Tick-Tock: Welcome to the Walmart Marketplace

As we noted earlier this month, agents have the opportunity to sell ObamaPlans at Walmart stores around the country. But the window for signing up to do so is closing.

From email:

Travel Insurance is a Necessity

The primary reason for getting a travel health insurance is to have a peace of mind that your medical expenses are covered in an event of an injury or unexpected sickness during your vacation in another country. when you go abroad, you will face uncertainty and your current insurances generally will not cover the risks associated with traveling overseas.

Anbang Insurance Group of to acquire Fidelity & Guaranty Life US

Anbang Insurance Group Co., Ltd., a leading global comprehensive insurance group based in Beijing, China, will buy the Fidelity & Guaranty Life FGL, -1.64% ("FGL"), a leading provider of annuities and life insurance in the U.S. for about $1.57 billion as Chinese insurers seek to expand into the United States.

Disability Insurance What You Need to Know

Disability Insurance or sometimes called DI, disability income insurance, or Disability Income protects the insurers earned income against the risk of disability. It would pay a portion of your salary, creating a safety in case of illness, disability or accidents that render the individual unable to work.

For instance an employee may suffer from an inability to maintain composure in the case of psychological disorders or an injury, illness or condition that causes physical impairment or incapacity to work. It encompasses paid sick leave, short-term disability benefits (STD), and long-term disability benefits (LTD). If you suddenly become ill or disabled the Disability Insurance can help you pay your bills, make your monthly rent or mortgage loan payments, buy your groceries, make your car payments, pay for your children's education, etc.

L'Shannah Tova 5777

This evening marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, starting with "Jewish New Year's" (Rosh HaShannah) and culminating in the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This year, I thought I'd let Dr Amy Farrah Fowler Mayim Bialik and her friends do the honors of explaining some of the symbols and rituals.

Millennials Prefer to Rent but Pass on Renters Insurance

According to a survey published on insuranceQuotes, Millennials prefer to rent homes, and most of them don't like to get renters insurance. Even though that coverage is not expensive, and having non could cause a huge financial hardship.

Based on the April 2016 survey for insuranceQuotes.com done by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 66% of 18 to 29 years old are renting their home, compared with just 37% of consumers overall. What is alarming is that less than 33% of Millennial renters have renters insurance.

When questioned about not having renters policy, 59% of renters in the 18 to 29 age group said that cost is not the primary reason. Instead, they believe it’s unnecessary because they live in a very secure property (61%), or they don’t own enough personal property to insure (43%). And 41% of them said they’re avoiding renters insurance because they don’t understand how the product works.

A lot of the consumers are foregoing the benefits of renters insurance because they underestimate the benefits and overestimate its cost. The average annual premium is $188 (or $15.67 per month); however, 25% of 18- to 29-year-old respondents believe they’d have to pay $1,000 or more. People need to be educated since it is an affordable financial safety net that every renter should have.

Other report highlights include:

    Renters who don’t have renters insurance because they don’t understand the product increased from 27% in 2015 to 33% this year.
    Renters who don’t have insurance because they don’t know where to get it also increased from 20% in 2015 to 26% this year.
    College graduates are more likely to have renters insurance compared to high school graduates or those with a lesser education – 64% to 24% respectively.
    35% of respondents mistakenly said a renters policy does not cover personal property damaged in a natural disaster or property stolen from you outside of your rental home (60%).

The full report is available here: http://www.insurancequotes.com/home/millennials-and-renters-insurance-051916.

The survey was done by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) through telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults living in the continental United States.


Here is why Renters Insurance is important for me personally:

1. If my stuff is stolen like my iPhone, iPad or laptop, furniture or bicycles could cost thousands of dollars. Renters insurance covers more than just theft it also covers fire, water problems and vandalism.

2. If you burned your dinner and it resulted to smoke damage. Your landlord will bill you for that damage even if none of your property was damaged since his property has been.

