Personal Insurance

Protect your home and everything in it.

The coverage you have depends upon the type of policy you have. Unlike auto insurance, where the policies are pretty much the same, homeowners policies can be quite different, depending on the "form" number. The most common types of homeowner policies are:
HO1 Basic or Standard policy
HO2 Broad form
HO3 Special (also called Deluxe)
HO4 Renters policy
HO6 Condo policy
HO8 Older Home Policy

All homeowner policies are "package" policies. You get a group of coverages packaged into your policy for one overall premium. They include coverage on your building, your contents (furniture, clothing, etc.) and liability insurance in case you are sued, under the same policy. The property coverage is shown under Section 1, while the liability coverage is described under Section 2.

There is no better way to understand your homeowner policy than to read it! We suggest you pull out your policy and find the parts to your policy that correspond to the following explanations:

A typical policy consists of three things:

1. The Declarations Page - that declares who, what and how much you are insuring, along with the date your coverage starts and the premium.
2. The Policy Booklet - printed pages that contain the details of coverages and exclusions.
3. Endorsements - separate pages, usually with endorsement numbers, that change (or endorse) specific parts of the policy.

Sometimes you are only given the original policy once in the beginning, then on renewal, to cut down expenses, you are just sent the dec. page (declaration page) with the bill. It's a good idea to save the original policies should you ever need to refer to them.

More Detailed Information:

The HO1 policy is very limited in coverage and is not being sold by most companies.
The HO2 policy covers the basic perils of fire, lightning, explosion, smoke, hail, aircraft, riot, glass breakage, theft and damage caused by vehicles. It also adds additional coverage to broaden your policy. Those perils include damage caused by rupture of your water or heating pipes, falling objects (such as trees), collapse of the building, limit electrical damage to appliances and others.

The HO3 policy is, by far, the most commonly sold policy. It covers everything the HO2 policy covers and more. Instead of listing the perils that are covered these policies cover all damage to the building except what is excluded. The usual exclusions are: wear and tear, termites, rotting, collapse of septic tank, flood, war, earthquake and a few others.

Some HO3 policies are referred to as "Deluxe" , "Special" policies depending upon the company.

Most policies cover your contents or belongings only for the perils named in an HO2 policy so wear and tear and normal breakage is not covered for your furniture and personal belongings.
Be careful! Your homeowner policy limits coverage on some items.

To keep the cost of insurance down your policy probably has limits on certain items. Typical limits are:

• Cash - $200
• Jewelry - $1,000
• Firearms - $2,500
• Silverware - $2,500

Check your policy carefully. If you see you don't have enough coverage, find out how much it would cost to increase those limits or to buy special coverage.

Optional Coverage

In addition to special coverage for jewelry, silverware and furs, you can purchase specific coverage for such possessions as stamp or coin collections, fine arts, camera equipment, collectibles, watercraft and musical instruments, just to name a few.
 
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Be ready for the unexpected.

 
An umbrella liability policy works to give you additional protection when damages exceed the liability coverage of your standard policies. It also offers extra security for many situations that may not be included in your basic insurance.
 
Personal umbrella insurance can be applied to events such as:

• Car accidents
• Accidental injuries on your property
• Accidents involving your boat, ATV, or other recreational vehicle
• Golf course injuries
• Defense fees and other legal costs
• Personal injury coverage for claims of libel and slander

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The right decisions today for a healthy tomorrow.

The cost of medical care and the rising of health insurance premiums continues to make your health insurance options a #1 priority when considering your health insurance choices. The information below may help some of your questions about health insurance so you can make an intelligent choice at a resonable price.

Types of Health Insurance

There are essentially two types of health insurance plans: indemnity plans (fee-for services) or managed care plans. The differences include the choice of providers, out-of-pocket costs for covered services and how bills are paid. There is no one “best” plan for everyone. Some plans are better than others for your or your family’s health care needs, but no one plan will pay for all the costs associated with your medical care.

