Posts Tagged ‘supplemental insurance’

Supplemental Insurance – The 411 On AFLAC – Is This Supplemental Insurance Right For You?

July 30th, 2010

homes As the health care crisis and health care debates struggle on, many consumers are looking into supplemental insurance policies to cover the gaps in traditional insurance plans. Having health insurance can offer a great peace of mind but most traditional plans leave gaps that can just about swallow a family’s budget whole in a medical crisis.

What services does AFLAC offer?

Accident Indemnity

Disability Income Protection

Cancer Indemnity

Hospital Protection

Life Insurance

Dental

Long Term Care

juegos How is AFLAC different?

The supplemental insurance policies from AFLAC pay above and beyond traditional insurance policies and they pay directly to you. You can request a payment be made directly to a medical provider, but otherwise all payments will come to you.

Here’s an example. If you purchase a policy for cancer indemnity that offers a $10,000 benefit and you are diagnosed with cancer, AFLAC will pay you $10,000 directly, regardless of your medical bills. This money can be used for medical bills that aren’t covered of course.

One costumer we talked with had taken out an AFLAC supplemental cancer indemnity policy and was later diagnosed with prostate cancer. He says the insurance money helped to cover:

-Medical bill balances

-Above average phone bills for making appointments, family support and so on

-Travel and meals expenses during treatments

-To pay off debt and relieve some stress during this time of missed work

real estate investing Another customer we talked to wishes she had purchased an AFLAC supplemental policy earlier. An AFLAC representative visited the school where she was teaching and although she was impressed with products, she thought she was too young at 26 to need them. A year later she was diagnosed with cancer and learned the hard way how fast medical bills and the incidentals such a gas money for travel and other supplies needed from bandages to electric blankets mount up. Of course AFLAC offers many products in addition to cancer indemnity products.

Another way that AFLAC is different is that it is portable. Even though you may enroll in AFLAC through an employer (or not) you pay your own premiums, or you can have them deducted from your paycheck and your insurance can go with you if you lose your job, change jobs or move. In today’s mobile world and in such a volatile employment climate, the portability of AFLAC insurance is a big plus.

New Medigap Design

Medicare Supplement N will have similar benefits to Medicare Supplemental Insurance plan D, (not F as others have suggested) but there will be a $20 co-payment for doctor visits and a $50 co-payment for emergency room visits. It is believed that this co-pay will apply after the $135 deductible is paid, however there is some uncertainty as to how the deductible and co-pay will be coordinated. The good news — these plans are expected to have premiums around 70% of the cost of Plan F or about 77% of current Medigap plan D. Medigap Plan M will also offer similar benefits to Medicare Supplement “D”, but will only cover 50% of the part A deducible, none of the part B deductible, but no co-pays. The cost of plan M is expected to price at approximately 85% of Medigap Plan F (or 92% of current plan D).

Most customers report positive experiences with sales representatives and customer service reps although company administrators that oversee insurance benefits have privately said that customer service can be inconsistent which seems to be on par in the insurance industry.

Good points about AFLAC:

-Portable

-Pays you directly

-Offers many products

-Claim forms are simple and available online

-Pays for some preventative care

Questionable points about AFLAC:

-Higher premiums

-Inconsistent costumer service

-Can not be purchased online, must meet with a representative (which may be a positive)

Overall, AFLAC has proven to be a trustworthy supplemental insurance company that offers several unique products and has many good points. Potential customers will have to be the final judge on whether or not the premium prices for the services make AFLAC supplemental insurance a good value for them You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.

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House Moving Juegos Mario Home Selling | What Are Guaranteed Issue Periods And When Do They Occur? Medicare Supplement Plans

July 27th, 2010

house moving Medicare Supplement plans have certain “Guaranteed Issue” periods that allow individuals to apply for a plan without denying you coverage, excluding your pre-existing conditions, or charging you more because of any health conditions. These guaranteed issue (GI) rights are Federally-mandated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and apply to you all Medicare-enrollees who are in one of these specific situations.

juegos mario The GI rights generally occur when your current health care coverage is changing in a certain way or you are involuntarily losing your coverage. Specific insurance companies may create their own GI situations, and they do; however, there are seven Federally-prescribed GI situations that all Medicare Supplement insurance companies must follow. If you fall into one of these periods, you should be able to sign up for a Medicare Supplement plan on a Guaranteed Issue basis. These seven situations are:

home selling You have employer or union coverage that pays AFTER Medicare, and that coverage is ending.

2.    You are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, and this plan is leaving the Medicare program, stops servicing your area, OR you are moving out of the plan’s specific service area.

3.    You have a Medicare SELECT policy, and you are moving out of the plan’s service area. You can keep your current policy, but you do have the right, on a GI basis, to switch to a new policy.

4.    Your Medicare Supplement company goes bankrupt, which causes you to lose coverage. OR, you lose Medicare Supplement plan coverage through no fault of your own.

5.    You enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan or PACE when you were first eligible to enroll, and within a year of joining, you wish to switch back to “original” Medicare (and a Medicare Supplement plan).

6.    You dropped a Medicare Supplement to switch to a Medicare Advantage or Medicare SELECT policy for the first time. You have been in that plan for less than a year and wish to switch back to Medigap.

7.    You decide to drop a Medigap policy or leave a Medicare Advantage plan because the company hasn’t followed the rules or misled you in some way.

2. Additional value-added benefits, discounts and features. This is one aspect of comparing Medicare Supplement plans that is not often discussed. Some companies offer an additional benefit or two as a value-added-type part of their plans. This is not a part of the Federally-standardized plan, but rather, just something extra that the company does. An example of this is a discount vision insurance program, or a monthly Medicare newsletter, both of which are programs that some companies offer to set themselves apart. Again, this should not be the basis for a decision; however, it can play into it, all other things being equal.

It is advantageous for you to be aware of these guaranteed issue situations if you are on Medicare. If you fall into one of them and elect not to sign up for a plan while that GI period is in effect, you will, most likely, have to qualify medically for a Medicare Supplement if you do decide to sign up at a later time You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.

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