senior image by Alexander Raths from Fotolia.com  If considering life settlement, know the law in your state. Life settlements laws vary from state to state, without regulation in the life insurance industry. The life settlement industry began near the end of the 20th century. Known as the viatical industry, such settlements sell or transfer existing policies to new owners for a lump sum in situations where the policy holder or the insured has a limited life expectancy. Life settlements are similar, but the policy holder or insured does not have a life-threatening condition. Full Post…

In the five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the city has recovered better than many predicted. To paraphrase the great Southern writer William Faulkner, it has not only endured but prevailed.

Katrina cost the city more than half its population; today, it is nearly 80% of its former size. One in 10 residents is a newcomer, including a cadre of well-educated young people. Blight is declining; the middle and upper classes are growing. What was one of the nation’s worst school systems is re-inventing itself. This year’s Super Bowl victory by the once-awful Saints seemed to cap the comeback.

But if a storm like Katrina hit New Orleans today, some of that hard-won progress would be under water. Full Post…

Insurance

1. Funeral Planning 101 reports that a popular way of funding funeral expenses is the purchase of life insurance. Burial and funeral insurance can be purchased through an insurance broker or funeral director to cover expenses, such as embalming, flowers, cosmetology and the purchase of a grave marker.

Purchase

2. The U.S. Funerals Online website explains that each state has its own rules and regulations about the sale and purchase of funeral and burial insurance. Policies are often sold as term insurance agreements covering a stipulated period of time, either three, five or 10 years.

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1. firma contract 20309 image by pablo from Fotolia.com  Florida regulates life settlement contracts to protect consumers and investors. Life settlements date back to the 1980s, when they were known as viaticals. Viatical settlement companies brokered the sale of life insurance policies from terminally ill consumers to investors. Viaticals were particularly popular among AIDS patients who would sell life insurance policies for less than they were worth so that they could pay for expensive treatments and live longer.

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The world’s first car accident occurred in 1891 (arguably) and involved 2 Ohioans and a tree, but the world’s first car insurance policy wasn’t written until 1897. That means for 6 (doubtlessly crazy) years, people were driving hither and yon in their fancy new horseless carriages without a drop of coverage. Compound that with the fact that safety measures like, oh, stop signs, right-of-way, and driver training had not yet been invented, and you can begin to imagine the chaos of a world sans car insurance.

It’s not like the idea of insurance didn’t exist. As a concept, insurance had begun long, long before then. Full Post…