Archive for March, 2009

How to get cheap long-term care insurance for seniors

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Because long-term care coverage is a relatively new insurance product, many potential policy holders don’t know what questions to ask or what bargaining points to leverage to balance affordability with comprehensive terms. With some research and careful negotiation, however, long-term care coverage carries a number of advantages:

- protects existing assets and provides a hedge against debt later in life
- frees existing funds to go toward quality of life
- guarantees that the person insured decides the level of care and how it will be handled
- shields loved-ones from life as a full-time caregiver or from making difficult decisions about living arrangements

In seeking affordable long-term care coverage, customers should weigh all the following options and factors before agreeing to a policy.

Shared Care

These policies allow married couples to split the provided benefits. They may include riders that will lower the premium in the event of the death of one partner and “piggyback” provisions, which let one spouse use another’s unused benefits during a coverage year.

Inflation Protection

Ideally, premiums stay the same and benefits go up each year. Some coverage allows policy holders to buy stepped-up care each year rather than allowing the increase to process automatically. Be careful! Don’t get into a situation where benefits are frozen if increases are not purchased.

Medical Determination

These policies place the decision to activate long-term care in the hands of the doctor, sparing the family from emotional decisions that can make the transition much harder on the elder.

Remaining At Home

Be sure the coverage allows for in-home care for such items as physical modifications, buying assistance devices, and hiring health care staff. At the same time, however, take care that the benefits will transfer or can be re-negotiated if care in a facility becomes necessary.

Life Insurance with Long-Term Care Option

This type of coverage is growing in popularity for its affordability and flexibility. The policy allows the holder to convert the accrued value for use to finance long-term care. If the care isn’t required, the heirs still benefit from the life insurance.

By taking the time to understand the options and language of long-term care policies, the coverage can be purchased at affordable rates and with terms that allow individuals to exercise control over their own destiny to the end of their life. Without such coverage, the elderly are often forced to accept decisions made for them by loved ones or medical personnel. Automobile and homeowners policies are common, every day facts of life. Why should managing the risk of losing independence in old age be less important or more expensive?

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Posted in Health Insurance | 3 Comments »

Basics of property insurance

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Insurance for your property is by far the most important product you can have to protect your wallet in times of catastrophe, but most people fail to add the coverage, and truthfully; it’s not something that is required by the state, so you do not get offered the coverage everytime, nor do you really want to add another bill to your account.

Let me correct a common mistake that others (not agents) are telling you about Property insurance. Property insurance is confused often with Dwelling, Renters, and Homeowner insurance, and I can understand, they all seem by definition as the same, but so does stealing, theft, and burglary.

So what is Property insurance? It’s actually a coverage that is apart of an insurance contract that protects what you own within a structure. Or in laments terms, if I were to rip off your roof from your home and flip the house upside down everything that falls out of your home is Property. Since this forum is talking about Property only, I am going to explain the product in Renters insurance only, and I want you to be aware that in most cases it can apply to Homeowner and Dwelling coverage’s as-well, but differences do exist because of the underlying need of people who own homes have different requirements than people renting.

In the Renter’s insurance contract property plays a vital role in the policy, it is in essence the insurance that covers all the loose items in you living area that is not attached to the apartment or home your living in. Why it is vital? I could have easily used the word important or of great significance, but vital is the right word because when your items are on fire burning away to ash, you can see right now why Property insurance is vital. As all insurance contracts are made, the purpose of Property insurance is to bring you back to the way you were before the loss. So if a fire takes your property away from you, then the insurance company has a vested interest in giving you back you life again. Before you go and say that you wouldn’t need it because you do not have that much stuff, I ask you only one question, “remember when you bought all the items you needed for the bathroom the first time?” You have to remember that you own much more than you think, a good example is what you wear casually; so lets use jeans, the comfy shirt, the underwear, the socks, and the shoes combo. This simple outdated combo of clothing when it was bought new was probably at $70 dollars or more easy. Do

you have $70 dollars to give me free? No. Well do you want to spend that much again for something that you have owned before? No. That is what Property insurance is designed to protect, its there to help re-buy what was lost in the first place.

The major stigma of the contract is expense, and I can relate to anyone that had to grow up and keep a strict budget on certain items. With a little irony, these same individuals are the ones that would best profit from the Property coverage offered from Renters insurance.

