Saving You Money For Life

It depends. How old is your child? If he or she is under the age of 18, then I’d recommend against this. Rather, I would suggest naming an adult that you can trust or who would be taking care of your kids should something happen to you. This could be your husband or wife, or even sister or mother.

Many people, rather than simply naming their children as beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries, have set up trusts, to make sure that the money they have provided, through their life insurance, will be distributed more sensibly… on a schedule that they can predetermine using criteria that they have decided, in advance, that makes the most sense.

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Families USA, a healthcare consumer advocacy group, is rolling out a national report that it has completed on the rise of healthcare costs. They are doing so in selected states first in order to maximize political impact, but have assembled statistics that reflect the situation across the country.

In Pennsylvania over the last six years, average annual premiums for family health coverage have risen from $6,721 in 2000 to $11,801 this year, an increase of $5,080. Median wages in that time rose from $24,834 to $28,145, an increase of $3,311, according to the report. The Pennsylvania’s premiums have risen faster than the national average. They have risen 75.6 percent, while the state’s wages also have gone up 13.3 percent.

Pennsylvania’s employers are covering less of the costs and providing fewer benefits than employers nationally, according to the report. Premium costs borne by employees for family coverage rose from $1,297 to $2,407, and premium costs paid by employees for individual coverage doubled from $373 annually to $762 in the six-year period.

Delaware is faring better than Pennsylvania, with premiums rising less than the national average and wages rising more. In Delaware, premiums grew 62 percent while wages rose 13.9 percent.

The study analyzes statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

While this article is basically a regional snapshot, the national trend speaks for itself. Nationwide, health insurance premiums for family coverage have risen 73.8 percent over the six year period, while wages have risen 11.6 percent. What is not included is the number of employers who have dropped health insurance altogether.

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Unfortunately, no. You cannot get a better deal on your life insurance if your policy is with the same company as your homeowners and car insurance policies. There are no breaks given for having multiple policies with one company.

The reason? Life insurance is underwritten differently by each insurance company. For instance, if you have a history of cancer in your family company A may be better than company B.

So, what should you do? Shop around for your life insurance. Check the internet as well as your local agency. You never know who is going to have the best price for your particular situation.

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According to a Harris Poll taken in early October, many people favor more regulation of major industries, but this support for stronger regulations varies enormously by industry. One perception strongly linked to the desire for stronger regulation is trust. The more people believe industries to be honest and trustworthy, the less likely they are to want government to regulate them more.

A majority of U.S. adults think that the oil industry (54%) should be more strongly regulated, followed by pharmaceuticals (48%), health insurance (48%), managed care (41%), electric and gas utilities (38%) and tobacco (38%). Less than 10 percent of all adults believe that statements made by companies in these industries are “generally honest and trustworthy.” Tobacco (2%), oil (3%), managed care (4%), health insurance (7%), and pharmaceuticals (7%) are the industries least trusted.

These statistics provide a little food for thought. Of the five industries least trusted by the American public and most in need of regulation, three of them are connected to health care. Tobacco companies have been vilified for years, and have suffered enormous setbacks in highly publicized public interest lawsuits. The price of gas has skyrocketed while the oil companies have reported obscene profits.

But health insurance, managed care and pharmaceuticals have not been under that sort of intense, negative scrutiny with the exception of the drug companies, when the new Medicare medication rules went into effect. And most of the negative coverage was about the rules, not the medications.

It is remarkable that the health insurance industry and its companion business sectors, managed care and drug companies enjoy virtually no trust from the public despite the absence of ongoing high visibility negative news coverage. People have come to their own conclusions about the inherent dishonesty in the relationship between health insurance and managed care.

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Key person insurance, sometimes called key man insurance or key executive insurance, is designed to protect a business in the event of the death of an executive or key team member who makes a significant contribution towards the profitability or stability of the business.

To ensure the livelihood of the company, the money can be used to pay off debt and keep creditors at bay, find a replacement for the deceased, buy out the deceased’s shares in the company (buy-sell agreement), or even help to supplement the income of the deceased’s family.

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The Terrorist Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002 was enacted by the U.S. Congress more than 14 months after the September 11, 2001 attacks, as concerns mounted about the economic impacts associated with inability of businesses to purchase adequate protection against terrorist attacks. The act obligated P/C insurers to make terrorism insurance available, while providing federal reinsurance for losses arising from large-scale terrorist-related incidents. TRIA was revised and extended in 2005.

Prior to September 11, insurers provided terrorism coverage to their commercial insurance customers essentially free of charge, owing largely to the perceived unlikelihood of large-scale terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. In the immediate aftermath of September 11, insurers began to reassess the risks posed by terrorism. For the remainder of 2001 and for much of 2002, terrorism coverage was scarce, and the little coverage available was very expensive.

