Insurance Listed

Initially Insurance brokers were a very scarce breed of people who only wealth individuals or insurance companies  could afford to hire. These individuals and companies used to hire insurance brokers to manage their select and manage their insurance portfolios to get the most out of them. Today however essentially every single insurance company employs these insurance brokers on an insured clients behalf. In fact they employ masses of insurance brokers so that they are able to cater to the individual needs of every single insured customer.

What does all this translate into for the individual or business entity that receives insurance though, what does the insurance broker mean to them, and how does he/she add value to their insurance portfolio? From a overall perspective the insurance broker manages the portfolio’s of clients to take the load off of them as well as helps them understand certain procedures in everyday terms and acting as a communication catalyst to the insurance company.

In order for this general role which an insurance broker plays to actually make more sense and be better understood it actually has to be broken up into its various components. When a n individual initially seeks insurance for example, the broker plays a role. The brokers look at the needs of the individual and the nature of insurance which they are seeking, and according to that he/she can provide advice on which insurance policies would best suit the individual, the value for which the individual will have to be covered and what costs will be involved in obtaining that cover. The broker informs the potentially insured individual of the premiums they pay, the excess they may need to pay in the event of a claim and the extent to which the individual will be insured.

If an individual has taken out insurance they will usually remain in contact with that same broker exclusively, since the broker is specifically designated to that client to manage their portfolio. The insurance broker then plays the role of providing a client with any additional information should they need it, but mostly they will deal with insurance claim, therefore, communicating the clients claim to the business and ensuring that the clients is accurately compensated. It may be up to the broker to decide whether the client is financially compensated or should have their loss compensated with goods of equal quality to those lost or damaged. Depending on company policy, the broker may also have authority to investigate the validity of the claim by requesting the broken components if damage is the nature of the claim, or by getting the advice of an assessor.

Occasionally it may also be necessary for an insured client to update their portfolio and make changes to it. whether these changes are merely small personal changes such as a new address or phone number or big changes made to the portfolio, they too fall under the duties of an insurance broker. Some of the bigger changes that brokers need to make to the portfolios of clients are when the clients insured value increases or decreases. Insured individuals purchase new items for example and those items need to be specified on the insurance policies. All this is communicated to the broker. Very seldom it may even be preferable or necessary for a broker to move and insured party to a whole new policy with more appropriate coverage and terms.

Medical insurance coverage an issue for Las Vegas events

First, the good news: Surgeons at University Medical Center have successfully reattached the piece of skull that had been removed from bantamweight boxer Z “The Dream” Gorres, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a November fight at Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues.

Now the bad news: Last week’s intricate procedure at the publicly funded hospital, combined with more than two months of around-the-clock nursing care and painstaking rehabilitation work by a team of physical therapists, has driven the medical expenses of the financially strapped Gorres to nearly 0,000. It’s a bill that Southern Nevada taxpayers must largely pick up, because state law requires promoters to put up only ,000 worth of medical insurance for each fighter in the ring.
The consequences of the Filipino boxer’s brain injury have prompted elected officials and the Nevada Athletic Commission to work toward crafting a solution that keeps taxpayers off the hook for the medical care of professional boxers.

But Las Vegas is home to lots of different events, and some are very risky. Could Clark County taxpayers end up footing the bill when other athletes or entertainers are hurt when performing here?

“We probably have more big events than any other city in the country,” said Dr. Dale Carrison, head of the emergency department at UMC and its chief of staff. “As everyone knows, Las Vegas is a magnet for that sort of thing. And if someone does get badly hurt, UMC’s trauma center generally takes care of them.”

NASCAR, National Finals Rodeo, Cirque du Soleil, daredevil stunts by the likes of the late Evel Knievel, the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, National Hot Rod Association drag racing, championship boxing and mixed martial arts — these are just some of the major events held in Las Vegas.

A survey of medical insurance coverage held by individuals who engage in events or performances where there is risk of injury — the kind of events that thrill both live and TV audiences — has found that coverage can range from nothing to 100 percent.

Bill Rundle, a longtime promoter of Knievel, said last week that the motorcycle daredevil “who broke every bone in his body” generally couldn’t get medical insurance for his stunts because “they were too dangerous.”

