Good Neighbor Insurance proudly introduces our latest full time associate

January 18th, 2012

Good Neighbor Insurance, www.gninsurance.com, is excited to announce our latest full time associate, Mark Sequeira.  Mark has been working part-time with Good Neighbor Insurance for the past year and a half and has graciously accepted coming on full time status with us. 

Mark was born in Southern California and moved to Phoenix, AZ to become Communications Director for a non-profit agency. His background is in languages and intercultural studies as well as design and marketing. After 6 years in the not-for-profit world, Mark joined the Tribune for 11 years as their Senior Graphic Designer and then started his own studio/consulting business, MJAStudios, marketing and graphic design.

Mark loves to travel and has spent a number of summers overseas studying as well as doing relief work and business development in Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Caucasus, Malaysia, Belgium, Finland and England. He loves his work, art, reading, his wife of 19 years and his four home-schooled kids.

We are very excited to have Mark head up Good Neighbor Insurance’s (GNI’s) marketing division.  You may view all of our agents and associates bio by going to www.gninsurance.com/aboutGNI.asp.   GNI provides our clients with many international medical and travel insurance as well as international property and casualty insurance including kidnap & ransom insurance, directors and officers insurance, and other specialty insurance benefits.  GNI also provides our Arizona clients, www.gnazhealth.com, health care plans, Medicare plans, dental plans, local personal property and casualty coverage, and other specialty benefits.

Doug Gulleson loves to scuba dive overseas and makes sure he has his US health care and overseas health care, www.gnazhealth.com , information with him at all times when he travels   Keep our blog close by you, www.gntravelinsurance.com, for continual updates on US and international health care.

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Posted in Good Neighbor Insurance |

Long term care information – 2012

January 11th, 2012

Long term care (LTC) is coverage that provides home health care, adult day care, and nursing home coverage for individuals 65 onwards or someone who has a chronic or disabling condition that needs constant supervision.  This benefit package helps provide for the cost of long term care beyond a predetermined period.   

LTC is not health insurance or medical care.  Individuals who require LTC are usually not sick in the traditional sense but instead are unable to perform the daily activities.  Activities of Daily living (ADL) is what health professionals call the routine ability of feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, work, homemaking, and leisure.   There are several evaluation tools that the medical profession uses such as the Katz ADL scale, the Lawton IADL scale, the Roper-Logan Tierney model of nursing, and the program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE).  

Good Neighbor Insurance, www.gnazhealth.com, provides different LTC options for our clients.  Good Neighbor Insurance (GNI) also provides individual and family health insurance, Medicare Supplement plans, dental plans, personal property and casualty cover, and other benefits such as short term travel insurance.  You may reach any of GNI’s agents by calling their toll free number at 866-636-9100 or Phoenix Arizona number at 480-633-9500 or email them at info@gninsurance.com.

Why do U.S. citizens purchase LTC cover?

  • Protect assets
  • Avoid becoming a burden to their family
  • Ensure they receive care in a quality facility
  • Ensure they have options for care
  • Be able to maintain personal dignity and independence
  • Have peace of mind.

Why U.S. citizens do not purchase LTC cover?

  • Is it affordable?
  • Is it the best way to protect my assets?
  • How do I make sense of this complicated product?
  • What is in the fine print?
  • When is the best time to buy?
  • Will the benefit level be enough when the time comes?
  • Am I not covered already?
  • What if I never need it?
  • Why has no one approached me about it?

What do our clients expect from one of our LTC agents?

  • Life experience – an older agent because of a greater life experience
  • Low pressure, easygoing manner – no hard sale
  • The ability to explain the benefits in easy terms
  • Specific knowledge of the senior market
  • Agent should have a LTC policy too

Who typically desires to purchase a Long Term Care policy?

  • Female, Caucasian, age 55-64
  • Married with adult children
  • Working in a white-collar profession; not yet retired
  • College educated
  • Living in a metropolitan area with a population of at least 250,000
  • A homeowner with 11 or more years in a the current resident
  • Affluent; upper middle class with a household income of $100,000 or more
  • A “planner” who is interested in financial issues; owns life insurance and other conservative investment products
  • Family oriented
  • Exposed to LTC issues; knows someone (a family member or friend) who has needed LTC services
  • Research oriented; an online user; self-educated about LTC
  • Generally skeptical and mistrusting of financial advisors and insurance companies

Doug Gulleson loves to scuba dive overseas and makes sure he has his US health care and overseas health care, www.gnazhealth.com , information with him at all times when he travels   Keep our blog close by you, www.gntravelinsurance.com, for continual updates on US and international health care.

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Posted in General information |

Most U.S. colleges and universities require health insurance for their international students

January 4th, 2012

Good Neighbor Insurance, www.gninsurance.com, provides international student insurance coverage in the U.S. for non-U.S. citizens studying in the U.S.  Our web page at www.gninsurance.com/students.asp provides many student plans for international students studying in the U.S.