Because of TRIA, as of year-end 2005, nearly two-thirds of businesses had purchased terrorism risk insurance policies. Real estate firms, financial institutions, health care facilities and media companies are the most likely buyers of the coverage.

In recent testimony before a Congressional committee analyzing the long term availability and affordability of terrorism insurance, commercial insurers reiterated their belief that terrorism is uninsurable because the frequency and severity of the attacks cannot be reliably assessed. The federal government, in all likelihood, will continue to play a role in order to keep commercial insurance viable.

It’s also worth considering, however, what role the current administration has played over the last six years with its daily drumbeat on the issue, its red and orange alerts, and its use of fear as a political agent. There have been no real terrorist attacks in this country since September of 2001. That’s why insurance premiums for terrorist insurance dropped 25% in 2005, while the industry continues to claim that terrorism is uninsurable because of the daily reminder from Washington that the next strike is just around the corner.

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If you bought your life insurance policy more than a few years ago, you may be paying too much. Why? Because life insurance rates within the last decade have come down dramatically. Checking whether or not you’re paying too much is easy. Just visit a life insurance brokerage firm’s website like AccuQuote or Term4Sale to compare rates from hundreds of companies. After checking these sites and doing a little price comparison, if you think you’re paying be sure to call for a more accurate quote. You may even want to go through the application process to see what offer the life insurance company comes back with. This is FREE to do – at no cost to you. But remember to keep your existing policy in force. DO NOT cancel it until you are 100% sure that the new policy is less expensive and you are approved.

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Auto insurance companies look at many factors – some say far too many – in determining insurance premiums for individual applicants. At the top of the list are age, gender and marital status. There’s nothing you can do about the first two and probably shouldn’t consider changing the last for insurance purposes. But statistically, drivers beyond the age of 25, females, and married people are less likely to have accidents.

Other factors include geography, because collisions and car thefts are less likely in rural areas. What’s ironic in this instance is that moving across the street might lessen your rate. Obviously, a record of moving violations is going to hurt you. And a history of accident claims will have an impact, which is why many people pay for minor fender-benders themselves. Unfortunately, insurance companies are clinging to the belief that credit rating can be a predictive indicator for drivers. Poor credit means a higher frequency of accidents. California has recently outlawed this practice.

Additional considerations may include:

Miles driven per year
Your occupation
Years of driving experience
Do you use your car for business purposes?
Whether or not you currently have auto insurance
Theft protection devices, which may get you a discount
Multiple cars and drivers on the same policy, which is also a discount item.

That’s the assortment of issues you’ll confront when you go in search of a new auto insurance policy. Be sure and ask what discounts are available – there are a number of them that most companies make available, and you’ll never hear about them unless you ask.

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The best place to buy term life insurance is the from the company that provides you with the least expensive premium. Most products are the same company to company, but the underwriting guidelines are different. For instance, if you have a family history of cancer, one company may charge you more. So, the key is to buy life insurance from the company that deals with your particular situation whether it’s a health condition, family history or risky behavior such as piloting.

So how do you find out which company is best for you? I would suggest shopping online. Often times, people are scared of using the Internet for financial transactions. What most people don’t realize is when they use the Internet for life insurance most of the time they can’t really “purchase online”. They must talk to a licensed agent and fill out physical paperwork before they are able to buy. They can get price quotes online, but that’s about all. Visit an online broker, such as AccuQuote.

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New York Rapper Heavy D has filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against an insurance company he says refused to pay damages to people who sued him after nine students were crushed to death in a stampede at a celebrity basketball game he helped organize.

Heavy D, AKA Dwight Myers claims that in 1989 he bought a $1 million policy from National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh that covered him for anything involving his work as an entertainer.

Myers claims that one event included in his ‘entertainment work’ was a heavily promoted basketball game featuring music stars that he and rap star Sean Combs (AKA Puff Daddy and variations thereof) and others organized at City College of New York’s gymnasium on Dec. 28, 1991.

The gym’s maximum capacity is 2,700 people and 5,000 fans showed up. In one corner of the building, people crowded down a stairwell to a closed door where the unfortunate fans at the bottom were crushed, nine fatally.

Myers’ lawsuit was filed in the Manhattan state Supreme Court. His claim is that the insurance company has now exhausted its legal appeals and has been ordered by the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division to reimburse him for payments to victims or their families, which the underwriter has failed to do.

Myers seeks reimbursement of $791,899 plus interest of $381,167 for personal-injury and wrongful-death claims and is asking for $324,919 for legal fees and costs incurred in suing the insurance company.

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