Here is a brief description of the types of available health insurance plans: Indemnity Plans; Managed Care Options; and Government-sponsored Health Insurance

A. Indemnity Plans

Cafeteria/Flexible Spending Plans are employer-sponsored plans that allow the employee to design his or her own employee benefit package, choosing between one or more employee benefits and cash. Several types of Flexible Benefits or Cafeteria Plans are used by employers, including a pre-tax conversion plan, multiple option pre-tax conversion plan, medical plans plus flexible spending accounts, and employer credit cafeteria plans. For more information about these choices, contact your employee benefits department.

Indemnity Health Plans allow you to choose your health care providers. You can go to any doctor, hospital or other provider for a set monthly premium. The plan reimburses you or your health care provider on the basis of services rendered. You may be required to meet a deductible and pay a percentage of each bill. However, there is also often an annual limit on out-of-pocket expenses, so that once an individual or family reaches the limit, the insurance covers the remaining eligible medical expenses in full. Indemnity plans sometimes impose restrictions on covered services and may require prior authorization for hospital care or other expensive services.

“Basic and Essential” Health Plans provide limited health insurance benefits at a considerably lower cost. When buying such a plan, it is extremely important to read the policy description carefully because these plans don’t cover some basic treatments, such as chemotherapy, certain prescriptions and maternity care. Furthermore, rates vary considerably because, unlike indemnity plans or a managed care option, premiums are community rated and are based on age, gender, health status, occupation or geographic location.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are a recent alternative to traditional health insurance plans. HSAs are basically a savings product designed to offer individuals a different way to pay for their health care. HSAs enable you to pay for current health expenses and save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-free basis. Instead of paying a premium, you establish a tax-free savings account that covers your out-of-pocket medical expenses. This means that you own and control the money in your HSA. You make all decisions about how to spend the money without relying on a third party or a health insurer. You also decide what types of investments to make with the money in the account in order to make it grow. However, if you sign up for an HSA, you are generally required to buy a High Deductible Health Plan as well.

High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) are sometimes referred to as catastrophic health insurance coverage. An HDHP is an inexpensive health insurance plan that kicks in only after a high deductible is met of at least $1,000 for an individual or $2,000 for a family.

B. Managed Care Options

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) offer access to an extensive network of participating physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals and facilities. You choose a primary care doctor from a list provided by the HMO and this doctor coordinates your health care. You must contact your primary care doctor to be referred to a specialist. Generally, you pay fewer out-of-pocket expenses with an HMO, but you are often charged a fee or co-payment for services such as doctor visits or prescriptions.

Point-of-Service (POS) plans are an indemnity-type option in which the primary care doctors in the POS plan usually make referrals to other providers within the plan. If a doctor makes a referral out of the plan, the plan pays all or most of the bill. However, if you refer yourself to an outside provider, the service is covered by the plan, but you will be required to pay co-insurance.

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO) charge on a fee-for-service basis. The participating doctors, hospitals and health care providers are paid by the insurer on a negotiated, discounted fee schedule. Costs are lower if you use in-network healthcare services, but you have the option of going out-of-network. If you choose an out-of-network provider, you are generally required to pay the difference between what the provider charges and what the plan pays.

C. Government-sponsored Health Insurance

Medicaid is a federal/state public assistance program created in 1965. It is administered by the states for people whose income and resources are insufficient to pay for health care or private insurance. All states have Medicaid programs, though eligibility levels and coverage benefits vary.

Medicare is a federal government program for people 65 and older, or those with certain disabilities, that pays part of the costs associated with hospitalization, surgery, doctors’ bills, home health care and skilled-nursing care.

State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is administered at the state level and provides health care to low-income children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid. SCHIP may be known by different names in different states.

Military Health Care includes TRICARE/CHAMPUS (Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services) and CHAMPVA (Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs) as well as care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

State-specific Plans are available for low-income uninsured individuals. These plans are known by different names in different states.

