Sunday, May 16, 2010

Small business insurance and healthcare reform

Well, for better or worse, the healthcare bill has been signed into law. There is no immediate benefit in being angry. There are a number of legal actions started by various Attorneys General alleging that the reforms are unconstitutional. Even if some of these cases succeed on the issue of mandatory insurance for private individuals, this will not necessarily strike down the whole bill. The likelihood is we will be left with all the provisions dealing with small businesses. Keeping it real, we have to start planning for the future on the law as it is. The good news is that the main raft of provisions will not become active until 2014. This gives the lawmakers plenty of time to have second thoughts. Just as important, there are sets of regulations to be written clarifying the detail of how some of the new features are to work at state level. However, this is an outline of what we can expect.

The states are to establish SHOP exchanges where small businesses can group together and buy insurance. For these purposes, until 2016, a business is considered small when it has no more than 50 employees, with states having the option of increasing the limit to 100 employees. To calculate numbers, you pro-rate the full- and part-time employees. Independent analysts predict group premiums will drop no more than 4%, while the value of the cover will rise by up to 3%. To bridge until the exchanges are operating, a tax credit system will come into force. If your business has less than ten employees with an average annual pay of less than $25,000, the credit is 35% of the health plan cost. There are partial credits where the number of employees is less than 25 and their average annual pay is less than $50,000. When the exchanges start, the credit increases to 50% for the first two years.

With immediate effect, there are a ban on terms designed to cap the value of claims, and limits on the right of insurers to cancel policies except in cases where actual fraud can be proved. As from 2014, the insurers must accept all employees without regard to pre-existing conditions. Their calculation of premium rates can only be based on location, age and whether an individual smokes. As from 2014, small businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to provide a health plan or pay an annual penalty of $750 for every full-time employee denied cover. This can rise to $2,000 if coverage is still denied.

So, tomorrow, you will be going out into the same market as before the reform bill became law. Finding cost-effective small business insurance will continue to be a struggle. Indeed, many insurers may increase premiums now so that, when the SHOP exchanges do come into force, they have a margin to play with to deal with the competition. However, when you buy, check that the new terms on the total value claimable and restrictions on the right to cancel have been introduced. If you buy your small business insurance through an agent, ask direct questions. It saves time fighting over whether wording is unlawful later on.

Propecia keeps your hair thick and plentiful

When you are young, it's easy to walk around as if nothing can ever go wrong in your life. Although you had acne for a few months as a teen, you got through that. Now the rest of your life is going to be smooth sailing. So what if there are a few extra hairs in your comb or caught in the drain after you finish your shower. This is nothing to worry about. Except the sad reality is that anyone, no matter what their age or gender, can lose their hair. It can be heredity, caused by some underlying medical condition, a side effect of a drug you are taking. The list goes on. Unless you are taking preventative measures to reduce the risk of hair loss, you need guidance on when to seek a formal diagnosis. Too early and you wasted your money because your doctor could find nothing wrong. Too late and there's little chance of any treatment helping the hair to regrow. For the record, male pattern baldness can begin during your teens and this is permanent hair loss. Why permanent? Because the growth cycle shortens and every time you shed your hair, it grows back thinner and more likely to fall out. As this speeds up, your hair stops regrowing and there's no cure.


This is what to think about. At some point, you will notice more hair than usual is falling out. Make a note of the date. If possible, get someone in the family or a friend to take pictures of your head so you can monitor any changes to the shape of the hair. Then watch what happens. Is the loss only occasional or is it continuous? If you have good days and bad days, think about what you eat and what you did. Is there a cause and effect at work? In particular, look for anything that might make the loss worse. Now look around the family. If you are cut off from most of your relatives, ask if there is any history of hair loss on either side of the family.

