People are more active when the weather gets warm. They participate in more sports and recreational activities. Do you have the right type and amount of insurance to be well protected against all of the things that can go wrong?
During the winter there are not as many boats out on the lakes and waterways. When summer comes around, the level of recreational boating increases exponentially. If you own a boat or a jet ski and are planning on taking it out of storage and into the water, you need to buy insurance. You pretty much have all of the same risks when you operate a boat as you have when you operate a car. If you run your boat into a pier, insurance can cover the repairs. If your boat is stolen you will not suffer a huge financial loss. Most importantly, a boat insurance policy can cover valid liability claims should you cause property damage or personal injury to another person while operating your boat.
When the weather is good and the kids are out of school, people tend to drive more. They go to amusement parks, the beach and on family vacations. The roads are more crowded and you may want to have more than your state’s minimum required amount of automobile insurance. If you don’t already have it, consider adding collision, comprehensive, roadside service, towing, and rental car reimbursement to your auto policy.
People get more active when the weather is warm. Whether you are out surfing, playing soccer, hiking, or riding a bike, you could fall and get injured. If you break an arm or need medical attention for some other reason, it is important to make sure that you are covered by medical insurance.
Most summer activities are just fun and work out just fine. However, for those cases when the unexpected happens, you will be glad you bought insurance.
Content provided by Transformer Marketing.
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Summertime is synonymous with backyard barbecues and cooling cocktails. Barbecue ribs, sausages, chicken, steaks, burgers, and hot dogs are permanent fixtures on the menu. Just because it’s summer, doesn’t mean that you have to pig out on unhealthy food. In fact, it’s a perfect time to try out some new recipes for the barbecue.
- Make your own homemade popsicles with 100% fruit juice and an ice tray.
- Jazz up your salad. Instead of the same ol’ same ol’, throw in some different greens, add some spice, nuts, and fish. Fresh salmon is a huge hit with a lot of recipes.
- Use more fresh oils. Some favorites are olive oil, grapeseed oil, walnut oil, peanut oils, and sesame oils.
- Drinks lots of H2o.
- Find the season’s best fresh fruit and enjoy. The fruit is also a healthy dessert.
- Cucumbers are versatile. Cucumbers are delicious in salads (think-cucumber and tomato salad) or as appetizers (think-sliced cucumbers with Greek dressing and Feta cheese).
- Grill those vegetables. Vegetables such as bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini are great for grilling.
- Make your own fruit juice.
- Forget the ice cream, get the frozen yogurt. Mixed it up and add more than one flavor.
- Add more fish to your grill.
This summer spice up your grill, menu and health!
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Approximately 15 million people worldwide have a stroke every year. Of these, almost 6 million die, while a further 5 million are left permanently disabled. But although stroke is the one of the leading causes of death globally, many people remain unaware of the signs and symptoms to look out for, therefore putting their health at risk.
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association(AHA/ASA) state that around 1 in 3 Americans are unable to recall the warning signs of stroke.
Furthermore, a recent AHA/ASA study revealed that many women in the US are unaware of stroke warning signs, even though they are at much greater risk of stroke than men.
“This lack of recognition of stroke signs and symptoms could be a significant barrier to reducing death and disability related to stroke in the US,” says Dr. Lori Mosca, who led the study. “This is critically important because delays in getting care costs lives and hinders functional recovery.”
May is National Stroke Awareness Month – an annual campaign introduced in 1989 that aims to increase public awareness of stroke in an attempt to tackle the condition once and for all.
In line with this campaign, this week’s spotlight feature looks at the signs and symptoms of stroke, the risks associated with the condition and what can be done to increase stroke awareness.
What is stroke?
A stroke occurs when an artery or blood vessel becomes blocked, restricting blood flow to the brain. This leads to brain cell death, and, subsequently, brain damage.
How a person is affected by stroke depends on where in the brain the stroke occurs and how much of the brain is disturbed. Many stroke patients experience impaired speech, movement and memory. In severe cases, patients may suffer paralysis or even death.
There are two main types of stroke – ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. Ischemic stroke is the most common, accounting for around 87% of all strokes. This occurs when the arteries are blocked by blood clots or a gradual build-up of plaque and other fatty deposits.
Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain splits, leaking blood into the brain. Although only 13% of all strokes are caused by this, it is responsible for more than 30% of all stroke deaths.
