When agents, buyers, or anyone else is adding up insurance costs, insurance calculators can be a great resource. But how are these tools used, and what do they do? Different kinds of insurance are calculated in various ways, and each insurance calculator is uniquely designed for a specific end result.

For training on what these kinds of insurance rate calculators and other tools are good for, web users can get some relevant information about how to take advantage of the power of the computer for adding up policy options or coverage for auto, home, life, or other kinds of insurance. Readers can look for:

1. Instances of auto, life or home insurance calculators to experiment with and figure out how these tools generally work.

2. Info pages with more details about different kinds of auto, home or life insurance calculators.

3. More from blogs, forums and public pages.

Action Steps
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Use online collections of insurance calculators for learning

One way to learn about commercial insurance calculators is to use them. Online sites sometimes include instances of this kind of technology that users can experiment with to see how the coverage calculations work.

I recommend: Get personalized auto insurance calculators and more at the Safety Library for figuring out tricky coverage sums. Get more free insurance calculators at sites like Money-Zine.com. Or get free life insurance calculator options online from sources like AccuQuote.

Use info pages and guides for learning more about insurance calculators

There are also other sites that provide more of a detailed guide to how home, life or car insurance calculators work for different kinds of insurance. Identify your specific insurance needs and go toward resources that will get you a fuller understanding of how humans use insurance calculators and electronic tools to get the precise figures.

I recommend: Get info on using homeowner's insurance calculators at LovetoKnow. Learn more about home and auto insurance is calculated from sites like the AARP's Auto and Home Insurance Program.

Find out more by browsing public pages like blogs and forums

There's more out there on the web about the use and practicality of home, auto, life or mortgage insurance calculators: try using web forums for 'street-level' opinions, and blogs for a narration of how others deal with these various tools.

I recommend: Find insurance calculators info at the Home Insurance blog. For posting on the issue of insurance calculators from small businesses, check out the Small Business Forums online.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Let your insurance calculators education and training propel your business toward more outreach with these tools. Some of the above resources address setting up proprietary insurance calculators online for clients: this can be a powerful way to advance any kind of insurance business.

Insurance is a part of every aspect of life. However, how much insurance do you need and how can you determine some of these costs in advance? Figure insurance the way your agent does by using commercial insurance calculators, mortgage insurance calculators, life insurance calculators and auto insurance calculators.

Know in advance what your rate will be and how much insurance you can afford with insurance rate calculators that plot your information. Check out different scenarios and save the information.

1. Choose insurance calculators for your business needs.

2. Know auto insurance rates with car insurance calculators.

3. Decide if term or permanent life insurance is the best choice with term insurance calculators.

4. Choose mortgage insurance calculators to protect your home or business.

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Use commercial insurance calculators for adequate insurance coverage

Need your business numbers crunched? Do not pay your accountant when you can obtain such figures as buy vs. lease, working capital needs, inventory analysis and profit margin with insurance calculators. Small business can make better decisions with this knowledge.

I recommend: Find commercial insurance calculators such as financial ratios and business valuation. Use the complete line of business insurance calculators according to your business needs.

Figure how much auto insurance costs with auto insurance calculators

Auto insurance estimate calculators let you know in advance about what you should be paying for auto insurance. If your actual premium is much higher than the estimate, sit down with your auto insurance specialist to determine why.

I recommend: WaMu Insurance Services provides a free calculator, so put your information in and see how much you should be paying for auto insurance.

Select life insurance calculators for what if scenarios

Life insurance calculators take your current life situation information, process it and tell you how much life insurance you need to sustain your family if you die.

I recommend: MSN provides a calculator that walks you through your current situation. You can enter different scenarios as you wish to calculate life changes you may be anticipating. Farmers provides a fill-in-the-blank calculator for your life insurance estimates.

Choose mortgage insurance calculators to protect your home or business

Home insurance calculators estimate rates you pay for some types of insurance including private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI bridges the gap when you do not put 20% down for your home or business mortgage. It drops off automatically when your mortgage balance reaches a certain level, usually 78%.

I recommend: For Sale by Owner offers a PMI calculator. If you put less than 20% down on your mortgage, you must get this insurance, which stays in effect until you pay your mortgage down. Countrywide offers home insurance calculators that calculate insurance coverage for windstorm and other perils.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Calculating insurance rates using these insurance calculators is not an exact science. Your actual policy premium may be a bit higher or lower but should be in the general range that your calculation provided.

Whether you're using an auto, life, homeowner's or other insurance calculator, knowing the information you need and understanding the basics is important. A basic knowledge of the insurance category you are researching can help you save time researching the information when you start your calculating process. Determine what information you'll need to understand, and learn the basic terms associated with insurance calculators now.

Action Steps
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Dwelling coverage or market value

Dwelling coverage is not the same as the market value of your home. This amount is important to understand when calculating possible homeowner's insurance. The dwelling coverage is the amount a policy would pay to replace your home. Market value is based on your home and the land it is on, while the dwelling coverage is solely based on the home value.

I recommend: Read the definition of dwelling coverage and market value at HomeInsurance.com. The website also includes a home insurance calculator.

Dependent

When considering insurance, you'll need to include all dependent information in your calculations. A dependent is defined as anyone who counts on you to support them. This can include children, elderly parents living in your household and others you support.

I recommend: AccuQuote defines "dependent" with its life insurance calculator.

Disability income gap

The disability income gap is an amount of money you may still need to pay bills and other expenses not covered by the disability insurance you receive through a work, health insurance or government paid disability program.

I recommend: Money-Zine.com defines disability income gap in its glossary of terms.

Term or full

There are two main types of life insurance-term and full. A term life insurance policy will pay a set sum if the policyholder dies within a certain period. A full policy is set in place for the policy holder's entire life.

I recommend: Read the explanation of both full and term life insurance at Investopedia.

Return on investments

Return on investments is the amount of money you plan to earn from interest on accounts.

I recommend: The comprehensive life insurance calculator at CCH Financial Tool Kit can help you calculate your insurance needs. It also defines return on investment and explains how to use the information.

Chargeable loss

Chargeable loss is an amount assigned by auto insurance companies after an accident. All insurance companies must assign a percentage of fault amounts for all the drivers involved in any accident. The Federal Insurance Act sets the standards for determining the chargeable loss amounts.

I recommend: Read the definition of chargeable loss and and explanation of how it is used at Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan.