Affordable Legal Service
It is well known that within America, most of the wealth is owned by a small percentage at the top. The sad thing about this is that not only does wealth relate to spending abilities and big houses. It translates itself into other issues, such as the ability to afford equal access to basic human services. Among these services are health and dental insurance. The poor are unable to afford health and dental insurance while the wealthy has immediate access. The solution to this problem is health and dental insurance. These two services work under a simple principle of temporal need. The fact of the matter is, even though everyone needs these services, we don’t all need them at the same time. What this means is that it becomes possible to pool our resources (money), and apply them to a select group when it becomes necessary.
This brilliant idea of leverage works very well when applied to health and dental insurance. Now, the question is how else can we leverage this idea? Many people are aware of life insurance, health insurance, but how many know of legal insurance? Unfortunately not many, and therefore many people go without legal counsel because they believe it to be unaffordable. Fortunately this is not true, and everyone has access to legal counsel, making the promises of equal justice possible.
A legal service plan can provide access to legal counsel, when it is needed at a very affordable price. You may be shocked to know how well the idea of temporal need works. It becomes apparent that top-notch legal counsel is affordable to everyone, enabling us to say as the big wigs do “I will consult my lawyer on this issue.” Another question arises, how often do people need legal advice and why would they even consider pre paying for such service? Well, here is a list of cases in which legal aid would be a great help:
- Identify theft
- IRS audit
- Dealing with speeding tickets
- Adopting a child
- Signing a contract
- Dog is poisoned
- Get charged a hidden fee on a bill
- Incorrect listings on credit report
We live in a litigious country and the list goes on and on. Legal service plans have been around for a long time and are widely available and used in Europe. Pretty soon they will be just as popular in America. I personally love the comfort of knowing I have a lawyer backing me, so I signed up for a legal service plan the minute I heard about it.
What You Need To Know About Accident Health Insurance
When it comes to insurance, do you know exactly what accident health insurance is and why you should get it? I didn’t the first time I heard the words accident health insurance, but it turns out it is something that is common and very necessary. It is something that you should probably look at and consider investing in for the good of you and of your family. You don’t want to get stuck in a situation where you are spending all of your money on the results of a freak accident illness.
Basically, accident health insurance can be defined as the insuring of individuals or people. There are a variety of accident health insurance policies out there. They range from the most basic personal accident and illness contract all the way up to corporate programs that insure the employees of a huge conglomerate company that reaches across national boarders.
An accident health insurance policy can be issued for a one time event like a trip. It can also be limited to a specific period of time like outside working hours or something of the like. Basically, though, it will provide coverage for people in general rather they be business people, sports players, volunteer workers, or trades people. They can even be made to cover students or employees that work overseas.
Some accident health insurance policies are designed for corporate clients. In fact, pretty much every corporation of any size has some type of accident health insurance policy. They may have a group PA policy or a travel plan of some sort, but they all usually have one. It also may depend on the size and general make up of the company. What it amounts to is that no matter how much they insure their buildings, equipment, and vehicles, they still need something to protect them from the loss of their most valuable asset, which is their employees.
Then there are also individual accident health insurance clients. Every person should consider an accident and health insurance policy. You may think that nothing will happen to you, but the truth is that anything can happen at pretty much any time. No matter how careful you think you are, you have no way of forcing others to be as careful as you are driving your car, walking down the street, or playing a game at the gym. You could even hurt yourself in your own home, and if anything were to happen you certainly don’t want to be stuck with medical expenses that you cannot cover.
Insurance is something we think about all of the time. We insure our homes, our cars, and even our jewelry. However, you should never forget to insure the most important thing you have which is yourself. Basically, accident health insurance is a policy that insures a person against illness or accidental injury. Whether it is your own or one for the employees of your company, you owe yourself at least a look at what a good accident health insurance policy [http://www.gateinsurance.com/] can do to help you.
Should You Buy Insurance
Everyone should have some type of insurance no matter no matter what your salary. Insurance is used to reimburse for a loss that occurs or protects against loss or harm to something or someone. There are several types of insurance available: life, health, dental, home, auto, fire, flood, credit card insurance, disability (short term and long term), and many more. The basic types of life insurance everyone should have are: health, life and disability. All three actually work together. Health insurance is needed if you ever develop a health condition or need to go to the emergency room. Disability insurance is used if you have a short-term or long-term medical condition that prevents you from working and ensures that you still continue to receive a paycheck (usually at least 60% of your salary). Life insurance is used in the event a family member dies. Having at least these three may affect your pocketbook now, but will cause you less headache and expenses in the future.
According to the National Health Care Coalition, nearly 46 million Americans are uninsured. A study by Harvard University researchers found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partially the result of medical expenses. Since 2000, employment health insurance premiums have increased 73 percent.
I had surgery in May 2006. I stayed in the hospital overnight. I was checked into my room at 7:00 pm and was released at 12:00 noon the following day. I received some basic medication and had staff assist me. The total bill for less than 24 hours was $12,000. This did not include the cost of surgery. The total bill was $20,000, luckily I had health insurance and only had to pay $5.
Many people go into debt and have bad credit due to medical bills from lack of having some type of insurance. When buying insurance it is best to comparison shop. You can also go to the Better Business Bureau’s website at http://www.bbb.org to search for companies and view their reliability report. A few good websites you can use to comparison shop for insurance are http://www.bankrate.com and http://www.progressive.com (for auto insurance). If your employer does not provide health insurance , life or disability insurance you can purchase insurance on your own. Go to ushealthcare.port5.com or http://www.healthinsurance.org (for selected states) to find information on affordable insurance. If you need insurance for your children visit http://www.insurekidsnow.gov. They also offer accident and critical illness insurance. For information on affordable disability insurance visit http://www.about-disability-insurance.com or http://www.assurity.com. If you really cannot afford to purchase insurance make sure you get enough rest, eat well and exercise. Try to get a part-time job to pay for the insurance.
