I am experiencing extreme difficulties with getting my travel insurance provider (Greenbee, underwritten by Axa) to settle a claim. My son had an accident in the US last summer that required hospital and ambulance services. Axa agreed to settle the claim (for less than $3,000) and confirmed it had done so on the 6 May 2010.

We complained to Axa about the length of time taken and received £100 as an apology. While this was a gesture of goodwill, apparently the bills have not been paid. We have just received a 14-day notice from a debt collector, working on behalf of the hospital. ML, London

Axa said that due to the complex US hospital system, bills can be sent directly to customers. When pressed, Axa admitted that this can be distressing. “We are doing all we can to ensure bills come directly to us, so we can deal with these as efficiently as possible,” a spokeswoman said. Axa moved quickly to get the debt collectors off your back, apologised, and all outstanding payments have been made. When prompted for a goodwill gesture, it pointed to the £100 you were already sent for previous delays.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumerchampions@guardian.co.uk or write to Brignall & King, Money, The Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk

Dr Bernhard Metzler, associate professor of cardiology at the Medical University of Innsbruck, told the Daily Mail that the majority of people who suffer a heart attack on the slopes do so because they are not physically prepared for the exertion.

He said: “Sudden cardiac death accounts for a staggering 40 per cent of the total fatalities amongst winter sports tourists in the Austrian Alps and, of these, heart attacks are the leading cause.”

Fitness levels, combined with high altitude and plummeting temperatures, were also cited as reasons why skiers may be more susceptible.

People who are interested in following the expert’s advice could also do well to take a fish oil supplement, as research published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine recently stated the substance can help prevent heart failure, the Daily Mail has stated.

Did you know that UIA offers competitive rates on home insurance ? You can even get up to 15% discount when you apply online . 

Source: http://www.uia.co.uk

PRLog (Press Release) – Sep 04, 2010 – The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) is funded by the government and was established to support the Korean health industry. Korea’s health industry, including human genome, gene medical treatment, and ordering medicine, has made a foundation which will lead the world in the field of medical technology. KHIDI, in strengthening specific health industry promotion, will provide a link between the government and industry. In addition, to ensure the productivity and efficiency of the health and medical technology sector, we will emphasize R&D and advanced management by objectives.

Korea International Medical Association (KIMA) is a government-private joint initiative founded to promote Healthcare in Korea internationally. As an official organization for Medical Tourism, KIMA is supported by the Government, and serves as the “acting body” for a series of national policies in regard to medical travel. The primary function of KIMA includes promoting Korean healthcare to the international communities and fostering safe and reliable infrastructures.

“To attending WMT & GHC 2010 means that it is good channel to promote Korea medical tourism in USA Moreover KHIDI / KIMA can get a chance to contact lots of patients, insurance companies and employers about top hospitals,” said Seung Yeon, Kwon, Executive office/ Manager at Korea International Medical Association.

This year we have allocated a budget to bring in up to 200 “Buyers” of healthcare, including insurance companies, employers, and governments to the congress.  The conference will feature up to 2,000 attendees, up to 140 exhibitors and sponsors, and over 100 speakers from over 60 countries. Save the date today by going to the Medical Tourism Congress website and register for this once a year event.  Accomplish in three days what would otherwise take you years to do.  Come to the only medical tourism and international health insurance conference in the world that truly brings together the buyers and sellers of healthcare from all six continents.

The conference is the dedicated annual event of the Medical Tourism Association, the nonprofit trade association in the Medical Tourism industry,   http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com , and media partner Medical Tourism Magazine, http://www.medicaltourismmag.com the only dedicated magazine for the medical tourism and global healthcare industry, and by Medical Tourism City, www.medicaltourismcity.com, a social network for the medical tourism and global healthcare industry with over one thousand participants from over sixty countries.

The 3rd World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress will also feature two additional conferences, the Expatriate Healthcare, Travel Insurance and Global Health Insurance Conference, http://www.expatriateconference.com , which focuses on international employers and insurance companies, and the Sustainable Healthcare and Hospital Development Conference, www.healthcaredevelopmentconference.com, which focuses on the growth of medical tourism in the healthcare sector and the building and development of healthcare facilities around the world.

The 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress will feature up to 2,000 attendees from over 50 countries and up to 100 exhibitors and sponsors.

Source: http://www.prlog.org

Your house, boat, tree, basement and car can all be damaged when a hurricane hits hard. Back in 1991, Hurricane Bob slammed Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, leaving behind not only a big mess, but a big job for home and business owners.

So, when Earl leaves town, how do you make sure it won’t be tough to get back to normal?

