Choosing the right individual health insurance policy can be tricky at times. You may find some good medical benefits through your employer. Alternatively, you may search for an individual health care policy that suits your budget. Once you’d follow a few simple steps, it will help to narrow down your options.
Individual needs: Assess your health budget on the basis of your current health conditions. Do you really need to go to your doctor too often? Do you maintain a good health consistently? Do you primarily depend on prescription drugs? These are some of the important things that you need to consider before you go out for shopping.
Higher deductible: If your health conditions are gradually improving then you may choose a high deductible policy. Deductible is an amount that you’re supposed to meet out-of-pocket while filing a claim. Once you pay the deductible, only then your carrier will compensate for the rest of your losses. Remember, that a high deductible worth $2000 may also seem small at times, especially when you’d need to file bigger claims.
Lower deductible: Under circumstances that you’d need to pay frequent visits to your doctor, you may consider opting for a lower deductible. This might also work if you’re relying too much on prescription drugs. By choosing a lower deductible you will save an amount that will offset your high premium cost every month.
PPO vs. HMO: Once you’ve chosen your preferred level of deductible, you may also check if you have any preferred network of doctors and hospitals to choose from. HMOs will charge a cheaper price, but you can’t go for doctors who don’t fall within their network. PPOs on the other hand will charge more each month, but you may choose out of your own preferred list.
You will need to shop a while in order to find a good individual health insurance plan within your budget. You will come across carriers who’re providing good services for years. There are many service providers in the U.S. who’re under the Blue Cross Blue Shield umbrella. However, it’s suggested that you go through a couple of offers and pick up the best one for yourself.
In order to obtain a new insurance policy you’ll need to establish a good bonding with your prospective carrier and agent. A detailed explanation of your coverage needs would help you pick the right policy, irrespective of whether you wish to cover a new car or an old one. It’s natural for you to compare the policy prices, but there are certain other factors that determine your coverage worth and the related premiums.
Compare insurance providers
All insurance providers don’t have the same financial strength. The bigger carriers will offer customized coverage for even the high-risk drivers. Other carriers will offer coverage for lower rates. Different carriers have the capacity to cover different classes of drivers. Apart from this, the coverage offers and the corresponding prices for a single driver or car model could vary between carriers. That’s why it’s so important that you should compare rates between two or more carriers while shopping for new auto insurance. Along with their rates, you should also compare their coverage benefits and other associated factors.
Improve your creditrating
Don’t ignore your credit profile while shopping for a new auto insurance policy. Auto insurance carriers will take this into account while determining your monthly premium. It’s truly important that you should improve your credit score in order to obtain better rates. You may expect better premiums if your credit rating is higher. However, even though you may possess a good credit record it will not help if your driving record is not good. Make sure you keep those speeding tickets and minor fender benders at bay!
Seek consumer opinion
Research a couple of insurance providers and their settlement history. Look for customer opinions online. You may go through a provider’s website and search for the BBB (Better Business Bureau). It’s not possible for a carrier to satisfy all of their customers, but you should keep an eye on the nature of complaints against them. Too many complaints regarding a carrier’s settlement issues is not acceptable.
Auto insurance is an absolute necessity and it helps if you’re smart at shopping. Make sure you remember the above factors while shopping for a new auto insurance policy.
It’s a painful experience for anyone of us if our house goes down wasting our life long efforts to build it. Catastrophic floods, storms and fires may cause such damages and destroy our family’s future.
Even though most of these disasters are “Acts of God”, we can certainly prepare ourselves for such unforeseen events. A few good steps might just save us from losses both in terms of lives and property. While signing for an insurance coverage we should keep in mind the following -
Disclose your address
Make sure you don’t forget to share your home address with the insurance underwriter. This is one way which enables you to determine your coverage limit irrespective of your future plans concerning your home. Your state laws determine your minimum coverage limit as well as the nature of losses that are to be covered under your policy. These days it’s quite natural for all mortgage lenders to seek proof of insurance. While doing so, they don’t even bother to stress out the coverage specifications.
Specified dwelling coverage
There are 2 good home insurance options for you to choose from. One of these options is to pick a policy that places a specified price tag against your home after you’ve encountered a loss. This price is worth the fair market value of your home as on the purchase date. You may also buy a home insurance policy to compensate for the home replacement cost in the event you meet with such calamities.
Get your home appraised
In order to determine your coverage need, you must first assess your home worth excluding the value of your personal belongings as well as the value of the land. You may count on factors like the ’square footage’, the number of rooms etc. while arriving at the true worth of your home. Factors like whether it’s a wooden home or one that’s made of bricks will also play a key role in determining it’s worth.
Remember the Inventory
Make sure that you retain all the receipts bearing the price and purchase date of your personal belongings. If possible take some snaps of all the items that you have. You could produce all of these as ‘proof’ under circumstances when an adjuster visits your home for inspection. Visit all the rooms in your house and make a note of all the items that are there. You may seek the help of the Household Inventory Schedules belonging to your carrier if you find this task toilsome and boring.