“No one would write him a policy for something where there was a good chance he wouldn’t make it. It’s that way with most people who do those kind of things.”

Rundle also has promoted some stunts performed by Knievel’s son, Robbie, “and getting insurance was always a problem for him, too.”

Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade association for 1,300 companies, said it would not be uncommon for an insurance company to refuse to cover a daredevil, or to offer medical coverage at such a high premium that it would be difficult to afford.

Attempts to reach contemporary daredevil Robbie Maddison, whose successful motorcycle jump at the Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas wowed crowds on New Year’s Eve 2009, were unsuccessful. Maddison has suffered a number of serious injuries in stunts around the world.

Both Rundle and Zirkelbach said community leaders should be aware of the possible financial consequences should a daredevil be injured during a stunt in their community.

It was a 1967 stunt at Caesars Palace, Rundle said, that helped cement Evel Knievel’s reputation as a performer who would risk his life to entertain an audience. When Knievel attempted to clear the casino’s fountains on his bike, he took a nosedive that landed him in Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital — later named UMC — for several weeks with multiple pelvic fractures.

“That was early in his career, and he didn’t have money to pay his medical bill,” said Rundle, who talked on the phone from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona where he is being treated for cancer. “I think there were a lot of medical bills he walked away from until he was making good money. Then he had enough to pay them out of his pocket.”

In 1974, the city manager in Carson City said police would arrest Knievel if he reappeared in the state because he didn’t pay a hospital bill there that he incurred in 1968. Knievel ended up in a Reno hospital for 22 days after he unsuccessfully attempted to jump 16 automobiles on his motorcycle.

A collection agency representing Southern Nevada Memorial finally caught up with Knievel in the 1970s, the decade when he netted more than million for his failed Snake River Canyon jump.

The Review-Journal reported that Knievel had “rolled up” a bill of ,249.51 for his 1967 hospital stay in Las Vegas.

“The cost of medicine has gone up over the years,” UMC’s Carrison said.

EVOLUTION OF INSURANCE

Although daredevils have a difficult time getting insurance, NASCAR drivers don’t.

Jim Hunter, spokesman for the stock car motor racing giant that has a race scheduled in Las Vegas next month, said each driver and crew member now has a medical insurance policy of slightly more than million.

“Even that may not be enough if something really terrible happens,” Hunter said in a phone call Thursday from Daytona Beach, Fla.

In 60 years, Hunter said, medical coverage has grown from ,000 to its present ,000,050.

“As the sport grew, there was more at stake,” said the 70-year-old Hunter, who is currently undergoing treatment for lung cancer. “At first, guys were racing as a hobby. They weren’t making a living out of it.”

Hunter said the 2001 death of driver Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona Speedway energized safety efforts by NASCAR, including collision absorbing walls and new head and neck restraints for drivers.

“But no matter what we do, accidents can and will happen and our medical insurance reflects that,” he said.

Like NASCAR, medical insurance for participants in the National Finals Rodeo has dramatically increased over the years.

Jerry Ford, who has written coverage for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association for decades, notes that the present coverage of 0,000 is a huge jump from “where we started years ago.”

“When we first started in the ’70s, the maximum limit was ,000,” Ford said. “It wasn’t until the late ’90s that we got limits above ,000.”

Since that time, he said, there have been only 10 or 12 performers who “maxxed out” their medical coverage.

One rodeo performer who Ford is certain did that in Las Vegas was bull rider Tuff Hedeman in 1995. Participating in the Professional Bull Riders World Championship finals, Hedeman was bucked off by the bull Bodacious and suffered severe facial injuries.

“I was the first doctor there,” Carrison said. “It was awful. He ended up needing 11 plates in his face.”

Hedeman stayed only a few days in the hospital after his plastic surgery.

“There was never any question about his paying the bill,” Carrison said. “I’m sure I would have heard about it.”

Both Carrison and Ford said rodeo participants hold fundraising rodeos to pay off such bills.

Don Andrews, who was part of the Justin Sports Medical team at rodeos for years, said, “PRCA cowboys don’t walk away from bills. They get together and pay them off.”

Ford said he would not be surprised if bull riders suffer catastrophic brain injuries similar to a boxer’s. “Unfortunately, head injuries happen frequently.”

