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Archives February 2010

Health Insurance Fraud

With the economy still currently struggling to get back on its feet, many companies have found a prime opportunity to construct fake insurance fraud. Advocates from CBS say that health insurance scams are at an all time high right now. These problems have been occurring in every state around the country.

 James Quiggle, of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud told CBS News, “People are suffering devastating financial losses. They are looking for a better health insurance deal. Swindlers love this kind of environment.”

 Unfortunately, for customers such as Bob Harper, this is a very realistic nightmare.

 With a tough economy, rising healthcare costs, and millions of people desperate for coverage, Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen describes the current situation as a ‘perfect storm’.

 One company undergoing investigation American Trade Association (ATA) has been accused of taking advantage of as many as 12,000 people nationwide.

 Harper found out his coverage was phony when he was preparing to receive life-saving surgery.

 “I was lying in my bed, honestly praying to God, ‘How am I going to get out of this?” Harper said.

 ATA has put many costumers like Harper in way over their head. Although ATA covered his prescriptions, he has been left owing $2,000 in uncovered claims.

 One consumer reportedly has $60,000 in unpaid medical bills, yet they had been paying monthly premiums to ATA.

 Harper has been left fearing his future. He is currently 63-years-old, has a handful of pre-existing conditions, and is virtually every insurance company’s worst nightmare.

 When CBS’s “Early Show” requested an interview with the reported fraudulent company ATA, they denied, but responded with the statement: “We have paid in full every single claim that met the terms of coverage, and we will continue to pay those that are outstanding.” ATA adds that it’s working to resolve issues with insurance regulators.”

 ATA, including other companies that have been accused of undergoing similar schemes are currently being investigated by the FBI.

 With so many frauds being constructed nationwide, it is important to have your guard up when shopping for insurance.

 Things to look for:

Aggressive sales (unsolicited faxes, phone calls or emails offering plans that sound too good to be true, especially if their  premiums that are much lower than the competitors. Companies that have very little information about themselves or the company’s backing the plan.

 If you are unsure, you can always contact your state insurance commissioner. This will enable you to make sure the company you have chosen to work with is licensed to sell insurance.

 If you live in the state of Arizona or California and are looking for a trustworthy, independent insurance and financial services agency, look no further than ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. With access to top rated health insurance companies like Assurant Health, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Health Net, Humana, Kaiser and United Health, experts at ASJ Insurance are sure to find a plan that will fit your need and budget.

 Give them a call at (602) 212-1048 or (877) 275-2201 or visit their website http://www.asjhealthinsurance.com to get an instant quote from several insurance companies.

Auto Insurance & DUI

Many drivers know that there will inevitably be repercussions if you are caught drinking and driving, but they do not seem to know exactly how it will affect your auto insurance in the long run. DUI tickets stay on your driving record longer than other types of tickets such as speeding tickets.

 The truth is… it depends. What happens after you are charged with driving under the influence will vary based on a few different things. Certain components that are taken in to consideration are both the state that you live in and the insurance company you are insured with.

 In extreme cases, drivers who receive a DUI have even had their policies cancelled all together. You can lose your driver’s license entirely for a specified time as designated by state law. One thing that is certain regardless of whether it goes into effect instantly or once you receive your license back is that you will experience higher rates than before the incident occurred. Many insurance companies consider those who acquire DUIs to be what they call ‘high risk drivers’. Just as it states, you are a higher risk to them.

 Other negative aspects of receiving a DUI include the points that they will endure on your license. Points alone can increase your premium. This can even cause you to be turned away from new job opportunities. Some insurance companies will not even insure you if you have a DUI on your record; however, companies such as Progressive would never turn you away because of that but will charge a higher premium.

 Getting a DUI may be one of the toughest things one ever experiences; however, it is not the end of the world. Regardless, you will pay the consequences for a long time. Your best bet is to simply not drink and drive.

 ASJ Insurance have access to a number of companies like The Hartford, MetLife Auto & Home, Progressive, Infinity, Bristol West, Occidental and many more companies and we are confident that one of the companies is going to be a good fit for your auto insurance needs that will save you money too. If you have any questions regarding auto insurance, visit ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc.’s website http://www.asjautoinsurance.com/ or give them a call today (602) 212-1048 or toll free at (877) 275-2201, open weekdays 10am to 6pm and by appointment on Saturdays.