You should be equipped to meet any challenge that comes your way. If you’re not prepared to meet any unforeseen risk, you may have a few things to regret about in the end. After all, it’s your invaluable time and money that you’re investing every day!
Does rental insurance make sense? Many of you may be asking this question when you want to rent a car. The idea behind getting rental insurance is to protect you and the vehicle in case of any accident just like in car insurance. What may not make sense is buying all of the coverage provided by a rental company. It is very important that you decide on what coverage to buy and what not to buy.
Important factors to keep in mind when buying rental coverage
On the one hand, buying all the coverage provided by the insurer may increase your insurance costs, while on the other, not buying coverage may put you in a bad financial condition when you need protection. There are certain factors to keep in mind when you want to buy rental car insurance:
Collision or comprehensive coverage: If you have adequate collision or comprehensive coverage from your auto insurance, you may not need to buy Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW). However, you may still have to pay the deductible if the rental car gets stolen or vandalized or even if you crash it. If you want to buy CDW or LDW, you must opt for the one with the broadest coverage. Check with your rental company, since they may have different levels of waivers.
Liability Coverage: If you are covered for any liability through your auto policy, you may not buy liability coverage under rental insurance. Most states require these companies to provide the minimum required liability protection free of any charge. If you think you do not have adequate liability coverage through your auto policy, you may buy more insurance through your rental policy for better protection. The liability coverage that you have from your auto policy will kick in first if you get involved in an accident with your rental car and the excess will then be covered by the rental policy.
Health and homeowners’ insurance: If you have health insurance and homeowners insurance, you may not need to purchase accidental health and personal property insurance under a rental car policy. In case of any medical situation, your health insurance will kick in first, and same is the case with home insurance when it comes to losing any personal property.
The best thing to do when you want to buy rental insurance would be, to check your auto policy and your home insurance as well as health insurance, to see how you are being covered for different situations. This way you can save money on your rental car and not buy excess insurance that you may not need at all. Check your policy papers properly and in case of any doubt speak with your insurance agent.
Medicare is a federal health care program offered to U.S citizens aged 65 or older and to younger citizens with certain disabilities. It is also meant for citizens of all ages who are suffering from End stage renal disease like kidney failure. However, it does not cover all medical expenses or the cost of most long-term care. It has the following parts:
Part A: Hospital Insurance – This helps to cover inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and some home healthcare.
Part B: Medical Insurance – It helps to cover doctor’s services and any other medical services not covered by Hospital Insurance.
Part C: Medicare Advantage - This plan provides you with a combined coverage of both Medicare Part A and Part B. It is a coverage provided by the private insurance companies.
Part D: Prescription Drug coverage – This coverage help lower prescription drug cost and protects against higher cost in future.
Out-of-pocket expenses required by the policy
It is important to remember that neither Part A nor Part B of this policy pays for all of a covered person’s medical costs. This healthcare program contains such expenses like premiums, deductibles and coinsurance, which are to be covered by the beneficiary out of pocket.
Premium to be paid on this policy
Most people with this policy do not pay a monthly Part A premium, because they (or a spouse) have had 40 or more 3-month quarters in which they paid Federal Insurance Contribution Act taxes. People eligible for this plan, who do not have 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment may purchase Part A for a monthly premium.
All beneficiaries with Part B coverage pay a premium that is commonly deducted from the monthly Social Security checks of the beneficiaries. Charging premiums on the Part C and Part D plans is at the programs’ discretion, so you may or may not have to pay premiums.
Benefits of the coverage
Here are the following benefits on Medicare plans:
1. Low monthly payments: Most of the times the monthly payments are low and are deducted from a person’s social security check making the plan very affordable.
You may have to travel to a different country on long-term, get settled in another state or simply move from one insurer to another, which is why you need to cancel your auto policy. So that you do not have to spend a lot of money later, you need to go through a proper cancellation process.
Here is what you must do to properly cancel your auto insurance policy:
Inform insurance company: Call your insurer to inform him of your plans of cancellation. It is very important that you inform your carrier so that they do not bill you for the nest set of premiums at the end of the year.
Make sure that they know the date when you want to cancel. If you forget to mention the date, you may be driving your car without insurance oblivious of the fact.
Cancellation form: You will receive a cancellation form from your insurer. It is likely that the form will already be filled out upon receipt. You may just need to sign it. However, it is recommended that you go through the form once and see if the information provided is true to its effect. If you feel that there is any discrepancy, you may contact your insurer.
Premium refund: If you have paid off your annual premium for auto insurance, but would like to cancel your policy midway, you may be entitled to a refund of premiums.
If you wish to terminate your policy at the end of the policy period and forget to let your insurer know there could be serious consequences. You may receive a bill for your premiums for next year and failure to pay which might lead the insurance company to terminate your policy. If you think this is good news, then you must also be informed that this will go to your credit report. Once it is reported, you may find it quite difficult to get any further insurance.
Insurance claims, though a simple in process, may become somewhat crooked, with the wrong moves. There are dos and don’ts of filing for a claim which if followed properly, might make the process smoother for you.
