Thursday, December 27, 2007

Nevada Home Insurance - When To Be Loyal, When Not To

1. Discounts are usually given to policy holders who stay with an coverage company for three old age and above. The longer the clip you stay with an insurer, the more than the concession.

But make bear in head that the discount you acquire for remaining with the same coverage company could go trivial if you compare it with what you could salvage by switching. Discovering which functions you best is quite easy. You can happen out for certain by getting quotation marks from as many coverage companies as you can and then compare nest egg you'll acquire if you travel to another insurance company with what your current insurance company gives as loyalty discount.

2. If it do sense, purchase more than than one policy from the same insurer. Expect price reductions anywhere from 5% to 15% if you take to buy multiple policies from the same company.

The multi-policy price reduction you acquire could be far less than what you'll acquire by purchasing from different insurers. You can only cognize by getting quotation marks from assorted coverage companies for your policies and then comparing what you'll salvage by purchasing from separate coverage companies with what you'll be given as multi-policy discounts.

You can convey down your place insurance costs by asking for and comparing quotation marks from five or more than good insurance sites.

Don't do the error of assuming that getting quotation marks from just one quotation marks land site is enough. Although you may be lucky and acquire great rates by just visiting one quotation marks site, you'll better your opportunities by getting from many quotation marks sites. There are 100s of companies but the typical quotation marks land site only tax returns them from five or so coverage per request.

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Monday, December 24, 2007

Insurance sector to touch Rs 2,00,000 cr by 2010: Assocham

NEW
DELHI: Riding on the dorsum of new participants and increasing penetration, the
insurance sector is expected to traverse the Rs 2,00,000 crore grade in concern by
2010, a survey by industry organic structure Assocham said on Monday. At present, size of the
insurance sector is estimated at Rs 50,000 crore, which have seen a Compound
Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 175 per cent in the last few years, the
study named 'Insurance in Next Two Years' stated. The coverage sector, both
life and non-life, is likely to turn by over 200 per cent, and private insurers
are expected to accomplish a growing charge per unit of 140 per cent as a consequence of aggressive
marketing technique, it said. The growing of state-owned
insurance companies is likely to be 35-40 per cent. "On business relationship of intense
marketing schemes adopted by private coverage players, the marketplace share of
state-owned insurance companies like GIC, LIC and others have come up down to 70 per
cent in last 4-5 old age from over 97 per cent," Assocham President Venugopal
Dhoot said. The survey said
private coverage companies would further follow aggressive selling techniques. Despite regulation, the private participants are offering 35 per cent charge per unit of return
to its policy holders against 20 per cent by public-sector insurers. This factor is mainly
responsible for a tramp in private coverage marketplace share that volition turn further,
it said.

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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Health Insurance and Their Different Types

Health Insurance is the protection of a people or a grouping against the financial loss owed to the bad wellness or unwellness or injury. Well a large inquiry rises here - How many people cognize about this and how many people have got the wellness insurance?

Seriously like other type of insurances wellness insurance is also a general type of insurance which you don’t need until and unless you NEED it seriously. Health insurance makes not assist you until you get into the trap of the heavy medical bill. But if you believe to be safe in the bad spot of your life then you should see yourself as the suitable campaigner for the wellness insurance.

There are different types of wellness insurance but mainly all the wellness insurance pays a fixed percentage of the disbursals for the policy holders bill. Some of the basic types of wellness insurance are listed below:

The first 1 is Indemnity Plans. This program allows the holder to get the aid whenever and wherever he/she need it. There are no limitations when it come ups to seeking medical aid and there is no limitation on the physician also. You can simply take your ain doctor. But this program is some what expansive than the others.

Next one is Self-insured/Uninsured. People with no insurance, and people who have got wellness insurance but are responsible for paying 100% of the insurance premium.

Along with these two types of insurance there is one more than type of wellness insurance and that is Managed Care Plans. They are again of some different types. In one type policy holder wage a fixed monthly fee, regardless of how much medical care he/she need in a given month. There is one more than type in which a grouping of docs and infirmaries is created which supplies medical services to the policy holder only.

