Subscribe RSS FeedWhile most employer provided health insurance coverage provides some kind of vision care provision, it usually comes in the form of discounted services, and not full coverage. Nevertheless, regular eye exams are important, even if you don’t wear glasses or contact lenses. In honor of my cousin, who runs a mobile eye care company, today’s video, from Stay Smart, Stay Healthy, and YouTube, is all about eye exams. Enjoy.
Archive for December, 2010
Friday Filmstrips: The Importance of Eye Exams
December 17th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in friday filmstrips, health insuranceWeather Affects Citrus Crops
December 16th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in business insurance, insurance news, insurance specialistsCold weather affects us all, especially since all the extra time indoors in close quarters means we’re passing colds and flu back and forth with greater than average efficiency. Cold weather affects more than just people however, and, in fact, unseasonably cold weather in Florida – including ice storms – has caused citrus growers in the central part of the state to report crop damage.
Ray Royse, executive director of the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association in central Florida, said, “There was definitely some damage,” and added, “We did have some areas that had damage last night.” He continued, saying, “It’s too early to tell whether or not we’ll have significant fruit drop but certainly we’re going to have juice loss within some fruit in some areas.”
On Tuesday night, overnight temperatures in Highlands, the second-largest citrus-producing county in Florida, fell well below freezing. Florida growers are responsible for more than seventy-five percent for the U.S. orange crop, and roughly forty percent of the world’s orange juice supply.
Citrus is fairly fragile where temperature is concerned, and even four hours of temperatures lower than 28 degrees Fahrenheit can cause damage, which, according to Royce, is exactly what happened Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Royce elaborated, “I don’t think it’s to the level of being catastrophic tree killing cold anywhere, but we certainly are going to see some damage coming out of last night. It is not fruit frozen in every single grove. It is not small twig damage everywhere, but there’s definitely some blocks that are going to have damaged fruit.”
Highlands County Growers Association represents 185 members in the geographic center of Florida’s world-renowned citrus region.
Royce said his damage assessment, while still early, was based on contacting growers scattered across some 40,000 acres of orange groves across the region.
Most commercial citrus growers carry some kind of insurance on their crops, but even if their finances are relatively secure, it means the cost of orange juice may increase this year.
Estate Taxes and You
December 15th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in insurance news, life insuranceSo, unless a miracle occurs, at the beginning of next year, the Federal Estate Tax will revert to the rates that were in effect ten years ago, on January 1, 2001. By the numbers, this means that estates worth $1,000,000 will be taxed at 41%, those above $3,000,000 would be taxed at 55%, and the tax rate would be 60% for estates worth more than $10,000,000.
While much of the media coverage recently has been about the Bush tax cuts, and their extension, the fact is that most of what we’re hearing is about income tax. Estate Taxes, however, were also reduced by those cuts, which means those numbers above will go back into effect in January.
This is important, because tax rates could affect things like life insurance decisions and estate planning in general. This is why many life insurance brokers recommend joint survivor life insurance which is a kind of coverage that provides the heirs of a large estate with a way to pay estate taxes without having to sell off family assets.
If you are fortunate enough to have the sort of wealth these tax cuts affect, please take the time to consult your life insurance provider and make sure you’ve adequately prepared your estate for your heirs to easily take over.
Even if you’re NOT so wealthy, remember that even modest estates should be protected.
Tags: life insurance
Statewide Covers Medical Marijuana…Nationwide
December 14th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in business insurance, insurance news, insurance specialistsIf you live in one of the fifteen states where medical marijuana is legal, and are concerned about the cost of being involved in the medical cannabis industry, you can rest a little easier. Last March, an insurance company based in Rancho Cordova, CA launched the first nationally available coverage designed specifically for the medical marijuana industry.
As reported in the Sacramento Bee, Mike Aberle, a commercial insurance agent with the firm – Statewide Insurance – and the national director of its new Medical Marijuana Specialty Division said, “Given the growth in the industry, I think it’s only a matter of time” before other states allow medical marijuana. Now that we can offer (services) in all 50 states, we can start the minute they go legal, without delay.”
According to Aberle, the program covers all of the various aspects of the medical cannabis industry, including dispensaries, general liability, workers’ compensation, equipment breakdown/damage, property/product loss (including pot spoilage), auto insurance (for vehicles that transport medical marijuana) and other related operations.
