i-insurance: February 2011

2 Easy Ways to Make Fast Money Online

When talking about easy ways to make money online, there are hundreds of ways to make easy money online. There are ways that could make you a couple of extra bucks to help you pay off some bills, and there are ways that could replace your monthly income and let you retire and go home.

It's also good to know that there are ways that could actually make you rich, and not just replace your income it could turn you in to a millionaire and allow you to change your lifestyle, live the way you have always dreamed of, and buy the house you always wanted, fly on vacations more often, and much more.

So, before you start looking for ways to make you money, you have to know what your goal is. Because not knowing where you're heading to is the best reason for not getting there.

So, you have to set a goal, knowing what you want to get out of your online business. Should it be a few hundred dollars a month or three thousand dollars a month, it really doesn't matter how much, but you just have to know that before you start.

Once you know what your goal is, and how much you want to earn, it is much easier to get there. Because depending on your personal goal you know what method to choose to make you earn money.

Below is a list of 2 very successful ways to make easy money online.

1. Make money with Blogging

Blogging is a very common way to make money among those that earn money online. It is also very long term, meaning that it could take some time to start earning with your blog, but in most cases it is well worth your time. Check out Internet #1 - Make Fast Easy Money Online @ http://www.churifita.info and change your life forever!

The way you earn money blogging is through placing affiliate offers or AdSense ads on your blog, and every time somebody clicks on a AdSense ad or buys an affiliate product you earn money.

The things you have to do is, create a blog and post very often, so that you get a lot of visitors to your blog. And from these visitors you could earn a nice income. A lot of people make thousands of dollars from their blogs.

2. Mini Websites

Setting up mini websites is also an excellent easy way to make money. It takes pretty fast to set up such a website, once you learn how to set it up once it could take you just a couple of hours to set up another one.

The earning potentials of such a website is between $150 - $600 per website. But you could also earn much more.

So, if you set up just ten of such websites it shouldn't take you more than two weeks if you get the right training, that could earn you between $3000 - $5000 a month. Doesn't it sound great? Just imagine if you would have twenty or perhaps even thirty of those websites, Wouldn't it be great?

Save Money on Homeowners Insurance

he market value of my home has declined over the past few years. Can I save money by reducing my homeowners coverage?

No. You should never lower the amount your house is insured for just because housing prices have dropped. That's because cutting the amount of your insurance could leave you with insufficient coverage in the event of a disaster.
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The market value of your home and its insurance value can vary widely because they are based on different assumptions and calculations. The insurance value is based on what it would cost to rebuild the house -- not on what you paid for it. And although housing prices have dropped, rebuilding costs have not. (On the other hand, the sales price takes into account the value of the land, which isn't factored into the insurance value; the land could still be valuable, even if your home were to burn down .)

To calculate how much it might cost to rebuild based on your home's size, building materials and any special features, try the calculator at AccuCoverage.com. For $7.95, you'll get an immediate estimate of your home's insurance value from Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, which provides building-cost estimates to the insurance industry. It's also a good idea to rerun the numbers after you make any major home improvements, and notify your insurer if you need to increase your coverage. You can usually boost your insurance limit by tens of thousands of dollars without making your premiums go through the roof (see Upgrade Your Home Insurance for more information about calculating your insurance needs).

To save money on your homeowners insurance, however, you could increase your deductible. Increasing your deductible from $500 to $1,000 could lower your premium by as much as 25%. And increasing your deductible will discourage you from filing small claims that could jeopardize your insurer's claims-free discount or get you dropped by your insurer altogether (boost your emergency fund to make sure you have enough money to cover the deductible). See Slash Your Insurance Costs for strategies to help you save money on all kinds of insurance.

More Americans forsaking life insurance coverage

It's enough to make an insurance agent tremble: Millions of cash-strapped Americans are saving money by going without life insurance.

Ownership of life insurance has reached a 50-year low, according to industry research firm LIMRA. Thirty percent of households (35 million) are not covered, up from 22 percent in 2004. Among households with minor-aged children, 11 million lack coverage.

Insurance salespeople have sounded the alarm, warning that penny-wise and pound-foolish habits could leave loved ones devastated if a death occurs. Financial advisers agree that many Americans probably should have at least a little life insurance. But experts urge people who are pressed for cash to keep in mind the ultimate goal: limiting risk for survivors. Life insurance isn't the only way to accomplish that goal.

"Say you didn't have any kids, your spouse has a law degree, and you don't owe a lot of money in your business. You may not need to get life insurance," says Bill Gustafson, senior director of the Center for Financial Responsibility at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. "Because she's got human capital, she'd be able to enter the labor force if something happens to the other person."

So what are other ways to limit risk for survivors? Start with estate planning, financial advisers say. People with dependents should use such instruments as wills and trusts to direct assets in a tax-efficient manner to survivors, according to Stuart Armstrong, a certified financial planner in Needham Heights, Mass. Those who take such steps might still need some life insurance, he says, but they may not need as much -- or may not need any if assets are substantial enough.

Even those with few or no assets can benefit from estate-planning principles, planners say. For example: Inexpensive wills can provide for guardianship of a child or a dependent elder.

If a head of household makes arrangements with trusted family members to provide for dependents, then that person has substantially cut his or her survivors' risks, according to Tom Fisher, a certified financial planner in Cambridge, Mass. This approach might function as a type of de facto insurance policy, he says, in families that cannot afford life insurance or who choose not to carry it.

