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.
insurance
Customer Drops Off Car At Dealership For Repairs, Gets Tires And Wheels Stolen Instead
By 5.27.09
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.
CVS Can't Get Its Billing Straight, Tells Patient He Has To Pay For His Own Kidney Transplant Meds
By 5.27.09
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.
Uh Oh, Someone Has Sued Suze Orman For Fraud
By 5.18.09
But not for her advice* or her fashion sense, as you might expect. In addition to doling out advice on TV and in books, Orman is a licensed insurance broker in California, and in 1999 her firm the Suze Orman Financial Group sold some long-term care insurance to Ann Garat, who developed ovarian cancer two years later. When Garat filed a claim, CNA Financial—the issuer of the insurance—rejected it, saying their fine print stipulated it wouldn’t cover care from family members.
UPDATE: USPS Agrees To Pay Insurance Claim On Lost Laptops
By 5.8.09
After our story about USPS losing a reader’s five insured computers then only valuing them at $74 generated a lot of response (and turned into a vowel-less debate on health care), a couple readers sent us the contact info for the insurance agent who denied our reader’s request.
USPS: Your Five New, Insured Laptops That We Lost Are Worth $74
By 5.7.09
The US Postal Service lost five new Lenovo laptops that Pedro’s friend bought and shipped to him. Pedro expected that this might happen, so he wisely insured the package for $3,000. After stalling for about two months, USPS finally agreed to pay his insurance claim, but reduced the payment, claiming his merchandise was only worth $74.
Remember How Mad You Were About Those AIG Bonuses? They're Bigger Than You Thought
By 5.5.09
So, remember those bonuses everyone was so mad about? Well, it turns out that they were bigger than originally disclosed. A lot bigger.
Man Receives 16 State Farm Junk Mailings In One Month
By 5.1.09
State Farm is powerless to stop its representatives from filling up your mailbox with unwanted solicitations! Terry has contacted one of the agents listed in the 16 mailings he’s received over the past month and was told, “Sorry, it’s from corporate.” He then lodged a complaint with the corporate office and received a response from their “Internet Support Representative” who basically told him he’s out of luck. We’re not sure what State Farm’s sales strategy is here; maybe they’re just betting on wearing him down through sheer volume?
Attention: Your Insurance Doesn't Cover Damage From Corpse Fluid
By 5.1.09
Let’s say you have an apartment. One night, you wake up to find that a liquid is dripping from the ceiling onto your face. When it turns out that the liquid was bodily fluids from a decomposing corpse, your insurance lets you know that the damage to your belongings will not be covered by your policy. Yes, this happened to someone.
Don't You Wish You Made $1 A Year Like AIG's CEO?
By 5.1.09
The NYT DealBook Blog says that AIG’s $1 interim CEO is living pretty well, despite the whole “being hated for something you didn’t do” thing.
Blue Cross Blue Shields On Twitter
By 4.29.09
A few Blue Cross Blue Shield divisions recently started Twittering, talking about health issues, saying nice things about their company and proactively reaching out to patients complaining about their services: @BCBSIL, @BCBSNM, @BCBSTX, @BCBSOK.
AIG Keeps Fighting Man Over Wheelchair, Glasses, And False Leg
By 4.18.09
AIG needs its money for its own problems, people, and doesn’t want to have to share with insurance claimants! That’s why they’ve fought every request from John Woodson, a man who lost a leg, an eye, and 70% of the vision in the remaining eye while working as a contractor in Iraq. He told ABC News, “You constantly are worried about who is going to pay these bills, who is going to take care of me? Because you can’t rely on AIG to come through for you. I don’t understand how a company of their size and their magnitude, with government bailouts and money and support, I don’t understand their not taking care of the individuals that were injured.”
9 Legal Drugs With Extremely Disturbing Side Effects
By 4.16.09
We asked for it and you sent them in, a smorgasbord of drugs with extremely disturbing side effects. Here’s nine of the most disturbing we found. Jeez! Sometimes the cure really can be worse than the disease…
Virgin Mobile Offers To Pay Your Phone Bill For 3 Months If You Get Laid Off
By 4.14.09
Starting tomorrow, Virgin Mobile will offer all customers who sign up for $30 or more post-paid plans coverage under their free Pink Slip program, which means if you get laid off and can provide proof, they’ll pay your cellphone bill for three months, and you won’t have to put a Skype number on your resume.
New York Times Calls Botox "The Duct Tape Of Medicine"
By 4.13.09
Who knew botulism could be so awesome? Botox is Allergan’s cash cow, earning the pharmaceutical company $1.3 billion last year alone. The funny thing about the toxin—originally developed as a biological weapon—is it works for a lot of “off-label” uses as well (like treating anal fissures and preventing hair loss), and Allergan says that non-cosmetic applications could be an even bigger market because health insurers will help pay for the treatments. Likely upcoming FDA-approved treatments: stroke-induced muscle spasms, chronic migraines, and enlarged prostates.
Zales Fires Top Earning Saleswoman Because She Needs Surgery
By 4.10.09
A saleswoman for Zales who had earned 5 diamonds and almost a dozen commendations over the past 4 1/2 years—she’s the area’s first employee to earn a million dollars in sales in one year—was terminated last month, one week after she requested time off to have surgery for a life-threatening aortic aneurysm.
What's HIPAA All About?
By 4.7.09
If someone says “HIPAA” and you think they might be talking about a herd of hippos, you got some reading to do. The “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” protects the health insurance workers and their families when they lose their jobs, and also protects the confidentiality of patients’ records. Like all big laws, it’s a bit of a thicket to navigate, so the World Privacy Forum just published a “Patient’s Guide to HIPAA” to help chop your way through it. Check it out and bone up on your rights.