First dig out your insurance policy:

– Make sure you’ve got claim-reporting phone numbers

If you’ve planned ahead, you know your best friend might be a camera, according to insurance experts:

– Inventory your household items in photos or video

If you wake up to storm damage, it’s time to take some pictures again.

“Take pictures, take videos, show the insurance agency and the company what really happened to your property,” said Frank O’Brien, the vice president of Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

You’ve probably already protected your property by covering windows, putting your vehicles into a garage, securing the boats, but don’t forget to take grills and patio furniture indoors.

After the storm:

– Cover holes in roofs or windows quickly so wind and rain doesn’t cause more damage

Report all damage to your insurance company or agent as soon as possible and remember, if your home is flooded, that’s a special situation. Unless you have special flood insurance, you may not be covered.

“Most homeowners’ insurance policies and commercial insurance policies do not cover flood. That requires separate coverage under the national flood insurance program,” said O’Brien. “Again, talk to your insurance agent, talk to the company, get the facts, there may be something they can do for you.”

Something else to note: your homeowners’ insurance policy does not cover damage to trees, but it may pay to remove the debris if it caused damage to a structure covered by insurance.

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://www1.whdh.com

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved an average increase of 18.7 percent for Castle Key Insurance policyholders and an average increase of 17.8 percent for Castle Key Indemnity policyholders.

In addition to higher rates, some Allstate customers will be paying even more due to lost discounts.

Regulators said that the insurer will no longer apply certain voluntary discounts to the hurricane portion of their premium, which could result in a higher premium. Among those removed are discounts for retirees, installing fire and burglar devices, holding multiline auto and home policies, and buying a new home. Going forward, those discounts would only be applied to the non-hurricane portion of the premium.

Despite several mild years on the hurricane front, property insurers have argued their costs are still rising, making it difficult to do business in Florida. Atlanta-based insurer Cotton States recently filed to pull out of the state after 50 years here.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has endorsed sizeable rate increases for many.

Meanwhile, major insurers such as State Farm and Nationwide have shed thousands of policies, adding to the burdens on state-run Citizens Property Insurance. Citizens, which covers homeowners who cannot find coverage on the open market, wants to raise average rates between 6 percent to 11 percent, depending on the type of policy. Regulators on Friday said they will hold a hearing on the request Sept. 7.

Even after a major retraction, Allstate remains one of the top five property insurers in Florida with 230,000 policies statewide in its combined Castle Key units. Only Castle Key Indemnity, which accounts for about a third of those policies, is accepting new business.

The company originally sought increases of 33.3 percent for Castle Key Insurance and 17.9 percent for Castle Key Indemnity customers. In pushing for the hike, the insurer said it has not had a significant rate increase in five years, and higher premiums are needed to keep pace with expenses. In particular, it cited higher non-hurricane losses and increased reinsurance costs.

Jack McDermott, a spokesman for McCarty’s office, said Allstate has agreed to the decision.

Allstate spokeswoman Amy Moore acknowledged the higher rates will provide better financial stability but said the solution was only short-term.

Receiving a smaller rate increase than requested for Castle Key Insurance “does not allow the company to keep pace with the costs of providing insurance in Florida,” Moore said in a statement. “We will continue to work with (state regulators) to find ways to support a platform for the long-term viability and growth for Florida’s homeowner insurance market.”

The rate increases will begin phasing in for new and renewal business beginning Nov. 28.

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Source: http://www.tampabay.com

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission on Tuesday rejected the deal because it had doubts about China Strategic’s financial strength and commitment to Nan Shan, which controls more than a 30% share of Taiwan’s life-insurance market. It said the buyers can appeal within 30 days.

“We have a significant uncommitted fund, China Strategic has demonstrated clear market access, AIG working (with) us, had committed a US$325 million account solely to support the capital structure of the company, if it weakened at all,” Morse said.

“We had agreed to a lock-up of our shares and China Strategic shareholders had as well. For seven years. I don’t think that has ever been done in the industry before,” he said.

He added it and China Strategic “haven’t made a final decision about whether we will be appealing or not at this point.”

The consortium’s bid, announced in October 2009, had been in limbo for months as regulators in Taiwan scrutinized the proposed deal and raised concerns about whether its buyers were backed by Chinese funds.

Morse said Primus is looking for other investment opportunities in insurance and asset management in other countries, but didn’t elaborate.

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The black box of Wall Street proprietary trading is still in the dark, despite rumblings that big banks are planning to shutter units or keep them at arm’s-length, writes David Weidner.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com

The most common group benefit in our economy is group life insurance. Generally, the first $50,000 of such coverage that the employer pays for is tax-free. Anything in excess of that amount that is paid for by the employer is taxed to the employee at very favorable tax rates. Of course, any premium paid by the employee for that excess coverage reduces the tax otherwise owed.