It was California voters who took the first steps into medical marijuana as an industry back in 1996 when they initially approved Proposition 215, which allows physicians to recommend cannabis for the treatment of cancer, chronic pain, AIDS, glaucoma, and other chronic illnesses which could benefit from treatment with cannabis. It’s estimated that there are now over 2,000 dispensaries in that state.
Aberle began forming Statewide’s Medical Marijuana Division (MMD) in 2007, and since then it has provided insurance to clients in California, Colorado, New Mexico and Rhode Island. Last year, he began expanding the national program. Premiums, he said, range from $650 – $25,000 a year, with different variables affecting the cost. A typical policy has premiums between $1,000 and $4,000.
A lobbyist with California Capitol Solutions in Sacramento told the Bee that Statewide’s MMD program is a “milestone in an industry that needs insurance protections for everyone in the distribution chain, from growers of the product to those that use it. He also said, “It’s very big, especially right now with public safety. Safety protocols need to be put into place.”
Del Real said that he represents medical cannabis dispensaries and other segments of the medical marijuana industry throughout California. He also said that the group with the fewest protections is the growers, asking, “How do we move out of residential areas and into commercial and industrial space?” He continued, “A lot of people are trying to get their minds around the cultivation of medical marijuana.”
According to Del Real, governments throughout California have decided numerous issues like whether insurance for dispensaries will be required. He said that there was, “… a big thing of catching up going on. Each community is passing its own laws, and that becomes problematic.”
Tags: business insurance, cannabis, commercial insurance, insurance news, medical marijuana
Net Premiums up for First Time in 2 Years
December 13th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in health insurance, insurance news, life insuranceA new report released by A.M. Best & Co shows that the American life/health industry’s nine-month net premiums risen increased 2.6% to $424.2 billion, the first such increase since the end of 2008. The same report also shows that admitted assets have improved 4.6 percent to $5.1 trillion since year-end 2009, aided by what Best calls “modest increases” in separate account assets.
Speaking on behalf of his company, Richard F. Kirk, senior business information analyst for A.M. Best’s Financial Suite products said, “”The U.S. life/health industry continues to recover from the economic crisis with improvement in a majority of the key financial results reviewed in the statistical study. It will be interesting to track the progress in net premiums written relative to challenges posed by (but not limited to) high unemployment, modest U.S. economic growth and continued uncertainty.”
Here is the list of percentages accounted for by the top 25 writers, as reported by the Insurance Journal:
admitted assets (78.2 percent); separate account assets (88.6 percent); net premiums written (67.0 percent); after-tax net operating gain (67.8 percent); realized capital losses (72.0 percent); and capital and surplus plus the asset valuation reserve (66.9 percent)
These results are included in an in-depth study of the insurance industry’s 2010 nine-month financial results. The U.S. property/casualty industry study is expected to be released shortly.
Tags: health insurance, life insurance
Friday Filmstrips: COBRA explained
December 10th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in cobra insurance, friday filmstripsWith so many people unemployed because of the state of the American economy, COBRA is an oft-heard term. But what are COBRA benefits, and how do they work? This week’s Friday Filmstrip from StaySmart/StayHealthy, via YouTube, explains it:
Tags: COBRA, cobra insurance, friday filmstrips
New Jersey Charging for Fire/First-Aid Service?
December 9th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in fire insurance, health insurance, insurance newsWhile many private ambulance services ask local residents to pay an annual membership fee in order to defray costs of actually using an ambulance, some residents of New Jersey might soon have to pay if they need the fire department as well.
According to Insurance Journal, the Salem, NJ city council has recently adopted an ordinance that allows fire departments to charge money in order to recoup costs.
According to Fire Chief Fred Ayars, this ordinance isn’t designed to take money out of residents’ pockets, but to get it from insurance companies. Apparently, if local fire departments adopt a schedule of fees, most fire and insurance policies will reimburse them for expenses.
The Chief also told the press that if a resident doesn’t have insurance, there will be no fee incurred.
Elsewhere in New Jersey, the city of Cape May is considering an $8/mile assessment for ambulance service to help balance the 2011 budget. There’s already a $500 charge for ambulance service in Cape May; this assessment would increase that fee by roughly $100, however, the local press reports that Cape May’s mayor, Ed Mahaney, has expressed concern that some people would choose not to call for an ambulance because of the additional cost.
