Recent years have brought travel risks to the forefront of consumers’ minds: the economic downturn and safety risks overseas due to political unrest to name a few.

There are two broad types of travel-related coverage for those leaving the United States:
• Travel insurance covers the loss of the prepaid travel costs of a trip should it be canceled, interrupted, or postponed. It also can reimburse unexpected expenses incurred due to a sudden change in travel plans due to illness or other causes.
• Specialty medical coverage protects against personal insurance risks when someone is outside the United States.

Travelers can buy travel coverage in conjunction with their travel tour, hotel bookings or flight reservations. It’s also available from providers that specialize in the international insurance market. For example, Continental, a major international airline, offers trip cancellation and interruption coverage through its reservations Web site. The coverage reimburses the traveler for “prepaid, unused, non-refundable travel expenses should your trip be cancelled or interrupted due to any covered reason.” Such reasons include: inclement weather, an unexpected illness, death of a traveler, and travel delays.

The Insurance Information Network of California notes that trip insurance providers sometimes require a physician’s verification if a trip must be canceled before it occurs. It advises buyers to check whether the travel coverage is “cancel for any reason protection,” or more limited coverage.

Trip interruption insurance is another variation. It can provide reimbursement for extra food and lodging costs if a traveler becomes ill during the course of a trip. Some plans cover medical costs. Trip delay insurance covers expenses a traveler incurs in resuming a planned trip or returning home after being quarantined in another country. Often these various coverages are bundled and sold together in a package.

Short-term medical insurance may be appropriate for the millions of U.S. residents who travel outside the U.S. every year. Those who travel outside of America may be going beyond the boundaries of their medical insurance without knowing it, according to Clements International, a provider of international insurance policies.

The unpredictable nature of the spreading of swine flu that began in April 2009 has heightened awareness of health risks while traveling around the world. Travelers may wish to consider short-term medical insurance if they’re traveling outside of the United States for an extended vacation or business trip. To determine whether it’s necessary, it’s advisable to check if a domestic health insurance policy covers out-of-country travel. If not, short-term medical insurance provides coverage for illnesses or medical evacuation that occurs while traveling outside of the United States.

International travelers face the same insurance risks (and sometimes additional risks) while outside the country that they do while stateside. Life insurance issued in the U.S. may not be available on the same basis while a person is traveling for an extended period as when not traveling. It’s prudent to check on the validity of life insurance coverage as part of the travel-planning process.

Check with your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent about what type of insurance protection might be needed if taking an overseas trip. You can find an insurance professional at www.TrustedChoice.com.

Congratulations Class of 2012: Now It’s Time to Graduate to Your Own Insurance!

It’s a rite of passage for college students to don cap and gown and march for graduation ceremonies- in fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), nearly 1.8 million students will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in 2012. As those 1.8 million make the transition from undergraduates to careers, pursuit of advanced degrees or back into mom and dad’s basement, it’s critical that they understand how walking across that stage may have changed their insurance needs. While every individual’s needs are unique, here are five basic insurance coverages that all college grads should consider, to see if they apply:

Auto insurance

A shiny new car, whether owned or leased, holds appeal for newly employed college grads. Auto insurance helps cope with the expenses of accidents, vandalism or theft. A lender or leasing company that finances the vehicle will require auto insurance. Car accidents can create large liabilities for a driver, so the liability portion of auto coverage helps protect the bank account. Plus, auto insurance covers many legal expenses if a driver is sued. If a graduate who already owns a car is moving, where they keep and register the car, especially from one state to another, can impact coverage. It’s important for new graduates to let their insurance agent know about these moves to make sure their current coverage will still apply, or if they’ll need a new policy.

Health insurance

Under the new federal health care law, children can remain on their parent’s health insurance policy until age 26. With unemployment and underemployment high among those in their early twenties, this can provide many recent grads with health insurance until they are able to get it through their employer or an individual policy. Individual policies can be pricey and differ significantly in coverage, so talk with a Trusted Choice® insurance professional about what makes the most sense.

Homeowners or renters insurance

College grads starting out may not own a home yet, but may rent a residence. To make sure their possessions are protected, homeowners and renters insurance offer comprehensive coverage whether at home or traveling. Liability insurance included in renters and homeowners coverage also helps protects against the risk of being sued. There usually are limitations on renters coverages within a group house—a typical post-graduate arrangement—so it is important to understand the details of a policy.