(Please note the word “generally” throughout this column. Since there are always exceptions to every rule, blanket statements about those rules are never 100 percent correct. But, if they almost always apply, I will use that qualifying term to cover those cases where the blanket statement does not apply.)

Medical insurance is the next-most-prevalent employer provided benefit. Traditionally, the employee-paid portion of this coverage has been paid with after-tax dollars. But recently “Section 125 Cafeteria” plans have allowed employees to deduct this portion of the cost.

A major innovation came in 2003 with the advent of health savings accounts (HSAs). This allows people to save for current and post-retirement medical expenses on a before tax-basis. To be eligible for such accounts, the participants must be covered by a high-deductible medical-insurance plan.

Disability-income insurance partially replaces monthly paycheck if an employee is disabled by sickness or injury on or off the job. The premium paid by the employer for this coverage is not taxable as income to the employee. But any disability-income benefits received by the disabled employee which are attributable to the employer’s premium payments are generally taxable income to the disabled employee.

For qualified retirement plans, such as pensions, simplified employee pension plans (SEP), IRAs, 401(k)s, and 403(b) annuities, employer contributions are generally not currently taxable to the employee. These plan contributions and any return that they earn are generally not taxed until actually withdrawn by the employee. Even certain employee contributions can be tax-deferred.

Here are a few suggestions regarding your fringe benefits:

Notify your human resources department when you have a change in your family profile, such as a birth, death, marriage, divorce, etc.

Be sure to keep your life-insurance and retirement-plan beneficiaries current. Mistakes and omissions in this area can be devastating for those overlooked and disruptive to families.

Understand your retirement plan provisions, such as vesting schedules, loan provisions, and options upon retirement so you know what to expect and can plan accordingly.

J. Brendan Ryan is an East Walnut Hills insurance agent. E-mail jbryanclu@aol.com .

Source: http://news.cincinnati.com

A recent editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal proposed that drugs designed to help people stop smoking should be covered by provincial drug plans.

The editors pointed to a study that found reimbursing the cost of these smoking-cessation drugs significantly improved one-year abstinence rates among smokers. They recommend that provincial government immediately include these medications in their dug plans.

We asked whether you thought provincial governments should cover the cost of stop-smoking drugs, and as of Thursday, 66 per cent of voters agreed that they should.

“With the amount of taxes that the government is making off of cigarettes, they most definitely should put that towards smoking-cessation programs,” wrote dipndi , a reader from B.C. “In the long run, the more people that quit, the better it’ll be on our health care system.”

While many commenters agreed that helping people to stop smoking would help lighten the financial burden on our health care system, others disagreed, arguing that stop-smoking drugs aren’t always effective.

“Looking at this from the point of view of a taxpayer, our health-care system is already far too backed-up and inefficient,” wrote A_Protester from St. Albert, Alta. “I think it certainly is NOT FAIR for the government to force us into now not only paying the smokers health care costs, but for programs to help them quit their habit, especially since these programs are not even at the stage where they guarantee 100 per cent success.”

Some readers felt that individual smokers, not the government, should ultimately be responsible for the costs of quitting.

“If the average smoker can afford the expense of their habit / addiction, then why can’t they afford to quit?” wrote Facebook user Desrae Komar, who admitted to being a former smoker. “It’s time to be accountable for your own action people, and that means stop blaming tobacco companies for YOUR addiction and stop asking the government to bail you out!!!!!”

What do you think? Should governments cover the costs of stop-smoking therapies? Have your say.

Earlier this week, critics slammed the changes to Ontario’s auto insurance policies, arguing that they would provide less coverage for the same cost.

Several CBC readers responded to the story with endorsements for public auto insurance systems, which exist in the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. We wanted to find out just how many of you support public auto insurance, so we asked. As of Thursday, over 790 votes were cast, with 75 per cent of favour of government-operated auto insurance.

Many commenters who supported public insurance spoke from experience. “Having come from a province with public insurance to a province with private insurance, my auto insurance rate doubled. The excuse was that private insurers do not recognize public institutions,” wrote hamseyct , who is listed as being from Calgary. “Eight years later, and my rates (no accidents and no tickets) have only dropped by $400/ year. Still nowhere close to the extra $1,200 I had to hand over.”

Another user pointed out that public insurance systems can benefit society at large. “One benefit of a public insurance system is that ‘profits’ are spent improving road safety, particularly in high accident areas,” wrote Widget Maker . “You’ll never get that from a private system.”

A few readers, on the other hand, argued that public insurance is not all it’s cracked up to be. “It has its high points and low points,” wrote Graham Tabor via Facebook. “The worst of the lows is the amount of time it takes MPI [Manitoba Public Insurance] to pay out settlements. I know of a case where a man lost his wife and daughter to a drunk driver and it took (no word of a lie) 25 years to pay out.”

What do you think about public auto insurance? Do you have any experience in that system? Share your stories. 

Source: http://www.cbc.ca

There is nothing wrong in the principle of payment protection insurance – it’s just that it was (and in some cases remains) hugely overpriced, and contained terms that made it difficult for many to claim. But what if you really want a protection policy to cover your mortgage or credit card payments if you became unemployed or fell sick?

The key is not to buy PPI from the company that sells you the mortgage, personal loan or credit card. In nearly all cases it will be poor value – and about as daft as buying overpriced travel insurance in a travel agent, rather than going online.

So where do you go? Your first step should be moneymadeclear.org.uk, the government’s independent financial advice website. It offers a product comparison service, and it doesn’t try to sell you anything. Moneysavingexpert.com is another useful site for finding the best value.

Moneymadeclear’s PPI service asks several questions – age, employment status, etc - then gives a list of providers and costs. We asked for quotes for a 30-year-old male employed for 40 hours a week on a permanent contract.

The differences between the best quote and what you might otherwise pay, was startling. On credit cards, the cost of a policy that would pay out £500 a month of cover ranged from £7.90 a month at iprotect to £39.50 at Capital One through to £79 at MBNA. The higher-priced policies tend to offer better levels of cover, but not always.

It was a similar picture with mortgages. For a 30-year-old with an £800-a-month home loan, PPI ranged from around £12 a month at iprotect and Pinnacle – which works out at £3,600 over the lifetime of a 25-year mortgage – through to £62 at Abbey/Santander and £74 at Nationwide, equal to more than £22,000 over the period of the mortgage.

But these figures need to be treated cautiously. Terms and conditions vary widely, and the price will reflect the number of payments the policy will make, and how long you have to wait for it to pay out. The message is clear – shop around, go to independent suppliers and save a small fortune.

• Insurers “cherry pick” customers. If they think the risk of a claim is high, they will price the policy accordingly – or turn you down. Dennis Haggerty, marketing manager of iprotect, says the company has recently taken the decision not to accept civil servants or anybody who works for a local authority, because of the risk of job cuts.

• If you have been made redundant in the last year (even if you got another job straight away), have been in a job for less than six months, or your company is already making cutbacks, most providers will not cover you.

• Older people pay more than younger people. That’s because if you’re 50-plus, the chances of finding a job on your former salary are slimmer, so the insurer is likely to have to pay out for longer. Claims on the sickness part of the policy are also higher.

• Most insurers do not offer instant cover, and will only confirm after making checks. Usually, these focus on your employer, with special reference to any planned lay-offs. For applicants with medical problems they may ask for a doctor’s report.

• The typical “waiting period” for making a claim is 120 days. In other words, you will have to be unemployed for four months before being able to claim. In that time, you may have found another job, making the policy pointless. If you want a shorter waiting period, say 60 days, the price of the policy rises, in some case steeply.

• Policies typically pay out for 12 or 24 months. The longer the payout period, the higher the premium.

• Rates can, and will, be reviewed. If you take out mortgage protection, and unemployment starts rising steeply, the insurer may come back to you and demand higher premiums.

Haggerty, of iprotect, says the company put up rates by 5-25% earlier this year, although a few older customers saw rate increases of nearly 50%.

Cardif Pinnacle, one of the major providers of mortgage protection policies to banks and building societies, increased rates for some customers by 20% earlier this year.

• In general, low-cost providers of PPI include iprotectinsurance.co.uk, justclick4cove.com (good for under 45s), paymentcare and britishinsurance.com. Patrick Collinson

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk

All of the issued and outstanding Debentures will be redeemed on October 12, 2010 (the “Redemption Date”) at a redemption price equal to the principal amount of the Debentures together with accrued and unpaid interest to the Redemption Date. Interest on the Debentures shall cease to accrue from and after the Redemption Date.

Sun Life Assurance and Clarica were amalgamated on December 31, 2002 under the name Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada . Sun Life Assurance is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies.

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada , the United States , the United Kingdom , Ireland , Hong Kong , the Philippines , Japan , Indonesia , India , China and Bermuda . As of June 30, 2010 , the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $434 billion . For more information please visit www.sunlife.com .

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Note to Editors: All figures in Canadian dollars.

SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com