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More health insurance features may be a lifesaver, a long as one can afford it

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:29:21 +0000

Any way you shape it, having ongoing health insurance coverage could be a financial lifesaver while assisting with medical care costs.

Colonial Life Insurance recently used a case example of how basic health insurance coverage can fall short sometimes and leave the victim with the hospital bill to pay in full.

The case involved an 18-year-old woman who was driving one day when she flipped her car and was thrown from the vehicle, sustaining internal injuries and a fractured spine. Following an airlift to a local hospital and surgeries to correct the injuries, she learned that the procedures were not covered by her insurance and that she had been left with the $34,000 bill by herself.

"Even some of the best health plans don”t cover all expenses," says Michael Scheetz, the assistant vice president for product development at Colonial Life.

Luckily, with the case of the girl, a voluntary addition to her basic insurance plan ended up helping her pay the bills off

While health insurance can be adjusted to increase one’s coverage over a more basic plan for a price, medical attention that is needed while the coverage has been discontinued due to a missed payment renders the additional expense as worthless.

If a family feels the need to properly protect themselves in case of any type of accident, but fall short financially on an important payment, taking out payday loan to cover a one-time cost could help to keep insurance coverage active.

FICO releases rationale behind how they gauge their credit scores

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:34:59 +0000

In an attempt to show consumers how the financial errors they make can come back to haunt them by damaging their credit score down the road, FICO has released some of its stipulations regarding how they keep track of their own scores.

According to CreditCards.com, even a slight slip up like accidentally maxing out a credit card can result in drop of up to 45 points from a FICO score hovering around 780.

A 30-day late payment on a card also can have a significant effect on a score, dropping it anywhere from 60 to 110 points.

However, foreclosures and bankruptcy filings took the cake for having the worst effect on ones score. While foreclosures can reduce a score by up to 160 points, a bankruptcy filing can cut a score by close to 240 points.

“I hope this information will help people to better understand FICO scores and the value for them of avoiding credit missteps. It illustrates key points such as the higher your score, the farther it can fall if you stumble,” said FICO spokesman Craig Watts. “Getting and maintaining a good score isn’t complicated. We all just need to pay our bills on time, keep credit card balances low and take on new debt sparingly.”

For those who are worried about accumulating unneeded debt through sudden expenses they cannot budget for, taking out a payday loan may enable them to cover a significant one-time cost while knowing that its purchase covers no immediate threat to their credit score.