Life insurance

New grads may find a job with an employer that offers group term life insurance coverage. However, those with children may find it worthwhile to buy additional term life insurance or permanent life insurance, which builds cash value over time.

Disability insurance

This is a vital but often-overlooked insurance coverage. It provides income when a person is injured or disabled, whether on the job or off. A Trusted Choice® insurance professional can calculate the right amount of coverage to help a person live while recovering.

New college grads may want to lean financially on their parents’ insurance coverages as long as possible (though mom and dad might feel a little differently!). While that makes sense, it’s not always viable. For instance, auto insurance companies will require an owner or lessee of a car to carry their own coverage. There are plenty of insurance policies out there that new grads won’t need, unless there are special circumstances, such as air travel insurance, contact lens insurance or cancer insurance. Typically, it is better to have comprehensive policies like renters or health.

Parents of new graduates also should take this time to review their own insurance portfolios, as there may be opportunities to reduce their premiums when child moves out of the home.

A Trusted Choice® insurance professional can help new grads and their families navigate these waters, to provide sensible coverage that won’t break the bank.

Remember the days of curling up to the radio on a Saturday night, torturing yourself through commercials and lame tunes just to be able to crank it when Mr. DJ played your favorite song?

No longer does one require the patience to spend an entire evening anticipating the next round of “Love Me Tender” or the BOC’s “Godzilla.” File-sharing programs make an instant world faster—obtaining music and video clips with a click. Popular versions like iTunes legitimize the process through pages of service agreements and per-transfer fees, but every program is not so “official.”

Unauthorized file sharing is easy, cheap (meaning free) and illegal. Consider the recent case of BMG Music et al v. Cecilia Gonzalez. In this case, a federal court ruled that the illegal downloading of songs by a consumer (as in the individual doing the downloading, not the entity responsible for the file-sharing platform) constituted copyright infringement. The damages awarded against her totaled $22,500—for downloading 30 songs at $750 penalty per song.

Seem steep? It could have been much worse. The defendant had actually downloaded 1,370 songs. Federal law permits an assessment of $30,000 per song. Had they chosen the full course of action, damages against Gonzalez in this case would have resulted in over $41 million!

This case is proof that the federal government intends to secure the integrity of copyrights, even if it means rendering judgment against individual consumers. The bad news for these consumers is that such a judgment will not be covered by homeowner’s insurance.

Personal liability afforded under a typical homeowners insurance policy does not cover liability claims that do not involve bodily injury or property damage arising out of an “occurrence.” Since “occurrence” constitutes an accident or exposure to harmful conditions, it is not likely the insurance company will look any further to find a reason to provide you with coverage (downloading that latest Springsteen track for free was no accident).

Even if you did jump that hurdle, you’re still fighting an uphill battle. Property damage constitutes physical injury to tangible property: ripping off mp3 files hardly fits the bill.

Even homeowners with personal injury liability (which extends liability insurance to pay claims such as libel, slander, and violation of privacy rights) are exposed: This insurance says nothing of covering claims of copyright violation, nor will it cover criminal acts.

This information should serve as a somber reminder that households downloading illegal files are in danger of incurring a large out-of-pocket expense that no personal insurance intends to pay. Parents should be especially careful; in many households it is not mom or dad downloading the copyrighted music. A look at the music library on many children and teenager’s computers could shock you—they could have hundreds or thousands of songs. If your children are file-sharers, check their preferred sources for legitimacy and remind them why this is important.

When it comes to downloading music, “free” can come with a big price. Enjoy the tunes but proceed with caution. Ask your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent to talk with you about these and other possible exposures.

Is a GPS Covered by an Auto Policy?

Some may view them as science fiction gone wild. Others see them as indispensable, possibly life-saving tools. Regardless of your feelings about Global Positioning Systems (GPS), they continue to occupy the dashboards of millions of U.S. vehicles each year. The pervasiveness and expense of the technology has drivers asking if their GPS systems are covered by auto insurance.

Personal Auto Insurance

Whether its finding alternative routes to beat traffic or an Italian restaurant for the family, drivers rely on their GPS to get them places without the stress of winding up who knows where with an empty tank, no cellular service and shrieking children.