So from all the above you can take which one is best for you and your pocket. It’s inch fact a clip consuming occupation to take which one is better for you. But it is the need of your life so we should not disregard this.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The Top Five Health Insurance Plans

Since competition in terms of wellness insurance is on the rise, it is no wonderment that more than than and more word forms of wellness insurance are being designed. Among these, there are few that are popular and they are briefly described below.

Individual Insurance: Ensuring a individual individually is a common manner of insurance. One may be selective about what s/he desires in a program through this process. Accordingly, one have required insurance premium is calculated, and the insurance program takes effect.

Group Insurance: Another type of insurance is the grouping arrangement. Through this type of insurance, one is compelled to stay by what others are going for, and this is dependent on the insurance providers. They are the 1s that make up one's mind what is practicable to include in a plan, and on that basis, a grouping insurance can take place.

Indemnity Plan: This program allows one to travel to any physician when one needs to; there are no limitations on this, and it is believed to be more than of a traditional plan. One makes not need permission to travel to a peculiar wellness care provider. However, usually what haps is that the member pays 20% of the sum fee for treatment while the insurance supplier pays 80%. In improver to this, there is a time period through which one pays up in this manner, and then the company takes over paying the whole 100%.

HMO: The Health Care Organization is one that allows a member to choose a peculiar physician off the panel. It is these selected docs that volition deal will with members' problems. The selected physician is the 1 that volition be approached for checkups of any kind, and if there are problems with a member that cannot be handled by him or her, the member is referred to specialists.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Pacific Insurance Raises $4.1 Billion in Shanghai IPO (Update2)

China Pacific Ocean Insurance (Group) Co.,
the nation's third-largest insurer, raised 30 billion kwai ($4.1
billion) in its Shanghai initial populace offering, the second-
biggest mainland share sale by a Chinese coverage company.

Pacific Ocean Insurance, 19.9 percentage owned by companies
controlled by finances managed by the Thomas Carlyle Group, sold 1 billion
new shares at 30 kwai each, the top end of a range, according to
a sale document.

Investors are piling into China's IPOs, seeking an escape
from a secondary stock marketplace roiled by concerns about rising
domestic involvement rates and other authorities measurements to cool
growth in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

''Chinese investors still have got a batch of appetency for
insurance stocks, since there will be only three companies traded
domestically,'' said Ke Shifeng, who assists supervise about $5
billion of Greater People'S Republic Of China assets for St Martin Currie Investment
Management in Shanghai. ''The initial public offering marketplace stays red-hot unlike
the secondary market, where there's no longer a pool of easy
money after recent marketplace ups and downs.''

The 22 Chinese domestic IPOs that have got got begun trading since
Nov. One have risen at least 59 percent, whipping an almost 15
percent diminution in the nation's benchmark CSI 300 Index during
the same period, Bloomberg information show.

The initial public offering is the fourth-largest public share sale by an
insurance company worldwide since at least 1999, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg.

Ping River An Sale

People'S Republic Of China have urged its biggest fiscal establishments to sell
stock domestically to broaden the scope of investings available
to mainland citizens. Shenzhen-based Ping An Insurance (Group)
Co., the nation's second-largest insurer, raised $5 billion in
February in the world's greatest stock sale by an insurer. Larger
rival People'S Republic Of China Life Insurance Co., based in Beijing, raised $3.6
billion in December 2006.

Shanghai shares of People'S Republic Of People'S Republic Of China Life and Ping River An have got jumped more
than 50 percentage since trading began as investors flocked to the
only two insurance companies publicly traded in mainland China. The CSI 300
Index more than doubled this year, boosting insurers' investment
income and profits.

Pacific Ocean Insurance, whose gross sales military unit is a 3rd the size of
Luxembourg's population, controls the nation's third-largest life
insurer and second-biggest property and casualty insurance
underwriter.

