Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a great article written by Lynn O’Shaughnessy. It talks about the risks of non-recourse premium financing deals as well as life settlements. If you’re thinking about selling your cash value life insurance policy this is a must read!

Nearly one in three Wisconsin farmers has no health insurance coverage or is underinsured, according to a Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation survey.

Even among those with insurance, farmers or their spouses often turn to off-farm employment to gain better coverage and defray the high cost of premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.

The survey of 500 farmers showed that 14% had no health coverage and 17% had only catastrophic coverage that included high deductibles and no payments for prescription drugs or visits to doctors. Of those with private coverage, 64% purchased insurance on their own with average out-of-pocket expenses of $8,827 a year.

More after the jump…

China is rushing into the world economy and a remarkable pace. The country is developing an industrial and technological base that is being provided in large part by eager Western companies anxious to take advantage of cheap land, cheap labor and a government that has embraced many components of a free market economy.

One of those components is insurance. One of China’s regulatory commissions recently signed off on a private health insurance venture. Now, Chinese entrepreneurs are marrying investment with a form of ‘cultural insurance.’

China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, the only policy-oriented Chinese insurance company specializing in export credit insurance, recently entered into business relationship with a Beijing-based film investment company Huayi Brothers, making the nation’s first cooperation between overseas distribution of Chinese film products and export credit insurance.

More after the jump…

I thought this was interesting….the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released the winners of their Top Safety Pick Award, which are based on crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute.

To earn a 2007 Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must earn the best possible rating of “Good” in front and side impact safety as well as in whiplash protection for rear impacts. Previously, a vehicle could earn a Silver Top Safety Pick Award with only an “Acceptable” rating, the second-best possible, for rear impact protection.

Also, vehicles must be available with electronic stability control, at least as an option, to earn the award. To see this years picks, read this article.

I saw this article by Humberto Cruz and thought it was a good one to share with you. I hope you enjoy it.

If you have been doing some remodeling or had anyone move into your home with a lot of possessions – or out, for that matter – then you should be contacting your insurance agent or company to update your coverage. It ought to be an annual practice.

Most insurers provide 50 percent to 75 percent of the amount of insurance on their house for personal possessions, but often that’s not enough to cover what you really have in the house. Insurance specialists suggest you conduct a thorough inventory of your major items, including receipts, serial numbers and purchase prices. The Insurance Information Institute has free software to help you take that inventory on a computer.

Everyone has a different tolerance level of how much effort they’re willing to put into a home inventory and it’s a chore any way you go about it. Another suggestion is a video tape with audio commentary on item cost. If you are in a situation where everything is totaled, it probably would have been worth the time to do it.

More after the jump…

Just think about it. What would your family do if you weren’t around to provide for them? How would they pay the mortgage or bills?

I’ve been in the life insurance industry for more than 20 years and I’ve seen it happen many times. A potential customer calls to get a life insurance application, but sits on it and doesn’t return it. We follow up with him/her a few months later only to find out that he/she died suddenly of a massive heart attack or some other tragedy. The point of this is it could happen to you, even though you don’t think so.

If you’re thinking about buying life insurance then you probably have a reason for buying it today. So don’t prolong the purchase. And remember to bind coverage during the life insurance application process.

The Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission has recently announced the Measures on Administration of Health Insurance. The Measures, consisting of 53 articles in eight chapters, will take effect as of September 1, 2006. Before you conclude that this is a draconian example of a Communist nation stifling free enterprise, take into consideration the fact that these are the first set of regulations in the country for health insurance.

The health insurance includes disease insurance, medical insurance, disability income insurance, nursing insurance, and other insurances covering loss caused by health-related factors. The policy statement stipulates that all life insurance companies and health insurance companies engaged in the health insurance must set up independent accounting system, actuarial systems and risk control systems for their enterprises. That seems fairly basic; the fact that the state must require it suggests that the industry has been completely ignored until now.

More after the jump…

Yes, you can name someone who is not a relative as your life insurance beneficiary, however, they must have some sort of insurable interest. This means they have a finaicail interest in you.

What if you want to name someone as a beneficiary that does not have an insurable interest? One way around this problem is to have the proposed insured own the policy, and have the estate of the insured named as the initial beneficiary. Once the policy is in force, the ownership and beneficiary can be changed, without the necessity of having to establish an insurable interest.