Premiums May Vary over the Years

Opting out of family health insurance may be risky. It may also cost a family their life savings.

While it’s pretty much a given that family health insurance is necessary, many families find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to paying the bills and keeping their insurance premiums current. Many choose to drop their family health insurance.

“This is a risky thing to do, because if a member of the family is involved in an accident or contracts a serious illness, your savings could vanish just about overnight while trying to keep up with the bills,” states Evan Tunis of Florida Health Care Insurance, Delray Beach, Florida.

At one time, families could afford to pay a hospital bill when it arrived in the mail. The cost of health care back then is nowhere near what it is now. Given the current state of health care in the US, even relatively minor ailments may run several thousands of dollars. “If you have children, the costs may be even higher, as they get a lot of colds, the flu, ear infections, strep throat, broken limbs, and other illnesses that need medical attention. These are major reasons why families need to have current Florida health insurance,” added Tunis.

“I’ve heard many families comment that they can’t find reasonable health insurance. As a health insurance broker, I know for a fact that there are reasonable policies out there. Furthermore, with the new changes coming in June 2010 and the signing of the Health Care Reform Act into law, the health insurance industry will become extremely competitive. Timing is everything,” Tunis commented.

To get a good understanding of what options are available for family health insurance, check online. “Ask for custom quotes, multiple quotes, and different providers and services – it doesn’t matter what you ask for, you should be able to get virtually instant answers online. Keep in mind that these are quotes based only on information you provide. If that information is inaccurate, it will make a difference in the quotes, so make sure you use the same information for every quote you request,” Tunis explained.

Some people shop first and tailor their budget later. “I find that it’s better to have a budget in mind first and then see what fits that budget. It takes the stress factor out of online shopping, or buying Florida family health insurance in person. It also helps the insurance broker to know what range you are able to buy in rather than hand you options that won’t fit the family finances,” indicated Tunis.

To learn more about Florida health insurance, visit Floridahealthcareinsurance.com.

Under-Insured or Over-Insured, Not Good Choices

When it comes to life insurance, being under-insured or over-insured isn’t a smart plan. Ask a skilled broker to help you choose wisely.

When about to choose life insurance, most people get stuck when it comes to how much coverage they need versus what they want. Those two things may be entirely different. This is one of the reasons you’d want to talk to an expert life insurance agent who could tell you what you needed to know by discussing your goals and lifestyle with you.

Being under-insured isn’t a wise idea and being over-insured won’t do you any good either. The whole key to a perfect balance in buying life insurance is having “enough” coverage to save you money in the end. Of course the question is then, “How much is enough?” When figuring that out, use a balanced blend of coverage and premium factors that both carry equivalent weight.

Granted there are usually some assertions that insurance agents will give you, like the suggestion that you consider buying ten times your annual salary. It’s not a bad idea, but it really doesn’t get you out of buying life insurance at regular intervals, nor does it prevent over or under insuring yourself. What would save you money in the short term would be to only buy what you need at any given time. That however has the effect of raising your aggregate premiums and lowering your returns. This is particular true if you are looking at cash value plans.

Here is a good tip when you assess your insurance needs: use your living expenses and not your income. That will be what your beneficiaries will need to live on. Your family may not need 100% of the household income to get on with their lives. So when you do an income calculation, use a percentage of your income to get a reasonable coverage figure.

And what do you buy then? Despite your calculations or wishes, you may find yourself buying insurance you can afford, which isn’t the same thing as what you may need. This is something you need to discuss with your life insurance agent, who has access to a wide variety of life insurance products that may just suit your requirements perfectly. You don’t want to compromise your overall financial plan by buying too much when you can least afford it.

Keep in mind that the amount of coverage you need will likely change over time and the “right” amount of coverage is what is right for “you” when you need it. The general rule of thumb is that you should anticipate, as best you can, your future needs (e.g., mortgage, new baby) without overdoing it. When in doubt, consult with a life insurance expert.

Evan Tunis is with FloridaHealthcareInsurance.com, the leading provider of Florida health insurance quotes. To learn more about Florida health insurance, visit Floridahealthcareinsurance.com.

Applying for Disability Insurance

While it’s not terribly difficult to apply for disability insurance, there are some hoops to be jumped through.
To get disability insurance an individual needs to fill out and submit an application form and deal with a few other details that an insurance agent will outline. Once that application is completed, it’s sent to the insurance company who gives it the fine tooth comb treatment and then makes a formal decision on whether or not to offer disability insurance. Again, while this isn’t the same thing as applying for life insurance, it is a good idea to have realistic expectations about pricing, potential exclusions and the timing of the policy ultimately offered for consideration.

One of the first things to remember when applying for disability insurance is that a quote is just that, a quote. It is not guaranteed. It boils down to being a guess and projection about what your agent feels you will be offered. In order to fine tune a quote and to have it be more realistic according to the circumstances of a person’s life, there needs to be discussions about an individual’s medical history, personal history, income and occupation.