It commanded 9.5 percentage of China's life coverage gross sales in
the first one-half and 11.6 percentage of non-life policies, according
to a share sale written document published earlier this month. The firm
derived 65 percentage of its coverage premium gross from life insurance in
the first half.

Thomas Carlyle Group Invests

The Carlyle-led foreign investors, including New Jersey-
based Prudential Financial Inc., originally agreed to purchase 25
percent of Pacific Ocean Insurance's life unit of measurement in December 2005 for 3.3
billion yuan. Their investing helped bend the insurer's 1.1
billion kwai loss in 2004 into a 3.8 billion kwai net income in the
first one-half this year.

Pacific Ocean Insurance is selling shares to better its solvency
ratio, an index of the firm's ability to pay out potential
claims, and support ''long-term development,'' it said in the
document. It may come in other fiscal services related to
insurance and insurance-asset management, it added.

The company may sell as many as 900 million more than shares in
Hong Kong at a future day of the month at a terms no less than the Shanghai
stock, it said in the share sale document.

People'S Republic Of People'S Republic Of China International Capital Corp. and UBS AG's China
venture are arranging Pacific Ocean Insurance's sale.

To reach the newsman on this story:
Josephine Lau in Peking at

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

Beware Of 'No Medical Exam Required' Life Insurance Offers

I am certain you have got seen the television commercial messages promising that you can acquire life insurance coverage from as small as $10 a calendar month with no medical exams. These same television offerings also usually claim that you can acquire relatively big policies for amounts of $50,000 or more. Beware, these offerings are not the trades they seem.

First off, you will never be able to acquire the upper limit insurance for the lower limit amount with these offers. The coverage company would travel bankrupt if it offered these low rates for extremely low premiums. Especially, with no medical exam.

The fact is that the low insurance premium amounts will only give you a low policy. And it come ups down to basic economics. People who be given to purchase life coverage without a medical examination are among the riskiest people to be insuring. So for big policies, rates have got to be correspondingly high.

Now you may be wondering why people who purchase no medical life coverage are among the riskiest clients around? The ground this be givens to be true is that people who are already in good or all right wellness will usually travel to the problem of getting a medical examination when they life coverage because they cognize the rates will be lower.

This leaves of absence only people with already bad wellness to purchase no medical life insurance. So, if an coverage company desires to do money from this grouping it have to presume that all people buying these policies statistically stand up a pretty good opportunity of cashing in their claim. This is bad news for the coverage company since they would obviously prefer not have got got to pay out the money.

However, it is also a bad trade for consumers because you stop paying far more than than you really have to. If you are considering purchasing no medical life coverage it is most likely because you don't experience your wellness is as good as it could be. That or you are too lazy to make a medical exam.

In either lawsuit you should acquire a medical examination done anyway. This is good from not only an coverage position but from a life 1 as well. Once you cognize where you stand up in footing of your wellness you can take actions to better it. Remember, it is never to late to make things that better your health.

The easiest is to halt smoke immediately, if you smoke. This 1 action alone could salvage one thousands on coverage and cigarettes. Moreover, it is really just good advice in general. Beyond not smoke you should seek to maintain your weight in check, eat well and exercising regularly.

By doing these things you will hopefully see your wellness better and as a side benefit be able to measure up for less coverage premiums. Also, you won't have got to be afraid of what an coverage wellness bank check may state about your wellness condition.

Finally, one more than manner to salvage on life coverage is to compare coverage company rates from many different companies. Since, you are (presumably) reading this online you can easily happen life coverage quotation marks online. Simply type you question into Google or have got a expression at the land sites listed below. Both volition be able to assist you salvage on all you life coverage needs.

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Pacific Insurance May Raise $4.07 Billion in IPO (Update2)

China Pacific Ocean Insurance (Group) Co.,
the nation's third-largest insurer, may raise as much as 30
billion kwai ($4.07 billion) in the greatest initial public
offering by a Chinese insurer.

The company, 19.9 percentage owned by companies controlled by
funds managed by the Thomas Carlyle Group, is offering 1 billion new
shares at 27 kwai to 30 kwai apiece in the Shanghai offering,
said four people familiar with the sale, who asked not to be
identified before an functionary statement.

