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Archive for March, 2011

Insurance has long been split on the gender issue – not whether they can use gender to determine rates, but if men should be charged more than women or vice-versa. The ethical question, however, has been debated by governments recently, leading to several industry regulations changes that now restrict the use of gender statistics in determining insurance prices.

The Case Against Gender Rating

Gender rating, as it is known in the insurance industry, is the practice of using statistical analysis to assess risk based on gender and then to charge for insurance accordingly.

Traditionally, this has led to higher prices in health insurance for women as compared to men, and lower auto insurance premiums for women as compared to men.
Health insurance, and to a large degree auto insurance also, is largely determined by two statistical categories: age and gender.

While long practiced, people outside the industry have been critical for decades of this practice that they argue is sexist, archaic, and ineffective.
One activist argued that, “how effective this is doesn’t really matter. The fact is, whether gender rating benefits men or women, it is unethical. It sets a bad standard for the way we do things in this country, where there are few women CEOs and women make far less money than men doing the same jobs.

The statistics are pretty prosaic and don’t seem to back up the rates,” a former insurance actuary said, adding, “there are far more effective ways to determine rates.” Industry-hired actuaries dispute this claim.

California Regulators Ban Gendered Pricing for Health Insurance

In 2010, activists struck a big blow by pushing the state legislature to pass a law that prevents health insurance companies from factoring in gender when determining health insurance rates. The efforts were aided by large national reform on an industry that many feel discriminates unfairly and fails to protect consumers, since they are motivated entirely by profits.

The new law takes effect far before the date a federal ban will come into effect: 2014. Women should see there health insurance rates come down by as much as 30% at this time, as has been observed in California.

Car Insurance Gender Rating Ban to Follow?

Women are generally considered to be less of a driving risk to auto insurance companies, and generally receive cheaper premiums as a result. Still, there are female activists joining with men to call for a similar ban on the car insurance industry’s gender bias. While there is less motivation due to the lower costs already, protesters have been boosted by a decision in the European Union to ban gendered pricing in health insurance and a decision pending on auto insurance.

Analysts have argued that there will not be sufficient motivation to push new regulation through on a national level. While California may go its own way, as she often does, the United States will likely not be ahead of the curve on this one. That’s because of the impact a ban would have.

Сar insurance prices for women will likely go up, while prices for men will only drop slightly if at all due to other risks tied to the Y-chromosome bearing sex.

People usually have the tendency to change in weight during different stages of their lives and even from one year season to another. Gaining some fat during winter is definitely what most of us are accustomed to and from the insurance perspective this won’t affect the rates you’ll have to pay for insuring own life. Healthy fluctuations in body weight are normal and you can rest assured that your rates won’t climb at all. However, if you gone the weight gain route things will get quite different because it’s a whole other story.

What’s the problem with excessive weight in terms of insurance?

Any healthcare and insurance specialist will tell you that the implication of overweight and obesity are much more serious than it may seem at first. Excessive weight is a very negative health factor that raises the risk of developing such health conditions as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, arthritis, impotence, depression and even certain types of cancer. All these conditions have a very negative impact on a person’s life expectancy and that’s the major factor that affects everything related to both health and life insurance.

Let’s first look into the definitions of obese and overweight. While some people may think that these are some loose terms used to describe a person who’s fat there are actually strict numerical boundaries used by specialists for defining the actual grade of excessive weight within a patient. Specialists use the so-called body mass index (BMI) chart for classifying people according to their body weight. The BMI uses a relation between the person’s height and weight, being considered as the standard measure for identifying to what extent a person is over or underweight. There are countless BMI calculators to be found online, so you can easily find out what your BMI is. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 means that the person is officially overweight. A number greater than this range means that the person is clinically obese. Although, some may argue that it’s not an accurate measure of how much excessive weight is there in the body, and they are partially right. In specific cases (like heavyweight athletes or bodybuilders) the relation of height and weight can indicate that the person is obese while they have a very low fat percentage in their bodyweight. However, in general this relation very accurately describes the excess weight conditions, that’s why it is widely used today.

What can you do to get good life insurance?

If you’re looking for cheap life insurance then the obvious solution will be losing weight to a healthy level. A person with significant amounts of excessive weight will always have higher insurance rates than persons with normal weight, both from life and health insurance perspective. However, the main driving force for losing weight should be the interest about own health and safety rather than life insurance quotes. Keep in mind that by losing weight you minimize the risk of developing numerous health problems in the future. That’s why there’s a good reason for keeping your weight within a healthy range all the time.

