Bradley Steffens

Homeowners Insurance and Dog Bite Liability Coverage

Nearly 40 percent of American households have at least one dog, according to an annual survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. The average number of dogs per household stands at 1.7, with the total number of dogs in the United State... Read >

Homeowners Insurance - Protection Against Premises Liability Lawsuits

It's every homeowner's nightmare: A stranger slips and falls on your property and sues for damages. You assume your homeowners insurance protects you against such lawsuits, and most of the time it does. However, under certain circumstances, you might be l... Read >

Mortgage Leads - Internet Mortgage Leads 2.0

Many lending professionals think all Internet mortgage leads are generated the same way: A consumer fills out an online form, and the lead provider forwards the information to a loan officer or mortgage broker. Over the past decade, Internet lead provider... Read >

Cats, Rats, and Bats - What Homeowners Insurance Fails to Cover

According to surveys conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), millions of homeowners assume that their standard homeowners insurance insures them against several kinds of losses typically excluded from coverage. These exclu... Read >

Term Life Insurance - Comparison to Universal Life Insurance

Many people are torn between the benefits offered by term life insurance and those offered by whole life insurance. They appreciate the affordability of term life. They also like its flexibility. Term life policies can be cancelled with no significant pen... Read >

Insurance Leads - Seven Ways to Close Insurance Leads

Internet leads are different from other sales leads. They are generated differently. They are delivered in real time. Most importantly, they represent a different kind of prospect. Not surprisingly, an effective sales approach for Internet insurance leads... Read >

Homeowners Insurance - Improving Residential Fire Safety

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a nonprofit group that studies fire safety, has mixed news about fires in the United States. In a study published in September 2007, the NFPA reports that the total number of fires in 2006 increased 2.5 per... Read >

Mortgage Leads with Improved Data Proving a Powerful Tool for Brokers

The mortgage liquidity crisis has hit independent mortgage brokers hard. Fewer consumers are qualifying for loans, and those who do are requiring more time to do so. In addition, home sales are declining in most areas, so the number of new home loans is d... Read >

Homeowners Insurance - Five Things You Should Know About Earthquake Insurance

Since 2005, earthquakes powerful enough to be felt by people have occurred in 40 of the 50 states, according to the United States Geological Survey. Not surprisingly, Alaska, California, and Hawaii lead the nation in frequency and size of earthquakes, but... Read >

How to Select an Individual Health Insurance Plan

Health insurance companies have done a good job of offering a wide range of options for consumersâ€"perhaps too good of a job, because selecting the best individual health insurance plan is a bewildering task that leaves many people uncertain about the ch... Read >

The Fate of Long Term Care

The baby boom generationâ€"born between 1946 and 1964â€"is bearing down on America's retirement programs like a pre-climate change glacier. More than 78 million strong, the baby boom seems destined to crush every social program in its path. It cannot be s... Read >

The First Scientist: Ibn al-Haytham

Science is the study of the physical world, but it is not just a topic, a subject, a field of interest. It is a disciplineâ€"a system of inquiry that adheres to a specific methodologyâ€"the scientific method. The heart of the scientific method is the use ... Read >

Single Premium Life Insurance Working Double Duty

Many seniors who have been fortunate enough to accumulate some wealth in their lifetime worry that it could all be taken away by a single, prolonged stay in a nursing home. They are right to be concerned. According to the American Association of Homes and... Read >

Baby Life Insurance: Ensuring Your Family's Future Financial Stability

The birth of a child can change a parent's perspective on many thingsâ€"work, family, career, and even small things like vacations, holidays, hobbies. Priorities can shift. Aspirations can morph into something new and unexpected. Even time can take on new... Read >

Winning the ARMs Race

Adjustable rate mortgages are going nuclear: consumers who entered the housing market with low introductory "teaser" rates are seeing their interest rates explodeâ€"vaporizing their household budgets in the process. According to Christopher L. Cagan, ... Read >