Life Settlement: Towards A Free Market for Life Insurance

The Life Settlement market is all about providing due access to needed cash from existing life insurance.

This so-called free market referred to as the life insurance industry???s secondary market is based on a central premise, namely that the value of life insurance is best determined by independent market forces and has been validated in recent years by its rapid growth. It is also amazing to see the value creation and opportunities that this market presents. What it a life settlement and why may it be an attractive financial alternative to policy holders?

Various market providers in this sector of the industry are focused on servicing viatical settlements, life settlements, and senior settlements. Maximizing the profitable offering price for your life insurance policy in what is commonly referred to the secondary market for life insurance. Quite innovative, albeit counter-intuitive, advocating looking at things from a totally different perspective and finding new value in life insurance

Life insurance provides financial solutions to meet various needs of businesses and families. Over time, however it also needs to be dynamic and change with the holders and the/their demands. For example as loans are repaid , key executives retire, estates become smaller, businesses are sold, estate taxes are reduced ??? or better yet, no longer exist of in cases where the policy simply becomes too expensive it is definitely time to revisit said policy.

Until just several years ago, individuals in the situations laid out about above were facing a monopoly, a market situation in which a seller can only sell to one buyer. Imagine if a homeowner, after living in the home for many years, was told that instead of being permitted to sell the home to any willing buyer, he or she could only sell it back to the original builder at the price determined by the builder. Clearly, no one would tolerate such a situation for homeowners, but it has existed for life insurance policy owners. For many years, policy owners have had only one buyer for their policies ??? the life insurers. The advent of a secondary market has lessened the monopoly power of life insurers and created a free market for policy owners to create value from and using their insurance.

Before the advent of the secondary market, life insurance policies could not readily be sold, and it would have made little sense to speak of a policy???s fair market value. By its very existence, this new and growing secondary market for life insurance bestows on every policy a fair market value like the owner???s other financial assets. A life settlement can now be treated like any other financial vehicle.

Institutional Life Settlement Funders
http://www.life-settlementco.com

Jon Thomas has been involved in finance and insurance,
specializing in emerging growth markets since 1979.

Top 5 Jobs Which Require Life Insurance

Life insurance is an important aspect of everyone's lives and is something which everyone will have to face at some point in time throughout their lives. This point may come sooner rather than later for some individuals because of the job they perform on a daily basis.

While some individuals start everyday by putting on their suits and racing to get to the coffee shop for their morning coffee, others are strapping on their work boots and preparing themselves for a day of excruciatingly hard labor. As scary as it may sound, there are many individuals who are willing to put their lives in danger every single day when they get up and go to work.

The following is a list of the top 5 jobs which are considered to be the most dangerous jobs in the world. Individuals who perform these jobs are highly recommended to have a life insurance plan incase (god forbid) anything goes wrong on any given day. These are the 5 occupations which made the list:

1. Police/Detectives Police Officers face life threatening situations almost everyday. They are highly trained to defend themselves and are equipped with protective equipment at all times. Life insurance and disability insurance are crucial for individuals working in the field of policing.

2. Airplane Pilots Believe it or not, airplane pilots require life insurance because they are dealing with such powerful machines which have been known to have mechanical glitches. Airplane pilots are also highly trained in their field to make sure they do their best to fly safely.

3. Construction Workers Construction workers are somewhat unappreciated for the amount of hard work they do everyday. They not only put their lives in danger from all the machinery they are expected to operate, but they also face many factors which will affect their health in the long run. Overexposure to sun, heat and excessive lifting are just a few of these factors.

4. Farm Workers Much like construction workers, farm workers are at high risk of injury or death due to the fact that they are constantly operating heavy machinery. There are hundreds of farm work related deaths a years and thousands of injuries for individuals working in farm fields. Life insurance and disability insurance are important for individuals in this occupation.

5. Fire Fighters It is a known fact that fire fighters put their lives on the line everyday to save the lives of others. Knowing the potential consequences and performing the job anyways indicates that these workers deserve the highest level of respect from others. Individuals who have chosen careers in firefighting are also likely to have a life insurance policy.

Is your job dangerous? Is your life on the line everyday? Maybe not, but there are many other factors other than your occupation which may indicate you need life insurance. Life insurance is a plan which will ensure your loved ones are taken care of incase anything happens to you. Wouldn't you like to know your family would be looked after should this type of situation occur?

Bill Mason is a retired insurance agent who now writes as a freelance writer for http://www.insuranceguide101.com a site that offers information on insurance of all kinds including online life insurance, business insurance and more.

Copyright Bill Mason - http://www.insuranceguide101.com/

How BlueCross Health Insurance Works

Health Insurance works on the principle of sharing risk between the carrier and the insured. The carrier I represent is BlueCross of California. If you were to subscribe to a particular insurance plan, you would be the insured.

The number one way to avoid frustration when using insurance is to understand how it is meant to perform when it’s time to drive it. If you purchased a Ferrari but no roads you drove on allowed you to exceed 30 mph, you might get a bit frustrated . You simply bought too much car. To avoid buying more than you need, it’s important to understand the nature of what you are purchasing. Health Insurance is no exception.

Health insurance carriers share the risk of the insurance plan with the insured through the following overall approach:

You Pay the Deductible
You Pay the Co-insurance and/or Co-pay
You reach an out of pocket max and get everything covered at 100% after that.
 