Get a verbal agreement, at least

"I would certainly encourage them to make sure they've had that conversation about providing for dependents, rather than just assuming it," Fisher says. "It's not so much a matter of getting it in writing if you trust your family, but you do want to make provisions for guardianship."

Lifestyle planning can go a long way, too. Consider a couple who has two children, lives in a four-bedroom house, and depends on one primary income. If the at-home spouse has marketable skills, then she or he might draft a realistic plan for carrying on after being widowed.

Example: Rejoin the work force, downsize to a smaller home, and otherwise cut expenses. A well-conceived plan means a household doesn't need a life insurance policy that would sustain a current lifestyle because the lifestyle is certain to give way to a more sustainable one.

Cut down on debt

Other techniques can reduce risk as well. Gustafson recommends keeping debt levels low, because a surviving spouse can inherit debt as well as assets. People who are not eligible for life insurance, such as someone with chronic health conditions, might want to look into the death benefits available through variable annuities, Fisher says. He cautions, though, that annuities typically come with high fees and modest death benefits.

Families might use multiple strategies for cutting risk for survivors, Armstrong says. But few financial instruments offer a tax-free lump sum payment at a time when it's most needed. For that reason, he says, life insurance is often worth carrying, at least when children are young and risks are substantial.

"A lot of guys don't realize that a wife, especially, needs that security of knowing she'll be able to go on if something were to happen to her husband," says Jan Henryson, director of the nonprofit Center for Financial Education in Sioux Falls, Iowa.

A growing number of Henryson's clients are trying to save money by forgoing life insurance. Because most of them lack an alternative strategy, she urges those with young children to investigate getting life coverage through employee benefits plans.

Some with kids do well to lock in premiums on 15-year coverage plans, she added.

"We encourage them very strongly, if they are insurable, to look for a term life policy that is pretty inexpensive for the coverage you can get and the security you can provide for your family," she said.

A healthy nonsmoker younger than 40 can get a $250,000 policy for less than $25 per month, according to Mike Halloran, a Jacksonville insurance salesman and president of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.

"The biggest thing life insurance has going for it is the tax-free death benefit that you get in most cases," Armstrong says. "There aren't many assets that can rival that, especially when you're paying pennies on the dollar to get that death benefit."

Read more: More Americans forsaking life insurance coverage - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_723842.html#ixzz1EbsUMUdd

How We're Transforming Insurance Sub-Sector, By Fola Daniel

Mr Fola Daniel, Commissioner for Insurance, takes Vanguard's Editor, Northern Operations, Jide Ajani, and Favour Nnabugwu, through the present state of the nation's insurance industry, the sector's preparedness for IFRS March 2011 deadline, the potentials insurance companies are tapping into, NNPC insurance accounts and the subjection of companies to bidding fees by government agencies.

Excerpts:

With the transition from N350 million to N5 billion in setting up an insurance company, there were challenges and even doubts in some quarters as to what was really going on, especially with the verification that was carried out.

That is speculation. Before the bubble burst in the banks, people were still in doubt of the N25bn capital base, but when the bubble burst, it became apparent that they did meet it and even exceeded the threshold of N25bn.

They had other problems that came as a result of the inability to manage the big fund at their disposal but the question of any bank not having the N25bn was no longer an issue. Some insurance companies have the required minimum capital base whilst a few others have exceeded it.

Most insurance companies purporting to have raised N3bn for general business or N5bn for composite did not really have it and that led the government to set up a verification committee to verify if indeed, the companies have the amount they claimed to have, N2bn for life, N3bn for general, N5bn for composite and N10bn for reinsurers and the findings of that committee is that virtually all of them had what they claimed they had.

Don't ask me how they made it. Most of them attained it but few companies didn't make it and some of the few companies are big companies and they are shying away from the fact that they didn't have it. The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the government were nearly scandalised. They were made a laughing stock that they were too big not to have what they claimed they had, but we went through a judicial process where it became apparent that the commission was right and the other party was wrong.

Do you foresee the scandal of insurance companies having problems like the banks?

Even before the Soludo crisis became public knowledge, we had the feeling that things were not okay with the banks, but we decided to mind our own business. One of the things we did in the commission without being forced to do so was a forensic investigation on insurance companies' accounts. You must have read in the newspapers that NAICOM was delaying passage of accounts that it was taking eternity for the commission to approve an account and all that.

What we did was to meticulously x-ray the books of every insurance company to ensure that what they claimed to have is indeed, what they have. And, l can proudly say that any published accounts of an insurance company represent nothing but the truth. We have gone the extra mile to assess that the accounts of insurance companies represent the true figure they claim. In the published accounts of insurance companies between last August and December, you find out that some big companies had holes in their books.

About three of them had as much as N5bn and I know that some of those companies are going out now to raise funds. It is not indicative of what can happen tomorrow.

Four insurance companies were not given approval last year, hence they could not conduct their 2009 annual general meeting. What is their fate now?

The fact that they failed to hold an AGM is not conclusive that they are troubled. One company, for instance, submitted their 2009 accounts on December 30, by 4p.m. in this office whilst two others submitted on the 31st; so it was not possible for us to clear the accounts on the 27th even for those who submitted on the 30th and 31st of December.

One would have thought that even with the benefit of all the time they had, they would have tidied up their books to the satisfaction of the regulator but we still had to raise queries on the accounts. We had issues with the accounts and, until they are satisfactorily resolved, we cannot approve them and, if we don't approve, they cannot go to do an AGM.

