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If you are basically interested in purchasing or owning houses under this category, it is imperative that you know the basic features and qualities of your option. Your choice highly depends on the kind of lifestyle and preference you lead. Hence, take a closer look at the salient and distinguishable features of each housing choices for a better and wiser decision.

Condos and town homes basically have varying differences in terms of their sizes and the number of available bedrooms in the premise. The condominium option is normally constructed with two bedrooms the most and most of these high rise living houses are not constructed with a back entrance. There are connected housing units and the difference from townhouses is that the units in condo buildings are much smaller than town homes.

On the other hand, town houses are likewise connected housing units however the size variation is quite distinct. For instance town houses are much bigger housing options since there are up to four bedrooms available within the property. Although these are connected structures, the most obvious and evident difference is the housing size and the bedrooms available.

Other differences in the features of these housing units lie on the civility and community dues. For instance, condominium unit owners are basically obliged to pay additional monthly fees on top of their mortgage or rent in order to cover expenses for the maintenance and upkeep of the community. Although there are a lot of disputes about these additional charges in the condo environment, it is still observed and owners are basically expected to pay their membership fees especially stated in their contract.

Townhouses are primarily compared to apartments due to its single family structure and size variation. Moreover, it could be readily purchased just like condominium units however the townhouse is more preferably purchased because of the expanse of the space or living area. Another distinct feature of this housing unit is that there are no additional charges and fees on top of your rent payment and mortgage for upkeep and maintenance. In this way, the townhouse option is more similar to single family houses.

In making that salient choice which housing options will basically work for you, choose the investment that would make financial sense. You must also closely consider the size and the amount of privacy you need. For instance, townhouses are more amenable if you want more space to yourself compared to limited and smaller areas in the condo units.

Carefully weigh the pros and cons of both housing units and consider the housing needs you have along with your personal preferences and lifestyle. These are effective and helpful criteria on which to base your real property investment that will give you a hundredfold return.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maria_Faith

If a hurricane hits and your home or possessions are lost or damaged, do you have enough insurance coverage? Now is the time to find out — not after the storm has hit.

If you’re a homeowner, you’ll probably need two kinds of insurance if you live near the coast: homeowner’s and flood.

Many people don’t realize that their homeowner’s policies won’t cover them if their home is flooded. You have to have a separate policy subsidized by the federal government for that.

Your decision on whether to buy flood insurance should be based on the elevation of your home – how high it is above sea level. Your insurance agent and your local emergency management office can help provide that information.

Also keep in mind that there’s a 30-day waiting period to get flood insurance, and you can’t get homeowner’s insurance — or add to it — if there’s a tropical storm or hurricane anywhere near the state.

Long before storm season, it’s a good idea to check your policy. Make sure it’s in force — that the premiums have been paid — and check to see if it covers the cost of replacing your possessions or simply provides the actual cash value.

Experts say replacement coverage is the preferred policy, because it replaces what you have at today’s prices instead of the used value.

Today’s insurance policies also have high deductibles for hurricane damage, often up to 2 to 5 percent of a home’s value. It’s a good idea to shop around for the lowest deductible you can get.

Something else to keep in mind is that most policies limit how much you can claim on certain items. Your jewelry, silver, antiques, and guns often have a limit of about $250, so it’s a good idea to get a separate rider to have those items insured to their full value.

When the time comes to collect on your policy, you’re going to have to be able to prove what you had. That means you need to take the time to write up an inventory of your possessions and take lots of pictures. If you have a video camera, do a video walk through of your home showing all the rooms and what’s in them.

Also, keep copies of your policy and your inventory in a safe place like a safe deposit box in a bank. If you evacuate, take a copy with you. If your home is wiped out, you’ll be very glad you did.

With a new decade underway, a number of converging factors point to the fact that terrorism is a reemerging threat. Failure to focus on and prepare for this threat will come at an enormous cost to the millions of individuals and businesses who rely on insurance contracts to offset the overall economic impact of a terrorist attack. For property/casualty insurers, the increasing share of losses that they would have to fund in the event of a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil suggests that now is the time to take stock of their terrorism exposures.

FAQ: TERRORISM INSURANCE – WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT COVERS

Terrorism insurance provides coverage to individuals and businesses for potential losses due to acts of terrorism.

Businesses

Prior to 9/11, standard commercial insurance policies included terrorism coverage as part of the package, effectively free of charge. Today, terrorism coverage is generally offered separately at a price that more adequately reflects the current risk.
Insurance losses attributable to terrorist acts under these commercial policies are insured by private insurers and reinsured or “backstopped” by the federal government pursuant to the Terrorism Risk and Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA). TRIA has been renewed twice, and the current law, known as the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (TRIPRA) runs until December 2014. Under the program, owners of commercial property, such as office buildings, factories, shopping malls and apartment buildings, must be offered the opportunity to purchase terrorism coverage.

