Auto Insurance With Full Coverage at Cheap Rates:

Posted on June 1, 2023 by schatzi

Some insurance companies may title themselves as providers of very cheap car insurance no deposit or cheap auto insurance for full coverage. But, what they do here is, that they provide insurance policy covering only the bare minimum necessities that can simply help one to be termed as a legal driver, i.e. their schemes only provide the basic physical injury and property damage liability coverage at cheap rates.

Hence, instead of going for a cheap car insurance, one must look for policies that provide quality coverage plans along with affordable rates that can help in the long run.

Is it possible to lower Insurance Premiums?

The answer to this question is a big ‘yes’. Getting quality coverage doesn’t really mean that one has to pay premiums that are out of one’s capacity to earn. There are several ways one can lower their insurance premiums and enjoy cheap auto insurance full coverage. Here are a few simple ways to pay low premiums for quality coverage:

• Choose a wise billing plan: One should look for insurance companies that provide convenient billing schemes, like monthly, quarterly, annually or semi-annually so that the shopper can choose a plan fitting his/her needs and eventually pay at the time when he/she is comfortable.

• Be careful in selecting a coverage plan: One can pay low premiums by deducting one or the other type of coverage from their policy depending upon their needs. For instance, if one drives an old car with great mileage, then one can prefer to remove comprehensive or collision coverage from their policy and reduce the premiums to be paid.

• The type of car: The type of car one opts to drive has a direct impact on one’s car insurance rates. Expensive cars are costly to insure and hence their premiums will be more. It should also be noted that the car’s age can also affect the premiums. Older the car one drives, fewer the premiums one has to pay.

• Clean driving history: If the driving record is clean, i.e. without any tickets or accidents, then the driver can avail discounts on the premiums and enjoy cheap auto insurance with full coverage.

• Avoid joint policies: If the driver opts for a joint policy package, then the car insurance rate will automatically increase, especially if the other person is a teenager. Teen drivers are prone to more accidents and hence, they are liable to pay the highest premiums. Thus, it is advisable to avoid this type of policy to lower premiums.

• Deductible price: One can enjoy significantly lower premiums if one opts for higher deductibles. While this will increase the chances of paying out of one’s own pockets in risky situations, but the premium to be paid on whole will reduce for sure.

By taking care of all the above key factors, one can easily save on their premiums and enjoy the benefits of cheap auto insurance for full coverage.

With all this said, many drivers who own classic cars might still have their doubts uncovered. Owning a classic car is not similar to that of other motorists. So here’s a detailed description of the type of benefits, owners of classic cars can avail and at the same time enjoy cheap car insurance full coverage, like the rest of the automobile owners.

Cheap Insurance Rates for Classic Cars:

When the company talks about coverage for classic cars, here is a list of cars the insurance company is probably talking about:

• Morris Marina

• MGB

• Alfa-Romeo cars

• Ford Cortina

• Vauxhall VX220

• Hillman Imp

• Austin Seven

• Manta

• Triumph

• Jaguar

• MX5

• Opel

One should be clear of the fact that not all insurance companies can provide affordable coverage for all of the above classic cars. There are a very few insurance companies that provide coverage for all classic cars, including the cars that are just about 5 years old.

If one decides to opt for quality over quantity to insure such classic cars, the following are the benefits one can enjoy:

• Coverage for true value: While looking for cheap car insurance near me, one should opt for an insurance company that will provide agreed value cover for the car’s true value rather than just paying off the market value.

• Discounts on Limited Mileage drives: Insurance companies that provide quality coverage will not only offer discounts on limited mileage drives but also insure classic cars that are driven more often.

• Laid-up policy: Always prefer insurance companies that will provide full coverage and accept claims for both accident and theft risks for classic cars.

• Discounts on club memberships: While insuring classic cars one can avail discounts up to as high as 15% on memberships to different classic car owners clubs or other specific memberships like jaguar enthusiasts club.

• Car kit insurance: It is better to opt for insurance companies that provide car kit insurances.

• Coverage for modifications: Classic car insurance should also cover charges for modifications made to the car.

• Other special coverage: Quality coverage plans might also include special covers like wedding hire cover or track/rally cover. These are not very common but can be included upon request of the car owners.

If one is choosing to buy cheap auto insurance online, then all of the above factors or benefits must be kept in mind to avail the best possible policy. One can, however; leave one or more of the above benefits solely depending on one’s interests and needs. But it is highly recommended and advantageous as well, to have all of the above benefits while choosing for classic car insurance.

On a general note, one should understand the fact that it is definitely possible to enjoy the benefits of cheap auto insurance for full coverage, provided that the quality should not be compromised so that one will be safe from unexpected charges in the long run.