The risk factors
There are many risk factors for stroke, many of which are out of our control. For example, individuals over the age of 55 are at greater risk of stroke, as are African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders. Individuals who have a family history of stroke or TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) are also more likely to have stroke themselves.
And women are more likely to have stroke than men. In the US, around 55,000 more women than men have a stroke every year.
Individuals with high blood pressure are one and a half times more likely to have a stroke than those with normal blood pressure.
But there are also risk factors for stroke that are within our control – one of the most important being high blood pressure, or hypertension. According to the National Stroke Association, people who have high blood pressure are one and a half times more likely to have stroke than those who have normal blood pressure.
“The No. 1 stroke risk factor is high blood pressure. It’s important to check your blood pressure regularly and talk to your doctor about healthy levels for you,” says Dr. Jeffrey L. Saver, professor of Neurology at the University of California Los Angeles and a spokesperson for the ASA.
High cholesterol also increases the risk of stroke, as cholesterol can block blood flow in the arteries. Furthermore, high cholesterol can raise the risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis – risk factors for stroke in themselves.
Smoking is another risk factor. Compared with non-smokers, those who smoke are at double the risk of stroke. It reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood, meaning the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body. This means blood clots find it easier to form in the arteries, which can cause a blockage.
Those who are overweight or obese are also at increased risk of stroke. Excessive weight can increase the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Read the entire article here.
Content provided by http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276240.php
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Keeping in mind that there are many types of coverage and each individual consumer will have different specific insurance needs, there may be several reasons to consider consolidating your various policies with a single carrier. For most people, the pros of consolidation usually outweigh the cons, but here are some points from both sides:
Cost. Consumers often find there’s a cost benefit in consolidating their coverage with a single carrier. While the exact number will vary from company to company, it’s very possible to save 15% or more. Specialist companies still exist, but many generalist insurers have diversified their product lines to include an array of business and personal insurance and financial products. Since an insurance carrier is gaining customer loyalty and reducing their marketing costs when an existing customer purchases additional products, they’re usually willing to pass a portion of their savings on to their consumers.
Gaps. Depending on the types of coverage you’ve purchased and your unique situation, certain coverage gaps could be reduced when you consolidate your insurance portfolio. Take purchasing General and Professional Liability through the same carrier as an example. An accountant, for example, would have little risk of their professional services leading to property damage or bodily injury, but a travel agent, for example, routinely makes professional recommendations that could have physical consequences for their clients. The travel agent might be unaware that a lodging they recommend to a client is undergoing renovations. The client slips and falls due to unsafe conditions and sues the travel agent for not knowing the condition of the lodging before recommending it. If the travel agent has General and Professional Liability through two different carriers, then he/she may find the two carriers pointing the finger in opposite directions and disclaiming coverage. Whereas, if the travel agent has both coverages under the same carrier, then the disclaiming concern is moot since there isn’t another company to point the finger at.
Tailoring. Many carriers have learned to anticipate the common problems associated with coverage gaps, such as in the example discussed above. These carriers have created tailored packaged policies or programs with multiple different coverage options. These options interlock, but don’t unnecessarily duplicate coverage or dangerously leave gaps between coverages. Umbrella policies perform best when written by the carrier of your primary coverage(s).
Cons. As with most everything in life, there are cons to consolidation. It’s important that you look at the financial strength of the insurance carrier. If an insurance carrier is poorly rated by any of the rating services that monitor insurers, then the increased risk of going with an insurer that has questionable financial strength might outweigh any of the cost, gap, and tailoring pros. Another con is that the insurer might quickly change their hunger for a certain product and leave you having to find replacements for multiple policies. Research the company’s track record – have they typically stuck it out during bad and good times or have they timed the market to make a quick dollar and exit? Although most generalist insurers have diversified their offerings, it’s possible to miss out on some coverage benefits still only being offered by specialists.
In closing, consider the above points and how each could or wouldn’t meet your needs. In most cases, you’ll find that coverage consolidation and the right carrier creates a winning scenario for all parties involved.
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A benefit of the Affordable Care Act may be a drop in car insurance premiums as health care providers shoulder more of the treatment costs tied to accidents and injuries, according to a new report from a leading think tank.
The nonprofit Rand Corporation says the rise in the number of people with medical coverage under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, could result in a “modest” drop in claims against auto insurers. In turn, the cost savings could be passed to consumers as insurance companies and state regulators evaluate and refine coverage rates, according to Rand’s report, “How Will the Affordable Care Act Affect Liability Insurance Costs?”
