insurance — صفحه 4 از 4 — ✅ خرید وی پی ان ❇ ip ثایت vPn آی پی اختصاصی ◐

مارس 17, 2022

Watch out — Decisions you make on your 2021 tax return can affect your future Medicare health insurance premiums

Medicare health insurance premiums can add up to major bucks — especially if you’re upper-income, married, and both you and your spouse are paying. This column lists the 2022 Medicare health insurance premium amounts, explains why decisions made on your 2021 Form 1040 will determine your premiums for 2023, and more. Here goes. Medicare Part B coverage is commonly called Medicare medical insurance or original Medicare. Part B mainly covers doctors and outpatient services, and Medicare-eligible individuals must pay monthly premiums for this benefit.
The monthly premium for the current year depends on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), as reported on your Form 1040 for two years earlier. MAGI means the adjusted gross income (AGI) number shown on your Form 1040 plus any tax-exempt interest income. Your 2023 premiums depend on your 2021 MAGI, as reported on your 2021 Form 1040, which you may not have filed yet. That means that things you do or don’t do on that return can impact your 2023 premiums. This is especially true if you’re self-employed or an owner of a pass-through business entity (LLC, partnership, or S corporation). 2022 Part B premiums For 2022, most individuals will pay the base Part B premium of $170.10 per covered person ($2,041.20 if you pay premiums for the full year). Higher-income individuals must pay a surcharge on top of the base premium for Part B coverage. For 2022, surcharges apply if you: (1) filed as a single for 2020 and reported MAGI for that year in excess of $91,000 or (2) filed jointly for 2020 and reported MAGI for that year in excess of $182,000. The Feds call the surcharge an Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA), but we will call it what it is: a surcharge. For 2022, Part B monthly premiums, including surcharges if applicable, for each covered individual are as follows. See more info here. * The $170.10 base premium with no surcharge ($2,041.20 if you pay premiums for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was no more than $91,000 and you filed as a single for that year or no more than $182,000 if you filed a joint return. * $238.10 ($2,857.20 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $91,001 and $114,000 and you filed as a single or between $182,001 and $228,000 if you filed a joint return. * $340.20 ($4,082.40 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $114,001 and $142,000 and you filed as a single or between $228,001 and $284,000 if you filed a joint return. * $442.30 ($5,307.60 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $142,001 and $170,000 and you filed as a single or between $284,001 and $340,000 if you filed a joint return. * $544.30 ($6,531.60 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $170,001 and $500,000 and you filed as a single or between $340,001 and $750,000 if you filed a joint return. * The maximum of $578.30 ($6,939.60 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was above $500,000 and you filed as a single or above $750,000 if you filed a joint return. Key point: The 2022 premiums are significantly higher than the 2021 amounts. We don’t yet know the numbers for 2023, but they will probably be considerably higher than the 2022 amounts. Ugh. Paying Part B premiums Part B premiums, including any surcharge, are withheld from your Social Security benefit payments and are shown on the annual Form SSA-1099 sent to you by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Premiums for Medicare Advantage coverage (Medicare Part C) You can get your Medicare Part B benefits through the government, for the monthly premium costs listed above, or you can get your benefits through a so-called Medicare Advantage plan offered by a private insurance company that contracts with Medicare to provide benefits under rules established by Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans are also sometimes called Medicare Part C. Medicare Advantage basics When you sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan, you still must pay the standard Part B premium, including any applicable surcharge for higher-income folks, and you still get the standard Part B coverage. The advantage is that the Medicare Advantage plan will deliver benefits beyond what the government gives you under Part B, such as prescription drug coverage, dental care, and vision care. You may be charged an additional monthly premium for the Medicare Advantage plan, but depending on where you live, some plans don’t charge anything extra. The additional premium, if any, depends on the plan you select and where you live. With a Medicare Advantage plan, you are usually limited to a defined provider network, which you may view as a disadvantage. Paying Medicare Advantage premiums When you have a Medicare Advantage plan, the standard Part B premiums, including any surcharge for higher-income folks, will still be withheld from your Social Security benefit payments and will still be shown on the annual Form SSA-1099 sent to you by the SSA. If you pay an extra premium for your Medicare Advantage coverage, you can pay it like any other bill or arrange to have it withheld from your Social Security benefit payments. Most people choose the first option because it avoids bureaucracy. Premiums for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage Medicare Part D premiums are for private prescription drug coverage. Base premiums