It is important that a military service member take full advantage of the retirement benefits that are offered. The amount of benefits available can vary depending on the number of years a member serves with the military. Fortunately, the military is unique in the sense that retirement benefits can be activated at any age, meaning that there is no tenure requirement to begin receiving them. Stretching military retiree benefits and taking full advantage of what is provided is vital. Military retirees want to insure that they are able to provide a comfortable lifestyle for their family and dependents. The military retirement compensation is an actual pension system. Given that economic conditions can play a significant role in value of financial compensation, the military recognizes a cost-of-living adjustment to protect retirement compensation from inflationary increases. In addition, the consumer price index is factored into the actual amount that a military retiree receives under the compensation system. The date at which one entered the military can also affect the compensation that is available. The three types of payment programs offered include Final Pay, High 36, and Career Status Bonus. The National Defense Authorization Act, which is enacted each year, recognizes the changes that need to be made to the retirement compensation packages. Moreover, one of the additional benefits available for retirees is the TRICARE for life program, which helps military retirees retain some of health benefits that were available during active duty. It should be noted that a monthly premium must be paid in order for one to receive medical coverage under TRICARE. Evidently, the retirement benefits that the military provides, both financial and non-financial, are known to be extremely appealing, which is why a retiree needs to be fully aware of all of the benefits available.
State Requirements
- Bodily Injury Liability: $10,000/$20,000 Limit
- Property Damage Liability (PDL): $10,000 Limit
Florida is a no-fault state meaning that your auto insurance company will pay for damages and medical costs from auto accidents no matter of who’s at fault. Since neither party is found to be at fault, you wind up losing a few of your legal rights to sue under a no-fault system. Specific details of a no-fault system vary from state to state.
Personal Injurty Protection in your insurance policy assists in paying for “reasonable and necessary” medical/hospital costs for you and any passengers involved in the auto accident. In the state of Florida, all drivers are required to cover PIP auto insurance policy of $10,000 to compensate one person caught up in the auto accident and $20,000 for everyone involved in the accident.
To remain financially protected on the chance that you are involved in an auto accident with someone who either does not currently have an auto insurance policy or doesn’t have sufficient insurance to cover related damages, you should look at adding Uninsured Motorist auto insurance policy to your Florida auto insurance policy policy. This type of insurance is elective, but can help decrease expenses if you are in an accident with an uninsured and/or underinsured motorist.
The average auto insurance rate for Florida residents was $1,104 in 2003; the United States usual was $914. Some residents incorrectly think Florida and auto insurers determine the rates they pay, so they don’t shop around for lower rates. Auto insurers segment their rates differently so an individual’s rate will be different with each company. Shopping around can assist you find more affordable insurance. Insurance quote websites help you obtain the cheap prices available in Florida, so average Floridians can get a lower-than-usual low rate on their insurance.
In 2007, usual rates saw their first decrease in about 8 years. In that year, mean premiums lessened by approximately .5% to 1%. However, the next year in 2008, insurance were again going up and continued to do so through the start of 2009. Auto insurance comparison sites know that the best way to save money is to comparison shop. They bring competition straight to the consumer and decrease your premiums through the web! Utilizing the internet can help you look into if you’re paying too much for insurance and if you can obtain deals.
It’s easy to neglect health insurance policies when planning a college career. Most students are more often than not at an age where the need for a health insurance policy is the very last thing on their mind. Teenagers are wont to believe that they are immortal and that they can never suffer from an illness. However, no matter how healthy an individual is, it is no guarantee of their future health. A health insurance policy isn’t only for the comfortably off, it is an essential.
Those fortunate to be covered by their parent’s policy are more often than not covered up to they are twenty three. For the individual who doesn’t have cover under a parent’s insurance policy, researching an appropriate student health insurance plan has to be an essential part of budgeting for school.
What should a student look out for in medical insurance for college students? What is your deductible? A deductible is essentially a yearly payment made before the health benefits commence, the same as an auto deductible. An example is, if your deductible is 500 dollars, you must to pay that amount prior to claiming benefits connected with your policy. So what is meant by the term co-pay? When the deductible is met, nearly all plans require you to contribute a percentage of the bill of each trip to the physician, medication or procedure. This, in a nutshell, is co-pay.
What should your insurance extend to? Many insurance policies include Health Maintenance Organization and Partnership for Prescription Assistance. Basically this can mean particular physicians may be omitted from your authorized medical professionals or not be covered under your medical insurance policy. A directory of approved health providers are provided with your insurance policy, so make sure you take that into consideration when you are selecting medical insurance.