3. Renters insurance is about $12 to $30 a month for $30,000 worth of coverage a small cost with big pay off.

Homeowners Needs to Take Another Look At their Insurance Coverage As Hurricane Season Starts

Homeowners needs to reexamine their insurance coverage annually, specially those who live in places that are heavily affected by tropical storms. They need to know if the cost of their premiums are shooting up, or if their deductibles have changed, or if they are entitled to new discounts.

This year it's really important to do that because it is expected that hurricane will be most active this year since 2012, according to forecasts released by The Weather Company.
These storms are already affecting the southeast United States. Tropical storm Bonnie battered the Carolinas over Memorial Day weekend, and Colin, which made landfall Monday and resulted in state of emergency declared.

Colin which packed a 50 mile-per-hour winds produces heavy rain, tornadoes and hail that battered residents along Florida's Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. The residents protect their property using sandbags. Officials distributed 13,000 sandbags to residents of Tampa, which has a history of flooding. Some residents have evacuated the area.

This why it is important to reevaluate their homeowners insurance policy. Let's assume that the replacement cost value of the property is correct, a homeowners policy will cover any wind damage caused by a hurricane. However, it will not cover damage due to flooding and homeowners need to be aware of whether they have a hurricane deductible.

Insurance companies sell policies with a hurricane deductible to limit their exposure to devastating storms. Usually, these hurricane deductible is much higher than the standard one for homeowners insurance policies. A total of 19 states have hurricane deductibles, and most of them don't have a set dollar amount but a percentage of the replacement cost value of a home. That can be huge depending on the damage incurred. 

Insurers don't choose to have a hurricane deductible. This deductibles are incorporated in homeowners insurance at the discretion of the insurance company and are activated under the terms of the policy, usually when the National Hurricane Center issues a warning or names a tropical storm.

The Insurance Information Institute issue this different hurricane deductibles across the 19 states that have and it is posted on their website, or consumers can refer to their respective state's department of insurance for details on them.

The states with special storm deductibles include: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Smartphone Insurance 101

Smartphone are expensive and easy to lose, break or stolen, this is why smartphone or cellphone insurance is in demand nowadays. Smartphone insurance covers lost, stolen or damaged phones. However, you should take note of the following information about this kind of insurance:

1. Deductible can be as much as the cost of the smartphone - iPhone 6S with a 2-year contract from Sprint is priced at $199.99. The Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection insurance costs $11 per month. Unfortunately for you if you lost or break your smartphone the insurance deductible will be $200.

This happens since carriers heavily subsidize smartphone prices if you purchased it with a contract. The retail price for an iPhone 6S is about $650. Installment plans, which often require no upfront payment for the phone, they simply spread its cost out over your contract term.

2. The Insurance Company will Determine the Replacement Smartphone - Your insurance company will have the final say on the replacement smartphone it may be of the same make and model, it maybe of different color or type. It may also be refurbished.

3. Carrier companies can dropped you from your plan for making a claim - Most insurance providers limits customers to two claims in a 12-month period. This can be a problem for people that are particularly accident-prone. The trouble is, those are the people for whom cellphone insurance makes the most sense.

Here are Cellphone protection plans:

AT&T -
Monthly fee: $7.99.
Deductible: $50-$199, depending on device. They offer declining deductible program that can give you 25% to 50% less.

AppleCare+ -
Cost: $99-$129 for two years of coverage.
Covers: Damage (two incidents) and phone malfunctions.
Deductible: $79 or $99 per incident, depending on model.

T-Mobile -
Monthly fee: $10.
Deductible: $20-$175.

Sprint -
Monthly fee: $9-$11
Deductible: $50-$200, depending on device.

SquareTrade -
Cost: $119 for two years of coverage.
Covers: Damage and phone malfunctions.
Deductible: $99 for all claims.

Verizon -
Monthly fee: $7.15 (smartphones), $5 (basic phones, tablets).
Deductible: $99-$199 (smartphones), $49-$199 (basic phones, tablets).

