Good afternoon!  How many of you were happy with a 1.7% raise in your Social Security?
Not many I guess.

Now how many people were upset when the price of gas dropped below S2.00?  Not many here either.

 

Now, how many of you are happy that your Medicare Supplement premium is going up?   That's right; Spring is the time when most companies increase their Medicare Supplement premiums.   We all know it is going to happen, none of us like it but there is nothing we can do about it right?

NO!  WRONG!  

 

In the state of Washington you can change your Medicare Supplement at any time if you wish.   

There are no waiting periods, no health questions or pre-existing condition limitations.   

 

So if you are interested in saving money on your premium, give us a call and we can talk about your options.  We can move you from company to company or from plan to plan any time.  Let's at least talk about your options.

 

So "John", you say, "What are these price increases that we are going to see?"   

 

Well since you asked, here are the rates as of  4/1/2015.  

 

AARP-        Plan F $194.71  ~  Plan N $127.75

Premera - Plan F $188.00  ~  Plan N $149.00

Regence-   Plan F $184.00

Mutual of Omaha - Plan G $158.00  (must pay $147.00 annual deductible).

 

At this time with all our major companies increasing premiums by basically the same amount, we do not see any reason to recommend any specific plan changes. If this should change in the future we will of course let you know immediately.

 

None of these rates include discounts for married couples, auto pay or full year payment, so if you have any of those discounts your rate may be slightly lower, but increasing none the less.  These are the "rack rates" as advertised.

 

Click here  

to visit web site of the Office of the Washington State Insurance Commissioner to view the rates.  

 

You will be able to see all the prices for all the companies available in Washington.  This should be updated as of 4/1/2015.

 

If you have any questions, please contact us.   

We look forward to helping you with your health insurance now and in the future.

 

Changes

 

As many of you have heard over the past few months, Sarah and I are lucky to be welcoming our second child into the world any day now.  In fact by the time you are reading this article I bet he will have already arrived.

 

Something that struck me when it comes to a major change in your life like this, is how many places I have to notify of the new addition.  Health Insurance needs to know to add him to our policy.  Beneficiaries!  Life Insurance and Investment accounts must be updated.  Family Will.  Lots of places that must be contacted.  That's right, the responsibility falls on us to notify all the companies that may be interested.

 

 

This ties into Home and Auto insurance because without being informed, we won't know of changes on your end.  

Have you purchased new jewelry or artwork?

Bought a new fun toy like a motorcycle, trailer or RV?  

Did you add an aftermarket backup camera or any other fun stuff to customize your vehicle.  

Have you remodeled? New kitchen or bathroom? Built a shed or workshop that might not be updated on your policy?  

 

Whatever the change is, a simple call to your local agent to make sure you are covered is probably worth the time.  Don't pay money for a policy and HOPE that you are covered correctly.  Part of that ownership falls on the client to make sure recent changes and improvements are reflected accordingly.  

 

If you think you might need a 'checkup' or have new additions you want to run by us, just give us a call!  And if you don't have a local agent to answer your questions about this stuff, you should be asking yourself why not?  

 

If you enjoy coming to our office to ask questions and get great service with your health insurance, why not have the same service on ALL of your insurance policies!

 

Open Enrollment with the Washington Health Plan Finder has been extended until Anyone who has been unable to enroll or did not realize the implications of not having health insurance will be able to enroll through the Washington Health Plan Finder at  http://www.wahealthplanfinder.org.

 

Currently Open Enrollment has not been extended directly with the insurance carriers so anyone looking for coverage must utilize the Washington Health Plan Finder regardless of whether or not they are eligible for tax credits based on their income levels.

 

After April 17, 2015 - Open Enrollment will be closed and will not open again until November 1 for coverage  becoming effective on January 1, 2016.  

 

Only people experiencing a Special Election Period or SEP will be eligible for purchasing coverage outside of the Open Enrollment period.  

 

Apple Health does not have an Open Enrollment period and can be applied for or renewed at any point in the year.

 

 

I frequently get asked questions about interest rates and what do I think they are going to do.  The simple answer is that I have no idea when rates will increase but common sense says that they will increase at some point.

 

Five years ago when rates dropped close to where they remain today, I was sure that by the year 2015, rates would be back to a more normal rate of 5% or so for deposit accounts.  I thought that with the government borrowing trillions of dollars a year to fund the deficit it would add pressure to increase interest rates.

 

March and April are months when many folks have CD's renewing.  This is no coincidence but rather many folks do this on purpose so they may pay tax bill's or property taxes as the come due in April.

 

Locally First Federal and Sound Community banks ran limited time offers with higher interest rates and when questioned, I was advised that they were trying to pick up new customers from the Union Bank branch closing in Sequim.

 

 

 

Annuities are different from bank CD's.     

 

If you are interested in learning the differences please let me know.