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GOT
A QUESTION?
Get the Answer
from MetLife Auto & Home
Follow
the links below to find answers to the questions of interest
to you -- or ask a question of your own!
[Q]
Is it really necessary to add a child who
has only his learning permit to my auto policy?
-- Susan Schaffranek, Summerhill, Pennsylvania
[A]
You must be a bundle of nerves with a new driver! In most
states, MetLife Auto & Home doesn't add drivers with temporary
permits to auto policies; they're added when they earn their
permanent licenses. (Certain states are exceptions, however,
so call your agent to check on your state's requirements.)
But don't worry -- your child still would be covered while
he or she learns to drive, subject to policy terms. You just
won't pay any additional premium until your teen is licensed.
[Q]
I recently purchased a 20-foot pontoon boat with a 50-horsepower
engine for $10,000. I have auto and homeowners policies with
MetLife Auto & Home. What kind of coverage do they give for
my boat?
-- Louis D. LaPorta, Chestertown, New York
[A]
Here's the bottom line, Louis: You're underinsured. Most auto
policies provide zero boat coverage -- after all, they're
intended to cover vehicles that travel on dry land. Your homeowners
policy provides liability coverage because your pontoon has
only 50 horsepower (HP). (Boats with 51 HP or more and sailboats
over 31 feet are excluded from coverage under a homeowners
policy.) Your homeowners policy provides $1,500 of watercraft
property damage, but that's not enough for your $10,000 boat.
A separate
boat insurance policy from MetLife Auto & Home will not only
give you adequate liability and physical damage coverages,
but also up to $250 to haul your boat out of the water if
there is a hurricane warning.
[Q]
My MetLife Auto & Home homeowners policy has replacement cost
coverage and inflation guard. How would you determine the
current market value of our home if it were to be totally
destroyed by fire?
-- Lucian De Lucia, Madison, Connecticut
[A]
Excellent question, and one that gets at the key difference
between replacement cost and market value. Your insurance
company will calculate the replacement cost of your house
-- that is, the amount of money it would take to rebuild a
similar home in the same location. The market value of a home
-- what someone might pay for it on the open market -- is
often a higher number because it includes the value of the
land.
Take this
example from California. The market value of a tiny 900-square-foot
house on the beach could be $1 million. But is the house itself
worth $1 million? Not by a long shot. If it burned to the
ground, the insurance company would pay to rebuild the structure,
which might cost only $300,000. Remember, it's the land that's
worth so much money in this instance, and even a fire wouldn't
change the desirability of that oceanfront property.
[Q]
I have a job with a large school district. It offers 403(b)
savings accounts instead of 401(k) accounts. What's the difference
between the two?
-- Theresa Hansen, Ballston Lake, New York
[A]
Both 401(k) and 403(b) accounts are tax-deferred savings vehicles
that help you sock away money for retirement. A 403(b) also
is known as a tax-sheltered annuity (TSA) plan. The main difference?
A 401(k) is the plan available to employees of for-profit
corporations and businesses; the 403(b) is open to employees
of public schools, nonprofit or tax-exempt organizations and
educational institutions such as universities.
Got
a Question?
Email it to us at editor@MetLifeYourLife.com.
Or, write to us at: MetLife, Your Life, Dept. LN304, 1716
Locust St., Des Moines, IA 50309.
We regret
that due to volume we are unable to respond individually to
questions.
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