I am not saying that the four companies are necessarily troubled, but, as regulators, we are worried if a company which is meant to submit its report in June and the company submitted late, we should be worried. One of the companies belongs to a group of companies and they have tentacles outside Nigeria. One of the reasons they gave was that they needed to consolidate their balance sheets.

Of course, if you want to consolidate a balance sheet, particularly the one that is domiciled in French, there is a challenge. That is not to say that I'm defending but just giving you information. We had a problem still trying to clear the accounts.

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), March 2011 deadline is near. How prepared are the insurance companies?

Everybody within the financial service sector in this country has challenges meeting that standard. What we will try to do in the insurance sector is to bring the industry to the pedestal of transparency and openness but the IFRS demands more than that, it is an upgrade. It is taken that your disclosure will encompass transparency and accountability, but what we try to do in the last two years is to bring the insurance industry to that realm. We recognise that the insurance industry has some challenges complying with IFRS.

That is why we decided to start ahead of others. We had an outing on January to highlight what the issues and challenges are and to also proffer possible remedies in order to leverage on experience from elsewhere.

Why is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), holding back insurance premium?

I read in the newspapers that INEC is insuring all the property they are going to use for the elections. To me, it was cheering news, but whether the insurance companies have been paid or not, I cannot say. I think l have a high degree of confidence in the leadership of INEC and, if the management of INEC decided to insure, I believe they are going to pay.

You must also remember that INEC has some financial challenges. You can see that they have gone to the National Assembly in the last few months to request for supplementary budget. If INEC has taken those policies indeed, l am sure they are going to pay insurance companies.

Insurance companies and brokers were forced to pay bidding fees by INEC. What is NAICOM doing about it?

We are in a democratic era and government agencies and departments advertise for bidding process and all insurance companies could have said 'no, we are not going to pay any bidding fee; and the commission would have supported them because when parastatals and agencies want to put money in the various banks, they do not advertise or ask them to pay bidding fees. In 2008, one of the government parastatals asked insurance companies to bid.

The bidding fees ranged between N100,000 and N800,000 depending on the class of business a company wished to engage in. About two or three insurance companies drew my attention to it and l left my office and drove straight to the parastatal and told them,'you can't do this,' and I gave them some analogies: 'Do you give your money to banks? Do you engage lawyers? Do you patronise hospitals?' They said yes. Then, I asked why they were subjecting insurance companies to bidding fees.

The DG of that parastatals was on the defensive as she was a bit apologetic until the legal adviser came to her rescue and said, 'Madam, are we discussing the future bids or the present bids?' I didn't know where the legal adviser was heading to.

The legal adviser said before I got to their office about 48 insurance companies out of 51 had complied and had paid the bidding fees. And, he said, 'perhaps the insurance commissioner is here to talk about future bidding fees so that we can be so guided in the future but if he came for this particular exercise, 48 insurance companies had already paid.'

I was in the company of the then chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr Wole Oshin. We were embarrassed. If my constituent could rush to pay for bidding process within two weeks for an exercise that had six weeks grace, if they did not have any problem paying the fees, why were they complaining? I seriously believe that insurance companies should not be made to go through paying for bidding process.

What is you advice to the layman on the street about insurance?
Relevant Links

Insurance with a small payment called premium is worth the trouble if anything should happen to even your children's bicycles that are not less than N100,000. For five per cent of N100,000, you can get the bicycles secured against theft, accident; so insurance remains the cheapest way of managing risks. Insurance is not only for the elite but also for the average man.

A man that has 10 cars will not lose a sleep if anything should happen to one of the cars but for a man who managed to save and bought a Tokunbo car, he may never be able to buy another car; so, why not set aside a small amount of money to secure the car.

What is the delay in NNPC 2011 insurance about?

I know that NNPC incepted a process that will lead to their insurances being renewed and l know that part of the thing NNPC does on yearly basis is to ask the old insurers to hold covers until the renewal is concluded and usually there will be no gap. NNPC is too organised to allow for gap. They cannot do that.

Health care law will help, not hinder, creation of jobs

Since defeat of attempts to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, I've reflected on how little most people seem to understand about its positive effects. There are simply no words to express the importance of this act in our family right now.

A close relative and small business owner has health issues that require him to sell his company earlier than planned. When it sells, he -- like many others forced out of their jobs-- must seek health insurance as an individual. He is two years short of qualifying for Medicare; his condition will not be tolerable within that time without significant medical interventions.

Our comfort comes from knowing that, while probably pricey, insurance for our relative cannot be denied because of his pre-existing condition. Without insurance he could easily use the entire proceeds from selling his business, intended to fund his retirement.

Republicans have chosen to spend precious time trying to repeal this law, creating fears and negativity about it which are undeserved and delaying action on more urgent issues like the economy and jobs.

They continue to misrepresent the bill, branding it as a "job destroyer," (it actually creates jobs if implemented as planned), and repealing it would add billions to the nation's debt ($145 billion over 10 years). Provided the Act is implemented as planned, it will reduce our deficits -- but Republicans aim to prevent implementation.

They have stirred up a great protest to the individual mandate, but they gloss over the fact that the millions of uninsured people in today's market are key drivers of the cost increases the rest of us bear.

In a recent news magazine interview, the CEO of a major for-profit insurance company complained that the Affordable Health Care Act would force him to change his business model. Good. That model no longer works -- and we are all paying dearly so companies like his can make a profit.

Questions to ask before buying insurance policy

Each time you plan an insurance scheme, take a precaution since there is no recourse for financial loss resulting from misrepresentation by a sales agent.