This gives you enough information about the emerging physical pattern and the rate of loss to share with your doctor. There will be a physical examination of your scalp to judge the appearance of your hair, e.g. whether any hairs are broken off. There is usually a pull test to see how many come out, and skin samples taken to eliminate the possibility of an infection. There will also be a review of your medical history and general wellness to identify any underlying problems such as thyroid disease that may be causing the loss. If this is simple male pattern baldness, the standard treatment is generic propecia. This is taken once-daily and, over time, slows loss and encourages some regrowth. The benefits are lost and hair loss will resume if you stop taking generic propecia. Some commitment to continuing treatment is necessary. More generally, there are preventative measures in changing the way you handle your hair and modifying your diet. Your doctor or dermatologist will advise on how to minimize the effects of hair loss.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Finding cheap health insurance is now easier

Well, after all the excitement and the best efforts of the GOP to say "No" loud and long enough to make a difference, the President signed the healthcare reform into law. The partisans are now into the equally exciting game of trying to decide whether this is the greatest victory since Abraham Lincoln, with a little help from General Ulysses S. Grant, won the Civil War or the greatest disaster since Hurricane Katrina reminded us Nature can be devastating. Allowing for the fact this is a complicated piece of legislation, this is a little difficult to predict because so much of it is not designed to take effect for years. Calling for immediate repeal does not seem helpful when no one can say how the future will turn out. As time passes and we dig ourselves out of the recession, it is entirely possible this may turn out to have been a good "thing" on balance. If "things" do not look quite as good, a little tinkering may set matters to right. History has a way of judging "things" rather differently than we expect. This leaves us with the next twelve months during which there are elections and an opportunity for voters to have their say. What is due to happen and will this make the reform look good enough to keep?

1. There will be a payment of $250 to people in Medicare. This is designed to close the Part D donut hole. In 2011, there will be a 50% discount on the branded drugs in the hole with the hole closing by 2020.
2. Starting on January 1, 2011 there will be no co-payments for preventative medical care. This care will also be exempted when calculating the deductible.

3. Starting in three months, there will be a temporary re-insurance program for employers to cover retirees in the age range 55 to 64.

4. Starting in six months, insurers shall not cancel a policy if a claim is made nor discriminate against children with a pre-existing condition. There are also to be new controls to prevent insurers from imposing caps on coverage.5. Before the reform, the majority of people were insured by their employers. Starting immediately, small businesses can claim, tax credits of 35% of premiums if they decide to buy a health plan. This rises to 50% in 2014. Up to now, small businesses have always claimed they were the victims of discrimination, priced out of the market by the insurance industry. With a government subsidy, this argument looks less real.

Whether this will be enough to sway public opinion is anyone's guess. Health insurance has provoked some seriously extreme reactions and it will take time for people to take a more calm view of what the reforms offer. The reaction of the insurance companies is also difficult to predict. Some may react to the new controls by increasing their premiums. Insurers are, after all, for-profit organizations and they have never shown themselves slow in coming forward with premium hikes. This makes it even more important to get the maximum possible number of health insurance quotes before deciding on which policy or plan to buy. When midterm elections come in November 2012, 36 seats in the Senate and all the seats in the House are up for grabs. Experts predict the Democrats will lose seats. But, with President Obama in the White House, no repeal will be signed into law.