Creativity is King in the World of Independent Film Production

Posted on May 31, 2023 by schatzi

A creative mind is a low budget filmmaker’s most valuable tool. It all starts with an original thought; from there it is all about nurturing that thought until it grows to be a brilliant idea. After that it is a matter of getting that idea made into a movie using every ounce of energy and resources you can possibly muster up.

Most of the successful films that are showing at film festivals these days are movies that were made at a fraction of the cost that it takes to make a major Hollywood studio film. Advances in technology have made it so that just about anyone can make a movie. Film cameras, video cameras, sound recording equipment, and just about any other kind of equipment that one needs to make a movie can be purchased at very affordable prices these days. The equipment that is available these days can provide a very low budget movie with a production value that looks like James Cameron had something to do with the project. This professional look coupled with a unique story can help any film’s chances at being accepted into film festivals like Houston Worldfest, Cannes, Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, etc…

Try as they might, the major Hollywood film studios will never have a monopoly on creativity. They spend millions of dollars on marketing research in an effort to figure out just what it is that the film-going audiences of the world look for when they go to the movies. Despite all of this effort, they still have not come up with a formula. The tastes of people who go to the movies are as hard to predict as an earthquake is, for the pattern changes all the time. Because of this fact, the door is left wide open for the creative types of the world to enter the game. All they need to do is come up with a unique idea that they can transform into a movie, enter their film in festivals like Sundance and then let the judges decide. While the big studios have tried to take over the film festival circuit in recent years, it is still the little guys with the small, yet creative films that are King in that realm.

It does not cost as much as you would think to make a movie that can be entered in contests like the Sundance Film Festival. Sony is about to release a line of High Definition camcorders that are perfect for anyone who wants to make movies on a shoestring budget. While movies made with these cameras will not be shot on “film” (like movies have been since the beginning), they will (almost) look like they were. These new cameras will be able to give a high quality image that is comparable to the image that film provides. The two camcorders are the PDW-F330 and the PDW-F350, and they offer all sorts of film production features that even the most film-loyal professional filmmaker must respect. Both cameras offer true 24P recording in both SD and HD, interval recording, and slow shutter recording to name a few. The F350 model also offers true variable frame rate recording capabilities which are also referred to as the “slow motion/fast motion” features. Features like these are very valuable to anyone making a low budget movie for it allows them to include motion effects in their films without the use of an expensive film camera or a high priced film lab. Both of these cameras will be on the market in March of 2006. The F350 will cost about twenty five thousand, while the F330 model will only cost about sixteen thousand dollars. A PDW-F30 deck will be available in June for about nine thousand. These are small prices to pay to be a self-sufficient independent filmmaker.

A low budget filmmaker can invest in a relatively low-cost HD camcorder and deck and have everything they need to make as many movies as their mind and body can crank out. All they will need after that is a creative mind, a few thousand dollars, a few ambitious friends for their actors and crew, some script writing software like Final Draft, and an iron resolve to make a movie. They do not have to worry about the high costs of film stock, film processing, or film-to-DVD transfers. All they will need is their camera and a $30 disc (23.3GB) and they will be set to film an entire movie. Buying discs for a camera is a lot cheaper than buying film and all the financial baggage that comes with it.

Once they shoot their movie with one of these cameras, a low budget filmmaker can go right to their computer with the disc and start editing it using one of the many affordable editing programs that are available these days such as Final Cut Pro. They can do all of the post production work for their movie on their home computer, as long as they are willing to shoulder a mother load of work responsibilities.

Technology has allowed independent filmmakers to bypass many expensive steps in the filmmaking process. Instead of paying a bunch of people hundreds of dollars an hour for film services that are only available in cities like Hollywood and New York, they can now do all of these steps in the comfort of their own home on their own computer.

For anyone who has ever had a dream of making their own movie, there is no better time than now to make it happen. The playing field has been leveled in terms of technology, but you still need a creative story to get anywhere on the film festival circuit. The affordable equipment can get you on the field, but you must bring a good game to win. A creative mind is your best player in this game, so if you have that part taken care of you are halfway to making your film vision a reality. Nurture your creative idea until it becomes a unique script and then dedicate your life to making this script into a movie. If your idea is as good as you think it is you will do quite well on the film festival circuit. If this happens it could lead to a decent distribution deal for your movie. If you stick with it and continue to make films you may even find that you have made yourself a career as a professional artist who makes independent films, and that dreams really can become reality.