So when you involve yourself and ask an insurer about the Property coverage, you need to know a few key details. You will notice that some companies offer you premiums that are different and can really vary in one way or the other. The main reason for this variation is based truly on rating of the area, the company providing the insurance, and most important what the insurance company will provide in a loss. Remember that Property is a part of a contract, so it makes sense that the company wants you to use the policy when something serious like a catastrophic fire occurs to your items that you are insuring. Other perils like lightning, theft, and vandalism are usually named on the contract for most policies to cover what you own. As a matter of fact the way the Renters Policy will state its provision of insurance is by calling what it will insure for as “Named Perils,” so if anything falls out of the Named Perils of a contract, they do not cover the loss.

Its important to know that all insurance companies have benefits and negatives when it comes to coverage’s, most will be quite similar but you would want to make sure that you were getting coverage’s for perils that really are obviously needed. For instance if you rented a condo next to a beach, you would want to make sure that flood was available as an endorsement, and you also would like to know what the policy will not cover even if their was a peril involved. It’s common for instance that when lightning strikes and hits the wiring of your home, if you do not have a surge protector on your t.v. they will deny your claim.

The last thing I want to advise upon you is that Property Coverage is usually inexpensive, most policies start at 5 thousand dollars, and should cost as much as a happy meal a month if you make it a bare minimum policy. I can only ask that you should choose a reputable insurer, and the agent will explain what you need based on what you have.

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Posted in Home Insurance | 4 Comments »

What you need to know about Medicare

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

Medicare is a program, available to eligible U.S. citizens, that does not have a separate entity for disability benefits. Medicaid and Medicare are two separate programs that work together to help people such as those who are disabled. A simple distinction between the two is that Medicaid is state run, while Medicare is federally governed.

One of the eligibility requirements for receiving Medicare benefits is being considered disabled by the Social Security Administration. In fact, you can not apply for Medicare benefits on your own. You have to apply via the Social Security Administration and you can only do this if you meet the following requirements:

1. Age 65+ or are determined to be blind or disabled

2. You must also meet the following:

a. Have limited income or resources

b. Are a U.S. citizen or national

For a complete list of all eligibility requirements please visit www.ssa.gov. Once SSA has approved your application to receive Medicare benefits, you will be eligible for one or a combination of the four parts that make up Medicare benefits, Parts A through D.

Medicare Part A

The first of the four Medicare benefit parts disabled persons are eligible for is Medicare Part A. Part A, covers hospital insurance. If you are disabled and do not work, there is no cost for his coverage if you have received Social Security benefits for your disability for at least 24 months. Medicare Part A covers the following hospital services:

- Inpatient hospital care

- Critical access hospitals that deliver limited inpatient and outpatient care to rural areas

- Nursing facilities for non-custodial and short-term care

- Hospice

- And some health care (to be determined by Medicare)

If you return to work, but are still deemed disabled and no longer receive premium-free Medicare Part A, your state can help you pay for it. More information can be obtained by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Medicare Part B

Medicare Part B covers medical insurance. In 2009, the starting premium for Part B is listed at $96.40 per month and is subject to change in January 2010. This premium is taken automatically from your Social Security Disability check each month. Enrollment in Part B is a choice and it is advisable for disabled persons to enroll in the program which covers the following medical services:

- Doctor’s visits and services

- Outpatient hospital care

- Physical and occupational therapy

- Home

health care

- Certain supplies that Medicare may choose to cover the cost for such as nebulizers and diabetes testing supplies

Medicare Parts C and D

Medicare Part C is also known as Medical Advantage. A Medical Advantage Plan is similar to a HMO or PPO of which Medicare has a list of providers available. Medical Advantage helps to cover services not found under Medicare Part A such as cosmetic services.

Medicare Part D is the prescription drug coverage that is offered. Part D coverage gives disabled persons receiving Medicare benefits access to medicine that can prevent complications from diseases. In order to receive this coverage you must join a plan, preferably one found in Part C’s list of providers, or any insurance company approved by Medicare.

Medicare is an off-branch of the Social Security Administration. If you are considered disabled by Social Security then you are eligible for Medicare after 2 years of receiving Social Security benefits. Social Security will provide you with the information you need regarding Medicare and will send you documentation concerning the program. If you enroll in Medicare Part B and can not afford to have the premium taken out of your check, visit your local Social Service office for assistance. Medicare and Social Security work hand in hand, but remember you can not receive Medicare without first having received Social Security approval.

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Posted in Health Insurance | 2 Comments »