What is catastrophic coverage? Limitations are frequent in college student health insurance policies as far as critical illnesses, and for most health insurance policies for students, it is ordinarily lower than a regular insurance policy. Restrictions: Restrictions are commonplace in many college student health insurance. It is essential to study your insurance policy thoroughly to discover what is and isn’t covered. Keep any insurance cards close to hand everywhere you travel. Illnesses are not only not possible to plan for, but they are regrettably likely to happen when least expected. Familiarize yourself with the particulars unique to your college health insurance policy, whether through your parents or with your own selection of insurance.
As car insurance premiums keep increasing, intelligent auto owners are looking for discounted auto insurance quotes. There are many assorted types of price reductions available and if you can save some money, then why not? Below is a list of general price reductions that may be available to you. Check with your insurance provider to see if you’re eligible.
Individual-Related Deductions
Person-related discounts are ones that depend on the driver’s own personal situation, status and driving record.
Car-Related Price Reductions
Your car is a huge factor in ascertaining how much you’ll be paying for automobile insurance. Depending on the overall safety and other features of your car, you can receive certain discounts on car insurance.
- Car Air Bags. There are several types of airbags: front, rear, side-curtain, etc. The greater you’re protected, the cheaper your car insurance could be.
- Anti-Lock Brakes System (ABS). Some states require that car insurance firms give price reductions to policy owners whose automobiles are equipped with ABS.
Anti-Theft Devices. Installation of anti-theft devices like LowJack is a way to get automobile insurance discounts. There may be an added bonus if the alarm that you installed automatically turns itself on when you turn the car’s engine off.
Public Liability or Employers Liability is currently if you yourself want to run an exceptional corporate enterprise an astonishingly brilliant insurance type to take out it is not a legal must but it does make tremendous company sense. If members of the community and clientele come to your company’s premises or you go to theirs, one should know about taking out public liability insurance. This sort of insurance policy will protect one hundred & one distinct things inc. any awards and damages given to a member of the community because of injury or damage to there own house & themselves. There can be found loads of discrete conditions, exclusions and guarantees that will be applied to public liability rules It is so principal that you yourself discuss this with your own insurance policy consultant any that are applicable to your policy. Look here Public Liability Insurance to find everything you need to know Insured Risks are one of the foremost companies to go with for Public Liability Insurance. They offer it at a very reasonable price and they will advice you and your own corporate enterprise on the correct insurance policy package to take out and make sure that it is 1 suitable for you. Insured Risks community Liability Insurance is available for over 100 different professional and trade occupations and is specially designed to protect individual tradesmen, professionals and small businesses up to a total of 10 people with & without limited company status. The deal with you choose and are advised on is available on three different steps. ?1m. ?2m and ?5m. For information on community and Employers Liability, Commercial Vehicle or Professional Indemnity Insurance, check out their website www.insuredrisks.co.uk and find out everything you could possibly want to know. It is also possible to get an online quote with them as well.
Most people understand that they need auto insurance. In fact, it’s the law, if you drive a car, it has to be insured and the penalty for driving without insurance is pretty severe. However, insurance policy wordings are not easy for everyone to understand. And what you don’t know about auto insurance can hurt you. Here’s some clarification of a few things that are commonly misunderstood about auto insurance.
• Personal property in your vehicle is not covered on an auto insurance policy. Auto insurance policies provide coverage for automobiles. For instance, items like compact discs, laptop computers and cell phones are not covered on an auto insurance policy. Items like these can be covered on a property insurance policy. What this means is that if the contents of your car, like the items listed above, are damaged in an accident or lost by fire or theft while in your car, you’ll need to file a claim for your contents on your property insurance policy.
• If you loan your car, you’ve also loaned your insurance. If your friend is involved in an accident while driving a car borrowed from you, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is, your insurance company will most likely cover the accident (except in extenuating circumstances like if the driver isn’t licensed, or was impaired at the time of the accident, then coverage can be denied or limited). The bad news is, your insurance company treats the accident as if you were driving your car. This means that the accident your friend had while driving your car, is on your insurance record. It’s as if you were driving the car yourself. Best advice, don’t loan your car out.
