Consumerist
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traveling
Never Pack Your Jewelry In Checked Baggage
This past February, a Delta customer had her expensive heirloom jewelry stolen from her checked bag on a trip from Rochester through Atlanta to Las Vegas:
More »My suitcase had been opened, my jewelry bag unzipped, and my fine jewelry (gold, diamonds, sapphires) had been hand picked out of the jewelry bag and the inexpensive jewelry (plastic, glass, metal) left strewn across my belongings inside my suitcase.
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money saving tips
How To Pay As Little As Possible To Insure Your Jalopy
Despite what certain geckos would have you believe, the art of saving money on car insurance goes beyond doing whatever television commercials tell you to do. More » -
insurance
What Happens When Your Life Insurer Kicks The Bucket?
Life insurance polices are backed by state guarantee associations, but the coverage offered varies drastically from state to state. Some products, like variable annuities, can be recovered in full because of the way they're structured, but if you have term life insurance or a universal policy, you should know the limitations of your state's coverage... More » -
babies
Four Financial Tools All New Parents Need
The baby's on the way! You've got a crib, toys, and a rapidly approaching delivery date. So what else you do need? Kiplinger shares the four must-have financial tools that no new parent should go without... More » -
insurance
Two-Thirds Of Insurers Share Faulty Database That Lets Them Overcharge Patients
Earlier this week, a Congressional investigation revealed that several insurance companies rely on a database from Ingenix that deliberately underestimates the cost of medical services, reports the Associated Press. The result is that "American consumers have paid billions of dollars for health care services that their insurance companies should have paid." More » -
shipping
UPS Damages $1,700 Worth Of Shipped Items, Admits They Messed Up, Still Won't Pay
Awesomely-named reader DrSpaceMonkey tells us he shipped some stuff to himself during a move, discovered it was damaged, and now can't collect on his insurance. More » -
rescission watch
Insurance Industry Still Wants To Cancel Sick People's Coverage
As the federal government debates health care reform, the health insurance industry has some news for us. They're not going to stop canceling people's policies after they get sick. Nope. No way. More » -
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advice
Reminder: Make Sure Medical Procedures Are Covered Before You OK Them
Nick suffers from back pain and thought he'd seek chiropractor care for some pain relief. What he got in return was the sting of a nasty hospital bill because his insurance wouldn't pay for his x-rays, even though the nurse and doctor assured him the scans would be covered. More » -
flowers
Ask The Consumerists: These Flowers Just Need To Chill
Billy's wife owns a small flower shop near Austin, Texas. The shop's floral cooler broke down recently. They can't afford a new one, and can't find a used one for sale in the area. A misunderstanding when taking out an insurance policy means that the business's insurance won't cover the cooler malfunction.
Without a place to keep the flowers fresh and cool in the summer heat, they might as well close down the shop—but who wants to do that? More »
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comparative effectiveness
Older Drugs Can Be Just As Good And Cheaper
Newfangled doesn't necessarily mean that much better, especially when it comes to taking medicine. Getting prescribed the latest and greatest pill could mean you're paying more when there's a perfectly good drug out there that can do the same job, minus the jacked-up new drug patent cost. Vanguard says: More » -
taxes
Congress Considers Partially Removing Tax Exemption On Employer Provided Health Benefits
Would you be willing to pay more in taxes in order to fund a more equitable health care program for the nation's uninsured? From MSNBC:
More »While details of such an approach are still sketchy, it would likely involve employees paying tax on a percentage of their employer-provided health benefits. So if Congress decided that all such premiums in excess of $11,000 for family plans would be taxable income, and your company paid premiums worth $16,000 for your coverage, you'd have to pay taxes on $5,000.
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When your credit score sustains a dent, make sure your car doesn't. Because higher car insurance is just what you need when you've lost your job. Auto insurers use customers' credit scores as part of the formula to determine premiums. Shop around—different companies assign different weights to credit score in their calculations. [MainStreet.com]
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insurance fraud
On The Rise: People Blowing Up Their Own Cars
Nothing salves buyer's remorse like a match in a fuel tank. Citing National Insurance Crime Bureau figures, a Los Angeles Times story says car owners are resorting to nefarious means to put an end to burdensome car loans. In the first quarter of the year, suspicious fires or arson were up 27 percent for the first quarter of the year and cases of intentionally destroyed cars shot up 24 percent. More » -
rescission
California To Fight Health Insurance Rescissions?
The LA Times is reporting that California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner will reveal new regulations aimed at stopping a controversial health insurance practice in which customers with costly illnesses are retroactively dropped. More » -
how to
Tax-Saving Moves For 14 Big Life Events
Life is full of surprises and challenges. Luckily, there's a tax form for just about all of them. Via Kiplinger's, here's 14 major life events that allow for smart tax-saving moves, and how to make those moves. More » -
insurance
Customer Drops Off Car At Dealership For Repairs, Gets Tires And Wheels Stolen Instead
Before you drop off your car at your local dealership for any sort of repairs, make sure you're clear on the chain of liability should anything happen to it—especially right now, when dealerships can barely afford those flappy air things, much less tires. A woman in Charlotte, NC was left with around $1,000 in damages when the tires and wheels were stolen from the 2005 Audi she'd left with the dealership over the weekend. More » -
insurance
CVS Can't Get Its Billing Straight, Tells Patient He Has To Pay For His Own Kidney Transplant Meds
Chris has to take the immunosuppressant drug Prograf because of a kidney transplant, and it costs nearly $300 for a one month supply. Yesterday, he found out that someone at CVS corporate has instructed his local pharmacist to start billing him directly, apparently because his secondary insurer hasn't been paying for nearly two years. More »
insurance
New York, 5:22 PM
Sun Jul 5
6 posts in the last 24 hours
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