If you are able to purchase additional types of insurance some as home owner’s insurance, auto or fire insurance, it is best to purchase bundled packages or insurance several types of the same item with the same company (such as insuring multiple cars with the same company). Many companies give you a discount if you purchase multiple products but you have to ask for it. For example, I purchased my home and auto insurance with the same company and saved about 15% of the total cost versus buying home owner’s insurance with one company and auto insurance with another company. Purchasing bundled packages or multi-line policies can result in a savings of 1 to 25% depending on the company.
As my grandmother used to always say, “it is better to be safe, than sorry”. At the very least try to purchase health insurance for yourself and your family.
For more information and resources on insurance visit
http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/insuranc.htm#head10, http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/9/prweb435162.htm, ask.hrsa.gov/pc, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicaid.asp (Medicare and Medicaid), https://perfdata.hrsa.gov/mchb/mchreports/Search/search.asp (maternal bureau information), http://www.life-line.org (click on glossary to get common insurance definitions), http://www.travelers.com (auto, home, rental insurance).
Health Savings Accounts Should Be Available to All Americans
All Americans should have the right to save for current and future healthcare expenses with pre-tax dollars. Health Savings Accounts provide some Americans with precisely that opportunity, but it is too limited in its scope to benefit the majority of the US. I love the concept of Health Savings Accounts (HSA), if you’re not familiar with them they are savings accounts in which money can be put away for future medical expenses on a pre-tax basis. In order to be eligible for an HSA you must be covered under a qualifying high deductible health insurance plan (HDHP). These are health insurance policies that typically cost less because they require their holders pay a high deductible (typically greater than $1000 annually). Unfortunately, the eligibility requirement to participate in a health savings account precludes the majority of the population from receiving a privilege that should be as basic as saving for one’s own retirement.
In a recent response from my Congressman, he suggested I consider using a sister product, the Flexible Spending Account (FSA). Although beneficial, the benefits of an FSA fall short of the benefits in an HSA; primarily because the balance of unused money in an FSA expires annually where an HSA rolls over from year to year. This is a monumental difference. With an HSA I have a means to cover current and future medical expenses which can accumulate to a retirement vehicle which becomes available for any purpose at age 65.
When Credit Reports Don’t Matter
Some people obsess over their credit scores, carefully calculating their actions with regard to every penny they make and spend. These people typically have a lot to lose because they have built their lives around financial security. There is more to life than financial security, however, and some people truly need not worry in the least about their credit ratings.
For example, if you lived under a bridge, would you worry too much about you credit rating? Of course not! You would be too concerned about staying warm and dry to trouble yourself with some silly number in a computer.
That is an extreme example used to illustrate the fact that there are plenty of people in this world who simply do not need to concern themselves with their credit reports because their credit reports will never affect their lives in any way. Do you need to worrry about your credit rating? If you meet all criteria on the following list, the answer is, “Probably not.”
People for whom credit reports are not at all important meet the following criteria:
They have no intention of changing jobs ever again. Your current employer will probably not check your credit reports, but a new employer just might. Therefore, if you never plan to change employers, your credit score does not matter. They never plan on buying any kind of insurance. If you do not drive, your car insurance premiums will not be affected by your credit ratings. If you do not need life insurance, your credit ratings will have no effect on your premiums, ditto for health insurance and homeowner’s insurance. They will never start a business. If you are not seeking investors are partners, there is no chance that they will ever check your credit in the course of their due diligence. They will never borrow money. If you never plan on buying another house or car or buying anything with a credit card, you do not need to worry about your credit reports. Who cares if they jack your interest rates up? You will never need the credit anyway. Their credit is already so messed up that nobody would ever steal their identity. “If you have nothing, you have nothing to lose,” as the song goes.
For the lucky people who meet all those conditions, credit reports will never matter. Everyone else would be well advised to stay on top of it.
How Credit Hits the Home Front #9 – Saving More Than Money
You have heard the saying, money can not buy happiness, and while that is true, it can make life a lot easier for most of us. Have you ever noticed how people who are very adamant about saving money actually seem to be happier? It’s not because they are idiots and missing out on the important things in life. It’s because they do not over pay for the simple things and they do not have to worry about money.
A big problem here in New York is that people usually over spend by a lot and they do not hunt for the best possible prices. Take a look at the expenses here on the home front, things like; internet, cell phone, telephone, television, car and health insurance. These things add up and become very expensive during the month. Now someone who is good at saving money may not necessarily live without these things like you would think, but they would take the time to find the best possible deal, and stay up on prices with their providers and their competitors. It may take some time but you can save hundreds of dollars a month, that’s money that can go towards having fun or loosening that financial belt a bit.
A big factor when it comes to saving money is making sure you have a good credit score. A low score will cost you thousands of dollars a year, not only with higher payments when you finance, charge or have loans, but also with deposits, insurance rates and much more. People with bad scores can be forced to pay high deposits for television and cell phone accounts among other things. That’s why you need to get a credit repair company here in New York that can fix your score fast. Many credit repair companies are able to repair your score in weeks and save you thousands of dollars a year.
By David George