Should you keep your grown kids on your health insurance policy?

May 6th, 2012 No comments

Once upon a time, children grew up and left home. Now, if they leave, they often come back. And even if they dont, for many reasons, theyre still dependent on their parents.

Thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act portions of which were being hotly debated in the U.S. Supreme Court last week theres yet another reason for them to be tied to the nest. Insurers must offer parents the option of keeping their adult children covered under the parents medical plan until age 26.

Since the law went into effect last year, some 2.5 million young people have gained coverage, filling a huge health insurance gap.

Full Post…

Share
Categories: Insurance Quotes Tags:

My bad: Stupid do-it-yourself mistakes

April 6th, 2012 No comments

Many homeowners and renters do their own home repair or remodeling work in a feeble attempt to save money. But they may actually put themselves in harms way by causing more expensive problems.

California contractor Robert Rayfield estimates that 70 percent of his business is tied to repairing or undoing home repairs done by do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners or unqualified builders.

Ive been called in by people who spent time and money on doing the job themselves, only to add a few thousand dollars in repair time to undo their mistakes, Rayfield says.

Full Post…

Share
Categories: Insurance Quotes Tags:

Life Insurance Quotes the Easy Way

April 3rd, 2012 No comments

Sometimes I will do a Google (or Bing) search for life insurance quotes to get a feel for what consumers have to go through in order to get quotes.  Each time I do so, I am disheartened by what I find.  The search listings can be quite confusing, as I see different companies on the first few search pages each time I do this test.

How does this happen?  I know when I search for other products or services, the search engine usually spits out the most relevant search results, with the most relevant results appearing on the first page.  However, if I search for life insurance quotes, for example, I get a mish-mash of results.  How do I know which is the right company to choose?

I can go with names I know, like MetLife or Prudential, who often show up well in the rankings (deservedly so).  The only problem with those websites is that I will only get one quote for each particular company.  Then I will have to shop around for competitive quotes.

I can just go down the list and find a company that will provide me with competitive quotes from several companies.  But I soon find this to be a difficult task.  I run into many websites that turn out to be, what we call in the industry, lead generation websites.  Many of these websites will have you fill in your personal information and sell it to life insurance agents (up to 8), who will then all call you to try to sell you a policy.  Another type of lead generation site is identifiable by the large zip code box on the home page.  Just enter your zip code and a page of companies pops up.  You can click each one to try to get quotes, and then you will have to submit your personal information before you get quotes.  Also, youll find many of the companies on this page are some of the companies you already saw in the search results.

I mentioned that many of the companies showing up on the first few pages of Google keep changing.  Most of the changes have to do with the previously mentioned lead generation companies.  As I do this test quite often, I can see what happens.  There are a few of these companies that have figured out how to work the system and move up the search rankings quickly.  When their methods of moving up are eventually discovered, they get knocked out of the rankings.  Shortly thereafter, they appear again as a new website and the cycle continues.

Some people dont mind getting called by multiple agents or going through the redundant process as described above.  If youre not one of those people, how can you find a website that will provide you with life insurance quotes without jumping through the hoops I described above?  Here are a few things to look for:

  • Work with a website that is owned and operated by licensed agents/brokers.  You can find this out by reading the About Us or Legal pages of the website.  If these pages are non-existent or limited, you are most probably on a lead generation website.
  • If you have to enter your personal information before getting quotes (which I dont recommend), read the Privacy page of the website.  It should spell out exactly what is to be done with your personal information.  If your information is to go anywhere besides the website owners or insurance companies, check out some other sites.
  • Make sure there is a list of state life insurance licenses displayed on the site.  If the site is operated by agents or brokers who can personally help you apply for a policy, the licenses should be displayed.
  • Read some of the content on the website.  If its thoughtfully written and answers some of your questions about life insurance, theres a very good chance the site is operated by licensed representatives and not a lead generation company.

I hope this will help your search.  There are quite a few reputable companies offering life insurance quotes on the website.  At LifeInsure.com, we pride ourselves in providing life insurance quotes in a secure setting without requiring personal information.   And, we will never sell your information to other agents or companies.

