Dental Insurance: To Have Or Not To Have

Is a dental policy worth the cost, especially when you know that dental insurance premiums can be more expensive than simply paying out of your own pocket for routine checkups and cleanings?

And like so many other questions  in modern world, you need to say, "Well ... the depends." The answer depends on whether you are expecting to face aching bills for your teeth.

Dental insurance comes in four varieties:

• The HMO, or health maintenance organization, option restricts coverage to dental professionals within a specified network. 
• The most popular plans are PPOs, or preferred provider organization, policies. Some 70 percent of dental policies are PPOs. They are similar to HMOs but allow patients to see dentists outside the network. 
• An indemnity plan which allows a patient to see any dentist and picks up a percentage of the costs. The advantage of PPOs over indemnity plans is that here's a negotiated discount for services. Dentists within the PPO network typically agree to accept lower fees and can't bill you for the difference. 
• Discount plan which charges an annual fee in exchange for discounted services from network providers. Enrollment fees often run between about $80 and $120 a year. Providers' discounts can range from 10 to 60 percent. Before buying in, be sure to take a careful look at what the plan covers. There is often a lot of restrictive fine print. Although these plans typically cost less than HMOs and PPOs, most often they won't save you as much money in the long run. 

Most dental insurance policies emphasize prevention and diagnostics, typically covering two annual exams and cleanings, plus X-rays and, for children and older adults, fluoride treatments. But the real benefit is being covered for bigger-ticket procedures, such as fillings, root canals and crowns.


Dental policies vary widely, and choosing the right one can be difficult. People with dental insurance commonly have what's described as "100-80-50" coverage, meaning it pays 100 percent of the cost of routine preventive and diagnostic care, such as checkups and cleanings; 80 percent for fillings, root canals and other basic procedures; and 50 percent for crowns, bridges and major procedures.

The vast majority of coverage is provided through employee and group policies, with annual premiums of between $235 and $435 per person. The cost to buy an individual policy averages about $360 a year. Paying out of your own pocket for two exams and cleanings and a set of X-rays would cost about $370, on average, according to the American Dental Association.

Most plans cap coverage at $1,500 a year, although higher annual limits can be had by paying a higher premium.

The Affordable Care Act requires insurance providers to offer dental insurance for children younger than 18. Although the new act does not require dental coverage for adults, most state marketplaces will also offer dental coverage for adults. Coverage may be offered as part of a comprehensive health plan or as stand-alone dental insurance. 

Dental plans don't bar coverage for pre-existing conditions, though some policies may restrict coverage for people with missing teeth. Cosmetic dental procedures are rarely if ever covered by insurance.

Cost savings can be had by traveling to other countries for dental care. An estimated 400,000 Americans cross international borders for dental care each year and there is a lot of competition for this business. But, if you're considering this option, do plenty of research. The decision to visit another country for dental care should go beyond simply comparing prices or evaluating the dentists' expertise. Countries differ in their standards for infection control and safety. The use of fresh gloves, sterile instruments and safe water are not standard practice in all countries. Without these precautions, patients could be infected with diseases such as hepatitis B.

Car Accident Injury: Which Insurance Pays the Bill?

The answer is: The car insurance pays first. Most states require motorists to have personal injury protection. The amount of coverage can vary depending on the premium you decided to pay. So, the medical bills will be charged up to the limits of your auto policy, and your responsibility will be to pay up to the deductible. Once that limit is crossed, your health insurance policy steps in to cover the rest of the cost for the car accident injury.

However, note that -- depending on what kind of health coverage you have -- your insurance company will determine what is covered and what is not. So, be prepared to pay, for example, the deductible amount under the health insurance policy, any co-payments that are required, any charges from hospital/clinic that are not typically covered by the policy.

If you are the at-fault driver, be prepared for increases in your future policy premium. If, on the other hand, you are not the at-fault driver, the insurance companies involved may work behind the scenes to get the at-fault party’s policies to bear some of the costs. Victims of car crashes can also sometimes recover some of their out-of-pocket expenses by making that part of any car accident settlement agreement with the at-fault driver and/or their insurance carrier.

Home Warranty

First of all, a home warranty is not the same thing as homeowners insurance, nor is it a replacement for homeowners insurance. Homeowners insurance covers major perils such as fires, hail, property crimes, water damage, etc. that could affect the entire structure and/or the homeowner's personal possessions. A home warranty does not cover these perils. Rather, it covers specific components of the home.

A home warranty provides for discounted repair and replacement service on a home's major components, such as the furnace, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical system. It may also cover major appliances such as washers, dryers and refrigerators.

