7.31.19 Back to school sales; Medical bill shock; Free fitness classes

7.31.19 Back to school sales; Medical bill shock; Free fitness classes

Yet another medical bill shock. In mid and large size communities hospital systems are expanding to gain market control, with generally 3 such systems dominating a metro.  In addition to 'roll-ups' - the buying out of smaller independent hospitals, large hospital systems buy up individual doctor practices. If the doctors choose not to sell-out, they get no referrals. When your doctor's practice is purchased by a hospital, know that is a landmine for your wallet.

Clark is not an athlete but is a self-motivated fitness nut. In order to sustain an exercise program, many find they do much better as part of organized group activities. That's a hot trend right now. Many traditional fitness centers are failing (so don't pay big money upfront for a gym membership). Experiential facilities offering group classes are the rage now. This is labor-intensive for a facility and therefore expensive for consumers. If you know you need group motivation, consider your local YMCA as an affordable alternative, where classes are offered for less. Also, all over the country, there are free exercise group activities to be found. Search a site like






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Back to school sales have begun in much of the country. Overwhelmingly, schools have migrated to Chromebooks as the computer of choice. Chromebooks are easier to manage and maintain and are less vulnerable to viruses. No frills Chromebooks are under $100. If your child is going to a Chromebook based school, your cost will for a really capable one will be around $150. If your child is going to a Windows school - a good Windows laptop will cost around $199.Yet another medical bill shock. In mid and large size communities hospital systems are expanding to gain market control, with generally 3 such systems dominating a metro. In addition to 'roll-ups' - the buying out of smaller independent hospitals, large hospital systems buy up individual doctor practices. If the doctors choose not to sell-out, they get no referrals. When your doctor's practice is purchased by a hospital, know that is a landmine for your wallet.Clark is not an athlete but is a self-motivated fitness nut. In order to sustain an exercise program, many find they do much better as part of organized group activities. That's a hot trend right now. Many traditional fitness centers are failing (so don't pay big money upfront for a gym membership). Experiential facilities offering group classes are the rage now. This is labor-intensive for a facility and therefore expensive for consumers. If you know you need group motivation, consider your local YMCA as an affordable alternative, where classes are offered for less. Also, all over the country, there are free exercise group activities to be found. Search a site like MeetUp.com to locate a free local meetup group.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Read more

6 things to know about Haven Life

Haven Life is one of a new breed of life insurance players removing the friction from the life insurance shopping process. With Haven, you do everything online — from getting a quote to e-signing your documents.

Here’s what you need to know about Haven Life

Buying life insurance is something so many of us know we need to do, but we just don’t get around to it. That’s partly because the traditional life insurance thing is cumbersome.

You used to have to sit down with an agent — either in your home or on the phone — and answer questions about your general health. Then you had to agree to submit to a medical exam.

Once the exam was scheduled, you had to get ready to be poked and prodded by needles. Then, you had to wait for weeks for the lab results to come back and the policy to be written.

But Haven Life has re-imagined the whole idea of buying life insurance. Here’s what you need to know before you get a quote:

Table of contents

1. Getting a quote online
2. Coverage limits
3. Term life calculator
4. No medical exam policies
5. A.M. Best rating
6. Haven Life Plus

1. You can get a quote online and don’t ever have to talk to an agent

Haven Life has completely automated the process for buying life insurance. There’s no old-school agent you have to deal with at any step of the process. From getting a quote to finalizing your coverage, it’s all done online from any smartphone or computer.

Here are a few more ways Haven has simplified the shopping process and made it more customer-friendly:

• Paperless processing
• All policies sold commission-free
• Only sells term life insurance — no whole life
• Level premiums mean you pay the same amount each month and it never goes up

If you have any questions during the application process, you can stop at any time and get help in several ways: via chat, phone (1-855-744-2836) or email ([email protected]).

2. You can get up to $3 million in coverage

If you’re a U.S. citizen under age 60, you can get up to $3,000,000 in term life insurance coverage.

However, if you’re either over 60 but younger than 64 or an eligible non-U.S. citizen, you can qualify for up to $1,000,000. Similar coverage restrictions apply if you get a no medical exam term policy — but more details on that in a moment.

