I'd like to see the health care professionals making decisions, not some bureaucrat in Indianapolis working for an insurance company.
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Sunday 16 October 2011
Life Insurance
My wife bought an extra life insurance policy on me.
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How to get ready for your home insurance company’s claims adjuster
John Egan
If your house has been damaged by Hurricane Irene — or any other disaster, for that matter — someone known as a claims adjuster will be paying you a visit after you’ve filed a claim with your home insurance company. If you’ve got separate flood insurance or wind insurance policies, adjusters for those companies will come calling as well.
Cleaning up and recovering from damage to your home can be nerve-racking. Preparing for the arrival of insurance adjusters can add to the anxiety.
If you’ve filed a home insurance claim following a disaster, make sure you’re at home when the insurance claims adjusters visit.
Courtesy of the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports and the Insurance Information Institute, here are some tips to help you ease the process of dealing with an insurance claims adjuster:
• Ask the adjuster for his or her credentials. If you’re not happy with the adjuster or any other expert the insurer provides, demand a new one. Claims adjusters are supposed to be professionally trained and licensed.
• Find out whether the adjuster is an employee of the insurance company or is an independent adjuster hired by the insurer. If you’ve got an independent adjuster, find out which in-house adjuster that person is reporting to. Also, ask whether the independent adjuster is authorized to make claim decisions and payments on behalf of your insurance company.
• Be at home when the adjuster visits and make sure he or she sees everything. Ask for a copy of the adjuster’s report and review it for mistakes. Request a copy of your claims file; you’re entitled to it.
• Copy everything you give the adjuster and ask for a receipt. If the adjuster advises you to start repairs, get that permission in writing.
• Take note of your adjuster’s behavior. Is he or she rude? Did the adjuster fail to show up at all?
• Be aware that more than one adjuster may be assigned to you. For example, you may have a claims professional assess structural damage and a contents specialist to help with the loss of personal property. Additionally, if you have a flood insurance policy or separate coverage for wind damage through a state-run insurance pool, even more claims adjusters will visit you.
• Complete a “proof of loss” form (provided by your insurer) and locate any inventory you have of your belongings (TVs, clothing, furniture). Also, keep a detailed list of everything that was damaged. “You want to make sure that you have documented your loss as soon as possible,” says Ashley Hunter, a former claims supervisor at State Farm. “The more information you have, the faster you will be able to receive your payment.”
• Take photos or video of debris, destroyed items and property damage. Generally, you should not throw away any damaged items until the claims adjuster has visited.
• Remember that the first claims check you receive often is an advance, not a final settlement. You may be offered a settlement check from the adjuster on the initial visit. If so, you can accept it immediately. If other damage is discovered within the time period cited in your insurance policy, the claim can be reopened. Most states allow at least one year from the date of the disaster to file or reopen a claim.
• Try to be patient. Jeanne Salvatore, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, says insurers handle hundreds if not thousands of claims after a disaster. “Policyholders who have been most severely impacted have immediate financial and safety concerns that must be tended to, particularly if a home was destroyed by the hurricane or if there is a family member with special needs. Insurers give these cases priority review,” Salvatore says.
Auto Insurance
http://safeinsurance1.blogspot.com/
If your house has been damaged by Hurricane Irene — or any other disaster, for that matter — someone known as a claims adjuster will be paying you a visit after you’ve filed a claim with your home insurance company. If you’ve got separate flood insurance or wind insurance policies, adjusters for those companies will come calling as well.
Cleaning up and recovering from damage to your home can be nerve-racking. Preparing for the arrival of insurance adjusters can add to the anxiety.
If you’ve filed a home insurance claim following a disaster, make sure you’re at home when the insurance claims adjusters visit.
Courtesy of the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports and the Insurance Information Institute, here are some tips to help you ease the process of dealing with an insurance claims adjuster:
• Ask the adjuster for his or her credentials. If you’re not happy with the adjuster or any other expert the insurer provides, demand a new one. Claims adjusters are supposed to be professionally trained and licensed.
• Find out whether the adjuster is an employee of the insurance company or is an independent adjuster hired by the insurer. If you’ve got an independent adjuster, find out which in-house adjuster that person is reporting to. Also, ask whether the independent adjuster is authorized to make claim decisions and payments on behalf of your insurance company.