“The Affordable Care Act is unlikely to dramatically affect liability costs, but it may influence small and moderate changes in costs over the next several years,” says David Auerbach, a Rand policy researcher and the study’s lead author. “For example, auto insurers may spend less for treating injuries, while it may cost a bit more to provide physicians with medical malpractice coverage.”
Besides auto insurance rates, expenses tied to homeowners insurance, workers’ compensation and general business liability insurance may also fall once the ACA further takes hold. But on the downside, expenses for malpractice coverage could rise, according to the report.
Obamacare to trim insurance costs by up to 5 percent?
“Researchers say the changes could be as much as 5 percent of costs (for auto, home and the other forms of liability insurance) in some states, but caution there is considerable uncertainty surrounding such estimates,” the study notes.
Auerbach and Rand point out that liability insurers currently reimburse tens of billions of dollars each year for medical care related to car crashes and workplace injuries, among other claims. “For example, auto insurers collectively paid $35 billion for medical costs associated with accidents in 2007, about 2 percent of all U.S. health care costs in that year,” according to Rand.
The reason for a possible jump in malpractice claims faced by doctors and health providers is simple: Rand says that more claims could be filed as more people get medical coverage.
“Insured individuals have more contacts with physicians, make more visits and receive more procedures,” the report says. “Such a shift could drive malpractice costs modestly higher.”
The malpractice figures are already significant. The study points out:
In 2012, nearly 12,000 medical malpractice claims paid on behalf of individual physicians and other providers accounted for $4.3 billion in costs. A substantial additional number of claims were paid on behalf of institutions, such as hospitals, some of which self-insure, that are not included in the $4.3 billion number.
The study was sponsored by Swiss Re, which stresses the powerful effects the ACA may ultimately have on the insurance industry and elsewhere. “Businesses and policymakers need to understand how and why their risk profiles might change as the Affordable Care Act is implemented,” Jayne Plunkett, Swiss Re’s head of casualty reinsurance, said in a statement.
A surge in medical insurance enrollments
In a separate survey, Rand estimated “a net gain of 9.3 million in the number of American adults with health insurance coverage from September 2013 to mid-March 2014.” While noting that any survey has a margin of error, Rand added that its findings didn’t include those who signed up for coverage in late March and early April. That enrollment surge could “dramatically affect” the total figures, Rand said.
Rand estimated that Americans without insurance fell to 15.8 percent, from 20.5 percent.
Of those who secured new medical coverage between September and March, 8.2 million didn’t buy it on the ACA’s federal or state-run exchanges, but through an employer. Rand says the increase was likely because of a drop in unemployment, which opened the door for many to be eligible for workplace plans, and ACA incentives encouraging employees to get coverage.
Rand added that 3.9 million secured health insurance through the exchanges, 36 percent of them previously uninsured. That number was expected to rise as the March and April numbers came in.
In declaring the ACA an unfolding success, the Obama administration recently said that more than 7 million people signed up for coverage through the marketplace exchanges.
Content provided by: http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2014/04/21/obamacare-may-reduce-auto-insurance-rates/#Kqdfh4ZHhsjylE1J.99
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Springtime is known for many things, including beautiful blooming plants and flowers. Getting ready to plant new crops, warmer weather, longer days and allergies.
Allergies bring watery, itchy, irritated eyes; runny noses; uncontrollable sneezing and plain sinus misery. The most common allergies come from pollens, animal dander, mold spores, dust mite and cockroaches allergens.
Here are a few tips to help you with your allergies this Spring season:
- Head over to the pharmacy and stock up on allergy medications. Talk with your doctor to see which ones will work the best for you. Antihistamines, decongestants and nasal sprays should be at the top of your list.
- You can also ask about allergy shots. An allergy shot could mean the end all of all allergy medications.
- Dehumidifers and air purifiers work great in the home.
- Get mattress and pillow coverings. Mattresses and pillows host a ton of allergens. Getting a cover for the mattress and pillow and washing them once a week or so, will keep allergens to a minimum.
Before settling on any specific medical treatment for your allergies, please consult your doctor for the best treatment plan.
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People are more active when the weather gets warm. They participate in more sports and recreational activities. Do you have the right type and amount of insurance to be well protected against all of the things that can go wrong?