Business Growth – Grow Sustainably Or Go Bankrupt

Posted on May 30, 2023 by schatzi

Growth and the management of growth present special problems in financial planning. Growth is not always a blessing. Many companies are in a financial predicament, have cash flow problems or even go bankrupt while they have full order books. There can be several causes for this phenomenon. One of the major causes, however, is the fact that companies grow too fast for their strategic financial resources to support them.

A higher turnover implicates higher assets in the form of stock, debtors and fixed assets. To achieve a sustainable growth rate these assets need to be financed through financial resources that is generated by a company or that can be accessed by a company. The biggest constraint, therefore, of sustainable growth, is the ability to generate sufficient capital to finance the increase in assets (working-capital needs increase). Non-financial resources that also need to grow sustainably include a company’s systems as well as the skills and experience of its employees.

Importance of Growth

Growth is essential for the survival of a company. Strategically a company needs to grow to increase its market share and to achieve a competitive edge against its competitors. Other important benefits of growth are a company’s assets that can be used more optimally, economies of scale that occur and profitability that can increase. In the final analysis growth is extremely important to optimally position a company for harvesting purposes.

Determinants of Sustainable Growth

Sustainable growth is dependent on the rate that a company can generate funds and utilise these funds effectively. The maximum rate at which a company can increase its sales without depleting its financial resources is called the sustainable growth rate. The major determinants of sustainable growth are rate of return, financial leverage, dividend policy and external equity.

Rate of Return – The rate of return that a company achieves forms the basis of how fast the company can grow. The profit margin of a company (after tax) multiplied by the asset turnover (sales divided by total assets) gives the rate of return or return on assets (ROA) of the company.
Financial Leverage – A company often uses debt to leverage a constant rate of return (ROA) to achieve a much higher return on equity (ROE).
Dividend Policy – The dividend policy of a company is a critical variable in manipulating the sustainable growth rate. A dividend payout of 50% allows a company to only grow half as fast as a similar company with no dividends being paid out.
External Equity – External equity is the most expensive form of growth financing and dilute the shareholders return. External equity should only be used as a last resource to finance a company.

An Example of Sustainable Growth.

Various sustainable growth rate formulas exist. Some of them analyse much detail and take inflation, interest rates, external equity and various components of a business into account. A basic formula (formulated by Hewlett-Packard) that is very helpful, is:

SGR = ROE*r

where:

SGR = sustainable growth rate

r = retention ratio (1 – dividend payout ratio)

ROE = net profit margin * asset turnover * equity multiplier

The above formula takes the rate of return, financial leverage and dividend policy of a company into consideration. It is based on the following premises:

It is not practical (or possible) to issue more shares (dilute equity).
The company is effectively managed and the profit margin and asset turnover is at optimum levels.
The dividend payout is at the minimum level to keep the shareholders at ease.If we take a company with the following performance indicators:
The debt/equity level is at an optimum level considering the risk profile of the company.

If we take a company with the following performance indicators:

Turnover (sales) – $100 million
Net Profit (after tax) – $8 million
Equity – $20 million
Total assets – $50 million
Dividend Payout – 0.4 (40%).

Therefore:

Net Profit Margin = 8/100 = 8%
Asset Turnover = 100/50 = 2
Financial Leverage = 50/20 = 2.5
Retention Ratio = 1 – 0.4 = 0.6

The sustainable growth rate is:

SGR = ROE*r

= (8%*2*2.5*0.6)

= 24%

It means that if this company uses all its internal financial resources effectively that it can grow it sales at a maximum of 24%. The company’s turnover can thus increase from $100 million to $124 million. If the company grow faster than 24% with its current parameters it is actually creating cash flow problems and this can finally lead to bankruptcy.

How can a company grow faster?

If a company wants to grow faster than what their sustainable growth rate indicates and they don’t want to dilute their equity they need to generate more finances through one or more of the following:

Higher profitability – this can be achieved by several factors such as higher gross margins and lower expenditures.
Better asset management – this can be achieved by creating more sales and profits in relation to assets and to decrease stock levels and debtor days.
A higher retention ratio – the majority of profits are ploughed back into the business.
A higher debt ratio – asset expansion is financed mostly by debt.

Summary

Growth is extremely important for any company to survive, gain market share, get a competitive edge and to position itself for harvesting. Uncontrollable growth is, however, just as damaging as very low growth and can put a serious strain on a company’s cash flow and can even lead to bankruptcy.

The management of a company can, however, scientifically analyse the optimum sustainable growth rate of the company with the use of financial ratios and models. The sustainable growth rate of a company can be increased if its determinants can be managed more effectively.

Sustainable growth should form an integral part of the strategy of any company and should be managed professionally.