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3. Haven Life’s term life calculator helps determine coverage needs

Figuring out how much life insurance you need to purchase is something that stumps a lot of people shopping for a policy.

As a general rule of thumb, money expert Clark Howard recommends buying an amount equal to 10 times your salary, before taxes.

But for an answer to the question of how much to buy that’s tailored specifically to your situation, Haven offers a term life insurance needs calculator.

When you use the calculator, you’ll be asked to input the following info:

• Gender
• Date of birth
• State of residence
• Nicotine use
• Health condition
• Annual income
• Family size
• Total amount of debt

The calculator will then kick back a recommended coverage amount for a certain term of years, along with an estimated monthly premium rate.

4. Haven Life offers no medical exam term policies

A big part of the appeal of Haven is that you don’t have to undergo a medical exam to get a term life policy.

Select qualified applicants up to age 59 can finalize coverage online without the need to have a physical exam or a blood test like you would with other insurers.

Certain candidates, however, may still need to pass medical underwriting, depending on a variety of factors.

While you can purchase up to $3 million in coverage if you medically underwrite, Haven caps its no medical exam term life policies at $1 million of coverage.

5. Haven Life is underwritten by MassMutual, an A++ rated company

When it comes to selecting a life insurance company, strength and financial stability are very important. You want to be sure the company you’re buying a policy from will be around for a long time to come.

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That’s because if you die while the policy is in force, you have to know that the insurance company will be financially solvent and around to pay on your claim.

Of course, nobody can see the future — but we have the next best thing in A.M. Best, a credit rating company that focuses on the insurance industry. Using a proprietary system, A.M. Best grades insurance companies on a scale from A++ to F.

Haven Life policies are underwritten by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), a company that’s been around for 160 years and gets an A++ from A.M. Best. With that kind of history and financial strength, you can rest assured that Haven Life and MassMutual will be around to pay on claims should you die prematurely.

Remember, getting a grade of A++ is as much assurance that a company will stand the test of time as you can possibly get.

6. Haven Life Plus offers free add-on services on your policy

When you get a term life policy from Haven, you get so much more than just insurance to provide for your beneficiaries if you die. You also get a suite of free additional offerings called Haven Life Plus.

Haven Life Plus is an insurance rider that sits on top of your existing policy. It offers a broad range of freebie perks valued at more than $300. These perks touch on estate planning, on-demand health services and emergency planning, among other things:

• Will creation from Trust & Will ($129 value)*
• On-demand fitness app Aaptiv ($99 value)
• Timeshifter app that helps fight jet lag ($24.99 value)
• Free estate planning/secure online vault from LifeSite ($80 value)
• 15% discount on any single CVS MinuteClinic service

* Offer void in North Carolina

The Haven Life Plus rider is not available in Florida, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington.

Final thought

Having a life insurance policy in place is important if you have a family or spouse that depends on your paycheck. If you die prematurely, they’ll face a tremendous struggle to replace your income. That’s why life insurance offers such great peace of mind.

But times are changing and the modern life insurance customer wants a simplified shopping process. Haven Life delivers that hands down. And, Haven bolsters its offerings with a nice suite of freebies and perks.

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Still not sure you need a policy? Read our piece titled “What is term life insurance and should I buy it?” for the final word.

Then when you’re ready to get shopping, be sure to check out our guides on how to buy term life insurance and the best life insurance companies before you make up your mind.

More stories you might enjoy from Clark.com:

What is long-term care insurance and do you need it?

Long-term care insurance is an important part of financial planning that’s too often overlooked as you’re getting ready for the future.

Part of that is because there’s confusion about what long-term care insurance does. And then there’s also the question of cost, which has been unmanageable for some.

In this article, we’ll take a look at what long-term care insurance is and suggest some ways to make it more affordable.

Understanding long-term care insurance

When you’re planning for retirement, it’s important to save money to replace your income when you no longer work. But what about health care? If you have health care retiree benefits through work, that’s one option.

For those who don’t, there’s Medicare. And for those below a certain income level, there’s Medicaid.

