Distinguish among the owner, the insured, the beneficiary, and the contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
> Distinguish between the benefit period and the waiting period for a long-term care policy.
> Distinguish among the three levels of care in long-term insurance.
> Many people complain that property insurance policies should pay more than what the insurance companies say is the actual cash value of the property, such as for a used motor vehicle with low mileage that is in near-perfect condition. How do you feel abo
> What are activities of daily living?
> Explain why selecting a policy with a high deductible and high liability limits is better than one with a low deductible and low liability limits.
> Distinguish between collision and comprehensive insurance.
> Identify who is protected by medical payments coverage.
> Explain the meaning of the numbers 100/200/75.
> Identify the four types of automobile insurance coverage.
> Identify the two ways that homebuyers build equity in their property.
> Distinguish between a conventional mortgage loan and an adjustable-rate loan.
> Explain why the portions of a monthly mortgage payment that are allocated toward interest and toward principal will vary as the loan is repaid.
> Summarize how a small claims court work.
> Are prepayment penalties such as that applied with the rule of 78s justified? Why or why not?
> How do lemon laws work?
> Distinguish between mediation and arbitration.
> Summarize the FTC’s cooling-off rule to cancel a contract.
> Which alternative lender probably charges the highest interest rate?
> What is an acceleration clause?
> What reasons do some people offer for not having a relative co sign a student loan?
> What is the difference between a secured and an unsecured loan?
> Distinguish between a single-payment and an installment loan.
> Offer your impressions of working for an employer that offers a sizable matching contribution compared with one that does not.
> Explain why defined-contribution retirement plans are called self-directed.
> If you were the borrower, how would you feel about the fact that interest costs are higher in the early months of a declining balance loan than they are in the later months?
> Summarize the main differences between defined-contribution and defined-benefit pension plans.
> Explain what is meant by tax-sheltered investment growth on money invested through qualified retirement accounts.
> Distinguish among after-tax money put into investments, pretax money, and vesting.
> List two ways to finance a real estate investment.
> Comment on the wisdom of buying a timeshare as an investment.
> Summarize how the discounted cash-flow method helps determine the right price to pay for a real estate investment.
> Summarize the effects of loads and fees on investment returns.
> Which is better for most investors, load or no-load funds? Why?
> Give three examples of fees or charges associated with load funds.
> Where can you go to look up stock symbols and prices?
> Some credit cards offer rewards points or a cash back reward for all purchases made on the card. Which rewards card would you prefer and why?
> Distinguish between the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500.
> Name two places where you can go to find information about a company?
> How does one use a stock screening tool?
> Explain how transactions costs and leverage may increase or decrease investment returns.
> Summarize three other types of investment risks that seem important to you.
> Explain market risk, what causes it, and how it fits in one’s portfolio.
> What is random risk, and how does it get reduced?
> Explain how guaranteed renewability for term life insurance and guaranteed insurability for cash-value insurance protect insured people who develop serious health conditions.
> Distinguish between an automatic premium loan and a waiver-of-premium option in a life insurance policy.
> Identify three of the five settlement options for the payment of the proceeds of a life insurance policy to its beneficiary.
> What benefits do you see in leasing a vehicle? What negatives exist when leasing?
> What are nonforfeiture values and why are they important?
> Distinguish between an incontestability clause and a suicide clause in a life insurance contract.
> What is meant by the out-of-pocket maximum?
> Distinguish among an exclusion, deductible, coinsurance, and a copay.
> List the three questions you should ask yourself when determining the policy limits for a homeowner’s insurance policy.
> Identify four types of personal property for which the covered loss is limited to a specific dollar amount under standard homeowner’s insurance policies (see Table 10-1). Table 10-1: Table 10-1 Summary of Homeowner's Insurance Poli
> Name the three types of homeowner’s insurance policies for most residences: HO-3, HO-4, and HO-6.
> Give three examples of liability protection under homeowner’s insurance policies
> List the four types of losses covered under the property insurance portion of a homeowner’s policy.
> Do you think all of the steps in the planned buying process are used when buying simple everyday products (such as a loaf of bread or a half-gallon of milk), or are they used only when buying big-ticket items? Why, or why not?
> Distinguish among loan estimate, closing disclosure, and uniform settlement statement.
> What steps are involved with agreeing to terms with a seller?
> When using a Realtor® why should you be cautious when working with a seller’s agent?
> Distinguish between the two rules of thumb that lenders use to assess housing affordability.
> What is involved in cleaning up your credit to buy a home?
> What is dealer holdback and why is it important?
> Why should a shopper negotiate?
> Why should you make major purchase decisions at home using a decision-making matrix?
> What three aspects of a vehicle purchase should be negotiated? In what order?
> Where would to go to obtain an installment loan to finance a vehicle if you had a good credit rating and wanted to pay a low interest rate?
> Identify topics that you would cover in your letter of last instructions.
> What is a sales finance company and how does it work?
> In the text example, what can Erik do to save more for his retirement?
> List the steps in the process of estimating your retirement savings goal in today’s dollars.
> Summarize the special income tax regulations on renting out vacation homes.
> Briefly explain how the interest paid on the mortgage of a real estate investment reduces one’s income taxes.
> Summarize how depreciation is used to reduce the taxable income from a real estate investment.
> Explain why investors like index mutual funds and exchange traded funds.
> Distinguish among mutual funds with an income objective, growth objective, and growth and income objective.
> Distinguish between a managed mutual fund and an unmanaged mutual fund.
> What are the five steps in figuring a potential rate of return to invest in a stock?
> Of all the mistakes that people make when planning for retirement, which one might be likely to negatively affect your retirement planning the most? Give reasons why.
> Choose three measures of corporate earnings that you might use when selecting a stock in which to invest and say why you like them.
> What is fundamental analysis and why is it popular?
> Define beta and explain what it means.
> Distinguish between the terms income stocks and growth stocks.
> Comment on how investing differs for both short and long-term investments.
> Distinguish between cash-value life insurance with a fixed return and with a variable return.
> Explain why the amount of “insurance” declines over time under a cash-value life insurance policy.
> Describe the benefit of buying guaranteed renewable term insurance.
> Explain why the premiums for term insurance are always so much lower than those of cash-value life insurance.
> Distinguish between term life insurance and cash-value life insurance.
> What are your thoughts on this comment? “Younger workers today face some serious challenges in deciding where to invest their retirement funds.”
> Distinguish between the government health program called Medicare and Medicaid.
> What is a high-deductible health insurance plan and how does it work with a health savings account (HSA).
> Distinguish between a traditional health insurance plan and a health maintenance organizations (HMO).
> Summarize how an employer’s group health care plan provides coverage to employees.
> Explain how managed care has reduced the cost of health care in America.
> Differentiate between independent agents and exclusive agents.
> Summarize how companies select among insurance applicants.
> Summarize how to use deductibles, coinsurance, hazard reduction, and loss reduction to lower the cost of insurance.
> Why is the principle of indemnity so important to insurance sellers?
> Distinguish among the three types of hazards.