Recent Blog Posts
What’s the Difference Between Social Security Disability Insurance and Long-Term Disability Insurance?
People who experience some sort of physical or mental disability that keeps them from working, such as due to an accident or illness, might be able to get financial help from various insurance-based resources. If the accident or illness occurred on the job, the person is likely covered by workers’ compensation, which is a form of insurance that pays medical expenses and partial wage replacement benefits for short-term, long-term or even permanent disability. If the disability was not acquired in the course of employment, other forms of insurance can pay benefits to people who can no longer work.
Cash Value and Dividends Can Help Keep Your Life Insurance Policy From Lapsing
One advantage of whole life insurance policies over term life is that they build cash value. A term policy does no such thing. It is in effect so long as you continue to pay your premiums, and if you die while covered, the policy should pay out to your beneficiaries. But if you stop paying premiums and let your term life policy lapse, the policy is canceled and you have nothing to show for all those years of premiums you paid.
Why Some Health Insurance Claims Are Denied
Without health insurance, a visit to the doctor can set you back several hundred dollars. If you need surgery, a name-brand medication, or if God forbid you get a life-threatening illness, medical care can run into the thousands and quickly become unaffordable. Health insurance can literally be a lifesaver, but what happens if the insurance company refuses to cover the services or treatment you need?
Group Life Insurance Only Pays on Those Who Were “Actively Working” at Time of Death
Employer life insurance, also known as group life insurance, is a common fringe benefit provided to employees at many companies. Employees qualify for coverage simply by virtue of their employment and don’t have to take a physical exam or go through any underwriting.
What Do Insurance Companies Do With Consumer Complaints? Hide Them From Investors, of Course!
On July 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had filed charges against a health insurance company for hiding a long list of consumer complaints from the company’s investors.
Are Deferred Annuities for Real?
According to the financial information website Investopedia, a deferred annuity is a contract with an insurance company that promises to pay the owner a regular income, or a lump sum, at some future date. An immediate annuity, in contrast, is an insurance contract that starts paying as soon as you purchase it. Deferred annuities are often aggressively marketed to consumers, especially elderly consumers, but some would say they have become the scourge of the unwary investor in recent years.
Eligibility to Buy a Marketplace Plan
The Health Insurance Marketplace® is a service that helps people shop for and enroll in health insurance. The Marketplace is run by the federal government under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which brought health insurance to millions of Americans who were previously uninsured.
Health Insurance and Federal Taxes: The Government Giveth and the Government Taketh Away
Tax season has come and gone for most of us (did somebody say extension?), but even if you already filed, if you didn’t get it all right, you can expect to hear back from the IRS telling you to try again. One particularly confusing area involves the premium tax credit offered as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare. The tax credit is a signature piece of the ACA, providing access to health insurance for millions of Americans who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.
What Should You Look for During Your Free Look Period?
There is still no free lunch, but state laws guarantee you a free look when you buy life insurance. It’s not exactly try-it-before-you-buy-it; first you buy it, then you try it. But if you don’t like what you see during your free look period, you can cancel your policy and get back any money paid, and it’s like you never had a policy in the first place. No harm, no foul. Sound good? Let’s explore more.
What Happens if My Life Insurance Company Goes out of Business?
Companies get bought and sold all the time, and insurance companies are no different. When any business is acquired through a merger or acquisition, the assets (and liabilities) of the acquired company go along for the ride and become assets of the new company. In the case of an insurance company, this means your insurance policy will be assigned to or acquired by the new company and stay in full force and effect, so long as you continue to render your premiums to the new company.