Individuals

Standard homeowners insurance policies include coverage for damage to property and personal possessions resulting from acts of terrorism. Terrorism is not specifically referenced in homeowners policies. However, the policy does cover the homeowner for damage due to explosion, fire and smoke—the likely causes of damage in a terrorist attack.
Condominium or co-op owner policies also provide coverage for damage to personal possessions resulting from acts of terrorism. Damage to the common areas of a building like the roof, basement, elevator, boiler and walkways would only be covered if the condo/co-op board has purchased terrorism coverage.
Standard renters policies include coverage for damage to personal possessions due to a terrorist attack. Again, coverage for the apartment complex itself must be purchased by the property owner or landlord.
Auto insurance policies will cover a car that is damaged or destroyed in a terrorist attack only if the policyholder has purchased “comprehensive” coverage. Most people who have loans on their cars or lease are required by lenders and leasing companies to carry this optional form of coverage. People who buy liability coverage only are not covered in the event their vehicle is damaged or destroyed as the result of a terrorist attack.
Life insurance policies do not contain terrorism exclusions. Proceeds will be paid to the beneficiary as designated on the policy.

Under what circumstances is there coverage?

For the terrorism coverage to be triggered under TRIPRA for commercial policies, a terrorist attack has to be declared a “certified act” by the Secretary of the Treasury.
No such declaration is needed to trigger coverage under home and auto policies because there are no exclusions for terrorism.
In some states a doctrine know as “fire following” applies. This means that in the event of a terrorist-caused explosion followed by fire, insurers could be liable to pay out losses attributable to the fire (but not the explosion) even if a commercial property owner had not purchased terrorism coverage. Insurers have sought to limit fire coverage resulting from a terrorist attack, because commercial policyholders that choose to reject TRIPRA or other terrorism coverage are effectively paying no premium for the protection offered by fire- following coverage. Currently, there is coverage for fire following an act of terrorism in just five states – California, Maine, Missouri, Oregon and Wisconsin.

What is not covered?

There are long-standing restrictions regarding war coverage and nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological (NBCR) events in both personal and commercial insurance policies.
War-risk exclusions reflect the realization that damage from acts of war is fundamentally uninsurable. No formal declaration of war by Congress is required for the war risk exclusion to apply. Nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological attacks are another example of catastrophic events that are fundamentally uninsurable due to the nature of the risk.
Under the terrorism risk insurance program, if some NBCR exclusions are permitted by a state, an insurer does not have to make available the excluded coverage.

Business Interruption Insurance

Property damage to commercial buildings from a terrorist attack also may include claims for business interruption. Business interruption insurance (sometimes referred to as business income coverage) covers financial losses that occur when a firm is forced to suspend business operations either due to direct damage to its premises or because civil authorities limit access to an area after the attack and those actions prevent entry to the business premises. Coverage depends on the individual policy, but typically begins after a waiting period or “time deductible” of two to three days and lasts for a period of two weeks to several months.
Business interruption losses associated with acts of civil authority (e.g., closure of certain area around the disaster) can only be triggered when there is physical loss or damage arising from a covered peril (e.g., explosion, fire, smoke, etc.) within the area affected by the declaration. The loss/damage need not occur to the insured premises specifically. Reductions in business income associated with fear of traveling to a location, in addition to closure to areas by authorities because of a heightened state of alert, would not be covered by business interruption policies.

Workers compensation and other coverages

Workers compensation — a compulsory line of insurance for all businesses — covers employees injured or killed on the job and therefore automatically includes coverage for acts of terrorism. Workers compensation is also the only line of insurance that does not exclude coverage for acts of war. Coverage for terrorist acts cannot be excluded from workers compensation policies in any state.
There are essentially three types of workers compensation benefits. The first reimburses workers for lost wages while they recover from their injuries. The second covers workers for all medical expenses incurred as a result of the injuries they sustain. The third type of benefit provides payments to the families of workers killed on the job.
Life/health and disability insurance policies may provide coverage for loss of life, injury or sickness to individuals in the event of a terrorist attack.

What is the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA)/Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA)?

TRIA is a public/private risk-sharing partnership between the federal government and the insurance industry. The program is designed to ensure that adequate resources are available for businesses to recover and rebuild if they become the victims of a terrorist attack.
TRIA was extended for another two years in December 2005 and for another seven years to 2014 in December 2007. The new law is known as the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA) of 2007.
Specific provisions of the legislation are:

• An event must cause at least $100 million in aggregate property and casualty insurance losses to be certified by the Secretary of the Treasury as an act of terrorism.
• The definition of a certified act of terrorism has been expanded to cover both domestic and foreign acts of terrorism.
• Each participating insurer is responsible for paying out a certain amount in claims – a deductible – before Federal assistance becomes available.
• For losses above a company’s deductible, the federal government will cover 85 percent, while the insurer contributes 15 percent.
• The aggregate insurance industry retention in 2007 is $27.5 billion, up from $25 billion in 2006 and $15 billion in 2005.
• Losses covered by the program are capped at $100 billion.
• Lines originally excluded from the program are: personal lines (auto and home), reinsurance, federal crop, mortgage guaranty, financial guaranty, medical malpractice, flood insurance provided under the NFIP and life & health. Additional lines now excluded are: commercial auto, professional liability except for directors and officers liability, surety, burglary and theft, and farmowners multi-peril insurance.
• The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA) of 2007 – is due to sunset on December 31, 2014.

