he Insurance Research Council recently released a study showing growth in both the frequency and cost of diagnostic tests and chiropractic treatment have helped hike personal injury protection claim costs in Florida. The study found that the average total claimed economic loss–mostly medical expenses–increased a whopping 18 percent from $8,289 in 2002 to $9,769 in 2005.

Average claim payments increased 24 percent, from $4,606 to $5,712. The period saw a general inflation increase of just 9 percent and medical services inflation of 13 percent.

The study, “Florida Auto Injury Insurance Claim Environment, 2007 Final Report,” looked at key cost-drivers in the no-fault system.One of the primary components was the increased use of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scans. About one-fourth of personal injury protection claimants had an MRI in 2002, while that number increased to a third in 2005.

Another increase was for CT scans, computerized tomography; the average total CT charge increased 31 percent during the study’s time period.

The number of personal injury protection claimants making use of chiropractic services grew from 33 percent in 2002 to 44 percent by 2005. Average total chiropractic charges for those claimants went from $4,837 in 2002 to $6,510 in 2005, an increase of 35 percent.

I found this blog post today and thought, “Wow…this guy gets it.” I wanted to share this with all my readers because it gives you a perspective of life insurance isn’t for the people that die. It’s for those that live. I hope you find it insightful.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently released cost estimates for low-impact accidents, common “fender-benders” that happen in a parking lot or dense commute. These accidents are typically at a very low speed, usually under ten and more commonly about six miles per hour. The low speeds, though, are not a protection against severe and costly damage.

Just three midsize cars – Toyota’s Camry, Mitsubishi’s Galant and the Mazda 6 – of the 17 tested sustained damage of $1,500 or less from each of the different crash tests that measured damage from rear, rear corner, front and front corner collisions. Four of the vehicles had damage of $4,000 or more, including the most expensive, the Volkswagen Passat, with an estimated repair bill of $4,594. The Pontiac G6 was close behind with estimated damage of $4,588. The Nissan Maxima’s damage billed out at $4,535 and the Hyundai Sonata at $4,312.

A 1981 Ford Escort was included in the test. It sustained no damage in the two corner crashes; the front crash bill was just $86 and the rear crash bill was just $383. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said that low-speed crash standards had been weakened during the Reagan administration, in 1982, and that older vehicles performed better.

If you have a full time job, you may also be fortunate enough to have a free term life insurance policy through your employer. For most people, it’s the equivalent of a year’s salary. If you’re lucky, it might even be as high as three times your annual salary.

Your H.R. department probably billed the coverage as a big benefit when they brought you on – but despite what you may have been led to believe, it’s not really as good a deal as you may think.

The biggest problem with group life insurance policies is they are loaded with pitfalls the policy holder has no control over. The company could do away with the coverage with little or no warning, go out of business or terminate your employment. If this happens, you lose your coverage.

Second, they don’t offer the full amount of coverage you need. Most experts recommend you should have between five to ten times your annual gross income. This won’t come close to providing for your family if you were to die.

What about costs?

Determining whether it makes sense to buy through your employer usually depends on your age and health status. With most group plans, employees are offered the same premium as others in their general age bracket (e.g., 25-34 year olds), regardless of their health status or actual age. So if you’re healthy or near the lower end of your age bracket, this one-size-fits-all premium may be higher than what you would find if you shopped around on your own.

On the other hand, if you’re an older employee or perhaps suffer from a chronic health condition, increasing your coverage through work might be a great option because you might not be able to find a policy on the open market that’s as affordable as what your employer is offering.

Fortis and Pacific Century Insurance Holdings Limited, or PCI, announced that Fortis and Pacific Century Regional Developments, PCRD, have reached an agreement in which Fortis will pay 3.5 billion Hong Kong dollars for a controlling interest of more than 50 percent of PCI, a listed Hong Kong life insurer. The controlling stake is acquired from PCRD and shareholders such as Francis Yuen, the executive chairman. PCRD directors have endorsed the transaction and majority stakeholders have agreed to sell.

Peer van Harten, CEO of Fortis, said the acquisition fits with the company’s strategy to continue development in Asia. He told Market Wire, “We are excited to build upon the PCI’s successful track record driven by its highly talented and motivated sales force.”

Fortis has hoped to expand into Asia and sees the acquisition as providing a good return on its investment. The company plans to use PCI as a base for its push into Asia.

