Posts Tagged ‘insurance’
Health Insurance: Rick Young Insurance
May 23rd, 2012
-phone number: (800) 580-3449 -website: rickyounginsurance.com
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4 things you need to know about disability insurance
May 23rd, 2012
Kathryn Hawkins
The Aflac duck quacks about it all the time — disability insurance. But do you really know much about it? Probably not. And your relatives, friends and co-workers probably don’t either.
A study by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America and disability insurer Unum asked 3,000 Americans about their knowledge of group disability insurance. As the two organizations predicted, most people held many misconceptions about this type of insurance, with a foggy notion of how the benefits work.
“For consumers, disability insurance represents an important means of income protection but is given relatively little attention by employer, worker and consumer groups, and even by the press,” says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. “We thought a survey might focus more attention on this issue, and it already has, in part because we found that when employees know something about group coverage, almost all of them want it.”
Here are four things you need to know about disability insurance to get your financial ducks in a row.
1. You’re more likely to make a disability claim for a disability related to an illness, rather than an injury.
Two-thirds of people surveyed thought they were likely to make a disability claim only if they suffered an injury that required significant time off from work. However, according to the Council for Disability Awareness, common illnesses and chronic conditions account for 90 percent of all disability claims paid. Those include ailments like carpal tunnel syndrome, multiple sclerosis and cancer.
2. If you become disabled, there’s a 50 percent chance that you’ll be out of work for more than two years.
People who were surveyed were overly optimistic about how soon recipients of disability insurance benefits could bounce back. They incorrectly thought that three-fourths of people who’ve been out of work for three months because of a disability would be able to return to work within two years. In reality, only half of them are able to return within that period.
In the absence of a disability insurance policy, this can cause huge financial and emotional strain on a family, says Marc Cesarano, an employee benefits consultant at the Savitz Organization in Philadelphia.
“Being disabled for six months or more can have a domino effect on a person’s financial situation. This is a time when most people’s medical costs are increasing, and they could possibly lose their job,” Cesarano says. “However, those who do not have money put aside may be in a situation where their income is decreasing at the time they need it most.”
3. You may not have the workplace coverage that you think you do.
In the study, there was a big disconnect between how many people thought they had disability coverage through their employers (65 percent) and how many actually do (32 percent). Of those who thought they had coverage, many didn’t know how much coverage they’d receive when making a claim, or how much the employee or employer paid each month in premiums.
If you have coverage (or think you have it) through your employer, talk with someone in your human resources department about when you’d receive coverage if you need it, and how it compares with your current salary. It may not be enough. Employer-backed disability insurance is shown as a percentage — often 66 percent — of your base salary.
“Total cash compensation that consumers actually live on may be based on salary plus bonus (or commission),” says Laurence Stybel, co-founder and former president of career management firm Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire Inc. “The result is that many employees are underinsured and do not know it.”
Additionally, many group policies — coverage bought by employers — limit the amount of time that a group policy will continue paying out. Some employers offer only short-term policies, which may provide anywhere from several weeks to one year of coverage; some long-term policies may provide two years of coverage.
If you’re underinsured, investigate your options for paying additional premiums to get more coverage. If your company offers no insurance at all, consider buying an individual disability insurance policy.
4. Disability coverage is more affordable than you may think.
In the survey, the Consumer Federation of America and Unum found the average monthly cost of employer-sponsored, long-term disability insurance plans ranged from $ 10 to $ 30 — an affordable amount that more than half of people questioned in the survey said they’d be willing to pay for on their own, even if their employers didn’t chip in.
If you need to buy individual long-term disability insurance (either because your employer doesn’t offer it or you’re self-employed), your options are generally more expensive, but may be more comprehensive. According to the LIMRA trade group, the average annual cost for an individual disability premium is $ 1,684 for a $ 4,242 monthly benefit. If you’re self-employed, the cost of your premiums is tax-deductible.
The bottom line
If your family relies on your income to pay bills, disability insurance is an essential tool for helping your household stay afloat in the event of a long-lasting illness or injury, experts say. The chances of needing disability insurance are significant. According to the Social Security Administration, 30 percent of all working Americans will suffer a disability sometime during their careers.
“Your most important asset is your ability to earn,” says Susan Combs, president of Combs & Co. Insurance in New York. “You insure your car, your apartment, your business and your life, so why wouldn’t you insure your income?”
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Getting Your House In Order: For People With Homeowners Insurance, Mark Emory Ho
May 23rd, 2012
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Behnke & Associates | Insurance Company | Hollywood, FL
May 23rd, 2012
Based in Hollywood, Florida, Behnke & Associates provides comprehensive insurance coverage for a range of pertinent life areas. They specialize in quality, affordable auto, home and renters, business, flood, life and health insurance. Call for an accurate quote on the insurance you need today! Visit us www.yellowpages.com
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Fred Loya Insurance
May 23rd, 2012
Fred Loya is a premier auto insurance provider. We offer very competitive rates. We serve the states of Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and Illinois.
