If you would like to know what the insurance companies are saying about you behind your back, you definitely want to get a free copy of your CLUE report. Short for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, it’s basically the insurance version of your credit report. In the past it used to cost you $20 a pop, but you can get it now for free courtesy of the FACT act, which also brought you free credit reports.

You get both a Personal Auto Report and Personal Property Report, which show how many insurance claims you’ve made on your car insurance and homeowner’s/renter’s insurance, respectively. Insurance companies use this data to decide your premiums, so you’ll want to clear up any mistakes right away as they are probably costing you money right now!
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Normally you’d think of getting life insurance for your dependents – your significant other, your kids, even your grandkids. But over at Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge, she’s single with no children, but still has a sizeable life insurance policy. The beneficiary? Her parents. In case something happens, she wants to be sure that her parents have some money to help them in their retirement in her place. They have no idea.

First, I was surprised. Then I felt guilty for never thinking of doing that myself. Then, I remembered that I really don’t have much of a policy for my wife either. Right now, since it’s just the wife and me, we each just have a $100,000 policy through work. Basically the logic is that if something happens to either of us, we are each still able to support ourselves and move on financially. (Plus I’m not allowed to go skydiving anymore.) But once there gets to be even a whiff of possible daiper duty, we planned on getting significant policies.
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Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be a great way for people to save money on health insurance, especially if you are young and healthy. I looked at compatible high-deductible plans last year but missed some deadlines, and need to start again. I found quotes online as low as $80 a month at eHealthInsurance, whereas I currently pay about $200 a month as part of my wife’s plan. I could even stay with the same company (BlueCross/BlueShield), just with different deductibles.

Now, HSAs are great mainly due to the fact that earnings grow tax-free, and when used for healthcare expenses withdrawals are tax-free too. (I list additional HSA pros and cons here). I think of it as a Health Roth IRA. Accordingly, the ideal way to take advantage of this is to max out the HSA (up to your deductible) when you are young, and not use it. You want to pay out-of-pocket now, and leave the HSA money in some mutual funds to compound away until retirement (when you’ll really need it).
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Did you know that they sell life insurance at the Taiwan airport? Big honking booths too. And people are buying it! Talk about preying on people’s fears. Especially considering that you’re much more likely to have died on your way to the airport than on the flight you’re about to take…

These days you can buy insurance for anything. Your new digital camera. Your cell phone. Your rental car. Your newborn baby. This Slate article titled ‘Risky Business: Should you ever buy rental car insurance?‘ sums up my thoughts on insurance in general very well – you should only purchase insurance to protect you from something really significant.

Examples include the death of a spouse that you depend upon for income or care, your house burning down, and needing serious medical care. After that, what constitutes ‘significant’ will be more of a personal decision. For some, $1,000 may be significant, while for others it may be a drop in the bucket.
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If you have renter’s or homeowner’s insurance and have to file a claim, it will be infinitely easier if you have documentation of all the stuff you own. But who really bothers to do this? I know I should, but I haven’t.

So when I read in this month’s Kiplinger’s about a free home inventory software at KnowYourStuff.org, I checked it out. First, you snap digital pictures of each of your rooms and then import it into the software. Then you go through each room and itemize all your stuff. You can add useful details like how much you paid, scanned receipts, serial numbers, and so on. It’s still tedious but it does help keep it all together. I really like the idea of being able to just e-mail a digital inventory to myself, as well as burning or printing out a copy to safely store elsewhere.

A while ago I asked out loud “Is Pet Insurance Worth It?“. My conclusion was no, so we started putting $20 a month into an ING sub-account instead. Well, we have a spaniel, and he got an ear infection. We ended up taking him to the vet today since it was getting worse. Total cost for checkup + medication + ear cleaning solution: $88.50. Money saved up so far in ING: $80.

I wanted to see how much VPI pet insurance would have covered if we actually had it. I think it would’ve been covered, under “otitis externa”. Why can’t it just say “ear infection”? But there is a $50 deductible per incident, so we are actually ahead so far with the self-insuring. In the end, I still think pet insurance should be used as catastrophic insurance, if you couldn’t afford $5,000 surgery.

Every since I quit my job in July, I have had no dental insurance. I just had x-rays and a cleaning in June, so I figured I was good at least until the end of the year. As Open Enrollment is here, I have decided not to be added onto my wife’s dental plan again for 2006. Here are my reasons why:

» It costs an additional $45 a month (pre-tax). So that would be about $540 pre-tax or $390 a year post-tax.
» I have never had a cavity (knock on virtual wood) or any other tooth issue, floss and brush, and I get regular cleanings.
» I am still going to get the semi-annual cleanings and maintenance stuff. If I pay cash, my dentist (who I like and want to stay with) says it will cost about $200 a year. Not a bad annual savings.
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I finally got around to applying to an HSA-eligible high-deductible health insurance plan today on eHealthInsurance. (Please see my previous posts on getting quotes and HSA pros and cons). I kind of dropped the ball, as Open Enrollment for my current insurance ends on 10/31, and I may not get my decision until after that. I was trying to get a State Farm-brokered plan from Assurant (only $65/month), but they don’t take applications that far ahead of time (I need to start 1/1/06). I don’t have any medical problems except for elevated cholesterol, but that might have raised my rate significantly, and I didn’t want to take that chance. At least it is a no-committment application.

Still on the search for the best health insurance plan that will let me contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA). I need to contact my State Farm agent for one more quote, and then I can start crunching some numbers. First, I wanted to write down some basics of what I’ve found out about HSAs, including Pros and Cons. Overall, I think of them as a Traditional IRA for healthcare expenses.

Who’s eligible:
Anyone under age 65 can contribute to an HSA if they buy a high-deductible health insurance policy. The policy’s deductible must be at least $1,000 for individuals or $2,000 for families.

Pros:
» Contributions are tax-deductible, even if you don’t itemize.
» Portable; Like an IRA, it travels with you, not your job.
» Rolls over each year, unlike a Flexible Spending Account.
» Earnings grows tax fee (also like an IRA).
» No taxes on withdrawals used to pay healthcare expenses.
» Possible to invest in mutual funds to boost long-term returns
» Some companies match contributions to HSAs, like others to 401ks.
» HSAs are inheritable.

Cons:
» You’ll have to pay for everything (at least partially) out-of-pocket, including things like routine visits and prescription meds that you may not have been used to paying for.
» High-deductible health insurance means you have to have money on hand to cover the whole amount if needed.
» Best suited for young and healthy people, if you usually max out your benefits a lower deductible is probably best for you.
» You are limited to certain HSA providers.
» The account and maintenance fees can be high, some don’t let you invest in stocks.
» Watch out for exclusions of pre-existing conditions in the policy.
» Since these have only been around since 2004, there isn’t quite as much competition as would be ideal for a consumer.

How much can I put in?
You can contribute up to the amount of the deductible to an HSA, but no more than $2,600 for individuals; $5,150 for families. And you can add an extra $500 if you were born before 1950 to help with health care costs in retirement.

The biggest health insurance comparison site is eHealthInsurance.com.