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Steps to Protect Your Home from Wind Damage

Posted in Home Insurance , Hurricane Insurance

July 22nd, 2010
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As hurricane season gets underway, the threat of wind damaging your home significantly increases if you live near a large body of water. Further, those who live near the Gulf of Mexico or along the Atlantic Coast who are susceptible to the oil-saturated waters from BP’s oil spill have even more to worry about.

The good news is, in addition to the financial protection that you receive from maintaining an adequate home insurance policy – as well as flood insurance – there are a few more steps that you can take to make sure your home is protected from the wind and oil damage. The following is what you could do to decrease your chances of suffering severe damage to your home during hurricane season.

Protecting Your Home from Wind Damage and Flood Waters

There’s no doubt that protecting your home completely from a hurricane is simply not possible. A standard home just can’t withstand the huffing and puffing of one hundred-plus mile per hour winds. However, there are some things you can do to minimize the damage:

• Install anchor bolts: In order to more securely connect the floor construction to your home’s foundation, you could install anchor bolts with heavy-gauge, square bolt washers.
• Secure your roof: Be sure to properly size and nail your sheathing so that it complies with your building codes. Also, you could install an underlayment material to protect against water infiltration.
• Protect your windows: Fit your windows and glass doors with impact-resistant laminated glass or try impact-resistant shutters to reduce damage from flying debris.
• Replace and secure doors: You could consider replacing your current doors with solid wood or hollow metal since they’re good at resisting wind pressure and flying debris. Also, consider fitting doors with at least three hinges, as well as a deadbolt security lock with a bolt throw of at least one inch.
• Brace garage doors: Since garage doors are more vulnerable than many other parts of homes, it’s good to brace them with a retrofit bracing kit or replace your current door with a horizontally-braced, singlewide garage door.
• Secure fuel tanks: Anchor your fuel tanks to the floor (check with your fuel company for guidelines) and make sure your vents and fill line openings are above projected flood levels to avoid in-home spills.

By taking these precautions, you could easily reduce the possibility of your home being damaged by hurricane winds.

What if My Home is Hit with Oil-Saturated Waters?

As you already know, the BP oil spill has affected waters in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. By the middle of June 2010, millions of gallons of oil had spilled into the waters and worked their way along the Gulf and up the east coast.

With hurricane season already underway, the threat of the oily water affecting homes increases by the day. Water saturated with fuel oil can be extremely difficult and costly to clean up, which is why it’s not only good to protect the home, but make sure you’ve purchased the right insurance to take care of the financial burden.

How Does My Insurance Factor In?

Even after protecting your home to your best ability, it’s still possible that it could be damaged by hurricane wind and water. This is why arming yourself with both home insurance and flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is important. It offers you financial coverage that’s difficult to otherwise come up with out of pocket.

If you have home insurance, your structure will be protected from standard wind damage, but will not be covered if your home floods as a result. This is why it’s important to also carry flood insurance. In the case of the oil-saturated waters, it’s even more crucial because FEMA guarantees your insurance will cover any damage as a result of the oil spill.

If you don’t already have flood insurance, now’s the time to get it since most policies have a 30-day wait period before the it takes effect. Not to mention that the NFIP itself has recently only lasted for one or two months at a time before expiring.

Doing everything you can to protect your home is important year-round, but especially during hurricane season. Take the steps necessary to secure your home and your financial well-being.

Today’s News: States Implementing High-Risk Programs, Gen Y Knows Life Insurance and Esurance Offers New iPhone App

Posted in Auto Insurance , Auto Insurance Companies , Compare Life Insurance , Health Insurance , Life Insurance

July 21st, 2010
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Many states are getting ready to implement high-risk health insurance programs, Generation Yers are showing that they know more about life insurance than one would think and Esurance is making  a new iPhone application available.