Misrepresentation occurs when an agent gives false information either fraudulently or without bad intention on provisions of a product to a client.

No insurance company is ready to accept liability and compensate a policyholder for financial loss incurred through misrepresentation.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you buy insurance cover from an agent who is competent, honest, and someone you can trust. How do you find an agent who is competent, honest, and right for you?

Below are some of the questions that you should ask to help you evaluate a competent and honest agent.

Who do you work for?

You would want to secure a cover from an agent who works for a reputable insurance firm or represents reputable insurance companies in the industry. To unravel this, ask for identification.

Next, ask to know the reputation of the insurance company in terms history of claim settlement, speed of claim settlement, financial performance, and responsiveness to queries from clients.

What is the recent rating of the insurance company in terms of claim settlement?

Ask for literature and a follow up with research to verify the answers or information provided by the agent. It is advisable to secure a cover from a company that is highly rated and has an impressive record of claim settlement to safeguard your insurance from any counterparty risks.

Reputable firms also tend to invest in their sales force through continuous product training, besides hiring competent employees for the same.

What is your professional background and experience?

Your insurance agent is certainly your advisor of final resort before you secure an insurance plan.

You could have a personal financial advisor who helps you translate your insurance goals into plans, but your choice of cover will be influenced by the information you get from the insurance agent.

In view of this, you need a competent agent who has both relevant education background and experience in either the insurance industry or the financial sector.
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FOS clarifies marine insurance issues

The Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS) has issued a technical note covering some of the issues that arise in relation to complaints involving marine insurance policies.

The Service says it deals with around 100 complaints involving small craft each year and that in most cases the insurer has refused (or restricted) a claim on the basis that:

The vessel was not seaworthy; the consumer had not taken reasonable care to avoid loss or damage; non-disclosure; the claim was fraudulent; the security requirements in the policy were not complied with.

The Ombudsman's approach in considering each of the above categories is now available on the FOS website

Belgian Ageas buys Turkish insurance stake for $220 mln

Sabancı Holding, one of Turkey's largest conglomerates, sold half of its 62 percent share in the country's fourth largest non-life insurance company, Aksigorta, to Belgian Ageas for $220 million before the weekend.

Bart de Smet, the CEO of Belgium's largest insurer, said they are happy to enter the "rapidly developing Turkish market" with Sabancı Holding at a signing ceremony held on Friday in İstanbul.

Having a 180-year corporate history, Ageas is also one of the foremost insurance companies in Europe. After the sale, Hakan Akbaş, president of Sabancı Holding's Insurance Services Group, stated their joint activities with Ageas would continue under the name of Aksigorta. "Aksigorta with the new partner Ageas will be a pioneer of consolidation in the insurance sector, and the company will grow with new acquisitions," said Akbaş. Akbaş also noted that they are aiming for rapid growth in line with their strategic targets with Ageas in the fields of health and the bank insurance model.

Facts and Figures Behind the Faces in Those Car Insurance Ads

Flo, Mayhem ... "The World's Greatest Spokesperson"? Can't remember which car insurer those characters pitch for, or which insurer has the catchy (or grating, depending on your point of view) jingle or tagline? Want to know which is the biggest ad spender? This breakdown of the marketing that props up the nation's top nine insurers will clear things up.

STATE FARM
Here's all you need to know about where State Farm is headed: The 89-year-old insurer founded by a retired farmer recently had rock band Weezer cut a version of its iconic "Like a Good Neighbor" jingle, originally written in 1971 by Barry Manilow. You can find it on their "State Farm Nation" Facebook page, launched late last year.

16 million poor people granted health insurance cards

A policy supporting poor people and vulnerable groups in medical check-ups and treatment has seen progresses with some 16 million poor people being provided with health insurance cards so far.

According to the Ministry of Health (MoH), 60 percent of the country's population had possessed health insurance cards by early 2011.

The MoH said it has suggested health insurance payment policy for all traffic accident patients regardless of their violations of traffic laws or not.

Under its proposal to the Ministry of Finance, the MoH said once approved, the policy will help solve difficulties for traffic accident victims in proving their eligibility to health insurance interests

In a state of insurance 'limbo'

During the school year, Nikki Boudreau has access to health care through California State University, Stanislaus, where she's a senior. But come summertime, and during school breaks, she is uninsured.

Under federal health care reform, young people up to the age of 26 can be insured through their parents' health plans. But that only works if their parents have health insurance. The 22-year-old art student isn't so lucky.

Her father worked in home improvement until the housing bubble burst. Her mother did child care. Neither is insured. So Boudreau is on her own.
BA Health Care Boudreau 5 BA Health Care Boudreau 4 BA Health Care Boudreau 3 BA Health Care Boudreau 2
Modesto Bee - - Nikki Boudreau working at the Cal State University, Stanislaus Planned Parenthood booth at CSUS, Monday afternoon. Boudreau is a 22-year-old CSUS student who has no health insurance. Boudreau hands out free condoms to Luis Fuentes and German Lopez. February 14, 2011

Growing up in Fremont, Boudreau says she spent many of her teenage years uninsured. She didn't see the eye doctor. She didn't see the dentist. When a filling fell out, she spent a year refilling it with temporary filler.

"You just go a long time trying to patch things up and hope they don't get worse," she said.

When she was 19, Boudreau got so sick she ended up in the emergency room. In the end, that health scare was "an unexpected blessing," she said. While in the hospital, she found out she was eligible for Medi-Cal.

