Can I Buy Health Insurance if I am not a U.S. Citizen?

Health insurance carriers will offer coverage to those who are not U.S. citizens, but most of them require residency in the U.S. for a certain period of time.  The most common requirement is 6 months of living in the U.S.  

Carriers will often require proof such as rent or mortgage payments, utility payments or employment.   A few carriers require one year of residency in the U.S and one carrier (Humana) requires two years.  Suprisingly, there is only one carrier that does not require a minimum period of residency. 

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Vision Insurance: The Importance of Children’s Eye Exams

Most parents understand the importance of dental health and hygiene for children, but they often neglect the importance of vision health.  

A recent News Flash from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia highlighted this overlooked aspect of children’s health.  The following excerpt demonstrates the importance of vision exams:

“According to the Vision in Preschoolers Study, the National Institutes of Health, the National Eye Institute and NEI Clinical Studies, vision problems are the fourth most common disability in the United States,

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Health Care Reform — How will it affect you?

Well, it finally passed.  Whether or not you are pleased with the results, it is time to pay close attention to how to adapt to the changes that will take place.

Most of the major changes will not be implemented until 2014, however, there are some significant changes that take place this year.  If you are a small business owner, with fewer than 50 employees, then you should speak with your tax professional about how the new tax credits will affect you. 

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Return of Premium Term Life Insurance — Pros and Cons

I am often asked my opinion of Return of Premium life insurance — ROP for short.  Like most products on the market, ROP can make sense for some and not for others.  When ROP products were first offered several years ago, I heard Clark Howard offer his opinion on the product and I was a little suprised by what he had to say.  He said that it was a good move for those people who are very diligent about paying their premiums on time and plan to keep the policy for the full term period. 

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Experienced life and health insurance Agents in Georgia

There are lots of knowledgeable, experienced life and health agents in Georgia.  However, there are many, many more unexperienced agents in the marketplace.   I would venture to guess that the ratio is 1:10 at best.  With our current recession and high unemployment rate, there has been a huge influx of people entering the insurance industry.  There is an extremely low barrier of entry compared to other business start-ups. It’s almost too easy to get licensed to sell insurance.  In a sense,

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How to Apply for Life and Health Insurance In Georgia

There is not a single “right way” to apply for health or life insurance.  Although their are some general guidelines followed by most carriers, each carrier has it’s own set of unique underwriting guidelines.  This is why it is very important to apply for coverage with the assistance of a knowledgeable agent.  People who apply directly with a carrier or through an inexperienced agent are much more likely to get declined or receive an unfavorable underwriting decision. 

As an example,

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Insurance “Red Flags” — Buying Health Insurance Online

Recently, I helped a couple in their 60’s navigate through the maze of health insurance options.  They are currently on COBRA, but they are moving to Alabama shortly (from Atlanta).   After  their COBRA coverage expires, they will still have a couple of years before they are eligible for Medicare.  A couple of fairly serious pre-existing conditions will make it challenging to find adequate coverage in the individual market.  So, I helped them determine what options they would have for State-Guaranteed Coverage in case it would be needed.

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Term Life or Whole Life Insurance?

Two Categories of Life Insurance

Most people make the distinction between two major types of life insurance as Term and Whole Life, but the more accurate terms are: Term and Permanent life insurance. Those are the two broad categories of life insurance; whole life is just one type of permanent life insurance.  Sometimes “whole life” and “permanent life” are used interchangeably.  With the advent of several unique product designs in the past 10 or 15 years,

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Mortgage Protection Life Insurance in Georgia — Is it Worth Buying?

If you are a homeowner who recently closed on a loan or refinanced a mortgage, then it is likely that you have been inundated with offers for “Mortage Protection” or “Mortgage Life Insurance”.   The letters appear official — as if they are sent by your lender — but in 9 out of 10 cases, they are not.  Often times, your lender will partner with an insurance company and send out an offer for Mortgage Life Insurance, but these are far outnumbered by the others. 

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Instant Term Life Insurance Quotes — Is Quicker Always Better?

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When purchasing life insurance, it is important to determine what is important to you.  In today’s  fast-paced world, we place a high value on time management and efficiency.  If we have a choice of shopping online for a gift or visiting several brick and mortar stores, we quickly see the benefit of the Internet.  However, when shopping for life insurance, getting things done as quickly as possible isn’t always the best policy. 

One of the popular mega-sites offering life insurance received the following review from U.S.

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