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Long Term Care Insurance
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 About half of all Americans will need some type of long term health care. Being ready for this phase of your life can insure that you not only have a better quality of life and the best health care, it makes things easier on your family and loved ones.
What You Need in a Long Term Care Policy
Nursing homes can cost over $70,000 per year! Not many of us have that kind of money when we retire but long term care insurance can ease the burden. The trick is to choose a policy that isn’t obsolete by the time you need to use it.
Prices don’t stay the same from day to day, let alone year to year. Make sure that you have a policy that raises your benefits to match inflation. If you need a nursing home twenty years from now, the prices are sure to be at least 10-20% higher than they are now.
Get a policy that allows you several options. Long term care doesn’t necessarily mean a nursing home; you may just need some assistance with everyday needs and a home health nurse to visit on a regular basis. Make sure your policy covers these needs as well as allowing for an assisted living facility. The more options you have that are covered by your insurance, the more you’ll be able to enjoy life independently.
Be sure that your policy provides at least 70% of the cost of a nursing home or services that you might need in your home. Saving money by paying for the cheapest daily benefit might seem like a good idea now but you’ll regret it when you need the services. You should also make sure that your policy lets you choose a licensed health care provider to manage your care and not a representative of the health insurance company.
What Will Your Care Cost?
There are a lot of variances in long term care costs. It can depend on the state you live in and what type of facility you choose. It will help you estimate how much coverage you need if you familiarize yourself with how much nursing homes in your area charge. You should also find out how much home health care and assistance will cost in case you can be at home but need help.
Purchasing a Policy
Depending on when you get a long term care policy, premiums will vary. The earlier in life that you buy the policy, the lower the premiums will be. The benefit amount also affects how much you will pay. Obviously, you should get a long term care policy as early in your adult life as possible.
Check with your employer to see if they offer a long term care policy as part of or in addition to your benefits package. If you or members of your family have worked for a state, local or federal government agency you may be able to get a policy through those sources. If you are part of a membership organization you may be able to get one through them or find one that you are qualified to join in order to access that part of their benefits.
It is very important that you choose an insurance company that is financially solid! Check their financial ratings before you decide who to buy your policy from. Ask your friends and relatives which company they are using and if they are happy with their decision.
You may be able to access group long term care through your employer. Premiums for this type of plan can be lower than normal because the risk is spread over a group rather than an individual. Even if you are young, having a group policy can be very advantageous but compare the cost of an individual policy with that of the group policy to make sure you don’t pay more than necessary.
Be sure that you know what your policy’s elimination period is. This is similar to a deductible and is the amount of time you have to be responsible for the cost of care before the insurance takes effect. Some policies can have an elimination period as long as three months! Of course, the longer the elimination the lower your premiums will be but be sure that you’ll be able to afford the cost of care until your policy takes effect.
Don’t Skimp on Other Insurance!
Just because you have a long term care policy don’t assume you don’t need life, disability and health insurance. Although a long term care policy can help if you need assistance while you are disabled, not having disability insurance could be disastrous. Obviously, if you are unable to work due to disability you’ll need all the assistance you can get so don’t drop your disability insurance policy. Likewise, life insurance will help pay for your final expenses and pay any leftover costs not covered by your long term care policy.
People of any age can take advantage of a long term care policy. Unfortunately, many young people every year have to move to assisted living facilities or nursing homes due to injury or illness. Having a long term care policy in these instances is very helpful.
Should You Get Supplemental Health Insurance
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Supplemental insurance plans have been around for decades. In fact, even middle aged people remember seeing their parents opening such offers that came through the mail. There has been a resurgence in advertising of supplemental insurance and more people are opting to add it to their total insurance package.
How Does Supplemental Insurance Work?
Supplemental insurance is usually a cash benefit that comes to you when the conditions of your policy are met. Some policies go into effect when you are hospitalized and send you a pre-determined cash payment each day until you are discharged. Other policies pay for days you have to stay home from work because of an injury or catastrophic illness such as cancer. There are policies that pay when you’re involved in a car accident, too. You can even get a policy that pays you cash if you are dismembered in any way.
The purpose of this type of insurance is to supply you with cash when you are unable to work. It can be a real help, particularly if you don’t have any sick leave accumulated or supplied.
Do You Need It?
If you have a job that allows you sick leave or are a salaried employee that is paid regardless if you report to work, you probably wouldn’t benefit as intended from supplemental insurance. However, if you are paid hourly and can’t afford to take time off work then supplemental insurance might be worth considering. The funds can be spent to pay your mortgage or rent, buy food, pay other bills or simply deposit in your savings account. You are not obligated to spend the money on anything specific.