If you depend on your GPS to maintain safety and sanity in your personal vehicle, you should call your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent and request that your auto insurance policy be endorsed to cover the system; failure to make this request will likely result in no coverage for the system after a loss. This is because most personal auto policies strictly limit or totally exclude coverage for GPS and other electronic devices in your car that are not used to operate the vehicle. Some policies will offer limited coverage for GPS devices that are built into the vehicle by the manufacturer or even some portable systems; however this is not the case for all policies and those that do include coverage are limited.

Business Auto Insurance 



Any business person who has ever gotten lost finding a jobsite or received lousy directions to a meeting can attest to the value of a GPS system. Many businesses invest thousands into such systems for the mobile among their ranks—an investment that could be lost if the system is damaged in a crash or stolen.
Similar to personal auto insurance policies, covering a GPS device under a business auto insurance policy likely requires a call to your insurance agent. Your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent should be able to endorse your policy to include coverage for the GPS system. This endorsement is necessary for most business auto policies—those that do extend coverage to the GPS system will do so only in a limited capacity; still leaving you with a bill for the damage.

Moral of the Story: Call Your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent

Regardless of the level of dependence you invest, losing the ability to use your vehicle’s GPS system because it is damaged in an accident or stolen is frustrating and expensive. Calling your agent will help you discover how much coverage your current auto policy will offer towards replacing the damaged system. If your current auto policy does not offer any coverage, your agent can discuss with you how to close this gap.

How safe is private information when stored electronically?
You may not want to know the answer to that question. But if you’re just a bit curious, consider visiting privacyrights.org/data-breach.

The site allows you to scroll through a frequently updated chronological list of reported breaches of private data. Some data are lifted from large companies everyone’s heard of. What’s surprising is how many of the breaches occur at smaller organizations.
The information on this site should serve as proof that when it comes to the safety of personal data, businesses big and small must be on alert!
While it’s the large breaches that make headlines—think Citigroup or Bank of America—smaller businesses may be at a greater risk. They often lack the infrastructure and resources to protect from cyber criminals.
What does a cyber crime cost? According to the Ponemon Institute’s First Annual Cost of Cyber Crime Study, published in July 2010, a business can expect to pay an average of $204 per customer record that is lost or stolen.

Cyber Crime Defined
According to the Ponemon study, the list of cyber crimes is rapidly growing. While many are aware of common cyber crimes, such as identity theft, the list also includes other crimes that can cause damage to a business’s electronic infrastructure. Examples: theft of a business’s intellectual property, the creation/distribution of viruses and malicious code, and the publishing of private data in a public forum online.
Business owners may struggle to keep up with these often-sophisticated threats. Such threats place a tremendous burden on business owners to prevent these losses. Many states have turned to legislation that requires business owners to spend money notifying consumers when a potential breach has occurred.
And some such laws go as far as to require the business owner to help pay the cost of the consumer’s data recovery. In March 2010, Massachusetts became the first state to pass comprehensive legislation requiring business owners to take preventative measures to protect data before the loss happens. Failure to do so can result in fines against the business owner.
Business owners in other states also may be impacted by this law, as it’s designed to protect residents of Massachusetts regardless of where the breach occurs. That means your business, even if located in another state, may be subject to fine if your records contain private information on Massachusetts consumers and those records are breached.
Protecting Your Firm
There are a number of insurance products available to help business owners to deal with the cost of cyber crime. Policies may address both first and third-party losses.
What is a first-party loss? This is a cost the business owners may absorb to cover the firm’s own expenses caused by a cyber crime. Examples may include:
- Notification and credit-monitoring for compromised individuals. (Most states currently have laws in place requiring the business to pay the cost of notifying all consumers that may be victimized by a breach. Most laws require these costs to be paid regardless of whether or not the consumer has suffered financial damages resulting from the breach.)
- Cost to restore data that has been stolen or damaged.
- Lost income resulting from down time caused by a damaged network, lost information or data breach.
How about a third-party loss? When a cyber crime occurs against a business, other parties also could be impacted. A third-party loss describes costs that appear when others incur expenses that can be attributed to the cyber crime. Examples may include:
- Defense costs.
- Judgments and settlements for lawsuits brought by customers, employees and other third parties—such as a company claiming its network was damaged by a virus from another infected network.
- Costs associated with fines or penalties imposed by a regulatory body.
Why Coverage is Critical
Cyber insurance is designed to protect a business when costs are incurred due to a cyber crime. Business owners should note that common insurance policies such as commercial property, . business income, and general liability often restrict—and in many cases exclude—cyber-related damage.
Business owners beware: You should be skeptical of enhancements to such common policies designed to address the cyber exposure. These so-called “cyber enhancements” are often very limited and should not be relied upon without thorough examination of an insurance professional.
Final Note
If you’re a business owner, threats to your data come from a variety of sources. Whether you’re the victim of a random hack, disgruntled former or current employee, angry competitor or anyone else, cyber crimes can serious damage your business. Worse, if the crime results in a breach of private consumer data, state law may impose significant fines that could devastate your firm’s bottom line. For more information about insuring against these growing exposures, call your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent today.

