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Archive for May, 2007

Choosing an Insurance Company

Abstract: family health insurance plan
Tag:

We don’t think of it too often; as a matter of fact, unless we
are faced with a health crisis or need, we don’t think about
health insurance at all! It is no wonder that many of us are
caught unawares when an emergency happens, and some of us
suddenly realize that the insurance coverage we had ten years
ago is woefully out of date for our current needs.

The first step in selecting a financially strong insurer is to
shop around. Talk to several representatives or insurance
producers from a number of different companies. Tell them what
your insurance needs are and ask them what their company will
charge to cover you.

While purchasing insurance can be a daunting task in itself,
please remember that any plan is only as good as the company
that underwrites and stands behind it. To this end, here are ten
things to consider before choosing your next insurance company:

Full Disclosure

When purchasing an individual health insurance policy, the
underwriter will look at your medical history. Prior to
comparing rates, be sure to write down all pertinent
information, so you will be able to compare apples to apples.
Additionally, it will give you a feel for what kind of
information raises red flags for insurance companies. If you
suddenly deal with a company that does not bat an eyelash at
your skydiving accident that happened just last month, you will
need to ask a few massed questions to make sure the rates don’t
suddenly change after you sign on.

Pre-Existing Conditions

Most companies will not insure pre-existing conditions; others
will do so after a sometimes lengthy waiting period. Still
others are legally mandated to carry “guaranteed issue”
policies. Prior to signing on with a company, get a detailed
list of what is considered a pre-existing condition, the
exclusionary period, and also what kind of coverage will be
provided one the exclusion ends.

Interview An Agent

A licensed, independent insurance agent is a goldmine of
information and industry gossip. Furtherextended, the agent will be
able to share feedback received from other clients about a given
health insurance company, insurance products, and even customer
service.

Have It Your Way!

Since you will have to live with the health plan of your
choosing, it is imperative that it will work for and with you.
Therefore, you should think through your wants and needs when it
comes to coverage. For example, how important is it to you to
pick your own doctors? If it does not really matter to do, then
an HMO may be a cost-saving choice. On the other hand, if you
have a favorite doctor and wish to continue consulting this
physician rather than picking someone else, you may wish to
consider the pricier PPO.

Add-Ons

Some companies will bundle their products with other coverages,
such as short- and long-term disability, prescription drug
coverage, dental and vision coverage. If these are important to
you, you should make sure the insurance company you wish to do
business with will offer them.

What Does The Future Hold?

When picking an insurance company it is imperative that its
products and coverages can grow with you and your changing
needs. Thus, a company that specializes in catastrophic coverage
only will be of little use once you have children in the house.

Out Of Pocket Expenses?

Take the time to look at the fine print. For example, how much
are the co-pays? Is there an annual cap on the co-pays? Do these
caps pertain to a calendar year or any 365-day period? In
addition to co-pays, what is the percentage of coverage?

Rating

Check out the insurance company’s rating with the Better
Business Bureau. A company that has too many unanswered
complaints does not need your business!

Accessibility

An insurance company should be easy to get a hold of, should
have extended office hours, and naturally also a toll-free
number. Give the company a call and get a feel for average hold
times, times of operation, and also services offered via
telephone.

Rate Increases

Talk to friends and neighbors who are insured with the company
you are choosing, or if you are working with an agent, seek to
find out how often the insurance companies has raised its rates
in the last two years. This will be a fair measure of the
possible rate changes that will await you once you sign on!

About the author:

Original Source: Articles
Galore.com

Information supplied and written by Lee Asher of The Home Income Portal

Serious Online Business Options.

Young Adults Vulnerable to High Medical Bills Under Massachusetts .Kaiser network.org, DC - May 30, 2007Health insurance plans offered by Massachusetts to residents ages 19 to 26 under the state’s health insurance law leave young adults vulnerable to high .High-deductible plans and cap on benefits at center of Mass . MetroWest Daily Newsall 12 news articles

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Breaks to small employers seen hurting big ones. (health insurance mandate) : An article from: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management

Abstract: colorado health insurance
Tag:

Breaks to small employers seen hurting big ones. (health insurance mandate) : An article from: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management
This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on May 23, 1994. The length of the article is 468 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: A study commissioned by the Assn of Private Pension and Welfare Plans found that allowing small employers to bypass an employer mandate to provide healthcare insurance under health care reform would be unfair to large employers. It would result in cost-shifting to large employers, as well as increasing federal subsidies to low-income families and allow 20 million workers to go uncovered by employer-based insurance. Reform proposals by Sen Edward M. Kennedy and Rep John D. Dingell include such partial mandates.

