Five insurance considerations for the new year

The start of a new year is a natural time to re-evaluate your insurance coverage needs. Changing circumstances may require updated policies. Did you have a baby? Get married? Purchase a new home or car? If so, you'll want to check whether you have the right protection.

Your agent or company can help determine whether your coverage is adequate or if you might need to make adjustments. Even if you haven't experienced a life-changing event, you could be eligible for discounts or new insurance products that may better serve your needs.

1. Life insurance
Changes–such as a birth, divorce, remarriage or even a new mortgage or new job–are indicators that you might need to make changes to your life insurance policy.

Read your policy carefully and answer these questions:

• Do premiums or benefits vary from year to year?
• Do the total benefits grow over time?
• Are there benefits that are not guaranteed?
• Do premiums change over time?
• What happens if I quit paying premiums – do I maintain some of the benefits?
• Are there any impacts associated with interest earned on the policy?
• In what situations and through what procedures can you assess cash values?
• Can the policy be converted into another form of insurance or annuity?

In the case of the birth of a child or a new marriage, you may want to consider increasing your death benefit. Check with your agent to see if your insurance company requires a physical exam before increasing your coverage levels.

Alternatively, paying off your mortgage, retirement or children finishing college might mean that you can lower your life insurance coverage and premiums. Ask your life insurance company whether you have the option of "conversion privileges" from your current term life insurance policy to a new whole life insurance policy. You may also be able to expand your death benefit so it can be used while you are still living.

2. Homeowner or renter insurance
In 2017, we witnessed a significant number of natural disasters. If you live in an area prone to floods, earthquakes or wildfires, you should make sure you're properly covered. These disasters can be costly and may not be covered under a standard policy. Discuss the possibility of adding coverage for these perils with your agent or insurance company.

The start of a new year is a good time to update your home inventory and make sure your homeowner or renter policy is up-to-date. Take photos or video of your possessions and remember to note valuable antiques, artwork or jewelry. You can create a home inventory from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC's) free smartphone app, myHOME Scr.APP.book, which you can download from iTunes or Google Play. You can also print a paper version of your home inventory.

Remember to add any new expensive or sizable gifts to your home inventory. Include as many details as you can and take photos of each item. Most basic home insurance policies have standard limits for big-ticket items like electronics, art, jewelry or sporting equipment. You may need special coverage, so call your agent to discuss changes for your policy.

3. Auto insurance
Have you had any changes to your driving habits or the vehicles that you drive? If so, contact your agent to ensure your auto policy will cover you in case of an accident.

• Liability insurance is the part of the policy that pays for any injury or damage if you cause an accident. If your liability insurance is too low, you may be legally exposed for any damages above your liability limits.
• Review your deductibles for comprehensive and collision coverage. This is the amount you will pay if your car is damaged or totaled without fault of another driver. Raising or lowering this amount can affect your premium.
• Make sure you have a copy of your insurance card and your insurance agent or company's number in your vehicle at all times.
• If you are in a collision, you should accurately record the details. The NAIC app WreckCheck, which you can download from iTunes or Google Play, assists you through the process of gathering information following an accident. It allows you to easily email your notes directly to your agent to assist with the claims process.  

4. Health insurance
You may have recently enrolled or changed your health insurance through your employer, Medicare or your state exchange. Make sure you have new insurance cards and paperwork before you visit a doctor.

• Check your policy's provider lists to make sure visits to your doctor and any specialists are still covered by your policy, as in-network or preferred provider lists change from year to year.
• Read through your documents and make note of co-pays for in-network and out-of-network providers to avoid surprises.
• If you're planning a vacation, check with your insurance carrier to identify urgent care centers and hospitals that accept your insurance coverage. Ask your carrier about applicable co-pays and deductibles if care is needed. Here's an explanation of health insurance terms you may find on your paperwork.