Spring Forward: Spring Cleaning and Safety Updates
Temperatures are getting warmer and now that it’s spring, it’s time for spring cleaning and making spring time repairs around the house. Taking care of our homes is important, so take a moment to understand how taking care of things around the house can impact your insurance with these spring time tips:

Spring cleaning inside the house
Time to dust, sweep, vacuum and scrub! For many of us, this can also mean cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, where we might find ourselves using chemical based cleaning agents. Make sure that if you’re using these using chemical cleaners you properly ventilate the room you’re in, because sometimes the fumes from these products can be quite powerful. It can be as simple as opening windows and make sure you keep interior doors open to allow air to flow throughout the house. These simple steps can help you prevent getting too dizzy, or potentially passing out if you breathe in too many fumes. It’s also critical to keep and store these products safely- keep them in a cool dry place that isn’t accessible to small children or pets, and always follow the instructions on chemical cleaning products.

You should follow similar rules for ventilation and storage when working with paint or wood stains. In addition to fumes, paint also poses separate risks to hardwood floors, carpets and furniture, so whether you’re just touching up a window frame or redoing the whole room, make sure you use drop cloths to protect floors and furniture. In fact, if you can, move all furniture and area rugs out of the room when painting, but if you cannot, make sure they’re clear of the walls and covered. The last thing you want is a paint stain on your carpets, hardwoods or your furniture.

Never dispose of paint or chemical cleaners down your sink- if you want to get rid of extra or expired cleaning products and paint, contact your local municipality about how and where you can dispose of these items safely. Many communities will designate certain days when they will collect these items so that they can be disposed of appropriately. If you were to improperly dispose of these items you could be found liable for any property or environmental damage they may cause, including clean-up costs and fines from local, state and federal authorities, and under a standard homeowners policy you would not have coverage if you dumped the chemicals, and those costs would come out of pocket.

Checking for Unwanted Guests
No, not the in-laws, but wild animals. During the winter months when temperatures drop, humans aren’t the only ones looking to get in out of the cold. If animals get into your home they have the potential to cause damage to the house, your belongings and they may leave a mess. Certain types of damage by animals may not be covered by your insurance policy, but if you discover damage that appears to be the work of an animal, notify your Trusted Choice® insurance agent and take appropriate steps to remove the animals, and consider hiring a professional pest control firm if you aren’t comfortable doing so yourself.

Reduce your risk of a fire loss
While you’re cleaning the house, take a few moments to check fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. As you go through the house replace all of the batteries in your smoke detectors and test to make sure they work. If you own a fire extinguisher- check its pressure. Most municipalities have inspection requirements for fire extinguishers in public or commercial buildings, but not for private homes, so it’s important you check on at least an annual basis. While extinguishers have a longer shelf life than most products, over time they may lose pressure and the last thing you want to have happen when facing a kitchen fire is to have the extinguisher fail to actually extinguish a fire. When purchasing a fire extinguisher for your home, see that it’s classified for A, B and C fires. These classifications refer to different types of fires- ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids/gases and electrical fires. You want to make sure that your extinguisher is capable of handling these different types of fires.

Dust off the insurance policy
Finally, spring is a great time to review the “whole picture” of your homeowners or renters insurance. Trusted Choice agents have the ability to write insurance with multiple insurance companies, because, like the seasons, your insurance needs change. A Trusted Choice agent can work with you to make sure your coverage fits you and your family’s needs.

