InsurancePickle.com Blog

I was having lunch yesterday with a friend in the fitness industry and he told me a story about a client of his who was confused by all the conflicting information he had been receiving about various benefits of nutritional products.  After my friend gave him the “real” story the man replied, “You know, you never buy BS more than once.”

• And every industry has them because the conversation came up when I was telling him about the different scams (or at least less than 100% honest) in the insurance industry.   Selling a catastrophic health insurance plans to self-employed people and failing to be truthful about it’s short-comings, (link)
•  Selling a whole life insurance policy to someone to be used (and this one was new to me this week) as a way to become your own banker?  One of the sites actually cited an example of how a $25,000 car miraculously only cost $5,000 by borrowing the money of the whole life policy. (link
• Selling a discount card as if it were health insurance (link)
• Selling a whole life policy to someone by eluding that regular retirement plans are “horrible” investments, etc…(link)

Even though the underlying product…at least in the case of the whole life insurance…may be a good product, is selling it under false pretenses a good idea?  And is selling something that may be good to someone who has no business owning it good?

Knowing that being unethical doesn’t build a sustaining business my question really is why would someone lie about a product or its capabilities just to make a sale?  Is it just deceit or is it that the salesperson is uneducated and doesn’t know any better?

Ok, most of the questions are rhetorical, but just in case you’re wondering BS has never been on the product line at InsurancePickle.com

Insurance is confusing enough when you're faced with just the facts.  Often though I'm given stories by my clients of information they've received from a NASE - Mega Life Insurance agent.

The latest I heard just yesterday was "(with other insurance companies) if you're self-employed, work from your home and get injured there your claim will get denied" essentially because you're injured on the job.  WRONG.  The ONLY time this would be the case is if you have worker's compensation (which most self-employed do NOT) AND worker's comp was paying the claim instead.  An insurance company won't double pay if someone else is responsible for the accident and has paid for the claim (or will be).  To suggest that you don't have coverage due to this is ridiculous. 

This is just one of many scare tactics used.  The other popular one is that (with other companies) your coverage can be taken away from you if you have excess claims.  Considering that's illegal in almost every state we're going to chalk that up as just another scare tactic.  They also say that an individual can be singled out for rate increases which 99% of the time is also false.  Most insurance companies use a group rating process which means all of the claims on the policies of a particular area (generally the state) contribute to the factors that increase rates.

What they really need to point out is how the plans they sell aren't major medical or comprehensive PPO/HMO plans.  They need to illustrate that if (in many cases) you end up in the hospital for two different reasons in the same year that you're responsible for your deductible all over again.  And finally they need to illustrate that because their plans are limited-benefit (surgical/catastrophic) plans and not gloss over the short-comings of their plans -- but I guess they wouldn't want to do that.

If you want to buy a limited benefit plan there are many on the market, so just make sure you compare it to a comprehensive plan because it wouldn't make any sense to get less benefit for MORE money.

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Information from AttorneyPages.com
Mega Life and Health/ NASE Health Insurance/ Health Markets (formerly UICI)

I just came across a person in my database who I guess can best be described as someone who was almost a client.  Seeing him in my database reminded me of his story and it's worth sharing so you'll know what not to do.

About four years ago I received a call from someone who had left their job and was facing paying for COBRA which was expensive (of course).  This is an everyday call and very common.  I showed him (amongst other plans from other companies) a $3600 deductible HSA with UnitedHealthcare with the recommendation that he fund the HSA account with $300/month.  The total cost of the plan was going to be about $600 ($300 for the plan and $300 into the account - read my $0 Deductible HSA to get info on that)  For $600 per month he had (or would have had) 100% coverage and would not have to go into pocket over an above the $600 for just about anything that medically could happen to him OR his wife.

Even though this would have saved him hundreds of dollars every month he decided to stay on the COBRA plan.  Well 18 months passed and he decided he wanted to apply for the plan I had recommended.  BUT, in the previous 6 months his wife developed a pre-existing condition that precluded her from getting coverage, but not him.  So, he opted to get coverage for neither of them -- even though a high risk plan was available to her.  The next time I hear from him he's spent something to the tune of about $80,000 on medical bills and now finally decides he wants to get coverage for himself.  But, of course he has since developed pre-existing conditions that have now precluded him from getting coverage as well.