Californians Come Together to Save Childrens Public Health Insurance Plan

In light of the significant number of poor children about to be dropped from a current publicly endorsed health insurance program, California’s lawmakers have come to together and voted to levy a tax on insurance companies to help continue the program, which would have otherwise been cut completely in order to comply with the state’s budget.

The bill was a last minute success thanks to both the Schwarzenegger administration and support of the Democrats. Both parties came together, with help from local insurance companies. The bill’s passing is hoped by many to be a step in the right direction and a model for a similar bill to be passed at the federal level.

The program is properly titled, Healthy Families, and currently insures nearly 700,000 needy California children, whose parents earn slightly too much for them to be considered for Medicaid coverage. The program was set to be eliminated as part of the $175 million reduction plan made by the state of California’s lawmakers and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Although, the Democrats and Republicans have failed to see eye to eye lately in terms of the hot topic of health care reform, the two parties came together for a unanimous bipartisan budgeting agreement and comprised the necessary two-thirds vote in order to pass the bill. The bill was voted in favor of, 27 to 8.

Republican state senator Dave Cox said, “In this particular situation, I didn’t see this as a tax increase.” Cox helped pass the bill, yet he was one of the many angry Republicans who fought against various other tax increases.

“To have 600,000 or 700,000 kids walking around without coverage would have been a disaster. It was just the right thing to do,” Cox said.

The insurance program had been denying enrollment since July. They had accumulated a hefty waiting list of 71,000 children. Already $196 million in debt, the program was preparing to drop 600,000 more.

Since the bill did in fact pass, Gov. Schwarzenegger has enlisted a group of health insurance companies that already participate in the state’s Medicaid program.

If you are looking for a free health insurance quote for the state of California and/or Arizona, please visit ASJ Insurance & Financial Service’s website  http://www.asjhealthinsurance.com/ or give them a call today! 1-877-275-2201

Factual information in this blog was obtained from Health Insurance News.

Life Insurance

The concept of life insurance can be very complex for many Americans to understand. The truth is that not all Americans need to have life insurance. According to insurance gurus at McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, the general rule is that you only need it if you are directly responsible for any dependents.

 Life insurance is designed to protect the average working family, in case of the sudden death of a loved one. It’s meant to replace your “value” so your family won’t be left financially unstable once you’re gone. For any working parent, a big part of your value comes directly from your steady salary. With the proper insurance plan, your family will receive enough money to compensate your salary on average for ten to twelve years.

 Having a durable life insurance plan will rid you of any “what if” questions you may have regarding the possibility of your family one day having to live without you.

 The most sought after type of life insurance is known as “term life insurance”. Term insurance policies are set to cover the insured person for a predetermined amount of years, generally anywhere from one to 30 years. For the average young, health family, term life insurance is the best option, because it tends to be the least expensive.

 Another type of life insurance that many purchase is permanent life insurance. Permanent life insurance, just as the name implies, will cover you from the day you buy it up until the day you die, regardless of the cause or time of your death.

 The main difference between term and permanent life insurance is that permanent policies tend to come with a cash value component. What this means, is that your insurance company will continuously invest part of your premium payments to build up cash values in your account. You will not be taxed on any investment earnings, until you cash in on your policy.

 In terms of price, the cheapest, most affordable policies will always go to those who are in good health and have a family history that is free of major health issues, as well. If you are taking some type of heart medication or have been diagnosed as obese, you may pay more than those who are in good health.

 Your best bet for purchasing a life insurance policy would be to get begin shopping for one early in life when you are still in good health and young. If you are looking for an insurance broker with access to 30 plus companies like The Hartford, MetLife, ING, Lincoln Benefit Life, Pacific Life, AXA Equitable, American General, Ohio National, West Coast Life that will provide you with instant quotes and friendly customer-service, visit ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc.’s website www.asjtermlifeinsurance.com or give them a call today at (602) 212-1048 or (877) 275-2201 to talk to an experienced agent who could help you decide what’s the right plan that would fit your need and budget.

Health Insurance Reforms

Ever since President Obama was inaugurated, there has been an ongoing controversy surrounding health insurance. The most sought after topic has been reform, up until lately when the issue of antitrust issues arose.