Long-Term Care Insurance Are Too Expensive

If you check out the prices of today's long term care insurance, I'm sure you'll ask who can afford them? They are just too expensive for the regular working class like us.

Long-term care insurance policies pay back policyholders a daily amount for services to assist them with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, transferring (to bed, chair, etc), housework, shopping for groceries or eating. Unlike traditional health insurance, long-term care insurance is designed to cover long-term services and supports, including personal and custodial care in a variety of settings such as your home, a community organization, or other facility.

In Pennsylvania, premiums have gone up as much as 130%, yearly rates have exceeded $8,000. So why are they so expensive? President of Rosenthal Wealth Management Group Larry Rosenthal said that nowadays, people are living longer and aren't necessarily living healthier. So insurance companies left the market since there are little or no profits and those that remain have increased premiums significantly to keep up with costs.

Here are some alternatives way to pay for Expensive Long-Term Care Insurance:

Short-term care insurance - this policy is like long-term care insurance, however the benefits are typically capped at one year. This policy is more affordable and they may also be available to older seniors or those who aren't otherwise eligible for long-term coverage.

Life + long-term care insurance - the combination of long-term care coverage and life insurance may help consumers avoid the type of rate increases currently being experienced in Pennsylvania.

Long-term care annuities - These annuities require a hefty upfront payment, but if you need long-term care, your overall cost may be lower than what you'd spend on insurance premiums.

Health savings accounts - For those who have an eligible high-deductible health insurance plan, a health savings account offers a way to put money aside tax-free for medical costs, such as long-term care.

Home equity - Retirees without significant investments may still own a valuable asset: their house. Tapping into home equity through a line of credit, taking out a reverse mortgage or selling a house outright are some of the ways people can use their property to pay for long-term care.

Pensions or Social Security - Depending on the size of your monthly payments and the amount of care you need, paying for services monthly out of a pension or Social Security benefit may be option.

Medicaid - if all else fail, and a person's income and assets have been depleted, the government will step in to pay for care. Medicaid won't pay for assisted living, but it will cover nursing home care and many states also pay for home health care services for eligible people.

Farmers Insurance Discontinue Coverage Of A Insurer after Filing Tornado Claims

Farmers Insurance cancelled the coverage of Richard Perry, a Moore, Oklahoma resident after he filled two claims for tornado damage. He got a letter from the insurance company stating that they would be canceling his policy, effective in April.

In an interview he said it doesn't make sense to him, he called his local agent and the agent to him that the company would be more than happy to continue coverage on their vehicles but, due to the location of his home in a high risk area, it would be too high a risk to cover it.

The letter reads: "Unfortunately, we are unable to continue coverage, because the number of losses you have experienced exceed our acceptability limits."

The family filed claims on two occasions following tornadoes. Their first claim was in 2013, when the insurance company paid $1,615 for wind damage. The second came in March of 2015, when Farmers paid $7,746. Perry said most of that claim was paid out on his truck, which was damaged in the storm.

Under state law, an insurance company can't drop a policyholder for filing a single claim. But, companies can take action if a policyholder files two claims or more.

It's hard to trust an insurance company that will drop you like a hot potato when things are hard on you.


Farmers Insurance is Rated Worst!

Insurance that You Don't Need

Insurance are important for our financial health and insurance that we should have are Health insurance, auto insurance, property and casualty insurance and life insurance. Some of them are mandatory and some are not, but in most cases they are. However, there are types of insurance that are not actually needed which is listed as "junk" insurance by the nonprofit consumer watchdog group Consumer Federation of America.

Here are some types of insurance that they considered junk:

Down payment insurance  

This is a new insurance product that will be on the market in January 2016. This insurance is designed to protect the down payment on your home if the real-estate market go under again.

