Medicare has one important difference when compared to most other health plans – Medicare Parts A and B do not have a cap on out-of pocket costs. These costs can add up quickly, especially for chronic or long-term illnesses. Premiums and most deductible and co-insurance situations are straightforward, but some costs are not. These Medicare
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Most people don’t consider earthquake insurance unless they live in earthquake-prone areas, and even then many don’t purchase policies because of high premium costs and deductibles. Some mistakenly believe they are covered under different policies. It’s worth a few minutes of your time to investigate your potential needs for earthquake insurance.
Earthquake insurance is sold
On its surface, a credit card insurance policy seems appealing. For just pennies on every $100 in credit card debt, your debt will be paid if you lose your job, become disabled or die. Sounds great, right? But don’t rush into accepting this form of insurance, as the cost may be too high for the
It’s impossible to avoid advertisements from the largest insurance companies and their iconic “mascots”— from the Geico gecko to the ubiquitous Flo from Progressive, to the Allstate Mayhem Man. You may be wondering: with all that money spent on advertising and sponsorships, are these companies paying more attention to attracting customers than to meeting their
Medical insurance is experiencing tumultuous change with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”). As of January 1, 2014, every American is required to have minimum insurance in force. However, many of us are still uncertain about how to obtain suitable coverage. This article aims to cut through the confusion, to set you on
Long-Term Care insurance is a bit of a misnomer, because its typical coverage duration is two to six years. It is designed to cover disabling situations beyond traditional disability insurance or standard health insurance, usually toward the end of your life.
Most health insurance provides limited — if any — long-term care coverage. And disability
How do insurance companies prepare for large-scale natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy? They mitigate risk through policies they purchase from reinsurance companies — those who insure the insurers. As a result, reinsurers have some of the greatest insight into the effect of natural disasters on insurance, and are on the front lines of driving changes
As a company owner, CFO or Controller, one of your most important tasks is to select the right business bank. It is easy to think that all banks are the same, but there are important differences in services, fees and culture. So it’s worth taking some of your valuable time to insure that the bank
Along with Social Security, Medicare plays a powerful role in protecting the health and welfare of seniors in the United States. While Social Security provides vital retirement income, Medicare ensures that citizens aged 65 and older receive a reasonable standard of health insurance coverage. Participants in both Social Security and Medicare have earned these benefits
Scheduled property covers items in your home that are not specifically covered as part of your standard homeowner’s insurance policy. While your standard policy will certainly include some basic personal belongings, your policy may set limitations on the amount covered for several broad categories, such as $2,000 for jewelry. Scheduling your property allows you to
The sad fact is that many retirees today are living on very small fixed incomes – money from IRAs they may have started late in their careers, and the small monthly amounts they receive from Social Security. To help supplement their finances, some retired investors are being drawn to purchase secondary market annuities, which promise
Medicaid Basics
Medicaid and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) exist to ensure health coverage for low-income Americans. CHIP is designed to cover children of families who have incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private coverage.
Many people think of Medicaid as being for younger Americans and Medicare for
Options are similar to futures, where two parties agree to a transaction at a future date for a set price. The difference is that futures are obligations to follow through on the transaction, whereas options are the right to participate in the transaction. In both cases, the goal is to generate short-term income.
Option contract
If you’ve decided to work from home and/or start a small business, and you’ve converted that spare bedroom into a home office, you may be wondering if your current homeowner’s insurance will automatically protect you in case your office equipment is stolen or destroyed. You may also want to know if you’ll be covered for
Commodities are commercial goods that are considered interchangeable with other goods of the same kind and quality, and traded in that fashion. When most people think of commodities, they may think of traditional commodities such as wheat, cattle, heating oil or gold. Today, this definition can also include financial instruments such as currencies or indices,
Credit insurance is a form of insurance on a specific debt. It could be a home or car loan, a credit card balance, or any other form of debt. By purchasing credit insurance, you are guaranteeing that the debt will be at least partially paid under the condition the specific policy was written for (death,
Futures are a type of financial contract where two parties agree to a future transaction at an agreed-upon price. That transaction could be in commodities, currencies, stock indexes or other goods.
Futures contracts contain all the pertinent transaction details — quantity, specifications, price per unit and intended delivery method. However, many futures contracts do not
Lending institutions profit from helping businesses thrive. If you are concerned about your business simply surviving, or if there are indications of fundamental flaws in the business model, there may be too much risk for any outside investor to take on. Before you approach any financial institution for a business loan, there are several key
An annuity is an insurance product and retirement planning tool that establishes a future income stream based on a current investment. Most annuities are sold through insurance companies, but some are supplied via direct sale from investment companies such as Vanguard and T. Rowe Price. You have two choices regarding the style of annuity: Deferred
You may think you have all the insurance you could possibly need to cover your healthcare expenses, but are you certain about that? Do your policies cover every catastrophic life event that could befall you? Check your current insurance policies — you will be surprised to discover what is not covered! If that’s the case,
If you live in an area designated as a potential flood zone, you are probably paying a flood insurance premium. However, flood risks are reassessed and changed periodically. You may find that your property has been incorrectly designated during a reassessment — or has been incorrectly designated all along. If so, you need to submit
If you own a small business or intend to buy or start one, you will probably be borrowing money at some point — and possibly more than once. You may need money for startup costs, expansion, cash-flow management, disaster recovery, or any number of uses requiring operating funds and/or capital investment. Unless you have a
The National Fire Protection Association reports that there were 370,000 home fires that fire departments responded to in 2011, resulting in almost 14,000 injuries and 2,500 deaths, along with nearly $7 billion in direct damage. These NFPA statistics show that fires occur with sufficient frequency that it is a wise decision to carry fire insurance
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a U.S. Government regulatory agency that has three primary purposes:
Insure bank deposits of member banks;
Assist with banking regulations;
Deal with failing banks.
Let’s look at each of these jobs in a little more detail.
Deposit Insurance
The FDIC does insure bank deposits in
Investors have long valued Certificates of Deposits (CDs) as a low-risk savings tool. Most types of CDs are straightforward; the more you deposit and the longer the term, the higher the interest rate and return. In addition, many come with insurance from the FDIC.
In today’s investment environment, historically low interest rates have made CDs
Earthquake coverage can usually be added to a home or business policy and is not normally purchased as a separate policy. The standard homeowner’s policy has an exclusion for “Earth Movement”, which includes earthquakes, landslides, mudflows, sinkholes, and more.
What is an earthquake?
A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction,
Supplemental insurance is an additional form of insurance that is designed to cover expenses that standard insurance available in your state may not include. This form of insurance often covers expenses for health care that other forms of insurance such as Medicare, Medicaid or a company healthcare policy may not cover. Standard health insurance policies
Stock options were formerly considered best left to stock trading professionals. But these days, trading stock options is almost as easy as buying and selling shares of stocks or mutual funds. Stock options are even allowed in self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s). Even as options have become easier to access and trade, they may still
In less than thirty seconds, a small fire can grow completely out of control and turn into a major fire that spreads throughout the house. Within minutes, your home can be filled with smoke. Preventing fires is the easiest way to avoid a potentially dangerous situation. While in the kitchen, follow these safety precautions:
Unplug
The National Flood Insurance Program is a government program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If your home or business is located within a 100-year flood zone as determined by FEMA, you will be required to purchase flood insurance to obtain a mortgage or business loan. Flood insurance must be purchased as a