• Be at home when the adjuster visits and make sure he or she sees everything. Ask for a copy of the adjuster’s report and review it for mistakes. Request a copy of your claims file; you’re entitled to it.
• Copy everything you give the adjuster and ask for a receipt. If the adjuster advises you to start repairs, get that permission in writing.
• Take note of your adjuster’s behavior. Is he or she rude? Did the adjuster fail to show up at all?
• Be aware that more than one adjuster may be assigned to you. For example, you may have a claims professional assess structural damage and a contents specialist to help with the loss of personal property. Additionally, if you have a flood insurance policy or separate coverage for wind damage through a state-run insurance pool, even more claims adjusters will visit you.
• Complete a “proof of loss” form (provided by your insurer) and locate any inventory you have of your belongings (TVs, clothing, furniture). Also, keep a detailed list of everything that was damaged. “You want to make sure that you have documented your loss as soon as possible,” says Ashley Hunter, a former claims supervisor at State Farm. “The more information you have, the faster you will be able to receive your payment.”
• Take photos or video of debris, destroyed items and property damage. Generally, you should not throw away any damaged items until the claims adjuster has visited.
• Remember that the first claims check you receive often is an advance, not a final settlement. You may be offered a settlement check from the adjuster on the initial visit. If so, you can accept it immediately. If other damage is discovered within the time period cited in your insurance policy, the claim can be reopened. Most states allow at least one year from the date of the disaster to file or reopen a claim.
• Try to be patient. Jeanne Salvatore, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, says insurers handle hundreds if not thousands of claims after a disaster. “Policyholders who have been most severely impacted have immediate financial and safety concerns that must be tended to, particularly if a home was destroyed by the hurricane or if there is a family member with special needs. Insurers give these cases priority review,” Salvatore says.
Auto Insurance
http://safeinsurance1.blogspot.com/
How insurers are turning to technology to process your claims
Mark Henricks
New ways of using technology are allowing insurance companies to process claims faster and more accurately. The effects on consumers include improved service and quicker payments — but so far, at least, not lower premiums.
Atmospheric and Environmental Research of Lexington, Mass., has introduced an offering that lets an insurance claims manager log into an online portal after a big hailstorm and pull up a detailed map of the storm’s track. Numerals on the map give, for instance, the estimated maximum hail diameter in inches for specific locations. Red circles show where the carrier has policies with insured values of, say, $500,000 or more. A bar chart reveals how many insured properties likely encountered 2-inch or larger hailstones.
Insurers are adding high-tech twists to the claims-filing process, pushing it beyond the traditional in-person setup.
Being able to easily visualize the impact of a storm using highly detailed digital maps helps insurers in a number of ways, says Brenda Kelly, vice president of Atmospheric and Environmental Research. For instance, Kelly says, the maps can determine whether insurers should send in more claims adjusters, “perhaps flying people in from another location.” That can speed up processing of claims, resulting in checks getting into the hands of policyholders more quickly.
Rolling out smartphone apps
Other examples of claims-processing technology are much more visible to consumers.
Former insurance claims adjuster Ashley Hunter, president of HM Risk Group in Austin, Texas, points to smartphone apps that some insurers — such as Allstate and State Farm — are making available to consumers to help them file claims after auto accidents.
“You can take pictures and upload the claim information right to the website,” Hunter says. “You type in all the claim info like the name of the insurance company of the other driver. It’s very sophisticated. And they process the claim immediately.”
Tech tools for fighting fraud
Claims processing also is tapping technology well beyond the public’s view in the form of predictive modeling for identification of potentially fraudulent claims.
Rob Hoyt, director of the Risk Management and Insurance Program at the University of Georgia, says is a new wrinkle for technology that’s long been employed to help figure out rates for policyholders. Instead of just trying to forecast how many claims are likely to be filed by a given policyholder, insurers are using predictive modeling to pinpoint common traits of fraudulent claims.
“There are patterns that tend to be consistent with suspicious claims,” Hoyt says.
Such claims tend to be distinguished, for instance, by particular types of vehicles and by how long a policyholder has been insured with a given company. When insurers can more accurately and quickly zero in on possibly fraudulent claims, they can more efficiently investigate them. That can lead to lower operating costs and possibly more money in the pockets of policyholders.