ValueInsured, which is based in Dallas named this kind of insurance as +Plus. This is not for speculative buyers since the owner will need to live in the home and he/she cannot make a claim on the the insurance for 2 years, while it lapses after 7 years.

However, this type of insurance is for debtors who might have to move suddenly for a job, like military families, or move into marginal markets that are particularly volatile, such as Stockton, California which was hit by the worst price cut during the real estate crash with home values cut by half as a result of widespread foreclosures.

According to ValueInsured, about 8 million debtors still owe more than what their house is worth, compared with more than 15 million during the worst part of the real estate crash in 2012.

The price of this insurance is about $840 for a $20,000 down payment, and it will protect a down payment of up to $200,000 for a higher premium price. However, the policy will only activate if the market along with the value of your individual home falls 10% or more, as determined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index, and then you only get back either the amount of equity you lost, or the actual down payment, up to $200,000.

Joe Melendez ValueInsured chief executive said that the aim of this product is to promote the housing market to millennials, renters and parents by attempting to ensure that their down payment is protected. This product is not for everyone. If you’re buying a home that you will live in for 30 years, don’t buy this product.

Debt cancellation or debt suspension agreements

A study published by Bankrate.com says that 37% of Americans have credit card debt greater than or equal to their emergency savings, meaning a steep medical bill, a car accident or other unexpected expense could push them over a budgetary cliff. Some credit card companies are offering insurance against being unable to come up with monthly payments.

This insurance that are offered by credit card companies is designed to pay your minimum balance for a period of time if you lose your job or are incapacitated or unable to work, either in the form of Debt Cancellation Contracts (DCC) or Debt Suspension Agreements (DSA). Other instances where the credit card companies can either cancel or suspend your monthly payment include divorce, military deployment or a natural disaster. If you die, the credit card company may pay off your entire balance, with other companies offering only up to a certain balance, such as $10,000.

The credit card companies say this helps protect a consumer’s FICO score, which otherwise would drop if the cardholder can't pay their dues.  While some credit card companies charged a flat fee of $19.99 a month for insurance coverage, others charged between 85 cents and $1.35 per every $100 of the outstanding balance and a national median fee of 89 cents per each $100 in the balance.

The GAO report noted that of the $2.4 billion collected in 2009, just $513 million went to consumers, while $1.3 billion went into the pocket of the credit card companies in the form of earnings once reserves of $574 million were set up.

Clearly these credit card insurances is a bad deal for consumers since if you lose your job you can apply for unemployment benefits immediately.

Home warranty insurance

This insurance covers existing appliances, regardless of age, make or model that are already in the house not just those newly purchased or replaced. Some insurance companies promise total coverage of all appliances and components in the house, like air condiotner, hot water heater, or a furnace for as little as $59 a month. However, most of this plan have deductibles like many other insurance products about $75 to $125 for those offered by American Home Shield. And the repairman that will do the work will get the minimum amount of work since the insurance company wants to limit the costs. Repairman ussually accept this kind of calls when things are slow.

Child insurance

Insurance plan like the Gerber Grow Up Plan and the Gerber Life College Plan are purchased by parents and grandparents when the baby is born and the premiums are really low while the cash value benefits are guaranteed.

The Gerber Life College Plan (endowment insurance policy) will give the policy holder a lump-sum payment at the end of the term which is about 18 to 21 years. It can be used for college, or used to fund an adult insurance coverage plan as long as premiums are getting paid. The company said its advantage is that the life coverage can continue automatically into adulthood without fear of cancellation. However distributions from the endowment insurance policies are often taxed, unlike the distributions of a 529 college savings plan or an education savings account.

Body parts

Most athletes and celebrities do this, they insured body parts, J. Lo insured her butt for $27 Million, Julia Roberts insured her smile for $30 Million, retired Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu insured his flowing locks for $1 million, and Holly Madison insured her breasts for $1 million.

These policies are just designed to be get attention by the celebrities’ publicists, so unless you’re a celebrity or an athlete or their agent you can safely pass on this one.

