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Archive for the ‘Accidental Death Insurance’ Category

Hearst Newspapers has written an extensive article about the prevalence of medical mistakes and how they are the #1 cause of accident deaths in America. You can read the story on the Seattle Post Intellingencer’s web site.

The article states that 98,000 people die every year from medical mistakes. This is more than the number of people killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Also, more than 99,000 patients succumb to hospital-acquired infections, and most of these deaths are clearly preventable.

Hearst reports that there is a prevalent “veil of secrecy” among hospitals when it comes to reporting the mistakes and the circumstances surrounding the preventable deaths of patients. It appears that among states that are participating in healthcare safety campaigns, just 20% of the hospitals in these areas are participating. You would think that the medical mistake-death statistics would provide some incentive for most if not all of these hospitals to participate in a campaign designed to reduce mistakes and prevent unnecessary mistaks.

The case of Michael Blankenship

A 15-year old boy sought dental treatment at the dental clinic of a well-known and highly respected hospital that specializes in treating children. Michael Blankenship had autism, but he received regular treatment at this hospital.

When Michael was discharged the hospital’s chief pediatric dentist made a fatal mistake. She prescribed a Fentanyl “pain patch” because Michael’s mother informed the hospital that her son could not, or would not, ingest oral medication due to his autism. This fact had also been recorded in Michael’s chart years earlier.

The dentist prescribed Fentanyl, a very potent narcotic that is designed to treat chronic pain patients. According to the drug’s warning label, Fentanyl should never be prescribed to an opiate-naive patient like a young 15-year-old boy who had no history of using narcotic medication over a long period of time. And the drug should never be used to treat acute pain, or pain following surgery on an as needed basis.

But Michael’s dentist prescribed the highest dose available, and instructed mom to apply the patch later that evening. Even the hospital’s head pharmacist failed to detect the mistake, and also told mom again that the prescription was accurate and the dose safe.

Michael’s mother did as instructed. The next morning Michael was found dead in his room. The Fentanyl patch delivered so much of the narcotic to Michael’s system that it caused respiratory arrest and this caused his death. As you can imagine, Michael’s mother is devastated.

The whole family is now suffering over what was a very preventable mistake. It never should have happened had there been appropriate safeguards in place by the hospital.

A dentist decided to prescribe a lethal dose of a narcotic that never should have been prescribed in the first place. The dentist merely had to consult the Physician Desk Reference (a reference book that most physicians have in their office) to discover that there were at least 5 warning signs in Michael’s case which would have informed any reasonably competent doctor that the drug should not be used at all.

What can we do as a society to prevent medical mistakes? The first order of business is to communicate how prevalent mistakes are in our hospitals today. Yet the doctors and the state medical association consistently spout propaganda to deflect attention of these mind-numbing statistics by arguing that doctors should be immune from mistakes so lawyers can’t sue and obtain million dollar jury verdicts.

I’ve never seen a multi-million dollar verdict against a doctor or hospital that didn’t involve a horrible injury or the needless death of a patient. When negligent physicians and hospitals maim and kill, they cause a substantial amount of suffering, pain, and usually an extensive neeed for future medical care.

Just a few years ago the Washington State Medical Association waged an aggressive campaign to limit damages recoverable in medical negligence cases. The doctors argued that physicians were having to leave the state in record numbers because of outrageous insurance premiums. The measure was soundly defeated by Washington citizens. But word is that the WSMA is planning its next attack in the coming years.

The article by Hearst has again raised awareness of a problem that no one, not the local and national governments combined, has addressed through public attention and intelligent disclosure laws. If hospitals were forced to report all incidences of negligence, then I believe more would be done to avoid the mistakes in the first place. But the healthcare industry has continued to fight against reasonable reporting and disclosure laws.

What Is Mortgage Life Insurance?

If you have a mortgage and are a home owner, you have most likely heard the pitch for mortgage life insurance. It typically comes in an envelope from your lender and might include a letter from your lender suggesting that you buy a policy.

