Archive for May, 2009

Saving money on auto insurance

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

When the going is good, the majority simply renew their existing policies or spend only a few minutes buying a new policy. Saving a few dollars is less important when credit is flowing freely. But now we are in a recession and every dollar matters, it’s time to look more carefully at how we spend our dollars on insurance. The first step is to shop around. That way, you will find out for certain whether you are paying too much. When you talk to the insurers and research their companies, remember to ask about the claims process. This is not just about saving money on the premiums. It’s also about avoiding stress when it comes to a claim. Every state has an insurance department or commissioner. Many publish the results of complaints against the companies licensed to sell insurance in each state. This gives you valuable information on the quality of service you are likely to receive from each company.

Now let’s look at shaving dollars off the premiums. Start with the amount of deductible. The higher the amount you are prepared to pay should there be a claim, the lower the premium. Then look at the discounts. You will get significant reductions if you insure more than one vehicle with the same company or insure both your vehicles and home together. Similarly, you should look for a discount if you have been a safe driver, have no tickets and have not made a claim in the last five years. Some cars cost less to insure, particularly if you have an antitheft device fitted. Some companies offer lower premiums for older drivers and for women statistically, both groups have fewer accidents.

Now you have to make hard decisions about the vehicles themselves. If you have decided to cut your costs by keeping the same car, think about whether you still need comprehensive or collision cover as the car ages. There will come a point when the maximum deductible grows closer to the value of the car. At this point, it’s more cost effective to drop the comprehensive cover. Then, look to buy “safer” vehicles. High-powered cars cost more to insure than “family” cars that are less fun to drive but still get you where you need to go. This, combined with a clean driving record, will always get you the maximum insurance savings. So, always shop around. There are a lot of sites giving free auto insurance quotes. This identifies the companies offering a good premium. Make up a short list from the companies offering the best insurance quotes. Then, to get the best deal, it’s always down to the telephone to negotiate with a human being at each company. You can only get so far on the internet. The sites are programmed to respond with the answers to the most often asked questions. You are asking a lot of questions about how to save money. This needs a human decision-maker to give you the best results. When you have talked to three or four of the “best” companies, make a decision. Then, you can drive happily for the next year knowing you have the best value-for-money policy available.

David Mayer is a professional journalist who has years of experience in highlighting numerous topics and has worked with site like http://www.money-saving-solutions.com/saving-money-on-auto-insurance.html to bring people all around the world a better understanding of things.

Saving money on home insurance

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

When buying their homes, most people never really think about the costs of insurance. Yet the building you choose has a direct effect on the amount of premium you will pay to insure it. Where you buy is critical. Should there be a track record of hurricane, tornado or flood damage in the area, many insurance companies will either not offer insurance or will want high rates to match the increased risks of a claim for storm damage. Now come to the age of the property and the building materials used. Older buildings may have an ageing electrical system more likely to catch fire and a plumbing system more likely to leak. So you should never finalize your decision to buy any property until you have competitive quotes from local insurance on what the annual premiums are likely to be. In todays market where there are difficulties in finding mortgages, you may not be able to finance the purchase of a new place to live. This at a time when there are thousands of properties about to be or actually foreclosed going at eye-poppingly low prices. Never allow yourself to be seduced by the purchase price. Always look at the hidden costs of ownership as well.

To reduce the costs of insuring your existing home, start by shopping around to get as wide a set of quotes for renewing as possible. Always make sure you get quotes you can compare, i.e. always use the same set of information when using the online sites or completing a questionnaire on a site operated by an insurance company directly. That way you always compare like with like. Then get a different set of quotes for an increased deductible or for combining your home and auto insurance with the same company. There are several different packages available from insurers that will give you a discount. If you are in doubt, start talking directly with the insurance companies that seem to be offering the best terms. That way, you can explore whats on offer with a human being and get a better idea on how much you can save. Theres just as big an incentive to get new business for the companies and many offer welcome discounts to encourage people to switch their policies.

