Check Your Insurance Coverage Before The Next Storm Hits

Severe weather events are increasing. In North America, nearly twice as many hurricanes form each year compared to a century ago, and thunderstorms spawning tornadoes have produced record destruction. While the actual causes of this climate trend are still being debated, some storm victims are finding that their insurance policies do not cover every type of damage.

Many people make emergency preparations for flooding, but mistakenly assume that their homeowner's coverage will repair any loss that may follow. Unfortunately, over 75% of all buildings in high-risk areas are not protected against high water, and even a few inches covering a floor can cause thousands of dollars for repair or replacement.

To bridge this gap, the American National Flood Insurance Program was created. In conjunction with local providers, this program is designed to be an alternative to actual disaster assistance, and to simplify the repair process afterward. The program not only provides residential protection, but is also involved in local efforts to manage local floodplain runoff, as well as raising local construction standards.

By the time a flood occurs, however, buying a policy is too late. There is a thirty day interval required by the government between the time federal flood coverage is purchased, and the time it will begin to take effect. Some opt for a non-government sponsored flood plan, but for full protection it must cover 100% of the replacement cost of your home and its contents.

Your automobile policies should also be examined. When a massive tree limb crushes the roof of a car, the last thing anyone wants to hear about is a coverage gap. Storm damage is part of the comprehensive clause of an auto insurance Maryland policy, for example, and also encompasses other risks such as fire and falling objects, explosions and earthquakes, and theft.

Never assume that comprehensive coverage is included. It is optional, but may be required for new autos financed through a bank loan. Customers must also choose a deductible amount which must be paid before any repairs can be approved. Policies with higher out-of-pocket costs are lower priced overall, and the choice of deductible amounts depends largely on personal finances.

Nothing can stop a storm from wreaking havoc, but knowing the details of your own policies cuts down on worry. Bundling them reduces costs, and makes contacting an agent easier. Wait for an adjuster to visit before beginning any permanent repairs, and be extremely cautious when hiring a contractor in the wake of a disaster.

You can find more information about auto insurance Maryland requirements and tips on how to get the right MD insurance coverage, now.

How to Check If the Driver That Has Just Hit You is Insured Or Not

In the UK it isn't compulsory for a car driver to carry any ID or insurance documents. If stopped by the police, the driver has five days in which to 'produce' his details at the nearest police station. In the event of an accident drivers are meant to exchange details, but without seeing the paperwork it is difficult to know for definite if the other guy is insured or not. But now there is a way of checking if the car is insured even if you can't check on the specific driver.

Motor Insurance Database (MID)

Over the past few years the UK insurance companies have worked together to cut down on uninsured drivers and insurance fraud. One of the aims was to stop people insuring the same car with two companies, staging an accident and then making two claims. To this end they started sharing details of insurance policies and built a common database - the Motor Insurance Database (MID).

The police are now the MID's biggest customer, making over 3.8 million enquiries per month. The DVLA, with over 1 million enquiry transactions a month in support of their Electronic Vehicle Licensing operation, is the second largest user of the MID. The database is accessed when a car owner renews his road fund licence (road tax) online, as it checks both the MID and the MOT databases. The MID also helps the UK comply with the 4th EU Motor Insurance Directive, which requires that insurance details of all vehicles in member states can be easily accessed by a national information centre.

ASKMID

Members of the UK public can check to see if their car is insured, although they can't see all the details stored in the database. Go to http://www.askmid.com and enter the vehicle registration number in the box provided and tick the box to say that you are the vehicle owner.

If the car is on the database it returns the message:

YES ABC123A is on the Motor Insurance Database today

If the car is not on the database it returns the message:

WARNING ABC23A is NOT on the Motor Insurance Database today

Note the word 'today' at the end. The database is not a completely foolproof way of checking as if you have just bought a new car, or changed insurers it may take some time for the information to reach the database.

In the event of an accident

Clearly to check the database you need access to the Internet, so it is easy to do from home or work, but not so easy to do out on the road.

In the event of an accident, take the full details of the other driver. As long as he has his driving licence and insurance paperwork with him you should be fairly safe just writing down the details. If he doesn't have his paperwork, or says that he doesn't, then write down all the details including the registration number and make of model of the car. Before leaving the scene of the accident, phone home, or a friend, or someone that you know will have access to the Internet and get them to enter the registration number into askmid.com.

If the answer comes back YES then you are probably OK. If it comes back WARNING then you ought to call the police and tell them that you have been involved in an accident with a person that you think may be an uninsured driver. If you have a camera or a camera phone with you, you should take photos of the damage to both cars, the registration number and the driver. If the situation is potentially volatile, do not do anything to put yourself or your passengers at risk.

If you run a classic or sports car hire company then you should amend your instructions so that in the event of an accident, the hirer should take the other driver's details and then contact your office so that you can check the database yourself and then decide how to proceed.

Tony Merrygold
The Open Road - Classic Car Hire
http://www.theopenroad.co.uk
Expert in running a classic car hire company having been in business in the UK since 1997 running The Open Road. Tony runs courses telling people how to start up a car hire company, having trained over 100 people over the past three years.

Combining his knowledge of marketing and the classic car hire industry, in early 2008 Tony launched a new web portal Classic Car Hire World http://www.classiccarhireworld.com - listing classic and sports car hire companies around the world. Within three months of its launch this site acheived a Google PageRank of 4/10 and was showing on the first page of google.com when users searched for 'classic car hire'.