The top end of the scope for the sale of a 13 percentage stake
values the Shanghai-based company at as much as $31 billion,
according to Bloomberg computations based on information provided
in a share sale document.

Pacific Ocean Insurance follows bigger peers, People'S Republic Of China Life Insurance
Co. and Ping River An Insurance (Group) Co., which sold a concerted $9.1
billion of shares in the metropolis in the past year. People'S Republic Of China have urged
its biggest fiscal establishments to sell shares domestically to
broaden the scope of investings available to mainland citizens.

Shanghai-listed shares of People'S Republic Of People'S Republic Of China Life and Ping River An have got more
than tripled since trading began as investors flocked to the only
two insurance companies listed in mainland China after the benchmark CSI 300
Index nearly tripled in the past year, boosting insurers'
investment income and profits.

'Exaggerating Sentiment'

''In any market, coverage pillory are always multiplying and
exaggerating marketplace sentiment,'' said Gabriel Gondard, who helps
manage about $10 billion as deputy sheriff head investing military officer at
Shanghai-based Luck SGAM Fund Management Co. ''It's not a
surprise that when the marketplace is hot, the coverage pillory are
even hotter.''

The 17.3 percentage interest to be retained by companies
controlled by the Thomas Carlyle finances would be deserving 40 billion yuan,
seven modern times the 5.69 billion kwai it paid. Dorothy Lee, a Hong
Kong-based spokeswoman for Carlyle, declined to comment.

The Carlyle-led foreign investors, combined, are Pacific
Insurance's second-largest shareholder, behind Baosteel Group
Corp., the nation's biggest steelmaker, according to the document.

People'S Republic Of People'S Republic Of China International Capital Corp. and UBS AG's China venture
are arranging Pacific Ocean Insurance's sale.

Liu Li, a Shanghai-based spokeswoman for Pacific Ocean Insurance,
couldn't be reached in her office. Jessie Sun, a CICC spokeswoman
in Beijing, and Chris Cockerill, a UBS spokesman in Hong Kong,
declined to comment.

Record Stock Sales

Pacific Ocean Insurance's initial public offering may crest a record twelvemonth of public
offerings in China. Chinese companies have got sold 439.07 billion
yuan of stock this year, more than than in the former six years
combined, according to information compiled by Bloomberg.

Pacific Ocean Insurance commands the nation's third-largest life
insurer and second-biggest property and casualty insurance
underwriter. It commanded a 9.5 percentage share of China's life
insurance gross sales in the first one-half and an 11.6 percentage share of
non-life policies, the written document said.

It derived 65 percentage of its coverage premium gross from life
insurance in the first half.

The Carlyle-led foreign investors, including New Jersey-
based Prudential Financial Inc., originally agreed to purchase a 25
percent interest in Pacific Ocean Insurance's life unit of measurement in December 2005
for 3.3 billion yuan.

The group, which swapped their interest in the life unit of measurement for a
stake in Pacific Ocean Insurance earlier this year, helped bend the
insurer's 1.1 billion kwai loss in 2004 into a 3.8 billion yuan
profit in the first one-half this year.

Use of Proceeds

Pacific Ocean Insurance is selling shares to better its solvency
ratio, an index of ability to pay out possible claims, and
support ''long-term development,'' it said in the document. It
may come in other fiscal services related to coverage and
insurance-asset management, it added.

It may sell as many as 900 million more than shares in Hong Kong
at a future day of the month at a terms no less than the Shanghai stock, it
said in the document.

At the top of the range, the Shanghai initial public offering will be the
fourth-largest public share sale by an coverage company
worldwide since at least 1999, according to Bloomberg data.

To reach the newsman on this story:
Bei Hu in Hong Kong at .

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Pet Insurance - Get Covered

Vet measures can mount up when it come ups to your furry friend being ill. If you're lucky, you'll be able to pay for each unwellness as it come ups - and it will, especially with an aged pet. But what can you make if you can't afford expensive treatments on an ad-hoc basis?

