RESEARCH IS VITAL IN ORDER TO AVOID BOGUS HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES WHICH ARE ON THE RISE
RESEARCH IS VITAL IN ORDER TO AVOID BOGUS HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES WHICH ARE ON THE RISE
You know the story by now: your email, letter box and phone are polluted with messages offering health insurance at rock bottom prices. Those with common sense are wary of these offers and have reason to be. Florida’s financial regulators and health insurance industry experts say that these policies are nigh on worthless. As people are always actively searching for better health insurance rates, the level of fake policies is rising with false health coverage the quickest growing scam in the United States according to a recent survey by non-profit group, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.
Morally bankrupt insurers and telemarketers zoom in on the millions of Americans who have either recently lost their coverage due to being laid off or sick, had it cut by employers or couldn’t afford the escalating rates charged by their insurance company. This has led to an enormous amount of anxious people looking for health cover and willing to go down any avenue. This makes them perfect targets for shady salespeople and their vague pitches promising affordable health insurance.
Over the last 12 months, regulators in Florida have found and shut down nine different operations that sold false policies to thousands of Florida residents. These policies were also marketed across the US and offered nothing in the way of actual
coverage, were not approved and were sold by agents and firms that were illegally set up in the state of Florida.
Recently, AIM and its subsidiaries sold 1,800 policies in the state before being shut down. The state is working hard to ensure that all health insurance policies meet basic minimum standards and it was found that none of the policies of AIM and the other companies were approved and the organizations were not licensed. Officials in Florida are attempting to force AIM and the others to pay up what they owe to those who purchased their policies.
Three other nationwide operations were also shut down, this time by the Federal Trade Commission who filed federal lawsuits because they identified the firms as sellers of health insurance policies that were worthless plus the fact that they used mass marketing in an attempt to dupe unsuspecting citizens. One of these groups, the Consumer Health Benefits Association, operated from Coconut Creek and made $15 million over a two year period as well as selling over 40,000 policies in the last seven years.
The bottom line is that none of these policies offer real health insurance. They don’t cover you in the same way and worst of all, victims of these scams don’t realize until they try to use them, only to find that a large medical bill awaits them instead. Officials are trying to make the public more aware by asking them to check with the state to ensure that the agents and insurers involved in selling the policies are genuine and licensed but of course there are no guarantees.
You may end up getting one of these policies that only actually covers a token amount like $40 on a doctor’s visit or a few hundred dollars towards hospital bills which can run into thousands. Then you have the pointless discount plans. These could be useful if you knew what you were buying but most people don’t. Instead they think they are getting a legitimate health insurance package. Many of these discount plans deliver nothing like you expected because these discounts are either non-existent or else they are so small that they don’t even cover the monthly fee for membership.
TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANIES GIVEN WARNING OVER DUBIOUS PRACTICES
TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANIES GIVEN WARNING OVER DUBIOUS PRACTICES
Texas insurance companies are under the spotlight with the state’s insurance commissioner, Mike Geeslin, unhappy over the propensity of certain companies to limit their policyholder’s choice of repair shop.
The state’s insurance code doesn’t allow insurance companies to dictate terms such as type and condition of auto parts used as well as the policyholder’s choice of repair company.
Giving extra notice regarding vehicle repairs to consumers is strictly forbidden by state statutes yet some companies are doing precisely that.
According to the Texas Insurance Code (TIC), no insurance company has the power to suggest or demand a consumer to choose a particular repair shop. Any company that does this is in breach of Chapter 1952, subchapter G of the TIC.
The Texas Administrative Code (TAC) states that an insurance company must specify
to their clients that they are allowed choose whichever repair shop they like so long as they are not forced to pay unreasonable amounts.
Interestingly, Geeslin believes that this gives some insurance companies the impression that they can charge the policyholder more if they don’t have the repairs carried out by a company on the insurer’s approved list. This could be against the rules of the TIC and TAC because it violates the consumer’s right to choose their own repair company.
Also, certain companies only pay out extremely low reimbursement rates which means that policyholders are forced to have low quality repairs done which renders their vehicle unfit for the road.
Generally, personal auto insurance policies should force the insurer to pay an amount that equates to high quality repairs or a replacement vehicle of a similar standard. The current practice of insurers paying less than what they should has been blasted by the state Insurance Department as it can lead to substandard repairs which are dangerous. The Department has been put on record as stating that it will pursue any insurance companies that don’t pay out the requisite amount.
