The Earth Is Dying

The Earth Is Dying

Today, the human race is rushing headlong toward extinction. The problem is not for the generations to come. The dying has begun. Implacable rain chokes our cities. Farmlands are becoming lakes while megatons of water fall from the sky. Deserts are disappearing and rain forests are rapidly invading villages and towns. Global temperatures are rising toward the greenhouse level.

Worst of all, the oceans – the great embracing mother seas that are the foundation of all life on our planet – the oceans are being transformed in a large basin of distilled water, they are losing their salt, and all marine life will dye in a few short months.

We do not have a century to prepare ourselves to defend the environment. We do not have even years. The oceans are already beginning to die and after they are dead, we will dye as well. The humans are in a race against their own extinction.

(From The Rain, the famous SF novel by Elena and George B.)

The Earth is dying. Illustration: © Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Picking Up An Extra Rider

Picking Up An Extra Rider

Standard policies often don’t cover the things you value the most

A rider is an extra piece of insurance that covers special property in special circumstances. For example, if you read the fine print of your policy, you may discover that jewelry is covered up to a specified amount against certain named perils. But what if your necklace is stolen and theft isn’t one of the named perils? You’re out of luck – unless you have a rider. Some circumstances in which you might consider adding a rider to your policy:

You own jewelry: Many basic insurance policies exclude theft from named perils when it comes to jewelry and limit coverage to a maximum payout of $1,500.

A jewelry rider – also known as a personal articles policy generally costs about $1.20 per $100 of coverage. The policy should itemize each piece of jewelry insured, including its apprised value. If the piece is lost or stolen, you and your insurance company have already agreed on its worth. The rider will cover replacement of the insured items wherever or however they’re lost.

Extra Rider Insurance. Photo by Elena

You own silverware: Silverware generally is covered for everything but theft and usually limited to $2,500 worth of coverage. The cost of a rider is usually less than $1 per $100 of coverage.

You own oriental rugs: Standard homeowner policies limit the reimbursement for damae to oriental rugs to a determined price for one each and for the total. You can buy an oriental rug rider for about the same price as a silverware rider.

You own art or antiques: Basic policies usually limit contents coverage to 50 percent to 75 percent of the face value of your homeowner’s policy. That may not be enough if you have a lot of expensive antiques. Fine arts riders come surprisingly cheap, costing about 25 cents per $100 of coverage.

You own computer gear: Your homeowner’s policy may not cover the full cost of your tech stuff – particularly if you have a home office. Rates vary, but it should cost about $50 to $100 a year to increase coverage to $10,000 from the standard $2,500 coverage for office equipment and furniture. 

The Right Term Policy for You

The Right Term Policy for You

You can renew every year or you can lock in for two decades

When in doubt about which life insurance policy is best for you, opt for a no-frills term life policy that covers you for the life of the policy and pays only upon death. It gives you most coverage at the cheapest price for short-term needs, and can protect you anywhere from 1 to 20 years. You can take out a term policy to span the years when you’re worried about your home mortgage, college costs, car payments, or other pressing monthly commitments. When that’s behind you, you can downsize to a policy with lower premiums and benefits to complement Social Security and pension payments.

What your options are

If you’re not sure what your insurance needs will be a few years from now, annual renewable term lets you reconsider your coverage each year. Term policies are renewable each year, or can be locked in for 5, 10, or even 20 years. The catch is, your premium rate will rise each year as you get older.

The initial rate may be low, but it can more than double by the tenth year.

You also can opt for a product called guaranteed level-premium term., which locks in a flat premium for up to 20 years. The benefit of a long-term policy commitment is that your premiums stay flat for at least five years and you don’t face a medical exam until the term of the entire policy expires.

The right time to get insurance. Photo by Elena

There are other term options, as well. Term insurance offers protection up until you are 65. At the end of the term, the coverage stops, but it can be picked up for another term if you have a renewable policy. Renewable policies are easy to extend, but your premiums will be higher because you are older. Or you might choose convertible term life, which allows you to trade in your old term policy for a whole life policy – which includes a savings component and a death benefit – without a medical examination. Whole life policies command higher premiums, but those premiums won’t ever change.

What the experts say

In the short run, annual renewable term is cheaper, but level-premium term, usually wins out over five years or longer. A 40-year-old man who needs $200,000 of coverage, for example, can purchase an annual renewable term policy from USAA Life with a first-year premium of only $282 per year. By year 15, the annual premium would reach $860. The projected cost over 15 years: $8,102. (Of course, the actual cost might be higher, since rates could rise.) A 15-year term policy from First Colony Life Insurance Co., a major seller of level-premium term, has a guaranteed premium of $368, annually for a total of $5,520 over 15 years. That’s savings of $2,582.

A warning: New insurance regulations are in the works that, if enacted, might cause insurers to guarantee rates only for the first five years.

Unbearable Rates

These rates may not be the lowest you can get for a term life policy, but they represent a good value. The rates are first year premiums for a $100,000 annual renewable term insurance policy from USAA Life, which sells life insurance products by phone. A preferred risk usually is a healthy nonsmoker.

Life Insurance

Life Insurance

Life insurance refers to a contract between an insurance company and an insured, according to which upon the death of the insured, the insurance company will pay a benefit to a designated beneficiary. People usually take life insurance to leave their loved ones with the funds necessary to cover the costs of burial, or for financial support after the passing away of a major family breadwinner. The contract usually involves a premium paid on a regular basis by the insured. Some of the largest insurance companies in Canada include Manulife Financial, Standard Life, Sun Life Financial and Industrial Alliance. Large insurance companies often manage assets close to billions of dollars on a yearly basis.

Further, insurance policies vary from one another and may include disability insurance or terminal illness insurance. Also, there exist insurance contracts specifying an annuity. The amount of the insured benefit, as well as the premiums involve fairly complicated calculations taking into account the age of the insured, his or her general health condition, amount of personal assets, also known as personal net worth, in addition to income. Also, insurance policies may be individual or involve group benefits. Usually, life insurance policies have exceptions, such as suicide of the insured which does not warrant the payment of the benefit.

Our lives are not eternal. Photo by Elena

As a general rule, a course on financial markets will involve some discussion of insurance, since insurance falls under the umbrella term of financial services. Additionally, some life insurance contracts, such as whole life, universal life or variable life may also be seen as investments. Interestingly enough, insurance has a long history, with its origins dating as far back as Ancient Rome, Babylon and 2000 BC China. Initially, insurance emerged as a protection to traders. However, modern life insurance dates back to the 18th century. According to historical records, the first insurance company to offer life insurance was the Amicable Society for the Perpetual Assurance Office.

Your life insurance needs will vary over the course of your life, peaking as you cope with hefty mortgage payments and big tuition bills for kids, and falling after you’re retired.

How much you need: Whatever policy you buy, the most important thing is tat you end up with enough coverage.

The amount of life insurance you need roughly correlates with your family’s annual living expenses for the number of years you’ll need the insurance. Add together all of your family’s expenses for the years you’ll need insurance. You should include future college costs, mortgage payments, costs to settle your estate, and an emergency fund (typically, three months salary). Then subtract all family income other than your salary. Be sure to include Social Security and pension payments as well as any income you may receive from your investments. Adjust both your future expenses and income to take account of inflation. The result of this calculation in how much life insurance you need. Some experts suggest an even simpler formula: multiply your annual take-home pay by five.

What your options are: Term insurance will pay your survivors a death benefit if you die whir the contract is in force. It is often called “ pure” insurance because it offers a death benefit without a savings component. A life insurance policy can be locked in for 1 to many years. It is often the best – and cheapest – bet for families who want to provide for the future in the event of the loss of a breadwinner and who want to target they years when their insurance needs will be greatest.

There are two basic types of life insurance policies: term insurance and whole life insurance. All other types of policies are variations of these two types (The American Council of Life Insurance, Washington, DC). Photo : Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Insurance: How to buy what you really need

If you read nothing else before you buy insurance, read this text!

Buying insurance is right up there with going to the dentist on most folk’s list of things they hate to do. And worse, unlike going to the dentist, buying insurance requires some know-how. Studies by the non-profit National Insurance Consumer Organisation show that more than 9 out of 10 Americans purchase and carry the wrong types and amounts of insurance coverage.

The insurance industry doesn’t make it any easier. Sorting through all the policies offered requires the patience of crossword puzzle addict and the mathematical skills of an astrophysist.

Some simple guidelines can help, though. Find a strong, healthy company that tailors policies to the coverage you need, and then focus on getting the best value for your dollar. Here’s how to figure out what kind and just how much coverage you really need for the most common varieties of insurance.

Health Insurance

Health Insurance

You’re probably covered by group health insurance by your employer, but if you’re not, you can buy individual coverage that will meet your needs – at a higher cost.

How much you need: At a minimum, you should buy a catastrophic policy that protects you from serious and financially disastrous losses that can result from all illness or injury. You need to factor in how much you must absorb in deductibles and co-payments.

What your options are: Even if you buy a comprehensive policy that covers most medical, hospital, surgical, and pharmaceutical bills, it won’t cover everything. You may need additional single-purpose coverage. You may want a Medicare supplement policy to fill in the gaps in your Medicare coverage if you are over 65. Private insurance offer “MediSup” specifically to cover Medicare co-payments and deductibles. Some also cover outpatient prescription drugs. Hospital indemnity insurance pays you can benefits for each day you are hospitalized, up to a designated number of days. The money can be used to meet out-of pocket medical co-payments or any other need. Specified disease policies – usually for cancer – are not available in every state. Even so, benefits are limited.

Depending on your age and circumstances, a long-term care policy might be a good idea. This type of policy covers the cost of custodial care either in a nursing home or in your own home. The Health Insurance Association of America estimates that nursing home care costs dozens of thousands of dollars per year, depending on where you live. Having someone in your home three days a week to care for you can cost much. If those kinds of expenses make you shudder, a long-term care policy can offer some relief. But remember this: If you are 65, there’s slightly more than a 60 percent chance you’ll never collect anything from a long-term care policy.

Health Insurance. Illustration: Elena

What to watch out for: You can reduce your premiums by opting for a large deductible – you will pay the entire amount due up to a certain limit. You may be able to save more by enrolling in a managed care plan, such as a health maintenance organization (HMO).

If you have a problem getting insurance because of a pre-existing condition, find out if your state is one of the growing number that have risk Pools, which provide insurance for people who can’t get it elsewhere.

Keep in mind that you can usually earn substantial premium discounts from insurers simply by doing things such as supplying a copy of your tax return at application time or pre-paying a few years’ premium up first.

How we die: More than half the death in the United States stem from heart disease or cancer. Causes of death in the US:

• Heart disease – around 35%
• Cancer – around 20%
• Cerebrovascular disease – around 7%
• Influenza and Pneumonia – 3%
• Diabetes – 2%
• Diseases of arteries, arteriole – 2%
• Chronic liver disease/cirrhosis
• Total natural causes – around 93%.
• Motor vehicle accidents – around 2%
• Suicide – around 1%
• Homicide – around 1%
• Other accidents – around 3%.
• Total external causes – around 7%.