Ambien should be replaced by talk therapy

Looking around the journals published so far in 2010, it's clear the research community is finally beginning to challenge the assumption that America should be medicated. If you listen to the pharmaceutical industry and the doctors who are paid to stand up and promote drugs as the best treatment for any disorder, you will hear a consistent pattern of propaganda. All our products have the FDA seal of approval. The clinical trials show our products are safe and effective. The health insurance industry pays most of the price for our products. Take our pills and get better. Indeed, when it comes to the top-selling sleeping pills, there are record numbers of prescriptions being written by doctors. The reason? Well, its not hard to suspect stress levels are increasing thanks to the recession. Unemployment is high. Credit levels have been reduced, There are foreclosures in every neighborhood. That's bound to make sleep more difficult. What's curious about the new records being set in the number of prescriptions is the additional financial burden this places on families when they can least afford it, and the implied assumption that sleeping pills can cure the underlying social and economic problems causing the stress.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reports talk therapy is more effective than sleeping pills. The research team gave the participants sleeping pills alongside therapy sessions and measured which had the better outcome. Because the talk asked why people were finding it difficult to sleep and discussed ways of resolving problems, people with the therapy sessions had better sleep than those on pills. This follows on research testing the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy which teaches people how to change their habit patterns to restore sleep. Therapists encourage people to avoid naps during the day, adopt a set routine for going to bed, and physically change the bedroom to minimize light and noise that might disturb sleep. When combined with techniques to address the cause of stress and relax, CBT has consistently been found to outperform sleeping pills.When you look at the statistics, there can be little doubt we use too many sleeping pills. Add in the increasing use of online pharmacies which supply drugs without the need for a prescription, and the scale of reliance on sleeping pills is almost certainly worse than we imagine. Why should we care? Because all the sleeping pills on the market can cause dependence. As people continue to take them, tolerance builds and the pills actually become less effective. Increasing the dose confirms the dependence and can lead to unwanted side effects. Yes, ambien is one of the better pills and there are fewer problems with its use, but if your insomnia has been disrupting your life for six months or more, you should consider undergoing therapy first. CBT is clearly the best. To help you focus during this learning period, your doctor may offer the use of a sleeping pill. If you decide to accept, ambien is the best but you should only take it for a few weeks at low dose. The long-term restoration of sleep is going to come from the therapy. Although this is a short-term cost to meet, your life will improve with natural sleep and your finances will be better of without having to buy sleeping pills for the rest of your life.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

All doctors know when to prescribe Xanax in case of anxiety disorders

Well, it's that time of the decade again and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is going through it ritual of revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Let's be clear why this is important. For better of worse, the DSM is like a bible, containing words of wisdom on which clusters of symptoms represent which disorders. The idea is to do away with the zip code lottery of diagnosis. In one US state you might be diagnosed as a bit eccentric. With the same behavior in a different state, you might be considered a danger to the community and committed to care. With the DSM as a guide, you hope to get the same diagnosis no matter who the patient is, where he or she may be found and who the doctor is. Unfortunately, the APA is caught in a terrible conflict of interest. The majority of its members regularly receive gifts and incentives from the drug manufacturers. This benevolence is designed to encourage the use of the relevant drugs. When these same doctors sit down to discuss diagnoses and which drugs to recommend, they cannot forget all the past generosity. It inevitably influences their decisions. More importantly, if particular drugs receive approval in the DSM, this represents several billion dollars in revenue. The manufacturers therefore spend heavily in trying to ensure their drugs continue to be linked to the relevant disorders. The result is the DSM is full of disorders that are only poorly defined and linked to drugs often little more effective than placebos.


If we go back sixty years, psychiatry in the US was still running in parallel with the European tradition of scientific method. This produced carefully defined diagnoses for general conditions, leaving practitioners with some flexibility to take a common sense view of the individual patient. Hence, the technical term might be a "nervous breakdown" which is a catch-all definition for anyone who has a few problems. But as the pharmaceutical industry used its economic power, these broad definitions were increasingly broken down into separate classes of disorder. As each new batch of disorders was defined, the manufacturers produced drugs specifically targeting each new disorder. In reality, people are still having nervous breakdowns and, truth be told, all the major drugs are interchangeable because the separate disorders are really only one or two basic types.


What prompted this redefinition of terms? Firstly, the introduction of the benzodiazepines. The manufacturers wanted a distinction between anxiety disorders and depression for marketing purposes. Once the APA gave in, it was the slippery slope to the present confused mess. As everyone knows, all depression has elements of anxiety and panic, just as anxiety and panic are indistinguishable from elements in depression. Recent surveys have found doctors routinely prescribing benzodiazepines such as xanax regardless of the diagnosis as anxiety or depression, and finding the same excellent results. Secondly, the APA wanted to move away from Freudian analysis and to ground diagnosis in observable symptoms. This led to the introduction of "major depression" and "bipolar disorder" which lump different sets of symptoms together in either a stable or unstable form. As the SSRIs came in as treatments for major depression, the pressure to keep inventing new disorders grew. Now all the anxiety and panic disorders are multiplying. Needless to say, xanax remains the most effective treatment no matter what labels are attached to the symptoms. If you are anxious, xanax is the answer. Sadly, the APA will not sympathize with such a simple view of the world.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Life insurance types – term policies

