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Insurance « Financial Matters

Articles & Publications

  • Deny, Defend and Delay
    My letter to the editor of the Michigan Bar Journal regarding mandatory insurance without regulation to the cost of rates.  
  • Funding a Special Needs Trust With Life Insurance (Special Needs Answers)  
    Funding a special needs trust with enough money to pay for the needs of a child with special needs can be a daunting task for many families.  
  • How To Protect Your Wedding Against Financial Disaster
    There's no denying the emotional toll that occurs when disaster casts a shadow over the happiest day of your life – but there is a way to ensure you don't suffer financially because of it.
  • Making the Claims Process Easier: What Consumers Should Know when Faced With a Loss  (National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners)
    Important, but sometimes difficult, filing a claim can be one of the most frustrating processes during a crisis or following a major disaster. Delays in the claims process was the No. 1 complaint of insurance consumers in 2007, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). It is critical that at these times, you are prepared with the information your insurance company needs. To help you avoid problems getting your claims paid, the NAIC offers these tips.
  • Seven Insurance Myths That Can Cost You (CBS News – 9/30/09)
    Much of what you’ve been told about insurance is flat wrong. And common misconceptions and half-truths about insurance can cost you serious money. Here are seven common insurance myths and how you should protect your family and possessions.
  • The Uninsured: A Primer (Kaiser Family Foundation – Dec. 2010)
    An updated primer from the Kaiser Family Foundation reviews the basic profile of the uninsured population, how they receive care, the latest trends in health insurance coverage, and how this population may be affected by health reform.

Lost Insurance Policies

  • Resources for finding lost insurance policies:
  • Lost Policy.com
    The sole purpose of this web site is to provide a fast, easy, inexpensive search service for unpaid life insurance policies issued as long as 25 years ago.
  • MIB Solutions
    The quick, easy and cost-effective way to help locate lost insurance policies of a deceased spouse or family member.
  • Unclaimed Assets
    Millions of family members are unaware they’re entitled to collect missing money owed deceased relatives, who passed on without leaving an updated will or complete financial records. Life insurance policy benefits often go unclaimed, for example, because it's up to heirs to notify the insurance company when a policyholder dies, and virtually no effort is made to find lost beneficiaries.

Resources

  • National Association of Insurance Commissioners
    NAIC members are the elected or appointed state government officials who regulate the conduct of insurance companies and agents in their respective state or territory.  A state regulator's primary responsibility is to protect the interests of insurance consumers, and the NAIC helps regulators fulfill that obligation.