Another Insurance rant....

It seems interesting that I write this post on the heals of the American Health care reform bill. Almost a year ago I made a post about insurance and titled it "Insurance a False Sense of Security". I talked about all kinds of insurance and how in some cases the policies aren't worth the paper they are written on.

These past few weeks hubby and I have been on road trips. Those road trips have taken us off road. I recognize that if I choose to take my vehicle off road I should be willing to suffer the consequences should anything happen to my vehicle. Thank goodness nothing happened, well not until we got back onto the highway. I was travelling in the outside lane and a vehicle behind a dump truck when it kicked up stones which of course hit my windshield and caused it to crack. Dang!!!!

I pay higher insurance premiums to lower my deductible. Here is my beef...deductible. Why on earth should we have to pay deductible in the first place. I already pay my insurance premiums, but if I want to make a claim I have to pay the deductible. That just doesn't seem right to me. What's the point of getting insurance if you still have to pay in the end? It's not right....and I don't know why there is no public outcry. To me this is a shear rip off by the insurance companies. These companies are making record profits.

- Allstate insurance in January 2009 reported consolidated revenues were $6.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 and $29.4 billion for the 2008 year
- Geico reports a $649 million underwriting profit for 2009

These are only two insurance companies but every company I researched showed profits....multi-million dollar profits.

I was astounded when I read about all the tactics these companies use to either not pay a claim, delay a claim, or pay out as little as possible.

Now I recognize this is their business, but I pay premiums and I expect what they say they will cover and not only that I don't believe I/we should have to pay a deductible to make a claim. That is criminal to me

I feel like Micheal Moore when he goes to the big corporations demanding his money back, or that commercial where people are shouting out their windows "it's my money and I want it now", or better yet...why aren't we writing letters to the powers that be telling them how in just this is and demanding that deductibles become a thing of the past.

Well that is my rant for today. I don't know if I will get my windshield fix...not yet anyhow. I just hate the thought of paying the deductible to get it fixed.

Insurance a false sense of security......

How many of you have been talked into buying those extended warranties? You know the ones when you go to Future Shop or Best Buy and you purchase some electronic and they want to you get the extended warranty....or you go and purchase an appliance and again they want you to purchase the extended warranty, and what about those one's on vehicles, now those can cost you. When I bought my Mustang it was practically new, they talked me into purchasing the extended warranty...what a goof I was, it cost me an additional $3500 for that insurance and I never used it.
Back to the salesperson who first off tries to sell you the most expensive item in the product line for which you are purchasing...you finally decide what it is you want and then of course they use the pitch on the extended warranty. I actually had a sales person try and sell me an extended warranty on a chair I bought for my husband. Can you believe it! I know these sales people make most of their money on selling the extended warranties but really it's just not right.

I am told that all products have a shelf life or life expectancy....how long a product is estimated to last. Personally I think the product should last that..and if it doesn't the manufacturer should be responsible for either replacing or repairing the product. It should also be affordable that if the product does only last the predicted life time then it's not going to cost you an arm and leg to replace it.

Now let's talk about life insurance, home insurance, mortgage insurance and health insurance. Again I am finding it to be a bunch of crap.

I got my first life insurance policy when I was 24 it was shortly after I had my first pacemaker and my first daughter had been born. I had my life insurance policy with this company up until last year, when it came time for my renewal. I went to renew and right out of the blue they cancelled my policy because they said I "lied" about my pacemaker. I was shocked. The only reason I went to this company was because I knew they provided policies for people who had pacemakers. So why would I lie. I had a very thorough physical way back when I applied for the policy...I completed all the forms, I couldn't believe what was happening. I spoke with the broker who I maintained contact with all these years and he said he would do what he could....he spoke with them....we wrote letters...but they were having nothing to do with it. So there I was with no life insurance...now what am I going to do. We found another policy holder...it is costing me triple of what I was paying...and has a lot more limitations. The life insurance policy does nothing for me, when your dead your dead. It is however giving me peace of mind that if I were to die tomorrow at least I know I would have left something for my hubby and family.

Personally I wouldn't have gone for the life insurance....but when I went for mortgage insurance they turned me down. Again I was shocked. I was turned down because of my pacemaker and colitis...I am considered a high risk. High risk....bull s..t. I run regularly, I am not over weight, I don't have hypertension or cholesterol issues...none of the risk factors which would normally be considered. So as a result I went to increase my life insurance policy and that is how the whole mess with the life insurance started.

I have home insurance coverage....but right now as it stands it would be void as it says we don't have a wood burning fireplace, but we do....we always have....I have personally been to the agent on three occasions to get this changed but it hasn't happened....I know I have to pursue that more.

I have a loan that I got an insurance policy on in case of injury/illness. I went to go make a claim on this policy this past month......again they are making me jump through hoops to get them to pay up for the loan( and this is not asking them to pay out the loan it's only asking that they pay the monthly loan). I am still paying the loan....I just wanted it covered while I was off on sick leave....chances are it won't get covered by the time I go back to work....it's been useless. You see I couldn't even claim for it until I had been off work for 6 weeks then of course all the medical forms have to be completed by myself and my doctor...which I had done....but no...they send me and my doctor more letters telling us about all these restrictions and how they want more information...like I said by the time I get this approved...if I do get it approved....I will be back at work and won't need it.

Health care, in Canada we have universal health care. What the means is if you have to have surgery you can have the surgery...there is no such thing as an HMO dictating your treatment. Most employers offer health benefit packages which often includes not only health coverage, but extended health(prescriptions, glasses,massage therapy, and chiropractor just to name a few)dental and long term disability insurance. Now if your employer does not offer this or if you are a retiree you still can get the basic provincial health insurance which again covers any doctors visit, hospitalization, surgeries and the likes. If you can't afford the provincial premiums then there are systems in place where the government would pay for such services. But you would have to prove eligibility for such services. Which I think is only right.

So, I talked to my brother who is an insurance adjuster about the whole insurance thing. He said to me that insurance companies are not out there to pay your claims or make our lives easier....they are out there to make money...and you making a claims takes money away...so of course they are going to do whatever they can not to pay out on a claim.

So let me recap this....I have life insurance which is very restrictive..and I truly wonder if I were to die tomorrow if my hubby would be able to get anything....but that would be a battle he would have to fight. The house insurance as it stands isn't worth the paper it is drawn up on because we have a wood burning fireplace and the loan insurance company is already giving me the run around. To me insurance is truly a scam in the greatest sense of the word and yet it is consider acceptable and prudent. But that has been falsely fed to us by the insurance companies.

I have fed into this insurance scam and allowed them to provide me with a false sense of security, that they will be there when you need them.

When I was looking for pictures to coincide with this post I came across this one cartoon...it was a picture of the insurance agent on the one side of the desk and two snowmen on the other the caption said "Are you prepared if one of you melts" That was just the icing on the cake.