My finance tips

Archive for June, 2009

Health Insurance – Comparing Health Insurance Plans

Health insurance coverage can be very confusing. The majority of Americans are able to get some sort of group health coverage through their employer which makes the process very simple. Do you want the coverage or not? Yes I want the coverage. But for the rest of us we have to search fill out forms compare 20 companies compare 100′s of plans and get extremely disgusted with the process. Do you really know what youre comparing? Here’s some help.

Comparing Health Insurance companies. Look for companies you know. There are 100′s of flybynight companies out there trying to rip people off. Companies like Blue Cross Aetna and Humana have been around for many years and will be around when you need them.

Comparing Health Insurance plans. Do you know the difference between PPO preferred provider organization HMO health maintenance organization. A PPO is a network of doctors that accept a particular insurance plan. With a PPO you have innetwork and outofnetwork benefits. Basically you have better cover innetwork. You can see any doctor innetwork at any time without needing a referral. On the other hand with an HMO you will need a referral to see any other doctor than your primary physician. Conclusion you have better control of your healthcare with a PPO plan. Also there are not very many HMO’s left. Most companies only offer PPO plans.

Comparing Health Insurance benefits. Deductible doctor copay coinsurance prescription copay there are a lot of different options. This is the simplest way to explain it. When you go to the doctor you pay your doctor’s office copay. This is the same for prescriptions. Any services done outside of the doctors office like lab work xray and outpatient surgery are not covered under the copay. Your deductible is per member per year. So everything that is not covered by the copay you will pay outofpocket until you meet your deductible. Then you pay your coinsurance usually 2030. Once you meet your coinsurance maximum the company will pay 100. Your coinsurance maximum is usually 3 times your deductible.

It sounds like you are not get very much benefit form the insurance but you have to remember what insurance is really intended to do. Insurance is intended to protect you in the event of a catastrophe from losing your life savings or filing for bankruptcy.

My personal advice is and this is what I tell my clients…Get a health insurance policy that you can comfortably afford. If you are in good health and never go to the doctor get a higher deductible plan with limited doctor’s office benefit. If you are in poor health or you have a young child that goes to the doctor often get a plan with a lower deductible and better doctor’s office benefit. Sound like common sense right? Well it is. You need health insurance coverage so get something you can afford and trust.

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About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Texas Independent Agent since 1995. Owner of
Texas Insurance Place and
The Insurance Place.
Specializing in Auto Home Business Health Life Insurance.

Discover How You Can Put Money To Work For You And Build A Financial Fortress

What really is money? How much do you understand about money?

In the old days people exchanged goods a process known as barter trade. You would come to the market place with you cow and exchange it for two bags of corn or whatever you needed that was worth your cow. There was no credit card check or green bucks.

Some items we more valuable than others. For example one horse would fetch 4 bags of corn while a donkey would fetch half a bag.

For one to be wealthy you had to accumulate the items that are valuable. Supposing you required horses. You would sacrifice yourself feeding them well ensuring diseases are kept away and have them clean and healthy. That way their market value would be high.

This same analogy applies in todays life. What you bring to the marketplace determines how much you are worth. Some talents are valued more than others. If you area a comedian and can make people laugh you are more valuable than some boring introvert.

If you have generally a skill that takes long to acquire. You worth is more than a doorman or store clerk. A heart surgeon for instance fetches more than a nurse.

To amass a fortune you have to acquire a skill or talent that is highly valued and pays handsomely. You would have to have managerial skills leadership traits entrepreneurship abilities sporting talent even speaking abilities. If you carefully search you will know which skills pay more than others in you economy.

I can tell you on thing none pays more than entrepreneurship.

All these skills can be leant and acquired. That is why all rich people are constantly learning. They read a lot and continuously improve themselves. Most have huge libraries. Whatever ability they do not have they pay any price to acquire it.

Once you have acquired a money making skill you must know the secrets of money. You must practice the bathroom theory. You must ensure that whatever money that comes in you must retain part of it. Otherwise you will go broke. You see this with celebrities all the time.

For you to have a fortress one more thing is needed. You must understand money thoroughly. Treat money with care and caution. Money goes to those who work value it and respect it. Those who can do worthwhile things with it. It will runs away from those who show disrespect and are careless.

If you are seeking money for worthwhile causes then you should have no limits. Believe in your self and every door will open. You can acquire any amount you think of. Never shy away from riches as some people do.

By practicing this timeless wisdom you will slowly and steadily start to build a financial portfolio. The more you understand and respect money the more and faster you accumulate it. A study of any billionaire will show this to be true.

It may take you seven years to make you first million but the second one will probably take under a year. Thereafter they start rolling one after the other.

James Abugah is an online entrepreneur http://www.moneyandsuccessonline.com/

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;James Abugah is a versatile writer entrepreneur and consultant.http://www.moneyandsuccessonline.com

Customers Pay Over The Odds For Payment Protection Insurance

People who take out payment protection insurance for a loan or mortgage are at risk of being grossly overcharged for the privilege of protecting themselves. A report being carried out by the Competition commission said that there is too little competition within the payment protection industry meaning that providers are getting away with charging inflated prices.

In addition consumers seem unaware that they should shop around for the best deal like they would with other financial products. Many people feel that they have to purchase the pay protection insurance PPI offered by the financial institution offering them the loan or mortgage but this is not the case.

The PPI market is worth around 1.4 billion pounds a year which is a huge amount. However this figure is not surprising when you analyse further some of the deals being offered. Stand alone PPI policies are often much cheaper charging around three pounds for every one hundred pounds that is being insured. On the other hand PPI deals attached to loans and mortgages can be as much as twentyeight pounds for every one hundred pounds that they are covering. This is a big difference and clearly what is contributing to the burgeoning industry.

Further to overinflating policy prices some companies are selling PPI to people who do not meet the criteria to make a claim. PPI is taken out primarily to cover the cost of repayments if you are unable to make them yourself due to redundancy or not being able to work because of an accident or illhealth. The conditions surrounding these terms are very tight and it is important that anyone considering taking out PPI reads the small print very carefully so they fully understand what is covered and what is not. In addition customers need to be careful about single premium PPI which is attached onto the loan and therefore attracts interest meaning customers are paying even more for it.

Due to the volume of people contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau regarding concerns about their loan and mortgage repayments and their PPI policies a super complaint has been made to the Office of Fair Trading. This was the time when the Competition Commission became involved and started to carry out their analysis of the market. So far they have been working for 16 months and are due to complete their final report by December. It is expected that a number of recommendations will be made regarding the industry which will help consumers get a better deal and stay protected. One such recommendation is thought to be the introduction of a temporary limit on how much companys can charge for PPI. Another is to make it compulsory for those selling PPI to tell customers that they can shop around for a better deal if they wish to. Lenders may also be forced to include prices of their PPI policies on their advertising. All of these measures should help make the market fairer as well as hopefully encouraging other players to the industry making it more competitive.

About the writer:  Danielle is an author of several articles pertaining to Personal Loans. He is known for his expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles.