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Kathryn Said:

What to do about Young Driver's car insurance?

We Answered:

You may be looking in the wrong places. Online quotes are notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. Ring some local insurance companies that have an office staffed by some professional insurance agents.

Robin Said:

Mini Quiz...Help with some confusing insurance questions...?

We Answered:

1. C - executive.

2. It could be a "contract", but the question is weird!

3. I think you're looking for "quote" or "quote indication". It's not a contract without money.

6. Yes.

Vivian Said:

Health Insurance Premiums and taxes...?

We Answered:

Having worked in this field for years now, I would answer your question this way. One Presidential Candidate would level the playing field between those who get insurance on the job, where benefits aren't taxed, and those who buy it on their own, where it is subject to tax. The tax credit would also let more of the uninsured afford coverage. HERE'S HOW. (more on the candidate later on...)
Employees would get taxed on the value of their health insurance, which on average costs $12,680 per year for a family, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Workers pay an average of $3,354 in premiums, while their employers cover the rest.

Most employees have their premiums deducted from their paychecks without paying tax on them. So, if you make $50,000, you are likely paying tax on only $46,646 of income.

So, under this candidate your taxable income would rise to $59,326. If you were in the 25% tax bracket, it would mean an additional $3,170 in taxes.

But this increase would be knocked back by the $5,000 tax credit. So in the end, you'd actually have $1,830 to put in a health savings account, which could be used to cover premiums and other medical expenses.

HSA accounts are the real answer to our problems, if you want to know what I think. Eligible individuals can slash their federal income tax bills by making deductible HSA contributions. This is like making deductible IRA contributions. And HSAs are almost as easy to set up as IRAs (more on that later). Even better, you can qualify for the HSA break regardless of your income since there are no nasty phase-out rules for high earners like the ones that apply to deductible IRA contributions.
Get this. You're allowed to make HSA contributions only if you are covered by health insurance with a 2008 deductible of at least $1,100 for self-only coverage or $2,200 for family coverage (family coverage means anything that isn't self-only coverage). People working for large companies with generous benefits won't be eligible. But potentially anyone else under age 65 is.

Assuming you meet the insurance deductible requirement, the maximum HSA contribution for 2008 is $2,900 for single coverage or $5,800 for family coverage.

You claim the writeoff for HSA contributions on Page 1 of your Form 1040 (a so-called above-the-line deduction). This means you'll get the federal tax-saving benefit whether you itemize or not. (In some states, you may get a state-tax write-off as well.)

Say you work for a small company that doesn't provide any employee health coverage. You had to arrange for your own health insurance, which in your case means separate self-only policies for you and your spouse with separate $2,000 deductibles. For 2008, you can contribute up to $2,900 to an HSA set up in your name. Your spouse can also contribute up to $2,900 to a separate HSA set up in his or her name. So the two of you can together contribute and deduct a total of up to $5,800 ($2,900 each). If you're in the 33% federal tax bracket, this would reduce your tax bill by $1,914 with very little effort on your part. You'll collect similar tax savings year after year as long as your circumstances remain the same.

now here is where things get exciting due to the fact that HSA's do imitate IRA's in a sense. As the account beneficiary of your HSA, you can also take federal-income-tax-free withdrawals from the account to pay uninsured medical expenses for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. (However, you cannot take tax-free withdrawals to pay the premiums for your high-deductible health coverage.)
You get a bonus if you're healthy and incur minimal medical expenses. Your HSA balance is allowed to accumulate from one year to the next, and any income earned on your balance is federal-income-tax-free. So if your health is really good, you can use your HSA to build up a substantial tax-favored medical expense disaster fund over the years.

As I see it, this is your best option. And oh, I explained John McCain's plan to you. It just makes better sense all-around, I should know!

Frances Said:

Will Pelosi go along with a nonprofit co-op health insurance plan or is she going to dig in her heels?

We Answered:

Erm, Obamas plans cover a lot of that.

FACT - Insurance companies in the USA admit to pushing up prices, buying politicians and not paying out claims when they should
FACT - PER PERSON the USA spends more on healthcare than any other nation on the planet
FACT - Obama debated his plans before the election for healthcare
FACT - the chance of a child under five of dying in the USA is greater than industrialised nations with universal health coverage
FACT - Obama was elected by the American people to bring in change
FACT - Obama wants to stop insurance companies from screwing the American people
FACT - The reforms Obama wants work in the Netherlands and in Switzerland