 The entire health insurance industry has been in a chaotic uproar ever since new plans began being proposed to United States congress.

 If the plan does in fact go into effect, health insurance providers will more than likely have to pay additional taxes, thus putting their would-be profits at risk.

 The health insurance industry as a whole has had the unique privilege for the past 64 years of being exempt from antitrust laws.

 Currently, health insurance is controlled mostly by few major players: Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna, United Health, and Health Net. Many customers who are seeking out health insurance turn to online search engines to find their best options and often face the health insurance monopoly of these companies. But, why not venture off to more plausible, affordable options?

 There are plenty out there. In fact, working with an insurance broker versus an individual insurance company, will almost always provide you with better results in terms of both premiums and coverage.

 One of the most sought after insurance brokers serving both the states of Arizona and California is ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. (Available by phone at (602) 212-1048, website:

http://www.asjhealthinsurance.com

 or email customerservice@asjhealthinsurance.com).

 

Antitrust laws would be beneficial, as they would assist in promoting competition among all the major insurance companies and help prevent any one company from taking over the market entirely.

 Enabling competition would not only lower pricing, but also provide more selections for the consumer.

 The subject of antitrust laws as a whole has up until now been pushed off, in an attempt to achieve the original change the industry sought after.

 In the beginning when the issue first became a major obstacle for the Obama administration, the main topics of the health care agenda were funding, fiscal responsibility, and illegal immigrants.

 However, with the public outcry over recent issues and the overall failure of the congress to come to any sort of agreement in terms of reform, politicians have been pushed to think outside the box and deal with other issues. This is where antitrust laws first came into play.

 With congress providing insurers overall invincibility, legislation constructed a way for health insurance providers to share information without being responsible for either price fixing or collusion. Apparently, congress’s initial plan backfired horribly.

 Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has taken the lead in getting the new health bill off the ground. Pelosi is hopeful of passing the legislation as an individual legislation, aside from the overall health care reform.

 For once, Speaker Pelosi has come up with a plan that has received positive feedback from both sides of the political world.

 If the bill passes, it will help jump start health care reform being passed, which will ultimately allow all Americans to have the option of having health insurance that will have to undergo both public scrutiny and antitrust laws.

Cell Phones & Auto Insurance

According to CBS Interactive Inc., an estimated 6,000 people are killed each year by drivers who are distracted by texting and/or making phone calls using their cellular telephones.

 Safety advocates are coming together in order to formulate a national organization to fight against the many wrongful deaths.

One victim, Jennifer Smith, was hit by a distracted driver one night while driving in her home city of Oklahoma City with her mother. The driver was talking on his cell phone and unknowingly ran a red light. Smith survived the crash; however, her mother Linda Doyle, 61, was not so lucky.

 “We need to just drive,” said Jennifer Smith, Doyle’s daughter. “Why do you need to be doing anything else when you’re driving a deadly weapon?”

 This horrible, life-changing experience has prompted Smith to team up with other victim’s families to form FocusDriven. The advocacy group is modeled after the famed support system Mothers Against Drunk Driving or “MADD”.

 Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, feels confident that eventually “being distracted, while driving” will get the kind of attention that drinking and driving has received. After all, in the old days drinking and driving was barely a topic of discussion. Nowadays, after much law enforcement and receiving the proper attention it deserved, the numbers have significantly lowered. “That’s where we want to get with the distracting thing”, LaHood said.

 Currently only 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, have put a ban on texting while driving and 6 states, plus DC, have banned the usage of cell phones while operating a vehicle. Ironically, not one state has begun to enforce banning the use of hands-free phones while driving, which after thorough research, has been proven to have the same amount of distraction.

 Judy Stone, the president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, feels that in the near-future technology will come out with a device that will put a lock on the times when you can and cannot use your phone in your car.

 For example, a GPS-assisted system will have the ability to detect when you are or aren’t on the road and be able to block all calls to your cell phone when you are driving.

 Although, many worry that the technologically savvy world we live in will soon have more gadgets to worry about. The particular gadgets many fear are dashboard computers. Jim Buczkowski, Director of Electrical Systems at Ford Motor Company, the   computers would be voice activated so drivers can keep their hands on the wheel. But it’s where driver’s heads would be that worries safety advocates.