Articles & Advice
Plain-English guides to auto, home, health and life insurance: what coverages do, how deductibles and limits work, which discounts exist, and how insurers set your rate.
When a Health Claim Is Denied: Appeals and External Review
A denial is not the end of the process. Federal rules give you an internal appeal and an independent external review whose decision binds the insurer.
Read MoreAssigning a Death Benefit to a Funeral Home
An assignment directs part of a life insurance payout to a funeral provider instead of the beneficiary. Here is how it works and what to settle before signing.
Read MoreCash Value, Policy Loans and Nonforfeiture Options
Permanent life insurance builds a value you can use while alive. Here is how loans, surrender and the three nonforfeiture options work, and what each one costs.
Read MoreCOBRA and Your Options After Losing Job-Based Coverage
COBRA lets you keep an employer health plan after you leave, at your own cost. Here are the deadlines, the duration rules, and the alternatives worth weighing.
Read MoreThe Contestability Period and What Can Void a Policy
For a limited period after issue, a life insurer can contest a claim over the application. Here is how incontestability works, and what the suicide clause does.
Read MoreThe Ten Essential Health Benefits and Free Preventive Care
Every marketplace plan covers the same ten benefit categories, and most plans cover a list of preventive services with no cost sharing at all. Here is what that includes.
Read MoreFinal Expense vs Pre-Need Insurance vs Burial Trusts
Three different ways to prepare for funeral costs, with different owners, different flexibility, and different consequences if you move or change your mind.
Read MoreFinal Expense vs Term Life: Which One Fits
Term life covers a period; final expense covers a lifetime at a smaller amount. The right answer depends on whether the need you are covering has an end date.
Read MoreGroup Life Through Work vs an Individual Policy
Employer life insurance is easy to get and easy to lose. Here is what group coverage does well, where it falls short, and how portability and conversion work.
Read MoreDeductible, Copay, Coinsurance and Out-of-Pocket Max
Health plans split costs four ways. Here is what each term means, the order the money moves in, and what actually counts toward your out-of-pocket maximum.
Read MoreBronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum: What Metal Tiers Mean
Metal tiers describe how a marketplace plan splits costs with you, not how good the plan is. Here is what actuarial value means and why silver is different.
Read MoreThe Health Questions on a Final Expense Application
A short application still decides which benefit tier you get. Here is what the questions are looking for, what gets verified, and why accuracy matters at claim time.
Read MoreHMO, PPO, EPO and POS: How Health Plan Networks Differ
The four letters on a health plan name describe two things: whether you need a referral, and whether out-of-network care is covered at all.
Read MoreHow a Life Insurance Death Claim Is Paid
Filing a life insurance claim takes a death certificate and a claim form. Here is the sequence, the payout options, the tax treatment, and how to find a lost policy.
Read MoreHow Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
A multiple of income is a shortcut, not an answer. Here is the needs-based method the Insurance Information Institute recommends and the resources that offset the total.
Read MoreThis content is for general informational purposes only and is not insurance, legal, or financial advice. Coverage, exclusions, eligibility, and pricing vary by insurer, by policy, and by state, and only the policy documents control what is covered. Always confirm the details of any coverage with a licensed insurance agent or the issuing carrier before you buy.