• When you change insurance companies, you MUST officially cancel your old policy. With most insurance companies, you can request the cancellation of your policy at any time by notifying them in writing stating the date you wish your policy to be cancelled. So many people misunderstand this and presume that if they decide not to renew a policy, all they have to do is ignore the bill. DON’T DO THIS! Unfortunately, the insurance companies most times will send you another bill and then when the premium isn’t paid, they will register a cancellation due to non-payment of premiums on your insurance record. Having a non-payment cancellation on your insurance record is serious stuff and getting this straightened out after the fact can be a real hassle. What you’ll want to do when you change insurance companies, is request cancellation of your old policy in writing. Make sure you watch the dates (the date you’re canceling one policy and starting another policy) so that you have continuous coverage while making the change between insurance companies. You don’t want to be without auto insurance for a day or so while you make arrangements for new insurance.
The best advice on any of these things if you’re not sure is to contact your broker and ask for their advice. Doing this will ensure that you have the coverage you need when you need it the most and it could save you a head ache or two down the road.
Liane Wood is a chartered insurance professional and registered insurance broker specializing in personal and small business insurance. Visit her website at: http://www.insurance-rates.ca.
According to the latest research from Halifax Home Insurance claims, £390 million a year is lost in Britain due to the theft of mobile phones. With the average handset costing more than £100, it is perhaps not surprising that there are more than 2 million stolen in the UK every year.
This level of phone theft accounts for one in ten crimes in London alone, and equates to one theft across the country every 12 seconds, with an average insurance claim of £300 per stolen handset. Lancaster wins the prize for the number of mobile phone thefts however, followed by Wirral, Chester and Coventry. Although the figures are on the increase, this fortunately does not come up to the levels seen in Karachi, in Pakistan, where 17,021 handsets were reported stolen during the first four months of 2006 (an average of about 141 handsets swiped every day), in the one city alone.
The recent study highlighted that UK cases of “phone-jacking” are on the increase - where a thief grabs the victim’s mobile phone right out their grasp whilst they walk and talk using the device. Vicky Emmott from Halifax Home Insurance commented: “Mobile phones are constantly getting lighter and more compact which makes them easier for opportunistic thieves to swipe. Phone users should avoid walking and talking and keep their mobiles out of sight whenever possible.”
Schools on Merseyside are being urged to ban the use of mobile phone among school kids, following crime statistics the from Merseyside Police which suggests that overt mobile phone use can attract potential thieves and increase the risk of personal injury during a theft.
While personal belongings insurance will not provide protection against calls made by thieves on a mobile phone after the theft of the unit, at least a replacement handset will be covered, and with the number of phones which are damaged or lost every year, the idea of insuring your handset can make a lot of sense.
Unfortunately a specific phone insurance policy can cost up to £9.18 per month (source: Car Warehouse Complete) which could put off many owners, however, it is worth checking out phone companies like dialaphone who often provide free cover periods, as well as comparing home contents insurance policies to see whether the mobile might already be covered, in order to avoid paying twice. It is also worth checking with some of the credit card companies such as Barclaycard who offer mobile phone insurance cover combined with additional extended protection cover with their “Everyday Cover” for £5.99 per month.
There is even a specialist mobile phone insurance company CUSC (cusc.co.uk) which was set up 20 years ago specifically to provide mobile phone insurance to end users, covering loss, theft, accidental damage and call abuse.
However, while insurance can provide financial cover for the physical loss of a phone, Vicky Emmott advises, “New technology means that many of us use phones for more than just calls and text messaging. Mobile owners should make sure that all contact numbers, diary entries, pictures, down-loads and ring-tones are backed-up and saved elsewhere if they don’t want to risk losing them completely.”
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In this time of uncertainty, we never know what will happen next. Whether we are riding in the most luxurious of vehicles or driving in the cheapest car there is, it doesn’t matter; we are not exempted from the uncertainties and risks of life. Accidents may happen anywhere at any time and in usually in an unpredictable manner. We are not in control of these kinds of circumstances. All we can do is to protect ourselves from these risks.
Car manufacturers, in order to solve these problems, put additional parts in cars to enhance their safety components. They put seatbelts and air bags to protect the driver and the passengers. They also make the body of cars durable enough to withstand collisions. Car manufacturers usually put every car through several tests to determine how it will react to collisions, before putting it in the market to insure its durability.
Even with these safety measures performed by car manufacturers, accidents still happen. Most accidents are caused by reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcoholic drinks. On the average, a motor vehicle crashes every 5 seconds, a person is injured in an accident every 11 seconds and a fatal injury occurs every 12 minutes. These statistics are convincing evidence of why auto insurance coverage is so necessary.
