Insurance

In an insurance policy , what is a Living Benefit ?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

A Living Benefit in a life insurance policy is a rider in which it provides the insured with an early payment in the event that a terminal illness or injury occurs. The payment is generally a portion of the policy's face amount. A Living Benefit can also be referred to as an "Accelerated Death Benefit".
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Insurance

Insurance industry - what is an Underwriter?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The insurance company underwriter is the insurance company guaranteeing to pay for the losses insured against, as it is outlined in the insurance policy.
Also an underwriter is the person who assesses and classifies the potential degree of risk that a proposed insured represents to determine whether a person is a super preferred risk, preferred risk, standard risk or substandard risk.
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Insurance

What does Homeowners Insurance cover ?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

Homeowners coverage helps limit your financial losses if your house or its contents are damaged, destroyed, or stolen, for a budgetable yearly premium. If you are adequately insured, homeowners insurance shifts the bulk of the liability exposure to the insurance company. Depending on your policy, if your possessions are lost or damaged by fire, theft, vandalism, storm or another covered disaster, your homeowners insurance can help replace, rebuild or repair the asset. It can also pay damages if someone is hurt while on your property. Generally, flood damage is not covered under homeowners policies and must be purchased separately as a seperate rider.
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Insurance

Do I need auto insurance ?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

In many states, it is illegal to drive a car without proof of insurance. Car Insurance accident statistics show over 12 million cars are involved in accidents. If you are at fault in an accident in which someone is injured, either a passenger in your car, a pedestrian, or an occupant in another car, your potential liability can be financially devastating.
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Insurance

In an insurance policy , what is a Revocable Beneficiary ?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

A Revocable Beneficiary is a beneficiary named within a life insurance policy in which the owner reserves the right to revoke or change the beneficiary designation.
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Taxes - My Tax Return

What is a REMIC?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

A REMIC is an abbreviation for a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Company. Generally it holds a fixed pool of mortgages.
A REMIC is not a taxable entity for federal income tax purposes. Generally, a REMIC is treated as partnership and the partners considered residual interest holders. Net income from the REMIC is passed through to the partners.
The partners pass through income issued to the partner on Form 1066, Schedule Q and is reportable on IRS Schedule E, page 2.
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Partnerships

What is a REMIC ?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

A REMIC is an abbreviation for a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Company. Generally it holds a fixed pool of mortgages. A REMIC is not a taxable entity for federal income tax purposes. Generally, a REMIC is treated as partnership and the partners considered residual interest holders. Net income from the REMIC is passed through to the partners. The partners pass through income issued to the partner on Form 1066, Schedule Q and is reportable on IRS Schedule E, page 2.
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Mutual Funds

Are there different methods of identifying mutual funds shares when I sell them ?

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

If you sell mutual fund shares that were acquired at different times, you must know the corresponding basis to determine your gain or loss. One method is the specific identification method where you specifically identify the shares sold. Another choice is the Average cost method which takes an average of all shares in the fund. Another method is the First in First out FIFO method in which the shares sold are from the earliest to the latest owned. If you have documentation of the history of the share ownership, you have an option to any of the methods to calculate either a lower or higher gain or loss on your sale. Speak to your local CPA about these tax savings strategies.
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Capital Gains & Losses

Mutual Funds - different methods of identifying

Asked Friday, November 03, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

If you sell mutual fund shares that were acquired at different times, you must know the corresponding basis to determine your gain or loss.
One method is the specific identification method where you specifically identify the shares sold.
Another choice is the Average cost method which takes an average of all shares in the fund.
Another method is the First in First out FIFO method in which the shares sold are from the earliest to the latest owned.
If you have documentation of the history of the share ownership, you have an option to any of the methods to calculate either a lower or higher gain or loss on your sale.
Speak to your local CPA about these tax savings strategies.
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Investments & Financial Planning

In relation to the stock market , what is Capitalization ?

Asked Thursday, November 02, 2000 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

"Cap" refers to a company's stock market capitalization. This is a gauge of what the market or investors believes the entire company to be worth.
Capitalization is the company's stock price per share multiplied by the total number of shares outstanding. Market "caps" can change daily if there is a change in the stock price. Small cap is less than $1.5 billion, Mid cap is between $1.5 billion and $10 billion and Large cap is over $10 billion.
Different index's are used to report on large-cap stocks. The most well known and widely used is the Standard and Poors 500. Other large-cap index's are the Russell 1000 and the Wilshire Large Cap 750 Index.
The majority of large-cap stocks are in the financial services, technology and healthcare industries.
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