Living in Virginia he has an Open Enrollment plan from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield that has been available all along.  At every step of the way he would have been better off taking my advice, but yet he opted not to and ended up wiping through tons of savings - because the $80k I mentioned was just one issue that he encountered.  If the moral of this story isn't obvious then you may end up like this guy.

Never pay a bill from a medical provider (doctor, hospital, lab, etc..) until you've received your EOB (Explanation Of Benefits) from the insurance company.  The EOB will outline what the doctor billed, the approved amount for the service, and how much of the bill you'll be responsible for.  And, once you examine the EOB make sure it's correct.  Then make sure what the insurance company says you'll owe matches the bill from the provider.  If they don't match find out why.

I just received a bill for an x-ray I had at an urgent care facility when I broke my wrist back in March.  The bill was only $24 so it wasn't something that I'd normally scrutinize, but I did just because I couldn't understand why I was responsible for the entire $24.  After closer examination of the EOB I noticed that the provider was an out-of-network provider so they applied that amount to the separate out-of-network deductible (out-of network or non-participating providers are usually covered at a much lower rate and sometimes have a separate deductible as was the case for my insurance).  HOWEVER, my arm was broken, so didn't that fall under the category of "emergency?"  It's not like I could take the time flipping through a provider directory in the middle of a rural area trying to find an in-network provider.  Yesterday I called the insurance company and told them it was an emergency and that they should treat the bill as if it were an in-network provider.  The insurance company is reprocessing the claim and covering 90% of the bill.  Instead of $24 I'll owe only $2.40.  Granted my example doesn't contain large, shockingly high amounts, but the message is still clear -- always check your EOB and ask your insurance broker for help if you need to.  They're on your side and not the insurance company's.

Have you heard of this software that's for sale from United First FInancial?  Well for a measley $3,500 (of which $2,500 is paid as commissions and bonuses in a multi-level marketing format -- think Amway) you get a software package that's touted to help pay your mortgage off in 1/3 to 1/2 the time.

I have a big problem with companies praying on the uninformed and taking advantage of them.  I also have a big problem with these multi-level marketing companies that don't offer a competitive product signing up salespeople to (likely unknowingly) rip off their friends and family (for the small percentage of these companies that have a legitimate product I apologize).  The bottom line is if you want to pay off your mortgage early send more money toward it. 

What they're doing is opening a line of credit and making lump sum deposits against the mortgage with the credit line and then paying that back with your expendable income each month. That potentially could work, but it depends on the interest rate on the home equity line and the mortgage. The problem is the odds that you could get a home equity loan at a lower interest rate than a first mortgage is slim to none.

If you took the $3,500 for the program and simply applied it to the mortgage you'd save about $19,000 in payments -- using their example of a $200,000 mortgage at 6%. Couple that with the $1,000 a month of ADDITIONAL funds (from their example) going to pay back the equity loan to make the lump sum deposit and you could pay off the mortgage in less than 10 years....no software needed. Whether you'd want to do that is a different question. Either way you could net a better result on your own.

My guess is that they market the software dwelling on the "interest saved" over time which does not take into account "opportunities lost."  Send the $3,500 to the bank and nobody gets paid but you.

Ufirst Money Merge Account Scam -- look here for another article...

The question isn't what you're paying month to month for your insurance.  The real question is if you were stuck with a bill for $25,000, $50,000, or more for a surgery, cancer treatment or a hospital stay what's your actual cost?  This number is what you should be comparing when you compare health plans.  When comparing two plans look at not only what the monthly premium is, but compare using three different scenarios (or more) -- figure a year with no medical expenses, moderate medical expenses, and major medical expenses.  Figure out what you'd pay and add that to the premium for the plan.  Some plans will be the obvious choice under all three scenarios.

So, to make it simple let's say you're paying $100 per month for a $2400 deductible.  And that plan covers you 100% after you've incurred $2400 of medical expenses.  We'll also assume that this is a comprehensive plan and not a hospital/surgical, catastrophic, or otherwise stripped down plan that would severely limit your benefits.  In this case your maximum risk is the deductible ($2400) and that would break down to $200/month ($2400 divided by 12). Your Total Monthly Cost for that plan would be $300/month ($100 premium + $200 to fund the potential expenses).  So, if you had no expenses for the year your annual medical costs would run $1200 (just the premium), and if you had a $100,000 hospital stay your costs would be $3600 ($2400 deductible and $1200 premium).

