Life and Health

As the Affordable Coverage Act (ACA) is transforming the nation’s health care system from top to bottom, consumers are raising a wide variety of questions. For example, many college-age students, and their parents, might be wondering how these reforms will impact their need for carrying Health insurance through their schools.

The answer: In most case, Medical policies sold through colleges remain as important as ever. Students need to speak with their parents about what coverage they require, and determine whether they need it through their school as they leave home for the first time or can remain covered through their parents’ plan.

The ACA permits children to remain under the parental Health policy until the age of 26, regardless of whether they’re enrolled in college (full or part time) or wherever they live. College-sponsored plans remain important if a student’s parents are either uninsured or don’t have good Medical coverage. Under the ACA, any student who lacks adequate Health insurance must purchase a plan through the college or university where he or she is enrolled. The intent is to provide affordable health care for the college-age children of the millions of Americans who lack a Medical plan that will cover these young people when they leave the nest.

If you have (or will have) children in college, our agency’s professionals would be happy to provide a complimentary review of their Health insurance needs – and yours. Please feel free to get in touch with us.

No, we’re not talking about what The Men in Black might have on you. The MIB Group keeps records of every applicant for an individual Life, Health, Critical Illness, Disability, or Long-Term Care policy to some 470 U.S and Canadian participating insurance companies during the past seven years.

MIB (originally the Medical Information Bureau) maintains this database to ensure underwriting standards that curb fraud. For example, if one insurance company rejects an applicant because of a congestive condition and he or she “forgets” to mention this diagnosis when applying to a second company, the person’s report would raise a red flag.

When you apply for coverage, the insurer will have MIB send you a pre-release notice and authorization for release of your report to sign and return, together with your application. Your report does not contain detailed medical records – just codes that identify medical conditions or tests which might affect underwriting your policy. However, MIB specifically prohibits companies from relying solely on the report to make a coverage decision.

You’re entitled to one free report a year – don’t fall for online scams that try to charge you for this information! To receive your copy, call (866) 692-6901 and provide proof of identity (name, address, DOB, Social Security number, etc. If you think information in your file is incorrect, you can send a written dispute to MIB, which will investigate the discrepancy.

A recent nationwide study found that a growing majority of businesses are providing financial incentives to workers who take part in health improvement and wellness programs. According to the Aon Hewitt 2012 Health Care Survey of more than 2,000 employers, nearly three in five (59%) gave employees cash to promote participation in these programs – that’s nearly twice the 37% rate in 2011. Companies are also encouraging participants to stick with these programs. More than half of the respondents (58%) who offered these rewards also gave workers a bonus for completing the program.

Taking an active role in modifying their lifestyle provides employees with obvious humanitarian benefits. In addition, the businesses that provided these programs saved a healthy $700 a year for every participating employee by reducing the incidence of risky behaviors that worsen chronic conditions – such as diabetes, back pain, obesity, coronary artery disease, high cholesterol and asthma – which account for $.80 of every $1.00 spent on health care. According to Aon, these behaviors include:

• Unhealthy diet
• Lack of sleep
• Poor stress management
• Physical inactivity
• Smoking
• Excessive consumption of alcohol

There’s still room for improvement. To change employee behavior, more companies need to associate rewards with program outcomes, as well as basic enrollment. Even though the vast majority of employers in the survey (more than 80%) offered workers cash payments to complete health questionnaires, only10% used incentives to motivate behavioral change. Providing workers with the results of health questionnaires and biometric screenings will give them a sense of participation and of accountability.

We’d be happy to help you create, and maintain, an employee wellness incentive program that can help your workers live healthier lives – and reduce your Health care costs. Just give us a call.

Believe it or not, millions – or possibly billions – of dollars from Life insurance policies are going unclaimed every year

The primary reason: Many people fail to tell their loved ones when they take out a Life policy or don’t let them know that they are the beneficiaries. If the funds from a policy go unclaimed for five to ten years, they will go into a general fund for the state. This means that although the policyholder has paid premiums into the policy, the individual(s) intended to receive the proceeds would never receive them.

It’s essential that people – especially the elderly – make sure that they keep their affairs in order, and informing a beneficiary about a Life insurance policy plays a key role in this effort.