5. Protect yourself from identity theft and fraud  
The Equifax data breach in 2017 exposed the personal information of more than 145 million people. A data breach can potentially expose a consumer's data, putting them at risk for identity theft or other fraudulent activity. Here are some things you can do to protect your identity:

• Don't give out any personal information–including your social security number or bank information–over the phone. 
• Consider purchasing identity theft insurance. Several companies offer identity theft insurance, which generally costs between $25 and $60 per year. 
• When you purchase an insurance policy: 
• Ask for copies of everything you sign and keep a copy of the initial policy payment receipt or check you gave the agent or company.
• Call the insurance company if you don't receive a copy of the insurance policy outlining your coverage and its limitations within 30 days of your purchase.
• The best way to protect yourself from insurance fraud is to research the agent and company you're considering on the OIC's website. 

More information 
Find more information about your insurance needs and tips for choosing the coverage that is best for you and your family at www.InsureUonline.org. If you have questions about your insurance options or about your insurance coverage, visit the OIC's website at www.insurance.wa.gov.

David Marshall’s report on auto insurance, Fair Benefits Fairly Delivered.

Back in April, David Marshall’s report on auto insurance, Fair Benefits Fairly Delivered was submitted to the Minister of Finance. What followed was a consultation process, in which that I participated. On December 5, 2017, the government announced their plan to address fraud and high premiums. I was relieved to see that Marshall's recommendation to create an independent evaluation centre network in public hospitals was abandoned. This is an op-ed piece I wrote, which was published in the Toronto Star in October that dealt with this specific issue.

Ontario’s crowded hospitals don’t need even more exams

Attempts by the province of Ontario to fix auto insurance could well end up causing more harm than good to the health care system.

Now, that’s not how it’s supposed to work. And that’s nobody’s intention. But we’d all have to live with the result.

Here’s how we got here: The provincial government is considering a round of reforms for auto insurance in Ontario, unfortunately without basing those decisions on decent data, evidence or analysis. If adopted, the end result is going to send more people, not fewer, to hospitals, and all at a time when overcrowding is already at crisis levels in the province.

We didn’t start out with a flawed system. Most people would agree that the introduction of no-fault auto insurance in Ontario was the right thing to do. Ontario drivers deserve an affordable system that provides coverage and protects accident victims and that’s what they got.

It didn’t last. The insurance industry began to pressure government to make changes. Political pressure then led to successive governments adopting half-baked, knee-jerk solutions to auto-insurance delivery — anti-fraud measures were implemented, a licensing regime was created, a new dispute resolution system was put in place, basic accident benefit coverage was reduced.

Since 2010, there have been more than 30 changes to auto insurance regulations, most, if not all, with the intention of lowering costs. Few people will suggest the system has actually been improved in that time.

The government is now considering another round of reforms. This time it’s through David Marshall’s report on auto insurance, Fair Benefits Fairly Delivered.

But these changes, if adopted, will be no more successful than the previous reforms. One of the most alarming is the suggestion that medical exams, when required after an accident — which are currently done in independent medical centres — should happen in hospitals.

That is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Actually, it’s worse than that. It’s trying to fix one system while hurting a far more essential one. Current OHIP patients typically wait six to 30 months to see a specialist for an assessment. According to a recent story in the Toronto Star, it now takes 30.4 hours to be placed in an inpatient bed from the emergency department in the province. That’s the longest it’s ever been. There’s no way this helps with that problem.

I had the lead in developing and introducing the system which saw independent medical assessments being done as part of auto insurance claims, back in 1994. In the beginning, some were conducted in hospitals.

That didn’t last. While hospitals have different needs and resources, some could make better use of the space required, while others may not have had the patient volume to justify offering the assessments. Still more may have had trouble simply finding assessors. On the whole, hospitals decided on their own their resources were needed elsewhere. There’s no doubt that’s true.

The other troubling recommendation the province is considering is a proposal to adopt a controversial Workplace Safety and Insurance Board model for auto insurance medical exams. The systems aren’t transferable. For example, the examiners in the WSIB system don’t appear as witnesses in disputes. But disputes are built into auto insurance claims. As a result, the proposed changes have the potential to add another layer of assessments and costs.

Changes can and should be made to auto insurance in the province. It would be better for the province to focus on standards for those who conduct the independent examinations — something that has been recommended many times in the past. But that’s one change that’s never been made.

The Marshall report indicates that this is “an opportunity to learn from past experience and fix the problems in the current auto insurance delivery system.”

I don’t see that happening. Instead, I believe that implementing this report would repeat past errors. We’ve had enough of those already.