An Overview of Employee Health Insurance Plans

There are many reasons why people choose to work for an employer. Issues such as interesting work, flexible yours, a family friendly environment, and salary are typical reasons why some employers can attract better employees than their competitors. Perhaps the most important facet of keeping and retaining the best employees is to offer comprehensive and affordable employee health insurance plans. The cost of health care has been skyrocketing in recent years which has pushed premiums for health insurance through the roof. Large companies can negotiate with insurance providers to obtain the most cost effective plans for their employees, and employees can obtain insurance at a rate far below what they would be able to find if not a member of their employer's group benefits plan.

The traditional employee health insurance plan is a so called preferred provider plan (PPO). PPO plans offer a great deal of flexibility in terms of care providers. PPO plans allow policy holder to be in control of their health care and choose their own primary care physicians and specialists. Unfortunately, PPO plans are almost entirely consumer based, which means that the PPO providers are not under tight price controls.

Health management organization (HMO) plans have become increasingly popular in recent years. HMO health insurance plans typically offer lower premiums and deductibles than PPO plans, but that lower price comes with a tradeoff. With HMO plans, you have much less flexibility to choose your own care providers.

A new trend in employee health insurance plans is the so called health savings account. Health savings accounts place much more of the burden on employees, who must pay for all of their medical care through a special savings account that both they and their employer contribute to. Health savings accounts have come under fire as methods to let employers skimp on health coverage for employees. Nevertheless, more and more companies are going with such plans.

8 Easy Routes to Cheaper Car Insurance

Car insurance is one of the most expensive costs involved in driving a car, and it's not something you can avoid - a minimum level of insurance is required by law. That doesn't mean you have to blindly pay whatever your insurer quotes though, as there are several simple things you can do to reduce the cost of your premiums.

1) Shop around and buy online: Figures show that many people simply renew their current policies without shopping around. The internet makes it easy to compare prices from different insurers, so why not take advantage of this? Plus, you'll usually get a discount of 10% or more just for buying your policy online.

2) Policy type: do you really need a comprehensive policy with all the extras? Going for a third party fire & theft policy can reduce your premiums hugely, and is definitely worth considering if your car isn't an expensive model.

3) No claims discounts: Nearly all policies feature a discount that increases for every year you don't make a claim. The higher the discount available, the more you could save. Also look at insurers offering a 'no claims bonus for life' feature, where your current discount level can be fixed forever, even if you have to make a claim somewhere down the line.

4) Excess: The excess on a policy is the amount of a claim you have to pay before the insurer pays the rest. Choosing to have a higher than standard excess level will usually mean lower premiums.

5) Security: Fitting your vehicle with an alarm, immobiliser, or other security devices can lead to premium reductions. Parking you car off-road, for example on a driveway or in a garage, will also mean a cheaper policy.

6) Pay annually: Many insurers charge you interest for the privilege of paying in monthly installments. Pay annually if you can afford it to avoid this, or look for one of the companies who don't charge extra for monthly payment.

7) Mileage: The more mileage you run up every year, the more your insurance will cost. Even if you can't reduce your mileage, make sure you're not overestimating how much you actually do drive, and give your insurer an accurate figure.

8) Drivers: The more drivers you have on your policy, the more it will cost. Reduce the number of people insured to drive your car to the minimum possible, and try to get the policy in the name of a driver with the lowest risk profile. For example, if a car is driven by both a man and a woman, insuring it in the woman's name will often result in a cheaper quote.

About the Author: Nicholas Hunt is a contributing writer for http://www.1stop-finance.co.uk/ where you can browse car insurance reviews at http://www.1stop-finance.co.uk/insurance/car_insurance/

Know your Insurance Adjuster

"Insurance adjuster" is a term that we encounter quite a bit when shopping for insurance policies, but what exactly is an insurance adjuster? Insurance adjusters are agents who are either employed by insurance companies or work as independent agents who serve as a liaison between the insurance company and the claimant after a loss or even that potentially requires the insurance company to pay a claim.

When a catastrophic home or property loss occurs, the insurance adjuster is the one who examines the damage, interviews eye witnesses, and generally tries to provide a complete picture of how the damage occurred. In the case of fire or other potentially suspicious types of damage, the insurance adjuster will also speak with police and fire officials to determine the cause of the blaze. Once the details of the event have been worked out, the insurance adjuster will carefully go over the home owner's policy and determine to what extent the insurance company is required to cover. The insurance adjuster then files the claim with the insurance company where it will undergo verification and, if everything checks out, a payment will be issued to the policy holder.

For health care coverage, the insurance adjuster (also called the claims examiner when dealing with medical issues) carefully reviews all aspects of the claim and makes a determination on the extent of the insurance company's liability. Extremely large claims are typically handled by senior insurance adjusters.

Insurance adjusters provide a layer of buffering between the policy holder and the complexities of filing a claim. Since the time directly following a serious loss or health emergency is typically stressful enough on its own, the policy holder typically welcomes the adjuster's handling of the complex details of filing a claim. Since insurance adjusters are very familiar with the way the policy is structured, they are more likely to file an accurate claim request and get the money in the policy holder's hands as quickly as possible.

The Importance of Purchasing Flood Insurance

As was painfully made evident by the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, damage caused by flooding is not a standard part of homeowner insurance plans. Therefore, many of the homes that were destroyed in New Orleans were not covered for flood damage. Any home owner who lives in or near an area that is prone to flooding should purchase flood insurance. Additionally, since flash floods can occur almost anywhere, even those who are not in traditionally flood prone areas can purchase flood insurance as an extra bit of protection against flash floods.

Many people are simply not aware of the vast, sweeping scale of the damage that can be caused by floods. Floods are not isolated like tornados or fires--rather, floods can wipe away entire communities in a single deluge. This is the reason that insurance providers to not offer flood insurance as part of the standard policy. Floods are so widely damaging that they could quickly bankrupt the insurer if flood insurance were included as a part of their standard home insurance package.

Flood insurance is required for homes that are in federally designated high flood risk areas. Lenders are required to ensure that home owners purchase and sustain continuous flood insurance coverage. This is in part in response to the enormous financial losses that were caused by flooding of the Mississippi River region several times in the last few decades.

It is vitally important that all homes that are even moderately susceptible to flooding be covered by some form of flood insurance. The damage from flooding can be overwhelming and families who lose their homes and all their possessions to floods can be financially (as well as emotionally) ruined. Fortunately, the government has passed laws requiring flood insurance for high risk areas, but those located in areas less prone to flood damage should also consider purchasing flood insurance.