Home warranty companies have agreements with approved local service providers. When something breaks down, the home warranty company sends one of its service providers to examine the problem. If he determines that the needed repair is covered by the warranty, he completes the work. The homeowner pays a service fee.

A home warranty costs a few hundred dollars a year, paid in advance and can vary according to the type of residence covered, the state you're in and the level of service desired. Often they are offered by sellers as a buyer's incentive to the sale of the home.

In addition to an annual premium, home warranties charge a service call fee every time the warranty holder requests that a service provider come out to the house.

There are many companies that sell home warranties and the specifics of the policies they sell can vary greatly, so it pays to shop around.

Insurance of Rental Car

Most of us don't give much thought to insurance aspect of car rental until we're offered coverage at the rental car counter. It can be a costly mistake if there's an accident and the driver doesn't have adequate coverage. At the same time, drivers shouldn't have to pay for insurance that duplicates coverage on their personal auto policies or is available via some credit cards.

The two most important types of coverage for drivers are a collision damage waiver, sometimes called a loss damage waiver, and liability insurance. The collision damage waiver relieves the driver of financial responsibility if the rental car is damaged or stolen, while the liability insurance covers costs if the driver is in an accident and is sued. Accepting the collision damage waiver and liability coverage from a car rental agency can add between $16 and $33 to the daily cost of the car, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

You should check your personal insurance policies to see if you already have coverage. In the vast majority of cases, whatever coverage you have on your own personal auto policy is going to extend to your rental car. But the big caveat is that the car is being rented for pleasure, not business. So drivers who have comprehensive and collision coverage as well as liability coverage in their personal policies can decline coverage offered by rental car agencies.

If you're not sure, call your (insurance) agent and ask what coverage you have on a rental car. This isn't an option for families who don't own a car or who have dropped the comprehensive and collision coverage on an old car. In these cases, an alternative is to use a credit card such as Visa, MasterCard or American Express, that provides insurance protection as a benefit. The insurance benefits can vary depending on the credit card issuer and whether the card is basic or premium, so it is better to check the card issuers' Web sites or call the card companies to confirm coverage.

Consumers who take advantage of these credit card-related collision damage waivers may want to supplement it with the liability insurance offered by the rental agencies. Rental car companies also offer other insurance options to customers, some of which may duplicate personal coverage. These can include personal injury insurance, which provides a one-time payment if the driver or a passenger are maimed or killed, and personal property insurance, which covers the theft of goods from a car. However, most people don't need to buy either. If you have a health insurance policy, the odds are you're covered for personal injury. The theft of personal property often is covered in a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy and likely isn't necessary.

Permanent Insurance

Our today's topic is Permanent Insurance which includes whole life, universal life and variable universal life policies. You may consider these policies, if you need protection for life but also want to build cash value on a tax-deferred basis for a variety of financial goals. The Whole life policy have been the most popular form of permanent insurance but universal life and variable universal life have increased in popularity in recent years because of the increased flexibility they offer to policyholders.

If you want permanent insurance, but have many financial commitments that require flexibility in meeting premium payments--such as mortgage payments, paying down debts or funding a child's college education--universal life (UL) may be for you.

With universal life, you control the amount and frequency of your premium payments and can choose between two death benefits options (within certain limits). The first, the level death benefit option, simply matches the policy face amount (the amount stated in the policy that's paid in case of death). The second, the increasing death benifit option, equals the face amount plus any accumulated policy cash values.

Policyholders can take loans against these cash values at any time. You may also take withdrawals (district from loans), generally after the policy's first year. Obviously, since cash values accumulate tax deferred, earnings, if any, become taxable only upon withdrawal. (Remember, though, that any withdrawals and/or unpaid loans will reduce the death benefits.) These features make Universal Life attractive for the long-term accumulation of assets which can then be used for different financial goals.

Now, we discuss a special kind of permanent life insurance: the Survivorship life insurance. Survivor Life policies pay a death benefit only after both insureds die. These policies are typically purchased by couples who have sizable assets and want to maximize the amount they leave to heirs or charities by allowing the beneficiaries to use the death proceeds to pay inheritance taxes.

Survivorship universal life (SUL) and survivor variable universal life(SVUL) simply combine the features of survivorship life with universal life and variable life in one policy. Because a survivorship life policy pays benefits only after both insureds die, it's usually a less expensive option than buying two seperate policies.

Life Insurance: Different Types

Life Insurance is an essential part of our life but many of us are completely unaware of its pros and cons. Many consumers pay their premiums and feel secure but do not find time to check exactly what kind is most suitable for their individual conditions and what benefits they are entitled for. We are presenting here some basic facts about most common types of Life insurance.