In all this, make sure you are insuring at the right value. Remember, the insurable amount is the cost of rebuilding not the purchase price you paid which includes the value of the land. Even though the resale value may have fallen in the recession, this does not mean the cost of rebuilding has fallen. Before you firm up on your home insurance policy, talk to some local builders to get guideline quotes for rebuilding costs. It may also be worth spending some money to make your home more secure against burglary, and renewing old wiring and plumbing systems. The better your property is able to withstand storm damage, the cheaper the premiums. So, to sum up, always shop around by using the free insurance quote sites, getting as many insurance quotes as possible before deciding which policy to buy, renovating and rebuilding where it will save you money in the longer term. That way, you should maximize your insurance savings.

If you have found this article interesting you can visit its David Mayer’s site http://www.money-saving-solutions.com/saving-money-on-home-insurance.html for more writings. David Mayer has spent years in perfecting his journalist skills and is pleased to share his vision with you.

Find Quotes For Supplemental Dental Insurance Plans

Friday, May 29th, 2009

There are loads of contrasting dental insurance companies that individuals have the ability to utilize - which will supply consumers a mixture of plans. The majority of these dental policies do not offer total insurance coverage for every kind of dental examination and will also put restrictions that are ordinarily tough to contend with.

These confinements will fix the amount of time you have the ability to visit your dentist, which dental practitioner you wish to work with, and the distinct treatments that they will handle. This is discouraging for some of us - but can be easily rectified if you decide to utilise supplemental dental insurance. But first you want to get quotes before you decide the one for you.

The easiest way to determine those quotes is with the assistance of the Net and despite what some people believe it is fairly simple. The best way to know where to search for this insurance you will want to utilise the standard search engines like Google,Yahoo, or MSN. Allow them to look for supplemental dental insurance providers and they will get you a listing of the top websites.

You can visit each website and read what they cover, the plans they provide, and any deductions you are able to acquire through them. You will wish to narrow the list down to only a couple by picking only the sites that will offer you the insurance coverage that you want. You might also wish to narrow it down more by deciding on the ones that have discount plans that you are able to take advantage of.

At these unique websites you will have to give them the region that you reside in so they can provide you with the data of the dentists that you have the power to choose.

They will supply you with a form where you will give them your personal data - which you will need to fill out before they may present you a quote. Analyse every quote from the different sites until you have picked one that you will be able to afford and easily utilize.

Supplemental Dental Insurance is a great way to get the coverage you need at the price you want.Learn the Supplemental Insurance Advantages and why the Preferred Provider Network is the best to use.

Holiday Homeowners At Risk Of Incorrect Insurance Cover

Friday, May 29th, 2009

It has been revealed that hundreds of holiday homeowners across the South West could be unknowingly disregarding the law by not taking out compulsory public liability insurance cover on their properties this summer.

A Cornish insurance firm, which has members across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset, stated that many people may be unaware of the legal requirements for public liability cover or employers liability insurance.

As a result, the company warned that many holiday homeowners could face a costly claim or even a prison sentence if members of staff receive personal injuries, while working on or in their let properties.

The latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) displayed that there were 28 fatal work accidents in the south West in 2007/08 and 2,337 reported major personal injuries in the region. Just under two thirds (60%) of these figures accounted for workers in the service industry.

Chris Ridgers, Business Development Manager for the Cornish insurance firm said: “Your employees may be injured at work and they might try to claim compensation from you if they believe you are responsible. It could be a cleaner who goes into the property on changeover day or a gardener you employ to maintain the property - anyone who’s working under your guidance and using your tools and equipment.”

Public liability skimping could cost a life
Whilst public liability insurance is not a legal requirement, the cost of not having such cover, could amount to hefty claims from guests injured whilst staying in the property.

Twenty per cent of all visitors travelling around the South West choose to stay in Self Catering accommodation, therefore, insurers have advised holiday let owners to make sure they have sufficient protection to guard against these risks.

Recent examples of claims include a guest tripping over a step and falling into a wood burner, sustaining severe burns. Another guests claim included falling over a concrete mushroom in the garden and suffering from broken bones as a result. Other liability claims include damage to property or its contents.

Property owners encouraged to purchase insurance cover

Iain and Gill Butterworth run a specialist holiday homes letting agency ‘Holiday Homes & Cottages South West’, which is based in Torquay, Devon.