It is not a US. Federal requirement to have student insurance for your students but it can be and should be a financial requirement.  Not having international student coverage for your students here in the U.S. not only is a moral obligation but also keeps the college and university from possible liability concerns;  especially when your international student does not have financial pockets to pay for possible medical bills.   

Today, most colleges and universities either require international students to carry medical insurance, or they are in the process of implementing a mandatory medical insurance requirement. When asked why, the schools have responded with the following reasons:

1.   It reinforces the federal policy requiring international students to be financially responsible.   A medical insurance requirement is a logical and legal extension of this government requirement.

2.   The school must protect itself from medical providers that might look to the host school for payment of medical bills on uninsured or underinsured students, especially for those schools who have an insurance requirement that is not being properly enforced. 

3.   The college has a moral obligation to the community, the medical profession, and its students to make sure the international students can afford the high cost of medical care. Host families require coverage with Major Medical Benefits for liability reasons. 

4.   International students come from countries with some form of socialized medicine and don’t understand how the health care system in the United States works. 

5.   International students are not insured under a parental policy nor are they eligible for public assistance in the United States.  Travel insurance is short-term coverage and inadequate.

Doug Gulleson is one of the two principles of Good Neighbor Insurance, Inc and does enjoy traveling the world to scuba dive.  He travels overseas throughout the year with his underwater camera in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.  Doug never forgets to have his travel medical insurance,  www.overseashealthinsurance.com/short-term.asp, with him at all times.

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Posted in Student insurance |

Health saving plans – 2012

December 28th, 2011

Good Neighbor Insurance agents, www.gnazhealth.com, provide their clients with Health Saving Account plans for those residing in Arizona.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created in 2003 so that individuals covered by high-deductible health plans could receive tax-preferred treatment of money saved for medical expenses.  Medical Saving Account (MSA) plans were the grandfather of high-deductible health plans with tax-preferred saving options but no longer provided. 

Since the HSA is a tax advantaged account it is subject to contribution limits similar to Individual Retirement Accounts. The money you contribute to your HSA through your employer is not subject to federal tax at the time of deposit (Pre-Tax Dollars).  If you are self-employed the dollars contributed are an “above the line” deduction on your taxes.

2012 HSA Contribution Limits

Each year the HSA Contribution Limits are revised (or remain unchanged) based on the inflation rate of the previous year.  This year the HSA Contribution Limits were raised about 1.63% based on the rise of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the previous year.  This means that the contribution limit for an individual increased $50 to $3,100 and the limit for families increased $100 to $6,250.  The catch-up provision for those age 55+ remains at $1000. 

2012 Contribution Limits
  Single Plan Family Plan
Maximum Contribution Limit $3,100 $6,250
Minimum Deductible $1,200 $2,400
Maximum Out-of-pocket $6,050 $12,100
Catch-up Contribution (55+) $1,000 $1,000

You must have your HSA-qualified health insurance in place by December 1st in order to qualify for that same year’s tax break.   You may make direct contributions to your HSA bank account until April 15th of the following year to the last year’s contribution limit.

Here is another chart to show the past HSA’s year contributions  

Year Contribution Limit
(Single)		 Contribution Limit
(Family)		 Additional Catch-Up Contribution
(55 or older) (Single and Family)
2004 $2,600 $5,150 $500
2005 $2,650 $5,250 $600
2006 $2,700 $5,450 $700
2007 $2,850 $5,650 $800
2008 $2,900 $5,800 $900
2009 $3,000 $5,950 $1,000
2010 $3,050 $6,150 $1,000
2011 $3,050 $6,150  $1,000
2012 $3,100 $6,250 $1,000

2013 Contribution Limits

At this time the contribution limits for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) will be changing.  FSAs is one of the number of tax advantage options that employers (groups) in the U.S. may use to help save on premiums and taxation.  The new PPACA (the new health care law signed into law by President Obama in March of 2010) will limit the amount employees can contribute to a FSA  account.  Note that FSA plans are for those who work for a company.  

However, at this time, HSAs are not set to change to a lower contribution limit.  Good Neighbor Insurance, www.gnazhealth.com, will keep you informed as soon as anything is mentioned on the 2013 annual contributions for HSAs.

Doug Gulleson loves to scuba dive overseas and makes sure he has his US health care and overseas health care information with him at all times when he travels (check out his diving travels at www.douggulleson.com).  Keep our blog close by you, www.gntravelinsurance.com , for continual updates on the changes with the US health care system.

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Posted in Updates 2010-2012 |

Summary of universal life insurance benefits from United of Omaha

December 14th, 2011

There are three major types of life insurance that you and I may purchase in the U.S.   Whole life insurance is what Grandpa and Grandma had where it would cover for life even if one reaches over 100.   This life insurance coverage type is the best of the best or can be called the Cadillac of life insurance plans.  But with the Cadillac name comes the Cadillac price. 

