100x

If you’re in the market for individual health insurance coverage, it’s a great idea to receive a few (let’s say, no less than three different) quotes. And when you get these quotes, you need to review two categories of information:

1. The details of the coverage, including but not limited to co-pays, deductibles, and exclusions; and
2. The cost of the policy

The Internet is a great place to obtain the quotes you’re going to look at. In fact, online health insurance brokers are fast becoming the most means of securing health insurance coverage. The process is fast and convenient, with several reputable online brokers from which to choose. By simply entering your zip code and a little personal information (safely guarded), you can be looking at multiple quotes in no time at all.

Collecting several individual health insurance quotes is a vital step in the process of obtaining health insurance, and should never be skipped. And with the availability of the Internet, you can now easily accomplish this step efficiently from the comfort and privacy of your own home.

However, if you’re like most people, you will probably have some questions after looking at your health insurance quotes. Any reputable online health insurance broker will have toll free phone support available for their clients, or you can talk to a local insurance broker. Do not make the mistake of buying a policy without taking this important step. A good broker will have no problem with your asking any number of questions; and if they do, it may be time to find another broker.

When reviewing multiple health insurance quotes and comparing various plans side by side, you will become a better educated consumer and be able to make a confident health insurance choice for you and your family.

1. Never refuse free money (qualify for the max employer 401(k) match).
2. Buy things that appreciate and lease things that depreciate.
3. Become a credit card “surfer” (switch to low-interest cards).
4. Use time when it is on your side (compound interest).
5. Set up automatic savings plans (e.g., 401(k)s).
6. Know where you spend your money.
7. Don’t count on a “white knight” to save you.
8. Earn the highest possible yields on your cash.
9. Don’t automatically make extra principal payments on your mortgage (compare with alternative investments).
10. Use a good asset allocation strategy.

As I’ve discussed before, life insurance is a good idea but you do need to carefully choose the type of policy that meets your needs. A posting over at Forbes.com adds the additional question, “Who should manage the proceeds on behalf of your children?”

If you’re thinking about buying life insurance, the posting, Life Insurance And Kids: A Matter Of Trust , is probably worth a read. If you’ve got children, change the probably to definitely.

if you mean those slippery, self-aggrandizing, arrogant shysters who steal from crying babies and gentle, trusting seniors; those people for whom standards mean nothing and rules are made to be broken; those get-rich-quick artists who con people out of their hard earned incomes and cheat them out of their futures — who take money otherwise destined to educate a new generation; those bandits who live it up while their hapless, hopeless and helpless victims suffer in agony for years while they sit, sipping from a coconut in Hawaii; those miserable cads who turn everything to their advantage and would steal from their mothers; those scam artists who have nothing to offer other than an expensive suit, shiny shoes, a leased luxury vehicle, a Mona Lisa smile and a Hitler personality? those scourges of the earth who would sell anything to anyone just to make a buck.

But, if you’re talking about those salt of the earth individuals whose diligent, honorable and selfless efforts have made industry progress and prosperity a reality since time immemorial by working to the advantage of generations of families and businesses; those polite and concerned men and women who have come into our homes and offices for years to help us meet the needs we’d never understand except for their help; those friendly and experienced stalwarts who have worked tirelessly to develop industry standards and associations that have helped not only the members but also the general public; those honest, concerned professionals who work day and night to protect widows and orphans, the sick and the suffering and the aged from inevitable lifestyle disaster by helping people understand the value of a product that no one wants to buy but everybody needs; those who have endured countless hours of rejection so that they could help others who did not understand the startling value of the products they sold; those who drove for an hour for a few dollars so that some hard working soul could help build their retirement lifestyle and have the peace of mind that comes from quality of life; those kind and thoughtful leaders who have devoted their time, money and resources to building and supporting their communities because they had the flexibility and opportunity to do it; those personable, intelligent, friendly and giving helpers who hand people money when they need it most and they can’t help themselves so they can continue on in dignity and optimism, then count me among them! 
 