Another way to look at this, using the same numbers, is that it would make NO sense to get an HMO or a low-deductible plan that would cost more than $300/month.  I always get calls from people asking for low deductibles, but once they realize how to look at the "Total Monthly Cost" they end up with a much better plan than the one they thought they were looking for.

Finally it is more prudent to go with a comprehensive plan over a limited benefit plan.  With the $100,000 hospital stay example the limited benefit plan may have a cap on the coverage leaving you with $50,000 or more of that bill to pay.  And, these plans rarely save money in the monthly premium and the consumer also rarely realizes that they're NOT purchasing a comprehensive plan.  Be sure you know what you have.

Hey, don't just automatically assume that because your employer is providing you with a benefits package that it's a smart thing to do to get on it.  Every year you should be comparing what your employer offers to what you can do on your own.

You already know that group insurance costs more than individual coverage so unless your employer is picking up part of the tab it may not be beneficial for you to participate.  AND, even if your employer is paying for you, you need to consider your family...especially if you only have one child.  You may be paying for "family" coverage for just one child and that could cost you hundreds of dollars per month when you consider it costs less than $100 (generally speaking) to insure that child.  SO compare what it costs for multiple scenarios (i.e. just you on the plan,  just you and your spouse, the whole family, etc...).

Be smart about those benefits and take the $200 a month you just saved and put it towards your bills, a 401(K) or deposit it into your spouse's individual HSA account that can be used for the whole family.  Now that makes a lot of cents.

I just received yet another call today from a lady in Colorado who got stuck with $28,000 in hospital bills for kidney stones.  Unfortunately this is another example of "learning the hard way" that discount health plans are basically scams and should be shut down.  Regardless of what you think, they certainly do more harm than good.  I also see a growing population of immigrants being turned to these plans and being taken advantage of since they don't necessarily understand what "real" health insurance looks like and how it operates.  I think it's sadder still that they're being taken advantage of by their own kin because they speak the same language.  I'm not sure they understand fully what The American Dream is all about. 

The only example I've come across that seems to make any sense for these plans is for the illegal immigrants since they can't get health insurance.  But, that opens up a whole different conversation.  I put these warnings out there to hopefully save you some money down the road, but unfortunately there's nothing I can do after you find out the hard way.  If the government wants more people to be covered by health insurance, they need to get rid of the catalysts preventing them from doing so and DISCOUNT HEALTH PLANS should be a priority.

Good question.  Let me answer that and in doing so I'll also explain the image above.  Your agent isn't a broker because at first they don't know any better and later it's too late.  Most people who enter the insurance industry do so by being hired by a large firm and they're hired as an "agent."  Agents, in most cases, are bound to sell only the products of the company they work for.  AND, if they can sell products of other companies they usually receive a lower commission or are otherwise provided with disincentives to sell other companies.

Once they figure out how the system works though it's too late.  Meaning when an agent/broker sells an insurance product they get paid not only up front, but each and every time you (the consumer) pays your premium.  But, if the agent leaves the insurance company to become a broker they usually give up all of the clients they've accumulated making it difficult to make the jump.  It's akin to starting over and nobody enjoys that.  Of course while they're at the insurance company their manager is candy coating everything because each time they sell a policy the manager gets paid as well, so it's in the best interest of the manager that the agent sell policies for the company they work for.

Ok, so the company has great ratings, has been around for 150 years, etc.. etc.. so why not just do business with them because the agent is knowledgable, likeable, etc.. In comes the chart above which was provided by one of the biggest, oldest insurance companies in North America. You can see that for this particular Term Life Insurance product it's ONLY competitive if you're 45-55 years old and in "great" health.  But, if you're 25-40 years old or 55-65 years old or not in "great" health which company do you think your agent is STILL going to show you?  The one that they get paid less on and doesn't provide their office space OR are they going to show you the same company?  Your broker SHOULD start at zero and search the market for you because as you can see NO company tries to be competitive for all ages and health categories. 