A word to the wise…

American males have an almost one in two chance of developing cancer during their lifetimes, while females have more than a one in three chance, according to the latest data from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

That frightening reality is leading more and more people to consider buying Cancer insurance. This coverage, which provides benefits only if you’re diagnosed with cancer, will supplement your Health insurance by paying for out-of-pocket medical expenses, such as deductibles and coinsurance, or for treatments that your health plan doesn’t cover. In some cases, you can use the cash for paying ordinary household expenses to ease the financial burden of the illness.

Premiums vary depending on the benefits provided and, for some insurance companies, according to your age and gender. Coverage is relatively inexpensive – with premiums as low as $10 a month or less.

Some Cancer plans, called “expense-incurred policies,” pay a percentage of treatment expenses up to a maximum amount. Other plans, called “indemnity policies,” provide a fixed amount for each benefit, with the money paid directly to you to use as you wish.

Newer types of Cancer policies pay a single, lump-sum cash benefit upon diagnosis. Critical Illness insurance also provides a lump sum payment after diagnosis, but covers more than one type of disease, such as cancer, heart attack and stroke. You collect the benefit if you’re diagnosed with any of the covered illnesses.

A Cancer insurance policy usually has a waiting period between the time you purchase coverage and when benefits can be paid. If you’re diagnosed during this period, the policy won’t pay. The insurance company might also deny coverage if you are diagnosed after the waiting period, but had cancer symptoms before you purchased the policy.

Although Cancer policies advertise that they will provide benefits regardless of what other policies pay, your Health insurance might include a “coordination of benefits clause,” which means the Cancer plan won’t pay for duplicate benefits.

Our specialists will be happy to provide a comprehensive review of your Health insurance situation and recommend the coverage best suited to your needs and pocketbook.

Given its low price, Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance (AD&D) might sound like a good idea, especially when you see headlines about fatal crashes and freak accidents and think, “What if that happened to me?”

An AD&D policy will pay a lump sum of to your beneficiary if you die in an accident and a portion of the benefit to you if you’re severely injured.

When it comes to AD&D, Here are a few do’s and don’ts:

Do understand how the coverage works. An AD&D policy will pay the full benefit if you die in an accident and spells out the percentages of payment you receive for injuries, such as loss of a limb, sight, or hearing. For instance, you might get 50% percent of the benefit if you lose a hand or foot, and 25% for the loss of an index finger and thumb on the same hand. Your death or injury must result directly from an accident and occur within a certain timeframe, usually 90 days.

Do consider it only as an extra – not a primary – layer of protection. Although any premature death is tragic, an accidental death happens in a split second, giving a family no time to prepare. AD&D provides that extra layer of coverage that might be worth considering if you work in a dangerous occupation. However, you should not make it a part of your a financial plan.

Don’t count on it as a replacement for Life insurance. An AD&D policy pays the full benefit only if you’re killed in an accident. To provide a death benefit for your beneficiaries regardless of how you die, it’s better to buy Term Life coverage – which costs about the same as AD&D if you’re young and healthy.

Don’t think of AD&D as Disability insurance. This coverage protects your most valuable asset – the ability to make a living and support a family – by replacing a portion of your income if you become disabled and can’t work. AD&D provides a single lump-sum payment and only if you suffer certain accidental injuries as defined in the policy.

To see if AD&D is for you, feel free to give our insurance professionals a call.

Most people leave behind many of their bad habits after adolescence. However, if you’re well into adulthood and still smoking, driving recklessly, overweight or out of shape or paying your bills late you’ll probably be paying a lot more for Life and Health insurance.

