Wisdom from The Action Wisdom In Action

Cavalcade of Risk #108--The "Break in the Virginia Heat Wave" Edition

For the past week, it's been hot enough here to cook dinner on the sidewalk. As of today, we're getting a week of respite from the high-90's temps.

We're also getting a respite from the non-relevant submissions that keep pouring in. Whoever invented the DELETE button deserves a medal!

Okay--onward with our none-too-small yet relevant carnival:

HEALTH

The Contamination of Policy-Making by Presidential Marketing from Jaan Siderov and Disease Care Management Blog. He looks at our President’s liberal use of marketing to promote his health reform by using the term “Patient Bill of Rights”. That was never envisioned in the health reform legislation. Our Chief Executive keeps trying to sell us a bill of goods: the name may change but folks don’t seem to be buying it.

I'm certainly not buying it. Here's what I'm doing instead.

International Health Care Models: An Introduction from Jason Shafrin and Health Care Economist. He says "Find out how countries around the world provide health insurance to their citizens in this series of posts by the Healthcare Economist."

New ACGME Resident Work-Hour Policies from the Notwithstanding Blog. "The governing body for American medical post-graduate training has released new guidelines for resident work hours. They aim to strike a balance between the risks posed by under-rested and under-supervised residents now, and under-trained and under-experienced doctors in the future."

I included this because overworked medical residents posed risks to their own health as well as the patients they treated. While I'm not from the risk community, please let me know if this does not really count as risk, so future similar submissions will be dealt with adequately.


LIFE

Life Extending Habits from Super Saver at My Wealth Builder. "In this study, eliminating four risks increased lifespan by 12 years."

6 Money-Saving Tips When You Prepare For Your Life Insurance Exam from Susan Howe at The Budget Life Blog. "Preparing properly for your life insurance exam is important to qualify for the best life insurance rates. Here are six things you can do in order to prepare for your life insurance exam."

How Much Does Life Insurance Cost? from Christien at How Much Does Everything Cost Blog. From the article: "The price of life insurance holds opposing views depending on factors such as the insured’s age, health, and career. For instance, the premium for a 30-year-old, male, non-smoker in excellent health will be far less costly than a similar policy for a 70-year-old male smoker. In the same way, a bungee jumping employee would have to shell out much higher premiums for life insurance than would a secretary."

LEGAL (a new category for me)

Guardianship: A Critical Protection for Your Child from Kim Luu at Money and Risk Blog. "People plan many things to protect their children but tend to forget a basic thing, who to take care of their child."

Court Ponders Complexity in Measuring Loss from Tred Eyerly and Insurance Law Hawaii. From the article: "The ambiguity was construed in favor of the insureds, entitling them to a recovery of up to policy limits, or $105,600.

Nevertheless, there was still the issue of a possible double recovery. An unresolved question was whether the appropriate measure of the insureds' actual loss was the cost to rebuild or actual cash value. Only if the fact finder determined the insureds intended to reconstruct their home would loss be measured by the cost to rebuild."

Colorado Governor Ritter at Odds With Attorney General Suthers from Louise of Colorado Health Insurance Insider Blog. "The Attorneys General who are trying to block the mandate are arguing that it’s unconstitutional to require people to purchase a product against their will. But by that argument, isn’t is unconstitutional to require private health insurance companies to accept all applicants, regardless of medical history?"

Sometimes I wish we could erase the entire Health Care Reform right out of existence--it causes more harm than good, in my non-expert opinion.

Malpractice Defense: Fetal Descent Stalled, With Variable Decelerations from David Williams at Health Business Blog. This looked like a serious article, and not being from the insurance world OR the medical world, I easily understood it. I also understood why our health care costs are so high--unfounded lawsuits and doctors having to practice defensive medicine against people like this.

"A difficult labor and delivery ended with a baby that had brain hemorrhages early in life. In the ensuing lawsuit, the defendants persuaded the jury they had managed the risks appropriately." I'm glad all ended well.

AUTO

The 20 Least Expensive Cars to Insure in 2010 from Susan Howe and Insure.com Blog. It isn't always the car that makes the insurance expensive--the driver's habits and record (including credit) also factor in, as well as location and company chosen for the policy.

As far as cars go, the more doors, wheels, safety gear, and weight a vehicle has, the less it costs to insure. As for the DRIVER...

HOME

Do You Need a Home Warranty? from Ryan at Cash Money Life Blog. "You may need a home warranty, which can cover home maintenance repairs and costs for appliances, plumbing, air conditioning & heating units, more." To me, that's what the home inspection's all about--to find out the rough lifespan of the appliances and systems BEFORE making an offer on the house, and deducting any possible replacement costs from the asking price. From the article: "With standard policies ranging from $200-$600 per year, the cost is fairly affordable and can certainly save you considerable money in the event a major repair or replacement is covered." I'd think the savings from a lowered purchase offer would yield more (and keep cash in the bank account for such eventual replacements) than the cost of one of these policies. You'd gain interest on the money you AREN'T spending every year on the policy, and on the appliance/system replacements you DON'T have to make just yet.

If something turns up dicey in the home inspection, you can lower the purchase offer by the amount it would take to replace it, then plan on replacing it when the offer's accepted and you close the deal. The one-time cost of a home inspection prior to buying is about equal to one month's premium on a home warranty policy, and it may reveal the futility in buying this kind of policy.

FINANCIAL (no casino, gold, or scam posts)

5 Secrets of Wall St., Part V: Risk Management Isn't a Science from Carlos and ONNtv blog. "Risk management isn't an exact science, but that doesn't mean you should ignore it. A look at black swans, volatility, and managing risk."

INSURANCE IN GENERAL

Supplemental Insurance: What I Learned From an AFLAC Employee Interview from Nathan Richardson and Complex Search.com Blog. This insurance is also known as accidental death and dismemberment insurance (or AD&D--not to be confused with the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons), and is usually cheap for the coverage. The trouble is you must have very specific losses for the policy to pay out, and even THOSE are subjective.

I believe (but may be wrong) this is why SSI (Social Security disability) and life insurance were invented. I'm interested in knowing if these policies pay out for a lifetime, or just a specific time (like 1 year).

The Seven Pillars of Financial Success, Pillar #6: Get Insured from Free Money Finance Blog. "Even the Bible details the benefits of owning insurance." Maybe God knows something we don't?

Insurance Broker vs. Buying A Policy Online: Which Option is Best? from Nathan Richardson and Complex Search.com Blog. From the article: "Tip--just because you start out shopping online does not mean that you have to finish in the same place. For instance, you can receive several quotes online from different providers and then contact an agent direct for more information."

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

Risk Management: Is Your Business Prepared? from Hank Stern and Insureblog. "Is your business *really* prepared for a disaster? InsureBlog reports on a little-known resource to help you plan for one."

Managing Risk in a Recession from Nancy Germond and All Business.com Blog. From the article: "Is your organization ready to lose up to 25 percent of its intellectual capital in the next few years? Add this flight to an average job stay of three-to-four years, and businesses in America are at risk. America is poised for an employment exodus so dramatic that many companies will find themselves unprepared."

It's hard for me to see an employment exodus when we have millions unemployed, but when you insert the terms "qualified" and "experienced", the picture changes dramatically. We're importing workers in boxcar lots NOW (via VISA programs) just to help keep the current science/math/high tech world pinned together--what happens when they aren't enough? Wages will certainly skyrocket for these fields, and benefits will probably become more generous than they were just five years ago.

On that profound note, I'll conclude my Cavalcade and send it on over to the Disease Management Care Blog.

Posted by Cute at 9:35 PM

Labels: carnivals I hosted