vary depending on the plan. Higher-income individuals must pay a surcharge on top of the base premium. For 2022, surcharges apply to individuals who: (1) filed as singles for 2020 and reported MAGI for that year in excess of $91,000 or (2) filed joint returns for 2020 and reported MAGI in excess of $182,000. The 2022 monthly Part D surcharges for each covered person are as follows, according to the Medicare website. * Zero if your 2020 MAGI was no more than $91,000 and you filed as a single for that year or no more than $182,000 if you filed a joint return. * $12.40 ($148.80 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $91,001 and $114,000 and you filed as a single or between $182,001 and $228,000 if you filed a joint return. * $32.10 ($385.20 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $114,001 and $142,000 and you filed as a single or between $228,001 and $284,000 if you filed a joint return. * $51.70 ($620.40 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $142,001 and $170,000 and you filed as a single or between $284,001 and $340,000 if you filed a joint return. * $71.30 ($855.60 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was between $170,001 and $500,000 and you filed as a single or between $340,001 and $750,000 if you filed a joint return. * The maximum of $77.90 ($934.80 for the full year) if your 2020 MAGI was above $500,000 and you filed as a single or above $750,000 if you filed a joint return. Key point: The 2022 surcharges are barely above the 2021 amounts. Good. We don’t yet know the numbers for 2023, but we can hope for more good news. Fingers crossed. Paying Part D premiums You pay the base Part D premium, which depends on the private insurance company plan that you select, to the insurance company. Any surcharge,will be withheld from your Social Security benefit payments and reflected on the annual Form SSA-1099 sent to you by the SSA. Impact of decisions made on your 2021 Form 1040 Decisions made on your 2021 Form 1040 can affect your 2021 MAGI and, in turn, your 2023 Medicare health insurance premiums. If you’re self-employed or an owner of a pass-through business entity, you have more ways to micromanage your MAGI. For instance: * Until the due date for your 2021 Form 1040 (10/17/22 if you get an extension), you as a self-employed individual can make a bigger or smaller deductible contribution to your self-employed retirement account for the 2021 tax year. Your choice will impact your 2021 MAGI and, in turn, your 2023 Medicare health insurance premiums. * You as an owner of a pass-through business entity can (along with the other owners, if applicable) make other choices that will impact your 2021 MAGI, such as choosing to maximize or minimize depreciation deductions for the entity. Those choices will impact each owner’s 2021 MAGI and, in turn, each owner’s 2023 Medicare health insurance premiums. Deducting Medicare health insurance premiums You can combine premiums for Medicare health insurance coverages with other qualifying health care expenses for purposes of claiming the itemized federal income tax deduction for medical expenses. You can claim an itemized medical expense deduction to the extent your total qualifying expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). If you’re self-employed or an S corporation shareholder-employee, you can potentially claim an above-the-line deduction for health insurance premiums, including Medicare health insurance premiums. If you qualify, you don’t need to itemize to collect the tax savings. The bottom line Medicare health insurance premiums can add up to major bucks, and premiums for Part B coverage will probably increase significantly in 2023. Medicare health insurance premiums and the related tax implications have lots of moving parts, and what you do with your 2021 Form 1040 can impact your 2023 premiums. While 2023 might seem far in the future right now, it will be here before you know it. So, if you’ve not yet filed your 2021 Form 1040, keep the Medicare health insurance premium factor in mind when making decisions on that return. Sidebar No. 1: You can get hit with delayed premium surcharges For years, the IRS has had big-time data processing problems, and nothing has changed. For that reason, it can take a long time for Medicare health insurance premium surcharges for the year in question to catch up with the MAGI number reported on your Form 1040 for two years earlier — and eventually reported by the IRS to the SSA. When the SSA finally gets your MAGI number for two years earlier, it will refigure your Part B and Part D surcharges, if applicable. If prior withholding from your Social Security benefits did not cover the refigured surcharges, you will be charged the difference via additional withholdings. For example, if you extended your 2019 Form 1040, you may just now be finding out how much your actual Part B and Part D surcharges were for 2021. Any shortfall between what was actually withheld from your Social Security benefits in 2021 and what should have been withheld for that year after the SSA’s refiguring will be withheld from your 2022 benefits. You’re welcome. SIDEBAR No. 2: You can take tax-free HSA distributions to cover Medicare health insurance premiums Good news if you have a health savings account (HSA). You can take federal-income-tax-free HSA distributions to reimburse yourself for Medicare health insurance premium costs. If you take distributions during the year, fill out IRS Form 8899, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and include it with your Form 1040 for that year.