Citation Details
Title: Breaks to small employers seen hurting big ones. (health insurance mandate)
Author: Mary Jane Fisher
Publication: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 23, 1994
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Issue: n21 Page: p15(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Health panel making progressDenver Post, CO - May 25, 2007All four plans propose to cover most, if not all, of the uninsured in Colorado. While two plans would require everyone in the state to buy health insurance, .

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Travel Insurance? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Travel Insurance! (Do We?)

Abstract: individual health insurance
Tag:

Should you have travel insurance? An interesting question. But if you question the need for travel insurance, perhaps you are the same person who questions the need for any kind of insurance. Most people have auto insurance, health insurance, homeowners’ insurance or renters’ insurance, and maybe even life insurance or disability insurance - so I ask you: Why not have travel insurance?

Insurance is for “What if’s”

Insurance is protection for that unwanted and unexpected challenge. Your auto insurance protects you from shelling out $2,000 for that unexpected fender bender that wasn’t even your fault. Travel insurance does likewise. Have you ever had luggage “misplaced” by an airline and been left with no clothes to wear on your trip? Have you ever had to cancel a trip that was fully paid due to some unforeseen incident that arose before you even had an opportunity to leave? Or have you had to cut short that cruise because of something that happened at home? Ever gotten sick on vacation?

These are all travel problems that can be covered by travel insurance. One company I reviewed will reimburse your trip cost for covered (always read the small print) cancellation, and 125% of the cost due to an interruption of the trip. They will also pay $500 for your accommodations if you missed your connecting flight and can’t get another until “tomorrow morning, at the earliest.” Ever slept in an airport on behalf of your Atlanta-based flight crew, who were very happy to serve you, but couldn’t manage to get the airplane to your connecting airport by the time they said they would? A $500 hotel room might not get you to your destination, but it sure could be a sweet wait. Can you say “honor bar?”

Here’s another swell deal: your travel insurance could pay you $1,000 for lost luggage, or $200 for delayed luggage. That’s some pricey underwear and deodorant, but I’m not arguing.

Travel insurance can also be purchased to cover emergency medical treatment or “medical evacuation and repatriation.” Or, if you prefer, you could just click your heels together three times and say, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place.”

Yeah, but how much is it going to cost me?

The cost of travel insurance is based on the number of people traveling and the value of the trip. Time away can also be a factor if you will be gone for heavier than a month. For example, a family of four taking a trip valued at about $3,000 could expect to pay in the neighborhood of $250 for all of the coverage mentioned above. Is it worth it? On the website of one travel company it stated, “If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel.”

Can I ask my uncle?

Sure. Uncle Sam says medical evacuation from a foreign country can cost $10,000 and up. And in his inimitable way, he warns that Social Security Medicare does not provide coverage for hospital or medical coverage outside of the US. If you have a private insurer, you might want to check on what out-of-country coverage you have if your trip will take you outside of the good ol’ USA.

OK, OK, you’ve convinced me. Any last bits of advice before I leave for Katmandu?

I am so glad you asked. Here’s a little extra for you - at no additional charge:

1. Take all your travel insurance documentation with you - DON’T put it in your luggage!
2. Put all of your policy numbers on a separate piece of paper in a separate location from the actual policies in case of loss or damage to your policies.
3. Leave a copy of your policy(s) at home with next of kin, or whomever knows your whereabouts.
4. To expedite service in case of an accident, fill in all of your vital statistics on the information page of your passport (name, address, phone number, etc.), or carry it on a card that you keep in your wallet or stuffed into the sleeve of that tag that says Hello My Name Is_.

In a coconut shell.

Travel insurance can help you with:
· Reimbursement of your travel investment due to cancellation or early termination
· Reimbursement of unexpected travel expenses (delays, loss of luggage)
· Covering emergency medical assistance and medical referrals
· Obtaining medical assistance abroad

Bon Voyage!