Southport Lane Management Insurance Empire Collapse

Southport Lane Management boast 2 insurance carriers, 2 offshore reinsurers, some buildings and other insurers’ investments however this empire was built on questionable assets and is now being dismantled. This event has raised some questions about state regulators which failed to detect potential problems of the company and the flow of new money into the insurance business.

Alexander Chatfield is a young private-equity investor in his mid-20s, state regulators approved his request to purchase two insurance companies in 2013 even though he had limited industry experience. Then after a few months regulators seized both companies because of concerns about the companies finances, exposing the flaws in how states screen prospective buyers.

Chatfield, 28 founded the private equity firm Southport Lane Management LLC in 2010, and he bought insurance carriers including workers’ compensation writer Dallas National in Texas and personal lines writer Imperial Fire & Casualty in Louisiana. Southport transferred Dallas National to Delaware and renamed Freestone, it is currently in the process of liquidation in Delaware while Imperial was seized and sold by Louisiana regulators.

His company also bought Redwood Reinsurance which is based in Cayman Islands reinsurer. Last April it reported it was selling its reinsurance business, Southport Re, to Lennox Investments.

It is alleged that Burns switched millions in stocks and bonds from the companies into a personal account and replaced those investments with non-publicly traded or valueless assets, worthless, and in some cases non-existent which include a Caravaggio painting of uncertain authenticity.

It was reported that Mr. Burns checked into a mental-health ward at New York’s Bellevue Hospital a year ago he also resigned from Southport Lane. 

Jobless applications In the US jump to 300,000

Americans are feeling the heat as the number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits jump last week to above 300,000, the highest in almost three months.

The Labor Department on a report last Wednesday said the weekly applications went up by 21,000 to 313,000. Making it the highest level since the beginning of September. Using a four-week average which is a less volatile indicator, it went up by 6,250 to 294,000.

This increase will not cause any concerns about the overall status of the job market. Some of it were due to seasonal layoffs in business sectors that are affected by cold weather like construction. Claims were under 300,000 for 10 weeks consecutively, which is not the normal level this shows that companies are laying off less workers.

The jobless rate fell to 5.8%, this is the lowest in 6 years, down from 7.2% last year.

Homeowners who don't have Hurricane Insurance Will have a Tremendous Headache

Homeowners don't have Hurricane Insurance and sustained damaged in their homes due to Tropical Storm Iselle which hit Hawaii will have to dig deep in their pockets to shoulder the repairs. Even if they have homeowner’s policy. Since you cannot purchase hurricane insurance once a hurricane watch or warning is announced. Also, homeowner’s insurance policy does not cover storm damage even if the hurricane status was downgraded to a tropical storm once it reached land. So that means, even if the hurricane is reclassified to a tropical storm three days before landfall, your homeowner’s insurance will not cover the damages sustained.

Check out the full news here: http://khon2.com/2014/08/18/storm-ravaged-homeowners-without-hurricane-insurance-out-of-luck/

Need Auto Insurance? Go to Comparenow.com to compare prices

Value for money is our ultimate goal, and every cents counts. If you can get the same topnotch service for less price you will definitely grab it. All insurance company promise that they offer the lowest price and that you can save money on your car insurance if you buy their insurance. How can you know for sure if you don't compare it with other insurance company. Going to one Insurance company website to another will take so much time since there are about 400 insurance companies in the US.

You can use Comparenow.com to get an instant auto insurance quote for your car by signing up for a free account and entering the basic information that insurance providers need to calculate their coverage costs.

Comparenow.com can help you search for the car insurance that will really saves you money. All you have to do is go to their website, enter your zipcode and click on "Start Comparing". It will then ask you for information about the car and how you use it. Then it will ask you for your address, and other information. Then it will ask you about the car's current coverage. Then after that it will ask you to create a log in using your email address.