Depression and anxiety are some of the most common mental health issues of the western civilization. Whether it’s the rapid life phase or the usual stress most of us encounter on a daily basis, it’s nearly impossible to find a person who has never experienced depressive thoughts or overall anxiety. Sure, most of us manage to carry on with our lives and go past these periods of agitation and inactivity. But for millions of Americans both depression and anxiety are serious medical conditions that can cause quite a stir when it comes to insuring one’s life.

Some of you may question the connection between depression and insurance rates. Fact is, when it comes to insuring one’s life depression or anxiety can seriously affect the rates and the possibility of getting an insurance policy in the first place, depending on the severity of the condition. Having a history of depression or anxiety disorders in your medical record will make the insurance company more cautious about your application and they will likely to ask you about your treatment, recovery and so on. It will be regarded as a pre-existing condition and if you’re currently undergoing depression treatment or recovery phase then you can be denied coverage until any results are provided to the insurer.

This may seem unfair to some people reading this, as such mental issues cannot be compared to more serious health conditions such as heart diseases or diabetes, right? Well, it turns out that they actually can. When it comes to life insurance the most important thing that affects the actual rates is a person’s life expectancy. This estimated age until the person is very likely to be alive is in turn affected by a range of variables including lifestyle, health conditions, hobbies, activities, etc. And such mental issues as depression or anxiety, especially if severe, are known to strongly affect a person’s life expectancy in a negative way.

Thoughts of suicide aren’t the only problem that makes depression such a negative phenomenon. Recent studies have discovered that in patients with clinical depression the overall life functions are worse than in mentally healthy persons. People who suffer from chronic or severe forms of depression have weaker immune functions, are more prone to heart conditions and are physically inactive in general, which seriously affects the overall health condition. Depression creates conditions for different physiological conditions to develop, which ultimately reduce the person’s life expectancy. The same applies to anxiety disorders, which are often linked to depression and can have the same consequences if left untreated. That’s why it is hard to find cheap life insurance for a person with serious depression or anxiety disorders logged in their medical history.

Of course, the life insurance quotes you’ll get if you have such mental issues will strongly depend on the actual severity of the condition and what stage it is in. If the problems were mild with no suicide attempts or other harmful effects on you health and you’ve undergone an effective treatment course, then your rates are likely to be the same as for people without history of depression. However, if the condition is really bad, you had suicide attempts and are currently undergoing treatment then you will have significantly higher rates and some insurance companies won’t be willing to cover you at all.

As the largest, most public annual awareness campaign in the United States, coordinating for this year’s Red Ribbon Week has already begun across the nation. Parents, teachers and volunteers responsible for organizing Red Ribbon fundraisers and awareness events are once again looking for new and exciting ways to promote the prevention of drugs, alcohol and tobacco use. Kicking off yearly during the last week of October, the campaign is intended to create awareness for youth, and start their school year off setting a good example, and encouraging a positive, drug-free upcoming school year.

 

Companies across the country that support Red Ribbon Week are also doing their part to create awareness. Whether sponsoring schools directly or creating products like awareness wristbands, Red Ribbon is being recognized regularly as an important campaign for America’s youth.

 

North American companies have recognized the campaign and its importance, and some wristband companies have entire wristband awareness collections geared towards Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week wristbands are intended to serve as a reminder of personal commitment to stay drug-free, as well as to help facilitate discussion and further awareness on the topic. Red Ribbon awareness products include the national phenomenon of silicone bracelets, plastic and “sparkle” wristbands, as well as customized key tags, photographic wristbands, and 3D lenticular awareness cards. These products can also be 100% customized to include school information and campaign dates, or most can be purchased in stock patterns that state mottos such as “I Pledge To Be Drug Free” and “Substance Free Is The Way To Be”. Promotional products like these are extremely cost-effective to accommodate for school budgets and non-profit youth organizations, and most companies produce products that meet all FDA and CPSIA lead-free specifications (always ask the manufacturer to provide proof that their production materials meet these requirements).

If you are searching around for ways to save on insuring your vehicle, you have probably come across all kinds of different types of coverage and insurance types. With all of these, you pay for your coverage for defined period of time.

Pay-as-you-drive insurance is a bit different. Rather than paying for a period of time (a month, 6-months, a year), you pay only for the miles you actually drive.