States Implementing High-Risk Programs

This summer, many new programs will be implemented to offer high-risk health insurance to individuals with pre-existing conditions who have not been able to acquire coverage to date. States like South Carolina have already begun implementing this bridge program that is set to stay in service until states are required to create health insurance exchanges that will provide affordable insurance to everyone in 2014. Since the deadline to either expand existing high-risk pools or create new ones was July 1, many states are already accepting new patients (Columbia Free Times).

Gen Y Knows Life Insurance

Many assume that individuals born between 1979 and 1994, also known as Generation Y, don’t have enough experience and wisdom to make the hard decisions in life. But they were able to prove everyone wrong via a recent survey conducted by Prudential. In the survey, 68 percent of Gen Yers said that they intend to buy or add life insurance coverage within the next three years. The survey also discovered that this generation feels that life insurers don’t target them for purchases and hope that more purchase coverage despite this fact in the near future (Market Watch).

Esurance Offers New iPhone App

Many auto insurance companies have caught up with modern technology and developed their own Android and iPhone apps to make their insurance products more widely available and their services more accessible to customers. Esurance is the latest auto insurer to unveil its iPhone application available for free in Apple’s App Store. The Esurance mobile app offers features that are available to both customers and shoppers, including ID card access, quote estimates, coverage details, the ability to make payments and even an repair monitoring feature. The app will make features available 24/7 to enhance the experience (PR Newswire).

Today’s News: Gov’t Blocks Health Insurer Mergers, Home Insurance Necessary for Hurricane Season and Life Insurance Assessment Tool Available

Posted in Health Care , Health Insurance , Home Insurance , Hurricane Insurance , Met Life

July 19th, 2010
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President Barack Obama is warning health insurance companies that he won’t hesitate to block any company mergers that will stifle competition, while also warning homeowners to protect their homes against a rapidly-approaching hurricane season. Also, MetLife is offering a new tool to help individuals choose life insurance options more effectively.

Government Blocks Health Insurer Attempts at Mergers

Christine Varney, antitrust chief of the Justice Department, told a lawyers’ conference that the Obama administration plans to vigorously enforce anti-monopoly laws so that the newly-passed health care reform bill will see ultimate success. She noted that the point of the bill was to control premiums for policyholders and this can’t be accomplished without competition between numerous health insurance companies to drive down the prices. The department plans to actively investigate big insurers to stop monopolies before they start. (Associated Press)

Check Your Home Insurance Policy During National Hurricane Preparedness Week

President Barack Obama had announced that May 23 – 29, 2010 was National Hurricane Preparedness Week, during which time homeowners were to make sure their homes were prepared for hurricane season starting on June 1.

As summer continues, it’s good to make sure your home insurance policy fully covers your home if you live in an area prone to hurricanes. Also, it’s good to make reinforcements to your home that could better protect it and potentially lower your home insurance rates as a result.

MetLife Offers New Life Insurance Assessment Tool

Insurer MetLife announced recently that it would be offering a new life insurance needs assessment tool along with tips to help insurance seekers better understand how to get started with a new policy. The company will offer an online Life Insurance Needs Calculator that offers guidance in determining how much life insurance consumers need as well as how much they should expect to pay from MetLife. Also, tips will be made available to help simplify the application process. (Market Watch)

Today’s News: Anthem Blue Cross Seeks Rate Hike, Vehicle Monitoring Raises Privacy Concerns and AIG Units for Sale Again

Posted in AIG , Health Insurance , Life Insurance , Life Insurance Companies , Save on Health Insurance

July 16th, 2010
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Health insurance companies are seeking to once again raise rates, a vehicle monitoring system that could lower auto insurance rates raises concerns of privacy and AIG is looking to sell two more life insurance units to raise money.

Anthem Blue Cross Seeks Rate Hike

Earlier this year, Anthem Blue Cross proposed a 39 percent rate hike for its California customers, but after receiving a lot of criticism from everyone including President Barack Obama, the health insurance company temporarily suspended the increase. Now the company is proposing that the rates be increased again, but this time by 20 percent. It submitted filings on Wednesday to the state Department of Insurance and the Department of Managed Health Care and hopes to see the increase take effect for 600,000 Californians by Sept. 1 (San Francisco Chronicle).

