Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Insurance

4 Steps to Make Sure You Are Financially Protected from the Next Natural Disaster

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Millions of people are still reeling from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy. 

The rest of the country is watching with sympathy and helping with relief efforts.  All of us, those directly impacted by Sandy, and those who were not, can learn from this storm and make sure that we are properly protected financially from natural disaster.

People often buy a house and take out a homeowner’s policy at the same time.  Then, they dutifully pay their premium every year.

What they often don’t do is revisit their insurance policy to make sure that they have enough coverage as years go by.  Most people just don’t think much about their insurance–until they need it.

Here are some steps you can take to make sure that you have enough insurance to protect you and your assets in the event of a natural disaster or other home damaging event:

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Six Essential Health Care Open Enrollment Tips

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Fall is here and that means beautiful foliage, football, apple cider and open enrollment forms.

If you have a full time career where health care is provided, each year you are likely given a stack of forms that include the option to change your health care options.

Much like your 401(k), many of these forms come with a memo from your human resources department telling you what to check, where to sign, and some charts that you may not understand.

Of course, not all open enrollment packets are the same but let’s look at some essential health care open enrollment tips to remember. [Read more…] about Six Essential Health Care Open Enrollment Tips

Medical Loss Ratio – What is it and Why Might I Get a Refund Check?

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There are a number of provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that was passed in 2010.

Now that the legislation has been mostly upheld by the Supreme Court, there is little to stop many of the provisions from the PPACA from coming to fruition.  From the inability of insurers to drop you due to illness, to the individual mandate for health care coverage, to the establishment of state exchanges, there are a number of highly publicized new policies in the bill.

However, there are also plenty of other provisions in the law, some of which you might not know about.

One of the lesser known provisions is the rebates that insurance companies will be required to send a rebate to customers if they do not keep overhead costs lower.

Some estimates suggest that as much as 30% of what we spend on health care goes to overhead — and not to health benefits.  This is rather distressing when the costs of health care in the United States are compared to other developed countries that, in many cases, more efficiently keep the overhead to 1/3 of what it is in the United States.

What is the Medical Loss Ratio?

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Renters Insurance Quotes – What You Need to Look For

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Renter’s insurance may be the most underestimated of all insurance policies.

Many tenants assume that they don’t need renter’s insurance because any hazards will be covered by their landlord’s insurance—after all, they’re the ones who own the property, right?

Nope.

The landlord’s insurance will cover only what the landlord owns, and that will be limited to the land and the physical structures on it.  Anything inside the building that you own will be excluded by the landlord’s insurance company.

For that reason, you need to have renter’s insurance.

What You Need to Know Before You Get Renters Insurance Quotes

What do renter’s insurance plans usually cover?

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Term Life Insurance Versus Whole Life Insurance

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Life insurance, in general, is not a subject many people want to talk about.

After all, its more about death than it is about life.  But it is a necessary part of financial planning and a form of insurance many people should have!  The two main forms of life insurance are Term Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance.

Let’s take a look at term life insurance versus whole life insurance:

Term Life Insurance

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