Insurance is a necessary evil in everyone’s budget. On the one hand, you hope that you never need your insurance. Who wants to think about your home being damaged in a storm, or you or your spouse being out of work due to illness? On the other hand, however, you certainly don’t want to be caught in those types of situations without insurance. So, you grudgingly shell out a portion of your income each month to protect your family from unforeseen disasters.
Since you have to have insurance, it’s important to get the coverage you need at the absolutely best price you can find. Of course, the details of your family will affect your premiums to an extent. These four tips, though, will help you keep your insurance costs from taking control of your finances:
Keep your deductibles as high as possible. It’s important that your deductible be an amount you can afford. You do want to be careful, though, to not have your deductible be too low. Raising your deductible from $250 to $500 can make a big difference in your premium. Talk to your agent to see if a change will help your premiums.
Shop around. Although you don’t want to jump from insurance company to insurance company every year, you may find that there is some benefit to be had by price-checking your premiums once every few years. You may even find that your old company will match the competitor’s offer. You’ll get the lower price without leaving your old provider.
Ask for discounts. Insurance companies offer discounts for lots of different reasons. I received a discount on my auto insurance because I owned a home. However, my insurance company didn’t offer me this discount. I had to call them up and ask if there were any new discounts I was eligible for. As the representative went through the list, we realized that I could get this one. The lesson I learned here was that no one else was going to try to lower my premiums; I have to do it myself.
Avoid frivolous claims. Insurance is there to help you when you encounter catastrophes. However, you don’t want to file a whole bunch of tiny claims that didn’t constitute a catastrophe. If you find your prized Camry has gotten a new door ding while you were in the grocery store, consider carefully before you call your agent and open a claim. You might be able to buff that scuff right out. Likewise, a broken window in your living room can probably be repaired for a fee that’s much less than the deductible on your home owner’s insurance policy. Make sure that you need to open a claim before you call your agent.
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How are you at handling your medical bills? Maybe you think you’re pretty good at it. You know what your co-pay is. You always wait to receive your explanation of benefits before you pay your bill at the doctor’s office. Truth be told, you’ve got this whole healthcare thing down.
What happens, though, when you receive notice that your medical rejection has been rejected? Have you ever realized how much larger your medical bills are when your insurance doesn’t pay a portion of them? Suddenly, you don’t feel so in control of your healthcare costs.
Before you panic over the high balance left unpaid on your medical bill, rest assured that this notice is not the final word on your medical claim. There are several steps you can take to find out why your claim was denied and correct any mistakes. Take a minute to calm your fears and then start working your way through these suggestions:
Inspect your explanation of benefits for errors. One of the most popular causes of a denied claim is an error in claim information. Your doctor’s billing office has to input a great deal of information when billing your insurance company, and mistakes sometimes happen. Check basic information such as your name, your insurance information (sometimes claims are submitted to old expired insurance companies instead of the patient’s current insurance company), and your date of birth. If you find an error there, call your medical provider. They can correct their error and re-submit the claim with the appropriate information.
Call your insurance company’s customer care center. The customer service folks will be able to explain to you exactly why your claim was denied. In some cases there was just an error in processing, and your claim can be corrected. In other cases, you may have received a service that wasn’t covered by your insurance. Either way, you will need to know why your claim was denied before you can escalate your claim to an appeals department.
Write an appeal letter. On your explanation of benefits, you can usually find the address of your insurance company’s appeals department. You will need to submit a letter appealing the initial decision of their claims department. In this letter you should explain why you believe the claim should be honored. Provide documentation supporting your stance on the matter: letters from your provider, copies of your medical bills, and any information about pre-authorizations you might have requested are all great things to include. Take care to be timely with your request; your insurance company will limit the length of time you can appeal their decisions.
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Having the right insurance is never more important than it is when you have a family. Insurance is sometimes the only thing that stands between your family and financial disaster when a catastrophe strikes. But, more importantly, insurance can also isolate your family from some of the stress about day-to-day life in the face of a tragedy. Although paying insurance premiums may sting a little, when the time comes to call upon your insurance agency for help, you’ll be glad you made room for them in your budget.
There are many different types of insurance available today. Carrying some types of insurance is a no-brainer while other types of insurance may seem a little excessive to you. If you have a family, however, there are certain insurances that you must maintain.
Health Insurance – With the costs of preventative health care skyrocketing higher and higher each year, every family should have health insurance. If you’re among the lucky ones who can count on their employer providing healthcare coverage, you can avoid some of these chunky premiums. However, if your employer doesn’t provide this coverage or pay for it, you must find a way to secure your own coverage. Having regular access to medical care is just too important to be left to chance.
Life Insurance – Ideally, you should have life insurance coverage for both parents in a family. Even if only one parent works outside of the home, the other parent is still performing a very valuable task. If the worst happens and one parent is taken from the family, the remaining parent will want their family’s routine to continue as much as possible. Life insurance benefits could replace the income of the working parent or give the working parent the funds to get help running the household. Getting over the loss of a parent is bad enough without having to ride out a financial crisis, too.
Homeowner’s or Renter’s Insurance – Families who live in a home they own should carry coverage (and are probably required to carry coverage by their mortgage holder) to protect their home and its contents in the event of a catastrophic event. Imagine for a moment the trauma of watching your house go up in flames. Now imagine not being able to replace you and your family’s belongings. Although being able to replace clothing and household items won’t relieve your distress, it will help you get on the road back to normal. Families who rent their homes should purchase renter’s insurance to cover their belongings.
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