Vehicle Monitoring Raises Privacy Concerns

Texas auto insurance company, MileMeter, has filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts-based Liberty Mutual Group Inc. for patent infringement with the use of a vehicle monitoring system that helps track cars for pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) services. MileMeter says that using a monitoring system infringes upon a customer’s right to privacy and could also result in an unfair increase in auto insurance rates. The company is the first in the United States to offer PAYD services without the use of such technology, but notes that it carries over 100 patents that include the technology it claims Liberty Mutual as taken (Market Watch).

AIG Units for Sale Again

Major life insurance provider AIG has placed two more of its units for sale in order to build income. Currently, it plans to sell two Asian life insurance units with the hopes that doing so will drum up about $5 billion for its remaining businesses. Also, the company, which is still trying to repay money it was granted to avoid bankruptcy, hopes that the money could help to reduce its deficit. So far, it has also sold its ALICO business to MetLife and hopes to retry its sale of AIA Group to Prudential PLC (Market Watch).

American International Group Inc. is putting two Asian life-insurance units back on the sales block, hoping to get roughly $5 billion for the businesses, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Understanding the Health Insurance Exchange

Posted in Compare Health Insurance , Health Care , Health Insurance

July 15th, 2010
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There have been a number of changes resulting from health care reform. One immediate change has been extending adult children’s health insurance coverage under a parent’s policy until their 26th birthday. Another major change is that no one can being turned down for health insurance due to pre-existing conditions.

One of the changes that actually helps uninsured acquire coverage is making its way from state to state: the health insurance exchange. To get a better understanding of how it could affect you, let’s take a closer look at what it is.

What is a Health Insurance Exchange?

Health insurance exchanges are places where consumers can go to compare various policy options and select the one that is best for them. These exchanges are meant to lower insurance costs for consumers who are self-employed or don’t have coverage available to them via an employer with discounts through group coverage. By pooling insurer plans together in a similar way, consumers will have access to group-like rates.

The federal government has given states the option of establishing their own state-run health insurance exchange, or to go with a regional creation. Technically, the health insurance exchanges are not supposed to form until 2014, but many states have taken it upon themselves to start sooner.

What Types of Coverage Will Health Insurance Exchanges Offer?

The health insurance exchanges are expected to offer the same or similar types of coverage options as employers, meaning that you may have PPO, HMO or POS options to choose from. Depending on the plan you choose, you could have specific co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance options available as well. The idea of the exchange is to open up the number of affordable options for those who currently struggle to obtain coverage, but the options within each exchange are likely to be similar.

Who Will Qualify?

The exchanges will first be available to people who work for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees and don’t have access to coverage through the employer. For instance, if you work for a company that does not currently offer coverage, the exchange could help you find insurance at an affordable rate. Also, the exchanges will be available to those who are self-employed and don’t have access to group plans.

Those who work for larger companies will be given access to the exchanges. However, they will only qualify for coverage if their employer’s coverage doesn’t meet new standards for cost or comprehensiveness. Also, those who have been offered coverage through high-risk pools for pre-existing conditions will have access to coverage only six months after discontinuing their coverage with the pool.

Are There Any States Currently Offering Health Insurance Exchanges?

Currently, only Utah and Massachusetts run health insurance exchanges. Utah’s exchange is a website that consists mostly of links to various websites where consumers can acquire insurance information. However, Massachusetts’ site offers health insurance quotes right on the site to help consumers find affordable coverage.

West Virginia is another state that plans to participate in health insurance exchanges. While its exchange is not up and running, the insurance commissioner plans to have it ready for launch sometime in 2011. The reason the state was able to get an early start was because it received a $37 million federal grant to help implement health care reform during the next five years.