Tony also runs a sales and marketing consultancy concentrating on working with Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), helping them grow their business.

Molybdenum Mining Investing? Check with Locals, Natives First

We interviewed Adanac Molybdenum executive chairman Larry Reaugh about the dozens of junior resource companies, which now proclaim they are part of the Molybdenum Bull Market. His company appears as a potential molybdenum producer on the horizon.

Since the beginning of this year, Reaugh's company has been riding the 'moly wave.' Institutions and investors are climbing aboard as greater interest emerges in the silvery-white metal, which adds both hardness and anti-corrosive properties to everything from energy pipelines and nuclear power plant condensers to desalination plants, automotive parts and air pollution systems for coal-fired power plants.

We posed five questions to Larry Reaugh to help separate the hype from the reality of the current molybdenum mania.

StockInterview: Of all the molybdenum companies out there, how do you know which are going to become economic?

Larry Reaugh: You can really only tell once the bankable feasibility is done. The bankable really narrows down the resource itself into a reserve and that can change. It's the only thing that can tell you with any assurance that a project can move ahead and make money. You should be able to take it to the bank, and they should finance you to go into production.

StockInterview: Please explain the timeline and the process to move a moly project from the resource stage all the way through the bankable feasibility and permitting stages.

Larry Reaugh: By the time you get to the resource stage, you should already have your baseline study and your environmental permitting started. You should have already made contact with all the various levels of government and stakeholders in the area to hire a qualified engineering firm - one that has impeccable credentials to do the pre-feasibility. And also apply for your mining lease at that time. Once the pre-feasibility is done, that gives you 30 to 40 percent certainty on the project. You take the results from those and then decide to move right into the feasibility of those if it's at all positive. Eventually when you get into the bankable feasibility, then you have another 10 to 20 percent assurance that the project will bear fruit at the end of the day. A bankable feasibility gives you reserves. Once you get reserves, you can actually put a dollar number value to it. That gives you enough of a grounding to it in which to do the detailed mining That includes the mining plans for your piping, your water, your foundation layouts, your site plans. Every Nth degree of construction that's going to take place in that plant has to be put on paper. That's about a 13-month project and will cost you up to C$15 million. So, now you move it through the environmental stage. That can take up to 3.5 years.

StockInterview: Many mining projects around the world get stalled because of bad relationships with the native inhabitants. Please tell us about Adanac's relationship with the First Nation of Canada.

Larry Reaugh: If you don't have a good transparent relationship with the natives and the locals, and you don't include them all the way through, you are not going to have ease of getting your social, economic and environmental permits done. When we got involved up there, the first thing that we did was contact the local band in the area. We met with the consul, basically gave them our plans. They brought in their consultants, and as each problem came up, we worked our way through it. They became a big part of working through to the solution. They know that there's an impact benefits agreement that we will be negotiating over the next couple of months. Socially, this is a big economic boost for everybody in the area. If you can help them to raise their industry awareness in having off-spins from that mine - other industries that they can develop, then you are doing a good job of being a good corporate citizen, not just to the native groups but also to the entire area. If you don't think that way, then you are going to have problems before you get going.

StockInterview: What steps will you have to take to begin production after you get your mining permits?

Larry Reaugh: Once the environmental permits are in, it'll be construction. That will take about 18 months. That will be right from the ground up - from breaking the soil to laying the foundations to pre-stripping the pit to laying down the tailings pond and the waste dump site.

StockInterview: The molybdenum mining market is robust right now. Why should investors consider Adanac as opposed to other moly companies?

Larry Reaugh: If you go to our site, you will see that the bankable feasibility is calling for a three-year payback on a C$450 million investment. We believe that that is obtainable. The project is way ahead of its peers. I don't think there's anybody else that's breaking ground this summer on a project of this size. Here's a company that's trading at a very low market cap, which leaves a very great entry point for a mine that could be producing by the last quarter of 2008 and certainly full production by the first quarter of 2009.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. His focus on the uranium mining and nuclear fuel sector resulted in the widely popular “Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market,” which is now available on [http://www.stockinterview.com] and on http://www.amazon.com

COPYRIGHT© 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

How to Conduct a National Criminal Background Check

In conducting a research, one must be able to know about the ways on how and where to start it. The same thing applies when having a National Criminal Background Check.

The first thing to do is to know who you are looking for. In finding the right person, you must ask permit to gather as much information about him or her. Begin with a person's full name and include their aliases and nicknames. Make sure you got the right spelling. Find their addresses for the last seven years. Searching it by state is very much efficient if the person hasn't move around. It is the industry standard for professional investors. You must have at least more than two distinctive identifiers. One of which is the date of birth.

You can also use information such as Social Security number, occupation, relatives, and even one's interests and skills. It is necessary that all facts are gathered with permit. After having this, you can do an online criminal search. Some public records database providers produce comprehensive reports of data from various sources. Examples, of these data are real property records, adverse filings and driver's license records among a few. These starting point has counterpart price depending on what is being searched ranging from $ 35 - $105. They require a separate subscriber agreement and compile both public and private information of individuals including their business connections in various report formats.

To save time and money, it is important that we consider the correct spellings and avoid the lack of unique identifiers. A lot of different online sources are available to help us search as fast as possible. Though coverage may vary, the counterpart payment that is being charged is worth the time and energy that is being saved.

Nichole Green writes about background check and people search