Hey, what’s with all the "you pay" stuff? Well, along the way different insurance plans cover a percentage of other costs, such as office visits, prescription drugs, hospitalization, etc. However, the above three step approach is a good way to frame the process. We will define the terminology used in the above three steps further down.

The amount of "you pay" within each of the above three steps depends on your insurance plan. This is why there are so many plans.

Lets look at each of these steps individually and use two plans from BlueCross of California to demonstrate their performance. Remember, higher performance carries with it higher cost.

We will use two plans that are at opposite ends of the coverage spectrum. You can view them here. PPO Basic 2500 is a "hospitalization plan", or a "major medical" plan. It performs best in extreme situations where you are seriously injured and need hospitalization. It is terrible at helping you meet less tragic expenses such as routine prescription drugs, office visits, and dental. It is great for stopping the financial bleeding you would otherwise experience without medical coverage should you be hospitalized. But once out of the hospital you’re pretty much on your own again; until (God forbid) you are hospitalized again. This is an inexpensive plan (about $50/mo. in most areas of California) and is in fact very popular.

The deductible on a PPO Basic 2500 is $2500.00. Most BlueCross plans use the deductible built into the plan as part of the plan’s name. What does a $2500.00 deductible mean? It means this is the amount you are going to have to pay before BlueCross will contribute any coverage at all on your behalf. The good news is that once you meet the deductible BlueCross starts to share some of the burden with you. You are starting to ramp down your expenses.

Now we get to Co-insurance. This is the percentage you end up paying after your deductible is met. With PPO Basic 2500 it is 20%. What? You paid your deductible and you STILL have to pay 20%?! Yes. Remember, this is "Mack Truck Insurance". You get hit by a Mack Truck and I guarantee you the Co-insurance period will not last long. You will probably sail quickly on to the "Maximum Out-Of-Pocket Expense" horizon.

What about the term, "Co-Pay?" In this case, there is none. The co-insurance you pay is considered sufficient by the carrier to share the risk on this type of policy. Again, each policy is designed for specific purposes; to perform at specific levels in specific situations.

Finally, we get to the magic milestone called "Maximum Out-Of-Pocket Expense" (MOPE….an appropriate acronym if ever there was one). This is very often confused with "deductible". Mixing these two terms up can result in a rather nasty surprise. The MOPE is where your responsibility for cost sharing ends and the insurance company starts picking up 100% of the tab. Finally and at last, you’re free and clear…until the annual period comes around again and then everything resets.

Now let’s contrast PPO Basic 2500 with Tonik 1500; a "Comprehensive Plan" aimed mostly at people between the ages of 19-29 years old . Like PPO Basic 2500 there is a deductible, but here we find a co-pay instead of co-insurance, and there is also a MOPE.

Tonik 1500 is the Ferrari of Tonik Plans. It has a higher premium than PPO Basic 2500. Tonik 1500 has a $1500.00 deductible. Your risk starts to end much sooner than with the PPO Basic 2500 plan. Even better; with the Tonik Plans your MOPE is exactly the same as your deductible! Now this is unusual. In most cases the deductible and the MOPE will not be identical. Keep that in mind.

Another big difference is the presence of a co-pay instead of a co-insurance percentage. A co-pay is a fixed amount you pay each time a service is rendered. No percentage here, you just pay a fixed amount. This takes a LOT of uncertainty out of the equation for you.

But the premium…ouch…you may say. This is where you apply your knowledge of the ideas covered in this article and look at the differences between the plans. You get a lot more for your money with Tonik 1500 than with PPO Basic 2500…but ONLY if you use the things Tonik 1500 offers (like prescription drugs, office visits, etc.).

Michael J. Penner is a licensed BlueCross of California Life and Health agent in Visalia, California. More helpful articles can be found on his site at www.lifegotsafer.com

Blue Cross Focal Renewal For Small Group Medical And Dental 2007

If your business has an effective date prior to December 1, 2003, you will be receiving you will receive your kit directly from Blue Cross. These kits will contain your groups' census information along with the ammended plan designs and rate increases. This advance notice will give us time to plan ahead and allow us to lock in your group business at current premium levels, with 12-month rate guarantees and anniversary health coverage renewal cycles, over the next few months. Today is not too early to lock in Blue Cross rates for April effective dates!
 

Eric Trost of Pension & Benefit insurance services continues to be your primary source for all your Blue Cross Focal Renewal needs. We are here once again to be your Focal Renewal resource! All medical and dental plans are effected by the upcoming Focal Renewal May 1, 2007. We can provide you with a summary of all rates by plan, by rate area, by pay period, and for any of the Blue Cross plans offered in the Blue Cross Elect portfolio depending on your contribution situation.
 

For more information on your Focal Renewal and support contact Eric Trost at Pension & Benefit Insurance Services, Inc., call toll free at 1 888-661-0700 or visit www.ca-health-insurance.net To review small business health insurance plans and rates from other major carriers please contact me today.

Keep in mind that there are no deletion of plans this year with the Blue Cross focal renewal. However, Blue Cross has inserted a couple of HSA type plans into their portfolio for this year.

For more information on BeneFits from Blue Cross employers can contact Eric Trost @ pension & Benefit Insurance Services, Inc., or call toll free at 1 888-661-0700 or visit http://www.ca-health-insurance.net To review small business health insurance plans and information please email or log on today http:http://www.ca-health-insurance.net