WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRICE OF HOME INSURANCE IN 2015

Spring usually signals the start of the real estate high season. According to Time magazine, the best time to sell a house is in spring. After the long winter months, buyers with a tax refund cheque in the bank may be more motivated to pay full price (or close to it.) In Calgary, resale-housing prices are up despite the highest inventory levels the city has seen in many years.  In Airdrie, homes are still averaging $397,867, in Cochrane they’re at $445, 033 and in Fort McMurray the average home costs a staggering $707, 216. Despite being known for the price to buy a home, the drop in price of oil and a slight shift in the cost to purchase a home, have many wondering about home insurance.
Availability, affordability and sustainability are all areas of concern for insurance carriers in Canada. The last few years in Alberta have seen a huge increase in natural disasters costing millions in recovery. Now, in order for home insurance to be available and sustainable from a company perspective, insurance companies are raising premiums. This is directly related to the increasing costs of catastrophes across the country. They’ve also begun limiting coverages with regard to water, wind and hail to ensure that they remain sustainable in the marketplace.
Here are some examples of disasters influencing the markets:

• 2013 Alberta floods: $6 billion+ ($1.7 billion insured)
• 2012 Calgary hail, wind storms: $552 million
• 2011 Slave Lake fire: $700 million
• 2010 Calgary hail storm: $400 million
• 2005 Alberta floods: $400 million
• 1998 Que.-Ont.-N. B. ice storm: $5.4 billion
• 1997 Man. flood: $3.5 billion

If you’re like most Canadians, your insurance company probably raised your premiums and you’re shopping around for the best coverage, for the best price. Here are examples of what you can expect this year for insurance:
• Average increase 20% on homes with no claims
• Home with multiple claims increase in premiums up to 55% – 60%
Keep in mind that it’s not just one bad year that is affecting the change in premiums or coverage’s.
The changes in offerings for personal lines are similar to commercial insurance, in that wordings are being changed, deductibles are being raised, they’re limiting coverages and in some cases no coverage is being offered depending on where the home and/or risk is located regardless of mitigation that the insured’s have prepared. (Ex. Installing sump pumps and back water valves.)
A quick Google search can be misleading, so to make sure you’re getting the best coverage, for the best price, speak to your insurance broker and discuss your options.

OBAMACARE DELIVERS HEALTH INSURANCE TO LOW-INCOME WHITES

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has reduced racial disparities in health insurance coverage rates between whites and people of color. I and others have discussed the historic increase in health insurance coverage for Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans. These findings should not obscure the fact that Obamacare has also led to a historic increase in health insurance coverage for whites and, in particular, for low-income whites.

The decline in the non-Hispanic white uninsured rate under Obamacare from 2013 to 2014 was significantly greater than in the immediately preceding years. Based on American Community Survey data, figure A shows that, in the wake of the Great Recession, from 2008 to 2010, the white uninsured rate rose. As the economy recovered, the uninsured rate fell. The average annual rate of decline from 2010 to 2013 was 0.3 percentage points. After Obamacare, from 2013 to 2014, however, the rate of decline was 2.4 percentage points--eight times the prior rate of decline. Thanks to Obamacare, over 3 million more whites had health insurance than would have otherwise.


An important factor in this growth of health insurance coverage for whites was the expansion of Medicaid. States that expanded Medicaid saw a decline in the white uninsured rate of 3 percentage points, but states that did not expand Medicaid only had a decline of 2 percentage points.

The impact of the Medicaid expansion is easier to see when we look directly at the change in the white uninsured rates of low-income whites in expansion and non-expansion states. In expansion states, the uninsured rate of low-income whites dropped 7.7 percentage points. In non-expansion states, the reduction was only half as large, 3.8 percentage points (Figure B).







Significant reductions in the uninsured rate for low-income whites occurred even in non-expansion states because of what health policy analysts call the "welcome mat" effect. With the Affordable Care Act came more discussions about health insurance coverage--in newspapers, on TV and among people from all walks of life. Additionally, some uninsured individuals who were eligible for Medicaid may have had friends or family members who obtained health insurance through the health exchanges or through Medicaid in expansion states. All of this additional attention raised public awareness, creating a "welcome mat" that encouraged some people who were already eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid to sign up. Thus, Obamacare boosted Medicaid enrollment even in states that did not expand Medicaid. But, as Figure B illustrates, the increase would have been larger had the states expanded Medicaid.

Recently, Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana expanded Medicaid in his state. This action made 300,000 more Louisianians eligible for Medicaid. It is a positive move for Louisianians of all races.

This post first appeared on GlobalPolicy.TV. Algernon Austin is the author of America Is Not Post-Racial: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Racism, and the 44th President which is the only book to analyze the 25 million Obama Haters in America.

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I’M RENTING OUT A ROOM THIS SUMMER, HOW DOES IT AFFECT MY INSURANCE?

Summer brings a few big attractions to Alberta: the Jazz Festival, the Calgary Stampede, Westerner Days and more. Folks travelling in for these events can find accommodations costly and hard to find. In previous years, we’ve seen a surge in people opening up extra rooms in their homes for short-term renters, or even renting out their entire apartment or house for the duration of major events. For the host, this puts a little extra money in their pocket; for travelers, it provides a place to rest their heads after a busy day of exploring our cities. However, there are some things you’ll want to consider before temporarily renting out rooms this summer.
Some property insurance companies will permit a one-off rental during a big event (e.g.: Olympics in Vancouver.) However, you won’t know if this applies to you until you call your broker to discuss. When you speak to your broker about your intentions, they can check if your insurance company has formally approved rentals of this nature; if not, your broker can request approval for your own specific plans, allowing the insurance company to amend your policy and charge a premium for the increased risk of tenant occupancy.
If your insurance company hasn’t broadly granted this sort of permission, your policy probably excludes loss or damage caused by tenants and/or occurring while they’re occupying the premises – leaving you unexpectedly at risk of financial consequences if claims for damage by your tenants are denied.
Secondly, providing your home freely to others on a short-term rental basis (including services like Airbnb) can be grounds for insurers to void your policy, unless you disclosed that exposure in your application and were approved by the insurance company. Very few insurance companies will allow rentals of this nature, so anyone doing this without checking first is facing pretty serious coverage implications.
Our best advice? Call your broker before you offer rentals of any nature. Renting out may make you some money, but excluded claims due to undeclared rental use could end up costing you significantly more.

BY KEHED AMSTRONG FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2016 INSUREBLOG

Interesting point - Blog Insurance

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BY KEHED AMSTRONG THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 INSUREBLOG

Waste, Fraud and Abuse CMS Style - Blog Insurance

Politicians love to talk about how they will eliminate waste, fraud and abuse if you will only elect them to office. If you are one of those who believe the folks in DC have their own WFA Task Force you

would be mistaken.

When it comes to Medicare, John Minnino, Esq. has come up with a way to beat the CMS cops at their own game.

By using statistical analysis, Mr. Minnino has identified 5 "red flags" that indicate a strong possibility of Medicare fraud.

In 2014 prosecutions initiated by the government led to a mere 31 settlements yielding $88 million in fines. 

In 2014 there were 469 of these (whistle blower) health care fraud settlements—many involving huge pharmaceutical corporations and hospital networks—resulting in $2.2 billion in fines.- Wired

Makes you wonder what the CMS cops are really doing to eliminate fraud.

Maybe a better use of taxpayer dollars is to fire the folks at CMS responsible for policing fraud and let private citizens acting as bounty hunters do the job.

Whistle blowers typically receive 15 - 30% of the settlement as their cut.


#MedicareFraud  #WasteFraudAbuse

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BY KEHED AMSTRONG WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2016 INSUREBLOG

Wednesday Afternoon Linkage - Blog Insurance

■ Courtesy of FoIB Jeff M, we learn that North Carolina's Blue Cross/Shield is continuing to take on water as its customer information interface melts down:

"Moncol learned all of the information several weeks ago when she went online to check her family's health savings account and found data on the McAllister family instead. After a few more clicks, she found she could access the investment accounts tied to the HSA."

Ooops. In fact, she could have actually changed pretty much all of that other family's info, or stolen their identity were she "that kind of person" (which, thankfully, she's not). But talk about a security hole big enough to drive a Mack truck through. Looks like the Tar Heel State's Blues could give the security-flawed 404Care.gov site a run for its money. 

■ As we've long noted, the above-mentioned 404care.gov site is rife with security issues, and as FoIB Holly R alerts us:

"During the two years before the disastrous opening of HealthCare.gov, federal officials in charge of creating the online insurance marketplace received 18 written warnings that the mammoth project was mismanaged and off course but never considered postponing its launch"

Well of course not, silly: why would massive security flaws hold us up? 

■ Another long-term topic has been faith-based (primarily Christian) "sharing ministries," a sort of religious crowd-funding arrangement for health care financing. Co-blogger Bob V sent us this latest news:

"The use of so-called “health sharing ministries” has soared in the wake of President Barack Obama’s health care reforms ... membership has more than doubled, from about 200,000 to about 530,000"

At over half a million participants, this is definitely a force with which to be reckoned. The usual caveats apply, of course: "the plans offer members no guarantee their medical bills will be shared, and ministries aren’t obligated to include a range of care that insurance companies are."

Still, by saving thousands of dollars in potential fines, and tens of thousands in deductibles and co-insurance, it sure seems that these folks have found something that works for them. and the fact that their ranks have swelled so fast and so far is pretty good proof of its appeal and effectiveness.

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BY KEHED AMSTRONG THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016 INSUREBLOG

Health Wonk Review: One step forward edition - Blog Insurance

Just when I think that the HWR can't possibly get any better, along comes good friend Louise Norris to prove me wrong. In fact, it may take me a while to read through all the great posts, from BHP's to pregnancy-as-SEP, digital health to those pesky 1040's, just terrific content.

Thanks, Louise!

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