Fortis is ranked among Europe’s top 20 financial institutions and has offices in 50 countries. It has been doing business in Asia for more than 100 years. Fortis Insurance International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis, provides insurance services to personal, business and institutional customers outside Fortis’ home markets in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Your exam affects your life insurance rate, so it’s important to prepare. We need to have you fresh and fasted, so be sure to schedule your exam for first thing in the morning. You only have one chance to get the best lab results and the following tips below will help make that happen:

5-7 Days Before Your Exam

· Stick to a healthy diet the week prior to your exam. Minimize the use of salt and avoid sugary and excess fatty foods.

3 Days Before Your Exam

· Do not drink any alcohol products for 72 hours prior to the exam. Alcohol is processed by the liver and can cause liver enzymes to become elevated.

1 Day Before Your Exam

· Stay away from ALL caffeine products. Caffeine can elevate blood pressure.

· Avoid nasal decongestants and pain medication such as aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen (unless directed otherwise by your doctor).

· Do not participate in any strenuous exercise. No jogging, weight lifting or swimming. This can cause elevated protein in the urine.

· Fast 8-10 hours prior to the exam-taking place. If your exam is scheduled for 8:00am, begin your fast the night before at 10:00pm. Do not eat or drink anything except for water until you complete the exam the next morning.

· Get a good night’s sleep.

The Morning of Your Exam

· Don’t eat breakfast or use tobacco.

· Have a list of your doctors, including addresses and phone numbers on hand.

Relax. If you followed these exam tips you have

Texas isn’t just big in land mass, it’s also the state that claims the highest number of residents without health insurance.

According to Austin-based health care think tank Texas Health Institute, about 25 percent of Texans or 5.6 million people are not currently covered by health insurance. Of these, 72 percent live in households where at least one member of the family is employed full-time. Additionally, 40 percent of those uninsured families have an annual income of at least $40,000 if not more.

So who employs these uninsured yet gainfully-employed uninsured family members? Small businesses, mostly. But are these uninsured families one of the costs of a growing economy?

The Institute says ‘no.’ In fact, they estimate that if the number of Texas’ uninsured had been chopped in half last year, the state’s economy would have enjoyed a boost of more than $9 billion, 90,000 new jobs and an additional $3.2 billion in income for employees and employers across the state.

So what’s stopping them? Well, a number of things according to the Institute: high premiums, inaccessible insurance and a belief among young people that health insurance is an unnecessary expense.

The loss of a spouse (husband or wife) can take a toll on your family not only emotionally but also financially. I think any reputable financial planner will agree that it is critical for stay-at-home spouses with dependents to be covered with a life insurance policy so that surviving family members can continue their lives as best as they possibly can.

Just think about all the stuff that a stay at home mom provides for her children and the household. The value of services performed by the stay-at-home spouse, including carpooling, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, and taking children to appointments, can add up to a surprisingly hefty cost. And, don’t forget about childcare, which can be as high as $8800 a year, depending on where you live.

So, if you’re wondering whether or not your stay at home spouse should be insured, the answer is absolutely! Term life insurance is so inexpensive, there’s no reason not to take out a policy.

This is a great question!

Survivorship life insurance is a type of that covers two lives, where the death benefit is payable on the death of the second life. It’s commonly used in estate planning, where the first spouse to die leaves his or her estate to the surviving spouse, utilizing the unlimited marital estate tax deduction; the estate then becomes taxable upon the death of the second spouse.

It’s a great tool in estate planning. Potential buyers of survivorship life insurance should consider several factors. Individuals with taxable estates should be interested in this type of life insurance because premiums are considerably lower than the premiums for traditional whole life insurance, and individual-term life insurance premiums are much higher. For more information, contact your accountant or life insurance agent as they would be able to help you figure out if this type of insurance is best for you.

What are your most valuable possessions? With new gadgets like the iPhone, as well as other portable goodies like laptops, cameras and personal digital assistants, many people are finding that the value isn’t just the device itself but is instead the information it carries. It’s worth checking to see if your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy will cover replacing your technology tools, or even the information they contain.

For example, if your iPod contains 500 songs downloaded from Apple’s iTunes at about one dollar each, that claim is possibly $500 for lost data, not including the time to re-establish data. And for business purposes and customers, the water gets even muddier.

Personal digital assistants, or PDAs, like the Blackberry, will store a huge amount of information. While the devices can be backed up, sometimes people don’t do it as often as necessary. How much is the loss of a business contact worth? How much is it worth to replace that information? Often that figure isn’t easily quantifiable.

“Early adapters” or even regular users should check their homeowner’s, renter’s or business policies in the event of theft or loss. In the Information Age, replacing lost information can be costly.