Their Agency Agreement (legal contract between owner and the company) incorporates a statement which the owner verifies that they have “adequate commercial public liability insurance”.

Gill added: “We recognise the importance of having insurance that is appropriate and offers the right level of cover. We, therefore, do not take on a new property before ensuring the owner has the right cover in place.”

Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive of South West Tourism said: “We want all visitors to the South West to come to the region and have a safe and enjoyable time when they are here. There is so much to see and do in the South West and we are lucky to have some of the best self catering properties in the UK. Property owners need to make sure they do all they can to ensure their visitors enjoy their stay and this includes having adequate cover for their business.

He noted the importance of liability cover: “We would encourage property owners to take out public liability insurance to ensure they are covered should an accident happen.”

RESOURCES
If you have been injured in an accident that was’t your fault, find out if you could make an accident claim by speaking to one of our injury lawyers.

Health insurance from Uncle Sam gets a look : RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Look out Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare. Senators are meeting behind closed doors to consider whether the federal government should jump into the health insurance business.

The government already covers medical care for seniors, disabled people, poor families and many children. But coverage in those programs is restricted to people who meet certain qualifications, including age and income.

The issue now is whether middle-class workers and their families should be offered the choice of joining a government-sponsored plan similar to what they get through their employers.

If Congress agrees, a public plan would be part of the health overhaul legislation that lawmakers want to put on President Barack Obama’s desk later this year.

Senators on the Finance Committee on Thursday are weighing several designs for a public plan. They also will be given the option of having no public plan at all.

That last option is the outcome the insurance industry is hoping for.

The companies say a government plan could put them out of business, and they’ve offered to submit to new consumer protections and help find $2 trillion in health care savings over 10 years in the hopes of warding off any government-sponsored plan. Business groups also are leery of the idea. Republicans already are saying a public plan would put bureaucrats, not doctors and patients, in control of life-and-death decisions.

But Democrats think the idea would be a political winner. Since Medicare a government-run plan is popular with seniors, they figure a public plan for the middle class would also find acceptance.

Two of the designs that senators will consider call for a plan that’s like Medicare, except it would pay doctors and hospitals a little more generously. In one version, the public plan would be run directly by the government. The alternative would be to have it administered by regional middlemen under contract to the government.

A third idea would leave it up to each state to set up and run their own public insurance plans.

A fourth option, promoted by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., would try to address concerns about unfair competition from a public plan.

Schumer’s proposal would require the public plan to be financed by premiums, not tax dollars. It would have to follow the same solvency rules as private insurers, maintaining a reserve fund to cover liabilities. Doctors and hospitals would be free to participate in the plan, or opt out. And the public plan would have to operate under the same consumer protection rules as private insurers.

Schumer says he believes the public plan would set a high standard for quality. Since it wouldn’t have to turn a profit, it could invest in prevention and wellness.

His idea is getting a close look also from a group of fiscally conservative Democrats in the House, known as the Blue Dogs.

Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier…EasyToInsureME

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EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultation, and 10-minute application by phone. Our services are free because we are paid by the health insurance company not by our clients.

Children’s Health Insurance Program bill passes in House : ROBERT T. GARRETT

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

EasyToInsureME

The House, on an 87-55 vote, gave final approval to a CHIP buy-in bill that would let some families above current income caps pay to cover their children.

And hours earlier, lawmakers negotiating the state budget tentatively agreed to spend $40 million the state’s extra costs over two years if a buy-in bill passes.

CHIP covers children from low-income families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private coverage.

“It’s proven to be one of the most popular programs that ever existed and that people say has the most value,” said Houston Democratic Rep. Garnet Coleman, the bill’s author.

The measure would tap federal matching money made available by a CHIP reauthorization law that President Barack Obama signed in February.

The Senate passed a similar measure last week, and Coleman and his Senate counterpart, Republican Kip Averitt of Waco, said they’re confident they can work out differences.

The House bill would let hundreds of families keep their children on CHIP as their incomes rise. Eligible families would have to pay the full cost, Averitt said. The senator said he believes he can persuade his chamber to accept the provision.