Over the next year, she caught up on all kinds of care. She had her wisdom teeth pulled. She got glasses.

But on her 21st birthday, she says, she rejoined the ranks of the uninsured.

"Now it's like, 'I hope I don't get a toothache. I hope I don't get into an accident,' " she said, "Because I'd have to pay out of pocket."

A few years ago, Boudreau went to Planned Parenthood for birth control, and discovered she also was eligible for Family PACT — California's program to provide reproductive health and family planning services to the low-income, uninsured and working poor.

Now, she can get annual exams and help with limited other health problems at the clinic. She's so grateful for that assistance, she does outreach for Planned Parenthood around campus.

"I think there's a lot of people who are in their mid-20s who are kind of in limbo. I meet people all the time who haven't been to the dentist for years, all sorts of things," she said. "It's horrible."

Imported goods and insurance

As the rand fluctuates, you might want to look into the replacement value of any imported goods you may have -- Italian tiles and carpets, for example, or a Miele kitchen (which can cost R500 000 to install).

A fluctuation in the exchange rate on half a million rand can end up being a huge difference when it comes to replacing expensive goods that have been imported.

Christelle Fourie, managing director of MUA Insurance Acceptances, says that although it's not practical for you to revalue the contents of your home every time the rand dips or rises, it's a good idea if there's been a sustained period of rand strength or weakness.

"Consumers sometimes forget that it is more expensive to buy certain electronic equipment in South Africa than overseas, simply due to the import costs. However, doing a straight rand/dollar conversion is not adequate to determine the replacement cost here in South Africa, so it's essential that one has a proper valuation done," she advises.

She also says that jewellery needs to be adequately insured for its replacement value, as there are differences in this segment that also need to be taken into account.

"In the case of antique jewellery and other rare items it is not always possible to actually replace the item in South Africa, particularly when it comes to period jewellery," she says, advising consumers to have an accurate, up-to-date valuation certificate handy, which includes the date at which the valuation was undertaken, the rand-to-dollar rate and the gold price in dollars at the time of the valuation.

Keep all slips as proof of payment and make sure items have been declared at customs or claims may not be accepted.

Nurses under RN HEALS get health insurance

BORONGAN, E. Samar - Feb. 21(PIA) To ensure the nurses' security, the Department of Health (DOH) in the province made enrolment to health insurance a priority for the nurses it recruited to the Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement Local Services (RN HEALS) Program.

According to Alexi Abellar, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Provincial Head, the 170 nurses assigned to 23 municipalities in the province will be enrolled to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

"We know that there are risks in this kind of job and we want to make sure we give the assistance necessary to help them," Abellar said in an interview with Radyo ng Bayan DYES-Borongan.

The DOH has shouldered the cost of the nurses' health insurance for the duration of the program.

Aside from this, the nurses will also receive an P8,000 allowance every month.

Angeline Norcio, one of the nurses in the program, expressed elation over the benefits the government agencies bundled for them in the program.

Maslog Mayor Septimio Santiago of Maslog town confirmed that if the nurses perform well, his Local Government Unit (LGU) is willing to add a reasonable amount to the allowance.

Vernard Pinanggay of PhilHealth said that the nurses can enjoy the benefits of their health insurance in three months.

The nurses were deployed to their assigned towns on February 14, 2011 after a two-day orientation.

86,000 employees of 2,200 employers passed required insurance at work in Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Over the last 1/5 month of implementation of the Law on Compulsory Insurance against Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases, three specialized life insurance companies in Azerbaijan have managed to ensure insurance of about 85,724 workers of 2,236 employers in the total amount of 942 manats.

At today's press conference in Baku a member of the Qala Sigorta Board of Directors, Vusal Abbasov, has informed the Company has signed about 900 contracts for insurance of about 50,000 workers.

"The premium on these agreements reached approximately 300,000 manats," Abbasov said.

Ateshgah Heyat's deputy chairman of board Akbar Madatli says that their Company has entered into 1,316 contracts for insurance of about 30,724 employees, and fees totaled about 542,000 manats.

PASHA Heyat's deputy chairman of board Niyaz Ismailov has said, in turn, that although their Company started operating on 14 February 2011, it already has agreements with 20 employers for insurance of up to 5,000 workers. The premiums amounted to 100,000 manats.

State Labour Inspectorate under the Ministry of Labour & Social Protection estimates that at least 1.5 million employees of about 400,000 employers are subjected to insurance. Expected premiums on them are expected to reach 30-40 million manats.

Swan hints at inquiry into state disaster insurance

THE government may set up an inquiry to examine whether states should be forced to take out commercial insurance for natural disasters, as it seeks to secure the final vote to pass its $1.8 billion flood levy.

South Australian independent Nick Xenophon, who is now the pivotal figure, wants to relieve the burden that disasters place on the taxpayer.

The government already has sufficient lower house crossbench support for the levy, after concessions last week collectively worth $150 million over the budget period. It has the backing of the Greens and Family First's Steve Fielding in the Senate.
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Treasurer Wayne Swan hinted at an inquiry when he told Channel Ten there was a ''legitimate question'' being raised about what the states had done on insurance. ''It is probably timely for us to evaluate all of those questions, to have a good hard look at them to see what the implications are for the future.''

Senator Xenophon said the ''big picture'' was why the flood levy and spending cuts were needed. ''It's because the government of Queensland failed to take out appropriate insurance,'' he told Channel Nine.

