Monday, September 26, 2011

Four Reasons Why You May Want To Buy Life Insurance

Do you need life insurance?  Life insurance has several benefits and a few of them are:

a)      To protect a household from the severe financial crisis that corresponds to loss of income on the untimely death of the primary bread earner of the family.

b)      It also protects the estate of the insured from any due payments at the time of his death


c)      It can be used as a way to provide for retirement savings

d)      Some business owners like to insure the lives of their key employees to safeguard the business from any losses due to the untimely death of these employees

There are several other reasons why you would want to buy life insurance but the ultimate aim is to insure against the financial loss of a key individual.

When planning to purchase life insurance policies, one should take into consideration the various life insurance policy types that are available.

Term life insurance is a policy that is simple to understand. It has the simple objective to pay a lump sum amount at the untimely death of the insured. Say you take out a policy of $100,000 on your life, the insurer will be liable to pay $100,000 to your beneficiaries on the event of your death.

A whole life insurance policy, on the other hand, involves the financial benefit on the event of your death together with a cash value account which accumulates a cash amount with deferred tax implications. A whole life policy charges the same premium throughout the lifetime of the insured as long as the policy premium is paid.  It allows you to get benefits in the form of dividends from your cash account or even be allowed to set it off against the premium due.

There are several online life insurance quote calculators which offer the option to calculate the premium payable when you enter your choice of policy and other details. Although this may not be 100% perfect as certain conditions like pre-existing health issues etc still need to be checked before the policy can be bought but they are useful in terms of providing the approximate amount of the premium.
   

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Getting Health Insurance For Unemployed Individuals

   
      Being unemployed can be scary.  There are a lot of choices that you need to make in a short period of time using very little financial resources.  Unfortunately, other than unemployment insurance, there is very little help available from the government. 

One of the first choices you will need to make when you initially become unemployed is to decide whether or not you will continue your health insurance through COBRA.  The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 is a law passed by Congress that requires your employer to continue health coverage.  The only problem with the law is that it allows your employer to double or triple the monthly premiums.  This is the fundamental reason why the vast majority of unemployed Americans elect not to receive their COBRA benefits.  Therefore, you and your dependents are on your own for finding more affordable health coverage.

It is much easier to find affordable health insurance today than it was in 1985.  There are virtually hundreds of health plans from a variety of health insurance providers.  There are also online websites that will provide you with free online health insurance quotes to make it easy for you to shop for health insurance.  When shopping for health insurance you will need to balance your deductible with the amount of insurance you are able to afford.  If you have a small budget and are generally healthy then you can increase your deductible to lower your monthly premium.  However, if you have a chronic illness and require a prescription medicine program, then you will need to adjust your budget accordingly.  Generally speaking, the higher the deductible, the lower your monthly premium will be.  Just keep in mind that you will keep paying your medical bills from your own pocket until the annual deductible limit is reached.

You can also consider supplementing your health insurance with your car insurance and an accident insurance plan.  Most auto insurance companies provide a medical benefits plan for a small fee that is added to your policy.  This will cover your medical costs if you are injured in a car accident without having to worry about the deductible on your health insurance policy.  You can also buy an accident insurance policy for a small monthly premium that provides coverage if you become injured as a result of a covered accident.

Whichever medical plan you choose, be sure to read the fine print to understand the benefits, limitations and exclusions of the insurance policy.  The bottom line is that there are plenty of choices available so there is no reason to walk around and expose your risk because you do not have health insurance.  There is nothing worse than coming down with an illness when you are unemployed without health insurance. Don't let that happen to you.



   

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Difference Between Dental Insurance and Dental Plans

      Dental health of your teeth and gums is an important component of your overall health. Quite a few dental problems are often readily avoided with regular cleanings, but left unchecked could result in an unsightly disease. Scores of people are unable to effectively maintain their oral health as a consequence of a lack of an affordable dental plan. Moreover, a lot of workers  have decreased their health insurance premiums by eliminating their employer's dental insurance. Those who are used to regular dental check-ups are pursuing solutions for where they can obtain dental benefits.

Dental insurance offers prescribed benefits up to the policy limits once you have reached any required out of pocket expenses. You will need to choose a dental provider that accepts the insurance policy and in some cases you may need to obtain approval for certain dental treatments. There is normally some paperwork involved and you basically pay your share of the bill which can be anywhere from twenty percent to 50% of the bill.  In addition, you will be responsible for any costs that the insurance does not cover.

On the other hand, discount dental plans are an alternative option for obtaining reasonable dental coverage at group rates. These membership programs are accessible to anyone that wants to join. As there are typically no eligibility requirements, these plans are especially favored with individuals that needs immediate dental coverage. Some dental plans may offer free annual dental cleanings which in many cases more than covers the cost of membership. The dental service providers associated with these discount dental plans have agreed to provide dental services at a considerably discounted amount. Discounts commonly vary anywhere from 10% to 60% off customary charges. The dental plan will provide you with a pre-negotiated fee schedule so that you can compare the benefits between plans. A key feature of these programs is that there are no forms to submit, no deductibles to worry about and no waiting around for insurance permissions. Not to mention, you are able to choose any dental provider that takes part in the plan and you can switch dentists at any time.  It is difficult to surpass the cost savings and flexibility of affordable dental plans.