I talked to a client yesterday and was floored at the tactics some companies are using.  First, according to her, she talked to someone from www.surehealthplans.com and the salesperson (notice I didn't say agent, because you don't need a license to sell these) was trying to convince her that it was a health insurance plan.  So, there's another discount plan to avoid.

Again, according to her she was talking to a couple different people from www.hbdc.com a.k.a. www.healthbenefitsdirect.com and they told her that without her Social Security number and banking info they'd be unable to give her a quote.  To get a quote you need little more than a zip code and a date of birth. Height, weight, and health status help the quote become a little more accurate, but under no circumstances should you give out that type of financial information until you are ready to apply for a plan.  When you buy a plan you must give that information and that's why they ask because many places will sell you the discount plan without your knowledge hoping you never notice them taking money from your bank each month.  I know this because I get calls daily wondering why someone is taking money from their account.  Again, they can get away with it because when you don't have a license, you don't have a license to lose.  Be a smart consumer and deal with us so you don't have to worry about that.  InsurancePickle.com keeps THEM from getting YOU into a pickle!

Ok, so you can't really study for this exam, but you can help swing your chances of getting a better rate by following some simple directions. You've decided on your term life insurance plan and company, so you just need to give up a little blood and urine for the company to examine.

They'll be looking for drug use (cocaine, marijuana, etc...), nicotine use, HIV, sugar, & cholesterol readings.  For the first three there's not a whole lot you can do late in the game and you certainly want to be truthful on your application, but by avoiding red meat and sweets the day before the exam can make a measurable difference in the results, and since 5-10 points of cholesterol could save you 25-40% in premium it's not something to be taking lightly.  If you can eat right for more than one day and even from the point of application to the exam day you'll be doing yourself a great service.

Finally, the exams are "fasting" exams so get them done early in the morning and have no evening (the night before) or morning snacks (the day of) until the exam is complete.  Food in your system could significanlty raise your cholesterol and sugar readings, so you'll only be cheating yourself.  Drink lots of water to help flush the system of everything, and be sure to "go" before the examiner arrives.

So, you're buying term life insurance and you're going with the company that gave you the "best" quote.  Just keep in mind that you may not qualify for that rate due to cholesterol, pre-existing conditions, family health history, or your build (that's a nice way of saying that you're overweight....or just undertall.)

First of all deal with a broker (like me) who has access to different companies and can give you guidance depending on any of the problems/conditions listed above.  Obviously any pre-existing conditions and medications will affect the final cost and may require a little shopping that you really can't do without the aid of an insurance broker.  And, for goodness sake use the service because it doesn't cost you a dime since insurance is a regulated product and going direct to a company when available provides ABSOLUTELY NO BENEFIT to you.  In fact, it lessens the quality of the recommended product and lowers the quality of service.

But, don't assume that you'll qualify for the "best" rate just because you have no adverse health history, are of average height and weight, and take no maintenance medications.  Items that commonly knock an applicant from a top rate class (which could add 10-40% cost to the policy) are cholesterol (both your total cholesterol which usually needs to be under 220 AND your "ratio" which usually needs to be under 5.0) and family health history -- having a parent that deceased prior to age 60/65 due to cancer or heart disease will in most cases immediately knock you out of the top class.  But, each carrier is a little different and by letting me do the homework for you, I might be able to find you a carrier that you'd otherwise not find on your own -- because this carrier's "best" class you might qualify for where the competitor's "best" class, which is a lower premium, is unattainable.  Use your broker and save on the rate.

You'll also gain yourself a resource to ask many questions about different financial services products in the future.  This is something you will not gain using the Matrix Directs and the SmartQuote companies.  Besides, even though they are bigger companies, their rates for the same products are identical to mine and they carry anywhere from 8-15 companies where we have in excess of 150.  So, I beat them every time!

