| Insurance Law Fuels Confusion
Bill Bartram is one of more than 38,000 residents in Florida who are receiving notices from Nationwide Insurance that their homeowners policies will not be renewed. Like others, Bartram, a retired cop from Washington, D.C., who has lived in his Bradenton home for the past 28 years, thought recently passed legislation protected him from receiving such a notice. He was wrong. Actually, the law states that once insurance companies submit rate-reduction filings with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation - as Nationwide and others have done - then those companies can deliver nonrenewal notices to customers. Still, Bartram thinks someone's not keeping his word. "From what (Gov. Charlie) Crist's office said, if they (companies) sell insurance in Florida, they're going to have to continue to offer coverage," says Bartram, who has been with Nationwide for 25 years and also has automobile and life insurance with the company.
Lump-sum payout offers best retirement option
Dear Bruce: I am a happily married 59-year-old state employee who will retire at the age of 62. I have a defined-benefit retirement plan that will pay me about $5,400 a month for life, or I can take a partial lump-sum option of $380,000 and $2,700 a month for life. My wife took an early retirement and receives $1,400 per month for life. We will be responsible to pay for our medical insurance once I retire. Our house, valued at $300,000, is paid for, and we have $100,000 in savings, plus another $100,000 in deferred compensation. We have no debt. Finally, my parents and my wifes parents lived healthy lives into their mid-80s to early 90s. Should I take the $5,400 a month for life, or the $380,000 and $2,700 for life? If I do take the lump sum, what is the best way to protect myself from a major tax hit? Mike, via e-mail Dear Mike: Let me get this straight: If you take the $5,400 for life, the day you die its gone.
The budget squeeze play
The annual budget process has begun in earnest for local governments in the Tampa Bay area. Months earlier than usual, local officials are arguing about spending, fretting about tax rates and scheduling public budget workshops. The lingering sting from last year’s tax protests is part of the reason, but officials also are watching with dread the Legislature’s talk of local government spending caps and mandatory local property tax rate rollbacks to 2002 or 2003 levels. Nothing has been decided in Tallahassee, but many local governments, fearing big cuts to their revenue streams, already are gearing up for a slowdown in the money train. These self-analyses are generally healthy exercises, and a little more self-awareness a year or two ago about the consequences of spending sprees fueled by soaring property values could have calmed some of the demands for relief now.
Firms promote workforce health
But the request came from her employer, the Judson Center in Royal Oak, Mich., where she has worked nine years. The nonprofit social services agency is one of 200 companies in the state to sign up for Healthy Blue Living. The Blue Care Network program, started in October, offers enhanced insurance benefits, such as lower co-pays for medical care, to employees and their spouses who commit to healthy lifestyle goals. For now, the program centers on six high-impact health modifications that can contribute to lower health costs: Smoking cessation or at least reduction; alcohol moderation; weight reduction; and diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol management. Lifestyle modification products like these are one of the newest trends in the health insurance industry.
Houston survey shows crime is biggest worry
For the second consecutive year, crime eclipsed traffic and the economy as the perceived greatest problem in the Houston area, the 2007 Houston Area Survey shows. The survey, conducted by Rice University sociology professor Stephen Klineberg, also shows that residents increasingly see immigrants as a threat to American culture, and a strong majority supports further restricting the flow of immigrants into the country. The 2007 Houston Area Survey of 656 randomly chosen Harris County residents was conducted Feb. 13 through Feb. 27 by the University of Houston Center for Public Policy. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points In the survey's only open-ended question, 38 percent this year ranked crime as the most serious problem, up from 31 percent in 2006.
E-mail trumps mail for California auto club
Auto club California State Automobile Association, the AAA chapter that represents Utah, Nevada and Northern California, found that e-mail beats mail when it comes to communicating with its members. To promote its new Magellan GPS system the first retail product available on its Web site at www.csaa.com CSAA sent out 2,700 e-mails and 40,000 mail pieces. The e-mail directed members to the e-commerce site and the direct mail led recipients to a call center. After both mailings, 69 orders were placed through e-mail and 48 sales came through direct mail. The reason why it was successful is that these 2,700 members came to our site and signed up to hear specific information about this product, said Bao Pham, senior e-mail marketing manager at the CSAA, San Francisco.
Still River Announces RetirementWORKS ® for YOU: Financial ...
BUSINESS WIRE)--Still River today announced the release of a new retirement planning tool for consumers who are approaching retirement or who are already retired. The financial planning needs of seniors are much more complex than others, and the consequences of inadequate planning are much more serious. Until now, no software, available commercially or provided by financial companies, comes close to meeting the real needs of people facing retirement. RetirementWORKS® for YOU is a holistic system that provides advice based on comprehensive, detailed and integrated analysis. Instead of asking just a few questions, it asks for a wide range of financial and non-financial information, which it then uses to identify the specific concerns that apply to your individual household. Then it recommends what action you should take and evaluates the long-term adequacy of your financial position.
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