect anything more.

Compare that to stocks. If you invest in stocks today, you’re guaranteed return for the next 10 years is what? There isn’t one, and that’s the point. If you load the boat on stocks, you don’t have any idea what your retirement plan will be worth in the future. For individuals, there’s a value in having some portion of your retirement money in guaranteed investments (bonds).

This is especially true as you get closer to retirement. While the odds are in your favor with stocks (as they always are), you don’t get to invest in 1,000 historical cycles and then pick the average cycle for your returns. You get one cycle, and that’s why you should consider always holding some high-quality bonds.

For a sober reminder about stock market returns, consider for the last 10 years the US stock market has gone down in value. Bummer, the odds are that’s not supposed to happen. Then consider that the Japanese stock market has been going down for 20 years. It has gone from about 39,000 to 11,000 over those two decades. Ooops, the odds are that’s really not supposed to happen.
The reason to look at Japan is to understand that major, sophisticated stock markets can decline in price for decades. That’s all you really need to know about the risk.

A healthier way to view the stock vs. bond debate is to think of them like air and water. You need both at the same time, all the time. A balance between stocks and high-quality bonds serves as the fundamental building block for a prudent retirement portfolio.
Now, the bond market is very big and complex. But for individual investors, there are simple ways to invest in safe fixed income securities. You can use either individual US Treasury bonds or FDIC insured CDs. If you start to venture into other areas, like high-yield (meaning junk bonds) or emerging market debt, then you’re introducing bigger risks that you won’t be paid back and thus are defeating the purpose of owning the bonds. If you’re not sure how to invest in safe bonds, then look to get some help.

If I were you, I would ignore the push to abandon bonds or load-up on stocks in any given year, and figure out for yourself what percentage of your money you want guaranteed and what percentage you want to risk in equities. Then stick with that allocation through all market cycles.

Bottom line. Stocks and high-quality bonds aren’t substitute investments. You should consider having some of your money in each asset class every year."

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Want To Become A Stockbroker?

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Financial Calculator
• Wall Street Journal
• Men's Suits
• Paper And Pencils
• Brokerage Accounts

1. • 1
     Begin to prepare for your career in high school by taking courses in math, economics and business. And with even a small starting sum, you can manage your own stock portfolio (in a parent's name if you are under 18) to learn about different investments and their return.
   • 2
     Join an investment club, which compares different investment opportunities, analyzes results and jointly invests its funds.
   • 3
     Go to college. Most brokers are college graduates with a degree in finance, economics or business.
   • 4
     Pass the General Securities Registered Representative Examination (Series 7 exam), administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers. Most states also require the Uniform Securities Agents State Law Examination (Series 63 exam) and the Uniform Investment Advisor Law Exam (Series 65 exam).
   • 5
     Take advantage of on-the-job training, offered by most brokerage firms, to prepare for the above exams, a process that takes four to six months. Upon passing the required exams, a broker becomes a registered representative of his or her sponsoring firm.
   • 6
     Expect a competitive work environment after being hired. Firms often hire a plethora of recent college graduates with the expectation that a large percentage will 'wash out' during the grueling early months of training and building a clientèle.
   • 7
     Emphasize your studies and work experience (if any) in finance, economics and/or business when writing your resumé. A professional, aggressive image is crucial at the interview, where prospective employers will be evaluating your tenacity along with your business savvy.

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