Does the terrorism risk insurance program affect the availability and price of coverage?

Yes, by sharing potential losses from terrorist attacks between private insurers and the government, the terrorism risk insurance program has brought much needed additional capacity to the terrorism market. Before the program existed, businesses were left with little or no terrorism coverage, but since it came into effect they are able to purchase the cover they need.
Terrorism coverage is very difficult to price because the frequency and severity of an attack is so unpredictable. Pricing of terrorism coverage varies according to the individual risk (based on factors such as location and industry, for example), but it is clear that the terrorism risk insurance program has had a stabilizing influence on the market.

Does an insurer have to make terrorism coverage available?

Yes. Under TRIPRA, all property and casualty insurers in the U.S. are required to make terrorism coverage available. The “make available” provision applies to commercial lines of p/c insurance. Insurers are required to make an offer of coverage for “certified acts” to policyholders. If the insured rejects an offer, the insurer may then reinstate a terrorism exclusion.

What if terrorism coverage has not been purchased and a loss occurs?

A business that has not purchased TRIPRA or other terrorism coverage will not be covered for damage caused to their property by a terrorist attack. An individual that has homeowners or renters coverage may be covered, according to the individual terms of their policy.

Source: Insurance Information Institute report

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This post originally appeared on the Reach The Public.

By Scott Burns, CEO & co-Founder, GovDelivery.

I have two questions for you:

1. Why can’t I send an electronic message to a mailing address?
2. Why can I get my credit card statement and my mortgage statement electronically, but I can only get my Social Security Statement and County Taxes in the mail?
   

If I know where you live, I can send you a box of chocolates, a DirecTV ad, or a campaign brochure, but I can’t send you something electronically…  Why?  This makes no sense and kills a lot of trees.

Sometimes the most obvious questions have the most confusing answers. It’s possible that the privatization of the Postal Service in the 1980s created a situation where the Postal Service needs to focus on maintaining its $68B revenue stream in paper mail delivery rather than promote a more modern form of delivery. That doesn’t really matter to me, but what does matter is how a new approach to address-based digital delivery could save the government a ton of money and help the environment.

If government could send the public statements / publications /etc. based on mailing address, imagine how much money it could save.

Government sends over 200 million electronic messages per month through GovDelivery by email, SMS, and social media on topics ranging from H1N1 to egg recalls to updates in local park hours. Effective today, we’re trying something new that will lead to governments being able to send “Digital Postal Mail” direct to a mailing address. You can sign up for free through our partnership with Zumbox here to check it out and let me know what you think.

For the past several years, we’ve been looking for ways to help government save money on printing / postage / transaction costs while also improving communication. There are many exciting ways to do this. A government office can transition print newsletters and publications to electronic form, move more citizens online for “customer service” issues, reduce costly traditional public advertising with more direct communication, and communicate proactively on ongoing issues so people don’t call in to costly call centers.

However, it’s very challenging to point to a single piece of mail going to a single individual— a DMV renewal notice, a Census survey, a Social Security Statement, a Tax Statement, and say that you can send that piece of mail electronically just by knowing someone’s mailing address.

The challenge leads back to one frustrating issue. You cannot send traditional “mail” to someone electronically unless you get them to sign up for it. The problem is, even when e-statements are offered, each person has to sign up separately for e-statements from their bank, credit card company, mortgage company, city, county, state, federal government, and everyone else.

Our new partnership with Zumbox is the result of a search for a service that is safe and secure where a citizen can sign up one time to get an electronic mail box that anyone, including the government, can reach simply by knowing the person’s address.

From a government perspective, here are the key capabilities we saw as “must have”:

• Free for government to use (would be nice if the U.S. Postal Service gave govt. free sending… a digital service should provide that benefit even if private companies will have to pay)
• Can be used across government (if people sign up to receive Social Security statements, they need to be able to get County tax statements in the same manner)
• Reach people based on their location with geo-specific notices
• Send secure documents to a mailing address rather than a larger documents
• Enable the documents for online payment and for “paper statement opt-out”
• Save documents forever as “secure storage” for the owner of the mailbox

Our new partner, Zumbox, meets these criteria and more (HIPAA compliance, etc.). Now, our challenge is to figure out how to get members of the public to signup to participate. We’re running a pilot with a major city soon, and we’re seeking other government agencies to participate so let me know if you’re interested in a cost saving / green initiative that will also improve public communication.

I would love your ideas on what will help get members of the public to signup:

• Go green / Go paperless
• Save the government money
• Get permanent online storage of your mail
• Some other message

Thanks for your feedback, and please signup for your own Zumbox and let me know what you think of the signup process and how best to get the public to buy into this.