Once you have an account you will be asked to Select the package that best meets your coverage needs and then they wil retrieve your quote. Your coverages can be customized by clicking on the "Customize Coverages" link. Then it will ask you to wait for 30 seconds as they retrieve your quote.

The great thing about Comparenow.com, you can get the insurance that will give you the most value for your money. However, please do note that most of the time the insurance companies  cannot offer a quote immediately since they need more time to process your information. What will happen is that they will email you your quotes.

Comparenow is doing what other online price comparison websites like Priceline.com is doing, get shoppers that wants value for their money.

Comparenow is owned by Admiral Group PLC, which is a British insurance company they also owns Henrico-based auto insurer Elephant Insurance Services LLC.

Other price comparison websites for car insurance is AutoInsurance.com which has partnered with Walmart.

Highest and Lowest Insurance for 2014 Vehicle Model

Insure.com has released the survey for the highest and lowest insurance rates for the 2014 model cars. They use information from the 6 leading insurance companies in all 50 states.

Jeep Wrangler Sport topped the cheapest 2014 models to insure at $1,080 annually while the Nissan GT-R Track Edition is the priciest 2014 model to insure at $3,169.

By states, the highest average insurance rates are Michigan which is number 1 then followed by West Virginia, Georgia, Washington, D.C. and Rhode Island. While the five states with the cheapest average rates is headed by Ohio followed by Maine, New Hampshire, Idaho and Iowa.

Cheapest 2014 models to insure:

1. Jeep Wrangler Sport - $1,080
2. Honda Odyssey LX  - $1,103
3. Jeep Patriot Sport - $1,104
4. Honda CR-V LX - $1,115
5. Jeep Compass Sport - $1,140
6. Chrysler Town & Country Touring - $1,140
7. Subaru Outback 2.5i - $1,144
8. Dodge Journey SE - $1,149
9. Honda Odyssey EX - $1,149
10. Dodge Grand Caravan SE - $1,158

Priciest 2014 models to insure:

1. Nissan GT-R Track Edition - $3,169
2. BMW M6 - $3,065
3. Mercedes-Benz CL550 4Matic AWD - $3,019
4. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT - $2,986
5. Porsche Panamera Turbo S - $2,970
6. Audi R8 5.2 Spyder Quattro - $2,917
7. Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG - $2,887
8. Audi A8 L 6.3 Quattro - $2,869
9. Jaguar XKR Supercharged - $2,854
10. Jaguar XK - $2,610

10 States with the Lowest average auto insurance rates:

1. Ohio ($926)
2. Maine ($964)
3. New Hampshire (963)
4. Idaho ($1,053)
5. Iowa ($1,058)
6. North Carolina ($1,060)
7. Wisconsin ($1,087)
8. Virginia ($1,114)
9. Vermont ($1,149)
10. New York ($1,173)

Source: Insure.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014

Let us all Welcome 2014

With a Bright Smile and Happiness

Share Good deeds to everyone

Happy New Year to all of you!

Merry Christmas To All!

Christmas season is the time for Peace and love
I wish you a peaceful Christmas
Filled with love and joy
Merry Christmas To you

Infographics on Why Others Can't Keep Their Old Insurance Plans

Check out the Infographics done by NYTimes, which explains why some people can't keep their insurance plans. It is very detailed and easy to comprehend. President Barrack Obama promised that people can keep their old insurance plan under the Obamacare, however the truth is most need to buy a new plan.

U.S. Companies that Offers Pet Insurance as Benefits

Some U.S. Companies now offer pet insurance as a benefit to their employees. Fortune 500 companies that offer pet insurance as a benefit are Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Amazon (AMZN), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Ford Motor (F). Others companies are Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and Staples (SPLS).

Chipotle began offering the benefit in 2002. Covering one pet costs $10 to $57 a month, depending on coverage plans and deductible. But only about 100 of the eatery chain's 3,000 eligible employees get the insurance because its mostly younger employees have other financial priorities.