Types of Policies
There are three main types of supplemental insurance policies. The first is disease specific; it usually covers you for cancer. Be very sure of what kind of cancer it covers! If you are at low risk of leukemia but are a candidate for lung cancer at some time during your life, be sure that it covers the type and form of cancer that you might contract.
Some supplemental insurance is meant to cover you if you are involved in an accident or die in an accident. Be sure that you know how the policy covers you! It may only pay out for accidents in the home and not when you are traveling, or pay if you’re in a car accident but not if you fall off the roof. These policies can also carry a death benefit so read the policy thoroughly in order to know if it could actually benefit you or your family.
A third type of supplemental insurance gives you a cash benefit if you are hospitalized. It can pay monthly, weekly or daily but is meant to help you meet expenses when you are unable to work.
If You Buy a Policy
If you decide you want supplemental insurance you’ll be pleased at how low the premiums are. However, read the policy and be sure that it will actually serve your needs. A policy with too many exclusions or one that covers a situation you may never find yourself in is a waste of money. Pay attention to the terms and conditions and be sure you’re getting what you are paying for.
Why Health Care Reform Might Work Now
A lot of Americans don’t believe that the country needs health care reform. These are usually people who have decent health insurance through their employer, are healthy and rarely need to use their insurance. But for millions of people with chronic diseases, children with congenital conditions and public hospitals that are inundated with uninsured people needing lifesaving care, it is time for some kind of health care reform.
The Timing is Right
The economic collapse of 2008-09 has caused many thousands more people to lose their health insurance because of job loss or the inability to afford the premiums. As people lose their ability to maintain their health through prescribed medication they can no longer afford and visits to their physician that they now have to miss, the strain on local hospitals and clinics is becoming more serious than ever.
Costs associated with care have also gone through the roof. Doctors have been forced to raise their rates to compensate for out of control malpractice premiums and hospitals faced with labor shortages have had to pay out a lot of overtime compensation. Patents on name brand medicines are expiring, leading to higher drug prices because of the need for research and development of new drugs. When a hospital has to charge ten dollars for a tablet of Tylenol in order to cover the costs of utilities, personnel and benefits it is probably time to do something about the cost of health care.
The Danger of Rushing Reform
Nobody in Washington seems happy with the health care bill as it is now; no one has read the entire bill and some of it isn’t written yet but there are influential people who are pushing to have the bill approved before the end of the year. They reason that having some form of legislation and “fixing” it later is better than ending 2009 with nothing done about health care. The problem with this attitude is that once Congress passes a law that has anything to do with collecting taxes or revenue it is never repealed and rarely changed in favor of the citizenry. I
t is important to have health care that everyone can afford but we must be sure that Congress is not rushing in and biting off more than we can chew.
What if my Life Ins Co Fails
Life insurance is supposed to provide our families and dependents the security they need if we should die prematurely. The recent economic upheavals have made some people worry that their life insurance company could fail just as so many banks have.
A Low Risk Investment
Although the risk is real, very few insurance companies fail financially. The reason many people fear insurance company collapses is because they don’t understand the measure that are taken to protect their investment.
How Insurance Companies Fail
Life insurance companies are regulated through the state in which they operate and have their license. The laws are enforced through each state’s insurance commissioner and are strictly enforced to protect consumers. If an insurance company is in trouble financially, they can turn to the state for help in getting back on solid ground.
It is not common to see an insurance company fail since the premiums they collect are invested in a wide variety of assets. Financial advisors with years of experience direct the company where to invest the funds in order to make a safe, steady profit.
If the state can’t be of help to the company it will take possession of it and begin to liquidate the assets. This usually means that the insurance company will be able to meet its obligations before it either restructures or closes its doors.
Your Money is Safe-to a Point!
Just as banks are insured by the FDIC, every state has an association that protects each insurance company’s policy holders. The majority of these guarantors will pay up to one hundred thousand dollars per policy.
The chances of your life insurance company failing are very small, due to the diversity of their investments and the way that the money is managed.
How to Protect Your Investment
Some people don’t take out a single policy but pay for several policies from different companies, each no more than $100,000. This way they lose nothing if a company fails. The drawback to this strategy is that they pay more in premiums than if they took out a single policy with just one company.
The best way to protect your life insurance investment is to carefully research several companies before you choose one. Look at their financial health, their payout history and what their clients say about them. Pay attention to their ratings both in the financial world and with the Better Business Bureau.