Both bills would make only a small dent in a big problem: Texas’ 1.5 million uninsured children.

Still, they will probably be the big victory for child advocates and health care providers pushing for broader children’s coverage in this legislative session.

Coleman said legislative leaders rejected a more costly proposal this week to expand Medicaid’s rolls by nearly 260,000 children. It would have let their families renew coverage annually instead of every six months.

Budget writers, though, balked at the $300 million, two-year cost, Coleman said, and he dropped the provision, along with a separate Democratic proposal to ease limits on how expensive a car some CHIP families can drive.

He and Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, clashed over whether the buy-in program would encourage parents to drop children’s coverage available through their work.

Currently, to qualify for CHIP, a family of four cannot earn more than $44,000. The bill would allow a family of four earning up to $66,000 to buy in by paying monthly premiums. Premiums would be based on a sliding scale pegged to income and defray about half of the state’s costs.

Christian, head of the Texas Conservative Coalition, said the bill would create a “socialized system.”

He noted that premiums, capped at 5 percent of a family’s net income, would be considerably less expensive than employer-provided dependent plans.

Coleman, though, said children who’ve had private coverage in the past six months would be ineligible. That and other rules would discourage parents and employers from trying to game the system, he said.

Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier…EasyToInsureME

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EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultation, and 10-minute application by phone. Our services are free because we are paid by the health insurance company not by our clients.

Does individual health insurance need more competition? : EasyToInsureME

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

While many acknowledge various forms of reform such as the abovementioned, maybe allowing and enticing new small carriers to enter the market and offer different types of insurance packages will also help to keep prices fair and service high.

In Florida for example, the governor recently allowed certain health insurance carriers to offer no-frills plans to Florida consumers. These plans do not include all of the mandates required by Florida in order to provide healthcare coverage as an insurance company. Yet, in order to reduce the growing number of uninsured Floridians, these types of plans were allowed. They are less pricey, but are also less rich in benefits.

One issue with this approach is that only a few select companies were allowed to promote these types of plans. Of course it included Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida; they are probably the largest carrier in the state.

Health insurance needs to be understood better in the sense that its objectives need to be clear. For example, if the objective is to provide against catastrophic protection then that is the objective of that particular plan. If the objective is to allow coverage for ongoing routine services and preventative, then that is it. The problem as it appears is that health insurance,
health insurance companies, and even the state regulators try to do too many things at once and confuse consumers, agents, and at times themselves.

The system would be better served by allowing for different plan designs intended to provide for different types of services and expectations. At the same time, more competition needs to be encouraged amongst carriers so that no carrier controls a particular market.

Competition will increase our choices and maintain prices fair and balanced. Consumers will reap the benefits. There is already competition in many places around the country, but in many others there is not. There are many factors that add to create impediments, but government regulations are at the top.
Again, to use Florida as an example, the governor with a simple change to the system injected new competition, new choices and availability into the market. The same can happen elsewhere. Yet, Florida also should have allowed more companies to offer these types of plans.
States across the country are really trying to address their health insurance issues and bring more people into the insured column. The psychological perception by a consumer that they have
health insurance, even if not with the richest benefits, allows them feel that they have access to our healthcare system. This is a real problem, but also a fact.
A person without healthcare coverage really does feel like an outside and for the fear of not knowing costs or understanding the system will simply not attempt to access medical treatment.
In conclusion, competition is a good thing, it is a needed thing. In the same manner that the government needs to stay out of the private sector, so does the private sector need more effective players.

Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier…EasyToInsureME

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EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultation, and 10-minute application by phone. Our services are free because we are paid by the health insurance company not by our clients.

Why Women Pay More for Health Insurance and When It Will End : Lauren Fritsky

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Women between the ages of 18 and 55 — you — shell out 25 to 50 percent more than men for identical health insurance. Ludicrous, we know.

But last Tuesday the health-care industry offered to help a sister out by not charging women higher premiums than men. (This is after insurers said in November that they would accept all customers, regardless of illness or disability, if Congress required all citizens to have health coverage. In March, they took the next step and offered to stop charging higher premiums to sick people.) But like all good things, there’s a catch: We’d all have to buy our own insurance as a way to avoid a universal health-care system.

