Most of us aren’t aware of the amount of negotiation that often occurs over medical bills. Insurance companies routinely refuse to pay full billing, and doctors routinely accept partial payment. Presumably, clinics and hospitals find themselves in the same position, from time to time. Too often however, the consumer who underwent treatment gets caught in the middle. A serious injury results in six figure medical bills. The insurance company refuses to pay a large piece of it because ‘you spent too much time in rehabilitation’ or ‘that procedure wasn’t preauthorized’ or any number of other excuses.

At that point, the clinic or physician expects you to pay the balance. You are faced with an open-ended attorney’s bill, or an enormous medical debt. An organization called Healthcare Advocates Inc. has stepped into this gap and offers, for a fee, to negotiate settlements in situations like this on behalf of the consumer.

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Variable universal life is a form of permenant life insurance that builds cash-value over time. It provides a death benefit as well as a cash value that enjoys tax-deferred growth and allows you to borrow against it. Unlike traditional whole-life insurance, VUL policies allow you to choose how the premiums are invested.

Since you’re in control of how the investment is made, the cash value will vary. This means the death benefit can also fluctuate with the performance of the investments you choose. Bad performance could mean your premiums will increase. Conversely, you gain if you can invest and obtain a better return.

With some VUL policies the cash value component of the policy are in addition to the death benefit should you die. Others provide you with the face value, which means the cash value effectively goes to subsidize the death benefit.

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Home businesses are an area, like personal jewelry, that is brushed over in a standard homeowner’s policy. A typical homeowner’s policy provides only $2,500 coverage for business equipment, which is usually not enough to cover all of your business property, let alone liability exposure and lost business income. Insurance companies differ considerably in the types of business operations they will cover although home businesses are rapidly becoming a mainstream coverage category for insurance companies with any depth.

Regardless of the type of policy you choose, if you’re a professional working out of your home, you probably need professional liability insurance. Some types of in-home businesses, such as those that make or sell food products or sell home-made personal care products, may have to buy special policies.

You may be able to add a simple endorsement to your existing homeowner’s policy to double your standard coverage for business equipment such as computers. For as little as $25 you can raise the policy limits from $2,500 to $5,000. Some insurance companies will allow you to increase your coverage up to $10,000.

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The reality is if you’re thinking about obtaining life insurance coverage, you probably need it now. In fact, statistics show that most people don’t think about coverage until only after a major life event such as welcoming a new addition to the family.

Some life insurance companies will allow you to remit the first premium along with your application to provide temporary conditional coverage during the application/underwriting process. I strongly encourage you to obtain this temporary coverage, especially if someone is currently financially dependent on you (i.e. your spouse, children, etc.). It is, however, not required.

Unfortunately, at AccuQuote, we have experienced situations where our clients have applied for coverage and died before their policy was issued. If money is not remitted with the application, benefits cannot be paid if an untimely death occurs during the underwriting process. We take the issue of coverage very seriously and seek to protect our clients as soon as possible.

Remember, you are guaranteed a full refund for up to 10 days after the policy is delivered to you, so there is no risk in submitting money with an application. The real risk may be not submitting money.

Insurance fraud is apparently an epidemic in this country and very much in the news these days. Typically though, the insurance fraud cases we read about are phony auto repair claims where the shop owner is in collusion, medical claims where the doctor or clinic is in collusion, or claims from individuals seeking restitution for personal property that was not in fact stolen or destroyed.

An interesting approach to the insurance fraud industry was reported in Florida following the spate of nasty hurricanes that have passed through there over the last couple of years. Two licensed insurance adjusters were engaged in defrauding the insurance companies that they were representing. Two employees of Coast to Coast Public Adjusters allegedly submitted approximately 75 forged contractor agreements, resulting in an overpayment by Citizens Insurance of approximately $314,596.54. Detectives said an additional 29 such documents were submitted to the Tower Hill Group resulting in a loss of approximately $125,281.81.

The payoff from the forged contractor agreements that were submitted resulted in an additional 20 percent of the estimated claim for overhead and profit. The fraudulent contractor agreements stemmed from real claims for water pipe damage. Each defendant was charged with 104 counts of insurance fraud (third degree), 104 counts of grand theft (third degree) and one count of organized scheme to defraud (first degree) each. According to the news wire, bail was expected to top one million dollars. The property insurance situation in Florida is a mess; aggravating it through insider fraud is not going to be well received.