There are two basic types of life insurance. Term insurance protects you for a limited, specified period of time, while permanent insurance combines a death benefit (the proceeds the beneficiary of a life insurance policy receives upon the death of the insured) with a savings component. Especially during your younger years, term insurance generally offers the higest death benefit for the premium. It also allows you to convert your coverage into payment insurance during what's known as the conversion period.

Permanent insurance comes in various forms, including whole life (also known as ordinary life), universal life, variable universal life and several kinds of survivorship life. All of these policies combine a death benefit with an accessible savings, or cash value, component that you can use for a variety of financial goals. Because permanent insurance is designed to provide lifelong coverage, it usually requires higher initial premium than do term contracts for the same amount of coverage.

Here we discuss 2 different types of Term Insurance:

Annual Renewable Term: These policies provide a level death benefit you can renew each year (until about age 80) without a medical exam. Annual renewable term insurance is best suited for people with short-term coverage needs because the premium generally increases each policy anniversary. Despite this, annual renewable term is normally the most affordable type of life insurance.

Level Term: These types of policies provide a level death benefit, and may be suitable if you have a young family and need affordible protection over a set number of years. Unlike annual renewable term, where premiums increase annually, level term premiums remain the same throughout the level premium period. Typical terms periods include 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years.

Frequently, both permanent and term life policies offer an accelerated benefits option that enables you to receive your death benefit early if you become terminally ill, and a waiver of premium rider, available at an additional cost, which automatically pays your premium if you become totally disabled. (certain restriction apply to both of these options).

We will elaborate more on different types of permanent insurance in a future posting.

Pet Insurance

The veterinary care is an 18 billion dollar (per year) industry catering to more than 71 million U.S. households who have a cat or dog. As more and more prescriptions for pets are being written, the related business of pet health insurance is growing fast.

Pet policies are similar to our own health insurance with all familiar terms and phrases like annual premiums, deductibles prevalent in the trade. Depending on the company, you can get plans for different species of varying ages and lifestyles i.e., animals kept indoors vs. outdoors. Some also allow for pre-existing conditions. Policies can cover annual checkups, vaccinations, routine office visits, preventive medications (such as for heartworm), spay/neuter surgeries, treatments for accidents or illness, diagnostic tests, lab fees and flea control.

Most policies cost $7 to $10 a month per animal. Some offer discounted rates if you insure multiple animals. The American Veterinary Medical Association endorses the idea of pet health insurance and recommends looking for a company that allows you to choose your veterinarian, can offer referrals and is supported by professional organizations, individual veterinarians and other groups and individuals concerned with animal welfare.

For more information, speak with your veterinarian. He or she should be able to tell you what options are available in your state, and offer information on discount programs. You may visit the following websites to get price quotes for policies: PetInsurance, PetsHealthPlan, PetCareInsurance.

Disclaimer: LiveInUSA does not have any connection whatsoever with the website(s) mentioned above. The information is provided only because we think this could be helpful to our readers.

Important Insurance for Travel Abroad

This time, like all other time before, bears uncertainty in all aspects of life. So, if you are planning a vacation or tour abroad, it is good to have an insurance that can bring you back home in case of any emergency. In case of an emergency your regular health care insurance may provide only the medical cost but they donot bear the cost of bringing you back to the comfort of your home or hometown.

Even though you go on a vacation with a round-trip ticket, in case of an emergency, you may not find any seat in the earliest possible flight. This may sound too panicky but in these days of terrorism or tsunami and frequent break-outs of things like bird flu you never know what you might need.

"International SOS" (internationalsos.com) is the world's leading evacuation and assistance company for business and leisure travelers as well as expatriates. It provides at a reasonable price international medical assistance, emergency services, healthcare, evacuation and repatriation services. The company basically offers an international 911 line by providing critical medical and security help to those in need while away from home. Their emergency and day-to-day medical, security, personal and travel assistance services are globally supported by their staff at service throughout the world with the help of a global infrastructure and 20 years of expertise. So, next time you go abroad, you may seriously consider carrying their membership card in your wallet.

Disclaimer: 'LiveInUSA' does not have any kind of relationship whatsoever with the company mentioned in this posting. This information is provided because we think it may benefit our readers.

Public Insurance Adjuster

Even with the downtrend observed in recent weeks, home prices throughout the nation are at all time high and so is your stake in your home. If any catastrophe strikes your home, your home insurance would be the key to your new life. Most people do not face such a situation, but in case such a thing happens like it did in New Orleans a few months back, you will have the unfortunate recourse to facing and negotiating with your insurers on all kinds of clauses that bind your insurance policy. That's where Public Insurance Adjusters may step in.