مارس 6, 2022

Govt proposes hike in 3rd-party motor insurance premium from next fiscal

The Union Road Transport Ministry has proposed an increase in the third-party motor insurance premium for various categories of vehicles, which is likely to jack up insurance cost of car and two-wheelers from April 1.

According to the proposed revised rates, private cars with 1,000 cubic capacity (cc) will attract rates of Rs 2,094 compared to Rs 2,072 in 2019-20.

Similarly, private cars with 1,000 cc to 1,500 cc will attract rates of Rs 3,416 compared to Rs 3,221, while owners of car above 1,500cc will see a premium of Rs 7,897 compared to Rs 7,890.

Two-wheelers over 150 cc but not exceeding 350 cc will attract a premium of Rs 1,366 and for two-wheelers over 350 cc the revised premium will be Rs 2,804.

After two years moratorium due to COVID-19 pandemic, the revised TP insurance premium will come into effect from April 1.

Earlier, TP rates were notified by the insurance regulator IRDAI. This is also for the first time that the road transport ministry will notify the TP rates in consultation with the insurance regulator.

As per the draft notification, a discount of 15 per cent is proposed for electric private cars, electric two wheelers, electric goods carrying commercial Vehicles and electric passenger carrying Vehicles.

The third party insurance cover is for other than own damage, that is for the vehicle.This is mandatory cover, along with the own damage cover, that a vehicle owner has to purchase.

This insurance cover is for any collateral damage to a third party, generally a human being, caused due to a road accident.

The ministry has invited suggestions from all persons likely to be affected by March 14.(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

مارس 3, 2022

How to Rent Your Stuff for Cash

Moment, E+ / Getty Images

Are you looking to raise cash to pay down debt, boost your retirement savings, replenish your emergency fund or pay for a nifty vacation? Have you thought of renting the stuff you seldom use?

Right now there are a plethora of websites with handy apps you can use to identify potential renters, complete transactions and get paid quickly. They are similar to the apartment rental app Airbnb, only for items like clothes, parking spots and power tools.

Here are six categories to start with. In each case be sure to read the fine print. When renting out your possessions, look for an insurance or protection plan to fall back on should you encounter a problem with a renter, or your property be lost, stolen or damaged.

1. The bling in your closet

Let’s say you’re a woman with a closet full of designer shoes, handbags, clothes and accessories. Or you’re a guy with a killer tux. You can offer these pricey items for rent through StyleLend.

You simply list your items, get a renter, approve the individual and prepare the goods for shipping within 24 hours. You’ll be paid 80 percent of the fee through Venmo or Paypal. Clothing must fit the customer, of course. It will be returned to you in a prepaid envelope after seven days.