© 2005 Travel Insurance Directory
About the Author

Tina Irasthmus has developed the website Travel Insurance Directory, which answers the most common questions drivers have about travel insurance. Please visit us at http://www.travelinsurancedirectory.net today.

*ATTENTION PUBLISHERS AND WEBMASTERS*
Permission is given to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine, newsletter, or on your website so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the conten

Should the United States Have Universal Health CareDentalPlans.com, FL - 11 hours agoA plan in which every individual in the country is legislated to pay $20.00/month to a private health insurance plan, and further subsidized by say a .

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Revealed - The real reason you can’t stop smoking!

Abstract: cigna health insurance
Tag:

Despite the decades of scientific and medical research proving
beyond doubt the deadly effects of cigarette smoking, the number
of existing smokers, and people taking up smoking, is still at
incredulous levels.

The chilling statistics reveal:-

* 1 in 5 deaths in the US is attributed to smoking

* 440, 000 deaths, potentially 6 million years of potential
life lost per year

* Smoking during pregnancy results in 1,000 infant deaths per
year.

(Source http://www.med.upenn.edu/tturc/pdf/USA_Figures.pdf)

Most people when asked are at a loss to explain why anyone
would continue to smoke, or take up smoking considering the high
smoking related death rate; however it is important to
understand that the reason is on farther of a subconscious, rather
than a conscious level.

The real reasons have to do with a mechanism that drives our
behavior called the pleasure and pain mechanism. This mechanism
is designed to drive us towards things that are pleasurable and
safe, and drive us away from things that are painful and
potentially harmful or dangerous. The mechanism for the most
part is developed within the subconscious mind as the result of
the input (either pleasure or pain) we receive from our
experience of any behavior or activity. At times the
pleasure/pain mechanism has farther than one input however, in
which case it is usually the input that is either the strongest
or the most immediate that moulds our behavior with respect to
the activity in question. The problem with this mechanism where
smoking is concerned is twofold:-

1. A delay of years before the negative effects are experienced
which renders this delayed feedback incapable as it becomes a
purely conscious input.

2. Smoking does have elements of pleasure in the short term
(such as a relaxing effect of the deep breathing, and is still
seen as a somewhat cool thing to do by some young people because
of its rebellious connotations). Being a short term feedback,
this pleasure feedback is what a smoker responds too.

Imagine for a moment if instead of the current situation with
smoking, if everyone who took up smoking and smoked for only a
week died as a result of the usual smoking related illnesses,
how many people do you think would take up smoking given this
scenario? I would suggest it would be as close to zero as you
could get.

While there is currently a delay of years before the real pain
resulting from smoking is felt, I believe the time is almost at
hand where this will change although not in the way that you
might think. The enormous cost to the healthcare system for self
inflicted and preventable health problems such as those
resulting from smoking, will mean a change to the responsibility
for these healthcare costs within the next few years, such as:

* Smokers will be forced to pay excessive health insurance
premiums compared to non-smokers

* Countries with free or subsidized healthcare will withdraw
this support for preventable health problems such as smoking,
forcing smokers to pay high private insurance costs or be left
without access to healthcare.

* Also, governments may impose even higher taxes on tobacco
products making the price of cigarettes even extra
prohibitive.

These measures may provide enough short term pain to encourage
some smokers to quit, however they are a little way off just
yet.

So what’s the solution?

There is no magic bullet when it comes to any habit including
smoking; however understanding the mechanism of the habit is a
starting point. What smokers need to understand is that any
habit such as smoking, is a program or list of instructions that
have been placed in the subconscious mind through repetition
that respond similar to a computer program. Like a computer
program the instructions in your habit program are activated by
certain actions or triggers. The triggers can be inputs such as
stress, a time trigger such as every 30 minutes, or perhaps
after a meal. You don’t have to “think” about lighting up
because your subconscious mind is programmed to respond to the
triggers.

Tips

The relaxing effect of smoking can be attributed to the deep
breathing when drawing in the smoke, so when you feel like a
cigarette in response to one of your triggers, use your
imagination instead and visualize a cigarette in your mouth,
then take slow deep breathes instead of reaching for a real
cigarette. The massed times you do this the in addition you will override
your smoking program and replace it with the new deep breathing
habit instead. If you want to install a subconscious pain
response to help quit smoking then try this. Find a quiet place
where you can be alone:

1. Imagine you’re in your 40’s or 50’s and the doctor is telling
you that you only have a couple of months to live, imagine the
fear that would run through your body at that moment.