Health insurance exchanges are expected to lower the cost of health insurance across the board, making it more affordable for everyone. With the mandate that Americans will need to acquire some form of coverage by 2014, a cost reduction will indeed be the order of the day.

Today’s News: Medicaid Funding Reduced Nationwide, House Extends Flood Insurance and Home Insurance Discounts Increased

Posted in Health Insurance , Home Insurance , Home Insurance Claims , Medicaid

July 14th, 2010
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States that were relying on Medicaid to fund specific medical initiatives are disappointed to learn that the money won’t arrive. Also, for those who’ve gone without flood insurance, a bill has been approved continued coverage and those with home insurance in North Carolina have been granted some discounts.

Medicaid Funding Reduced Nationwide

Those without health insurance and on Medicaid may suffer in the coming months as the federal government failed to pass $24 billion in additional funding for states nationwide. In Massachusetts alone, young children will lose state funding for mental health services, welfare recipients will have employment and training programs slashed and homeless families will lose almost all of the state assistance needed to move into more permanent housing. Congress was supposed to pass funding before fiscal years started on July 1, but since this won’t happen many programs around the country will suffer (CNN Money).

Flood Insurance Program Awaits Extension

Those with flood insurance have suffered a number of ups and downs over the past year with many National Flood Insurance Program expirations and reinstatements. It seems every few months the program expires and is brought back temporarily. This is the case with the most recent expiration that occurred over Congress’ Memorial Day holiday break. For almost a month, homeowners have gone without flood insurance. However, the House recently extended the program to Sept. 30 and is waiting for the Senate to pass it as well. If it doesn’t pass soon, thousands in states that have been severely flood will have to go without paid claims (Des Moines Register).

Home Insurance Discounts Increased

The lucky coastal homeowners of North Carolina will soon be entitled to bigger breaks on their home insurance premiums if they are willing to take the steps necessary to protect their homes against storms. The state’s insurance commissioner, Wayne Goodwin, recently ordered a schedule of mitigation credits that will be effective May 1, 2011. These credits, which will range from $50 to more than $50 for changes to homes that could protect against wind and hail coverage, will apply to policies that were written in the voluntary market, as well as the state-backed Beach Plan within the 18 coastal counties (Insurance Journal).

How to Make Sure Your Auto Insurance Covers Your Injury

Posted in Auto Insurance , Auto Insurance Claims , Personal Injury Protection

July 13th, 2010
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The cost of medical care and health insurance in America is astronomical. Even though health reform measures have been passed, one of the great concerns is that health insurance rates will rise prior to all the reform taking place.

Only time will tell regarding that subject. However, a new study from the Insurance Research Council indicates that to help offset the low reimbursement to hospitals from public health insurance programs for auto accident injuries, automobile insurance companies are being targeted for the funds.

There is much crossover between auto insurance and medical coverage, though the laws dictating the minimum auto insurance coverage a person needs to carry vary from state to state. Depending on where you live, your auto insurance policy may offer some medical benefits to be used in case an auto accident causes personal injury resulting in a claim.

According to FAQ: What is the Best Medical Coverage with Auto Insurance?, “medical payments coverage will pay for the medical (and/or funeral) expenses for you or one of your passengers in case of an accident, or will also cover the insured if they are a passenger in another vehicle or if they are struck as a pedestrian.”

This bridge is usually a great tool for ensuring that car accident injury settlements can be prompt and swift. However, since the cost of medical care is on the rise, hospital costs are shifting, too.  The IRC report estimates “Bodily Injury (BI) liability claims in 38 tort [liability based] and add-on states, cost-shifting in 2007 resulted in $1.2 billion in excess hospital charges.”

