From: ddern@world.std.com (Daniel P Dern)
Subject: Re: Health Care Coverage  (and other coverages...)
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 20:28:40 GMT

In article <BzB29o.J29@tct.com> paul@tct.com (Paul Levin) writes:
>After health, life, disability, auto, and home (or renters); you might want
>to look at business liability (very expensive) and a 1 or 2 million dollar
>umbrella policy.  By the time you are done, it's about $5000 - 6000 /yr.

Other (exciting) flavors of insurance worth looking at:
"Business / Office Protection" (names will vary):  Your home/renter
insurance doesn't cover everything.  This helps by potentially
including things like valuable papers, office equipment, etc (the
stuff usually done as a rider to your main policy), and other bundled-in
goodies, possibly stuff like "the FedEx person slipped and broke
their leg on the ice".  May also cover costs for office rental if you
can't work (fire, flood, lemmings, etc).

A BOP may not necessarily include liability coverage.

Computer Insurance: Most regular insurance riders address only a limited
set of risks and problems.  This stuff should cover almost anything
in the way of damage to hardware (and maybe software), including the
airline luggage gorilla bouncing up and down on your portable workstation,
also power frying.  (Sure, your surge protector may include a warrantee
but how long will it take for them to pay).  Cost: cheap, about $14-$15
per $1000 of computer, per year (and replaces other coverage).  May be
subsumed by a BOP (see above).

>
>I recommend calling every insurance agent and company in your phone book
>(or as many as you can stand to talk to).  Get quotes and advise from everyone.
>Then make an informed decision.  Also, only go with A or A+ rated insurance
>companies.  If you can get a copy of the policy before hand, do so and read it.
>Otherwise read every word, when you get the policy.  If you don't like some-
>thing, get a different company.  When you disclose your medical history,
>tell them EVERYTHING !!!
>
>Remember, a really *great* (low) rate won't help you when you're in the
>hospital, and you find out that your insurance company won't pay.

A lot of the companies you may want to talk with won't be in the phone
book.  If you have an insurance agent you trust, ask them.  (Ask others, 
too.)  

A few other pointers re disability:

o Unlike life insurance, this is the one place where *you* benefit
from having this.  Don't stint!

o If you pay for your disability insurance with after-tax dollars,
any money you collect should be non-taxable.  If you pay with
pre-tax dollars (requires being incorporated, I believe), any
money you collect IS taxable.  As far as I can tell.

Other non-insurance precautions worth considering:

o Regular incremental and full backups
o Off-site storage for backups (e.g., safe deposit box)
o Good surge protector, enough stand-by power for orderly shutdown.
o Bootable floppies





-- 
Daniel Dern, free-lance technology journalist 
 Internet: ddern@world.std.com  UncaSam: PO Box 309 Newton Centre, MA 02159
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Newsgroups: misc.jobs.contract