Insurance Bill Terms
Whether or not you think we need health care reform, it’s all over the news. Talk radio, television, newspapers and magazines are all getting in their two cents’ worth and they assume everyone knows the terms they use. If you don’t know the language of the discussion you can quickly be shut out!
The most hotly debated aspect of insurance is now the public option. Some want it, some don’t, but what in the world is it? Simply put, it is insurance provided by our government for people who cannot afford health insurance or who can’t get it because of pre-existing conditions.
The debate uses the term fee for service when they refer to how a physician is paid. If the doctor examines a patient they charge a fee for that service. Many have criticized this business model and reform advocates would like to change the way doctors and other health care professionals are paid.
There are many people who have difficulty getting Miami Health insurance or having their treatment paid for because they have pre-existing conditions. This means that you have a health problem prior to getting insurance. It can be a congenital birth defect, a chronic disease or even a past injury that might affect your health in the future.
The proposed health care reform would demand that everyone have health insurance. This is what they mean when they talk about mandated health insurance.
You’ll hear a lot about insurance exchange, too. This means that there would be a nationwide pool of health insurance providers that would insure those that are “uninsurable”. By forcing insurance companies to extend coverage to these consumers, no one company is carrying more financial burden than another and the “uninsurable” have protection.
Although health insurance may be required by law if reform passes, that doesn’t mean everyone can afford to pay the premiums. Government affordability credits can be used by those consumers; essentially, it means that the taxpayers will pick up some or all of the costs of premiums for those who cannot pay them.
One of the goals of health care reform is to void the law that prevents health insurance from being sold across state lines. Currently, you can only purchase insurance from a company in your own state. Interstate insurance would increase competition, lower prices and make more options available to consumers. (391 words)
Insurance Terms
Most of us understand the basic concept of Miami, FL Health insurance. It’s there to help us financially when we encounter large medical bills, when we need surgery or when we are struck with a chronic disease. But some of the terms can be confusing if you’re not an insurance professional! Here are some of the most common insurance terms and their definitions so that you can be an informed insurance consumer.
The most common term we hear is “deductible”. This is the amount of money we have to pay before our insurance policy begins to cover our expenses. Some people prefer having a larger deductible because it reduces the amount they pay each month for their coverage while others, particularly those with chronic diseases, like to keep it lower. Check your policy to see how much you have to spend before your policy begins to pay. Some policies don’t require a deductible on doctor visits and other services.
In addition to a deductible, some policies have a co-insurance clause, more commonly known as a co-pay. This is an additional amount that the policy holder (you) have to pay in addition to the deductible. This co-pay may be a small amount you pay directly to your physician every time you visit. Your co-pay reduces the money your insurance company has to disburse and helps keep premiums down. The typical co-pay is $10-25 per doctor visit with the insurance covering the rest of the charge.
When you pay a medical expense yourself it is called Out-of-Pocket. Your co-pay is out of pocket, just like your deductible. If you hear the term “annual out-of-pocket-expense” that is describing how much you have to pay in medical expenses over the entire year except for your premiums.
Most insurance policies have a lifetime maximum amount that they will pay for illness and injury. Most are in the millions but bear in mind that one major catastrophe such as a bout with cancer can quickly eat up that maximum amount.
It’s a good idea to get the highest maximum you can afford; bear in mind that the family lifetime maximum can differ from the individual maximum.
Exclusion is an expense that the insurance company will not pay. For instance, someone with scoliosis might be excluded from any coverage for medical expenses having to do with the spine.
You have probably heard the term pre-existing conditions quite often lately. This refers to a medical condition that a policy will not cover because you had it before you got the policy. Some companies will cover that pre-existing condition after a certain period of time while others permanently exclude it. Read your policy carefully if you have a chronic condition that preceded your getting your policy.
Sometimes an insurance company requires a waiting period before some coverages go into effect. When you get a new job that includes medical insurance you often have a waiting period of up to 6 months before your employer-provided insurance goes into effect.
Many people, particularly married couples, have more than one insurance policy. They may each be covered through their jobs, which also cover their spouses. In this instance, both insurance companies would not pay the full benefit but split the cost between them. This is called coordination of benefits.
Most insurance companies grant their policy holders a grace period. This means that although your premium may be due on the first of every month, it’s not truly in arrears until several days after that date. While it’s never a good idea to be late with your premiums, a grace period can come in handy.