Having enough life insurance is especially important for young families to consider, because having the right coverage may ultimately decide the quality of the future for the children.

Term life insurance rates are fairly cheap for parents who purchase coverage in their 20s or 30s. How much to buy? There are two rules of thum used to estimate how much life insurance to buy: 1) Eight times current income or 2) Six times income plus one-time expenses like paying off the mortgage, creating college funds, etc. Another way to calculate the need is to attempt to exactly estimate how much coverage is needed by considering all the projected expenses – both one-time and on-going expenses — instead of using current income as the basis for calculation. 

I suggest term insurance at this stage of life, because the need is frequently greater than the available budget. Many working parents have some term life insurance through an employer, but even so it’s still a good idea to do the math and make sure that there’s enough coverage. And, since each family situation is unique, it’s always a good idea to consult with an insurance professional before making a purchase.

If you’re interested in more information on the topic of finances and families, here’s an interesting article which lists the top five financial mistakes that young parents make.

Critical illness insurance provides a lump sum payment on the first diagnosis of a specified critical illness, although some products provide a series of payments. Commonly covered critical illnesses include life-threatening cancer, heart attack, stroke, renal failure and major organ transplants. Other covered conditions can include severe burns, coronary artery bypass graft, paralysis, loss of sight, speech or hearing, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease and coma.

Who needs this insurance? Statistically, the average age of people making heart attack, cancer, or stroke claims in the past three years was 41. One-fourth of the claims were from individuals under 35. According to a 3 year claim study by Canada Life, 10% of claims came from people younger than 30, 23% came from people between age 31 and 40, and 52% from people between age 41 and 50.

The idea for critical illness insurance was developed by Dr. Marius Barnard in 1983 to offset the financial hardship often experienced by survivors of major illnesses. With medical advancements and technology, we are now surviving these illnesses. But, in many cases, our finances do not recover with us. Dr. Marius Barnard, who along with his brother Dr. Christiaan Barnard, performed the first successful heart transplant, saw a tremendous need for an insurance policy that would pay a “living benefit.”

That’s where critical illness insurance can help. It helps you maintain and protect your pre-illness lifestyle through the time it takes you to recover. Critical illness insurance provides you with a lump-sum payment, when you need it most, to be used in any way that you see fit — covering extra health care bills, alternative medicines, business expenses, paying off debts, home renovations or treatment abroad, it’s your choice.

A few more interesting statistics:

• 48% of mortgage foreclosures in America are due to a critical illness
• only 3% of mortgage foreclosures are due to death
• 50% of all bankruptcies in America are due to a critical illness
• 79% of those people had medical insurance
• 65% of the total costs of cancer are non-medical and not covered by health insurance

Are you covered? Should you be?

Health insurance benefits can be an effective recruitment and retention tool for small business that are facing stiff competition for a limited talent pool.
For many job seekers, the quality of the health insurance offering is a determining factor in where they choose to work. If you’re in a situation where this is
important, consider a few ideas to contain the costs of providing health insurance to employees: 

Make an Informed Buying Decision
Gather enough information to make a truly informed buying decision. The hottest products now out there are consumer-directed health insurance. These
are programs with high deductibles ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. They allow SBOs to make an early entry into group health insurance programs – covering
catastrophic events at a minimum – without incurring extraordinarily high costs
 

Work with an Independent Group Health Insurance Broker
This is someone who specializes in group health insurance and has access to a wide variety of products. The best way to find a broker is to contact other small companies in your area and ask for referrals. You can also ask your accountant for recommendations.

For more suggestions on this topic go to this article, Containing the Cost of Health Insurance Benefits .

