The Precise Leads Blog – Health Insurance Leads and more

If you live in California, New York, or Washington, you may be responsible for filling out a form that has been developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The survey would ask questions about ways they would react under harsh weather conditions. This survey, first surfacing in March 2009, was voluntary. Insurers only had to file it in the state that they were primarily licensed.  Since this was not required, only these 3 states were complying each year.

This survey questions whether the company has a process that they would approach, should the climate change cause great risk to the company. They hope that these surveys will require the industry to be better prepared for future disasters.

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Providing patients with excellent health care should not be interrupted by contract disagreements. This is why two similar bills, HB 2052 and SB 1358, filed in the Pennsylvania House and Senate, would each give the state more power to negotiate contracts between insurers and health care providers. These bills would also give the state more power to extend contracts between insurers and health care providers if they are about to expire. The House bill would allow the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to assist in the resolution of disputes between health care providers and insurers. If no agreement can be made, and the secretary of health finds that ending the contract would significantly affect the delivery of health care services, the legislation requires the parties to submit to binding arbitration. Tony Deluca, Chairman of the House Insurance Committee, says that people are worried they will lose access to the University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s 3,000 doctors and 20 hospitals because these two businesses can’t or won’t come to an agreement.

If you own a home, more than likely you have insurance, but do you have enough of it? There are four elements that help you decide how much coverage you should get:

• The cost to rebuild your home.
• The cost to replace the contents of your home.
• Additional living expenses if you are forced to move out during repairs.
• Your liability to others who might get hurt on your property.

The Insurance Information Institute’s 2011 Insurance Pulse Survey found that “nearly half of all homeowners in the U.S. believe the insured value their home is linked to its market value”. Michael Barry, the institute’s Vice President of media relations, says these things are completely different.  The insured value includes what it would cost to rebuild your home in its current location with comparable construction materials if you were to have a total loss. This number does not represent the market value. It’s a smart idea to review your insurance each year before your policy renews to make sure you have the right coverage.

The days are getting colder which is why it is important to protect your home from the weather. Aside from frozen pipes, another winter risk is ice dams. They occur when heavy snow buildup melts during the day then refreezes as temperatures drop overnight. If this occurs for a few days, the melted water and ice work up under the shingles on your roof. The result of this is damage in your attic, ceilings, walls, and your belongings. The following are some precautions that you can take to prevent ice dams from forming.

• Keep your gutters and down spouts clear of debris, snow and ice, so melting snow on your roof can flow through.
• Keep the snow on your roof to a minimum by using a roof rake to pull the snow off.
• Make sure you have good airflow in your attic (to keep it cool and dry) by evaluating insulation and ventilation.