It is important to realize though, that the insurance itself is sold by insurance companies. Even though it is called “mortgage insurance,” it is in reality decreasing term life insurance that will pay off your mortgage if you pass away.

How Are Premium Payments Planned?

Mortgage life insurance is a decreasing term policy. The policy starts with a death benefit that is equivalent to your existing mortgage balance. The death benefit reduces at the same pace as your mortgage balance. The premium payments never vary but may cease before the loan payment. Your lender may agree to include the premium payments to your monthly mortgage expense.

Is Mortgage Life Insurance Identical to Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)?

No-mortgage life insurance is commonly befuddled with Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), but they have little to do with one another. You purchase mortgage life insurance willingly to shelter your family from having to pay the mortgage.

Mortgage lenders require you to buy PMI to shield them (the lenders) from the probability that you will default on the mortgage.

Insurance Tip: Request for insurance agents to estimate their best price for a decreasing term policy in the same amount, period, and interest rate before buying from a sales pitch sent by your mortgage company.

What Is Credit Life Insurance And Credit Disability Insurance?

When financing some kinds of big items – automobile, furniture, audio equipment – there is a good possibility you will be presented with credit life and credit disability insurance. Credit life guarantees to pay your balance if you die. Credit disability will pay your payments if you become disabled and not capable of working.

Credit life is a decreasing term policy. The insurance premiums are typically added into the loan contract. This type of insurance is constantly voluntary and it can be rather costly. Your lender cannot require you to purchase credit life or credit disability insurance.

Although they may have some comparable elements, credit life and credit disability insurance are not the same thing as mortgage life insurance.
What Is A Life Insurance Rider?

A “rider” is something that is supplementary to the basic policy. Riders can be used to either add benefits to the policy or limit benefits previously in the policy. Common riders are as follows:

Accidental death: Double indemnity is an additional name for this rider. It means that the benefits paid by your policy will be two times the face sum of the policy if you die in an calamity.

Approximately twenty percent of policyholders perish in accidents.

The price for an accidental death rider is usually reasonably priced.

Some critics bring up the point that how the policyholder dies has nothing to do with how much money your survivors will need.

Waiver of premium: This rider allows you to cease paying premiums whenever you happen to become disabled and unable to continue working.

It is crucial to comprehend how the rider defines “disabled.” For example, the meaning could be very restrictive and require you to be so extremely disabled that you cannot do any sort of work whatsoever.

A disability policy can also defend you from monetary hardship due to a disability. Depending on the kind of policy you acquire, it could supply capital to pay for all of your living expenditures, not solely your life insurance premium.

Mortgage protection: This rider fundamentally attaches a mortgage life policy to your chief policy.

Other insured: You can insert life benefits for your spouse or children. They may have varying coverage amounts and be subject to medical underwriting, however.

Guaranteed insurability: This rider would characteristically be added to a whole life or universal life insurance policy.

It gives you the right to procure a new policy or amplify the maximum on your existing policy without having to pass another medical assessment.

The rider will most likely indicate how much you can add and at what time you can do it.

The guarantee may not persist after you reach your mid to late forties.

Accelerated death benefit: This permits you use some portion of your death benefit when you have an incurable sickness. Some policies will insert this rider without causing your premium to enlarge.

Insurance Tip: If your agent automatically includes riders when calculating your premium, request the agent to value each rider independently. You can then choose whether you think the additional benefit any rider provides is worth the added rate.

Since no individual can accurately predict the future, it can be a wise and sound option to hedge yourself from financial ruin. One of the easiest ways to do this is to purchase insurance. There are many types of insurance policies, one for each potential catastrophe. Some of the more common forms are life, auto, health, marine, accidental death and earthquake insurance. Within these types of insurance there are sub-categories for specific insurance protection. There is an insurance category specific to your needs. While there are many carriers for insurance, there are equal amounts of premiums. Researching before you purchase a policy can find you the best coverage for your need as well as the best price for your budget.

