A certified appraisal, made by a commercial appraisal company, is undoubtedly the roost accurate and reliable. These companies employ trained specialists whose factual detailed reports eliminate guesswork from the determination of value. Their appraisals are usually supported by detailed descriptions of the buildings, and by lists of equipment and other contents which can lie valuable in providing a Proof of Loss to the insurance company. (more…)

Actual Cash Value (also known as Sound Insurable Value) is the cost of replacing, restoring or reproducing the property, brand new, less depreciation due to use and obsolescence.

Your house and property are protected Actual Cash Value (ACV) covered if they do not covered by the replacement cost coverage on your insurance policy. (more…)

Replacement Value is the cost of replacing, reproducing or restoring the property, brand now, without deduction of depreciation. In other words, a school district insuring on the basis of Replacement Value is paid for the full value of the damaged property, brand now, at the time of loss. However, to collect the full replacement value, the Insured must actually repair or replace the property. Otherwise, the settlement will on an Actual Cash Value basis. (more…)

Many people become eligible for Medicaid by spending down to it. In other words, many people use up their own assets to pay health care bills until they have so little left that they qualify for Medicaid. Becoming eligible for Medicaid is quite tricky and cannot be done simply by giving things away to family members. Medicaid planning is a big business. (more…)

At the end of 2006, the resident population of the United States was approximately 300 million. Roughly 250 million people had some form of health insurance. The operative word is roughly. People obtain health insurance from a variety of sources. Many of them have access to and sometimes coverage from more than one source. Moreover, they may not have coverage for the entire year, and there is no single repository of data on who has what sort of coverage over what period of time. Thus, a person living in a two-earner household may have coverage from both workers, from only one, or from nether. (more…)

People over 50 have a growing need for asset protection because they have more assets worth protecting. But professionals who work in the field say that insurance coverage spreads unevenly along income insurances lines. More affluent seniors tend to be heavily-insured; less affluent ones tend to be under-insured. This discrepancy reflects the insurance market at large. It may have special meaning to people planning their lives around fixed family incomes. (more…)

Which types of insurance are sensible, and which should you avoid like the plague? If you start thinking about insurance from the insurance company’s point of view, the picture will become a lot clearer.

Insurance companies want you to see them as your protectors. (more…)

The Health Research Educational Trust (HRET) and the Kaiser Family Foundation conduct an annual survey of employers concerning their health insurance coverage. A summary of the findings is readily available on the Kaiser Family Foundation website (www.kff.org/insurance/7031/index.cfm) and in annual summary articles by Jon Gabel and colleagues in a fall or winter issue of Health Affairs. The survey is nationally representative of public and private employers, and is drawn from the Dunn and Bradstreet listing of U.S. firms. Responding establishments are resurveyed in subsequent years. Approximately 1,400 firms respond each year, and the overall annual response rate is approximately 50 percent. (more…)

In a defined contribution plan, an employer allocates to each employee a set dollar amount for the purchase of health care services—that is, for the purchase of the health care policy or for an allocation into a health care account or for both. The allocation can be used for the premium only, for the employer-sponsored health insurance account only, or for a percentage of each. Defined contribution allows employees to fine-tune coverage to their individual needs. This contrasts with the present typical defined benefits plan wherein the employer does all the legwork, employees’ options are limited, and satisfaction is often limited. (more…)

Medicare generally provides health insurance coverage to those over age 65. The Medicare Trustees (2006) reported that Medicare covered 42.5 million individuals in 2005, 35.8 million of whom were over age 65. The elderly Medicare program has four “parts.” Medicare Part A essentially covers hospital, skilled nursing facility, and home health services, which are paid for by the payroll taxes earmarked for the Medicare program. Medicare Part B essentially covers physician services and durable medical equipment. (more…)