There is a state incentive program in Louisiana that was developed to revitalize the insurance injury after Hurricane Katrina: $100 million for those providers who will write policies for businesses across the state.

Despite the high dollar amount of the incentives, Louisiana’s insurance companies are not interested. Only seven companies in the state have applied for the grants. Perhaps other companies aren’t qualified or else they just don’t think that the incentives are enough to mitigate the risk of insuring businesses in the wake of Katrina.

For those who apply, the hope is to nail down one of the $2 million to $10 million grants that are available. In return, the insurance companies must commit an equal amount of their own money and use the sum of the two to write business property insurance policies.

Jim Donelon is the Insurance Commissioner in Louisiana. His hope is that the grant incentive program will generate up to $400 million in new property insurance coverage.

This article entitled, “The Most Expensive State to Insure a Home” was found in Forbes. It was printed in February of 2007, but still very useful and relevant information today. The top 10 most expensive states for homeowners insurance were:

1. Texas
2. Lousiana
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. Mississippi
6. District of Columbia
7. California
8. Kansas
9. Colorado
10. Alaska

When most of us seek out a company to provide us with auto insurance, we want to know a little bit about how well they are ranked in their industry. This can help you decide whether or not that super low rate is too good to be true or be the tie breaker when two companies are offering similar products for the same amount.

There are companies dedicated to rating insurance companies within the industry and when a rating slips, it’s big news. Choose a company with a low rating and you shouldn’t be surprised if they can’t pay your claim or take forever to process it.

According to TheStreet.com Ratings, the following are the car insurance providers with the highest grades:

* United Services Automobile Association – A+
* USAA Casualty Insurance Co. – A+
* Interins Exchange of the Automobile Club – A+
* Dairyland Insurance Co. – A
* Auto-Owners Insurance Co. – A
* Sentry Insurance a Mutual Co. – A
* Country Mutual Insurance – A
* Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. – A
* Mercury Insurance Co. – A
* Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. – A

The III (Insurance Information Institute) provides this easy to use life stages tool which provides easy to use information on insurance and financial planning for different stages of your life. Information on auto, home, life, health, disability, and long-term care insurance are provided.

It’s nice to see that even though the cost of health insurance increases every year, businesses are working to try and quell the rise. Rates and premiums, though still increasing, are not doing so by the incredibly high percentages that have been the past couple years. To keep prices down, health savings accounts are an option as are high deductibles.

Jim Deyling is vice president of South Carolina’s BlueCross BlueShield. He says, “On average, health care costs for 2008 are expected to jump anywhere from 7 percent to 15 percent. And it can be higher than 15, but it can be lower. The average increase is around 10 to 12 percent.”

Though lower than last year, these costs are still out of reach for both employers with small businesses and their employees.

Wanda Soto is a broker and owns an insurance provider called Client First Inc. of Myrtle Beach, an insurance provider. She says, “Each individual company has its own needs, so companies here are making decisions to walk a fine line to fulfill budgets.”

Penalties for health-threatening behavior and incentives for taking control of your own health are part of lowering prices. Employers are also offering more than one plan, sometimes several, so that employees can choose what works best for them.

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that there were a bunch of medical tests that are conducted when applying for a term life insurance policy or permanent life policy. It came to my attention that people were concerned about whether or not their medical information would be kept private. I thought I’d take some time to explain how the process works.

Each life insurance company has an approved list of vendors who have examiners going to the life insurance applicant’s home to collect blood and urine specimens. Life insurance agents are limited to using only those services on the approved list. These companies include companies like Portamedic. The life insurance medical examiner will bring bar code stickers and put one on each tube of fluid as well as a lab slip. The fluids get mailed to CRL (Clinical Reference Laboratories) to be analyzed and the paperwork is mailed directly to the life insurance company.

Once the lab completes testing, the lab results are sent electronically with several security measures and check points. The only person who can access the lab results is the life insurance underwriter who is in receipt of the lab slip and has authorization in the system to match the bar codes. Once the fluids are sent to the lab and later released, results are accessed by matching bar codes only, and name, social security number and drivers license number are not transmitted electronically at all.

