Health insurance coverage is something you typically don’t give much thought - that is, until you or someone you love needs it. This very thing happened in my family. My husband, son and I carried group health insurance through my husbands’ employer. Shortly after we married, I persuaded my husband to switch from the Blue Cross plan (80/20) to the HMO offered by his employer. Premiums for the HMO were somewhat lower and there was better coverage for doctor visits and pharmacy.
Within 2 years of switching health plans, my husband was diagnosed with lymphoma, a slow-growing cancer. The prognosis was good, but treatments, medications, and hospital stays were exorbitant. Medical expenses would have been overwhelming had we not switched to the HMO plan. Our HMO health insurance plan covered almost all expenses we incurred with his illness. We basically only paid our co-pays, and, of course, our premiums. In fact, our health plan still pays for his treatments.
Should everyone change to an HMO health insurance plan? Not necessarily. What is important is to know basic facts about our health plan. Important questions to answer include:
What does the health plan cover? Does the coverage meet your needs? Some plans do not include wellness care and preventive care, while others do. If you require many prescription drugs, are these included in your plan?
What does the health plan NOT cover? Health insurance plans usually do not include cosmetic surgery (unless the surgery is reconstructive, repairing damage from burns, an accident, etc.). Major medical insurance plans will only cover hospitalization and other “major medical” expenses.
Who does the plan cover? Family coverage includes immediate family in most cases, spouse and minor children. Are children covered while in college, for example? Are stepchildren or children in custody of the other parent covered? Some health plans cover any child in the family, some cover stepchildren (usually only if they live with you, however). Some plans only cover children who live under your roof. What about foster children, or other children under your care (grandchildren living with you, etc.)
How much are co-pays and deductibles? Most managed care plans require co-pays whenever you receive health services, but may require no deductible. A fee-for-service plan typically includes an annual deductible as well as co-pays for services received.
What health care providers (doctors, pharmacies, durable medical equipment) are covered under your health plan. Most managed care plans (HMOs, PPOs) utilize a “network” of contracted health providers and may not cover providers out of their network. If choice of health care provider is important to you, you should ensure that your providers are in the plan network, or choose a fee-for-service (FFS) plan that covers any provider.
These are just a few questions that you should consider if choosing a health insurance plan. Information about your specific health insurance coverage is very important to have. The last thing you want to be concerned about in an urgent or emergent health situation is “is this covered by my health plan? Be prepared by knowing basic facts of your particular health insurance plan.
Here’s to your continued health!
Kay Lowe holds a Master’d degree in health care and has 30+ years in the health care field. She is also webmaster for Health-Infosource.com, a website dedicated to disseminating health information.
Most people choose to purchase a level term life insurance policy because
they only want life insurance coverage for a specific amount of time. Unlike a
whole life insurance policy, which provides life insurance coverage for the
duration of your life, a level term life insurance policy will provide this
coverage. But how long should you have a level term life insurance policy?
There is no single correct answer to that question - all answers will be based
on your individual needs and factors. For example, take into consideration why
you are purchasing the level term life insurance policy in the first place. Are
you suffering from a potentially fatal health condition? Or do you just want the
comfort that comes along with knowing your family will be financially protected
in the event of your death? The former will probably prompt you to purchase a
level term life insurance policy that will fit the factors that go along with
your health condition, and the latter will probably prompt you to purchase a
level term life insurance policy that will last for many years.
Before you purchase your level term life insurance policy, try looking into the
future. You are not psychic, we know, but when deciding how long your level term
life insurance policy should last, it is important to consider not only what
makes sense in the present, but also what makes sense in the future. Uncertainty
about the length of your level term life insurance policy usually means you
should purchase a longer period. This will most likely raise your level term
life insurance policy costs, but not by much. It will be worth the longer
coverage.
When considering the length of your level term life insurance policy, always
talk with your doctor as well as your level term life insurance company agent.
They will be able to assist you in your decision regarding your health and your
coverage.
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Remote alarm systems: At the heart of these kind of home alarm systems are the control units. These units are used for a predetermined monitor- the monitoring units however are found in diverse configurations though. The high-end members of the remote alarm systems typically connect to some sort of central station or responder (could be police or hospital or fire brigade). These systems are typically connected to the central responder via a direct phone wire or tamper-resistant fiber optic cable.
Technically speaking, the alarm monitoring of the remote alarm systems includes much more than sensors- the communication wire is also part of the deal. Few years ago, the use of direct phone circuits were heavily very common (with the help of phone companies). But their high cost has cut their popularity. Rather, the industry is moving towards direct connections, as they are common in Federal, State, and Local Government buildings, or on school campuses with dedicated security systems.