Insurance for stay at home caregivers
There has been a very happy development in American families recently, a new realization that both children and parents are happier if one parent stays at home. Existing on one income can sometimes be difficult but families are finding that the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices.
One Income Households Today
Of course, today’s households can be quite different than those in the 1950’s when women usually stayed at home. We are now seeing more and more fathers at home while the wife provides financial support. This makes sense if both are happy in their roles. In fact, men are finding that they truly enjoy caring for the household and the children!
The parent that stays home is essentially working a full time job with plenty of overtime! They keep the house clean and in good repair, they do the laundry and ironing, gardening, shopping, they pay the bills and manage the household’s finances. They cook, participate in school activities and fund raising, take care of errands and so much more.
Why Families with Children Need Life Insurance
Most families know that they need Miami Life insurance for the breadwinner in the household. However, they don’t usually consider it for the stay at home parent because they don’t realize how costly it would be to replace or do without them.
When you add up how many professionals it would take to do the job of a stay at home parent, you’re talking some serious money! You would have to hire people part time or full time to do all the jobs the wife or husband formerly did. This would involve a housekeeper/cook, day care, financial coordinator, taxi service, laundry service and so much more.
Children Have Needs When a Parent Dies
If both parents are insured, the stay at home parent is usually minimally covered. In fact, it’s usually just enough insurance to cover the costs of a funeral. But what about the children and their needs? After losing a parent, a child has intense emotional needs; they are insecure and upset. They may need the surviving parent to stay at home for period of time. No matter how close they are to non-family members or relatives, no one can take the place of the surviving parent when it comes to comforting a child.
Every family should have enough insurance on the stay at home parent to allow the surviving parent to take some time off work to care for the home and the children.
The Critical First Few Years
Most families don’t have enough insurance coverage to allow the surviving parent to stay at home with the children. The first year or two after losing a parent is traumatic and painful for children. They recover and readjust more quickly if their parent is at home for them. With the right life insurance coverage, this can be possible without imposing financial hardship on the family.
You Can Cover Both Parents Affordably
Life insurance can be very affordable, particularly if you choose term life insurance. Term life insurance is purchased for a set number of years, after which it expires unless it is extended. Because the term of coverage is limited, this type of insurance is much cheaper than a “whole life” policy.
By insuring a stay at home parent for at least a couple of years of the working parent’s earnings, you’ll be able to care for the family if the worst happens. Being there for a grieving child is priceless but if only one spouse is insured it may prove to be impossible.
Is Online Group Insurance For You
If you have a small business, you know that you will most likely be required to offer a good Miami health insurance to your employees in the near future. A little planning now could save you a lot later!
Do Your Preliminaries
Before you can get an online quote-or any quote-you will have to arm yourself with information. Most of that data will come from your employees so figuring out the most efficient way to get it is your first priority.
You might want to send out an email inquiry or provide forms to be filled out. You’ll need to know your employees’ ages, any health problems they might have, whether they want their spouses and children covered and how high a deductible they can all agree on. Do any of your employees have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, scoliosis or heart conditions? Does anyone smoke or have other risky behavior that can affect everyone’s premiums?
Save Before You Apply
The healthier your employees, the lower your premiums will be. Before you apply you many want to start a voluntary exercise class or dietary regime to help your people improve their health and demonstrate to prospective insurers that you and your people are proactive about healthcare.
If any of your employees smoke, you may want to order incentives for them to stop. Studies have proven that rewards as little as five dollars will motivate a person to quit smoking! Gift certificates don’t work as well; cash is the best incentive to offer a person who volunteers to kick a habit.
You may also want to offer small incentives for dropping other unhealthy habits such as sugary soft drinks or provide and extra break during the day if the employees use it for a short, brisk walk.
Are there any low cost safety measures that you can take to make the workplace environment healthier? Sometimes a small thing such as an air purifier obtained from a discount store can reduce premiums!
Shop Around Online
Now that you have the information you need, you can shop around online for the best Miami Insurance quotes. This does not mean that you won’t have to meet with an insurance agent, because you will. But you can get quotes from several companies and compare prices, deductible amounts and plan features without the distraction of an insurance agent. Once you find a plan that’s right for your employees’ needs and your budget you can contact an agent and schedule a meeting. Since you have already reviewed most of what the policy has to offer, you’ll save time in the face to face meeting and be able to come to an agreement much faster.
Keep in mind that laws are likely to change in the near future. As it stands now, one must buy insurance from a source that in within the state they live. This may change, opening up many more options and savings for employers that want to offer health insurance to their employees. Be sure that any policy you choose doesn’t penalize you for canceling it in order to change insurers.