Once the agent knows these details, there is going to be a more accurate quote. Generally speaking, expect a quote in the range of 1% to 4% of yearly income. Don’t be surprised if the occupation stated involves things like skydiving, to have the insurance company express a certain amount of reluctance to offer a policy.

After getting several quotes, a person needs to decide which insurance company to work with and then hand in all the rest of the required material: the application, a personal history interview, insurance medical exam and tax forms from two years previously. The only item that is not required is the personal history interview, but this does give the underwriter a much better overall picture of the person they are considering for disability issue.

Underwriting normally takes about 4 to 8 weeks, rarely 4 weeks unless the application is totally perfect in all ways and the applicant is in prime physical health, something that doesn’t happen all that often. To shorten the underwriting process, provide all the information requested and then add more. Usually though the hang up is getting medical records from the family physician.

The medical portion of underwriting is the most critical. Perfect health means you’re good to go and don’t have a medical condition and haven’t been seen by a doctor. Understandably, this is pretty rare, and those with medical conditions need to know about price rating and exclusions when it comes to disability insurance.

Price ratings come into play when the company is offering coverage to an applicant who is considered to be a higher risk than average, e.g. someone morbidly obese. Exclusions are amendments that come with the policy and spell out that a specific condition or even body part is not covered under the policy. Put another way, those with existing medical conditions being treated should expect exclusions for those conditions. The exclusions tend not to affect pricing, but to be sure, talk to an experienced insurance agent to get all of the right answers in a timely, no hassle manner.

To learn more about Florida health insurance, Florida health insurance quotes, Florida life insurance,Florida life insurance quotes, Florida group health insurance visit Floridahealthcareinsurance.com.

Cheaper Health Care Is Totally Possible

Cheaper health care is available by doing some comparison-shopping.

Everyone loves a bargain. Why wouldn't they be overjoyed to get something at a better price than they thought they might have to shell out in the first place? This is why it actually does pay to shop around for cheaper health insurance premiums.

This doesn't mean dive right into the first, less expensive option found. It means taking the time to compare what’s on one site with another one. It might sound like a major drag to do that, but if it saves money and gets what’s needed for health care, then it's well worth it.

Once something is found that should work, this is where people need to fish or cut bait. Pick up the phone and call the health insurance agent on duty and start asking some pointed questions about the plan(s) listed on the website. Talking to an agent is the best way to find out the rules and the exceptions to the rules – which are often more important that what is covered.

Just because something on a health insurance website that has a "to die for" kind of price, don't take it as being the absolute truth. The sites are designed to provide general information only. Each case will be different and this is why expecting to get what is on a website won't work. For instance there may be an example of what a person may pay if they happen to be XX age, in XX health without XX illnesses.

Confused? This is one of the reasons people prefer talking to an agent and getting instant feedback. Reading information on a website, while good for generalities, doesn't do much for the specifics of particular situations. This is particularly true if pre-existing conditions are brought into the equation. Those make a significant difference to health insurance premium rates.

While shopping for health insurance is not the most fun thing in the world, it can be a lot easier and less expensive if done the right way. Take the time to find all the options before making a final decision.

To learn more about Florida health insurance, Florida health insurance quotes, Florida life insurance,Florida life insurance quotes, Florida group health insurance visit Floridahealthcareinsurance.com.

Long Term Care Insurance

With the country deep in a nasty recession, it should come as no surprise that new statistics show roughly 64% of those soon to retire won’t have enough money saved to maintain their lifestyles.

When you retire, you have expectations of being able to do pretty much what you want to do. But what if you don’t have enough money to do that? What if your standard of living dropped instead, to a level you never imagined was possible?

If you don’t have medical issues, things might be just dandy. However, with the advent of better technology, we are living longer. Living longer may well mean some type of long-term care. While this may be a reality, there are a lot of couples that are not prepared financially to pay that kind of expense out of their pockets. This is where long-term care insurance comes into the picture.

While you might get tired of hearing that insurance of any kind is easier to buy when you are younger, that’s the truth; it is easier. Sure you wonder if it’s worth the expense when you are in your 40s or 50s and in pretty good shape. Even if you are in relatively good health, thinking in advance is a smart thing to do for your future and that of your family as well. The other hard core truth is that if you wait too long to buy the kind of insurance that you need, you might not be able to buy it.

Here are a couple of statistics that will get your attention and get you thinking. They’re from the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance who reveals that virtually 70% of all those who apply for long-term care insurance who are 45 to 54 get accepted. Those in the age bracket of 65 to 74 don’t always get accepted, and the approval rate plummets to about 40%. Policy costs also double for those 65 and over; that is double the cost of what it would have been had you applied when you were 55.

It never hurts to think that you will always be healthy and never need long-term care, but to be blunt, that is honestly not a very realistic point of view. Other studies have indeed shown that just about half of us will need some form of long-term care. Sure you might think that long-term care insurance is expensive and you might not need it and besides, you have a higher chance of being hurt in a car crash or your home going up in flames. That well may be true, but you “do” have insurance for both of those events, so why not have insurance for the possibility of long-term care? It only makes sense and protects you later when you need it the most.