The selection of insurance products and offers you can choose from on the market is overwhelming. And choosing a policy to insure your life with can be tricky, requiring you to both evaluate your insurance needs and spend some time on comparing the offers you get from different providers. It's not just a possibility you can think of while buying insurance, it's a firm requirement that the product you want to buy meets your exact personal needs and can be adjusted to your budget, not the other way.


In contrast with continuous policies term insurance policies are designed to provide coverage only for a certain period of time, specified in the policy. A term policy will provide the benefits specified in it only if the insured person dies within the specified period. Besides, term policies do not have cash value accumulation potentials. So in case you are alive and well and your policy term expires, you won't receive any money. Another important aspect of term policies is that the premiums can't be fixed and it is likely that they will increase with the time passing. In order to make sure your rates are constant, choose a guaranteed level premium term policy that guarantees a fixed premium over the entire duration of the policy.


Advantages of term policies


Term policies are known to have the highest value for money you pay and the lowest price among other types of life insurance. That is why they are most beneficial for those families that have limited budget they have to fall into. These are some advantages you get with term policies:


Affordability


Term policies have the lowest premiums for the largest death benefits obtainable.


Simplicity


Term policies are the least complex insurance product for insuring your life on the market.


Competitiveness


Due to the simplicity of this product, there is a fierce competition between numerous providers offer term policies, which in turn allows effective comparison shopping when looking for a policy.


Flexibility


Term policies have the possibilities of "renewal" and "conversion". Renewal means that when the policy term expires you can prolong its duration, without buying a new policy. Conversion means that when the term of the policy expires you can convert your term policy into a permanent one, without buying a separate policy.


Waiver of premium


With term policies you also get an additional feature referred to as "waiver of premium". It allows you to halt premium payments for a stipulated period of time in case you are unable due to circumstances listed in the policy. Still, it is an optional feature that has its price.


Different time options


Term policies being a cheap life insurance options provide coverage for a period of time you feel appropriate. You can insure your life for a term of anything between one to thirty years, gaining death benefits if something happens to you during this term. It's a good way to plan your finances well ahead, making sure that such crucial things as mortgage or business loan will be paid out no matter what.


Different rates


There are many companies out there on the market that offer term insurance policies. Get life insurance quotes from them and you will probably get very attractive rates by shopping around.

When getting quotes for health insurance, check for gender discrimination

The lawmakers in Colorado are debating a change in the law to correct the gender discrimination currently requiring women to pay more than men to insure their health. The facts are uncompromising. In some 90% of all private health plans, women have premium rates 60% higher than men. This is so even though the statistics show women enjoy better health than men and make fewer claims. This is so even though the men used for comparative purposes are significantly older. And, if you feel you need any more confirmation of the basic unfairness, even men who smoke pay less than female non-smokers. As one of the women promoting the bill commented: insurers often refuse coverage because the applicant has a pre-existing condition. The way the premiums are loaded, it seems being a woman is a pre-existing condition.


The people who are paid to speak on behalf of the insurance industry usually fall back on the tried and trusted defense that women have medical needs specific to their gender. The most often quoted example is maternity and prenatal care. Ignoring the fact that men also have problems specific to their gender, such as erectile dysfunction, women are still quoted premiums 60% higher on policies excluding reproductive health needs. In other words, the discrimination persists even though the scope of the medical coverage is identical. So what's going on? The answer, in this instance, is slightly complicated. If we start with auto insurance, it's common knowledge that young men are statistically more likely than any other group of drivers to crash into another vehicle or some stationary object. Thus, where the policy discriminates between different groups of drivers, young men pay significantly more than women who tend to drive more safely. Not all auto policies do discriminate. By spreading the risk among a big group of drivers, the good subsidize the bad. But, most auto insurers do set different premium rates for different groups of drivers distinguished by gender and age. In medicine, it's a fact that men fall ill and die, whereas women tend to recover from illnesses. This is one of the reasons why women have a longer life expectancy than men. But it also explains why women cost more. They survive for longer with chronic problems requiring continuing treatment. Thus, if the premium is a reflection of the likely costs of treatment over a person's lifetime, it may appear slightly more reasonable to charge women higher premiums. Except this ignores the general rule that private health insurance stops at 65 as Medicare kicks in. The major long-term costs tend to occur after 65.