Indian Health Service (IHS) is a Department of Health and Human Services program offering medical assistance to eligible American Indians at HIS facilities. In addition, the HIS helps pay the cost of selected health care services provided at non-HIS facilities.

With Permission © Insurance Information Institute, Inc. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 
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Protecting your family's future today.

Many financial experts consider life insurance to be the cornerstone of sound financial planning. It can be an important tool in the following situations:

1. Replace income for dependents
If people depend on your income, life insurance can replace that income for them if you die. The most commonly recognized case of this is parents with young children. However, it can also apply to couples in which the survivor would be financially stricken by the income lost through the death of a partner, and to dependent adults, such as parents, siblings or adult children who continue to rely on you financially. Insurance to replace your income can be especially useful if the government- or employer-sponsored benefits of your surviving spouse or domestic partner will be reduced after your death.

2. Pay final expenses
Life insurance can pay your funeral and burial costs, probate and other estate administration costs, debts and medical expenses not covered by health insurance.

3. Create an inheritance for your heirs
Even if you have no other assets to pass to your heirs, you can create an inheritance by buying a life insurance policy and naming them as beneficiaries.

4. Pay federal “death” taxes and state “death” taxes
Life insurance benefits can pay estate taxes so that your heirs will not have to liquidate other assets or take a smaller inheritance. Changes in the federal “death” tax rules between now and January 1, 2011 will likely lessen the impact of this tax on some people, but some states are offsetting those federal decreases with increases in their state-level “death” taxes.

5. Make significant charitable contributions
By making a charity the beneficiary of your life insurance, you can make a much larger contribution than if you donated the cash equivalent of the policy’s premiums.

6. Create a source of savings
Some types of life insurance create a cash value that, if not paid out as a death benefit, can be borrowed or withdrawn on the owner’s request. Since most people make paying their life insurance policy premiums a high priority, buying a cash-value type policy can create a kind of “forced” savings plan. Furthermore, the interest credited is tax deferred (and tax exempt if the money is paid as a death claim).

Types of Life Insurance

There are two major types of life insurance—term and whole life. Whole life is sometimes called permanent life insurance, and it encompasses several subcategories, including traditional whole life, universal life, variable life and variable universal life. In 2003, about 6.4 million individual life insurance policies bought were term and about 7.1 million were whole life.

Life insurance products for groups are different from life insurance sold to individuals. The information below focuses on life insurance sold to individuals.

Term

Term Insurance is the simplest form of life insurance. It pays only if death occurs during the term of the policy, which is usually from one to 30 years. Most term policies have no other benefit provisions.

There are two basic types of term life insurance policies—level term and decreasing term.

• Level term means that the death benefit stays the same throughout the duration of the policy.
• Decreasing term means that the death benefit drops, usually in one-year increments, over the course of the policy’s term.

In 2003, virtually all (97 percent) of the term life insurance bought was level term.

Whole Life/Permanent

Whole life or permanent insurance pays a death benefit whenever you die—even if you live to 100! There are three major types of whole life or permanent life insurance—traditional whole life, universal life, and variable universal life, and there are variations within each type.

In the case of traditional whole life, both the death benefit and the premium are designed to stay the same (level) throughout the life of the policy. The cost per $1,000 of benefit increases as the insured person ages, and it obviously gets very high when the insured lives to 80 and beyond. The insurance company could charge a premium that increases each year, but that would make it very hard for most people to afford life insurance at advanced ages. So the comapny keeps the premium level by charging a premium that, in the early years, is higher than what’s needed to pay claims, investing that money, and then using it to supplement the level premium to help pay the cost of life insurance for older people.

By law, when these “overpayments” reach a certain amount, they must be available to the policyowner as a cash value if he or she decides not to continue with the original plan. The cash value is an alternative, not an additional, benefit under the policy.

In the 1970s and 1980s, life insurance companies introduced two variations on the traditional whole life product—universal life insurance and variable universal life insurance.

With Permission © Insurance Information Institute, Inc. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 
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