On the other side of the spectrum is Term life insurance.  This type of life insurance is set for a set amount of years usually between 10-30 years.  This type of insurance is primarily used for younger individuals and families to help the surviving spouse support the family for a few years if the other spouse passes on.  Most families have term life coverage until the kids finish college and/or once most of major bills have been paid like a home mortgage.    Term life insurance premiums are usually around 25 to 35 percent of a whole life insurance policy premium.

Then in the “middle” of the life insurance options is what is call universal life or also variable universal life.  This is the “hybrid” of whole life and term life insurance.  Many in the U.S. wanted a stronger life insurance policy than the term life plan but did not want to pay the high premium of a whole life insurance plan.  Thus, the universal life insurance option was born.  Universal life insurance allows you, the policyholder to place an age to have the policy end such as age 70. 

Good Neighbor Insurance provides many Life insurance options and the Term life and Universal life insurance options are the most popular.  Below is a graph of Universal Life insurance plans that  United of Omaha provides.   To request a Term life or Universal life insurance quote please go to our web page at www.gnazhealth.com.

  Guaranteed Universal Life Guaranteed Universal Life Plus AccumUL Plus Guaranteed Universal Life Express
Issue ages 18-85 years 18-85 years 0-85 years 18-65 years
Death Benefit Amounts $100,000 to $1 million and above $100,000 to $1 million and above $100,000 to $1 million and above $50,000 to $250,000
Premiums Flexible Flexible Flexible Flexible
Needs Covered Income Protection Income Protection Income Protection.*Cash value from risk or market fluctuation Income Protection
Product Strengths Competitive level premiums for lifetime. *dial-down guarantees for age 90-100. Offers moderate cash accumulation in exchange for higher guaranteed premiums.  *Competitive dup-in and good short-pay and single premiums.* Ideal for 1035 exchanges.* Able to add features to customize plan. *aOffers “dial-a-guarantee” option Helps accumulate funds for future use (retirement income, education fund) while also providing death benefit*Able to add features to customize plan Simplified underwriting*Quick issue process*Helps guarantee a death benefit*Able to add features to customize plan

 

Universal life offers the following advantages:

  • Lower-cost life insurance (compared to Whole Life insurance)
  • No-lapse protection
  • A tax-advantaged savings element that provides a cash value with a guaranteed minimum interest rate
  • Flexibility to adjust premium payment and death benefit as needs change
  • Favorable loan features

Doug Gulleson loves to scuba dive overseas and makes sure he has his US health care and overseas health care, www.gnazhealth.com , information with him at all times when he travels Keep our blog close by you, www.gntravelinsurance.com, for continual updates on the changes with the US health care system.

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Posted in General information |

Sports travel medical insurance to cover you while you travel to exotic countries

December 7th, 2011

Good Neighbor Insurance (www.gninsurance.com and www.gnazhealth.com) agents understand the importance of having adventure sports coverage while overseas.  Most travel plans do not cover extra sports coverage.  Yes, the average travel insurance, which Good Neighbor Insurance provides works exceptionally well wherever you go outside your home country.  But if you are planning to do sports while you travel like scuba diving, surfing, flying a private plane, jet skiing, kayaking, mountain biking, windsurfing, or any other adventure sports it is best to have travel insurance that includes these activities.   

There are a couple plans that include these sports activities already packaged into your travel insurance and there are other travel plans where you can add their sports rider for an added premium.  Good Neighbor Insurance provides both types of plans and you may view our adventure sports web page by going to www.gninsurance.com/extreme-sports. 

We provide four travel plans that include adventure sports coverage:

Atlas international with sports rider:

  • Add the sports rider for 20% of your travel premium
  • No height restrictions on mountaineering and rope climbing

Travel Guard trip insurance:

  • All adventure sports is covered except participation in contest of speed, motor sport or motor racing including training or practice for the same
  • This plan is used as your primary insurance
  • Coverage also can be in the U.S. only or outside the U.S.

BUPA adventure sports travel insurance:

  • Full contact sports covered plus no restrictions on hazardous sports or occupations (except motorsports).
  • No deductible
  • Unlimited medical and evacuation coverage
  • Amateur and Professional sports covered

Patriot adventure sports insurance:

  • Non U.S. citizens traveling outside their country of citizenship with coverage to also include the U.S.
  • May include trip cancellation coverage as an added benefit
  • Coverage period from 30 days to 6 months for non-contact sports

Check out Good Neighbor’s Insurance You Tube channel on sports insurance coverage at  http://www.youtube.com/user/gninsurance#p/u/6/TU2xFPuAFp4 or go to our You Tube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/gninsurance#p/a.

Doug Gulleson is one of the two principles of Good Neighbor Insurance, Inc and does enjoy traveling the world to scuba dive.  He travels overseas throughout the year with his underwater camera in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other but Doug never forgets to have his travel medical insurance with him at all times.  Good Neighbor Insurance provides many different types of international insurance including medical and evacuation coverage outside the U.S.  Visit Good Neighbor Insurance’s corporate site at www.gninsurance.com  and www.overseashealthinsurance.com/trip-protection.asp for different travel medical insurance options that may fit your needs.

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Posted in Adventure sports |

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