But as you age, what happens when you need help with the everyday activities that you used to be able to accomplish on your own?

“People think the government is going to pay. But the government requires that you completely impoverish yourself before they’ll pay through the Medicaid program,” money expert Clark Howard notes. “You can have no assets and they ultimately take your family home. Ultimately, they take everything if you depend on the government.”

So it’s your choice: Take your chance that you’ll be in the small minority of seniors who never needs long-term medical care in old age. Or buy a long-term care insurance (LTC) policy.

What is long-term care insurance? — Table of contents

What is LTC insurance?

Long-term care insurance is an insurance policy set up to pay for long-term medical care services. These services can include personal and custodial care in a number of living arrangements and settings.

An LTC policy will pay a daily amount for services to assist policyholders with the costs of finding the help they need to accomplish routine activities they can no longer do on their own.

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What does it cover?

LTC policies typically pay for skilled nursing care to assist policyholders with daily activities including:

• Bathing
• Dressing
• Eating

The care can be delivered in a variety of settings:

• Nursing homes
• Assisted living facilities
• Skilled care in your home

When is the best time to buy LTC insurance?

Because LTC insurance can be costly, you typically want to buy it in your late 50s to early 60s. By then, your children should be grown, which frees up some of your cash flow in your life. Yet you’re also young enough that you can pass medical underwriting for a policy.

So late 50s to early 60s is really the sweet spot for buying LTC insurance.

If you’re tempted to lock in a lower rate by buying a policy earlier, Clark says don’t be. Since too many companies made promises of coverage that were too generous in the past, the market for LTC insurance is going through some pain at this time.

“Right now, there’s no advantage to buying LTC insurance early because the market’s pretty messed up right now,” the money expert notes. “Give it time to get more stable.”

How do you buy LTC coverage?

Shopping for LTC insurance may be simplified by contacting an independent agent who can shop quotes from a variety of companies for you. The following companies are all good starting points:

Understanding hybrid policies

As mentioned before, one of the big problems with LTC insurance is the cost. Premiums can often be several thousand dollars a year and they often go up by leaps and bounds. But a new version of LTC coverage called a hybrid policy may offer a solution.

“The problem with long-term care policies is that the policy premiums are not guaranteed. With a hybrid policy, you buy a whole life insurance with a rider that lets you convert the death benefit into payment while you’re living to afford long-term care,” Clark says. “The advantage is that you never have to worry about premium escalation. You have preordained the total benefit of your policy.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, the target market for these hybrid policies tends to be wealthier families who don’t want the financial legacy they plan to leave their heirs eaten up by rising medical costs.

Clark’s LTC insurance shopping tips

1. Don’t buy LTC insurance if you are very wealthy or very poor. Very wealthy means having investable assets of $3 million to $4 million — not including your home. And very poor would mean qualifying for Medicaid.

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2. Make sure the benefit adjusts over time based on inflation. Medical inflation is higher than the normal inflation rate. You should look for an inflation level somewhere as much as 3% a year — because what seems like a good benefit today will look puny in 15 or 20 years.

3. Look for a 5-year benefit with a 6-month waiting period upfront.

4. Adult kids of aging parents may want to consider paying the premiums on their parents’ policy themselves. Why? To protect their financial interest in any possible inheritance and to protect their parents against medical expenses they may face some day.

5. Finally, only consider insurance companies that have been rated A++ or A+ (by A.M. Best), which means they are of the highest financial strength. It also means that they likely won’t jack up the rates after a few years, which has been an industry-wide problem.

Here are a few options to get you started:

LTC insurance provider Financial strength and stability rating Northwestern Mutual Life A++ New York Life A++ Mass Mutual A++ Mutual of Omaha Insurance A+

Source: A.M. Best

Final thought

A lot of people shy away from buying long-term care insurance simply because they don’t understand it. But buying this policy is a key part of financial planning for your later years.

Remember, you don’t want to have to depend on the government to pay for your long-term care — unless you’re fine with impoverishing yourself and leaving nothing behind for your heirs!

More insurance stories on Clark.com