You Posted What!? Teens, Social Media and a Parent’s Liability
Jealousy. Passion. Betrayal. No, not the latest television drama, but high school. For many the high school experience comes with social pressures and obligations to fit in and belong, and sadly this can lead to exclusion and isolation of some students. At some point we all probably said something in our teen years in the heat of the moment that we wish we could take back, but today’s teens face the added burden that if they convey those statements on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, their words could be around for a lot longer than just the heat of the moment.

It doesn’t take much searching of the news to see stories of teens using social media sites like Facebook to transfer the cruelty of high school hallways into the online world. Teens that make fun of a student or tease them may not just be responsible for hurt feelings, but if they’re publishing bullying or teasing posts online or revealing private information about another teen in a public forum, whether a blog, to their Facebook profile or other social space, they may be exposing you and your insurance policy to a claim.

Are my kids covered under my insurance?
Generally speaking, any coverage you have through your homeowners or renters insurance policy also provides coverage to other residents of the household, including your teenage children. Standard homeowners and renters policies include liability protection for bodily injury or property damage, which would pay for the costs to cover medical bills or repair/replacement costs if your child injured a friend in a pick-up basketball game or if they were at a friend’s house and accidentally spilled soda on a $13,000 oriental rug, subject you your policy’s deductible.

But what if your son or daughter were to post rumors about other teens online that implied drug use, promiscuity, or other information that could damage that person’s reputation? With college admissions offices and employers beginning to look up applicants on social networking sites, rumors and gossip have the very serious potential to damage someone’s ability to get into the college of their choice, or find a job. Or if your son or daughter “outs” another teen’s sexual orientation, as in the case of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, there’s the potential that someone could pursue legal action under a type of defamation known as publication of private facts. Interestingly, a standard homeowners or renters policy would not cover these instances.

So what can you do?
Get a Personal Injury Endorsement
In order to cover claims from that kind of situation, homeowners and renters policies must have what is called an endorsement- extra language that is inserted into the policy to expand coverage- in order to have your liability protection extended to cover “personal injury.” A Trusted Choice ® Independent Insurance Agent should be able to tell you if your current insurance policy already has this personal injury endorsement by reviewing it, and if it doesn’t, they would be able to help you get one. You may be surprised to find that this expanded coverage may not cost you much additional premium. A personal injury endorsement will pay the costs up to the limits of your policy to defend you, pay a judgment or settle a case when legal action is brought against you or your children for defamation.

Make sure that if you’re a parent, you talk to your children about social media, how they use it and what’s expected of them. It’s critical that they understand how their use of social media could impact your insurance. Some parents choose to actively monitor their children’s use of social media, and there are various software programs available to assist those who want to closely monitor what their children do in social spaces for parents who want access to their children’s profiles. No matter what you choose to do, we should all encourage each other to treat others with respect.

Has your neighborhood community center asked for a either a hold-harmless agreement or a damage deposit exceeding your current mortgage payment?

Welcome to the world of personal event risk management!

While businesses are typically well versed in the insurance and contractual agreement vagaries of booking meeting rooms or convention locations, many individuals only encounter such complexities when it comes time for the family reunion, wedding or NCAA finals/Super Bowl/World Series/Nascar or just name-your-favorite-sport excuse for a big bash party. When it comes to needing protection for such events, will your current insurance coverage ride to the rescue or leave you standing at the altar?

Am I Covered?

For example, let’s say you’re renting a local meeting hall or church activity center for your daughter’s wedding reception. The owner of the facility asks you to sign a written lease agreement, including a section that states you agree to hold them harmless from any liability claims against them arising from your activities at their location. Will your homeowners policy protect you for liability claims against you arising from the reception? And what about that contract and hold-harmless?

Good news on both fronts! Standard home insurance policies include liability protection for claims against you arising from “insured locations.” While that obviously includes your actual home or apartment, it also typically includes other locations you occasionally borrow or rent purely for personal use. And as for the lease and hold-harmless agreement, your policy also includes coverage for liability assumed under a contract related to the maintenance or use of an “insured location.”

