City unveils health insurance comparison Web site

Mayor Bill White launched a new Web site today aimed at giving Houstonians more information about health insurance choices.

HoustonHealthChoice.com offers a menu of online options for individuals, families and small business owners to compare health plans side-by-side based on monthly premium prices, deductibles and coverage options.

More than a million people in Houston lack health coverage and most of those are employed full time. Only one-third of local small businesses offer health insurance to workers because rising premiums have made it impossible for many to provide benefits and stay competitive.

"The fact is the national health care system is broken. We know that. We're not going to be able to fix that locally," White said.

"But for the third of our population that wakes up thinking about what would happen to them financially if there were some unforeseen medical event, there is some help and some hope in Houston."

The site is designed to be simple and does not promote any specific insurance company, plan or broker. However, only companies that earn a B+ rating or higher from the Texas Department of Insurance are represented online. That's because health insurers with lower scores might have compliance issues, Elena Marks, the city's director of health and environmental policy, said.

The new Web site is similar to Houston Electricity Choice, an online navigation tool that sorts through local electricity rates. Much like that site, if consumers want to buy, they can click a link to access the company.

White introduced the site this morning at the new Heights location of the Good Neighborhood Health Care Center, which provides primary care and prenatal, dental and optometry services to low-income Houstonians.

LG Offers Insurance On Lost GSM Handsets

Mobile handset maker LG Electronics has joined hands with United India Insurance Company to offer mobile theft insurance plan for its customers.

The company's plan will insure all LG GSM handsets purchased on or after April 1, 2008, for one year from the purchasing date.

Anil Arora, Business Group Head, LG Electronics India Ltd. stated, "Loss of mobile due to theft is a major concern for handset buyers. Customers stretch their budget to purchase latest handsets and cannot afford to lose them. LG mobile theft insurance plan would provide a perfect solution to this. We not only guarantee providing best phones in the market but also guarantee to safeguard customer's interest in case of mobile theft."

In case of handset theft, the purchaser must file an FIR within 24 hours of the happening, block the SIM card and send the information to the insurance company within 7 days of the loss. In order to avail insurance, the buyers just have to follow 4 easy steps:

First, fill the insurance claim form; secondly, attach a copy of the bill provided (to the buyers) at the time of purchase, and the bill must have the handset's IMEI number; thirdly, register FIR under 'Section 379 IPC' for handset theft and must attach a copy with the claim form; and the last step is to mail the papers to the insurance company through registered post.

LG guarantees that the buyer will be paid back the cost of the mobile phone according to the market value after submission of all the required documents as explained in the claim form.

After receiving the claim, the insurance company will settle the claim directly within 15 days.

Meanwhile, LG claims that selected models of GSM handsets contain LG's unique Anti Theft Mobile Tracker (ATMT), which can help users to track their stolen mobile phones, as soon as another SIM card is inserted.

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Six types of insurance you probably don't need

Canadians typically pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year in insurance. Which begs the question: do we really need all the insurance we're paying for? Here's a look at some types of insurance we could probably do without.

By Gordon Powers

April 11, 2008

Everyone needs insurance. But, there's no quick, all-purpose answer. Determining just what type and amount of coverage you need depends on your financial situation, your goals for the future, and your family circumstances.

For most of us, that means taking care of the big risks, including your life, your health, your home, and your car - in roughly that order. Sounds simple, right? Except that many people wind up spending more money than they should on coverage they don't need.

Here are a few of the more common types of insurance coverage that you can probably do without:

1. Children. Life insurance is designed to protect surviving family members if a breadwinner dies. And, while losing a child is every parent's nightmare, kids don't have debts or dependents and, therefore, any liabilities. So, why do they need "10-cents-a-day" life insurance coverage?

Happily, the chances of a child dying are quite slim, which makes buying a juvenile policy an emotional and, ultimately, costly bet for most people. Your money would be better spent on covering the adults in the family.

And, don't be tempted by a guarantee of future insurability. Take out a policy now, you'll hear, and your kids won't have to risk being denied coverage if they develop a chronic illness sometime in the future. It may sound tempting, particularly if you have a family history of diabetes or heart disease but, again, there are better options.

