1. Have a home inventory

Begin by listing off the easiest and largest items such as computers, furniture, televisions and other electronics, appliances, and jewelry.  Then begin adding in other smaller items such as kitchen utensils, clothing, toys, tools, etc.  You will want to make a complete list of everything in your home, garage, storage shed(s), and barn(s).  I would encourage you to itemize it by room and building.  This way if only part of a building is damaged, you can easily sort it.

2. Take pictures

It is not hard in our digital age to take pictures of all the rooms in your home.  Be sure to get all the various angles including paintings on the wall, anything special done to the ceiling, etc.  Also, open up the cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom, as well as the closets.  It will amaze you how many items we forget.  Be sure to get the manufacture’s name in the picture including turning over china to get the pattern and manufacture’s name.  Also, make sure to take pictures of antiques and any inscribings or other markings on them.  You would be surprised at the number of people who find out Grandma’s old “such and such” was worth a couple of thousand dollars!

3.  Keep information handy

Keep contact information and policy numbers in one location that is easy to find.  You will also want to make sure that you have adequate coverage for your belongings, and if you keep an up to date inventory, it is very easy to see if you have that or may be lacking.

4. Protect your information

You can protect your information by placing a copy of all the information you collected in your safe at home if you have one or a fireproof box.  Also, put a copy in your safe deposit box if you have one.  Then I would also encourage you to give a copy to a family member or friend who lives outside of your neighborhood.  If your area is prone to forest fires, you might even want to give a copy to someone you know and trust outside of the state.

5.  Store other important information

Add to the location where you keep your home information, a copy of your auto records such as a copy your purchase receipt, auto registration, and other information including your VIN.  You will also want to keep copies of anything you added to the car such as a special radio, GPS, etc.  You may also want to take some photos of the interior of the car especially if you store CDs, a MP3 player, or other items in the car.

Putting all these tips into action will hopefully help save quite a few headaches if you ever have to file an insurance claim which we all hope doesn’t happen…but life does happen.

What do you think of these tips to help prepare for an insurance claim?

Essential Insurance for Life after College

Health or Medical Insurance

If you’ve secured full-time employment with a company after graduating college you’ll have some different medical insurance options to choose from your company plan.  Most employers will allow you to choose insurance day one of employment.  Let me just say you would be foolish to not have any health insurance.  While you might not experience any major health issues, everyone has to see a physician from time to time for illnesses.  More than likely, you’re not married so insurance shouldn’t cost much.  I think it’s wise to choose the most expensive health insurance you can afford to reduce risk and make sure you’re well covered.  If you have a serious illness you’ll want to avoid accumulating debt to pay for treatment.

Car Insurance

Car insurance is required by law if you own a car in most states.  You have to at least have liability insurance that will cover expenses if the accident is your fault.  You may not have a lot of money out of school, so choosing insurance with a $500 deductible is fine.  This means you’ll pay $500 before the insurance agency will start paying any claims.  You can get a lower deductible if you can afford it, but a higher deductible and avoiding speeding is a good way to keep this cost down.  Also, if you have a clean driving record (no accidents and speeding tickets), your premiums will be cheaper.

Renter’s Insurance

Looking back, I’m not quite sure why I never took out a renter’s insurance policy.  Although, I wouldn’t have had much to claim for a theft, it still would have been wise to cover my assets.    Make a list of all your possessions and estimate the value of them to determine how much renter’s insurance you need.  Also, make sure you have an inventory of your items handy.  If you experience a theft or loss the insurance company will want to review the inventory (proof of the loss) before paying your claim.  You might also think about shooting a video of your possessions.

Disability Insurance

It’s always a good idea to have some disability insurance.  Many people get disabled and lose their primary source of income when they can’t work.  The expenses don’t go away, but the income does.  That’s why it’s important to lessen this risk with disability insurance.  Many employers will offer short-term and long-term disability, but the long-term isn’t typically enough to replace your income.   People are often surprised when their disability payments don’t equate to their monthly paycheck, so you may choose to buy some additional insurance outside of your employer’s plan.  Just keep in mind, most graduates don’t have a family to support after school, so be mindful when determining how much you need.

Other Insurance Tips

• Shop around.  Get at least 3 quotes for each type of insurance you’re not purchasing through your employer.
• Try to get your insurance with the same company.  Most companies will offer discounts for insuring auto and home (or renter’s insurance) together.
• Don’t hesitate to ask insurance companies what discounts are available.  Also, some employers can get discounts with insurance companies, so check with your HR department to determine what relationships are in place.
• Check with your insurance agent before purchasing a car.  Some makes and models are more expensive to cover.
• As much as you may not like it your credit is important when saving money on insurance.  Make sure you pay your bills on-time.
• Do you need life insurance?  I would skip it for now unless you have a family.  When you get married, look into purchasing a term life insurance policy.  Avoid whole life insurance, but that’s a subject of another post.

What do you think about these life after college insurance tips?

One of the mistakes was a $1000 administrative error and the other mistake was an incorrect coding of a medical procedure resulting in an over charge of approximately $200.

Fortunately, I was able to identify and dispute the issues which led to a positive resolution.  What is concerning to me is the possibility of past issues I’ve readily agreed to pay which could have been errors.  So now I really start paying attention anytime I’m asked to pay any amount of medical expense out of pocket.

It was not easy to get the above errors corrected, so I’m going to share 10 things you can do to stay on top of such issues and see them through to resolution for your benefit.

1. Review coding: Medical administrators are responsible for coding procedures for insurances purposes.  If you’re asked to pay for a medical expense out of pocket, ask for the medical codes being filed to your insurance.  Contact your insurance company and make sure your insurance is covering the procedure appropriately and the correct codes are being used.

2. Plan ahead: For some procedures and health services you are able to plan ahead.  Contact the service provider and ask for the procedure name or code that will be used.   Contact your insurance provider and find out your insurance coverage beforehand to avoid monetary surprises of the bad kind.

3. Be persistent and follow up regularly: If you encounter an issue, put it on your calendar to make a weekly call to all parties involved.  I’ve found for disputes, there are multiple people who have to get involved with both the medical and insurance organizations.  Don’t accept, “We’ll call you back in two weeks.”

4. Own the issue: Don’t expect someone else to solve the problem for you.  You may say, “It’s their mistake, they need to fix it.”  Let me tell you that no one will own the issue like you will.  Of course, once in a while you’ll come across someone who is willing to go the extra mile for you in customer service, but don’t always count on that.  You must own the problem to resolution.

5. Take good notes: One mistake I made in the case of the $1000 over billing was that my notes turned into chicken scratch on a piece of paper.  They were tough to read later.  I’m usually a more organized person, but trying to make calls during work hours made it more difficult to stay on top of matters and document appropriately.

Consider using a spreadsheet to capture the following:  date and time of call, whom spoken with, organization, what was discussed, action items on your side or their side, other parties mentioned, i.e., “I have to follow up with my boss, Bill, to review what we discussed”, and a direct call back number.

6. Connect parties: If you’re direct in saying you can facilitate the discussion between multiple parties, you may have a better chance of getting it resolved quickly versus the follow up call falling to a long list of calls to be made later in the week.  I was lucky as my insurance provider would put me on hold and contact the medical provider’s office immediately.  I thought this was pretty good service.  A better step may have been to include me in the discussion.

7. Stay aware: Watch bills as they come in the mail, especially, after a hospital procedure or delivery of a baby.  I think we received bills for up to 3 months after our son was born last year.  Don’t assume you owe them anything.  Match bills up to insurance statements, make sure they align and then follow tip 1.

8.  Know your insurance: I feel pretty silly about this one, but the overcharge of $100 was because I didn’t know my insurance well enough.  I was told I needed to pay $100 towards my deductible, when I really didn’t have a deductible for that particular service.

After much hassle between the insurance company and provider, I got it resolved.  Once you sign up for medical insurance, understand your coverage!  Having this information handy will allow you to quickly question or contest requests for out of pocket payments while at the place of service.

9.  Remain calm: this should go without saying (I have to remind myself often), but don’t let yourself get heated.  You’ll do nothing but help someone become demotivated to work with you.  Remain calm and if you don’t like the results, see tip 10,

10.  Don’t be afraid to escalate: If you’re not seeing the results you want, ask to speak to a supervisor.  Make sure you have your facts and call record handy.  Tell the supervisor you’re not satisfied with the lack of progress and simply state the facts.  Again, capture the details of the call and next steps.  Don’t hesitate to contact the supervisor directly if you haven’t heard anything after two business days.

Also, as nice as some people might be, they simply don’t have the knowledge or experience to get what you need accomplished.  Don’t be afraid to escalate in these matters as well.  You’re the one stuck with the bill!

To wrap up, here is one more bonus bit of advice:  get your resolution in writing.  If your bill is reduced or dismissed, ask that a new statement be sent immediately stating such.

Do you have any advice you would like to share based on past experience?  What have you done that has led to the quickest resolution and least amount of pain?