Nevada Insurance

Anything that is considered to be a deliberate deception against an insurance company for the purpose of financial gain falls under the category of insurance fraud. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, property/casualty fraud costs insurers and their policyholders roughly $30 billion dollars each year.

Insurance fraud can include many activities, through many different channels, such as applicants, policyholders themselves, third party claims, and professionals who provide service to claimants. The fraudulent activity can include padding claims or inflating claims, submitting claims for injuries or damage that never occurred, as well as staged accidents.

One third of all automobile accident injury claims involve fraud. Three percent of claims are premeditated criminal acts (staged accidents).

Insurance fraud is the second most costly crime in the United States, after tax evasion. It costs tax payers and insurers billions of dollars a year, and can result in costly premiums for policyholders. In an attempt to thwart some of this criminal behavior, some insurance companies have created special units to investigate fraud within their own companies. The agents investigate suspicious claims, claimants and other odd activity and report it to the State of Nevada Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Unit. 

In 2006 the Nevada Attorney General’s Office Insurance Fraud Unit received 1,036 referrals on suspicious claims. They resulted in 39 convictions, and $252,932 recovered in restitutions and fines.

You can report insurance fraud or theft by calling the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The call is anonymous.

Several factors may influence the cost of your homeowner’s insurance:

-Construction, location and age of your home.

-Claim history of the home.

-Deductible selected (the higher the deductible, the lower the premium).

-Loss experience of your insurance company.

-Dependability of the fire alarm system.

-Proximity of water supply.

-Fire fighting equipment and efficiency of your local fire department.

There are several things you can do to try and save on your homeowner’s insurance.

First, the age of your home may factor into the cost. Newer homes tend to be cheaper. Most insurers provide discounts if your home is less than eight years old. The location of the home will also come into play. Depending on the geographical location the home may be more prone to flood damage or earthquakes, etc. You need to get the correct coverage for the risk factors of your home.

If you raise your deductible, you can absorb more of the loss and reduce the amount of premiums that you will have to pay. Also select an insurance company that you know a good deal about and are comfortable with. Talk to insurance agents to determine what kind of services you need. If you can, try to get your automobile and homeowners insurance from the same insurer.

Insure your house, and not the land. The land is not at risk for things like theft, fire or other things that are typically covered under a homeowner’s policy. Increase your security for more discounts on the policy. Burglar alarms, deadbolts and precautions such as this will save you money.

Also, some insurers will also reduce your premium if you are willing to stay with them for more than three years.

The state of Nevada has the seventh highest automobile insurance premiums in the country. The major causes of these premiums are accident trends, concentrated populations, injury claims, uninsured and underinsured motorists, lawsuits, and vehicle theft. Nevada is among the top ten states with high crash rates. They rank second in the country in the number of deaths caused by drivers running red lights. 40 percent of all fatal crashes in Nevada are alcohol related (according to a Public Services Research Institute survey).

Medical and hospital costs are rising in the state, with Nevada having the third highest average total hospital charge in the country, per admission.

The portion of insurance premium that covers losses in auto insurance is determined by accident frequency and severity.  It is determined by the percentage of how many and how often accidents occur per number of drivers on the road. The higher the frequency, the more insurers pay in claims. Another determining factor is the severity of the accident. Other statistics considered are population density, traffic congestion, and geographical factors.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death among Americans between one and thirty four years old. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the total cost of crashes exceeds $200 billion every year. Males account for more than twice as many crashes as female drivers. In 2004, the number of fatalities in Nevada from motor vehicle crashes was 398.

Since 1975, the number of fatalities from auto-accident related accidents has declined by 29%.

The Nevada Medicare SHIP Program began in July 1993. They currently serve the state with trained volunteers and counselors, providing services for beneficiaries of Medicare in Nevada. Funding is provided through a federal grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program in Nevada strives to provide information, counseling and assistance to Medicare Beneficiaries and those who wish to apply for Medicare in the state of Nevada, as well as those who are already enrolled. They provide and assist with information on eligibility and benefits for those who are enrolled/enrolling in Medicare programs, prescription drug plans and limitations.

They can advise you on how to begin enrollment into Medicare. They also will provide you with assistance in filing a claim, requests, and appeals processes for Medicare and Supplemental Insurance. This program helps individuals find a volunteer counselor who will help you through the entire process, including determining your health insurance needs, discussing long term goals and benefits, and helping the beneficiary make informed decisions regarding their health care.

They also provide outreach information to seniors, as well as their families. Through them you may take part in seminars, classes, meetings, and health fairs. They are able to provide referrals to other state and community services as well. One of the best parts about these programs is that they provide Spanish-speaking services and have online guides to refer to for questions about Medicare in Nevada.

There are many online services that can help provide answers about Nevada health insurance, make sure you do your research before purchasing a policy.

If you are getting ready to insure your vehicle in Nevada, there are some facts you might want to brush up on first.