Drivers are not the only reason why accidents occur. Sometimes, the cars that drivers use can also be the major cause of an accident. Passenger cars and light trucks accounted for nearly 95% of the 11 million vehicles involved in motor vehicle crashes in 2004. Large trucks accounted for only 15 % of the vehicle accident. Regardless of the severity of the crashes, the majority of the accidents occurred during daylight, in normal weather conditions, while driving on a straight roadway. This pattern shows that no one can say that he/she is safe riding in any type of vehicle.
As stated, accidents do happen, but you can avoid them by following simple safety measure, include the wearing of seat belts and the following of simple traffic rules such as paying attention to speed limits and being cautious of your surroundings. Having car insurance is also advisable for your protection. This will serve as a protection for you and your family. It does not protect you physically in the same way that seat belts and air bags or helmets do, but it can protect you and your family financially.
Most countries like United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand make it compulsory for drivers to get their own coverage. In most countries in Asia, a driver cannot renew his license without getting covered.
A useful tool to find more information about car insurance can be found at
www.1carinsurance.org.
Clive Green is a writer with expertise in the fields of self-improvement and finance. http://www.1carinsurance.org
If you live in the Commonwealth of Virginia and are looking for low cost health insurance, you and/or your children may be eligible for coverage under one or more of the three FAMIS health plans sponsored by the Commonwealth.
The three FAMIS (Families Access to Medical Insurance Security) plans are as follows:
FAMIS - The Children’s Health Insurance Program: This program for children covers services such as:
doctor visits
Well-baby checkups
Hospital visits
Vaccinations
Prescription medicine
Tests and x rays
Dental care
Emergency care
Vision care
Mental health care
FAMIS - Moms: This program provides health care for pregnant women up to two months after the pregnancy.
Smiles for Children: This program provides diagnostic, preventive, restorative/surgical procedures and orthodontics (Basically the same coverage as provided through Medicaid) Since this program is primarily for children, it provides limited necessary diagnostic/oral surgery services for adults (emergency only)
The beauty of this program is that the co-payments are only $2.00 or $5.00. Regular check-ups are free and there are no monthly premiums or enrollment costs. With Smiles for Children, there are no co-payments or cost for dental services. However, you must use dental providers that are within the network.
To qualify for any of the FAMIS programs the applicant must be a US citizen under 19 (for the Children’s program), live in Virginia and not covered by another plan. You must not have had insurance for 4 months and are not eligible for Medicaid. There are also income requirements. For example, the gross income for a family of 4 must not exceed $40,000 annually. The FAMIS website (www.famis.org ) has a family income calculator in which potential insureds may check their income to see if they qualify.
The Commonwealth of Virginia realizes that quality medical care is important, and has successfully provided a low cost health insurance program for their low income residents.
View our Recommended Health Insurance Company This site is simple and easy to fill out a quote and has a lot of great info about Home Insurance and Car Insurance Quotes.
Recently, I was treated to one of life’s unpleasant surprises - a letter from the service company managing my “retirement” plan, telling me that the cost of my health insurance premium next year would be more than double what I paid last year. Now, the premium wasn’t exactly cheap to begin with, but this is ridiculous; and I don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the cost of my health insurance is just going to keep getting worse, as we baby boomers start moving through the last stages of our lives.
Forget the long term political issue of how we’re going to fund Medicare; this is a problem that affects me and it’s going to affect you, as well. Using a Health Savings Account (HSA) to fund your medical expenses may not be the best approach for everyone - but, everyone should at least consider using one. The availability and cost of health care is always listed as the number one problem that small businesses have today. An HSA can be used by an individual operating as an independent contractor to cover personal health care needs, or by a small business to provide at least some health coverage for its employees. So, this will highlight how HSA’s work and touch on an example of how the math might benefit you.
Health Savings Accounts are similar in many ways to 401k’s and IRA’s - they allow you to set aside funds on a tax deferred basis, have a few restrictions on how they can be used, and must be administered by an IRS approved trustee (usually a bank, insurance company, mutual fund, etc.). They must be used in combination with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP); generally speaking, the money you sock away in an HSA is first used to fund your medical expenses, with the HDHP kicking in to cover medical expenses above the high deductible threshold.