The life insurance company has the test results and no one else, not AccuQuote, not Portamedic, not any other entity has access to view those results. Only the life insurance company will have access to the test results, and even then, only after they receive a signed application from you. Once your term life insurance application is approved and your life insurance policy is in force, or you’ve closed your application and decided not to purchase the life insurance, the test results are archived in a system and no longer accessible by anyone.

Lab results are purged permanently after short time period. For example, in underwriting at Transamerica, your lab results are considered expired after 6 months from the date the specimen was collected. So, there is no reason for them to keep the results longer than that, which is why they permanently purge them.

You want to lower your car insurance costs but you’re not sure how to go about it. There are a number of ways to do it; it just takes a little ingenuity and attention to detail.

* Research. Even if you have a good policy, there are always new deals. By checking in and getting a quote every few months, you can make sure that you’re getting the most for your money.

* Take a driving class. We can’t all be perfect drivers, but if you’ve had a ticket or an accident, it will help your insurance to invest in a safety course to show that you’re headed in the right direction. Even those with a clean driving record can save money by taking a driving class.

* Dump the insurance. What better way to save money than to get rid of the bill altogether. Of course, this is ONLY if your vehicle isn’t worth as much as your insurance. If your car is about to fall apart and has a limited life span anyway, you’d be better off saving your money for a new car than investing in insurance.

* Increase your deductible. By paying a higher amount when you make a claim, you can pay less each month for your premiums. Get different quotes to see how much different deductibles will save you. Just make sure that you’ve got that amount tucked away in the event that you do get into an accident.

* Pick one company. Buying your homeowner’s insurance and car insurance from the same company means discounts. The same goes if you and your spouse or others in your household all drive different cars and need coverage.

Many people often wonder what tests are run on blood and urine samples collected during the term life insurance application process. Although each life insurance company has a list of tests they run specific to them the following are the most most common tests conducted:

Blood Chemistry

• glucose

• fructosamine

• glycohemoglobin (A1C)

• BUN

• creatinine

• uric acid

• albumin

• globulin

• calcium

• lactate dehydrogenase

• iron

• cholesterol

• triglycerides

• HDL

• HDL/cholesterol ratio

• LDL

• LDL/cholesterol ratio

• alkaline phosphate

• bilirubin

• AST

• ALT

• GGT

• protein

• HIV

Urinalysis

• cotinine

• cocaine

• glucose

• protein

• creatinine

• red blood count

• white blood count

• hyaline casts

• granular casts

• specific gravity

Many compare the life expectancy and infant mortality statistics of Canada and the United States to point to whether our health care system or their national health care system is more efficient.

What the Statistics Say

Looking at the numbers, Canada enjoys a lower infant mortality rate (5.3 infants for every 1000 live births to our 6.8) and a higher life expectancy for both men and women. Canadian men are expected to live 2.6 years longer than American men and Canadian women have a life expectancy that is greater by 2.3 years.

Behind the Statistics

The assumption is that these outcomes are based on the health care system alone. But certainly there are a number of factors outside prenatal care and general health care that affect the mortality and life expectancy rates. Some of these include:

* Car accidents or murder account for the 50 percent higher mortality rate that American men in their 20s experience as compared to their Canadian neighbors.
* Obesity affects 31 percent of American men and 33 percent of American women as opposed to 17 percent of Canadian men and 19 percent of Canadian women.
* Low birth weight is a common cause of infant death, a factor commonly linked to teenage pregnancy which is about three times higher in the United States than Canada.

Statistics are tricky. They can tell us a lot about our society but it should also be noted that they can be manipulated, so take a moment to investigate before making snap decisions especially concerning our health care.

Life insurance is an important part of your financial plan. Buying insurance, whether term life insurance or permanant life insurance, involves asking a variety of personal lifestyle and financial questions. But before you start the life insurance comparison process there are some things you should think about.

First, think about which members of your household should be covered by life insurance. It’s typically a good idea to insure anyone who earns income.

Next, think about which members of your household Find out whether you’re eligible for group life insurance coverage at work. If you already have it, review the policy to understand exactly what benefits it provides.

Finally, keep in mind that you may not need life insurance if you have no dependents and nobody else relies on you for financial support.