Subscribe RSS FeedOkay, you know that some of the most common daytime and late-night television commercials are all about prescription drug plans, but why do you need one if you already have insurance? What about health savings plans – can you buy drugs with them? And how come your insurance copay is $10 for some drugs and almost $40 for others? This week’s Friday Filmstrip explains it for you.
Archive for November, 2010
Friday Filmstrip: Insurance and Prescription Drugs
November 19th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in friday filmstrips, health insurance, insurance factsRateWatch: Michigan Judge Halts Blue Cross Rate Increase
November 18th, 2010 by Iris | 2 Comments | Filed in health insurance, insurance news, rate watchA circuit court judge in Ingham County, Michigan has called a stop to Blue Cross Blue Shield’s planned rate increases there. The increases in question would have increased the cost of premiums by up to 66% for some senior citizens.
The preliminary injunction, which was filed on Tuesday, requires that a public meeting be held.
Last September, the Michigan attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross and a state regulator, claiming that a hearing should have been held by the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation.
According to state officials, 8,000 – 9,000 polices out of about 200,000 existing Blue Cross Blue Shield Medigap policies are affected by this decision.
Spokespeople for Blue Cross and the regulator said that the rate changes resulted from the elimination of a discount on Medigap policies for people who either reside outside of Michigan, or get help from their employers in purchasing coverage.
Blue Cross also said they were ordered to end the discounts.
Tags: insurance news, ratewatch
Buckle Up in the Back Seat, Study Says
November 17th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in auto insuranceWearing your seat belt may not help you find lower auto insurance rates, but it could keep you alive – even if you’re riding in the back seat. Rear seat passengers who die in automobile accidents are twice as likely as front seat passengers to be riding without their safety belts on, an Illinois study says.
The Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) Division of Traffic Safety recently released the information from a six-year study which took place from 2003 to 2009. Among their findings included the fact that, in 2009, 74 back seat passengers died in car crashes in their state, but only twelve percent of those were wearing seat belts.
Under Illinois state law, safety belts are not required when you ride in the back seat of a car.
As a result of these findings, the Illinois State Police and IDOT are planning to operate about 900 seat belt enforcement zones with the cooperation of more than 150 local law enforcement over the next few weeks. Local police departments will also conduct roadside safety tests an increase the number of patrols for impaired drivers.
Tags: auto insurance, insurance news
Cyber Crime on the Rise
November 16th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in insurance fraud, insurance news, insurance specialistsIf you think the concept of cyber-insurance is just a scam, consider this: last Tuesday (November 9th), the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) logged its two millionth complaint of online criminal activity.
The IC3 began operating in May, 2000, as a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, and it took seven years before it received its millionth complaint, which was logged on June 11, 2007. It took less than half that time to reach two million complaints but that may be partly because the IC3 is more visible, not only because the cyber crime rate is rising.
Cyber crime complaints made to the IC3 are then referred to local law enforcement agencies. So far, agencies around the world have been referred 757, 016 criminal complaints, the majority of which involve fraud, and the complainant suffering a financial loss. The total reported loss from these crimes is roughly $1.7 billion, with each complainant claiming about $500.
And how is this fraud being perpetrated? Well, most complainants point to identity theft, so be sure to add protection to your bank account or credit cards.
An earlier report from the FBI said that among Internet crimes, advanced fee scams that fraudulently used the FBI’s own name ranked number one.
Connecticut Has New Interim Insurance Commissioner
November 15th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in insurance news, insurance specialistsDays before the Connecticut state insurance department is due to hear a rate increase request from a major health insurance company, Governor M. Jodi Rell has appointed an acting insurance commissioner.
According to the Insurance Journal, Governor Rell’s representatives confirmed the official appointment of Barbara C. Spear on Friday.
Spear will take over the position from Thomas Sullivan, who has served as Connecticut’s insurance commissioner since April, 2007. Friday will be his last day on the job.
Sullivan agreed to a public hearing about a request from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to raise their insurance premiums. He said he scheduled the hearing, which will be on Wednesday, because of a series of rate increase requests from this insurer, which has a significant share of Connecticut’s market.
Friday Filmstrip: Vacation Rentals 101
November 12th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in friday filmstrips, homeowners insurance, travel insuranceMost of us aren’t lucky enough to own a second home, but we still want to be able to get away from time to time, in a place with a bit more room to spread out than a typical hotel room. This usually means a vacation rental. With the holidays fast approaching, vacation rentals are seeing an off-season boom, so here’s a video about how to safely rent a vacation home.
Alabama Has Been Paid, BP Says
November 11th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in business insurance, world eventsRepresentatives of BP, the oil company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year, said it’s paid more than $657 million to the state of Alabama for claims, grands and recovery costs.
The petroleum company released those numbers among other updated figures earlier this week, and said that the largest chunk of money, roughly $420 million, went directly to individuals and businesses filing claims.
According to BP, almost $127 million was paid to people working in the Vessels of Oppurtunity program, in which boat captains and commercial fishermen helped recover the oil from the water. The company also said that $22 million was used to help the tourism industry in Alabama.
Last Friday, however, the head of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach tourism said that Baldwin County’s lodging revenues had fallen by 33%, costing them roughly $58 million.
Alabama governor Bob Riley recently chastised BP for its claims fund process, stating that it speeds up when a meeting is called to air complaints, but slows down again just after.
BP has not commented on the governor’s opinion.