Share
Categories: Insurance Quotes Tags:

Insurers Offer Self-Insurance to Small Firms, Says Report

March 25th, 2012 No comments

It has been found through a new report that insurers in California have been offering health coverage to employers of small organizations, with more number of healthier workers. The same may cause a threat to state and federal healthcare reforms, fear Californian insurance officials.

The report has revealed that under self-insurance, employers need to pay some amount to medical providers for taking care of their workers. It is being said that it is opted by a large number of employers who can afford expensive medical claims.

As per the findings of the report, self-insurance is chosen by employers for many other reasons as well. It can comprise the insurance’s exempt from state insurance regulations like mandated benefits.

Full Post…

Share
Categories: Insurance Quotes Tags:

Lifetime Term Life Insurance

March 12th, 2012 No comments

Term life insurance typically comes in 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 year terms.  The term is the length of time the policy will be in effect.  At the end of the term, you can either renew the policy on an annual basis, which is usually cost-prohibitive, or you can purchase a new policy, provided youre still young enough and healthy enough.

What if you have a need for life insurance after the end of the term period?  This is a dilemma a lot of buyers of term life insurance face.  If you are 30 years older at the end of the term of your term policy, the premiums for a new policy are going to be much more expensive, even if you are in the same health class you were in when you purchased your first policy (which is rare).  Keeping the existing policy in force on an annual basis (with premium increases annually) is usually not the best way to go, as the renewal premiums are, in most cases, going to be much higher than you paid during the policy term.

You can always purchase a permanent policy, either whole life or universal life insurance, which will last your lifetime.  However, if you purchased a term policy and, sometime during the term period, you decide you need something more permanent, you can, in most cases, convert your term policy to a universal life policy.

If you are considering purchasing a life insurance policy now and you feel that you have a need for lifetime protection, you should look into permanent policies, either whole life or universal life. They

Full Post…

Share
Categories: Insurance Quotes Tags:

Life Insurance Quotes – How Accurate are They?

February 23rd, 2012 No comments

Your life insurance premiums are derived by estimating your risk of dying.  Insurance companies use specific health criteria in order to place you in a risk category or health class, as its commonly called.  There arent industry-wide labels for these classes, but you will usually see these health class designations:  Preferred Best (Plus), Preferred, Standard (Regular) Plus and Standard (Regular).  Below these are sub-standard or table-rated designations.

When you get life insurance quotes online, the quoting websites uses various types of quote engines to produce your quotes.  The most accurate quotes are based on specific health data age, sex, tobacco use, height and weight, cholesterol, blood pressure readings, family history and driving history.  While there are other factors that contribute to ones health class (health history, current health and medications), the ones mentioned above can be programmed into a quoting system, so each insurance companys underwriting guidelines factor into the health class and premium quotes.

Some life insurance quote websites will not ask any health information and will ask you guess which health class you think youre in.  Some of these will help you out with a grid of generic guidelines for each health class (e.g., cholesterol below 225 or blood pressure controlled with medication).  It has been my experience that when you allow one to  guess his/her own health class, one will usually choose one higher than one is actually in.

 A quote is only a quote and it isnt guaranteed.  Its a best-guess estimate.  the final quote from the insurance company comes at the end of underwriting when the policy is issued. You can acc

Full Post…

Share
Categories: Insurance Quotes Tags:

Axa PPP Provides Medical Cover for Abiraterone

February 16th, 2012 No comments

It has been recently revealed that the second largest private medical insurance company in the UK has changed its opinion on Abiraterone, a drug used to treat patients suffering from advanced prostate cancer.

Axa PPP has announced that it would be providing medical insurance cover for the drug and would be paying for it. Confirming the news Axa PPP spokesperson said that they have gone in line with Bupa and WPA as they think that it would be right thing to do.

The company is the latest entrant in the list of policy insurance companies which provide insurance for the drug. Another two companies which provide Abiraterone are Bupa and WPA. Both of the companies pay £3,000 a month for a single patient.

Dr.

Full Post…

Share
Categories: Insurance Quotes Tags: