In 2007 and 2008 my work made us have HSA accounts at a local credit union and they would deposit money at the beginning of the year – I no longer work there and have not used any of the money in the account. Would there be a penalty for withdrawing the money (to pay bills, not for health reasons)? I have about $2,900 in the account.
-Jane, Maine
A HSA, or a Health Savings Account, is a tax-advantaged savings account that’s used to fund your medical expenses. These plans are becoming more and more popular—in fact, according to a 2008 survey by America’s Health Insurance Plans, 6.1 million Americans used HSA-qualified plans.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, here’s a little background on how HSAs work. Health Savings Accounts are funded one of two ways: either by your employer or by you. If your plan is employer sponsored, your employer deposits money into your HSA periodically. If you’re funding the account, you’re responsible for making the deposits. When it comes to deposits, there are limits. In 2010, the maximum annual contribution for an individual policy will More…
My homeowner’s insurance is to be renewed in September. I am reviewing my State Farm policy (have had insurance home and auto with them some 30 years) and do not understand much about it at all. How do I buy homeowner’s insurance? How do I know the company is reliable? Any tips? Where can I go to check on various companies? What do I need to watch for?
-Leslie, California
Before you look into renewing your policy with the same company, take some time to reevaluate things. Have you made any additions to your home that would increase the amount of coverage you need? Do you have a floater (extra insurance for items in your home that aren’t covered by your standard policy) on your policy that’s irrelevant now?
You’ll also want to check and see if you’re eligible for any discounts with your current company before you decide to stay with your current provider or switch. Because you’ve had both your homeowners insurance and auto insurance with the same company for so many years I would say that you’re on track for a discount, if you’re not getting one already. Companies will often offer a discount for having both your auto and homeowners insurance with the same company. They’re also likely to knock a percentage off your premium for being loyal for a significant number of years. These discounts can be anywhere from 5-15%.
If you’ve put in a call to your provider and you don’t like the price you’d be paying if you renewed, do some shopping around. Sites like insure.com and insurance.com provide More…
This week’s question comes from Fran Merwitz in Boca Raton Florida:
Question: “My life insurance company just had its rating taken down a notch. What does this mean? Should I be worried?”
Answer: Like the rest of the financial world, life insurance ratings aren’t immune to the effects of the recession. According to the American Council of Life Insurers, these ratings are used to help potential and current policyholders see the insurer’s present-day ability to pay claims. Ratings also provide an assessment of the insurer’s vulnerability to possible economic downturns. If your insurance company’s rating has gone down a notch, it means that the financial circumstances of your provider have changed in such a way that increases the odds that your insurer may not be able to pay all it’s expected claims. However, a rating downgrade doesn’t necessarily mean that your life insurer will have this problem. “A one notch downgrade is not serious…there are a lot of companies who are in good shape that have faced minor downgrades,” says David Wentworth of the American Council of Life Insurers. In short-if your insurance company’s rating has gone down slightly, I wouldn’t worry, as long as they had at least a fairly secure rating before the downgrade.
But how do you know if your insurer’s rating is good, or in this case, at least fairly secure? There are four separate organizations that rate life insurance companies: A.M. Best, Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. According to the ACLI, the way that they rate insurers varies More…
This morning, I joined Dr. Nancy Snyderman – author of Medical Myths That Can Kill You – on Today to talk about the number one cause of bankruptcy in the country. If you watched the video above, you know it’s not unaffordable mortgages or even credit card debt.
It’s illness. And cancer patients are suffering. They’re having trouble paying for life-saving care – running up large debts, filing for personal bankruptcy and even delaying or forgoing potentially life-saving treatment. Even having private health insurance (that you purchased or receive through your employer) isn’t enough to save you.
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TODAY SHOW
As a follow up to my last post, here’s a video of my Today segment this morning on the same topic:
