Insurance Discrimination Against Victims of Abuse

The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is
a data bank of medical and nonmedical
information on nearly 15 million Americans,
collected from the MIB’s 800 insurance
company members.
The companies send the MIB information
you have written on applications, enrollment
forms, and requests for upgrading coverage
for health, life or disability insurance. The MIB
also records information from medical exams,
blood and lab tests, and hospital reports,
when such information is legally obtainable.

Kinds of Annuities

There are several ways to categorize
annuities, and any one annuity may fit into
several categories.
Immediate Annuities
With an immediate annuity, you pay a single
premium and immediately start receiving
payments at the end of each payment period,
which is usually monthly or annually.
Deferred Annuities
With a deferred annuity, you pay one or
more premiums over what is often called the
accumulation period. The premiums you pay
and the interest credited to the premiums goes
into a fund called an accumulation fund. There
may be a minimum guaranteed interest rate at
which your money will accumulate during the
accumulation period.
The annuity payments you will receive begin at
a future point in time called the maturity date.
You will receive payments during a time period
called the payout period or annuitization phase.
You do not pay income taxes on the interest
earned during the accumulation period unless
you draw on its cash value. These taxes are
deferred until the payout period.
Fixed Annuities
A fixed annuity provides fixed-dollar income
payments backed by the guarantees in the
contract. You cannot lose your investment
once your income payments begin. The
amount of those payments will not change.
With fixed annuities, the company bears the
investment risk.
Equity Indexed Annuities
These are a form of annuity, either immediate
or deferred, that earns interest or provides
benefits that are linked to an external equity
index, such as Standard and Poor’s 500
Composite Stock Price Index. When you
purchase an equity-indexed annuity, you own
an insurance contract—not shares of any stock
or index.

Traditional Life Insurance

You have a choice of two traditional types of
life insurance: Term or Whole Life.
Term Insurance
A “term policy” involves coverage purchased
for a specific time period and pays a death
benefit only if the policyholder dies during
the time for which the policy is written and
premiums are paid.
A term policy:
Provides more life i XX nsurance coverage for
your premium dollar in the early years.
XX Pays benefits only if the insured dies
during the coverage period.
XX Does not usually accumulate cash value.
XX Is suitable for large amounts of coverage
for specific periods (i.e., one, five, 10 or 20
years, etc.) or to age 60 or 65.
Useful for:
XX Parents of young children
XX People with large financial obligations and
home buyers
With term insurance, coverage ends after
the specified term in your policy is reached,
unless it includes a provision allowing you to
renew your policy without providing evidence
of insurability, such as passing a physical
exam. However, your premiums will increase
as you age.
A term insurance policy may be convertible.
This means you can exchange the policy for
a whole life policy without providing evidence
of good health. Although the premium for the
whole life policy will be higher initially, it will
remain the same for the rest of your life.
Whole Life
Whole life insurance, a “whole life policy,” or
“permanent insurance” involves coverage
effective for the entire life of the policyholder.
A whole life policy pays a death benefit when
the policyholder dies, regardless of his or
her age.
Key Characteristics:
XX Provides a fixed amount of life insurance
coverage and a fixed premium amount.
XX Benefits are payable upon the death of the
insured or on the maturity date—often the
policyholder’s 100th birthday.
XX Coverage can increase only with the
purchase of an additional policy, or, if
available, through additional riders
or dividends.
XX Policy coverage is provided for life.
XX Premiums are paid at a fixed rate
throughout your lifetime, if the policy
remains active.
Life

Life Insurance

A life insurance policy allows you to set aside money now to provide a measure of
financial security for your family upon your death. It can help your family meet the
financial needs previously covered by your income.
If you decide to buy a life insurance policy, you should decide how much
protection you need and can afford, and what kind of insurance policy to buy.
The main purpose of a life insurance policy is to provide survivor benefits
for beneficiaries.

Home health care policy

This type of policy covers services
prescribed by a physician and from a
Medicare-certified or state-licensed home
health care service. The care must help with
activities of daily living or the supervision
or protection of a patient with cognitive
impairment (such as Alzheimer’s disease
or senility). Some policies offering nursing
home coverage automatically offer home
health care as well. Some companies offer
home health care as an option or rider to
a long-term care policy. A few companies
offer policies covering only home health
care. You may obtain more information
about policy options from your agent.
Nursing home care policy
This limited-benefit insurance policy offers
an alternative for some people and covers
either one level or several levels of care.
In Florida, the levels of care include
custodial, intermediate and skilled (defined
in the Glossary). Cognitive impairment or
the inability to perform one or more of
the activities of daily living will activate
the benefit.

Long-term care insurance

Long-term care encompasses a wide range
of medical, personal and social services.
A person may need this care if they suffer
from prolonged illnesses, disabilities or
cognitive impairment. Private insurance
companies offer individual or group
long-term care insurance policies that
provide benefits for a variety of services
not covered by your regular health
insurance, or by Medicare or Medicare
supplement insurance.

Limited benefit insurance

These policies cover certain expenses
from specifically named illnesses, injuries
or circumstances. For example, cancer
policies pay benefits for the actual
treatment of cancer. Some also pay benefits
for conditions or diseases caused or
aggravated by cancer or its treatment.

Accident insurance

These policies cover death, disability,
hospital and medical care resulting from
an accident. A common variation called
“accidental death insurance” can pay
additional benefits for death due to motor
vehicle or at-home accidents.

Hospital confinement indemnity insurance

These policies pay a fixed amount or
indemnity for each day, week or month you
stay in a hospital. Such policies pay a flat
amount for benefits.
Disability income insurance
These policies pay a weekly or monthly
income for a specific period if you suffer
a disability and cannot continue or obtain
work. The disability may involve sickness,
injury or a combination of the two. Most
disability insurance plans coordinate
with Social Security benefits and workers’
compensation to eliminate duplication
of coverage.
You may select a disability policy that
includes an elimination period, or length
of time that you must wait after a covered
illness begins, before receiving benefits.
The longer the elimination period, the lower
your premium. Premiums may also vary
depending upon your occupation (and the
risks involved) and your age. For example, a
high-rise construction worker would likely
pay higher premiums than a florist.
When buying a disability policy, you should
find out the company’s definition of a
disability and the requirements that must
be met. Individual and group disability
income policies must provide coverage for
a policyholder or eligible dependent who
becomes disabled.

Supplemental Health Insurance

These policies provide coverage beyond,
or in addition to, what your basic policy
provides. You should use these policies as
supplements, rather than substitutes, for
basic medical insurance. Some policies
include elimination periods, which means
companies will pay benefits only after you
stay in the hospital for a specified number
of days.

TYPES OF MAJOR MEDICAL COVERAGE

Group Plans
Fulfilling your insurance needs may prove
relatively simple if your employer offers
a group plan or a choice of plans. Group
plans cover several people or groups under
one policy. You will receive a certificate
that acts as your policy when you obtain
insurance through a group plan. Most
group policies are suitable for the average
person and may include provisions to cover
family members.
Businesses with one to 50 employees have
access to guaranteed-issue group plans,
often referred to as small group health
coverage. Guaranteed-issue coverage for
a one-life group (a self-employed individual
with no eligible employees) is only available
during the month of August each year, with
the policy being effective on October 1.
These plans are available to small-business
employers regardless of the health claims
experience of an employee group or the
health status of an employee. Insurance
companies and HMOs that offer small group
coverage must offer employers the option
of purchasing a basic or standard plan.
Most insurers or HMOs offer other healthbenefit
plans in addition to the basic and
standard plans.