He said that if he supported the levy, ''I want to make sure this is the last time Australian taxpayers have to pay a disaster levy''.

Senator Xenophon said Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales all had forms of natural disaster insurance; Queensland, the territories and Tasmania did not. ''There ought to be a system where the states have a huge disincentive if they don't take out natural disaster insurance … Now is the time to fix this.''

Health insurance becomes portable

If you are not satisfied with the services of your health insurer, don't feel frustrated. Thanks to Health Insurance Portability, you would be able to switch to another health insurer from July 1 st onwards, without having to lose any of the benefits that your current health insurer provides.

Why Health Insurance Portability?
IRDA in its new regulation says "Persons shifting from one region to other regions are many times put to disadvantage due to lack of insurers' office providing necessary policy servicing at the new location. Further, employees shifting from one organization to another organization many times lose health insurance cover due to lack of portability of the health insurance policies. It is essential to protect the policyholders against discontinuity and consequential loss of Pre Existing Diseases (PED) cover by making the health insurance plans portable across the insurance companies." The portability will ensure that the policyholder is not tied to one single insurer throughout his life for fear of losing the cover of PED. It will be implemented from 1 st July, this year. This means that come July, you can switch to any health insurer of your choice whenever you want. Almost all health insurance companies have a defined "waiting period" of 30 days before you start getting cover for the pre-existing diseases. In the current scenario if you change your health insurer you need to again spend the "waiting period" with the new insurer. Policyholders who have chronic illnesses like cataract, hysterectomy etc often face a waiting period of 2 to 3 years. You would be able to "carry forward" the credit gained for pre-existing conditions in terms of waiting period you enjoyed with previous insurance company, as per the new portability guidelines. For example if under a previous policy, the condition was excluded from coverage for two years and under a new plan with a different insurer the exclusion period for the same condition is three years, the new health insurance policy can only exclude the condition from coverage for one extra year

Closed-End Insurance Fund to Raise Money

A closed-end version of Securis I Fund, a hedge fund focused on insurance risks, will start a public fundraising for long-term capital this week, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the plans.

Securis wants to raise between 100 million pounds ($162 million) and 200 million pounds, the newspaper said.

BA Health Insurance gets new office building

Sunyani (B/A), Feb. 21, GNA - The National Health Insurance Authorit= y (NHIA) transferred GH¢82,858,317.43 to Brong-Ahafo Region for the payment= of claims by service providers in 2009/2010, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister has said.

He said in 2009 an amount of GH¢29,802,164.24 was also transferred t= o the scheme in the region, representing 88.38 per cent more than the GH¢15,820,016.30 provided in 2008. Mr Nyamekye Marfo was speaking in Sunyani at the sod-cutting ceremony to commence the construction of a one-storey regional office for the NHIA. He stressed that the project was another commitment of the Government to improve the work of the Authority to enable it to serve the people better. Contracts have been awarded for the construction of offices for the other nine regional schemes, he added. The Regional Minister appealed to the management of the Scheme to reciprocate the efforts of the Government by improving their services to beneficiaries. He asked service providers to also improve the delivery of accessible and quality health-care to the people and advised them against falsificatio= n of claims and to ensure the timely submission of claims to facilitate the prompt release of funds. Mr Nyamekye Marfo expressed the hope that quality work would be done b= y the construction firm, Yanator Ghana Limited, a Wa-based building company t= o achieve value for money.

Mr Foster Agyei Korang, Regional Manager of the Authority, gave assurance the consultants and the contractor would use quality materials to execute the project within the expected duration of completion. He disclosed that the project would cost about GH¢650,000.

Health insurance window closing for California kids

Congress and California stepped up to the plate in a big way last year for children with pre-existing health conditions.

Parents who don't qualify for Healthy Families or Medi-Cal must now do their part. They have until March 1 to sign up their children for health insurance programs before the open enrollment period closes. It would be a travesty for parents to ignore this golden opportunity so many fought so hard to achieve.

Failure to sign up means parents can't take advantage of any insurance price break until their child's next birthday.

The federal government last year initiated reforms forbidding health insurers to deny coverage to children with chronic conditions, such as asthma or diabetes. California's Legislature took that one step further by forcing insurers to offer premiums that are no more than double the rate of covering healthy children.

If health insurers had any doubt about California's commitment to insuring children, Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Feuer's AB 2244 made the state's position perfectly clear. The legislation, signed last fall by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, bans health insurers from selling policies to anyone for five years if they refuse to sell policies for children.

An estimated 500,000 California children have pre-existing conditions, although many have some form of coverage through their parents' insurance policies. It's unclear how many of the remaining uninsured children in California
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have yet to take advantage of this option. Advocates in Silicon Valley fear the number may be high, and even one is too many.

Children who have health insurance see doctors far more often than those who are uninsured. It's an established fact that children who do not have coverage are:

# 3 times more likely to have gone without needed medications.

# 5 times more likely to use an emergency room in place of a regular place of care.

# 10 times more likely to not have a pediatrician who serves as their regular family physician.

Children who don't get help for routine problems often wind up at places like Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where the cost of care -- too often paid by taxpayers -- is thousands of dollars higher than a routine doctor visit.

The California Center for Public Health Advocacy reports that one out of every three school children in the state is overweight. Three out of every four overweight children become overweight adults, and the cost of treating the obese in California in 2010 is already estimated at $28 billion. The expense will only grow as the state's overweight children grow into adulthood.

The other worrisome and costly health concern for children is asthma. California kids missed nearly 2 million days of school last year because of asthma-related issues.