The reply is favored insurance. When your pet is sick they are taken to the vet, treated, and then you fill up out a claim word form which acquires sent to the coverage company. The company then either reimburses you for the fees you've paid, or pays the veterinarian directly.

Like any insurance, there is normally an surplus to pay, and the amount of this volition be dependent on the type of coverage and the amount you can afford. It's worth comparing coverage with different companies as the surplus required may differ.

Some pet coverage policies promise to pay out if something sudden haps to your pet, such as as death, accident or getting lost or stolen. Some even pay out if your pet is the cause of a auto accident - the policy will cover the cost of amends to any vehicles. This is of import if you allow your pet out regularly as you are apt for any amends caused by your animal. This also uses to livestock.

If you have got a dog, public liability screen is also an of import feature. This volition screen you if your domestic dog harms person - and will pay out any medical measures incurred. It is also deserving having in the worst-case scenario of you getting sued because your domestic dog have done what come ups naturally and bitten the postman. A public liability policy will cover any tribunal costs and compensation in the event of a judgment against you.

If you make up one's mind to take out a pet coverage policy, it's worth remembering that insurance premiums are dropping less than they have got in years, and companies are now in more than competition with each other. Shop around for the best deal, and always read the little print.

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Sunday, December 09, 2007

ULIPS: New-found love of banks

Mumbai: Rich Person you been to a private sector depository financial institution lately? Chances are the first thing they will seek and sell you is a unit of measurement linked coverage program (ULIP). These are coverage policies which baseball club coverage and investment.

The ground behind the involvement in merchandising ULIPS is the fact that they assist Banks do a committee of as high as 20-30 per cent on the premium. "The committee we acquire on merchandising a common monetary fund is between two and 2.5 per cent, on gold coins it is 8 per cent, but on ULIPS the committee is almost 20 per cent. There's no manner we can ran into out gross sales marks by merchandising common funds.

I have got no option but to acquire my squad to force ULIPS all the time," states a Delhi-based subdivision caput of a prima private sector bank.

Industry insiders point out that the state of affairs is not very different in lawsuit of foreign banks. Given the 10 modern times higher commission, you might be sold a ULIP as an investment, which it isn't.

Individuals acquire carried away by the gross sales pitch because they be given to look at human relationship directors as experts. But as Steven Vitamin D Levitt and Sir Leslie Stephen Joule Dubner compose in Freakonomics, A Rogue Economist Explores the Concealed Side of Everything, "…Experts are human, and world react to incentives. How any given expert handles you, therefore, will depend on how that expert's inducements are put up."

Depending on which ULIP you choose, the insurance premium allotment complaint can change from anywhere between 15-71 per cent. This agency the full insurance premium is not invested. If a ULIP have a insurance insurance premium allotment complaint of 25 per cent in the first year, only 75 per cent of the premium is invested.

The mis-selling also stems from the fact that the abrasion charge per unit in private sector Banks is extremely high. "Since people remain with an arrangement for just a few months, even wild claims can be made," states Sadagopan. Industry spectators experience that the coverage regulator have not clamped down difficult adequate on the mis-selling.

But bankers have got a different narrative to tell. "We don't mis-sell. A client necessitates coverage and common finances both sold independently. If the merchandising is need-based, there is no mis-selling" states kilovolts Manian, grouping head, retail liabilities and subdivision banking, Kotak Mahindra. "Though the depository financial institution have the necessary enfranchisement to sell coverage and common fund, we don't let employees who are not certified, to sell," Manian adds.

Another manner through which Banks mis-sell is by telling people that an ULIP is just a three twelvemonth policy, when it is not. ULIPS have got a screen continuation option, which the individual tin choose for at the clip of taking the policy. This option essentially guarantees that even if the individual is not able to go on paying insurance insurance premiums anytime after the first three years' premiums, the policy continues. This have got been turned this into a merchandising point, giving an feeling to people that they have an option to halt paying insurance premiums after three years.

