We received this comment on a blog page that was devoted to agent information regarding COBRA. All we know is this woman’s name is Rhonda, and we have her email address. We will attempt to send her a link for assistance, but in the bigger picture she appears to need some hand holding. Can anyone provide her with direct assistance? Her post is below:
“Please someone help me. I had a heart attack in 2008. My STD lasted until October at which time I was considered terminated by my employer. My insurance was paid through December 2008..a hospital where I live paid my COBRA Jan-Mar 2009. Can I get help and how do I get it so I can continue my COBRA in April. I need help/advice FAST! Please help me. shadowiu@aol.com.”
TV and radio financial personality Suze Orman doesn’t just dislike variable annuities, she DETESTS them! But mention a 100% investment return following the death of a spouse, and watch Suze open her mouth and insert her foot!
This very short blog post in the Wall Street Journal asks the big question; wouldn’t it be great if someone in the new Administration actually paid attention to it?
Here is one U.S. senator who thinks it’s a good idea: click here.
Let us know if/what your response to the WSJ poll was.
You know those Southwest Airlines commercials that show horrendous scenarios and then ask, “Wanna get away?” That seems to be what American International Group is doing.
The blanket of paperwork within the insurance industry is a thick one. Forms for carriers, forms for clients, forms for CE and state licenses, and forms for a million other purposes and requirements are created, printed, delivered and signed all day, every day. Every insurance agent knows that one mistake can jeopardize coverage for the very people that agent is tasked with serving.
Through no fault of an insurance agent or carrier, the Bridgeton, N.J., Little League is learning about the potential effects of insurance paperwork problems. The city’s baseball teams may be without fields this year because the league’s insurance paperwork didn’t reach the Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pa. The Press of Atlantic City reported that the Bridgeton recreation department struggled to obtain the team rosters and names of coaches required for coverage from the Bridgeton Little League, a nonprofit group run mostly by volunteers. Once the paperwork was completed, it appears to have been delivered to the wrong address in Williamsport. Similar insurance coverage issues almost prohibited the teams from using the city’s fields two years ago, according to the newspaper.
Like I said, this situation has nothing to do with insurance agents. But still, the industry is being blamed, in essence, when the newspaper headline reads, “Insurance paperwork may hold up Bridgeton Little League.”
Taking cover from a barrage of criticism from both sides of the aisle in Congress, as well as major veteran advocacy groups — not to mention unending negative media attention — President Obama has abandoned his proposal to have private insurance carriers pay for the continuing care of soldiers wounded in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Washington Post.
I first wrote about the president’s attempt to shift responsibility for the care of wounded American veterans from the government to the private sector in this blog post: Click here
You know that special place where you try to do something nice, but end up having to recall nearly 1 million stuffed teddy bears? State Farm is there.
The insurer announced March 17 that it is recalling the State Farm Good Neigh Bears after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada said the bears present a choking hazard as its eyes can come off. No injuries have been reported, according to the company.
Veterans and Congressional leaders — including many fellow and powerful Democrats — have taken up arms against President Obama’s proposed new law that would have private insurers pay for the medical care of veterans who have received war wounds that result in amputations and post-traumatic stress disorder, including those that come as a result of service in areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Republicans and Democrats have launched a barrage of criticism against the president for what some call “insensitive” treatment of war heroes, while the White House says it will move forward with its proposal. Read the rest of this entry »
In the dizzying array of press releases that cross my desk each day, this headline made me laugh - and read on: “No Bailout Needed: Long Term Care Insurance Leader Declares Dividend, Plans Strong 2009 Growth.”
Kirkland, Wash.-based LTC Financial Partners, which sent the press release, gambled by sending a press release pointing to the overall silliness of the current situation involving American International Group and others who have or will receive federal bailouts. It could easily rub some people the wrong way. But instead, it’s made my day.
News that executives at AIG will receive a cumulative $165 million in bonuses has many Americans and political pundits up in arms, according to ABC News.
The bonuses were part of compensation packages supposedly enacted before AIG lost $65 billion in the final quarter of 2008 and prior to the company receiving more than $170 billion in government “bailout” money. In addition, many of the recipients are the same executives who oversaw the divisions responsible for the huge AIG losses. Read the rest of this entry »
The New York Times reports that President Obama’s administration is floating the concept of employee health benefits.
This proposition flies smack in the face of the president’s campaign promises in that he specifically stated that he would do no such thing, saying that such a move would be tantamount to “the largest middle-class tax increase in history.” Read the rest of this entry »
While Bernie Madoff, the biggest known crook to have walked Wall Street, could face life in prison, an Ohio insurance agent might get off relatively scot-free: He faces only 30 years behind bars.
This agent’s theft is a mere pittance when compared to Madoff’s ponzi scheme, reports IFAwebnews.com in this story.
President Obama brought together those who are in favor, those who oppose, and those who are skeptical about changing the health care delivery climate in the United States, according to the Associated Press.
During a meeting at the White House — which was dubbed a health care summit — the president said that the “staus quo is the one option that is not on the table.”
What does this mean for health insurance agents and brokers, and those whose livelihood could be affected?
Regional news:
