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Smokers Insurance Ohio

Reader’s Question:

How do I get started on a smoker’s insurance?

Desmond

Columbus OH

 

If this is the first time you have considered getting a life insurance of any sort, there are some things you need to consider before getting a smoker’s insurance. Basically, there are two types of life insurances for people who smoke. The first one is called a permanent insurance. This type of insurance provides death benefits as well as other forms of investments. The investment could be in the type of savings, retirement or endowment depending on how you would want your insurance to be designed. Also, a permanent plan provides coverage until death or until the age of 99. The second one is called a term insurance. Term is for temporary protection. The usual period of coverage is 10, 15, 20, 30 years. If you choose a 10-year term, that means you have life insurance for that period. Once it passes, you’ll need to get another one.

A smoker’s insurance can either be permanent or term. Before deciding on the type of life insurance, you should determine if cost is going to be a problem. In general, permanent insurances are more expensive than term life. In the case of a smoker’s insurance, a permanent insurance’s cost would be double or triple that amount. The same is true for a term insurance but the overall cost would still be lower. Usually, a substantial coverage, about $300,000 of term life will have a premium of $200. If a smoker will apply for the same coverage, it would go up to $400 to $600 depending on the insurance provider. Moreover, the premium rate will be affected by how often you smoke. That means, the more sticks you consume in a day, the higher will be the premium.

In order to understand more about the different quirks involved in life insurance, you should discuss it with an agent who is knowledgeable and connected to a lot of insurance providers.

Affordable Life Insurance For Senior

Reader’s Question:

What should I expect to pay if I buy life insurance for a senior here in Michigan?

Danina

Detroit, MI

Life insurance policies typically become more expensive as the insured individual gets older. So you should expect life insurance for senior adults to be a bit pricier. However, there are still a few ways to help you cut cost and find a good senior life policy while saving some much needed money.

Choose the Right Type of Policy

Getting the wrong kind of life insurance would mean throwing good money away for years to come. Understanding your goal or purpose for buying life insurance will help you identify if you need coverage for a specific period only (Term life), lifetime coverage (Whole life), or something that builds cash value faster (Variable/Universal life.)

Be Your Own Insurance Agent

Use life insurance comparison websites that offer free rate quotes to shop for the best senior life policies today. Not only do you save money by eliminating commission fees, you also get the latest rates coming from a wide-variety of life insurers with less time and effort.

Consider a Policy with No Medical

This is advisable for seniors with serious health or medical conditions that would otherwise be charged an arm and a leg if they take a medical test. A no-exam policy may prove more cost-effective for life insurance for senior adults.

Setup an Annual Payment Scheme

Paying a year in advance would usually cut 10% - 20% off your total life insurance expenses for the year.

Look for Life Insurance Specialists

There are many life insurers that specialize on seniors. They can probably give you more competitive rates than general insurers and may even give you better discount options.

Go for a Healthy Lifestyle

Living a happy and healthy life (no smoking, regular exercise, etc.) will do a lot to help keep your life insurance rates affordable in the long run.

Domestic Partners’ Health Insurance Missouri MO

Reader’s Question:

I work in a company here in Missouri that offers health insurance. I wonder if I can extend these benefits to my domestic partner of almost ten years.

Ray

Kansas City, MO

Generally, the answer to your question would be no. This is because no law mandates companies to offer any health insurance benefits either to their employees nor to the spouses, children or partners of their employees. And also, no law mandates employers to extend the health benefits that they offer their employees to the spouses, children or partners of their employees.

But what you have to do is consult with your company’s human resource personnel in order to be sure.

Recently, employers across the country have been giving their employees reliable health benefit packages to keep up with the competition of acquiring and keeping efficient employees. Large companies have been already doing this for years, and so small companies follow.

Anyway, to give you some idea regarding your case, if your employer does indeed allow extending your health benefits to a domestic partner, certain things still have to be considered. Different employers have different definitions of domestic partner. Some would consider same-sex couples, others would not. Some employers would only allow extension of health benefit for civil union partners only. This is what you will have to check with your company. But whatever the case is, usually the partners are asked to fill out an affidavit that states that the partners are in a loving and committed relationship. Also, the period of living together may also count.

Like what I have already said, check with the human resource department of your company. They should give you answers to your questions. Because, personally, I don’t know how things run there in Missouri.

Tags: health insurance, insurance, insurance advice

Gay Friendly Health Insurance Massachusetts MA

Reader’s Question:

My partner is asthmatic, so he regularly needs medical attention. The only problem is that the company where he works for here in Massachusetts doesn’t offer health insurance. Can I have him included in the health insurance that my company provides for me?

Josh

Boston, MA

Even though health insurance policies may be extended to spouses, generally it is not within the requirements that are mandated by law for companies to offer any form of health insurance policies to their employees and the employees’ spouses or domestic partners. This is according to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. At the same time, the companies are also not required to offer to extend to their employees’ spouses and domestic partners any form of health insurance even if they do offer this to their employees. Providing health insurance policies to employees is typically the company option. I believe this is also why before applying for a job, a person must check if the company gives competitive benefits to their employees.

Even though this is the case, a large number of employers have recently been offering health insurance policies as part of a competitive roster of benefits to attract more employees. We have to be reminded that in order for employers to attract and keep efficient employees, they will have to take good care of them. Hence, one of the steps they take in taking care of their employees is to provide not just a competitive compensation package but as well as health insurance that is sure to take care of their employees and their employees’ family. This coverage also includes unmarried partners.

Now, what you have to do in order to know if your partner can be included in your coverage is to ask people from the human resource department of your company there in Massachusetts. This people are the ones organizing your benefits, leaves and everything that has to do with the employees. I am sure that they can give you some information.

 

Tags: Gay Friendly Insurance, health insurance

Health Insurance Coverage Cambridge, Massachusetts MA

Reader’s Question:

My partner has health insurance coverage from the company where he works here in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Does this coverage also work for me even though we are not married?

Dante

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dante, generally, employers are not required by any law to offer health insurance coverage to their employees, spouses and domestic partners. In the same way, those employers that offer health insurance coverage to their employees are also not required by any law to extend the health insurance coverage to the domestic partners. When I say domestic partners here, it includes same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex couples. These provisions are under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

It is always the prerogative of the employers whether they would offer health insurance coverage to their employees or not, or whether those that offer health insurance to their employees would extend the same coverage to their employees’ partners. But throughout the recent years, the number of employers who offer domestic partner benefits is already rising. I think this is to attract more employees with a competitive benefits plan.

Furthermore, in some states, there have already been laws passed which are in favor of the domestic partnership rights. There already are laws in some states granting same-sex couples almost all the benefits that married opposite-sex couples enjoy. But as far as I know, provisions governing health insurance are still in the process of being written, and no one knows yet what shall be under them.

For you to know if you are going to be covered as well by the health insurance offered to your partner by his company, I suggest that you tell your partner to discuss this with the people in his company there in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who are in charge of this benefit. I am sure they can give him answers.

 

Tags: health insurance

Gay friendly health insurance agent

The way to find a gay friendly health insurance agent is pretty simple–just ask. Once you have a list of possible insurance agents, start calling and finding out which one’s are gay friendly. It’s a lot easier to do this over the phone, and it also saves a lot of time. You can also ask around among friends, or call your local gay community center to get recommendations.

Once you have a gay friendly health insurance agent, you’re pretty much set. The agent is your path to finding gay friendly companies, and they can help you locate a company which offers both good quotes and also has policies which help those with domestic partnerships, gives no exam coverage, and can help in such things as artifical insemination or implantation treatments for lesbians trying to concieve.

Some people choose not to bother with an insurance agent at all, though. For one thing, there is almost always a fee associated with this, and it’s also true that much of the information you need can be found independently online or through gay community centers. You may try to save yourself some money and just look up health insurance quotes yourself.

Gay-friendly health insurance

For many gay men who have AIDS, they are faced with a double problem: first, once they’ve tested positive, it is nearly impossible to find affordable insurance if they didn’t already have it through an employer, and even if that is the case, difficult once more if they lose it; second, there’s still the problem of finding a gay-friendly health insurance provider.

One great option is the AIDS Health Insurance Program, which is available to those who find themselves straddling the health insurance fence–those who make too much to get Medicaid, but not enough to afford the high prices of high risk insurance.

In order to be eligible for this gay-friendly health insurance program, you have to be unable to get Medicaid, and also have some kind of health insurance when you apply. Short term health insurance is a cheap, one time option you can use if you can make the effort to just insure yourself long enough for the application. However, you can’t just assume you aren’t eligible for Medicaid, even if you look on the Medicaid website for your state and see right there that you make to much–you first have to fill out an application and be denied, so that you can have this proof when you go get your insurance. It’s a hassle, but it’s worth it.

Gay friendly health insurance

Even with health insurance gay friendly doctors are still a must for most GLBT folks. Everyone’s been through that uncomfortable experience when, some way or another, your sexuality has come up while you’re sitting vulnerable on that patient table, and the awkward silence that followed as you waited for the doctor’s reaction. Not all doctors are accepting, and so in order to avoid possibly bad experiences, it’s important to find a doctor who is gay friendly health insurance will cover, too.

Here are some tips:

• Ask people.
• Call a GLBT community center or medical association. Most of the time these places, even if not necessarily geared towards medical concerns, can help gay people find the health care they need from the right people.
• Give the doctor a prior visit. Instead of waiting until you need to see a doctor, find out where s/he stands first. Call up and ask what the office’s policies are on gay people, or just head to the clinic and take a look around for gay friendly materials.

Free quote for gay friendly health insurance

High deductibles come along with any discussion on insurance, and many queer policy holders head straight for these types of plans when looking for a free quote for gay friendly health insurance. The common idea that has been spread around is that high deductible plans are more affordable because the premiums are lower, and while the second half of that statement is true, the reality is more complex.

As a matter of fact, people with high deductible plans end up gathering more medical debt than others, simply because the high deductible is an obstacle in emergencies, and pretty much any time. While some may put money for their high deductible insurance plan in a savings account, there is still plenty of time for things to happen while they wait to save up enough money to pay these higher amounts.

People who have high deductible plans also have difficulty accessing many things, such as prescriptions and well visits. Remember the next time you look for a free quote for gay friendly health insurance that taking more of a risk on yourself puts more of a financial burden on you as well, which could defeat the purpose of health insurance.

Online gay friendy health insurance quote

Q: Should I get my gay friendly health insurance quote online?

A: There are a lot of advantages to getting your gay friendly health insurance quote online, and one of the greatest is that you are able to more easily compare health insurance companies. Rather than looking for health insurance companies the tedious, old fashioned way, you are able to get instant rate quotes and spend as little as 20 minutes on this.

Another advantage to getting your gay friendly health insurance quote online is that you have so many resources at your fingertips which will allow you to find a company which is right for you. There are gay websites all over the internet which offer information on which companies have the most gay friendly policies, towards domestic partnership, AIDS treatments, and so on.

You can also check with your state department of insurance to see how the insurance company is faring concerning complaints. The complaint ratios differ in every state, but normally it’s a good indicator of how the company acts.

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