Why is it done? The committee that Banks gain on ULIPS is high in the first two years, and it tapers down after that. So it is in the involvement of the Banks that after three years, the individual bargains a new ULIP so that tin do a higher committee again. An investor who make up one's minds to halt paying insurance insurance premium after three old age hardly benefits; after three years, the disbursals are less and more than of the premium acquires invested.

Some coverage companies are making an attempt to command mis-selling. "We have got seen that even though the policy is for 20 years, agents state that people can stop paying the insurance premium after 3 years. For this, if a client phone calls for a resignation or backdown of policy, we have got a treatment with him to happen the ground behind the surrender," states Deepak Satwalekar, managing manager and chief executive officer of HDFC Standard Life Insurance.

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Friday, December 07, 2007

Winter - It's Snow Joke For Your Car Insurance!

Have you ever woken up on a cold wintertimes morning, having slept through your dismay clock, realised you've got 20 proceedings until you're due at work, and looked out the window to see a lovely layer of hoar on your car?

Most people, when faced with this situation, would travel outside, start their car, and go forth it to warm up up while they acquire ready inside. This also peals true if - like me - you've got an aged auto that won't run properly when it's cold.

With so many people leaving the engines running while their auto is unattended, auto thieves are in Heaven during winter. All it takes is for you to be away from a window for a minute and person could be off in your auto which you've so considerately warmed up for them.

Naturally, this bumps up your auto insurance. Even worse, if your auto makes go on to acquire stolen whilst heating up, your company may not pay out as it will be seen as your ain fault for leaving your auto unattended.

If you must warm up your auto up in this way, there are a couple of things you can make to discourage theft.

Have a trim set of keys, leave of absence 1 in the ignition and lock the auto up with the other set. At least this volition do it more than hard for a possible stealer to acquire into your car. You can also have got things like guidance wheel locks fitted, which will forestall a stealer from drive your auto away. Having your VIN figure etched onto your windows is a hindrance for most thieves, because they do it harder to sell a auto afterwards. However, this may not halt the self-seeker stealer who just desires to drive around in your auto for somes while.Fitting a device like a tracker will not only discourage thieves, but will also assist you acquire inexpensive auto insurance.

Insurance can also be higher in wintertime owed to the addition of accidents occuring because of icy roads, so do certain you always drive with cautiousness if you surmise the roadstead may be hazardous. If you have got younger, less experienced drivers named on your motor insurance, see becoming a cab service to avoid them having to confront risky statuses which they may not be confident with. What you utilize in combustible you could salvage on your premiums!

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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Pet Insurance - Vet Your Provider

Vet measures can mount up when it come ups to your furry friend being ill. If you're lucky, you'll be able to pay for each unwellness as it come ups - and it will, especially with an aged pet. But what can you make if you can't afford expensive treatments on an ad-hoc basis?

The reply is favored insurance. When your pet is sick they are taken to the vet, treated, and then you fill up out a claim word form which acquires sent to the coverage company. The company then either reimburses you for the fees you've paid, or pays the veterinarian directly.

Like any insurance, there is normally an surplus to pay, and the amount of this volition be dependent on the type of coverage and the amount you can afford. It's worth comparing coverage with different companies as the surplus required may differ.

Some pet coverage policies promise to pay out if something sudden haps to your pet, such as as death, accident or getting lost or stolen. Some even pay out if your pet is the cause of a auto accident - the policy will cover the cost of amends to any vehicles. This is of import if you allow your pet out regularly as you are apt for any amends caused by your animal. This also uses to livestock.

If you have got a dog, public liability screen is also an of import feature. This volition screen you if your domestic dog harms person - and will pay out any medical measures incurred. It is also deserving having in the worst-case scenario of you getting sued because your domestic dog have done what come ups naturally and bitten the postman. A public liability policy will cover any tribunal costs and compensation in the event of a judgment against you.

If you make up one's mind to take out a pet coverage policy, it's worth remembering that insurance premiums are dropping less than they have got in years, and companies are now in more than competition with each other. Shop around for the best deal, and always read the little print.