I just read a great article over at RainToday.com. The subject matter is email etiquette. Here are some of the main points that I hope will serve as useful reminders:

1. All caps may occasionally be appropriate when you need to add special emphasis, but use bold, underline, or italics if any of these options are available
2. Adhere to standard rules of writing and grammar otherwise you end up with a hard-to-read, unprofessional mess.
3. Learn to use the features of your email program. For example, if you’re going to be out of the office for a significant length of time, set up an auto response message to notify senders of your absence, and, if possible, steer them to another person who can help.
4. Sometimes, email is not the best option. If you have bad news to report, either pick up the phone or deliver it in person. The same rule applies when you have good news to deliver. In these cases, the few extra minutes you spend in person will be well worth it in the long run.

If you want to know more, here’s a link to the entire article.

Let’s first discuss what the term long term care means. Most Americans think “nursing home care.” And that’s part of the story. Nursing home care does qualify as long term care, but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg. Long term care is actually comprised of a wide range of services that range from in home assistance related to taking care of personal needs to comprehensive medical support.

In technical terms (i.e. insurance jargon), long term care is viewed as the need for help in performing one or more of what are called the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and, to a lesser degree, what are called the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). ADLs aretypically defined as activities like bathing, dressing, eating, transferring in or out of a bed or chair, and using the toilet. IADLs include other activities that are essential to leading an independent life such as managing money, doing heavy or light housework, taking medications, shopping, preparing meals, and using the telephone.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) published a report entitled “Mid-Life and Older Americans With Disabilities” in 1994 that stated that approximately 9.5 million Americans aged 50 or older received help for one or more ADLs and/or IADLs. Of those counted, 1.6 million received help for two or more of the five ADLs. The ADL where most required assistance was bathing which was followed (in order) by dressing, transferring, toileting, and eating. The IADL required by most was heavy housework followed by shopping, light housework, meal preparation, managing money, and using the telephone.

As we age, these problems may be encountered by any one of us.  Our increasing life spans do not always equate to longer, physically healthy lives. At the same time, there is no easy solution to resolving these issues or paying for their costs. Outside assistance is frequently needed which can be costly. Our government is already struggling to provide medical coverage to this group, leaving the insurance industry as the most likely source of effective funding.

How, should we plan for our future need for long term care? I’ll look at that question in my next posts on this topic.

I always have to put my own twist on things (Disclaimer: I grew up in California, during the 60’s.), so in honor of BlogDay 2006, I’m going to tip five blogs:

Tip #1 Church of the Customer

Things that rock about this blog:

1. I like the white-on-white clean format
2. Search the church rhymes
3. They (Ben and Jackie) link to books. They’ve even written a book!

Things that could turn up the volume for me:

1. Hard to say…maybe the typeface could be a little bigger for these old eyes of mine

Tip #2 Marshall Brain’s Blog

Things that rock about this blog:

1. You never know what is going to be about, but it’s always interesting
2. See comment 1 - it’s always interesting
3. The How to Make A Million Dollars article and other links

Things that could turn up the volume for me:

1. Lose the orange title-bar header thing. It’s dated and uuugly

Tip #3 Blognut

Things that rock about this blog:

1. It’s “all doughnuts all the time”
2. One of the only places on the net where you can find the lowdown on donuts in Hawaii
3. The list of links to more food related blogs like burrito blog and hot dog spot

Things that could turn up the volume for me:

1. No review yet of the world’s finest donut - the crumb donut - served up at Banbury Cross Donuts in Salt Lake City, Utah

Tip #4 Sanders Says

Things that rock about this blog:

1. Tim Sanders thoughts are relevant, useful, and aimed at helping you to be more successful
2. His book recommendations are really worth reading
3. His musical recommendations will broaden your horizons

Things that could turn up the volume for me:

1. I’m not a big fan of the gray-on-gray color scheme

Tip #5 Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations

Things that rock about this blog:

1. He’s been everywhere, man, he’s been everywhere
2. You’ll get more out of your travel time and money by following his sage suggestions
3. His post on chain hotel music

Things that could turn up the volume for me:

1. Boring right out-of-the-box Kubrick format