About Pay-as-you-drive Insurance

It’s been around a while, but only now is it catching on in America.
The idea is simple: you pay for every mile you drive, because that is when you need most of the coverage. This obviously doesn’t include comprehensive coverage and any other non-driving situation.

How Miles are Reported

Since you pay by the mile, you and your insurer have to have a way of settling on a number.

Black Box

New technology is partially what is fueling this increase in companies offering pay-as-you-drive plans.
One such innovation allows for GPS-enabled chips to be installed into your car’s computer. These automatically report your mileage to the insurance company.
(Aside from the insurance itself, you can also save money because your car will be easier to recover if stolen, thus reducing the chance that the insurer will have to pay to replace a vehicle.)

OnStar

This is the other big technological innovation that can help you save on insurance. Since this is for GM vehicles, you should get insurance through GMAC. This way, OnStar will automatically report your mileage to GMAC. You can even call them at any time to see how much you owe at the moment.

Checkups

With this system, you meet with a mechanic, agent, or some other specialist that your insurer selects. They check your mileage each billing period and then the insurer sends you a bill.

Honor System

Admittedly, this is rare.
Smaller insurers will allow you to report your mileage without confirmation. However, should you be found to have not reported the accurate mileage, you will be denied claims and probably dropped as a client.

Is Pay-as-you-drive Car Insurance Right for You?

Unfortunately, this might not even be available to many people because of the limited areas and companies offering pay-as-you-drive insurance.
Currently, State Farm, Progressive, and GMAC are all offering usage-based systems.

People Who Drive Little

If you have a short commute or just don’t drive very often, pay-as-you-drive car insurance might be a great option for you. Keep in mind, you can probably get a low mileage discount on conventional coverage.

People Who Drive Often

If you drive twenty miles or more most days, it won’t really make economic sense to pay by the mile. You are better off sticking with a conventional policy, especially if you have daily long commutes to work or school.

Mixed-mileage Drivers

If your driving is rather erratic and varied – some days you drive a lot and sometimes you don’t drive at all – you should pay attention to your monthly mileage and estimate the cost with car insurance quotes.

People tend to get really annoyed by the necessity of purchasing insurance for their cars. Due to the mandatory nature of this type of insurance it’s hard to minimize vehicle maintenance costs for a lot of drivers. Some of them even choose to drop insurance altogether and drive without proper coverage, which ultimately results in enormous out-of-pocket spendings after ending up in a traffic accident. Of course, doing so isn’t the smartest thing to do both financially and legally. But what many drivers tend to overlook is the fact that not all types of insurance are really mandatory and it’s the optional coverage that often pumps up the final cost of the policy. Let’s take a closer look at a typical insurance policy for a vehicle to get a better idea of what’s going on.

The mandatory part

Yes, having an insurance policy is a legal requirement in most states that can lead to fines, license revocation and even jail time if not met properly. However, the only mandatory type of insurance coverage is property damage and bodily injury liability. These two coverage types refer to third party liability and are use as a proof of financial abilities to settle any liability arising due to an accident. Each state has specific quantitative requirements concerning these coverage types that a policy should meet. The so-called minimums are assumed to be enough for covering an average accident with moderate damage and injuries. You can always get more third party liability coverage but going below the minimums automatically makes your policy invalid.

The optional part

Now, if you have ever looked into your policy you might have noticed that there are other types of auto insurance coverage included. The most common would be collision/comprehensive coverage, uninsured motorist coverage and rental car insurance. All these forms of coverage are really useful in different situations. For example rental car insurance can cover your costs of using a rental car while your car is being repaired. Or you can get your car fixed after a tree falls down on it if you have comprehensive coverage. But unlike third party liability coverage all these coverage types are purely optional and no-one is imposing you to buy them. Except for the situation when you’re buying a car through a loan – most lending institutions make collision and comprehensive coverage a part of their requirements to provide the loan. And as you may know, the more coverage your policy carries the higher will be your rates.

So now that you have a better understanding of auto insurance coverage you’ll be able to make better decisions in terms of insurance. If you need to cut your costs minimizing the amounts of optional coverage will be the most reasonable option. If you’re OK with your current insurance spendings or want to secure your car against additional perils you might as well consider buying more coverage to include into your current policy. It’s often a matter of balance between insurance needs and financial abilities. So make sure to make the right decisions.