Doctor, Doctor Give Me the News

At a Senate hearing earlier this month, Karen M. Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, claimed her trade group would close the gap in coverage costs for women if they purchased individual insurance. The gesture comes as a defense against the Obama administration’s proposed universal health-care plan, which would have the government and the insurance industry competing for clients.

Obviously, there are pros and cons to both sides. Under a universal health-care plan, people worry about the quality of health care or having to wait months for a doctor’s visit. (Just ask our neighbors to the North about their government-run system.) But it’d be free*. Without the creation of a universal health-care plan, you’d be paying monthly fees for insurance whose quality you’d be able to select.

Here’s to Your Health

Why do women pay more for health care? Because we take better care of ourselves. Keep reading after the jump.

From the NY Times article:

“In interviews last fall, insurance executives said they had a sound reason for the different premiums: Women ages 19 to 55 tend to cost more than men of the same age because they typically use more health care, especially in the childbearing years. Moreover, insurers said women were more likely to visit doctors, to get regular checkups, to take prescription medications and to have certain chronic illnesses.”

Yep.

If you’re a 30-year-old woman in Florida, for example, Blue Cross Blue Shield will charge you $109 to $133 a month under its Cover Florida plan. A man of the same age would only pay from $92 to $116. We’ll let you fantasize about what you could do with that extra $40 a month if only you hadn’t been born a girl.Flickr, the doctr

And sadly, high insurance is keeping many women from being covered. A new study by the Commonwealth Fund further confirms the scary trend. About 70 percent, or 63.8 million, of working-age women in the U.S. have no insurance, too little insurance, have medical debt or skimped on care because of costs. Just 59 percent, or 51.9 million, of working-age men are in a similar boat.

Women Check Up

Here’s what some women have to say about the health-care reform options being presented.

Sarah thinks something needs to be done to make sure more women are covered, but doesn’t know if universal health care is the answer:

“I’m not sure I’m interested in, for the sake of equality, moving to a universal system where the quality of overall health care takes a hit. In Canada, for instance, people often cross the border to seek quality, timely treatments because they aren’t always available in Canada. In terms of charging women higher rates than men, we see discriminating practices in other areas, and for good reason. Young men are charged higher car insurance rates than young women.”

Christine would rather have more options for coverage than a government-run system:

“I have yet to see a model for ‘universal’ health care that I would want to emulate in the U.S. But I think part of the problem is that we often have no choice or very little choice in our insurance plans or what they cover. Why is it that I can pick any number of home or car insurance plans and decide on things like deductible, collision coverage, etc., but I can have no such choices with health insurance, or a very limited choice?”

Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier…EasyToInsureME

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EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultation, and 10-minute application by phone. Our services are free because we are paid by the health insurance company not by our clients.

Florida health insurance Premiums Soar as Competition Dwindles : Robin Williams Adams

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, along with Aetna, controls more than half of the health-insurance market in the Lakeland-Winter Haven area, a microcosm of their dominance statewide.

Increasing consolidation of health-insurance coverage - nationwide as well as in Florida - stifles competition and caused premiums in Florida to grow more than three times faster than wages from 2000 to 2007, a coalition of health care advocates said in a teleconference Wednesday. They released a report criticizing dwindling choices for consumers and calling for a greater government role in expanding competition.

Health Care for America Now wants health care reform to include a public insurance plan, which it said could make insurance more affordable and guarantee better coverage. Linking itself to the ongoing national health-care debates, it said President Barack Obama and more than 190 members of Congress support its principles for reform.

Blue Cross has 45 percent of the Winter Haven-Lakeland market and Aetna 12 percent, according to the report. Those major insurers have 45 percent of the Florida market, it said, quoting statistics from a 2007 American Medical Association comparison.

Blue Cross has the largest market share in 16 of 19 Florida metro areas listed. United Health Group has the largest share in the other three, including the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater area.

Health Care for America Now blamed much of the cost increases in Florida on having a handful of private companies dominate the market.

Nationwide, the reform campaign is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the impact of 400 insurance company mergers in the past 13 years, which its representatives say produced a widespread lack of meaningful competition.