So your life insurance agent said you classify as a standard risk, what does that mean to you? Following is a quick guide to rate classes. Keep in mind that the qualifications for these classes vary between companies, so it’s important to shop around.

If you want to qualify for Preferred rates, you must be in excellent overall health. In addition you cannot participate in any hazardous activities and there must be no history of drug or alcohol abuse. Preferred-plus criteria is even more stringent. You cannot smoke or use any form of tobacco. According to actuarial tables, these are the people who are likely to live the longest. Each company may have a different name for them but these rates represent the lowest available premiums.

However, you need to understand that when comparing policies, even if you’re in excellent health, there is a good chance you won’t qualify for these best rates. In fact, only 5% – 40% of all applicants get this “preferred plus” rate. Typically, about 60% can qualify for the “preferred” rate. The rest fall into the “standard” category, or worse. The specific criteria for these rates differ widely among the various insurance companies, and it is not uncommon for an individual to be classified as “standard” at one company and “preferred” at another.

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This September marks the third annual Life Insurance Awareness Month.Life Insurance Awareness Month was created by the LIFE Foundation to generate awareness of the importance of life insurance.

Experts say that almost every life event presents itself with the opportunity to discuss life insurance. With that in mind (and because AccuQuote strongly supports LIFE and its efforts), we launched a website, called talkaboutlifeinsurance.com, around this premise in order to take that awkwardness out of getting the conversation started.

Talkaboutlifeinsurance.com allows people to create FREE e-cards to send to family and friends. The e-cards are themed around life events (the birth of a baby, a new home purchase, marriage, etc.) and are designed not only congratulate the recipient, but remind them to think about how their life insurance needs may have changed due to their recent life event. Creative, don’t you think? We thought so!

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In five years of reviewing insurance claims from boaters, U.S. Marine Insurance found the most common reasons for damages. Hurricanes and lightning made the Top 10, as did fire and explosions. Mice, squirrels, raccoons and other animals wreak havoc on boats by ripping into upholstery, insulation and wiring. “They get into the engine compartment . . . that’s where they cause some of the worst damage,” said one insurance agent in Wisconsin.

Nationwide, striking a submerged object is the second-most common cause of a boating insurance claim, right behind hurricanes. Hitting something, such as a log or a submerged trash bin will almost certainly damage a boat prop and rudder. If the damage is much more extensive, it will result in a ’sunken boat’ claim.

But for every boat that sinks while under way, four others go down at the dock. Some fill with rain and sink, and some are unfortunate enough to have leaky underwater fittings. Even boats with self-draining cockpits can be sunk by rainwater.

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Virtually all insurance companies require that you be examined before a policy can be issued. This exam typically consists of a blood test, urine specimen, blood pressure reading, and a series of health questions. In some cases, an electrocardiogram (EKG), or other additional tests may be required.

The exam will be performed by a paramedic, nurse, or a doctor. It will usually take place in your home or office, and is performed at the expense of the insurance company. To save time during your exam, it is a good idea to have the names and phone numbers of any doctors you have consulted, as well as the dates, and reasons for consultation.

By preparing for your insurance exam, you can help to avoid unnecessary abnormal exam results, which may adversely affect your rates.

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This may come as a considerable surprise to you, but in 1968 the U.S. Congress passed and the President signed into law the National Flood Insurance Program. This law has many components, defining flood plains and safe construction areas – but its primary component is the provision of flood insurance for people who DO live in potentially endangered areas.

The law provides that if communities will agree to participate in federal guidelines regarding construction in flood zones, the government will, in return, provide flood insurance – for a reasonable premium – to people in those communities who live in potential flood zones. The law was amended in 1978 to expand coverage and amended again in 2004 to allow commercial insurance firms to write these federally supported flood insurance policies for homeowners. These policies are called WYOs, or Write Your Own flood insurance, ensuring a relatively convenient method for homeowners to obtain flood insurance through their broker instead of wrestling with the federal bureaucracy. Bush also placed this program under the control of FEMA in the amendment he signed in 2004.

All of this judicious behavior in Washington over the last thirty five plus years leads one to puzzlement over the lack of flood insurance coverage for the victims of Katrina, and the unavailability of flood insurance in many communities today. You can check the list of the 20,000 participating communities in the program and there’s New Orleans, both the City and the Parish. Most puzzling of all is the fact that in all the news coverage of this American disaster, there has been no mention of a federally mandated flood insurance program. Are we still in Kansas, Dorothy?