Colorado looks as though it may join the one or two other states with equality provisions. There's no evidence from these other states that men now have to pay significantly more. For now, insurers simply make less profit. As a woman, it's particularly important to research exactly what the different companies offer. Because of this, searching for cheap health insurance is a greater challenge. Always refer to the websites of the companies making the best quotes to see if there are additional discounts available or special policies for women. If there seems to be no cheap health insurance available, talk directly with the insurers to see whether the difference between the male and female premium rates can be reduced. Not everyone is lucky enough to live in a state committed to equality. It is for you to protect yourself as best as possible.

What is errors and omissions (E&O) coverage?

Probably you have already heard about Errors and Omissions Insurance (E&O Insurance) from your insurance agent. Now you may think whether it's useful to your business or not. No matter how big or small your company is, whether it's a small home business or a large production facility you own, not having any insurance is a risk that you just can't afford. Moreover, if you produce products or services, your business is automatically exposed to Errors and Omissions. Even if you already have Commercial Liability Insurance policy you still aren't fully protected against liability due to personal negligence. General liability simply doesn't pay for errors and omissions you or your workers make when producing goods or delivering services.


Why should you buy E&O Insurance?


Errors and Omissions Insurance is quite simple to understand if you refer to it as "Malpractice" or "Professional Liability" Insurance. The list of professionals who should purchase E&O Insurance include lawyers, engineers, doctors, accountants and any other enterprises that work with clients, providing either services or products that may become the cause of liability if there is a professional error. As you may understand there are countless types of businesses that fall into this category, ranging from real estate to advertising agencies, financial consultants to hardware manufacturers, from appraisers to repair shops. Errors and Omissions Insurance is delivered through a separate policy and assures financial protection against any claims that are filed by third parties, who are dissatisfied or injured by your products or services that were the subject of professional negligence. Thus, this type of business insurance will pay for the court fees, attorney fees and any settlements that the court will stipulate you to pay to the third party.


Will E&O Insurance protect your enterprise from financial loss?


Error and Omissions Insurance won't protect you from direct financial loss due to bad sales or drop in income. However, taking into account the high costs of lawsuits and attorney fees, even if the case is absurd and you aren't guilty at all, the process itself could be a heavy financial burden for your business, making up to tens of thousands of dollars you have to pay after everything is settled down. And this amount of money could be vital for most small and medium sized businesses. In that sense, Error and Omissions insurance is a great form of business insurance that protects your most important assets and your enterprise as a whole against the financial impact of a lawsuit.


It's impossible to not make any mistakes while doing business and every smart business owner knows that very well. That's why you need Errors and Omissions Insurance to deal with respectful claims from your clients. It's always better to pay for business insurance, even if you think that the rates are high, rather than have to pay the court costs that may require you to sell your car or your house, and put you out of business for good. There's not sense in saving money on Errors and Omissions coverage, especially if you are exposed to such situations on a regular basis. What you will save today can be multiplied by thousands and be legally requested from you due to your actions or personal negligence of your employees. If you want to run your business for a long time and become prosperous, it's evident that the first option is for you.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Is taking propecia to prevent baldness a good idea?