Within the life assurance category, you will find options such as term life, whole life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) policies. Term life is a straight life insurance policy. You purchase the policy at a certain age and typically the premium remains the same as long as you keep it current. You will pay a monthly premium which when you stop paying, the policy expires. Whole life coverage is basically a term life policy in addition to some sort of savings plan. You pay your monthly premium, which is higher than a term policy, but a portion of your premium is set aside into a savings account. Typically these savings vehicles are a mutual fund. AD&D is often what employers will provide their employees at no cost. It is a policy where the beneficiary is paid only when the policy holder dies or loses one or more appendages within the policy’s strict guidelines. It is not a standard term policy.

Other common types of insurance policies are health insurance, auto insurance and marine insurance. Health care coverage comes in a variety of plans. You can have low deductibles with higher co-pays or high deductibles with low co-pays. There are many options among health care insurance and there is certain to be one that will meet your individual budget. Auto and marine insurance are straight forward. Auto insurance covers your motor vehicles while marine covers your watercraft.

Thinking about your own death, especially while in the prime of life, may seem morbid, but it is actually the perfect time to put your affairs in order. One way to ensure your wishes today are carried out tomorrow is with a funeral insurance policy. The subject may seem intimidating but it’s preferable to the possibility of leaving your family members alone and vulnerable should you die without making plans. Review these questions and answers for a good idea of how to start:

• Why is funeral insurance important?
• Your loss will change your family’s financial situation; funeral insurance, which is also called burial insurance or death insurance, will help get them through the urgency of a funeral without undue financial burden.

• Do healthy people really need death insurance?
• Healthy Australians die unexpectedly every day. A sudden and unexpected death is shocking enough, without the added expense an unplanned funeral will generate.

• What’s the value of a death insurance policy?
• Plans vary, with benefits peaking at $15,000. When death is accidental, the benefit amount paid to beneficiaries triples.

• Does inflation affect coverage?
• Yes, and you’ll be notified each year at policy renewal time. Expect an increase of 5% each year but you may choose to decline the increase in writing if you’d rather not opt in to it.

• Who’s eligible?
• Every Australian between 18 and 79 years of age is eligible, regardless of health status. No one is denied and no pre-enrollment medical examinations are required.

• Any exceptions?
• The only exception is when death happens during the first year the plan is in effect. During this first year, death cover applies to accidents only. After that, death from any cause is covered.

• What happens if a policyholder goes overseas?
• Overseas travellers need not fear gaps in coverage. Every policyholder is covered 24/7, no matter where in the world death occurs.

• What about family cover?
• Your family can be covered, too, if that’s what you choose. Death insurance is available to the individual; the individual and a partner; and the individual, partner, and every child in the family until he or she reaches the age of 21.

• Will rates to go up over time?
• Premium rates are adjusted every year to reflect the age of the oldest family member covered. Premiums must be paid until this policyholder turns 90 but, after that, no more premiums are required no matter how long the policyholder lives.

• Will coverage ever expire?
• No, coverage will not expire or be dropped as long as premiums are paid. Renewal is guaranteed every year.

• Who gets the benefits when the policyholder dies?
• Every policyholder can nominate as many as five beneficiaries per policy. If no beneficiaries are named, benefits will be distributed in accordance with the Life Insurance Act of 1995.

Making your own final plans means that loved ones are well protected from financial loss that can be as painful as a broken heart.

Riders are additional conditions and benefits you can add to your life insurance policy for a fee to tailor the policy to meet your specific needs. You need to evaluate each rider based on the cost and benefits of the rider in your specific situation. Some common riders available are listed below.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Rider for Life Insurance Explained

An accidental death and dismemberment rider is a low cost rider which is available with most term and whole life insurance policies. The rider increases the amount your beneficiaries receive if you die in an accident and pays out a set amount to you if you lose an eye or a limb.

Many consider these riders unnecessary. The increased death benefit is only available if you die in an accident and the dismemberment portion will only cover loss of a limb or eye and not a debilitating disease that prevents you from earning a living. If you are looking for insurance to cover your family’s expenses if you can no longer work you are better off purchasing a comprehensive health insurance policy or a separate disability insurance policy. These policies provide better coverage than a dismemberment rider and offer a better value for most individuals.