What if merchandise is damaged? Customers pay a $5 insurance fee to cover fixable repairs up to $50. Should the article suffer greater damage, or be lost, stolen or unfixable, the customer will be charged the replacement cost or the item’s current monetary value.

2. Your car

You enjoy having a car but seldom use it. Maybe you have a second vehicle that often sits idle. Try turning to Turo. This car-sharing platform, available in many major U.S. cities, connects you with drivers in your area who may want to rent your wheels. Rental rates are attractive but lower than those typically charged by car rental agencies.

Turo sets the rate for your car based on competitive factors, lists and markets it, and checks out potential drivers. It offers insurance coverage and roadside assistance. With Turo, you keep 65 to 85 percent of the receipts per rental. Payments are deposited into your bank account within days.

The platform estimates that you can earn up to $10,000 a year (depending on the car), suggesting that you might use the revenue to purchase and rent out additional vehicles and build a lucrative side business.

3. Your RV

Say you have a recreational vehicle that you love but use just a few weeks a year — an expensive investment that is costly to maintain. With RVShare and Outdoorsy, you can rent out your wheels by the day or week and earn as much as $50,000 a year.

Both platforms list your vehicle, but you set the rental rate, considering the make, model, amenities and model year. RVShare and Outdoorsy verify renters in advance, offer insurance and provide 24/7 roadside assistance. They charge a commission or a transaction fee. All payments go directly into your bank account.

فوریه 28, 2022

Iowans with long-term care insurance face huge premium hike

Iowa’s insurance commissioner is seeking an urgent court order to prevent a Pennsylvania insurance company from dramatically raising premiums and slashing benefits for elderly Iowans with long-term care policies.Unless the courts intervene, Insurance Commissioner Douglas M. Ommen argues in a petition filed in Polk County District Court, the Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania will be allowed to “coerce vulnerable Iowans” into paying confiscatory rate increases of 400% or more even while imposing “draconian” cuts to policyholders’ benefits.Ommen is taking Jessica K. Altman, Pennsylvania’s former commissioner of insurance, to Polk County District Court over the matter. Altman is the court-approved “rehabilitator” of the financially troubled Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania. In that role, Altman has been granted all the authority of the company’s directors, officers, and managers in an attempt to make the company solvent.In his court petition, Ommen argues that he is concerned that with Altman at the helm, Senior Health has already begun contacting Iowa policyholders about “extreme” increases in premiums and potential cuts in benefits.According to the petition, Senior Health’s business consists almost entirely of long-term care policies that pay for nursing home care. Court records indicate Senior Health has been insolvent since at least 2019, when it reported a deficit of approximately a half-billion dollars The company has not written any new policies since approximately 2003, and only a small fraction of its original business remains active, the petition claims.State records indicate that are currently 881 Senior Health policyholders in Iowa. The average Senior Health policyholder age is 86 years old, and the average age of a policyholder with an active claim is 89, but the company is allegedly laboring under a funding deficit of $1.2 billion.Ommen argues that despite Senior Health’s “dire financial condition,” Altman has decided not to place the company in liquidation — a process that would trigger coverage through state guaranty associations that protect policyholders when insurers go under. Altman has instead placed Senior Health in rehabilitation, which is a process that enables the company to reduce expenses and boost income by changing the terms of its 39,000 active policies.In May of last year, a Pennsylvania court approved a rehabilitation plan put forward by Altman. In December, Senior Health filed notice of a premium rate increase in Iowa, in accordance with the approved plan.Ommen rejected the proposed rate increase, arguing that the rehabilitation plan circumvents not only state laws regulating insurance rates, but also the laws that pertain to the payment of claims that are made against insolvent insurance companies. The rehabilitation approach benefits large insurance companies at the expense of “policyholders who have paid premium for many years,” Ommen argues.In his petition to the court, Ommen states: “Iowa’s elderly policyholders accepted the bargain presented to them by (Senior Health): ‘If you pay the premium, we will accept the risk of future loss.’ It is unfair and contrary to Iowa law for defendants to now change that bargain because of factors or events they wish the company had known or considered when the bargain was made, and to transfer that risk back to the policyholder.”69-year-old Iowan facing 403% rate increaseStates other than Pennsylvania where policyholders reside, including Iowa, were given the option under the rehabilitation plan to either opt in or opt out. Although Ommen chose to opt Iowa out of the plan late last year, Senior Health subsequently filed for approval of rate increases on 215 policies held by Iowans, stating that it plans to increase the average annual premium for those policyholders from $2,307 to $4,648 annually, an increase of 201%.For some Iowa policyholders “even more drastic premium increases” are planned, according to the petition. For example, one Iowan is an 89-year-old woman who has been paying premiums since November 1990. The plan calls her premiums to increase by 234%, Ommen alleges.A 91-year-old Iowa woman who has been paying premium since March 1991 would allegedly see her premiums increase by 256%. A 69-year-old Iowa woman who has been paying premiums since March 1990 will reportedly see her premiums increase by 403%.The highest proposed premium increase is from $1,642 annually to $12,727, an increase of 675%, the petition states.In all, Altman and Senior Health have asked for an increase of 100% or more for 90 of their Iowa policyholders, the petition states. If the policyholders refuse to pay those rates, Ommen alleges, plans call for Senior Health to simply reduce the benefits associated with those policies.Even if policyholders decide to pay the premium increases outlined in phase one of the rehabilitation plan, they will face still face “draconian cuts in benefits,” Ommen says, despite the fact that they may already be in nursing homes and relying on policy benefits to pay for their care.Court records indicate Senior Health’s deputy rehabilitator, Patrick H. Cantilo, has argued that the company’s policyholders have been enjoying an unreasonably low rate of premiums and that it’s not fair to have taxpayers, through state guaranty associations, pick up the tab for the financial losses incurred by Senior Health.“The question that we were debating is: Is it reasonable, if a policyholder has been paying a quarter for a dollar’s worth of insurance for decades, to adopt, as the workout plan, a plan in which the taxpayers step up to pay the remaining 75 cents?” Cantilo testified at one hearing.In response to that argument, Ommen says the Iowa Legislature, in creating a state guaranty fund, determined that it was “reasonable to spread the loss resulting from insurer insolvency” and not to place that burden solely on the backs of policyholders.Ommen is asking the court to issue a temporary injunction preventing the defendants from implementing their rehabilitation plan in the state of Iowa.Altman resigns as Pennsylvania insurance commissionerThe defendants in the case have not filed a response, and a hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 9. However, lawyers for Ommen’s office have filed a motion seeking more immediate action, noting that the matter is “urgent” and that under Iowa’s rules of civil procedure a court can grant a temporary injunction without first holding a hearing.“Defendants have stated that they will not follow Iowa law in their plan,” the motion states. “The court does not need any further information to determine that defendants are violating Iowa law and should be enjoined to protect Iowa policyholders.”The court has yet to rule on that motion.In January, a South Carolina court issued an order granting that state’s insurance commissioner’s request for a temporary injunction that blocks implementation of Senior Health’s rehabilitation plan in that state. Earlier this month, a Louisiana did the same, blocking implementation in that state.As for Altman, who helped craft the rate-increase plan, she resigned Friday as Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner, with Gov. Tom Wolf praising her for “protecting access to high-quality, affordable health care by holding insurance companies accountable.”Altman will soon begin serving as CEO of Covered California, a free service that provides Californians with financial assistance in purchasing health insurance while steering others to coverage under the state-run Medi-Cal program. The service is sponsored in part by the state’s Department of Health Care Services.Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: [email protected]. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
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فوریه 23, 2022

The hidden advantages of humble insurance agents

Such incidents are not uncommon. Many people prefer buying insurance online if it is available at lower rates. Data from insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) shows that the contribution of individual insurance agents to individual new business premium is decreasing. It fell to 58.14% in 2020- 21 compared to 60.09% in 2019-20 in the life insurance business. In the case of health insurance, it slipped to 73.90% in 2020-21 from 75.21% in 2019-20.