Throughout time, whenever people start talking about baldness, they almost always focus on the threat to self-esteem. Most cultures have decided that men who lose their hair early are somehow worthy of mockery. Inevitably, this has put pressure on men to avoid or hide the problem. In reality, the poor quality of many wigs and toupées signalled the wearer's embarrassment and aggravated the social difficulties. In turn, this opened up a market to the unscrupulous to sell magic remedies. We still celebrate this time in our history by retaining the idea of "snake oil" and "elixirs" from the Traveling Medicine Shows. But the results in a recent study published in Cancer Epidemiology may be a sign that men who lose their hair early are the lucky ones. Instead of despair as their hair recedes, they should be celebrating the news their risk of prostate cancer is halving.

The study involved some two thousand men in their forties, half of whom had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. In reviewing their medical histories, the researchers noted that men whose hair began thinning in their twenties were the least likely to develop a growth in the prostate (whether cancerous or benign). In publishing these results, a clear distinction must be made between the natural thinning and loss of hair that affects all men as they age, and male pattern baldness which characteristically affects younger men. The reduction in the risk of cancer benefits those who lose their hair prematurely. The researchers speculate this is a consequence of the changing level of testosterone in those who go bald. The higher the level of hormone, the more the body produces dihydrotestosterone. With more DHT in the bloodstream, the hair follicles shrink. This thins the hair and slows the rate at which hair is replaced as it is shed. But, higher levels of testosterone seem to lower the risk of a growth.

There are two points of interest in this story. The first is the presence of contrary research evidence showing a higher risk of cancer among the prematurely bald. Unfortunately, male pattern baldness and prostate cancer have the same triggering cause and both develop as men age. There needs to be further research to distinguish the cause and effect of both conditions. Put simply, asking men to remember when they began losing their hair is not very reliable scientific evidence. Secondly, propecia, the drug now shown as effective in treating male pattern baldness because it prevents the conversion of testosterone to DHT, was originally developed as a treatment for benign growths in the prostate. It is somewhat ironic to see modern research treading the same path that led to the FDA expanding the use of propecia from prostate growths to a treatment for male pattern baldness. So where does this leave us? As it stands, this latest research is on its own and contradicted by earlier work. It has a doubtful scientific method and a relatively small number of participants. Before we can celebrate early balding, we need a better designed research program with a significantly larger number of men involved. Only if these new findings are confirmed can men with male pattern baldness feel better about their hair loss. Until then, all they have to rely on is the ever reliable propecia - so long as you start early enough, it slows hair loss and can prompt some regrowth.

Cialis, erectile dysfunction and heart disease

When you are young, it's difficult to keep everything in proportion. Emotions run fast and hot. One minute you can be feeling great, the next it's despair. In fact, it's remarkable how often you hear a teen suffering some embarrassment or humiliation voice the thought, "I wish I was dead!" Fortunately, very few act on the wish. We all come through these torrid times, hopefully calmer if not wiser. Yet, there are some humiliations men of all ages find it difficult to confront without fear. Erectile dysfunction is one of the more severe tests of calmness. For better or worse, Western culture is strongly "male". Yes, feminism assumed some importance and equality laws have followed, but the mainstream of behavior still expects the man to be dominant, not just in business but also in the bedroom. If something goes wrong with the ability to deliver erections when they are expected, this undermines a key plank in the structure holding up male self-confidence. Suddenly the man is not quite so macho. He is somehow less than a man.

For some time, the volume of evidence has been growing to prove a link between erectile dysfunction and heart disease. Indeed, the medical profession now view all men presenting with erectile dysfunction as potential heart patients until the contrary is proved. The reason is simple. Damage to the arteries causes strokes and heart attacks. The arteries leading into the penis are among the smallest and so most likely to show the first signs of damage. Treating the erectile dysfunction as the first symptom of heart disease has been saving lives. However, there's new research published this March. The team based in Ontario, Canada, has been following about 1,500 men diagnosed with heart disease. The first conclusion is the not surprising finding that the standard treatment for cardiovascular disease in general and heart conditions in particular has little or no effect on problems of erectile dysfunction. But the presence of erectile dysfunction doubles the risk of a heart attack. The news is dramatic. Men with erectile dysfunction and heart disease are twice as likely to die than men with heart disease who have good sex lives.