They know the ins and outs of filing a large claim against a homeowner's policy. They take inventory, hire appraisers and engineers and negotiate with the insurer over your policy provisions. In short, they fight for a bigger settlement from your insurance company and provide peace of mind when you're most vulnerable. In return, they take a percentage of the total insurance settlement, usually around10%, depending on the size and difficulty of the claim. Their percentage may also depend on state insurance regulations, which sometimes cap the public insurer adjuster's fees.

To hire an adjucter you need to check with your state insurance department for the names of licensed firms (40 states license the profession) and ask for references. You may also visit the website of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) which lists its member firms.

We must also point out that some people see public adjusters with lot of skepticism. The insurance industry (obviously!) points out that your insurance company provides its own adjuster free of charge. Some consumer advocates call them a waste of money that could be better spent on a lawyer in the event you are not satisfied with your insurers. However, it's a choice that you can exercise depending on your situation and the amount of your claim.

Earthquake

Earthquakes cannot be predicted with any degree of precision and are most frequent in the West. While a few deadly ones have been recorded in the eastern and central parts of the country, there have been no major ones there since the 1800s. It is widely considered a matter of time before another major quake hits the seismically active West, home to considerable volcanic activity and geologic fault lines. The country's most severe quake in modern times had a magnitude of 9.2 in Alaska in 1964. One believed to be almost as large hit the Pacific Northwest coast in 1700, permanently changing the coastline.

Earthquake insurance costs vary widely by region and amount of the deductible. Aside from quake-prone California, the Insurance Information Institute lists Seattle, Portland, Ore., New York City and Salt Lake City as among cities with high loss potential. The costliest loss from earthquake was the 1994 Northridge quake in California, which caused an estimated $20 billion in damage, $12.5 billion of it insured.

On last Friday Allstate Insurance announced it would drop covering earthquake insurance to most of its 407,000 quake customers nationwide as a part of a larger move to reduce exposure to catastrophic losses. The company has not written new earthquake insurance since March 6 and announced Friday that existing earthquake policies will not be renewed. According to the company four states (Kentucky, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Florida) require it by law to offer earthquake coverage, but the company is in various stages of talks with regulators there.
The company has also declined storm renewals in some parts of Florida and New York and has taken a hard look at coastal coverage from Texas to Florida beginning with Hurricane Andrew in 1995.

No other major companies have yet expressed any plan to take similar action. In California, the most earthquake-prone state, the coverage is not affected by the Allstate decision. It is covered by the California Earthquake Authority, which has about 750,000 policies in force covering about 13.5% of the state's homeowners. The authority, founded by the Legislature in 1996, has approved a 22% rate cut effective July 1 last year to encourage more people to buy coverage.

For keeping track of recent earthquake activities, you may regularly visit the eathquake page of U.S. Geological Survey.

Auto Insurance Tips

If you go to the street and ask people what they understand by the terms 'comprehensive' or 'collision' coverage, you will be surprised to find out that lot of them do not really know what these terms really mean, even though they go on paying their auto insurance premiums year after year. So, our today's topic is auto insurance:

Collision coverage: your insurer will pay for repairs to your car after a smashup if it was your fault or you can't collect from the driver who caused the accident.
Comprehensive coverage: protects you against other losses -- for example, if your car is stolen or vandalized, is hit by falling objects, catches fire or is damaged in a flood. In addition, the comprehensive covers loss of items installed in your car, such as a radio, but usually not anything that you are transporting in it (such losses are covered by your homeowner or tenant policy, as long as your car was locked when the theft occurred).

These two types of optional coverages may cause significant differences in premiums for various makes and models of cars. Their premiums are cheaper on cars that are harder to damage and easier to repair. Cars that are easily damaged in accidents or are popular for joy riders or are a valuable source of spare parts have more expensive premiums.

You may remember the following 3 tips while buying your auto insurance:
(i) Three Year Rule: In case of any mishaps, your insurer will reimburse you only upto your car's current retail value. This is very important and that's why you may consider buying both coverages when your car is less than three years old.
(ii) Largest deductible Rule: 'Deductible' is the amount you must pay before the insurer starts reimbursing you. Car owners typically accept deductibles of $250 but $500 might be better because that may reduce your premium by as much as 10%.
(iii) Too Old Car: If your car is more than 5 to 7 years old, or is worth less than $1,500, you may drop your collision and comprehensive insurance altogether and save money.