2. Accidents. Unless you're working as a stunt man or racing cars for a living, the odds of you dying in an accident are actually fairly low. Insuring against this eventuality often costs more than the premiums on a term life policy, which would cover you no matter how you die.

Major catastrophes such as car wrecks and fires are usually covered under other policies you're likely to hold. And, if you're killed on the job, your employer would be on the hook. Stick with a broader life policy which focuses on the event of your death, not on how it happened.

3. Identities. While you should be vigilant to ensure that someone doesn't steal your confidential information online, identity theft policies, usually sold as an add-on to house or condo insurance, aren't likely to help much, says the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. In fact, much of the coverage available is already provided free to most consumers, although many may not realize it, the Centre reports.

Given the zero-liability policies of major credit card issuers and because debit card losses are generally reimbursed, identity theft insurance for credit or debit card losses is superfluous in most cases, PIAC advises.

As well, since its major benefits - payment for time off work to resolve messy identity theft issues, as well as legal assistance - are capped at such low recovery levels, identity-theft coverage is generally not worthwhile.

4. Warranties. An extended warranty gives you some protection in case your purchase breaks down after the manufacturer's warranty runs out. It can easily add 30% to the price of goods, particularly electronics. Is it worth it?

Well, it depends on the length of the original manufacturer's warranty. If it's for one year and the extended warranty is for two, you're really only receiving one extra year of protection for the cost.

If you're doing your shopping at close-out vendors, which generally just supply you with a replacement product, you may want the comfort of extra coverage however.

Many credit cards give extended warranty coverage to customers who purchase a product using their credit card. Check with your provider to learn more about what they offer.

5. Cars. Consider dropping collision and/or comprehensive coverage if you own an older vehicle. You'll only recoup the book value of the vehicle, which is often lower than you think, if it's totalled in an accident.

As a rule of thumb, it's probably not cost-effective to continue insuring cars worth less than 10 times the amount you expect to pay in premiums, warns the Insurance Information Institute. With most cars, you should approach this limit after five or six years. Understand, however, that if you eliminate this coverage, you'll have to look after accident repairs or replacement if the car is stolen.

6. Flights. Again, this is very expensive comfort. Although the odds vary depending on how much you fly, your chances of getting killed in a plane crash are much lower than of you getting hit by lightning. Even then, the odds are that you'll survive the crash. And, if you don't, the airline will likely compensate your family.

In fact, you may already have flight insurance, assuming you purchased your plane ticket with a credit card. Some credit card companies provide basic coverage just for charging your ticket on their card. And, you can often supplement this for a fairly modest premium when compared with what's available in airports.

Report Finds Lack of Insurance Is Linked to Higher Death Rates

A report issued Friday by Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers, concludes that nearly three people die each day in North Carolina because they don't have health insurance.

The Families USA report says people without health insurance are more likely to delay seeking care because of the high bills, which means disease such as cancer are diagnosed at a later, more deadly stage.

"Our report highlights how our inadequate system of health coverage condemns a great number of North Carolinians to an early death, simply because they don't have the same access to health care as their insured neighbors. The conclusions are sadly clear - a lack of health coverage is a matter of life and death for many North Carolinians. Health insurance really matters in how people make their health care decisions. We know that people without insurance often forgo checkups, screenings and other preventive care," Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA said quoted by Medical News Today.

The Families USA report comes three years after a study by the National Institute of Medicine found that nearly 18,000 deaths are linked to lack of insurance annually. In fact, the Families USA findings are based on data previously compiled and analyzed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research group.

According to the Institute of Medicine, uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than adults with private health insurance.

The report is "a wake-up call" as Connecticut Democratic U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro named it. Moreover, it highlights the idea that the government should do something to help people who lack health insurance so they weren't exposed to such health threats. Unfortunately, this is a very hard goal to achieve, according to U.S. Rep David Price (D-NC).

"Finding a way to achieve universal coverage should be one of our nation's top priorities. But we in Congress are still facing a White House roadback even with our bipartisan effort to expand health care for needy children. We are well past partisanship on this issue. The President and his backers need to get with the program and support children's health care and other efforts to get Americans Insured," Price said.