This research therefore reinforces the basic need for all men who begin to suffer erectile dysfunction to have a full physical check-up. Although everyone can go online and buy generic cialis from one of the pharmacies, this is only treating the symptom and ignoring the possibly dangerous underlying cause that may cause early death. For once, men have to be honest about their sexual health. There were a few years immediately following the launch of the little blue pills when men hurried to their regular doctors for a prescription. But as the online pharmacy industry has developed, men have slipped back into their old ways of secrecy. The fear of humiliation still stalks the male land. In one sense, it's actually unfortunate that cialis is so effective. Available in both an as-needed and a once-daily version, it provides relief for the vast majority of men without the need for them ever to see a doctor. If it was less effective, it would force regular consults and allow the doctors to monitor the possible development of heart disease. This would save thousands of lives every year. Let's hope the news media pick up this latest research - proof the risk of death is doubled should be a red flag to everyone suffering erectile dysfunction.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Homeowners insurance policy buying tips

Insurance policy for the house is often a single important investment most people make after actually buying a home of their own. An insurance policy is used for protecting the house, its contents and visitors from different circumstances that otherwise can be quite hard on your wallet. When you first start looking for a policy to insure your house with the number of options and providers can be overwhelming, making it hard to find exactly what you need. There are a lot of types of policies, different coverage options and amounts, special provisions and other elements that you may include in your policy. So it's evident that learning more about home insurance is crucial before you start looking for an actual policy for your house.


Consider your options


When looking for a policy to insure your home with, always keep in mind the following tips as they will be very helpful for finding the right offer for a reasonable price:



  • Take some time for comparison shopping - look for insurance quotes online, ask your agent or friends, who have purchased home insurance for their house. The more information you get from different sources - the better. Remember to get as much insurance quotes as possible before actually buying a policy. The difference between two companies can be impressive.

  • Try purchasing home and other types of insurance from the same provider - this usually lets you get about 15% discount for each type of insurance you get.

  • Increase the amount of your deductible - a higher deductible means that your premiums will be lower. However, always make sure that you can afford paying the amount of deductible you have chosen when needed.

  • Make your house more durable - anything you do to improve the durability of your house that will help it resist a disaster will be a welcome action from the part of your homeowners insurance provider. Ask the company what you can do to improve your house and receive discounts.

  • Make your house more secured - any improvement you make to your house that increases its security can give you a discount from the insurance provider. The best options are installing video systems, alarms, special locks, anti fire and smoker alarms. However, ask your provider about these improvements first because each company has its own requirements regarding security features of their customers.

  • Always try to keep a good credit score - the price you pay for home insurance is directly linked to your credit score. If you have a good score your rates will be much lower than if you have bad credit rating. Review your credit record, make everything possible to improve it and maintain a good score. This will lower your other insurance like auto and health insurance too.

  • Try staying with the same provider - if the company you get home insurance from has good rates and fair conditions, staying with the same provider for several years can qualify you for a special long-term customer discount, most insurance providers have. Ask your insurance company about that and see if you qualify.

  • Review your policy on a regular basis - always make sure that your policy is adequate to your exact insurance needs. And if needed, modify it so that your house would be properly insured.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Frequently asked questions on cheap car insurance buying

Starting with excessive rates to buying a separate policy for your teen driver, dealing with auto coverage is often confusing, complicated and it also involves a lot of money to be spent. Still, you can't go around it, as it a legal requirement in most states and a helpful tool to give you a peace of mind when dealing with traffic accidents. Sure, it may seem like a dirty job and you don't want to waste your time on it. But what if there's an easier way to get your auto insured without all the hassle you fear of dealing with? If you are interested, read the frequently asked questions below as answered by insurance experts, who know how to get the right policy no matter what's your situation.

Q: Am I obliged to carry insurance coverage when driving my car?