Here are some costly behaviors to avoid:

• Smoking. Many people start to smoke as teenagers. Kicking the habit is a good idea at any age – but when it comes to insurance rates, the sooner the better because of the health risks involved. “Smoking absolutely raises your Life Insurance Premiums,” says Maureen Leydon, vice president and chief underwriter for MetLife in Boston. “Depending on your overall risk profile, your rates could more than double.”
• Reckless driving. If you have driving tickets and are accident-prone, your premiums could increase because the insurance company will factor in anything that can impact your longevity to determine your rate. “The amount of the increase depends on the number of violations or accidents, the severity and how recent they are,” says Leydon. “A DUI will usually increase your premium for Term Life insurance by $2.50 or $3.50 per $1,000 of coverage.”
• Being out of shape. “We look at your height and weight as well as other factors.” notes Leydon “However, our definition of overweight might be different from a medical diagnosis. We also look at the potential for other risk factors that come with being overweight such as cardiovascular issues and Type II diabetes.” For example, an overweight 45-year old woman with a $500,000 20-year term Life policy might have to pay more than twice as much in premium than a woman whose weight was normal.
• A poor credit record. If insurance companies believe that you won’t be able to make the premium payments, they won’t charge you more – but they might reject you for coverage.

The bottom line: Avoid bad habits to lower your premiums, and enjoy a longer and healthier life!

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that an American worker has a one in five chance of becoming disabled. The average long-term disability absence from work lasts 2.5 years, according to the Council for Disability Awareness. That’s a long time to survive without a salary.

If illness or injury unrelated to your job left you incapacitated, Long-Term Disability (LTD) insurance can provide an ongoing source of tax-free income for you and your family for anywhere from two to five years, or until you turn 65. If you’re “partially disabled” — meaning you can still work, but only in a job that pays less than 20% of what you previously made — you’ll probably get full disability benefits based on your pre-disability income.

However, LTD coverage usually has a waiting period of anywhere from two weeks to a couple of months before you can start collecting. In the meantime, how would you meet the expenses of daily living? Although sick days and full-paid leave (if your employer offers it) would provide some income, chances are that you will not meet the Social Security Disability eligibility requirement — an estimated inability to perform gainful employment for at least 12 months.

The solution: Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance can replace between 50% and 70% of your income for a period of three months to two years. The waiting period can vary from a single day (in case of injury) to as long as 14 days, if your disability results from an illness that will need time to diagnose. Bear in mind that an STD policy usually costs less than LTD coverage because benefits are paid for a shorter period of time.

Which of the two is better for you? We’d be happy to offer our professional advice.

More employers are offering high-deductible health care plans as an alternative to traditional health care coverage, which costs employers more. Under a high-deductible plan, the employee assumes some of the risk for health care expenses by agreeing to pay for a larger chunk of medical treatment. The employee’s benefit comes from the provision of a Health Savings Account (HSA) — a personal account of funds withdrawn from the employee’s paycheck by the employer and dedicated for the sole purpose of reimbursing out-of-pocket medical expenses. The portion deposited into the HSA is tax deductible.

At first, these accounts might seem like a reduction in employee benefits. However, in many cases employers would not be able to offer medical benefits without them. Although costs for small, non-emergency events are transferred to the employee and some other types of care might cost them more than under traditional plans, an HSA covers major health care needs that can quickly become unaffordable.

If your employer offers a high-deductible plan with an HSA or you’re considering switching jobs to an employer who does, consult with the company employee benefits department about the coverage. If you find that the plan doesn’t cover your dependents or if you have questions about private coverage alternatives, one of our Health insurance specialists would be glad to help. Just give us a call.

During the past decade, Life insurance companies have supplemented traditional Term and Whole Life policies by offering a wide variety of new coverages tailored to meet the demands of families and businesses for financial security. This wealth of new products means that buyers need professional advice more than ever.

If you’re looking to provide financial protection for your family, it’s usually better to buy Life insurance when you’re young and take advantage of periodic policy upgrades as your responsibility to dependents grows. Although a Term Life policy will cover your family should you die prematurely, the payout will normally decline and/or the premiums increase over time. On the other hand, premiums for Whole Life coverage (also called Permanent Life or Cash-Value Life) should remain level throughout the policy lifetime. You can also — depending on the policy — use it as a savings vehicle that accumulates cash value over time. In many cases, you can borrow against the policy value or even withdraw it if needed, subject to certain tax implications and costs.

If you’re looking for Life insurance coverage that you can use as an income source in retirement or to provide financial protection for your business in the case of your death, you have a variety of options (Annuities, Business Life, etc.).

To see what Life insurance solution best meets your needs, feel free to give our professionals a call for a consultation.