Potential Issues

So far, so good. But while liability arising for injury to a guest at the location certainly can represent a huge potential exposure to loss, don’t overlook other critical issues. Here are just a few:
•    Auto liability claims: Are you arranging for cars to drive guests and/or the wedding party to the location? Offering valet parking?
•    Damage to the event location.
•    Damage/loss of your personal property at the location: wedding presents; rented catering equipment, tables, chairs, games, and portable sound systems?
•    Injury to onsite contractors, such as caterers and musicians.
•    Are you serving alcoholic beverages? Will you have an open or cash bar? Will the location furnishes the liquor or are you bringing your own?
•    If you serve liquor, what arrangement have you made to get inebriated guests home safely?
•    If none, what if they cause an accident and you get sued since you furnished the drinks?

Clearly taking on the responsibility for such events goes far beyond negotiation of rental fees, color coordination of the decorations, and who is going to drive Uncle Fred home after his 15th trip to the punch bowl.

But that is no reason to cancel your plans! When it comes to insurance and risk management questions, help is as close as your local Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent. They are waiting to help you review these and other concerns. They’re armed with answers for what is already provided by your current insurance—including options for filling any gaps. And they have risk management tips to eliminate or minimize many potential sources of loss for others.

Your Trusted Choice® agent: keeping March Madness about sports, not your personal risk. Party on!

Those who don’t buy shiny things for Valentine’s Day may prefer other types of valuables, such as electronics, artwork, antiques, wine and furs. All totaled Valentine’s Day spending will tally approximately $17.6 billion of retail sales, with $4.1 billion of that being spent on jewelry, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Trends report.

Whatever the purchase, American consumers should take steps to safeguard and insure their valuables. Homeowners insurance generally covers valuable and precious items such as jewelry, but they usually have limits, so it’s important for consumers to check with a Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent to make sure they’re covered.
While most homeowner’s insurance policies cover risks such as fire, lightning, and windstorm, they may exclude many events that create financial losses- for example, a claim that is submitted because “my three-year-old dropped my new diamond earrings into the toilet and flushed” may not be covered under a typical policy. To cover these kinds of incidents—or other situations that the insurance industry has dubbed “mysterious disappearance” —you’ll need what’s known as a valuable articles personal property endorsement on your homeowner’s contract. Some homeowner’s insurance carriers also sell stand-alone valuables policies.

Another reason to contact your Trusted Choice agent? Typically insurance policies restrict the dollar amount of coverage for individual valuable items in the case of theft ($1,000- $1,500), so you want to make sure that if jewelry is ever stolen, you’re not stuck with coverage that is less than the value of the item.

With valuable items, two of the biggest snags that consumers run into at the time of a claim are proving that an item is missing or stolen, and establishing a value for the items. In fact, insurance carriers, when contacted for a claim, sometimes even ask consumers to get a police report for the missing item, even if the loss was not thought to be a theft.
Proving the value of items is very important when it’s time to file a claim. Claims are simpler and faster for consumers when they have photos of valuable items and collections; receipts or appraisal reports: and a written inventory.

Most additions to your homeowners policy or a separate valuables policies can provide:
• Coverage for mysterious disappearance as well as flooding or breakage.
• $0 deductible, which means that the entire replacement cost of that engagement ring is covered.
• Blanket coverage for groups of valuables such as jewelry, crystal, or fine arts.
• “Scheduled” coverage (meaning that items are individually listed) for valuables.
• Coverage for valuables purchased but not yet reported to the insurance agent or carrier.

Whatever is on your Valentine’s Day wish list or shopping list, protect it. It’ll help you love it even more. Need to know what’s best to protect your Valentine’s Day gift? Ask your Trusted Choice insurance professional. He or she may need a copy of your receipt or bill of sale for jewelry, furs, electronics and other valuable items in order to help secure the right coverage, but in the end, you’ll love them for it.

Rates on the 30-year loan have been below 4% for three months. That has made home-buying and refinancing more attractive for those who can qualify.

The super-low rates are helping the housing market recover, albeit slowly. Home sales have been rising and the four-week average of home purchase applications was up in January and February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In recent months, other signs have emerged that suggest the troubled housing market could start to turn around this year.

Builders are more optimistic after seeing more people express interest in buying a home. Construction has picked up and builders are requesting more permits to build single-family homes. And the supply of homes on the market is falling, which could send home prices higher.