A speedier process
So far, lower premiums for consumers remain an unproven benefit of claims technology, however. “We can always hope, but there’s no cost savings being sent down to the customer,” Hunter says.
She does emphasize, though, that customers are gaining benefits from this technology, mostly in the form of faster claims processing. “As far as an auto claim is concerned, if liability is clear, they’re cutting checks within 24 hours,” Hunter says. “Before, it was taking about a week.”
If you’d prefer that this automation of claims processing simply go away, don’t hold your breath. Kelly expects more and more claims technology to be rolled out across the industry. But Hoyt says it’s not likely that insurance software will replace insurance people, either.
“I don’t see it ever being such an exact science that there won’t be human judgment involved,” Hoyt says.
Auto Insurance
http://safeinsurance1.blogspot.com/
New ways of using technology are allowing insurance companies to process claims faster and more accurately. The effects on consumers include improved service and quicker payments — but so far, at least, not lower premiums.
Atmospheric and Environmental Research of Lexington, Mass., has introduced an offering that lets an insurance claims manager log into an online portal after a big hailstorm and pull up a detailed map of the storm’s track. Numerals on the map give, for instance, the estimated maximum hail diameter in inches for specific locations. Red circles show where the carrier has policies with insured values of, say, $500,000 or more. A bar chart reveals how many insured properties likely encountered 2-inch or larger hailstones.
Insurers are adding high-tech twists to the claims-filing process, pushing it beyond the traditional in-person setup.
Being able to easily visualize the impact of a storm using highly detailed digital maps helps insurers in a number of ways, says Brenda Kelly, vice president of Atmospheric and Environmental Research. For instance, Kelly says, the maps can determine whether insurers should send in more claims adjusters, “perhaps flying people in from another location.” That can speed up processing of claims, resulting in checks getting into the hands of policyholders more quickly.
Rolling out smartphone apps
Other examples of claims-processing technology are much more visible to consumers.
Former insurance claims adjuster Ashley Hunter, president of HM Risk Group in Austin, Texas, points to smartphone apps that some insurers — such as Allstate and State Farm — are making available to consumers to help them file claims after auto accidents.
“You can take pictures and upload the claim information right to the website,” Hunter says. “You type in all the claim info like the name of the insurance company of the other driver. It’s very sophisticated. And they process the claim immediately.”
Tech tools for fighting fraud
Claims processing also is tapping technology well beyond the public’s view in the form of predictive modeling for identification of potentially fraudulent claims.
Rob Hoyt, director of the Risk Management and Insurance Program at the University of Georgia, says is a new wrinkle for technology that’s long been employed to help figure out rates for policyholders. Instead of just trying to forecast how many claims are likely to be filed by a given policyholder, insurers are using predictive modeling to pinpoint common traits of fraudulent claims.
“There are patterns that tend to be consistent with suspicious claims,” Hoyt says.
Such claims tend to be distinguished, for instance, by particular types of vehicles and by how long a policyholder has been insured with a given company. When insurers can more accurately and quickly zero in on possibly fraudulent claims, they can more efficiently investigate them. That can lead to lower operating costs and possibly more money in the pockets of policyholders.
A speedier process
So far, lower premiums for consumers remain an unproven benefit of claims technology, however. “We can always hope, but there’s no cost savings being sent down to the customer,” Hunter says.
She does emphasize, though, that customers are gaining benefits from this technology, mostly in the form of faster claims processing. “As far as an auto claim is concerned, if liability is clear, they’re cutting checks within 24 hours,” Hunter says. “Before, it was taking about a week.”
If you’d prefer that this automation of claims processing simply go away, don’t hold your breath. Kelly expects more and more claims technology to be rolled out across the industry. But Hoyt says it’s not likely that insurance software will replace insurance people, either.
“I don’t see it ever being such an exact science that there won’t be human judgment involved,” Hoyt says.
Auto Insurance
http://safeinsurance1.blogspot.com/
Things to Consider when Shopping For Home Owner’s Insurance
There are many details to keep in mind when looking at various policy options. Here are just a few things to keep in mind.