A: Nearly all states have it as a legal requirement for drivers to carry liability auto coverage as a guarantee that the damages you deliver in a car accidents are paid for. Each state has a minimum amount of liability coverage that a driver must carry with his policy. And even the states that don't have vehicle insurance as a legal requirement oblige the driver to show proof that he has enough financial resources to pay for the caused damage. Any other types of insurance coverage, outside liability coverage are purely optional and can be purchased with respect to your personal insurance needs.

Q: Is insurance required before buying a new vehicle?

A: If that's your first vehicle, you will be required to have insurance coverage before even taking it from the dealer. Moreover, if you're using an auto loan to finance the purchase, you may be required to buy additional types of coverage besides liability. If you already have a car and are changing it to a new one or buying an additional vehicle, you have 14-30 days to report the changes to your insurance company.

Q: How can I get cheap car insurance?

A: Compare insurance quotes in order to see what other providers are offering, and if it turns out that you're overpaying - switch the provider. If your current rates are quite competitive, compared to other companies, see if you're taking advantage of all the discounts you can opt for.

When looking for a new car, always make sure that the make and model you are interested in provides cheap car insurance options. Some cars are a lot cheaper to insure than the others, ask your insurance agent to learn what cars are the most cost-effective from the insurance perspective.

Another way to get cheap car insurance, although a bit risky one, is to increase your deductibles. By raising the amount of out-of-pocket expenses you can afford before the policy kicks in you get lower premiums. And if you're driving an older vehicle that has a low market value, you may want to drop collision and comprehensive coverage as it takes depreciation of the car value into account.

You can also adjust the amounts of coverage your policy carries, although experts do not recommend decreasing them to the level of state minimums as it is usually not enough to pay for a serious accident.

Skelaxin for relieving pain in sports

Going in for sports is a good way of keeping yourself in shape. In order to keep themselves fit, sportsmen train a lot. But playing sports is not as innocent as it seems. Sport brings people injuries. The injuries that we pick up while playing sports fall into two major categories. There are contact sports - sport games that people play in pairs, in a team or against each other. This can give you broken bones, torn tendons or ligament if you are unlucky. There are also sport games that leave sportsmen to hurt themselves by repeating some of the muscle moves one after another. Tennis players, badminton players and squash players fall into this category of people. Runners always hurt their knees as they are the main element in the sports. This is how it all begins... Players, runners or whoever feels the pain, it goes on and on, tears from the eyes, you can only focus on your pain. The pain you experience brings the inflammation. You are unable to go on as usual. This is the typical story of a sportsman. It is not unusual that we hear injuries terminating careers of some excellent players or sportsmen.

As we spoke about inflammation, it is fair to mention the fact that the recovery process usually starts with inflammation. The doctors interfere in this process and simply help this recovery to take some extra turns so the injury timing doesn't take too long. The inflammation usually lasts about 5 days but this totally depends on the seriousness of the injury. You can hire the best doctor in town, pay him as much money as you have but this won't make the inflammation disappear faster than it will do. This is a natural cycle. Your doctor will probably prescribe you some medication from muscle pain, to ease it and make it less hurtful.

It is important to know how these drugs work. They are not miracle makers. What takes time will take time to heal. These painkillers will not treat the injury. They will make your experiences more comfortable. Of course, there are certain stages, when patients need the intervention of surgeries, but if this isn't the case with you, you have to just give it some time. You don't have to start your trainings a soon as you start to take medication. But it is important to move a little. There is a good medication, called Skelaxin, which most doctors prescribe from muscle pain or different sport injuries. This drug is very affordable and effective. With the help of it, you can return to your trainings faster than you think you can. The sportsman can start doing stretching exercises, which will help him to accumulate the strengths back. Of course, if you can survive without Skelaxin, the better this is for you. If you are a good player that experiences pain every now and then, you have to take it as a warning. Maybe you are pushing yourself to the limit, maybe you are trying too hard or maybe you are even doing something wrong. Either way, you have to take a professional advice as you can't figure this out alone. And remember not to let yourself wait too long to get the treatment needed. It can even be too late to fix at some point. Don't let this ruin your life for good.