| Health insurance in perspective
Perhaps the most common question I'm asked by pre-retirees who are thinking about retiring soon is about health insurance. Should I continue to work until age 65? Are there any reasonable insurance products that I can buy if I retire before age 65? Are there risks that I need to understand before I retire before age 65? For those who have guaranteed health insurance as part of a retirement package, these concerns are generally not an issue, except for the risk that this guarantee might be reneged before one reaches age 65. For many others, the COBRA option guarantees that insurance can be purchased for 18 months following job termination, the problem here being that the full cost of the insurance is now due each month, not just the subsidized amount the employee has been paying.
SOME INSURERS CONSIDER BRIDGING HEALTH COVERAGE FOR THE PRE-MEDICARE CROWD
''Making it to Medicare'' has become one of the biggest challenges for baby boomers who retire or are laid off before 65. Individual health insurance can be expensive. More than half of the pre-65 boomers on such policies spend at least $300 in monthly premiums for single coverage, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a Washington-based policy institute. And those with a chronic medical condition may be denied coverage related to that condition or turned down altogether. But there may be hope on the horizon. Lured by the baby boomer generation's size and affluence, a number of insurers have begun to market policies specifically geared to the 50-to-64 age group. Some of the nation's largest health insurers -- Aetna, Humana and WellPoint -- are introducing more comprehensive products designed for people who were used to benefit-rich plans in their jobs.
How Much Should You Pay for Auto Insurance?
(ARA) - How much does the average person pay for auto insurance? Probably more than they would like. Often the bill just gets accepted as a necessity and we simply write out a big check each month.What you don't know can be costing you a lot of money. When is the last time you checked with different insurance companies to see what other offers are out there? If it's been a while, you owe it to yourself to look immediately so you can start saving today.With the Internet, there's no need to call around and spend hours on the phone. Quote.s-Car-Insurance-Rates.com is a site dedicated to helping customers find the right auto insurance for them at the right price.By visiting the site and filling out a simple form, you can compare offers from multiple insurance companies, all in a couple minutes.
Opening Glance: Insurance Companies
Shares of most insurance companies rose in early morning trading Thursday as the broader markets posted slight gains. Shares of American International Group Inc. rose 95 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $43.13. Allstate Corp. shares rose 59 cents to $47.11. Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. rose 88 cents to $72.12. Ambac Financial Group Inc. shares rose 7 cents to $5.91. .
Insurance pitfall snags sellers
For most people, there's probably not a dime's worth of difference between a vacant and an unoccupied home. But Sterling Newberry, and others like him — who have moved into a new home before selling their old one — know better. And they have the high insurance bills to prove it. "We had hoped to sell it first, but then the housing market took a nosedive," said the 92-year-old physicist, who moved with his wife, Mary Lou, to Rhode Island in August 2006. That's when the couple's homeowners' insurance premium tripled because the house, for insurance purposes, is considered vacant. The Newberrys put the house on the market in fall 2005. Before they could unload it, the couple moved into the new place. Brian Merriam of the Merriam Insurance Agency in Schenectady, N.Y., said that once you remove all your belongings, the house is considered vacant, as opposed to unoccupied.
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