Instead, online direct selling and web aggregators saw an uptick in sales— from 1.72% in 2019-20 to 1.92% in 2020-21 in life insurance new business premium and from 4.56% in 2019-20 to 5.95% in 2020-21 in health insurance. Interestingly, the share of banks in new business premium in life insurance increased from 26.7% in 2019-20 to 29% in 2020-21. However, it decreased from 8.06% to 7.84% in case of health insurance. The data trend aside, what you must care about is the distribution channel through which you are buying the policy.

View Full ImageMint

Focus on source more than the premium: There is a casual approach to buying insurance. People lay emphasis on the premium amount or a specific insurance company. However, the first step should be to search for a favourable distribution channel, be it individual, corporate agents or web-aggregators. Take into account factors such as expertise in the industry, the agent’s commission structure, and the pre and post sales services.

Skin in the game: Not all distribution channels earn the same amount on selling a policy. You must understand to what extent you matter to a specific distribution channel. Ask the agent how much upfront or renewable commission they earn from the premium you pay.

“Agents’ remuneration includes first year as well as renewal commission whereas alternate channels get only first year commission which is higher than the commission given to agents. Hence an agent would be service-oriented because their future commissions are linked,” said Shailesh Kumar, co-founder and insurance head at Insurance Samadhan, a grievance redressal platform.

Mahavir Chopra, founder, Beshak.org agrees with this. “Customer executives on toll-free numbers have goals that may not be aligned to customer’s long-term interest. For instance, if a claim gets rejected due to something amiss in the proposal form or even information that is incorrectly understood, there is hardly any impact on the reputation or earnings of the advisor,” says Chopra.

So far as banks are concerned, they have the least skin in the game. The online web-aggregator platforms do have a separate team that looks into claims resolution, but banks do not have any such mechanism.

Advice jaroori hai: Insurance is not a one-size-fits-all product. Experts can guide you about the product that better suits your needs. The distributor involved should be incisive enough to ask the right questions. “Just as there are family doctors who stay involved with your family for generations, you need a similar connection when buying insurance,” said Kumar.

Most importantly, when the time comes to file a claim or make changes in the policy, dealing with customer care executives or bank officials is the last thing you want.

“In an imperfect world of insurance where post-sales services are still not seamless, you need a human by your side. Accept it or not, insurers have a certain conflict of interest in settling claims. We have seen cases where they would rather err on the side of not paying it over settling a claim. If you have a reputable agent by your side, they will fight for you to get your rightful claims settled,” said Chopra.

Choose the advisor wisely: It is not that all individual agents are equally good. “95% agents leave the business in two-three years. You should buy policies online than going to such agents. At least you will have some support in the former,” said Avdesh Mishra, founder and CEO of Caterpillar Insurance.

Do your research well. Some websites like Beshak.org are building an alternative business model. “We have curated a list of professional financial advisors on our platform. Customers can explore the list and get a video consultation with anyone whom they prefer, without paying any fees or charges,” said Chopra.

Price parity: Meanwhile, individual agents have started questioning the price disparity.

“The industry has been working aggressively over the last few years to minimize the difference between what an agent charges and direct sales. In our case, the difference has been coming down year-on-year and is now about 5-7%,” said Prashant Tripathy, MD & CEO, Max Life Insurance Co.

Mishra of Caterpillar Insurance confirms that he can now match the online prices against the physical services he offers for a couple of life insurance policies. A welcome trend, indeed.

Mint Take: Insurance misselling occurs across the board, whether the agent is a bank, aggregator, or individual. However, individual agents with whom you have a direct relationship may provide you with better after-sales service even if they quote a higher premium. Take this into account, while buying an insurance policy.

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