The American Stroke Association says that about one-third of stroke victims become permanently disabled and that one-third of stroke victims are under 65 years old. Those under 65 would not have had the chance to finish stashing money in their retirement fund before losing their ability to work. Think about this – the costs of long-term care. On average it runs about $75,000 a year with one in five Americans needing care for at least a year and about 3% requiring care for more than five years. Some patients with dementia will need care for longer. There is no way your family will be able to afford those costs.

On the other hand if you did buy long-term care insurance early and paid $100 a month, that total at the other end when you really needed it would far outweigh any retirement savings or financial reserves you may have at your disposal. Which chance would you rather take? Not having long-term health care and being unable to afford it? Or having long-term health care and knowing your care will not be a problem for you or a burden to your family. These are tough questions and ones that should be discussed with an expert insurance broker. They won’t sugarcoat what you need to know and will tell you precisely what would work for you for the long-term.

Evan Tunis is with FloridaHealthcareInsurance.com, the leading provider of Florida health insurance quotes. To learn more about Florida health insurance, Florida health insurance quotes, Florida life insurance,Florida life insurance quotes, Florida group health insurance visit Floridahealthcareinsurance.com.

Short Term Disability

The facts are that every American faces the possibility of being disabled before retirement. Statistics show that it averages about three out of every ten people, but those odds may change.

Disability is not just something that should be considered a physical threat; it needs to be regarded from the financial point of view. Being disabled and not having the ability to work will eat through your savings at a good clip, much faster than you ever thought possible.

What do you do in the event of an injury that lays you out flat for the short or long-term? More insurance industry gurus recommend you have savings of up to six months in order to pay expenses. How many people actually do that? Not many and therein lies the problem. There is a solution to this problem though and it involves short term disability insurance.

Short term disability insurance is available to offer protection to people who don’t have significant savings or for those who can’t pay bills out-of-pocket if they are laid up. In fact, short term disability insurance pays out a percentage of lost wages that ranges anywhere from 50 to 70 percent. That however does depend on the policy, and for a policy that pays out at a higher rate it’s smart to talk to an expert insurance broker who can fill you in on what you need to know.

Here is how a policy like this may work. It makes a payout for a specified time period that may be anywhere from 10 to 26 weeks. While that might not seem like a long time, it’s not meant to be. It’s considered to be a safety net to help a temporarily disabled worker pay their bills for a short time.

Coverage like this is quite often obtained through an employer or even as a part of a worker’s group policy. While that might be a nice thing, you need to know that generally speaking, there are some hoops you may have to jump through. For example, your company might want a doctor to certify your disability, or you might have to use all your sick days first.

As with many insurance contracts, each one has different things that will either benefit you or not. This is one of the major reasons to speak to a fully qualified health insurance broker to get a full explanation of the policies you may be considering.

Evan Tunis is with FloridaHealthcareInsurance.com, the leading provider of Florida health insurance quotes. To learn more about Florida health insurance, Florida health insurance quotes, Florida life insurance,Florida life insurance quotes, Florida group health insurance visit Floridahealthcareinsurance.com.

Doing It Before One Dies

Not a lot of people like to talk about life insurance as it reminds them of their mortality.

It’s understandable that people don’t want to discuss their own death and thus would put off buying life insurance as a way of “avoiding” the issue. Delaying a life insurance purchase will often make it much more expensive and if this delay is combined with other health factors, this might reflect a picture of a high risk individual to insure; not a benefit for life insurance companies.

Buying life insurance needs to be an informed process where the consumer knows about the options available to them, such as knowing the reasons why they want life insurance, what level and type of insurance they want, and what life insurance broker is able to provide what they want.

One rather common perception is that if a person has no dependents, then they don’t need life insurance. The reality is that people choose to get coverage for a variety of reasons that may include the wish to provide for loved ones after death. It may be just the simple wish of providing life insurance funds to cover funeral expenses or a small sum for the beneficiary to live on. The reasons don’t matter, but the comfort such insurance provides is tangible.

It’s also a good idea to have in mind whether a level term or decreasing term would suit present circumstances. Factor in the amount available to budget monthly and if the overall amount to be insured for is flexible or fixed. An expert life insurance broker will tailor a quote to suit those needs. Always include things like car loans, credit card debt or mortgages into the initial calculations for insurance coverage.

Don’t lie on the insurance application form, as this will be caught later and it may result in the suspension of the policy. If the “fib” is caught later, the insurer may refuse to payout on any claims.

Try online life insurance quotes, however remember that at best many of them are “general” in nature and don’t always address specific concerns or needs. To address those things, speak to an expert life insurance broker about the proper cover.

To learn more about Florida health insurance, Florida health insurance quotes, Florida life insurance,Florida life insurance quotes, Florida group health insurance visit Floridahealthcareinsurance.com.