CONSUMER ADVOCATES BELIEVE THAT THE NEW EXTENSION LEGISLATION PROPOSAL FOR LOWER COST AUTO INSURANCE SHOULD BE SIGNED BY GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER
Those in favor of protecting consumer’s rights are putting pressure on Governor Schwarzenegger to sign the AB 1597 bill which will allow low income drivers to benefit from cheaper automobile insurance. This Low Cost Auto Insurance program, which will not increase taxpayer’s bills, was already approved in California in August 2010 yet it needs the Governor’s signature to give it longevity.
Several prominent members of non-profit organizations such as Consumer Watchdog have spoken out in favor the bill. Their Executive Director, Douglas Heller, said that it should be an easy choice for the governor because of the assistance it will give to low income motorists. He was also adamant that the fact that it wouldn’t prove to be an extra financial burden on taxpayers and the likelihood that it would keep the roads safe should influence the Governor’s decision.
If signed, the AB 1597 bill will add a minimum of five years to the program. The Low Cost Auto Insurance Program only set back motorists around $400 a year and offers basic coverage but only to drivers with near spotless records. The reason why taxpayers don’t have to shell out extra for the program is because any claims that will be paid come from the premiums paid by the lower income motorists. The Consumer Watchdog group paid for a low cost insurance program in 1999 but it didn’t last the distance. This bill is overseen and funded by the Department of Insurance with an Assemblyman by the name of Dave Jones accredited with the bill on this occasion.
Voters said no to Proposition 17 in June as it was the polar opposite to AB 1597
Mercury Insurance funded Proposition 17 which was designed to seriously punish Californian motorists who had a coverage lapse in the previous five years. These people would have been forced to pay a large sum in order to be allowed to purchase insurance again. This is the antithesis of the Low Cost Auto Insurance program which was designed with the motorist’s finances in mind.
Douglas Heller explained the rejection of Proposition 17 by noting that voters were not interested in halting their fellow motorists in terms of getting new insurance. He also feels that the low cost program is so popular because it lowers the number of uninsured motorists on Californian highways and only drivers with good records can
benefit.
A quick review of the Low Cost Auto Insurance program
If you hope to be eligible for the program, here are some of the principle criteria. Your driver’s license needs to be almost spotless with no more than one point on it. You have to be over 19 years old and your income needs to be below the $27,000 barrier annual. If you are in a family of four, then this income should be less than $55,000. Drivers will be covered for $20,000 maximum in the event of an accident, $3,000 for property damage and $10,000 if you sustain physical injury. A vehicle with a value of more than $20,000 also excludes you from the program.
Over 50,000 people can thank this program for helping them get back on the road with 12,000 of these driving today. The program has also lowered the rate of accidents involving uninsured drivers and has paid over $8 million in the last three years. This has been as a result of approximately 3,000 accidents involving at least one member of the program.
Low income drivers need to become more aware of this plan because there are still far too many uninsured drivers on Californian roads. Visit Insurewish.com for tips on car insurance as well as a comparison of insurance company’s quotations.
NEW GRADUATES AND INSURANCE ADVICE
Once the millions of graduates come out of colleges in the United States, they have to leave behind the protection of the school walls and take on the big, bad world. While you may have majored in psychology, did you also learn how to pay off those ever-growing student loans or figure out where and how to get adequate insurance cover?
* There is a danger that being a graduate has removed you from your family’s health insurance cover. Find out from your family insurance provider if that’s the case and if it is, then you must immediately find coverage that suits you.
* Although many students don’t have a huge amount of material goods with them after college, getting renter’s insurance if you move into a new apartment is a prudent move. Regardless of how many possessions you have, the premiums will be so low as to make financial sense.
* Eventually, you will be employed in your first major job after college. This is when you must find out all you can about your employer’s insurance coverage. The problem with this is that a renowned insurer will have hundreds of clients on a waiting list which means you could be unprotected for a time which will mean a nervous wait.
* Whether you are moving back to your old neighborhood of trying out a new city, your car insurance coverage is likely to change in price so be sure to take another look at it before moving on.
* With thousands of people looking for insurance and seemingly hundreds of companies willing to oblige, competition is fierce. Therefore, it is wise to research several different companies as prices are likely to be very different from company to company.
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