As a result, consumers who fall victim to auto personal injury need to take extra precautions to ensure medical expenses resulting from an auto accident are covered. Some important steps include:

• Report the accident immediately to the police and exchange all insurance and contact information.
• Regardless of how you immediately feel after the accident, let a paramedic check you and then go to the emergency room.
• From the second you go to the hospital, start documenting everything you can by saving receipts and getting photocopies of your medical reports.
• Report every ache and pain you may have experienced.
• Some injuries, like whiplash, may not surface immediately. If you experience any delayed pain due to the car accident, make sure the doctor you meet with documents the event that could have caused the pain.
• In case you or your passengers should be in too poor of condition to follow the above steps, inform your emergency contact of these procedures in advance.

Car accident injuries can range from mild to severe and may end up costing the victims thousands of dollars. By fully understanding how the insurance system works, you can prevent large medical bills from adding major insult to major injuries.

Today’s News: Insurance Available for Early Retirees, Chinese Drywall Goes to Trial and Car-Sharing Insurance Bill Passes

Posted in Auto Insurance , Health Insurance , Save on Auto Insurance

July 12th, 2010
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Good health insurance news is on the horizon for workers who decide to retire early, Chinese drywall sees its first trial jury, something that could possibly affect thousands with home insurance and the California Assembly has passed a new sharing auto insurance bill.

Two New Health Insurance Options Available for Early Retirees

Many early retirees have a difficult time securing health insurance because they are no longer covered by their employers after their COBRA benefits run out and they may have a few years to go before qualifying for Medicare. However, the government is now offering two solutions under health care reform to help early retirees afford insurance. The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program, which launched on June 1, will offset some of the costs of medical and prescription coverage for retirees ages 55 to 64. And a second program, which launches in July, will create “high-risk” pools in each state and D.C. to help those with pre-existing conditions afford coverage. (Wall Street Journal)

Chinese Drywall Problem Goes to Trial in Florida

The Chinese drywall issue that has plagued many homeowners for months is seeing its first jury trial in Miami. Homeowners whose houses were built with a specific drywall made in China found that their pipes were corroding and dwellers were falling ill. However, when they made claims with their home insurance companies to have the drywall replaced, many were dropped from their policies. The trial in Florida involves Banner Supply Co., which sold drywall in the state since 2006, and how the company handled business after learning that they drywall was tainted. (Tampa Bay Online)

Car-Sharing Insurance Bill Passes

A new car-sharing auto insurance bill has passed in California that will allow car owners to share their cars while maintaining their personal auto insurance policies. Typically if a car is used in the form of a taxi service then it requires a commercial license and pricier coverage. But now that car sharing services like Neighborhood Ride have emerged, drivers can share their cars and receive money but still be considered a carpooling volunteer. The insurance bill is meant to help maintain the charitable nature of the service and helps drives save on auto insurance. (Streetsblog San Francisco)

Today’s News: Abortion Bill Vetoed in Oklahoma, Oil Spill Spurs Home Insurance Concerns and AIG Refuses Unit Buyout Offer

Posted in AIG , Health Insurance , Home Insurance , Life Insurance , Life Insurance Companies , Prudential

July 9th, 2010
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Oklahoma’s governor has vetoed a bill recently passed in the state that would restrict abortion options under health insurance. In other insurance news, some reports have found that the oil spill in the Gulf could have a negative effect on home insurance policies and major life insurance company, AIG, has refused a buyout offer from Prudential, PLC.

Abortion Bill Vetoed in Oklahoma

The abortion language in U.S. health care reform that was so controversial it caused Bart Stupak to retire seems to be causing a bit of controversy at the state level as well. Recently, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry vetoed an abortion bill that would place strict limits on when private health insurance companies could cover the procedure. The bill included exceptions for those who had been raped, the victim of incest or if the mother’s life could be placed in danger due to the pregnancy. But the governor believed that the exceptions were too-heavily restricted by time limits and would not truly benefit the victims. (Associated Press)