2. Imagine you’re on your death bed saying goodbye to your
loved ones, children or partner. How would that feel inside?

3. Imagine your cigarette packet has an LCD screen on it. Every
time you open the pack the screen lights up with a live feed
from the future of your children or partner at your funeral
grieving for you and wanting to know why you had to die so
young.

Are these scenarios completely fictitious? The future video feed
may be but as for the dying younger than you should, sadly that
is a mathematical certainty. While we’ve all heard of smokers
who have lived to an old age, these people are rare exceptions
of perhaps 1 person in 1000 or likewise. I’d hate to bet my life
savings at those odds let alone my life, how about you?

If you’re serious about saving your life and kicking the smoking
habit, then try the visualization techniques above every day to
program it into your subconscious. You can also think of all the
money you’ll save by quitting. Alternatively you can look for a
good quit smoking program, but ensure that the one you choose
addresses the problems of the underlying subconscious
programming of the habit. The money you spend on a good program
will be trivial compared to the money you’ll save on cigarettes
and is a small price to pay for your life. With regards to
smoking, only one person can save your life, and that person is
YOU.

About the author:

Colin L Wolfenden is webmaster for http://www.my-resource.com and http://www.impressiveebooks.com

CIGNA Provides Consumer Tools and Information in Support of .PR Newswire (press release), NY - May 8, 2007The campaign is being coordinated by the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE). As part of its ongoing efforts to provide .

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How to get a lower health insurance quote

Abstract: arizona health insurance
Tag:

A health insurance is usually provided by the employer or
through some government program. If that is not the case, then
it has to be acquired from a private insurance organization.
When it comes to identifying lower quotes, a lot of research is
necessary. A variety of tools need to be deployed to ensure that
the lowest quote is obtained. The Internet can be used to do
extensive research in this regard. There are quite a few
websites which offer services to find the most ideal and lowest
insurance quotes.

The alternative method would be to consult a local insurance
agent or broker. Consulting these professionals would certainly
help a person to gauge the market trend. An insurance broker
would be aware of state and federal legislation and regulations
pertaining to health insurance plans. There are umpteen numbers
of policies offered by a host of insurance companies. The
insurance brokers would also be well-equipped with information
pertaining to insurance companies and types of coverage that
each insurance plan would offer. Hence, they would help asses
your needs and suggest a solution that meets your unique
requirements. In that sense, insurance agents help in saving a
lot of time that would have to be spent in identifying the ideal
policy, filling out applications and submitting them to the
appropriate offices.

Independent brokers do not work for any other agency. In theory
this would ensure that they are unbiased and would provide
highly personalized attention. Even after purchasing the
insurance, these agents would help in getting the most out of
the coverage plan. There is also a 75 year old association for
insurance agents and brokers called the National Association of
Health Underwriters. An agent belonging to this association
would certainly be a good choice.

Consumer Guides to Individual Health Insurance, Group Health
Insurance, Continuation of Coverage, Long-Term Care and Health
Care Coverage Options Database are few of the resources which
provide extensive information about private insurance companies
and critical information pertaining to them. These resources
could prove to be inheld dear in choosing the right insurance
plan. Another way of getting to know about insurance plans is to
post queries in insurance related forums. A majority of doctors
also have a fair knowledge about the health insurance plans. A
strategy deploying a combination of these resources would help
in obtaining a lower health insurance quote.

When looking for a low insurance quote you should consider a
wide variety of factors. Because online insurance companies
often have a much lower overhead they can often offer you prices
unparalleled by other competitors. That said, however, they
cannot always offer you the individual care and guidance that
brick and mortar agents and brokers can. Consequently, it is
important when shopping to sample as wide a variety of sources
as you can in attempting to attain the incomparable insurance quote.

About the author:

Marcus Dubois is a veteran in the insurance industry, and
recommends InstaQuoter to get a free health insurance
quote
.

Company shifts keep temp agencies jugglingVentura County Star (subscription), CA - 3 hours ago. committed to cut costs and started to trim jobs through outsourcing after a merger that made it the nation’s largest health insurance company. .

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