OK.  So there's no zero deductible HSA...or is there?  I'm often asked why more people don't have an HSA.  Most of the time it's because they or their employer aren't aware that it exists or they're immediately turned off by the high deductible.  But, those that have an open mind and actually think about it realize the deductible is quite small.   Let's assume you get a $5000 deductible HSA plan for your family.  The first thing you should understand is that deductible is usually one combined deductible for the WHOLE family -- NOT EACH as the case is with many plans.  So, how do we make this plan a zero-deductible hsa plan?  Put $5,000 into the savings account (and get a tax deduction of course).  Now when you go to the doctor you don't pay any money out of pocket.  The first $5,000 of bills comes out of the savings account (insurance provided by you) and then the insurance provided by the insurance company kicks in.  So, to get a good comparison take the premium you pay to the insurance company and the amount to fully fund the HSA and compare that to what you're currently paying.  So, why pay $800 per month to an HMO because they're not going to give you money back if you don't get sick, but with an HSA the money is yours and grows tax-free if used properly.  Our office can help you get a hsa-qualified health plan in place and we can help open the HSA itself.

Most people are under the impression that insurance, like commodities, get cheaper when purchased in bulk – that is through a group.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  My wife was recently offered the ability to purchase a Group Universal Life contract through her Fortune 500 employer.  So, I thought it would be a good exercise to check it out.  The bottom line is that I could get a plan that would guarantee her premium until she was 100 years old 20% cheaper than what Met Life could offer through the group with an equally well-rated insurance company.  And, the group plan did not offer a guaranteed premium.

Quoting from their brochure…”Is there an advantage to buying group life insurance?”  The reasons given include convenient payroll deduction and not having to provide proof of good health.  That’s like the Ed McMahon commercial -- “no health questions will be asked.”  Ed, please ask me questions because I don’t want to pay TWICE AS MUCH as I could if you asked!!!  Isn’t marketing great – turn the disadvantage into your marketing pitch.

When you’re offered a plan (Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Car Insurance, Long-Term Care, etc..) through your employer (or any other group situation) don’t assume that it’s better for you.  It may be, but if you’re healthy it’s probably not.  Also for you self-employed folks out there, don’t be swayed by an organization that claims to be your advocate.  It's a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Someone used this line in an attempt sell a discount plan to a consumer today as if it were a health insurance policy.  Health Insurance is not like a credit card and you'll NEVER, EVER be pre-approved.  I've also heard that "open enrollment ends this month."  These are just attempts to get consumers to buy a potentially hazardous product if purchased without having health insurance.  Shortly I'm going to do a full article in our learning center about discount plans, but for now this will be your warning.

Understand these points:

1. Discount plans ONLY allow you to pay the "network negotiated rate" for the service received instead of the doctor's full price,
2. YOU PAY 100% of the cost even though it may read "up to 80% discount"..."up to" could also be NO DISCOUNT --  so if it's a $150,000 medical bill you ARE likely responsible for MOST of that cost,
3. There is no approval process for a discount plan other than your credit card being processed or your check clearing the bank, so if they don't ask any health questions you're not buying insurance (99.9% of the time),
4. People selling discount plans need NO license to sell them since it's not insurance; therefore, they have no license to lose by lying to you,
5. Don't buy something over the phone without seeing something, like a brochure, verifying what the salesperson is telling you.  If it sounds too good to be true, it may be.
6. A $5,000 or $10,000 deductible health insurance plan still provides the same network discounts at a usually lower cost than a discount plan.  That may seem like a high deductible to you, but after the deductible the insurance company would pay most, if not all, of the additional covered charges.  With a discount plan there is no payment coming from the company to the doctor or hospital so there would be NO CAP TO YOUR FINANCIAL RISK.  If the discounted bill is $150,000 you'd pay the whole thing.  So, when they advertise "No Deductibles" that's not a good thing -- but they certainly make it sound like one huh?
7. Look up "Discount Health Plan Warning" in a search engine a look at how many states put out warnings.  

There are situations when a discount plan is the only option, but please be a smart consumer.  If you are ever unsure please call my office at 1-877-634-1256 and I'll help you out. 

The husband of a coworker of a client had a heart attack last fall and they didn't have health insurance.  Their house is now for sale to help pay the bills.  Also talked to an associate of mine whose friend's baby came 10 weeks early.  One month in the hospital for the baby totalled $750,000....think they take double coupons?  Of course they were smart enough to have health insurance.  Momma, baby, and their wallet are doing just fine.