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The mask: Life insurance and sleep apnea — treatment lowers your rates
May 23rd, 2012
The mask: Life insurance and sleep apnea — treatment lowers your rates
In addition to the health implications, sleep apnea is also a factor when it comes to life and health insurance. "A diagnosis of sleep apnea can result in a 'decline to cover' by a life insurance company. If the insurance company does provide coverage, …
Read more on Fox Business
Largest Life & Annuity Insurers' Profits Drop 84 Percent
Hartford Life Insurance Company, a unit of Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG), with a Weiss Financial Strength Rating of C ("Fair"), reported a 50 percent increase in earnings, from $ 122.5 million to $ 184.2 million during the same period.
Read more on MarketWatch (press release)
Amica Life Insurance Company Deploys StoneRiver's LifeSuite® Automated …
OAKLAND, Calif., May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Amica Life Insurance Company, life subsidiary of Amica Mutual Insurance Company, and StoneRiver Inc., trusted insurance technology partner, announced today that Amica Life is now in production with …
Read more on PR Newswire (press release)
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ARG and Associates Insurance & Financial Services Inc. – Beverly Hills, CA
May 22nd, 2012
The staff at ARG and Associates Insurance & Financial Services Inc. has a combined 60 years of experience handling all lines of insurance for individual and business clients. They are dedicated to meeting all of our customers’ insurance needs regardless of their driving record or prior health issues. To learn more about how ARG and Associates can help visit www.argins.com or call 1-800-566-8689 to request a free, instant quote.
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Will new Florida law really crack down on auto insurance fraud?
May 22nd, 2012
Nick DiUlio
It’s been a long time coming, but Florida lawmakers finally have taken action to fight severe fraud and abuse that have plagued the state’s auto insurance market for several years. As a result of the legislative change, auto insurance premiums in Florida could start falling within a year, experts say.
“I think these reforms were absolutely necessary,” says Robin Smith Westcott, insurance consumer advocate for the State of Florida. “We have people in the state who need to make the choice of being uninsured because they just can’t afford coverage. And fraud and abuse are at the root of this.”
On May 4, 2012, Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill that makes significant changes to the state’s no-fault auto insurance system. The law takes effect in July 2012.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, the law is designed to combat a few problems. For one, it should curb insurance fraud associated with staged accidents, which involve drivers intentionally causing crashes to collect insurance money. It also should reduce the abuse of personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, which has led to several problems, including medical-billing schemes, more lawsuits and higher auto insurance premiums for Florida’s drivers.
Ray Farmer, southeast region vice president for the American Insurance Association trade group, says: “Insurance fraud is an epidemic in Florida, and this is a big win for consumers.”
‘Epidemic’ in the making
The roots of the epidemic were planted when Florida’s PIP law was adopted in 1972.
What the law guaranteed was that anyone injured in an auto accident would quickly get money to treat his or her injuries. It required a driver’s insurance company to pay up as much as $ 10,000 to cover everything from medical bills to lost wages after an accident, regardless of who’s at fault. And for a while, everything went swimmingly — until about six years ago.
Between 2006 and 2010, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles recorded a decline in the number of car crashes — from 1.65 per 100 licensed drivers in 2006 to 1.52 in 2010. Yet over that same five-year period, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation discovered that the number of auto insurance claims climbed by 66 percent.
Studies by the Insurance Information Institute also showed a rise in the cost of each Florida auto insurance claim, from an average of $ 5,812 in 2008 to a peak of $ 8,796 by the end of 2010. Since it was widely accepted that fraud and abuse were to blame, this increase resulted in what many referred to as a “fraud tax” — the additional amount that consumers pay for coverage because of fraud. That tax was $ 58 per vehicle in 2011.
Florida drivers now pay the highest average auto liability premiums in the country, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association, a trade group.
“When PIP was enacted in 1972, I don’t think anyone anticipated this,” says Lynne McChristian, Florida representative for the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute. “The notion was that you would get the medical treatment you needed and the premise seemed sound. But that has not panned out in the long run.”
Cracking down on fraud and abuse
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Florida ranks first in the country for the number of staged accidents involving questionable insurance claims, and number one in the country for PIP fraud, which often involves deceptive drivers, shady medical clinics and unnecessary lawsuits.
Key provisions of the law include:
• People injured in an auto accident now are required to seek medical treatment from a hospital, family doctor or chiropractor within 14 days of the crash. Westcott says the requirement helps ensure that legitimate injuries are addressed quickly and that shady consumers don’t come out of the woodwork seeking to collect money a month after the accident.
