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Archive for the ‘Insurance’ Category

What’s in a word? Well, perhaps in this case, it’s the difference between insurance cover and no cover. Let’s start with the straightforward version which we might call a motor scooter. This is a two-wheeled, low-powered version of a motorbike and, despite very real safety concerns, their number has been growing steadily on our roads since we broke through the price barrier of $3 per gallon of gas. The reason is simple. It’s not difficult to get 60 or more miles to the gallon on a scooter. That’s rather better than the average vehicle. Add in the fact you will also save dramatic amounts on the auto insurance and it looks a good deal. The only problem is the number of accidents. Drivers seem to have great difficulty is actually seeing these nippy little things as they whizz in and out of traffic.

Changing the subject, you can’t avoid knowing we are facing an epidemic of obesity. Perhaps equally as serious is the increasing age of the population. As the boomers steadily pass the 60 mark, the average age is rising quite sharply. Those who work out these math sums tell us that, by 2025, there will be 66 million people aged 65 or more. Now let’s put together the picture by adding in the number of people who are born with disabilities or who are injured and therefore cannot walk around so easily. One of the things we pride ourselves on as Americans is our inventiveness. Knowing how many people might find it a challenge to move around the home or outside, there’s been a rush to develop scooters (for the record, the general term is an “electric mobility device”. They now come in a fairly standard four-wheel form, rather like a slimmed down golf cart and, in increasing numbers, you’re likely to see them on our roads and have to move out of their way on sidewalks and cycle paths.

The advantages of these machines are simple to list: you don’t need a license or registration to drive one, there are no rules requiring you to wear protective helmets, and they are very cheap to operate. All of which should suggest the key problem. Calling them scooters is not going to turn them into cars or bikes, and auto policies are not appropriate. Equally clear is the problem of dealing with them under the liability section of your home policy. Suppose a senior is distracted while riding down the sidewalk and crashes into a pedestrian. This is not the same as snow sliding off the roof and hospitalizing a passerby. For those who are interested in legal niceties, you also can’t be guilty of dui/dwi charges because you’re not actually driving. It’s an assisted form of walking. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s at this point that Libertarians get all excited because this article is all about whether an interfering government should tell people how to live their lives. Think about the debate over criminalizing those who use soft drugs like cannabis. Victimless crimes, they shout. What we do in the privacy of our own homes is our affair. That’s why we’re all signed-up members of the NRA and will shoot to kill if threatened. Well, let’s add to the list of stuff that can kill you. Everyone has to know that smoking causes a range of cancers and other usually fatal diseases. So far, big government has refused to ban the sale of this lethal drug. It’s a major double standard. If smoking cannabis, even for medicinal purposes, is a crime in most states, why is nicotine treated differently when it kills rather more people?

Thinking back to the good old days of Eliot Ness and the Untouchables, Prohibition was not the greatest success. Indeed, the real statistics show that more alcohol per head was consumed during the period of the ban than before. So trying the same thing today is not going to produce better results. People will not be told to quit smoking or stop drinking to excess or to eat more healthy food or to exercise more. Even though, when you put all four factors together and show the catastrophic effect on health, the majority of Americans will resent being told – even though privately, they might admit it’s good advice.

This leaves it all up to the insurance companies. While the real Libertarians will defend their right to kill themselves in the privacy of their own home, some of them do emerge from time to time complaining of disease. At this moment, the insurers feel an attack on their profits coming on. These overweight people with cancers and heart disease make their way to the nearest hospital. There they find a band of health professionals waiting to greet them. This welcome is all the more enthusiastic because these dedicated workers make a profit from treating people. So everyone in the healthcare industry is in favor of the majority of people making themselves ill through their lifestyle. The more it happens, the more money they make. Put the two forces together and the insurance companies feel the squeeze. Read the rest of this entry »

Not that we want to come over allpessimistic, but this recession has been going on for a long time now andthere’s no real sign it’s going to come to an end anytime soon. Looking around,the property market is still in deep trouble. Foreclosures were slowed by therobo-signing problem, but banks are picking up the pace again. The unemploymentrate is stuck in the 9.5% area nationally. Locally, of course, it can be farworse, particularly among the young and the older workers. So what do you do ifthe worst happens and your job is suddenly on the line? Well, the first part ofthe answer is you negotiate to stay in work. Even though you may have to worklonger hours or take a cut, this is better than no money coming in. Other thanthat? Well, it all comes down to how careful you’ve been with your money.

Looking back, some of the moralists havedrawn on nature for models of how best to live. Some animals are reallyindustrious during the summer. This is the time of plenty but they run aroundlike there’s no tomorrow, collecting food and burying it or putting itsomewhere safe for the hard times during the winter. Others sit around gettingfat and, when the food runs out, they starve and die. Well, it’s the same withus humans. If you not only stay within your budgets, but save while the boomyears give you plenty, you’re well set-up when hardship comes. But if youborrowed heavily and never paid down your debts, you’re in trouble when the paychecks stop.

The big question should you be given apink slip is what happens to your health coverage. During all these happy yearsof security, there’s been no need to worry about the world of privateinsurance. Now, suddenly, you’re negotiating the final package of severancepay. If you’re lucky, your employer may offer some help in finding somewherenew to work and, while all this is going on, you need to research theConsolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (better known as COBRA). Read the rest of this entry »

Insuring one’s health has become a necessity these days, even if it’s not mandatory like auto insurance you can’t get adequate health services for a reasonable price without having and insurance plan. And for those who are self employed or working at companies where group plans are not offered, the only option is going with individual health plans. The main problem with individual plans, however, is that the premiums are much higher if compared to group plans. So it becomes really important to know how to shop around for individual health plans. One important thing to keep in mind is that despite the name “individual plan” with most individual health plans you can cover your spouse and kids too. However, it always pays to ask about this option first. It is even more important to ask about exclusions and how pre-existing conditions are covered, since some insurers won’t cover any costs connected to health problems that were before the plan was purchased. So male sure to learn all the details and evaluate your personal needs before doing any shopping.

One main rule that applies to all types of individual health plans is that the better your health and the younger you are the lower will be your premiums. And respectively, the older you get and more health problems you have the harder it will be for you to find cheap health insurance. Read the rest of this entry »