In a new wrinkle that may further hamper federal efforts to achieve cheap health insurance for all U.S. citizens, the National Governors Association, in a letter to U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, claims that the insurance exchanges mandated by the health care reform law actually threaten the autonomous nature of the individual states.
Continue reading
Cheap Auto Rates Don’t Mean as Much When Claims are a Hassle
While everyone wants a price quote to make sure they’re getting the cheapest auto insurance premiums possible, sometimes a few dollars more is worth it for better claims handling. J.D. Power and Associates just released their annual “U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study,” which shows that plenty of people are unhappy with their auto coverage even in the face of cheap rates.
Some Surprising Study Results for Big Companies
The rankings, which are tallied on a 1,000 point scale, saw Auto-Owners Insurance take the top position for the fourth year in a row. Not only did Auto-Owners pull a score of 890, they were the only insurer examined to get a five-star rating. The industry average score was 846 with a three-star rating. The other members of the top-five, in descending order were: Continue reading
Insurers See Profits Selling Medicare Policies to Aging Baby Boomers
While most of us don’t spend our time reading about insurance industry news — since we’re mainly concerned with the question “where the heck do we get the cheapest rates” — you may have missed what Cigna Corp. has been up to. The company acquired the Medicare carrier HealthSpring Inc. for $3.8 billion. And why do we care about this?
The acquisition is a sign of how health insurance companies are changing the way they’re doing business as federal health care reform moves forward. A progression of changes will take place through 2014 that are geared toward achieving universal, cheap health care as well as a more fair relationship between insurance companies and their customers. With its acquisition, Cigna is responding to major demographic shifts in the American population — in what is likely a positive way for the insurance / consumer relationship as a whole. Continue reading
Cheap Insurance and Speeding: Does It Matter?
In September 2011, Maine became the only state east of the Mississippi River to have a stretch of highway where 75 mph is the legal speed limit. According to locals, no one ever obeyed the old limit along the isolated stretch of Interstate 95 anyway.
Now, for approximately 110 miles starting north of Bangor, motorists can legally put the pedal to the metal. Drivers who don’t get ticketed don’t have trouble keeping cheap insurance rates, but what’s the real story on speeding and auto risk? Continue reading
Cheap Auto Insurance: Technology Allows Policies to Get More Personal
1
Over the past few years, the cheapest auto insurance offerings have trended toward greater personalization of individual policies in an effort to apply more realistic risk models. At the same time, available benefits are more attuned to real-world values that extend beyond simply paying in the event of an accident. Continue reading
Strange Insurance: You Can’t Really Get Coverage for That, Can You?
Insurance topics, on a whole, tend to be pretty straightforward. People want to know how to get the cheapest auto insurance or the most inexpensive, but comprehensive, health insurance. They look for articles to explain loopholes in homeowners insurance and explanations of why flood insurance might be necessary. Very, very few people think about insuring themselves against alien abduction or paranormal activity.
And yet, those kinds of policies do exist. Continue reading
Cheap Auto Insurance for Teens, High Rates for a High Risk Population
The statistics regarding teenage drivers and auto safety are not only frightening, but have serious implications for the affordability of their parents’ auto insurance policies.
In 2009, every single day, 16 to 19 teenage drivers died from injuries sustained in an automobile crash. This makes young drivers four times more likely to be killed in a crash than older motorists. The vast majority of these accidents were preventable. Continue reading
Demand for Flood Insurance Spikes on Eastern Seaboard
In the aftermath of Hurricane’s Irene and Lee, residents in states along the eastern seaboard are seeking flood insurance in droves. Inquiries and applications for the coverage are up 30 percent over a year ago. What many of these would-be customers are finding out, however, is that the policies are better tailored for residents of Florida than people living in Pennsylvania, Vermont, or New Jersey.
Unemployment in U.S. Deepens Health Insurance Crisis
On Tuesday, September 13, the Census Bureau released some shocking figures reflecting the current standard of living in the United States. Approximately 46.2 million people in this country are poor, and 49.9 million have no heath insurance coverage whatsoever.
The national poverty rate stands at 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2010. That’s the highest level since 1982. Mississippi has the deepest poverty level at 22.7 percent; New Hampshire the lightest at 6.6 percent. Continue reading
After the Storm: Making Sure Your Insurer Pays Up
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, many policy holders will file damage claims only to discover how hard it can really be to collect benefits from homeowners and disaster coverage. The fallout from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 changed the dynamic between insurers and policy holders. Deductibles for hurricane wind coverage have steadily climbed upward while other policy limitations have crept into the fine print, lying undiscovered until a claim is filed. The simple fact is that insurers don’t want to pay benefits, which appear as a loss on their books. If they can get out of paying you, they will.
Continue reading