Oil Spill Spurs Home Insurance Concerns

Now that the waters from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have made their way to coast lines — and hurricane season is rapidly approaching — some homeowners have expressed concerns that their homes may be the victims of oil-laden waters. However, insurance industry experts say that while they cannot stop the hurricanes from throwing water onto properties, they have the cash necessary to help the properties rebound. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this hurricane season (June 1 to Nov. 30) could be very active, so homeowners should have home insurance in place to protect their finances during this time. (Hartford Courant)

AIG Refuses Unit Buyout Offer

American International Group (AIG) announced on Tuesday morning that it wouldn’t accept an offer from Prudential PLC — one that would allow the company to acquire part of AIG’s pan-Asian life insurance subsidiary — because it was too low. Instead of accepting the offer for $30.375 billion, the life insurer decided to work with the original deal made with Prudential for $35.5 billion. There is no word as to whether Prudential will honor the first offer once again, leaving some to wonder why AIG turned down the offer with bailout money left to pay back. (Blogging Stocks)

The Significance of FEMA’s Floodplain Maps

Posted in Home Insurance , Home Insurance Claims

July 9th, 2010
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There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which has expired several times already in 2010.

Suffering through a third expiration period as of the end of June and awaiting a longer-term reinstatement by Congress, many homeowners have tried to determine how to keep their flood insurance. Many others are learning that once the program is reinstated, they will be forced to purchase the insurance thanks to new FEMA floodplain maps.

Just what is the significance of these maps and how do they relate to the NFIP and your need to purchase coverage?

FEMA and the Significance of Floodplain Maps

FEMA is the acronym for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency’s purpose is to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters caused naturally or by man made occurrences. Currently, it manages the NFIP (which administers flood insurance nationwide) and determines which areas are of the highest risk for flooding. It is also able to require homeowners in high-risk areas to purchase flood insurance coverage.

The way FEMA determines whether a homeowner must purchase flood insurance is by creating floodplain maps. With these maps, the government agency documents the areas that are more likely to flood than others, then determines who needs to purchase insurance based on their level of risk.

While the maps typically must be honored, they are not always set in stone. Sometimes, FEMA will update the maps after surveying areas and determining that they are not as high of a risk of flooding as believed. Alternatively, some areas, like southern California, discover that they must purchase insurance after years of going without.

Further, after some homeowners discover that they’ve been placed on a floodplain map, they fight their status to avoid paying for mandatory flood insurance. By bringing in a surveyor or floodplain expert who could determine that the home was not threatened by floods, they have been able to have their homes removed from the map.

Is Your Area Covered on a Floodplain Map?

You may be wondering if your area is covered on a floodplain map and if you are responsible for purchasing flood insurance. A great way to find out is by visiting FEMA’s Map Service Center. This page allows you to narrow down your search to the county you live in. If your county is listed in the system, you will see a map that shows the level of risk for your area.

Of course, if your area is considered high-risk then you should have already received some type of notice from FEMA explaining that you are required to purchase coverage. If you haven’t received a notice then you most likely reside in a low-risk area.

Should You Purchase Flood Insurance?

It’s good to know that just because you reside in a low-risk area doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t purchase flood insurance. Some areas can surprise you by quickly and unexpectedly flooding.

For instance, massive flooding hit 66 counties in Nebraska in the middle of June 2010, resulting in 53 of those counties requiring disaster relief. The flooding was the result of one of the wettest Mays in history for the state, as well as a 10-day period of excessive rain in June. Because no one expected so many areas to flood, many homeowners likely did not have insurance. That doesn’t mean they didn’t need it.

So should you purchase flood insurance for your home? If your area isn’t labeled high risk by FEMA’s floodplain map then the choice is up to you. But keep in mind that your home insurance policy does not cover flood damage, so if flooding does occur, you will have to pay out of pocket for repairs.

If you are interested in purchasing a policy, most private home insurance companies offer coverage via NFIP and can give you details about policy prices, what flood insurance covers, and whether Congress has reinstated the program to enable purchases.