Archive for December 11, 2009
Finding the best medical insurance plan
By Brian Stevens and Stacey Schifferdecke
Finding the best medical insurance plan is important for several reasons:
* You want to be able to get yourself and your family members medical care whenever you need it. People without health insurance are less likely to get preventive care and to let medical problems go until they become serious.
* You want to be protected from financial disaster if you or someone in your family has a major accident or develops a serious illness. Over 25% of bankruptcy filings are directly related to medical bills.
But what’s the best type of insurance for you? That depends on your needs, age, health status, and more.
Choosing an Insurance Plan
Multiple types of insurance plans are available for you to choose from:
* Traditional indemnity plans that let you choose your doctor and pay for most of your bills once you satisfy the deductible
* Managed care plans such as PPO and HMOS, where you exchange some freedom in selecting your health care providers for lower monthly premiums
* Short-term insurance plans if you just need coverage for a few months
* High-deductible plans, often combined with a Medical Savings account, that cover all your medical bills once you reach the deductible
* Major medical plans that just cover accidents and illnesses
So how do you choose? Look at your lifestyle and see what type of insurance you need.
If you’re young and in good health, you may only need a major medical policy. If you’re looking for a job that offers health insurance as a benefit, then you might need a short-term policy.
Have children to think about? A comprehensive policy, such as an indemnity plan, or a PPO or HMO might offer the best coverage.
Where to Get the Best Rate
Whatever type of policy is best for you, be sure to go to an insurance comparison website and do some comparison shopping before you buy anything. This will help ensure that you’re getting the best price for your insurance.
| Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com/health-insurance.html or click on the following link to get medical insurance plan quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more tips and advice in their Articles section, and get answers to your questions from an insurance expert by using their online chat service.The authors, Brian Stevens and Stacey Schifferdecker, have spent 30 years in the insurance and finance industries, and have written numerous articles on medical insurance plans. |
Can I trust my ATM Bank balance
By Getachew Teklu
You cannot trust the balance that the ATM gives you. The banking system operates on a system of holds, while money is transferred from your account to other places. Even your debits are not automatically deducted from your checking account. For this reason it is important to keep a running balance of your account at all times. When you make a deposit the bank gives you credit for the deposit, but the check is set to a clearinghouse. The clearinghouse is regional, and if the check is from out-of-state it may need to be sent to another clearinghouse, before the bank actually receives the money for your check. When you deposit a large check from out-of-state the bank may put a hold on it until funds are collected. This protects you from spending the money before you actually get it. If you do this you will have to pay the bank back. Similarly checks do not clear your account the moment that you write them and send them off in the mail. Once the person or company receives your check, they must deposit in their bank and then wait for the money to be transferred from your account. Checks usually take the longest to clear, because it depends on how quickly they company takes the checks to your bank. Debits are not automatically deducted from your account. When you first use your debit card a hold is placed on your account. This hold lasts a few days, and then will drop off. The merchant that accepted your debit card has to send in its transactions in order for the debits to be transferred to them. Although most merchants do this on a daily basis, some small businesses may take longer. When this happens the hold may drop off before the amount is deducted from your account, and your balance would say that you have more than you do. Since you have all of these factors working against you, you should keep a running balance of your account. You cannot simply trust the ATM balance to be the correct one. Similarly just because a debit transaction goes through, it does not mean that you currently have the money to cover the transaction. To keep a running balance you simply record your transactions as you go, then you add and subtract them from your balance in order to get the amount that you really have.