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Monday, December 03, 2007

Everything You Need To Know About Choosing A Health Insurance Plan

The purpose of health insurance is to protect you from the alarming cost of medical care by providing you with insurance coverage for specified health and medical care services. Generally, you will pay a monthly premium, a deductible, and co-payments for services you receive. The cost for insurance is significantly less than if you had to pay for medical care out of your pocket. There are three basic types of health insurance, fee for service, consumer-directed, and managed care. These basic types of insurance plans cover hospital, medical, and surgical expenses, and depending on the particular plan you choose, possibly prescription drugs, mental/behavioral care, and dental.

A fee for service plan means the health care professional you choose will be paid a fee for each service provided to you. You can choose your own doctor and the insurance claim can be filed by either the doctor or the patient. A managed care plan will provide coverage to their members and offers incentives for patients who choose doctors participating in the plan's network. The 3 types of managed care plans are HMOs, PPOs, and POS plans.

An HMO allows you to receive medical care through a network of participating physicians. You will generally select a primary care doctor, who will then refer you to a specialist when necessary. A PPO combines various features of an HMO and a fee for service plan. Members can choose from network doctors and pay lower upfront expenses, or choose any doctor they desire and pay more out of pocket expenses. A consumer-directed health plan gives members more choices and options in making health care decisions. Consumer-directed plans include a health account or fund designated for health care expenses. At the end of each year, unused funds will roll over to the next year.

A health insurance premium is the fee paid to the insurer to purchase health coverage. Premiums can be paid monthly, quarterly, or annually. Deductibles are the amount you will pay for covered services within a certain time frame, according to the terms of your plan, before you will be entitled to insurance benefits. Members with a high deductible may have to pay the first one thousand dollars of yearly medical expenses before the insurance would begin to pay, and those with a higher or lower deductibles would pay more or less, depending on the particular amounts specified in their plan. A co-payment is a stated amount or percentage that must be paid by the member along with each doctor visit, medical procedure, or prescription. For example, if your specified co-payments are $25, you will pay the first $25 of each doctor visit and your insurance would cover additional charges. Most insurance plans specify a different co-payment amount for prescriptions, doctor visits, and hospital or surgical care.

In choosing which type of health insurance plan is right for you, you must consider the affordability of doctor visits and hospital care, the amount of the monthly premium, the amount of the deductibles, and the amount of the co-payments. Make sure the plan you chose offers coverage for services you will actually use such as doctors, prescriptions, laboratory costs, treatment for preexisting conditions, and out-of-network care. Check the rating of the insurance company in question, the number of patient complaints in the past year, doctor drop out rates if the insurance plan includes a network, and the number of members who have dropped out of the plan in the past year. Health insurance that is subsidized by your employer is generally the least expensive, but if your employer does not offer health insurance, you should consider an individual health insurance policy. The cost of medical care is far too expensive to risk not having health insurance.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Mediclaim premium hike capped at 75%

NEW
DELHI: Rakesh Kumar, 72, had a daze of his life when the coverage company
providing his mediclaim screen asked him to pay a insurance premium of Rs 60,000 for
renewing his policy of Rs 3 lakh. The former year, the insurance premium for the
10-year-old policy was around Rs 8,000 and after the alteration in rates effected
this year, it should have got been Rs
20,000. The ground for this
huge rise in premium: Kumar had claimed Rs 1,50,000 for an angioplasty procedure
after developing a bosom ailment. This is not a rare instance. Policy holders are being asked to pay up to 200% higher insurance premiums after they make
claims for medical treatment. But now there is a good news for
policy holders. India's coverage regulator â€" Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (IRDA) â€" have said that companies cannot loading the
premium beyond 75% of the amount a client paid the former year. This is
stated in an internal missive sent by IRDA to all insurance
companies. The missive also said
that a disease contracted by a client after purchasing a mediclaim policy cannot be
treated as "pre-existing disease" the adjacent year.

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