Family Income Benefit and Disability Income Riders for Life Insurance Explained

The family income benefit rider pays the death benefit and a monthly income to the beneficiary for a specified duration if the insured dies before the end of the specified term. For example, a fifteen year rider will pay the beneficiary a monthly income or a lump sum equal to the monthly income specified if the insured dies before the fifteen year period for the remainder of the fifteen year period. This rider may be useful if you are providing a substantial portion of the family’s income in providing a regular income for a transitional period after your death in addition to the death benefit.

The disability income rider guarantees a specified level of income for as long as the disability lasts or for a specified time should the insured become totally and permanently disabled. These riders usually also waive the premiums due on the life insurance policy for a period of time. The income payments are generally limited to a percentage of the face value of the policy; often the payments are limited to 1% of the face value so the disability rider is not as beneficial to the insured as a separate disability policy which provides a larger monthly income in the event of disability.

Renewability/Guaranteed Insurability and Convertibility Riders for Term Life Insurance Explained

If you are purchasing a term life insurance policy and considering renewing the policy in the future a renewability or guaranteed insurability rider is a good idea. These riders guarantee the policy’s renewability at the end of the term without additional proof of your insurability. In order to take advantage of this provision, you are often required to renew your policy within a set number of days and failure to do so will void the guarantee. Some of these riders expire at a certain age so read the rider carefully to make sure it covers your specific needs before purchasing the rider.

A convertibility rider allows the insured to convert a term life policy to a whole life term or annual renewable term policy if desired before the end of a specified time regardless of your medical history or condition. Converting your term policy to a permanent policy means never having to worry about outliving your insurance protection as long as you are able to make the required premium payments to keep the permanent policy in effect. If you are at all interested in converting your term policy at a future date to a whole life policy this rider would be useful.

Travel Accident Insurance Programs usually cater to those individuals who want some kind of insurance for themselves while traveling both inland as well as out of the country, to try and secure their financial risks in case of an accident or any untoward incident.

Travel medical insurance protects your health and covers most health risks while you are traveling. The coverage covers you ‘Travel Medical’ and’ Evacuation’ that insures you in case of an emergency during traveling. Short term plans to immediate ones, from even 5 days to a year and it generally covers accident, illness and emergencies.

Insurance provides accidental death and dismemberment for eligible individuals traveling on business and pleasure. One of course has to be eligible for insurance coverage. In case of business travel coverage, it is usually the company he/she is working for which acts as a guarantor for the individual.

Insurance coverage is always a matter of concern for most travelers.

All eligible individuals are covered for 24 hours a day, through out the world against accidental death and dismemberment. Most coverage spans start from the time an eligible person leaves his/her residence or work place or whichever is the place of origin of the travel.

The continuity of a trip apart from what has been specified will not be covered by the insurance. An insurance coverage does not include any loss, which occurs during that particular time period other than what has been specified. All travel procedures and conditions must be in accordance with what has already been agreed upon by both parties.

At times the travel accidental insurance does not cover certain activities, which might be designated as dangerous or hazardous by the insurance companies.

There are certain conditions under which the travel accident insurance does not cover, these being, both fatal and non-fatal incidents, incidents like suicide, attempt at self-destruction, and disease of any kind, bacterial infections except those which occur through accidents or wounds.

Most of the Travel Accident Insurance Plans pay according to the amount agreed upon to the beneficiary you have chosen for yourself. In case of an accidental death during traveling or unforeseen accidental circumstances, the sum will be paid to you or your benefactor depending on the circumstances.

After completing the insurance formalities and naming your beneficiary, you may change it whenever you want to with prior notice period. Usually accidental death reimbursements are normally compensated in a lump sum amount of cash.

Though if, your beneficiary chooses he or she may deposit the entire amount or fraction of the death benefit to any personal account established by the insurance carrier. Funds may be withdrawn as and when necessary by checks written against this account.

There are of course several benefits of an insurance coverage for travelers, more so if the nature of travel is unfamiliar or unknown. In such cases all hazards and inconveniences may be duly provided for by the insurance companies depending on the type of insurance coverage one has applied or opted for.