“The rising cost of health care is bankrupting our families and small businesses,” said Justin Berrier, a policy research fellow at the Institute for America’s Future, speaking at the teleconference in support of increased competition.

“A public insurance option would force insurers to work more competitively.”

But the insurance industry contends rising costs for hospital care, physician charges and medicine - not lack of competition among insurance companies - are why insurance costs keep increasing.

“Their analysis is a bogus analysis,” said Susan Pisano, vice president of communications for America’s Health Insurance Plans in Washington D.C. “The report has a preordained conclusion that does not hold up to scrutiny.”

Responding to the request for a Department of Justice review, she said the United States’ anti-trust laws are “designed to protect consumers, not advance a political agenda.”

For family health insurance coverage in Florida, the average annual combined premium for employers and employees increased from $6,812 to $11,720 from 2000 to 2007, according to the Health Care for America Now report. The average worker’s share of the premium grew 94 percent, it said.

Health insurance premiums in Florida skyrocketed by 72 percent from 2000 to 2007, said Sean Shaw, Florida’s insurance consumer advocate, mentioning specific rate increases by Blue Cross and Aetna as examples. He said the system needs reform.

A Blue Cross spokesman said its response to the report will be released today.

Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier…EasyToInsureME

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EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultation, and 10-minute application by phone. Our services are free because we are paid by the health insurance company not by our clients.

Trial begins in case of canceled health insurance : SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Opening statements began Wednesday in a trial to determine if a man’s health insurance was wrongly dropped three months after a major car accident left him with massive bills.

The civil case against Blue Shield of California marks the first time a California jury will weigh in on the practice of rescission and could define the way courts handle similar lawsuits pending across the state.

Steve Hailey’s case in Orange County Superior Court is expected to last until early June and will examine whether Blue Shield inappropriately dropped his coverage after the car wreck left him with bills exceeding $400,000.

Hailey, confined to a wheelchair and carrying a catheter drainage bag, appeared in court for the first half of the day. In the afternoon, jurors listened to detailed testimony from Hailey’s doctor about the process of rebuilding his urethra after the accident.

Blue Shield lawyer John LeBlanc said Hailey and his wife, who filled out his insurance application, had their coverage dropped because they “concealed and misrepresented critical information” on the application, including prior health problems such as years of treatment for hypertension and chest pains.

Hailey’s lawyer Michael Nutter said in opening statements the Blue Shield application was “confusing and ambiguous” and led to any omissions.

Both sides agreed on a timeline of events: The Haileys were approved for an insurance policy Dec. 15, 2000; Hailey was in the car wreck in March 2001; Blue Shield canceled the policy in June 2001.

LeBlanc added that a February 2001 trip to the emergency room led Blue Shield to investigate Hailey’s insurance application. Nutter said Hailey should have been informed when the investigation was opened.

Hailey’s case helped prompt state regulators to target questionable health insurance rescissions. More than $13 million in fines for rescissions have been collected from Anthem Blue Cross, Health Net Inc., PacifiCare, Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield.

Rescission is an industry term for the practice of canceling insurance policies after costly claims are made, typically based on failures to report previous medical conditions on applications.

Consumer advocates contend that insurers seek out such errors and deny coverage when costs associated with paying a policy exceed the income from the premium.

Rescission is legal in California, if insurers do appropriate medical underwriting before issuing a policy and resolve all reasonable questions about coverage, said Lynne Randolph, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Managed Health Care. The exception is when policyholders willfully mislead insurers on their applications.

The Hailey lawsuit was dismissed in 2005, but in 2007 the state court of appeals ruled that it should go to trial.

There are a number of lawsuits on state dockets alleging health insurers dropped coverage after policyholders made pricey claims.

One of them is a $1 billion lawsuit brought against Blue Shield by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. It contends the company dropped hundreds of policyholders illegally and used deceptive advertising. City attorney spokesman Nick Velasquez said the case is ongoing, and the next procedural hearing is set for June 17.

Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier…EasyToInsureME

Florida Health Insurance
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EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultation, and 10-minute application by phone. Our services are free because we are paid by the health insurance company not by our clients.