Are you disaster proof?

When shit hits the fan, what do you have? An umbrella? Or a hazmat suit? No one can accurately predict mishaps and misfortunes in one’s life so you better have a decent backup plan. Here are two of the tried and tested ways that you can help disaster-proof you and your family:

Emergency fund. The recession has underscored the importance of an emergency fund. Be sure to have at least six months’ worth of living expenses in your emergency fund. That means it’s money that can easily be accessed in case crap happens. The job situation today hints that a years’ worth of living expenses as emergency fund isn’t that bad. Replenish it before spending your money on other things.

Insurance. Aside from your emergency fund, you can also protect yourself and your stuff through insurance. While many might claim that these can be an unnecessary expense, my own experience has taught me to value insurance. Prioritize getting health, life, home, and car insurance policies. Just shop around to get the best deals.

Choosing life insurance

It’s not being morbid. It’s just being practical. Here are some stuff you need to think about when choosing the right life insurance for you:

It basically boils down to two popular choices – term life insurance andwhole life insurance.

You may initially purchase a term life insurance which costs the least but it is only valid for a specified amount of years. Once this period is over, you would need to renew your insurance for higher rates.

A whole life insurance may cost higher but they are kept at a set rate until everything is paid off. The only time the premiums change is when the one covered by the insurance decides to discontinue the coverage but later on comes back.

Another consideration for death insurance is if it accrues money or not. This is the reason that term life insurance costs less. You are paying for the term, in most cases about $100,000, and though you may be paying for fifty years, that amount will never increase.

The deciding factor would actually be your financial situation. If you have more money, go for a whole life insurance. Although it’s more expensive, it will be much better for your family in the end. However, if you’re tight on the budget, a term life insurance is a good-enough alternative until you save more to upgrade your policy.

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What to look for in health insurance

Are you planning to acquire health insurance? There are some considerations you need to think about when getting one. A good solid health insurance also offers the following:

Hospitalization Coverage. Hospital stays can be quite expensive depending on the type of medical service that you acquire. A good health insurance covers hospitalizations which include room and board, and the medical procedures that they perform on the patient.

Co-pays. These payments are the individual expenses that are paid independently such as doctor visits, prescriptions, emergency room visits, and shots. A good health insurance pays for some of these up to a certain amount. Although you can also consider less coverage on co-pays if it allows you to up on other areas.

Durable Medical. This refers to the equipment and devices you need for health management. Examples of this are nebulizers, compressors for administering medication.

Whatever coverage you purchase, just make sure that you read everything on the policies and procedures, including the fine print. Be diligent in keeping and filing paperwork as most health insurance providers would need documentation. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have to.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance

Extending parental coverage

In an economy where young adults struggle to cope with costs of living and employment, should health also be a worry?

Many young adults remain without any medical insurance primarily due to the cost and many have jobs that can’t quite provide them with enough wages to allow them to pay out of pocket if their companies don’t provide for health coverage.

At least state governments are doing something about it while the Federal government continues to finalize health care reforms.

New York, for example, passed a law in June allowing parents to cover young adult children up to the age of 29 under their employer-provided healthcare. The conditions – child may/must not have any other coverage and should reside within the state. More than 20 other states have similar laws which allow parents to cover children up to their mid to late 20s.

Young people sure can take advantage of this but we sure hope that this doesn’t increase the a mentality of overdependence to parents.

Obama’s public health insurance might not push through

President Obama has been bent on providing public healthy insurance. While this is probably something all Americans dream of having, the proposal has hit quite the opposition from both Republicans and Democrats alike that it is most likely to be scrapped.

Health care has been on the legislature’s agenda. The administration aimed to run a health insurance corporation to help out the 50 million uninsured Americans. This, however, isn’t part of the core health care reform proposals.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession probably would enrage Obama’s liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers.

The relation of health insurance and mortality rates have been very well documented. For one, the lack of insurance often prevents people from seeking preventive care. Sickness are often caught in their late and extreme stages.

Should depositors worry if their bank fails?

So far, 72 banks failed this year and another one is poised to go belly up according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. With banks failing, is it time for the beleaguered public to worry about their money in the bank?

Not really. The FDIC covers all depositors for up to $250,000. So that means that you are guaranteed to get back all your deposits within the coverage if your bank happens to fail. Never has a depositor lost his money covered by the FDIC in the corporation’s 75-year history.

“When your money is in a bank that is FDIC insured it is backed by the full force of the United States government, and it doesn’t get any better than that,” said American Bankers Association’s Carol Kaplan. So, if your cash is in an account with less than $250,000 at a bank insured by the FDIC, “there is virtually no way you are going to lose your money.”

Now what if you have more than $250,000 in the bank? Remember that the FDIC covers per depositors so all you have to do is to open another account under a different name (like your wife’s) and the new account. If you won’t be able to, then arrange for the excess to be transferred to a different bank.

If your bank happens to fail, don’t worry. The FDIC will make your deposits available for you.

AIG to hold first shareholders’ meeting with US taxpayers in control

Former insurance giant AIG owes quite a lot to US taxpayers. Not only does the company owe taxpayers billions of dollars in form of bailout funds, it also has to win back the people’s trust after the executive bonus fiasco. AIG contracted the ire of the people after handing out millions of dollars to executives as bonuses despite being bailed out by the government.

AIG is set to hold its annual shareholder’s meeting on Tuesday – the first since the US taxpayers took majority control. Taxpayers will be represented by three trustees from the government.

Part of the plan is to elect six new officers to the 11-seat board of directors. Those to be ousted from the board is current Chairman and CEO Edward Liddy. Liddy has already announced that he will be stepping down from his positions last month. His positions are expected to be filled by two separate people.

AIG owes the government $70 billion dollars. The company estimates that it might take them five years to fully repay the debt.