Parents who care about their children's education also must do everything they can to provide regular health care.

The two are related: Healthy children are more alert and comfortable in school and nearly always will outperform kids who come to school sick or in pain.

Besides, doesn't every child deserve basic health care? This is the time for parents to step up and get them registered -- and for community health advocates to keep up the good work of spreading the word.

RBS goes for broke with business insurance grab

The bank's insurance arm - one of the largest players in the market - said it was merely trying to "provide support in challenging times".

The statement came after competitors accused it of undercutting the market in a bid to bulk-up prior to a sale or stock market flotation.

The bank's commercial insurance arm NIG has written to brokers offering to undercut competitor's premiums by up to 5pc and increase commissions by 3pc in order to win new business.

The "Guaranteed to Beat" deal, which runs throughout March and April, is targeting competitors including Ageas, Aviva and RSA and also offers other incentives to brokers such as M&S vouchers and Apple iPads.

Rivals have attacked the move and called it "over-the-cliff madness from a taxpayer-owned company".

RBS has been ordered to sell or float a string of assets by European regulators after it received billions of pounds of taxpayers' money at the height of the financial crisis. A spokesman for RBS denied that the offer is unreasonable: "We make no apology for providing innovative support to SMEs and supporting our customers in challenging times. This is a profitable product in a niche market."

However, other insurers say the complex nature of commercial insurance products could affect the sale of lumbering RBS with underpriced long-term liabilities.

The bank's insurance business saw profits tumble heavily last year on the back of mounting personal injury claims on motor policies.

Steve Langan, managing director at RBS rival Hiscox, said: "The liability cover that they are proposing to sell can have up to a 40-year tail. It's got a horrible 'here we go again' feel about it. It's fine if you're selling tins of beans, but this is long-term liability insurance. It can be very toxic for a very long time if you underprice it."

Health insurance coverage drops

Health insurers want to see a discussion about ways to encourage greater self-provision in health care.

The call comes after a year in which the number of New Zealanders covered by health insurance fell by 10,000 to 1.38 million.

Total claims rose $60m from 2009 to $825m in 2010, while premium income rose $87m to $962m.

Health Funds Association of New Zealand executive director Roger Styles said public health spending was growing at double the rate of private health insurance spending, which was the opposite direction to other countries in the developed countries' organisation the OECD.

In 2008, the OECD average private contribution to health spending had been 28 per cent, in Australia it had been 32 per cent, and in this country the private contribution to total health spending dipped below 19.6 percent.

The gap between this country and the rest of the OECD had widened from 4.6 per cent in 2001 to 8.2 per cent by 2008, Mr Styles said in the association's newsletter.

Between 2004 and 2010, the amount spent by the Government on health rose from $7.6 billion to $12.7 billion, an increase of 41 per cent when adjusted for inflation.

In the same period, private health insurance premium income grew from $646m to $918m, an inflation adjusted increase of 20 per cent.

"If this imbalance is left to continue, it would see New Zealand moving in the opposite direction to other OECD countries, at precisely the wrong time," Mr Styles said.

"The twin forces of an aging population and global recession mean we have a small window of opportunity to explore policies which help move New Zealand towards a more balanced health system.

"Most OECD countries recognise there are merits in people making provision for their health care and actively encourage health insurance by a range of means, with various degrees of carrot and stick," Mr Styles said.

"New Zealand is alone in not only being devoid of any incentive, but actively penalising those employers who fund a portion of health insurance costs for their employees.

"The time is right to have another look at how we can encourage greater self-provision in health care."

Maps change who needs flood insurance

In five months, new federal flood hazard maps for New London County will take effect, and homeowners in or near flood zones are being urged to view the maps now and, if necessary, buy flood insurance before the bank holding their mortgage tells them to.

"It could be cost-effective to buy a policy ahead of the map change," said Diane Ifkovic, environmental analyst with the state Department of Environmental Protection who oversees the National Flood Insurance program for Connecticut.

Local town halls have large paper versions of the new maps, which will be available digitally on FEMA's Map Service Center website by July 18. The new maps replace ones issued in 1984 that were far less detailed and accurate. For the new maps, better data on average precipitation and hydraulics - the structures and landscape features that control water flows - was used, said David Mendelsohn, FEMA risk analyst. Data from last spring's flooding was not used, because it occurred after the drafts were completed.

Homeowners in coastal, riverfront and other flood-prone areas are advised to contact their town halls and make arrangements to see the new map with their property.

"We'll go over the maps with them," Mark Wujtewicz, Waterford planner, said Friday. About 25 homeowners have already done so, after reading a legal notice.

He and other local officials said a relatively small number of properties will see any change. In one example in Waterford, a few lots on Daniels Avenue and Beach Street along the Niantic River are now shown to be in a higher flood risk area than previously. The town, Wujtewicz said, had no disagreement with FEMA's conclusions on which areas were most flood-prone.

"There's nothing that sticks out as being absurd," he said.

Ifkovic and officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's New England office said once the maps take effect July 18, banks will check them and could require any mortgage holders who appear for the first time in areas identified as flood-prone to get insurance. It could work the other way, too - a property shown in a flood zone in the old maps, from 1984, could be out in the new version. Federal flood insurance typically costs $600 to $2,000, Ifkovic said, depending on the size of the house and whether it's located on the coast or inland.

"Some people may find their flood risk is greater or less than it was previously," said Lauren Palik of FEMA's flood plain management and insurance branch.