The most tragic bull riding incident in Las Vegas occurred in December 1994 when rider Brent Thurman was bucked off a bull. The huge animal, Red Wolf, stepped on the back of his neck.

Thurman suffered facial and cranial fractures and massive internal bleeding. He was treated at UMC. Like Gorres, the boxer at the hospital now, Thurman’s brain swelled. After spending six days in a coma, the 25-year-old Thurman died.

PAYING THE PRICE

Many boxers have seen their careers end in Las Vegas.

From 1995 to 2005, 10 fighters sustained career-ending brain injuries in Nevada, with two boxers, Leavander Johnson and Martin Sanchez Jr. both dying from subdural hematomas, the same brain injury Gorres sustained.

Because of federal privacy laws, UMC officials are unable to release the medical records of fighters, athletes or entertainers to whom they gave care. Gorres’ wife gave UMC permission to release her husband’s medical information to the Review-Journal. He was released from the hospital last week and is staying with friends in Las Vegas while undergoing rehabilitation.

Despite the lack of such information, UMC officials said Gorres’ case is an indication that UMC has not been reimbursed for care that could reach into the millions of dollars.

While thousand of people each year are mesmerized by the beauty and grace of the Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas, there’s no doubt the acrobatic performers engage in risky maneuvers.

Audience members watched in horror in 2007 when two performers fell from as high as 35 feet during a “Zumanity” show at New York-New York. Both hit the stage; one performer was left in critical condition. Both were treated at UMC.

But the cost for medical care for Cirque performers, according to show spokeswoman Ceres Hill, is fully covered by the organization’s insurance plan.

The thousands of participants in the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon basically fend for themselves when it comes to health insurance, spokeswoman Lee Haney said.

Last year, Eric Reitman, a Las Vegas resident who collapsed near the end of the half marathon, died.

Less serious health problems are common, Haney said.

“Whenever you have more than 20,000 people involved in an event, you’re going to have some injury,” she said.

Marathon participants often buy a personal insurance policy through USA Track & Field, Haney said. Though repeated phone calls to the organization were not returned, its Web site said individuals can purchase a policy that has a maximum accidental bodily injury payout of ,000.

Just how much, if any, medical coverage is carried by drag racers competing in the National Hot Rod Association events seen frequently at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is unknown.

“That’s not something we want to divulge,” association spokesman Anthony Vestal said.

Community leaders should make sure they know how much medical insurance coverage is carried by performers in risky events, Carrison said.

Not taking action when coverage seems insufficient can be costly, he said.

“We’re seeing that right now with what happened to that poor boxer.”

Insurance Brokers: Bridging The Divide

The term broker traditionally refers to a person or entity that acts on behalf of a buyer or client which is known as the principle. The broker uses their knowledge and expertise to advise the client on certain decision usually pertaining to purchasing and trading. The broker can either play an advisory role or may also have complete purchasing and decision making power in order to act on behalf of the client or principle.

The most commonly found form of brokers are investment brokers and commodity brokers. People who wish to invest their money and trade in commodities seldom have the knowledge and time to manage their investment portfolio’s closely so they employ broker’s such as these who have a lot more insight and expertise to act on their behalf. There are however many other forms of brokers who also provide people with their inputs of knowledge and expertise. Other examples of brokers include business brokers, Forex brokers, real estate brokers, insurance brokers and many more.

The term insurance broker is however a very vague one. In the past insurance brokers were just like any other broker, but specialising in insurance policies. They would act on behalf of the principle/individual who employed them in order to investigate various insurance options from various insurance companies in order to secure the best deals for the principle, as well as help interpret certain formalities within insurance contracts. A trend eventually developed in which insurance brokers did not necessarily look out for the best interests of the principle and would favour certain insurance companies. In fact many insurance companies posed as brokers in order to obtain the preference of deceived and uninformed individuals. As a result the term insurance broker has developed into one with a much broader meaning. Today an insurance broker is essentially seen as any person who acts as an agent to insurance on behalf of the principle, irrespective of whether the agent is acting in the interest of the principle or in the interest of a particular insurance company.