 The State of Nevada requires that your motor vehicle at least be covered by liability insurance. Before you can register your vehicle in the State of Nevada you must provided an Evidence of Insurance Card. This is also the case when obtaining license plates.

The DMV of Nevada has established something called Nevada LIVE (Liability Insurance Validation Electronically) to identify those motorists who are uninsured.

 Insurance companies have partnered with certain computer programs to identify registration records where the insurance may have been terminated or canceled and no new policies issued.  You will be asked to verify your coverage. If you do not respond or the insurance cannot be validated, the DMV will notify you through certified letter and then suspend your registration. You must provide new evidence of insurance, and then pay a $250 reinstatement fee to reinstate your registration. It can be reduced to $50 in some cases if the motorist has sufficient proof that the vehicle was not driven during the time that the insurance had lapsed. 

Nevada law enforcement is required to remove your license plates if your insurance and registration have lapsed, and may also impound the vehicle. At this time no criminal charges will be filed if your insurance and registration have run out, and no arrests will be issued. However, it is important to have up to date insurance and registration if you wish to continue driving in the State of Nevada.

The best place to begin if you are a resident of Nevada and looking for some form of insurance is the Nevada Division of Insurance. They are responsible for the regulation of several different types of insurance. This includes health insurance, life insurance, and car insurance, to name a few.

They have a great deal of information at their disposal to help you find an insurance agent, health coverage, and companies that are licensed to do business in Nevada. You can also file complaints with them if you feel that you have a grievance with an insurance company. It is important before purchasing insurance to check that the insurer is licensed and has a good reputation.

At this time, you can be denied coverage due to a pre-existing health condition. In some cases you may be eligible if you have already had 18 months of creditable coverage. It is helpful to research further on the department site to see if you are eligible for other state-funded benefits, as well as programs like Medicare, Medicaid, etc.

Programs such as Nevada State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) also exist and provide one-on-one counseling and guidance to help you find a program that will cover you. This is in addition to the Nevada Medicaid program which is in place to help consumers in poverty and uninsurable people who need medical coverage.

There are many online sites in addition to this one that can help you compare quotes and different types of health insurance coverage.

Here are some facts about Nevada insurance:

- The population of people living in poverty is 387,800.

- The average health spending per capita is $4,569.

- Of the entire state population, the amount of people uninsured is 464,100. This is 14.5 percent of the    entire U.S. population.

- The number of uninsured children in Nevada is 120,800, being 10.3 percent of the U.S. population.

- The Medicaid and Medicare enrollment in Nevada is at 20 percent and 15 percent of the entire U.S., respectively.

- The monthly CHIP enrollment as of June 2009 is 22,444.

- Obese and overweight children in Nevada make up 31.6 percent of the U.S. population.

- The teen death rate is ranked at 93, and the infant mortality rate is ranked at 6.2.

- The number of private establishments that offer health insurance to employees in Nevada is 62.8 percent.

- 14.1 percent of all insured are covered by Medicaid.

- 12.4 percent of all insured are covered by Medicare.

- 4.7 percent of all insured is individual private insurance.

- 1.2 percent of all insured is other public category.

- 17.5 percent of people in Nevada could not see a health care provider due to no insurance and high cost of a physician’s care.

- The estimated underserved and uninsured population in Nevada is 13.3  percent, or 344,988 people.

- The purported underserved percentage in the entire U.S. stands at 11.8 percent, or 35,817,861.

- Total number of people in Nevada enrolled in Medicare in 2008 327,629.

- 15 percent of entire U.S. is currently enrolled in Medicare.

- Total Medicare spending in Nevada by resident is $2,078.

 Citizens of the state of Nevada are looking to push health care reform and overhaul the health insurance practices in their state, in light of the recent bill. Currently, the state of Nevada does not provide a risk pool for its citizens who are deemed uninsurable. A risk pool is a state-funded program that enables people with pre-existing medical conditions to still apply for and get insurance in some cases.

The state does have a branch of Medicaid as well as programs such as Nevada Checkup and the Division of Healthcare and Financing and Policy, that strive to provide low-cost coverage for uninsured minor child and families with low incomes. Currently, the state of Nevada has a ranking of #41 in terms of citizens without health insurance plans. This falls right at 82 percent of residents that do not have health insurance. While 85 percent of Nevada’s citizens are considered ‘insurable’, meaning that they could get health insurance if/when they needed it. Only 52percent of employers in Nevada currently offer health insurance to its employees, which is higher than the national average.

Many residents of Nevada are contacting their congressman and state representatives to urge them to support health care reform, in order to better serve the residents of Nevada in obtaining medical insurance, not only that is affordable, but that is able to be maintained through changing jobs and even for those with pre-existing health conditions.

Some of the main Health Insurance Companies in Nevada are the following: Aetna, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, Celtic Ins., Golden Rule, Health Plan of Nevada, Humana, and PacifiCare of Nevada.