The new maps use aerial photographs that show individual streets and houses with flood zone markings superimposed. Areas with the highest hazard are shaded to connote they have a 1 percent chance of flooding in any given year, and those with a lower flood risk as having a 0.2 percent chance of flooding in a particular year. (The percentage system replaces FEMA's 100-year and 500-year flood designation terminology.) The maps also single out coastal areas vulnerable to flooding from wave action during storms.

Joe Larkin, the zoning enforcement officer for Stonington, said the new maps are much easier to use in trying to determine whether a particular property is in a flood zone. He estimated that 95 percent of the properties in his town that were in a flood zone before are still in one, but "a few are out of it, and others that had been considered to be out will be in. Those are the ones who really need to be aware."

The Lord's Point section of town, he said, is among areas seeing the most change.

Tom Sanders, Montville zoning officer and flood plain administrator, said in comparing the old and new maps, he has seen only a few parcels where the flood zone markings have moved, and none of the changes affect homes. Like other towns, Montville is now in the process of revising the language in zoning regulations so that it will match the new terminology used in the new maps.

In Groton, the Poquonnock Bridge neighborhood along Midway Oval is one that may benefit from the new maps. In the old map, it was in the highest-risk flood zone, but now it's in the lower category.

The opposite happened along parts of River Road in the Mystic section. The high flood-risk zone moved inland from the old maps to cover a slightly larger area. Pearl Street, previously in the low-risk zone, is now in a higher-risk area.

In Old Mystic, the old maps leave out most of Whitford Brook and the surrounding areas. In the new one, the brook is shown, with land on both sides in the high risk flood zone.

Matthew Davis, manager of planning services, said the town notified dozens of homeowners who might be affected by the map changes. About 150 turned out to a meeting to learn about them, so he's confident most residents are aware who need to be.

State may be hit with disaster insurance

QUEENSLAND has been issued its strongest warning yet that it may be forced to take out costly disaster insurance that could further cripple the state's struggling budget.

The matter, that will potentially cost Queensland billions, is a likely trading card for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who needs to secure the support of Senator Nick Xenophon to get her controversial $1.8 billion flood levy through the Parliament.

Senator Xenophon is holding out, determined to make a deal that will effectively force Queensland to take out expensive disaster insurance.

Yesterday, Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan and Finance Minister Penny Wong both signalled the Government was closely considering the matter.

"I think it is probably timely for us to evaluate (the insurance issue), to have a good hard look ... to see what the implications for the future are," Mr Swan told Network 10.

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Queensland chose not to reinsure for disasters, with the Government preferring to rely instead on a long-held deal whereby the Commonwealth will cover up to 75 per cent of the damage bill.

But state Treasurer Andrew Fraser said no Australian state had the type of insurance that would cover the costs of Queensland's 2011 summer of disaster.

"It is important for Senator Xenophon to understand that getting reinsurance for Queensland is an entirely different proposition than getting reinsurance for South Australia," Mr Fraser said.

"Queenslanders are relying on Canberra politicians to pass the disaster funding package so we can accelerate the recovery and reconstruction effort."

Speculation is mounting that the Federal Government might propose funding disincentives for states without insurance, in terms of limiting access to the national disaster fund. Senator Xenophon welcomed the idea.

"Now's the time to fix this up so that taxpayers aren't left with a future bill for any other natural disasters," he said.

Insurance cover for army personnel increased

Extending a better life insurance cover for its personnel, Indian Army has increased the Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF) by Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh for its 35,000 officers and over one million jawans respectively.

"The government has taken a decision to increase the AGIF coverage for soldiers in the Army. Under the new scheme, the officers would avail coverage of Rs 40 lakh, while the same has been increased to Rs. 20 lakh for jawans," Defence Ministry officials told PTI.

The premium amount payable by the soldiers has also been increased accordingly.

Now jawans would have to pay a minimum of Rs. 2000 annually while earlier they were paying between Rs. 600 to Rs. 1000.

For officers, the same amount has been increased from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 4000.

"It is the minimum deduction from the salary of soldiers and after the sixth pay commission soldiers are contributing even more voluntarily," the officials said.

The decision, which would come into effect from April 1, was pending with the Ministry for quite some time.

Earlier, the officers were provided an insurance package of Rs. 30 lakh and for the Personnel Below Officer Ranks (PBORs), it was Rs. 15 lakh.

"The policy was pending with the ministry and its concerned department for review and the Army had mentioned few important points to raise the insurance limits," officials said.

While counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East region have always been a major task for the Army, its role during disasters and natural calamities across the country, has further increased the stress on its men.

"The soldiers posted in difficult terrain and elsewhere must believe that the organisation is taking care of the basic needs of his family.

"Besides, there are issues of rising prices and meeting the requirements of good education and health for the old parents. It takes out a lot of stress and even motivates him to perform better," officials said.

Over the years, a number of new monetary measures have been initiated by the Indian army to ensure better life and facilities for the family members of its soldiers.

The focus has been mainly on ensuring good education for the children and re-employment of the soldier in case of disability during action.

Various options have been made available for the children from military background.

Along with education loans, soldiers get due assistance from Army Welfare Corpus in form of scholarship, tuition fee and higher technical education through educational institutions run by the army.

"There are provisions for covering the tuition fee and the cost of books for children pursuing professional courses.

"A significant amount is spent by the army in ensuring these measures. It is very important for the organisation to take care of the family members specially parents and children so that he can perform his tasks well," officials said.

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