In reality the term insurance broker is hardly ever used to refer to an agent who is hired by individuals seeking the best insurance offers. Today it is more accurately applied to employees of insurance companies who represent the clients of that company. Insurance brokers still represent insured individuals, but instead they are hired by the insurance company itself to handle the claims, legalities and transactions between the insured and the insurance company. Therefore most insurance brokers represent only one insurance company and act in the interests of the insurance company which they represent. The insurance broker essentially acts as an intermediary which communicates the interests of the insured to the insurance company, manages the procedures of coverage and ensures that the insurance contract is adhered to.

In conclusion, the existence of an insurance broker is very necessary to both the insurance company and the insured individual, as they insure that neither party breaches the insurance contract and make sure that procedures are followed. The insurance broker also makes it easier for insured individuals to communicate their interests to the company and successfully make claims should the need arise.

Small Business Health Insurance Problem

Through the debate on reforming health insurance for small businesses, an important piece of information was missing: Policymakers had little data on why only some young companies offer their employees health insurance. Common sense and much research indicate that cost plays a big role in business owners’ health insurance decisions. Why do some entrepreneurs choose to incur this cost while others do not?

Back in March, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, which in 2014 will require all Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty. Although many people would now like to put discussion of employer health insurance behind them, the question of why only some founders of small businesses offer insurance remains an important one. Its answer will influence how much of a role government will play in providing employee health insurance for years to come.

One part of the new law is a set of tax credits and penalties designed to encourage employers to provide insurance.The problem is that for most young small businesses, it won’t work.That’s the conclusion I reached, based on research I conducted with Alicia Robb of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.We examined the decisions of founders of young companies on whether or not to offer health insurance, using information from the Kauffman Firm Survey, which tracks a cohort of nearly 5,000 new businesses started in 2004.

The data show that very few new businesses offer employee health insurance. Nearly two-thirds of companies with employees did not offer employee health insurance at any time during their first five years of operation. Moreover, only one in five offered insurance to their workers in all of the years.
insurance: no performance benefits

The few young small businesses that offered health insurance differed dramatically from those that didn’t: They tended to be larger and higher-paying, structured as partnerships and corporations, and they offered their employees a wide variety of benefits. Most young businesses don’t fit this profile. The majority are sole proprietorships with few, modestly paid employees. Only a handful of young companies grow dramatically. A minority shift from sole proprietorships to other legal structures. Few ever add a lot of benefits. This means that only a small portion of young small businesses are health-insurance-providing types. Most are not.

One argument that’s often made to justify giving employees health insurance is that doing so helps companies perform better. Those that offer employee health insurance, the argument goes, get better and harder-working employees. We examined whether the provision of employee health insurance provides any performance benefits to young companies. We found that it does not.

Controlling for a variety of other firm and founder characteristics, we saw no significant effect from providing employee health insurance on firm survival, growth in assets, growth in sales, growth in profits, or growth in employment during the first five years of operation. Stated differently, offering employee health insurance doesn’t appear to do anything to improve the performances of young companies, despite what some observers argue. We shouldn’t claim that the new law will benefit small business owners by making their companies more successful.
low-paying, sole proprietorships

The data offer three key takeaways for policymakers. First, only a minority of new businesses offer health insurance to employees, even by age five. Fewer still move from not offering insurance to providing it. When thinking about how to manage small business health insurance, policymakers need to keep in mind that offering insurance isn’t something that young companies naturally evolve to do as they mature. Consequently, most of the employees at new businesses that don’t offer health insurance will need to be covered by government programs and state exchanges.

Second, new companies that don’t offer insurance tend to be smaller, lower-paying, sole proprietorships with a large share of part-time workers. These offer employees limited benefits. Policy makers need to recognize that offering employee health insurance is something that fits certain kinds of new companies and not others. Small business owners who don’t offer employee health insurance aren’t being heartless. They are responding to the economics of the industries they are in and the business models they are pursuing.

Third, offering employee health insurance doesn’t improve the financial performance of new companies. Policymakers need to understand that despite the many reasons why they want the founders of all businesses to offer health insurance to employees, requiring that entrepreneurs provide such insurance won’t benefit many of the business owners.

Hundreds of thousands of new businesses with employees are founded in the U.S. every year. Few of these companies are large enough, pay enough, or are structured in a way that would lead them to offer employee health insurance. Moreover, few will turn into businesses that provide health care coverage to their workers. As a consequence, most of the several million workers hired by young businesses annually will be getting their insurance from government programs and state exchanges for years to come.