September 1, 2013 A Healthy Attitude Today is a big day in the health insurance world. People with no insurance or who need to change their coverage can now start researching new plan options. As this phase of the Affordable Care Act takes effect, do your best to get information from…
August 5, 2013 Do You Need Life Insurance in Retirement? Life insurance helps protect your spouse and children from poverty in the case of your untimely death. However, once your children become self-sufficient and you and your spouse accumulate significant assets, there’s less of a need to keep paying the premiums for life insurance. Here’s…
August 5, 2013 DON’T BOTHER…DO BOTHER When buying rental car insurance: Don’t bother checking the “yes” box and paying for Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) coverage if you’ve got a credit card that offers that same coverage. Most credit cards provide that insurance to their cardholders free of charge as long as…
July 30, 2013 Group vex: Is one enough? If you depend on your earned income and want to build yourself a safety net, you can buy long term disability (LTD) insurance that will replace that income if you become ill or injured and unable to work. You can buy it as an individual…
July 29, 2013 Guest Blog: Unpaid Life Insurance Benefits Investigation Passes 1 billion dollars (yes, billion!) The New York Department of Financial Services has issued a final report on their investigation into unpaid benefits for consumers at life insurance companies. The report showed that the investigation recovered more than $1.1 billion in unpaid life insurance benefits for consumers nationwide and that…
July 24, 2013 Insuring yourself against water calamity can make your head spin On the other side of the country, home after home is rotting, left much the same as the day after Hurricane Sandy landed in 2012. These are the houses of those who never bought flood insurance, which must be purchased separately from regular homeowner’s insurance.…
July 17, 2013 Tracking Down Life Insurance Benefits Have you ever tried to track down a life insurance policy that was owned by a family member or find out if they had any life insurance? If so, you know that this can be a challenging task. Here are some starting points: Review all…
July 8, 2013 Nearly half of all American adults are uninsured or underinsured Less than one year before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ACA) will require most Americans to obtain health insurance, a survey has found that 46 percent of U.S. adults – or 84.2 million people – remain uninsured or underinsured. During 2012, 54.6 million…
July 8, 2013 Will Obamacare save you money on preventive care? Federal health care reform promises to make it easier and more affordable for people to access care. As part of that effort, most health insurance plans now must offer many types of preventive care at no cost to the patient. But confusion remains about what…
June 13, 2013 Report Your Long-Term Care Insurance Claim Experience This week’s Your Money column discusses the difficulty that some people have encountered when trying to file a long-term care insurance claim on a family member’s behalf. I compiled some of the most common reasons that claims are denied, along with aspects of the coverage…
June 11, 2013 Get a Crash Course on Hurricane Deductibles An insurance industry that has taken its lumps from hurricanes has come to treat them differently in recent years. As a result, a home insurance policy in hurricane country today often comes with a special and potentially steeper hurricane deductible that kicks in when claims…
June 3, 2013 Coastal homeowners stagger under insurance costs GULF SHORES, Ala. — When Stan Virden moved into his 2,400-square-foot house overlooking a rock-lined canal in 1996, he paid less than $1,000 a year for homeowners insurance. Now, as he seeks to move to Atlanta to be near family, Virden says potential buyers for…
May 7, 2013 Time to Dust Off Those Old Insurance Policies With springtime comes spring cleaning. We may take the time to deep clean the house and clear out the garage, however, most of us don’t take the time to perform the same spring cleaning for our financial affairs. When was the last time you reviewed…
May 7, 2013 FEMA Announces 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge Recipients Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA) is pleased to announce the selection of 30 recipients to receive funding under the FEMA 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge program. The program focuses on building local community resilience to man-made and natural disasters, with an emphasis on…
April 30, 2013 5 problems that could be hiding in your home insurance policy It’s important to read the fine print of any contract, but consumers who buyhomeowner’s insurance especially should be vigilant. According to consumer-protection groups United Policyholders and the Consumer Federation of America, homeowner’s policies are becoming more difficult to understand. This is partly because carriers are…
April 15, 2013 Covered by homeowners insurance? Don’t be so sure Bought or renewed a homeowners insurance policy lately? You’ve no doubt noticed that premiums have gotten pretty pricey. Rates have climbed 69% over the past decade to an average of $1,000 a year. What you may not realize is that you could be facing another…
April 15, 2013 Financial literacy should include insurance considerations People who are inspired to learn more about their finances during Financial Literacy Month shouldn’t overlook the effect that insurance can have on their bank accounts. Each April, financial education advocates urge consumers to take time to study money issues. An important part of achieving…
April 3, 2013 You’re charging me for what?! Insurers find new ways to set car insurance rates Insurance companies are getting creative when it comes to determining how much you should pay for car insurance. In addition to using traditional factors, such as your driving record and how many miles you drive each year, some insurers now look at such things as…
