Financial News for Business

3 Tips To Getting The Best Private Medical Insurance

Earlier this year I sat down with my insurance agent to discuss my health insurance options.  To my surprise I learned that my insurance premiums were going to go up by 30%.  When I asked her why the premiums were going up she explained it had to do with the new Obama health care plan.  Now my goal is not to bash this plan but rather to inform you that health insurance prices arent going down.  So in this article Im going to share with you 3 tips to help you find the best private medical insurance policy and show you what is the best ones that I recommend in the end.

First off, when it comes to getting the best private medical insurance policy you need to consider the deductible you are willing to cover.  Deductibles can range from as little as $500 to as high as $10,000.  A deductible is certain dollar amount that will be required to paid up before the health insurance company will start paying your bills.

For example, if you have a $5000 medical bill for breaking your arm and your deductible is $2500 you will have to cover the first $2500 before the insurance company will pick up the remaining $2500.

So what should you do?  Firs

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Tags: Insurance

The Best Way To Consolidate Debt

Do you want to consolidate your debt but just dont know the best way to do it or how to do it for that fact?  In todays post I will show you just how to do this but first before you do so you should consider the benefits.

First off, the best way to consolidate debt is to combine your lower interest debt with your higher interest debt, and the best way to do this is with your home mortgage.  The reason I suggest your mortgage over any other way is because it gives to big benefits.

• Lower Fixed Interest Rate. First it gives you a lower fixed interest rate compared to credit cards.  In fact if you have good credit you can get some extremely good rates right now.
• Tax Deductions. Secondly, by combining your debt with your mortgage you get the tax deduction on any interest you pay.

Now that we know the best ways to consolidate debts and how this can benefit us lets get started.

The first thing you need to do is contact your lender and let them know about your situation.  At this point your lender will be able to see how much debt you have and compare it to how much equity is available in your home.

At this point youll be able set your debt consolidation program up in one of two way.  First you can do a cash out refinance.  This is were you refinance your home loan all together and pull a portion of the equity out of your home in cash to pay off your debts.  However if your someone who has a really a good interest rate and you dont want to lose it you might want to consider the next option.

The second option is to set up  a 2nd mortgage.  This is also known as a piggy back mortgage that is separate from your first mortgage and carries a different interest rate altogether.  With this method you wont have to risk losing your great rate and the fees a cheaper with a 2nd mortgage as well.

Next once youve considered the type of loan program you want to use to consolidate your debts you need to decide how much debt you will be able to pay off.

Depending on the amount of debt that you are carrying you may not be able to pay it all off.  At that point you will have to make a decision as to which debts you wish to have paid off.  My suggestion is that you pay off anything with high interest rates first such as credit cards. This also hap

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Tags: Best Way, Debt

Instant Life Insurance: Beware of the Scams

Ever since the Internet became accessible to everyone, people have had easy access to a flood of information that has helped them save money and become smarter consumers. Unfortunately, the Internet has also given scammers easy access to their victims. When it comes to free life insurance quotes, there are plenty of ways that people are scammed out of their money by criminals and fraudulent insurance agents alike.

This is not to say that just because someone provides an instant life insurance quote they are dishonest. Just about every insurance agent offers some type of instant life insurance quote. However, knowing what to look for when it comes to fraud will not only protect your money when it comes to paying premiums, but it will protect your loved ones when they need to file for the policys benefits.

Unscrupulous agents will always try to sell people coverage that they dont need, but when it comes to purchasing a policy online it becomes even easier. Some agents dont even bother to try to sell unneeded riders, instead they just add them on to pad their commission.

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NY’s Proposed New Department of Financial Regulation

In the Executive Budget released today by Governor Cuomo, we get a look at the vision for the new Department of Financial Regulation. In the Agency Presentations release, (see pages 131-134) the mission of the new agency is described, in part, as follows: “The new Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) harnesses the regulatory powers and expertise of the Banking and Insurance Departments, as well as the Consumer Protection Board, to make the State’s oversight of financial services responsive to the 21st century needs of the industry and its consumers….Consolidation of these agencies and activities within a single agency platform will afford the State the ability to unify the State’s regulation of financial services and to more rapidly and adroitly respond to changing market practices and consumer preferences, thereby ensuring the industry’s continued integrity while shielding consumers from abuses.”

As I copied this passage from the budget book, I stumbled on the words “industry” and “industry’s” instead of “industries.” It appears that the regulatory consolidation is re-defining banking and insurance as a single industry.

After deciding to advocate consolidation of these two agencies, the governor could have taken the approach that while these industries are different and unique, there are enough similarities that regulatory economy can be achieved by combining agencies and personnel.

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Tags: Financial Regulation, New Department, Regulation

Governor Cuomo Announces Unanimous Senate Confirmation

More Departures from VA Line?

In a recent article by Darla Mercado in Investment News, “Other VA players may follow Genworth out door” she reports on the motivators behind company decisions to leave or reduce their activity in the VA market and low interest rates lead the list. Quoting Clark Troy, an analyst with Aite Group, LLC, the article states: “If we stay in a low-interest-rate environment, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more carriers pull out of or de-emphasize the issuance of variable annuities.”

One of the factors that some analysts looked to as warning signs that carriers are scaling back VAs is the lack of product development. As someone who sees a lot of products before they get filed for approval, I was particularly interested in this piece of the analysis. I too have noted that there has been a change in what my client companies are sending my way. While I know I don’t see all the products any particular company designs or submits to the states for approval, I do see a lot of products. I have anecdotally noted a clear trend towards fewer products and more specifically targeted products.

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Interesting Article about Benjamin Lawsky – NY’s new Department of Financial Services Superintendent

 Here is an [interesting piece on Mr. Lawsky] who has been confirmed as the first superintendent of New York’s new Department of Financial Services, which will be the combination of the Banking and Insurance Departments.  It appears in the blog [PolitickerNY].   While it may provide some insight on what we can expect from a Department he leads, as former superintendent Eric Dinallo suggests (in a quote that appears oddly twice), this is a different type of position than he has held in the past and will present new challenges.  

Tags: Financial Services, New Department, Services