• The full $ 10,000 PIP benefit will be available only if a doctor, dentist, physician’s assistant or registered nurse practitioner determines the insured person has an “emergency medical condition.” Otherwise, the PIP benefit will be capped at $ 2,500.
• PIP coverage of massage therapy and acupuncture will be eliminated. According to Westcott, massage and therapeutic exercise therapies have grown significantly over the past several years, making them the two most commonly billed — and abused — procedures in the PIP system.
• Only licensed clinics will be allowed to receive PIP reimbursements. The Insurance Information Institute says many “pain clinics” taking on PIP claims were unlicensed. Law enforcement officials have detected a link between unlicensed providers and staged accidents.
• Longer police reports must be filed for all auto accidents, allowing more crash details to be documented.
• Claims will continue to be paid within 30 days. However, if fraud is suspected, the new law extends the period for paying claims to 90 days, allowing for more thorough investigations.
“It’s important for people to understand that this law won’t change things for people who are legitimately injured in an accident,” says Sam Miller, a spokesman for the Florida Insurance Council, a trade group.
“If you’re involved in an accident and are really hurt, an ambulance takes you to the nearest hospital. If you’re not hurt right away but you wake up two days later and feel bad, you can still call your doctor or go to an emergency clinic. What you won’t be able to do is go to the 12th floor of some unscrupulous medical clinic in Miami when you’re not really hurt and burn through $ 10,000 of your benefits.”
National trend
Florida isn’t the only no-fault state grappling with auto insurance fraud and high premiums. According to a 2010 study by RAND Corp., auto liability premiums in no-fault states have been consistently higher than states without no-fault setups, and efforts to curb this trend are happening across the country:
• Michigan’s governor signed a bill in March 2012 that now makes it a felony to be or employ a “runner” to recruit people for staged accidents or to help commit other types of auto insurance fraud.
• Authorities in New York are using the courts to crack down on fraud. In March 2012, for instance, three dozen people were accused of participating in an auto insurance fraud ring that fraudulently billed insurers for more than $ 279 million in claims.
• Colorado repealed its no-fault system entirely in 2003. Colorado drivers now pay 35 percent less for auto insurance than they did before the system changed, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Jason Beans
Q: On the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidates have talked about getting rid of “ObamaCare.” What will happen with health care if a Republican becomes president and “ObamaCare” is dismantled?
A: In theory, talking about the “dismantling” of ObamaCare is a powerful sound bite for a Republican politician. But in reality, it’s not a foregone conclusion. Many factors could come into play to prevent that from happening. Here are three very real scenarios:
1. Full repeal — To “repeal” a law requires the passage of a new law. If the U.S. Senate remains controlled by Democrats, it could be hard — if not impossible — to “repeal” the federal health care reform law. Remember how hard it was for Democrats to pass the law in the first place, with a majority in the House and Senate and a Democrat in the White House? If any of those branches would have been in Republican control, the law would have not have passed. A full repeal likely would face the same hurdles.
2. Attack approach — A likely, effective tactic would be to attack unpopular sections of the law or to not allocate money to carry out the law. Wielding control over the law’s financial mechanisms would make effective implementation of the law virtually impossible.
3. Review requirement — In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the constitutionality of the law. The key provision being reviewed is the mandate for most Americans to buy health insurance. Without this requirement, ObamaCare would be financially indefensible; therefore, this Supreme Court ruling is critical.
Many of the requirements and costs of the health care reform law have been pushed to the state level. As they await the Supreme Court ruling, some states are behind on carrying out the requirements or have not even started. Furthermore, some states lack the funding to carry out the requirements. Stay tuned.
Jason Beans is CEO of Chicago-based Rising Medical Solutions, a medical cost containment/care management company serving the workers’ compensation, group health, auto and liability markets. Beans founded Rising in 1999. Since then, Beans has received a number of honors, including Business Council Advisory Man of the Year and Midwest finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Rising has appeared several times on the Private Company Index’s Top 10 Growth list and Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5000 list.
Beans earned a master’s degree from MIT’s Entrepreneurial Masters Program and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Boston College.
For more information, visit www.risingms.com.
If you have a health insurance question for Jason Beans, please send it to john.egan@insurancequotes.com.
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ALLSTATE HOME OWNERS insurance vintage 1960s B&W tv commercial (c194)
May 22nd, 2012
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Iowa Property Insurance Claims Attorney
May 22nd, 2012
To speak with an auto accident attorney in Des Moines and bankruptcy or child custody lawyers regarding your case, call the Hope Law Firm’s knowledgeable attorneys in Des Moines.