How to Save on Health Insurance
Miami Health insurance is something we all need but it can be painful to pay for. As the costs continue to rise we have to be creative in how we shop for, pay for and save money on health insurance.
An Ounce of Prevention
Prevention is your most powerful tool in saving on health insurance! Insurers are driven by profits and the less they estimate they’ll have to pay out, the cheaper your insurance will be. Take care of yourself.
Take advantage of free community exercise programs. If you can’t attend a class, record some of the many work-out programs that most public television stations air throughout the day. Skip dessert and take an evening walk with your spouse, your children, your dog or a friend.
Lose your bad habits! Insurance companies charge more for smokers, drinkers and those above the recommended body weight on insurance charts. You’ll also feel better, look better and enjoy life more..
Change, Negotiate and Pay Attention!
You can save on prescriptions, too. Many pharmacies are now offering a month’s supply of drugs for just a few dollars. If you are on a name brand medication not covered on those lists, you may be able to substitute a generic that is included. Ask your doctor to give the pharmacist an option to provide the generic equivalent of what is prescribed. If you can’t afford a medication you really need, contact the manufacturer and ask about prescription assistance; most of them have programs that will help you with the expense or, in extreme cases, pay the costs completely.
Health care providers don’t always give an accurate accounting of the care you’ve received. Be sure to check your bills, especially if you’ve been hospitalized. You’ll often find charges for services that were not given—not because the medical facility is unethical but because someone wrote in the wrong code. These mistakes are quite costly and can raise the price of your premiums accordingly.
Look for Alternate Coverage
If you and your spouse have different insurers, see if it would be less expensive to be on the same policy. If one of you is insured through their employer and the other is not, it’s often just a few dollars more to include a spouse. This can be a big savings over separate insurance.
Look into getting and HSA based insurance policy. A Health Savings Account (HSA) allows you to deposit money into a special account to cover out of pocket expenses. If you don’t use that money during the year, you can roll it over into the next and keep adding to it. It’s also tax deductible and draws interest! A high deductible will also lower your premiums.
You can use your HSA to pay cash for many services such as medical tests. Many providers give deep discounts if you pay cash, some as much as 80-90%! This will keep your costs down.
Don’t forget that if your medical costs exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, you may be able to take a tax deduction. Keep a running total throughout the year of your medical expenses.
Credit Scores and Homeowner Insurance
Your credit score seems to follow you wherever you go, doesn’t it? Everyone wants to know what it is. You may have gotten a break on your car insurance because you had a high score and your employer probably examined it before he or she hired you. But did you know it can affect your Miami home insurance, too?
Risk Factors and Premiums
Believe it or not, your credit score tells more about you than how much debt your have or if you make your payments on time. At least, it does to insurance companies. They have found that people who are not consistent in their payment histories are more likely to make a claim than people who always pay on time.
When you think about it, it does make sense. Those who don’t consider their financial obligations their first priority are often those who are thoughtless or irresponsible when it comes to personal or public safety. They are, in general, the ones most likely to be careless in other areas of life and that puts them at risk for injury, illness or damage to their homes.
You Can Avoid Credit Score
Fallout When an insurance company is considering an applicant, they assign them a score that consists of your credit information and other factors to predict how likely you are to make a claim in the future. Those with lower credit scores are more likely to collect from the insurance company than those with a high score.
If you already have a homeowner’s policy but want to shop around for better rates, check your credit score first. Correct any mistakes that are listed before you apply for a quote. If you are beginning to feel you may get behind in your payments, restructure your budget and make them your first priority. If you are already behind, catch up and begin making extra payments specifically on the principal to reduce your debt-to-earning ratio.
Advantages of the Scoring System
The news is not all bad; quite the contrary. Scores based on consumers’ credit scores encourage competition between insurers and that means lower prices overall. If you have a good credit score, you’ll be able to get a lower premium due to your perceived trustworthiness. Knowing about this factor in calculating your premiums could also motivate you to improve a borderline score or change your spending habits to ultimately make an improvement in your financial health.
These scores do not contain information about your income, where you live, your marital status or your race. They also ignore nationality and age, making them blind scored based only on pertinent facts that are legal to obtain.
If this scoring system spurs you to improve your score, chances are your attitude towards finances will also change. You will become more orderly and detail oriented, too. Statistics show that those with good credit scores tend to want order in their lives and their homes, paying attention to routine maintenance that prevents losses.