Here are some specifics. As mentioned above, you must first purchase an HDHP, with a minimum deductible of at least $1,050 ($2,100 for a family) and a maximum deductible of $5,250 ($10,500 for a family). The purpose, obviously, is to make certain that a safety valve is in place to cover extraordinary medical costs in any single year and you won’t be able to open the HSA without one. Then you set up the HSA with a financial institution, basically the same way that you would open an IRA. In 2006 you can contribute the lesser of the amount of the deductible on your HDHP, or $2,700 for an individual, $5450 for a family; these amounts are tax deferred - you can deduct the contributions from taxable income on your return. So, here’s the first benefit - the government is now paying a portion of your medical expenses.
You make withdrawals from the HSA to pay your medical expenses as you incur them. If those medical expenses exceed the deductible on your HDHP, it will then start picking up your medical expenses according to whatever provision you have in the policy. However, if you have funds left over in your HSA at the end of the year, they roll forward (remain in the account) and can be used in future years to cover medical expenses that you incur then. In other words, if your family had opened an HSA with $5,450 in year one and incurred only $3,000 in medical expenses during that year, $2,450 would remain in the account to be used in subsequent years (in addition to contributions in those years). This is the second benefit of an HSA - there is no “use it, or lose it” provision in these accounts; if you and your family are healthy, they provide a great means of building up a reserve against extraordinary medical expenses in the future. The third benefit of an HSA is that income earned in the account is also tax deferred – again, just like an IRA.
Withdrawals from an HSA are not taxable, as long as they are used to cover medical expenses, but they cannot be used to pay the HDHP premium, unless you are unemployed. If withdrawals are used for non-medical purposes, they are not only taxed, you also have to pay a 10% penalty on the funds!
There are a few age issues that should affect your thinking on these accounts. You must be under 65 to make contributions to an HSA; if you’re 65, or older, you are eligible for Medicare and cannot participate in an HSA. However, if your age is between 56 and 64, you can contribute an additional tax deferred “catch-up” amount of $700 in 2006 (going up incrementally to $1,000 in 2009) to the HSA. If you have an HSA when you turn 65, it converts to an IRA, but withdrawals are still not taxed, if they are used for medical expenses. Finally, some experts adhere to the idea that these accounts are not as good for older workers; one of the benefits of an HSA is to build up the account balance to use for future medical expenses as you get older and, obviously, the older you are when you start the account, the less time you have to accomplish that.
Small businesses can use HSA’s to provide some basic medical coverage for their employees. The employee still has to get an HDHP to participate, but both employers and employees can contribute to the account on a tax deferred basis. With an HSA, if the employee leaves the company, he’s entitled to take the account with him. The major downside of providing HSA’s to employees, is probably that the company has no control over how employees actually use the money. If they decide to use the money to buy a new car, or go on a vacation, they will have to pay taxes and the penalty on the withdrawal, but the company has very limited legal recourse to stop them from doing it. If that’s money that your business contributed, it’s clearly not doing what was intended.
When you compare an HSA with traditional health insurance plans, the math will depend on individual circumstances, but it can be compelling for some people. Let’s assume you’re forty years old, paying $1,000 a month for health insurance and another $2,000 a year in deductibles and co-pays, for total annual after tax expenditures of $14,000. Alternatively, you purchase a $5,000 deductible HDHP for $500 a month, put $5,000 in an HSA, and incur $3,000 in out of pocket medical expenses. Here you’ve incurred total out of pocket medical expenses of $9,000 ($6,000 for the HDHP and $3,000 in other expenses), less the tax deduction on the $5,000 in the HSA. You also have $2,000 in tax deferred funds that is carried forward to use in future years.
The math obviously doesn’t work this well in every case and each of us has to look at our own particular circumstances. The point here is not that HSA’s are a great deal for everyone - they are not. If your medical expenses go up every year, shame on someone else, or shame on the system. But, if you throw money away, because you didn’t “have the time” to investigate whether or not an HSA would have helped, shame on you!
Jim Deyo is the President of Business Advisor Online, an internet based service that provides small businesses with the ideas they need to grow and the resources they require to make the right decisions. As a former Sr. Vice President with a major banking institution, Jim worked extensively with small and medium sized companies and has over 30 years experience in commercial and consumer lending, accounting, finance, marketing, and strategic planning. Visit the website at http://www.businessadvisoronline.com and sign up for a six week free trial of the service, or e-mail Jim at jimdeyo@businessadvisoronline.com.