Here is a list of don’t s you must know before filing a claim in general:
Don’t Be aggressive: Always keep a handy camera (disposable) in your car or you may also use your cell phone camera to take pictures of the accident scene. This is because you need to document the accident scene and taking pictures absolutely don’t mean you are being dramatic. You must be clear on your part, so have as much evidence as possible because you don’t know what the other person might say about the accident.
Don’t talk much at the accident scene: You may not realize but by talking unnecessarily you may end up apologizing for the accident and the liability will become your responsibility. Let the police decide who is at fault (in tort states).
Don’t jump into conclusions: After an accident do not draw your own conclusions. Only get the name, address, driver’s license number and the insurance identification number in case you need to turn the claim over to the other party’s insurer.
Don’t buy roadside assistance without proper information: Some private insurance companies which offer roadside assistance often consider it as part of a claim. Hence, they might increase your premiums. So, it is better that you buy roadside assistance from American Automobile Association (AAA) or a similar group.
Don’t do home repairs before adjuster comes: Do not start with any home repairs until the home insurance adjuster arrives and assesses the extent of damage. If you star off with the repair works, you may not get the amount for which you are entitled. However, you may do minor temporary repairs so that further damage does not happen.
Don’t scream “flood” and name injury – An insurance company may have its own measurement for flood. What you consider as flooding, they may not do so. Find out how much depth of water will be considered as flood. If you have flood insurance, check in the document. Similarly, wait for the doctor to diagnose an injury after an accident before you make a claim. If it triggers the insurance to carry on further investigation and find s out that the diagnosis is different from what you mentioned, your policy may get canceled.
Most of the insurance policies provide partial coverage of your total expenses and you are left with some out-of-pocket payments at the end of every claim made to the company. Even when your car is totaled you only receive the Actual Cash Value from the company and there is always a “gap” between the fair market value and unpaid lease or loan amount. So what do you do to waive off such payments? There certainly seems to be a ray of hope. All you need to do is purchase a Gap insurance policy for your car.
Gap Insurance - What it covers
Gap car insurance refers to Guaranteed Auto Protection, covers the “gap” between the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of your car and the amount of the actual loan owed, when the car is totaled. It is the type of auto insurance that covers any loses that arise when the amount of compensation you receive from the total loss does not fully cover the loan amount (or lease payment) you owe.
Features of gap insurance
1. It is a low cost plan which requires one-time payment.
2. In addition to the deficiency, it covers auto insurance deductibles up to $500.
3. It provides protection to both new as well as old vehicles.
4. It pays benefit upto $50000.
The recent devastating earthquake in Haiti has left its people aghast. As they gradually recover, they are looking around for means to resurrect their lives. But the insurance scenario in Haiti is so poor that adjusters have seen very few claims to compensate for losses after the devastation.
Most of the buildings in the Republic had no insurance whereas the losses incurred are quite significant. Despite the Republic being an active participant in the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility since 2007, the funds that resources say to have been collected will not compensate the loss. Funds collected so far amount to a mere $8 million. Private insurers too may not be able to contribute much either, whereas the loss simply mounts to billions of dollars.
Officials at Haiti have assessed rebuilding costs at $3 billion which would only add to more as there are further assessments of damage from schools, medical facilities, court houses and other infrastructures.
According to a risk modeling firm Eqecat, most of the damage in Haiti occurred due to poorly constructed buildings. There is no national building code in Haiti and hence the intensity in this catastrophe. With only 8 active insurance companies amongst the 20 registered ones in Haiti, the adjusters may be having a tough time with the property assessment. 90% of the clients of these active companies belong to the Port-au-Prince.
Adjusters in Haiti expect insurance rates to increase in the Republic although they are not sure by how much the rates would increase.
Damages like this leave a scar not only physically but also mentally. Catastrophes may vary in magnitude and may be difficult to recover from, but with a proper infrastructure and proper insurance in place you may still have hopes of a better future.
AmPmInsure is proud to announce that Lori has successfully crossed 7000 posts in the community - the highest by any member till date!
Lori has actively participated in the community forum since September 2007 and has till date been consistent with her performance. Her sound advice on insurance related problems has helped a lot of members.
Lori joined the community back in 2007 as a regular member but has gradually earned the status of ‘forum moderator’ and ‘forum expert’. She is the moderator of all the forums in the AmPmInsure Community and has, like a few other senior members, the responsibility of keeping away any kind of un-called for participation in the forums. The level of participation that Lori has shown here and the success she has earned in the forums is surely an inspiration to other members participating in the community.
Lori says “This site means a lot to me I’ve put in a lot of time, energy and heart into it.” Fortunately AmPmInsure has seen participation from dedicated members like Lori and other members too like Tcope, InsInvestigator, Insurance Maze, Gary Spicuzza and all the rest who visit AmPmInsure regularly and share their knowledge or problems with the community.
The AmPmInsure community offers an open and free platform to share your views and knowledge on insurance. Not only can you impart your knowledge unto others, but also can gain from what others share in the community forums. With the team of experts and professionals participating in this forum, you can surely benefit if you have any insurance related problem to solve.
Category: 
March 17, 2010
