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Your House Is Full And You Need to Be a Multi-generational Insurance Expert

By Todd Halterman
March 17, 2017June 20, 2019

If your home is like a growing number of households these days, your “empty nest” is anything but empty. According to the latest data from the Pew Research Center, the number of us living in “multi-generational households” has more than doubled since 1980. That means families are adapting to a whole new model when it comes to day-to-day living. As Baby Boomers are tasked more and more with supporting their aging parents, accommodating their college-aged…

Insuring the 2017 NCAA Basketball Tournament – March Madness

By Todd Halterman
March 17, 2017March 17, 2017

I remember my feet hitting the ground. I remember my body hitting the floor. I remember that the first thing I saw was Coach Pitino looking down at me as I was lying on the sideline. He looked like he’d seen a ghost… – Kevin Ware, Louisville guard on his NCAA tournament injury Back in 2013 when Louisville guard Kevin Ware, a sophomore at the time, suffered a gruesome injury during the NCAA tournament, he was rushed…

Did You Buy Your Insurance Policy From a Chatbot?

By Todd Halterman
March 16, 2017March 17, 2017

First Insurance Sales Chat Bots Launched On Facebook Messenger An Israeli small business insurance startup, Next Insurance, are pioneering a much-maligned technology as they recently launched a “chatbot” for personal trainers interested in buying insurance. The chatbot works via the Facebook Messenger app, and in a similar fashion to the operation of their website, the bot guides users through answering a few short questions to provide them a quote. The Messenger bot will queries users for…

Insurtech Startups Are Going to Change the Way You Buy Insurance

By Todd Halterman
March 16, 2017March 17, 2017

What Insurtech Innovations Will Mean to You The word “insurtech” describes technology innovations aimed at amping up the efficiencies of the insurance industry model. A marriage of “insurance” and “technology,” the concept hinges on the idea that the business of insurance is poised and ready for innovation and disruption. At the core of the idea is an insistence on exploiting gaps in the business that larger insurance concerns may not have sufficient incentive to explore…

Science Knows When You’ll Die But Can You Make Money On Your Death Clock

By Todd Halterman
March 14, 2017June 13, 2019

What if you could cash in on your life insurance now, while you’re still very, very much alive? Perhaps you can as there is now money to be made by companies buying life insurance from people – people who are indeed walking and talking among us – who are willing to pay you a tidy sum of cash for your policy. They’ll even cover the cost of your premiums and they do it in exchange…

Vaping Is the New Insurance Black Hole For Smokers

By Todd Halterman
March 7, 2017October 18, 2021

The American Heart Association is pretty clear on where they stand when it comes to e-cigarettes and vaping. Their initial policy statement on the products leaves little room for wiggling. The association says that, while unknowns still abound regarding the electronic cigarette industry, e-cigarettes are dangerous “because they target young people, can keep people hooked on nicotine and threaten to ‘re-normalize’ tobacco use.” The AHA says that “based on current evidence,” the association’s position is…

Cadillac Tax Stays in GOP Healthcare Revamp

By Todd Halterman
March 7, 2017March 8, 2017

By Michelle Andrews Might Republicans make job-based health insurance taxable? And how can you fight an insurance denial for lung-cancer screening? Also, can pharmacists prescribe drugs? Here are answers to some recent questions from readers. Q: I’ve heard that Republicans plan to change the system so that I’d have to pay income taxes on my health insurance benefits. Is it true? It’s way too soon to predict what may happen as Republicans move to overhaul the health law and…