Coverage Amounts. Be sure that your home insurance policy is enough to protect the TOTAL value of your home, not simply the equity (the amount paid off) or the balance remaining on your mortgage.
Covered and Uncovered Losses. While most things such as fire, theft, and weather damage are covered by your policy, specific things such as earthquakes and flood damage may not be. Check your policy.
Policy Exclusions. There will always be items excluded. Be sure you know what they are, and protect yourself.
Deductible. A higher deductible (the amount you pay before your insurance kicks in) might mean a lower premium, but is it worth it? Make sure any deductible you have is affordable.
Discounts. What will give you a discount? A security system, not smoking, and having more than one home insurance policy might lead to a discount. Check to see if your lifestyle supports this!
InsuranceQuotes.com can help you find the best home insurance rates, online! From the comfort of home, you can get a free homeowners insurance quote today!
Auto Insurance
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Coverage Amounts. Be sure that your home insurance policy is enough to protect the TOTAL value of your home, not simply the equity (the amount paid off) or the balance remaining on your mortgage.
Covered and Uncovered Losses. While most things such as fire, theft, and weather damage are covered by your policy, specific things such as earthquakes and flood damage may not be. Check your policy.
Policy Exclusions. There will always be items excluded. Be sure you know what they are, and protect yourself.
Deductible. A higher deductible (the amount you pay before your insurance kicks in) might mean a lower premium, but is it worth it? Make sure any deductible you have is affordable.
Discounts. What will give you a discount? A security system, not smoking, and having more than one home insurance policy might lead to a discount. Check to see if your lifestyle supports this!
InsuranceQuotes.com can help you find the best home insurance rates, online! From the comfort of home, you can get a free homeowners insurance quote today!
Auto Insurance
http://safeinsurance1.blogspot.com/
Do You Need Homeowner Insurance?
Of course you do. In the event of a catastrophe, you will need to repair any damage that occurs to your home and property, and replace anything that is lost or destroyed. In addition, chances are your mortgage holder requires you to have a certain amount of home insurance to protect their investment.
How does a home insurance policy protect you?
Structures. Your homeowner’s policy covers the financial damages to your home caused by accidental or weather-related damage to both your home and other structures on your property, such as garages and outbuildings. Additionally, home insurance will provide you financial compensation if you cannot live in your home due to the damage.
Personal Property. All the belongings and furniture that fill your home counts as personal property, and if they are stolen or damaged your home insurance policy will replace them.
Liability. If someone is injured in your home, you can be found liable for the medical expenses. The liability portion of your homeowner’s insurance policy protects you from this financial liability.
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How does a home insurance policy protect you?
Structures. Your homeowner’s policy covers the financial damages to your home caused by accidental or weather-related damage to both your home and other structures on your property, such as garages and outbuildings. Additionally, home insurance will provide you financial compensation if you cannot live in your home due to the damage.
Personal Property. All the belongings and furniture that fill your home counts as personal property, and if they are stolen or damaged your home insurance policy will replace them.
Liability. If someone is injured in your home, you can be found liable for the medical expenses. The liability portion of your homeowner’s insurance policy protects you from this financial liability.
Auto Insurance
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Protect Your Home and Save Money
Your home is full of all of the things that are most precious to you – and you need to protect them. Your home is also likely to be your largest investment, and home insurance is not only the smart thing to do, it is the necessary thing to do. InsuranceQuotes.com can provide you with a comparison of home insurance quotes, helping you find the best policy for the best rate. InsuranceQuotes.com works with hundreds of excellent home insurance companies, and offers the most informative home insurance quotes available today.
Your home insurance quote from InsuranceQuotes.com is not only informative, but it is free! Just take a few moments to fill out our online questionnaire and we can provide you with multiple home insurance quotes and you can start saving money today! Whether you are seeking a home insurance quote for a new home or your current home, get your free homeowner’s insurance quote today.
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Your home insurance quote from InsuranceQuotes.com is not only informative, but it is free! Just take a few moments to fill out our online questionnaire and we can provide you with multiple home insurance quotes and you can start saving money today! Whether you are seeking a home insurance quote for a new home or your current home, get your free homeowner’s insurance quote today.