Today, there is also a heavy trend towards digital telephone dialer unit. These units dial a central station or some other location through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Thus the alarm is raised with a synthesized voice or through an encoded message string that is decoded by the central station.
There are many different types of traveller. There are business men and women who are flying from one city to another for brief meetings, then there are families taking a two week holiday to the sun with young children, then there are students or gap year travellers who will be backpacking around exotic locations on extremely low budgets. There are really about as many different types of traveller as there are different types of person.
There are many different approaches you can take to booking your travel arrangements. Your main priority may be convenience, for example if you have a meeting near the airport you will need airport accommodation and little else, however, if you are travelling for pleasure, you are likely to have far less restrictions and will be willing to consider all types of arrangements. You can have these arranged for you by a travel agent or you could do it for yourself online. Or alternatively, you may wish to simply travel to a city or country with absolutely no plans and just see what happens when you get there.
On of the things you should always travel with is proper health and travel insurance. Obviously your requirements will again vary depending on what kind of travel you are undertaking. If you are travelling for business, full travel insurance that will provide you with alternative flights if yours is cancelled or delayed will be important. For most holiday travellers, this may not be quite as important. If you are travelling with children you may wish to consider it, but otherwise you may be quite flexible and tolerant if delays do occur. But you may be more worried about your luggage and belongings and wish to have good coverage for loss or damage to your property. All these options are available today with the various travel insurance companies that are operating in the market.
Generally speaking, you will always need health insurance when you travel. You cannot afford to take the risk that an accident or serious injury occurs and you do not have proper coverage. There are many parts of the word where free national health insurance is not provided and if you do require medical treatment, it will only be provided if you can pay for it. Particularly if you are travelling with children, you should always arrange adequate travel insurance with medical coverage. This is simply a risk that you do not want to be bearing yourself especially when the cost of travel insurance is so affordable.
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the insurance site http://www.insure121.com/ where you will find information, news and links to the leading providers of travel insurance in the UK.
Renter’s insurance is protection intended for anyone who rents an apartment, home or other live-in dwelling. Purchasing renter’s insurance can protect you against the risk of fire, theft, windstorms, falling objects, smoke, and vandalism. Another important aspect of renter’ insurance is that it protects you against liability in the unlikely event that someone meets harm or injury in your home.
While it is true that your landlord more than likely holds insurance on your residence his insurance normally only covers the actual building you reside in. The burden of replacing your personal property lies on you. The landlord’s insurance definitely will not cover any legal responsibility for injury or damage to a guest or their property. In many cases rental insurance may even provide for the cost of a legal defense.
It is also important to make sure you are aware of the different types of coverage and that you provide yourself with adequate protection. Personal property coverage protects the assets in your home such as your furniture and clothing. It also provides protection for those things you may have with you while traveling or away from home.
Loss of use coverage pays for living expenses when an insured loss prevents you from habitation of your home. This includes food and shelter for the duration of time while your home is being repaired or replaced for up to two years.
Inflation coverage routinely augments the amount of your insurance coverage as cost of living expenses increase. Personal liability coverage grants payment for legal accountability according to the limits of your individual policy for damages based on bodily injury or property damage, which are incurred in your home.
Medical payments to others coverage pays the medical expenses for visitors who are accidentally injured while a guest on your premises. This coverage does not pay out to you or your family members who reside with you.
When purchasing renter’s insurance you will need to make a decision as to whether to insure your possessions based on their actual cash value or their replacement value. Actual cash value payouts will be based on how much your property is worth post depreciation, meaning if you lose a 10-year-old computer to wind or storm damage you will be paid the cost to replace the same 10-year-old computer. Replacement coverage pays a return without consideration of depreciation.
The best thing about renter’s insurance is that for the amount of protection it provides it is still relatively inexpensive and if you purchase your renter’s insurance from the same company that insures your automobile you may be eligible for a significant discount.
As with any insurance that you purchase it is important to make sure you understand exactly what may or may not be covered by your renter’s insurance policy. Some losses that may not be covered include but are not limited to flood or underground water damage, earthquake, mud or landslide damage or even nuclear hazards. Although your renter’s insurance may not cover these disasters it is highly probable that optional or additional coverage may be available for an additional premium.
Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Best-Free-Insurance-Quotes.com. He provides more insurance information and offers free money saving auto, home, life, health and renters insurance quotes that you can research in your pajamas on his website.