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Life insurance beneficiaries are owed more than $1 billion, officials say
A handful of state insurance regulators have formed a task force to investigate the possible failure to pay death benefits to beneficiaries of life insurance policies.
The task force is being overseen by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Members of the association contend that insurers have been using a federal death database to terminate payments under annuity contracts, but failing to use that same file to help claims on life insurance policies.
Making good on promises
Life insurance executives insist they’ve done nothing wrong.
“Our greatest responsibility is to make good on our promises to our customers,” Todd Katz, a vice president at life insurer MetLife, said at the California hearing.
Evidence suggests otherwise. At the Florida hearing — where MetLife and Nationwide were subpoenaed to testify — Belinda Miller, Florida’s interim deputy commissioner of property and casualty insurance, said “hundreds of millions of dollars” go unclaimed each year because the life insurance beneficiaries don’t know the money exists.
Life insurers can track the deaths of insured people through the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File, which contains over 87 million records. Insurance companies use this file to, among other things, fight fraud and verify dates of death before paying a policy benefit. But investigators say insurers boost profits by selectively reviewing the death file, withholding payouts, and continuing to pay themselves premiums even though the death file shows the insured person is dead.
“We are troubled about the possibility that insurers may be using death information to boost their finances by stopping annuity payments on one side of the house but not using the same information on the other side of the house to pay policyholders’ beneficiaries who are owed money,” says Jones, the California insurance commissioner.
Jones’ comments came during a joint hearing with State Controller John Chiang into the payment practices of MetLife.
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Life Insurance Awareness Month scores endorsement from Lakers’ Lamar Odom
When much of America last saw Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lamar Odom, he was being ejected from a playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks for being too rough with Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki.
With the NBA now locking out its players, it may be awhile before Odom sees action on a basketball court again. But that doesn’t mean Odom won’t be working this fall.
Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom says he benefited from life insurance when his mother died of colon cancer.
In September, Odom will serve as the national spokesman for Life Insurance Awareness Month. Odom will begin appearing in public service announcements in August for the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE).
Odom says he was inspired to be a life insurance spokesman, in part, because of the death of his mother of colon cancer. Odom was only 12 years old when it mother, Cathy Mercer, died. Odom’s charitable foundation is called Cathy’s Kids.
Because Odom’s mother had life insurance, he was able to continue attending a private school.
“I’m sure my mom didn’t think she would die at age 35, but that didn’t stop her from doing the responsible thing and buying life insurance,” Odom says in a LIFE news release issued June 30. “When I began my pro career, one of the first things I did was buy life insurance to make sure my loved ones would also be taken care of.”
Nearly 70 million American adults don’t have life insurance, according to LIFE.
Odom’s work with LIFE will add to an already busy off-the-court schedule.
The Lakers player stars in his own reality TV show, “Khloé & Lamar,” which airs on E! The show features an inside look at Odom’s life with his wife, reality TV personality Khloé Kardashian Odom.
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What Is The Best Way To Shop For Life Insurance?
With such a wide variety of life insurance policies to choose from, how do you make the best choice for you? Obviously, you have made a smart choice and are starting here at InsuranceQuotes.com, but there are many things you need to know before choosing your policy, such as term life insurance.
Now you know that once you have determined your needs and taken a look at the various policy options, you have a good idea what you need to know. Also, remember that certain life-style choices, such as smoking or drinking, can raise the cost of your policy and reduce the amount of available coverage.
Best of all, using InsuranceQuotes.com helps you find the best rate, which is important as life insurance quotes can vary substantially – sometimes as much at 50%. Take the time to fill out our online form, and immediately receive a variety of life insurance quotes to choose from! Get started today, and protect your family they way they deserve.
Auto Insurance
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Now you know that once you have determined your needs and taken a look at the various policy options, you have a good idea what you need to know. Also, remember that certain life-style choices, such as smoking or drinking, can raise the cost of your policy and reduce the amount of available coverage.
Best of all, using InsuranceQuotes.com helps you find the best rate, which is important as life insurance quotes can vary substantially – sometimes as much at 50%. Take the time to fill out our online form, and immediately receive a variety of life insurance quotes to choose from! Get started today, and protect your family they way they deserve.
Auto Insurance
http://safeinsurance1.blogspot.com/
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