Hank Stern of InsureBlog is hosting the Swan Song Edition of Cavalcade of Risk … please check it out, it’s a great holiday edition with an eclectic roundup of posts from some of our favorite bloggers.
It’s also the end of an era that launched back in 2006. For 224 biweekly editions of this risk roundup, Hank has been the leader, the inspiration, the organizer, the spam wrangler and the person who generally kept things chugging along. Managing these carnivals is a big job – one that he did expansively, graciously and with good humor! Kudos and many thanks to Hank, who has become a dear friend to us over the years!
Welcome to Cavalcade of Risk #143. In searching to see if the number 143 had any particular significance, we stumbled on an interesting bit of trivia about the late lamented children’s hero, Mr. Rogers. For the last 30 years of his life, he maintained his weight at exactly 143 pounds. According to writer Tom Junod, Rogers found beauty in the number because, “the number 143 means ‘I love you.’ It takes one letter to say ‘I’ and four letters to say ‘love’ and three letters to say ‘you.’ One hundred and forty-three.” There are a lot of interesting facts associated with Mr. Rogers. Did you know that every one of his famous sweaters was knitted by his Mom? Learn more in 15 reasons Mr. Rogers was best neighbor ever. The world would probably be a lot less risky a place if we all took Mr. Rogers’ message of respect to heart.
Moving on to our entries this week, we begin with some good news that we can all revel in. In his post Remember: I’ll Drink to That!, Henry Stern of InsureBlog tells us that moderate tippling may reduce our risk of Dementia. We’re not sure Mr. Rogers would approve, but pass the Bloody Mary, please.
At Risk Management Monitor, Emily Holbrook notes that Thailand’s worst flooding in five decades has affected companies in every industry, from automotive to technology to pharmaceuticals and beyond. She demonstrates Thailand importance in global supply chains in her post about the 5 companies hit hardest by the Thailand floods.
If Doctors were aware of the actual costs of healthcare being incurred when they provide treatment, would that help in controlling costs? Louise Norris of Colorado Health Insurance Insider examines a physician’s cost control suggestion in her post about real time tracking of healthcare costs.
Russell Hutchinson covers the insurance equivalent of the last mile: actually ensuring that coverage will work for you by covering the proper handling of the policy and how the proceeds will feed into your estate management plans. See Insurance and the Filing Cabinet at Chatswood Consulting Moneyblog.
Despite the fact that millions of children are uninsured, many of these children are eligible for Medicaid/CHIP. Jason Shafrin, The Healthcare Economist, examines trends in participation in these public insurance programs in his post about state governments providing health insurance to more children.
David Williams offers his thoughts on the risk-reward tradeoff related to prostate-specific antigen testing in his post a few observations on the PSA testing debate at Health Business Blog.
Are on-line video doctor visits are a cost effective way to increase access to health care? In his post about virtual medical office visits, Dr. Jaan Sidorov points out that this form of telemedicine has the additional advantage of offering a lower cost alternative for insured beneficiaries who already enjoy high access.
In which industry are you most at risk of suffering an on-the-job injury: construction, manufacturing, mining, or nursing homes? Find out in our Pop Quiz here on Workers Comp Insider
Eric Turkewitz of New York Personal Injury Law Blog presents a real-world case of an insurer playing the odds and losing in his post about a insurer being slammed for bad faith as the Judge cites “A Few Good Men”.
Jacob looks at five common life insurance mistake and how to void them at My Personal Finance Journey.
FMF says there are standards that every policy should uphold as well as additional, more personal considerations to take into account when buying long-term care insurance. He offers guidance for the basics in buying long-term care insurance at Free Money Finance.
Should the Federal Insurance Office release insurers’ statutory financial data to the public in a manner similar to that used by the SEC with its EDGAR tool? R.J. Lehmann tackles this topic in FIO, FOIA and a free market in insurance data posted at Out of the Storm News.
Super Saver makes the case that while the short term downside risk of the stock market is high, the long term downside risk is still low in his post Is it Different this Time? at My Wealth Builder.
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We’re pleased to be hosting issue #134 of the Cavalcade of Risk. We kick off this issue with an excellent TED presentation by Bruce Schneier on The Security Mirage which talks about how the feeling of security and the reality of security don’t always match. He looks at why we spend billions addressing dramatic but rare risks that make headlines while neglecting more probable risks — and how we can break this pattern.
Schneier is a renowned security technologist and author with an excellent blog. Recently, Morgan Housel of The Motley Fool related the five cognitive biases that Scheir spoke about to lessons for investors. Our regular roundup
This week, our blogger participants have submitted a tasty smorgasbod of entries on a variety of risk-related topics.
We start with a pair of posts by our fearless leader, Hank Stern, from InsureBlog. Have you heard about the growing practice of personal car sharing? Hank looks at the consumer risks associated with the newly expanding “peer to peer” car sharing services industry in his post Stupid Client Tricks: P & C Edition. It’s a great and informative post, but we would be remiss in leaving his blog without directing you to another post entitled Bark, Screech, Yowl. You’ll have to click through to see the topic but here’s an inducement to click: this post includes a video of a cat driving a car.
While on the topic of insurance, we have a pair of posts that look at other aspects of your personal coverage. For your auto coverage, Philip Taylor asks what’s the catch when it comes to Safe Driver Discounts in a post that examines the fine print of safe driver discounts. And do you know your financial exposure if your home should be destroyed in a disaster? At Canadian Finance Blog, Tom Drake asks if you have enough insurance on your home.
Speaking of disasters, we know that catastrophic weather events are expensive, but rain? At Risk Management Monitor, Jared Wade looks at the the high economic costs of routine weather events. And on the topic of everyday-weather-related risks, we point you to our recent post here at Workers Comp Insider on lightning and lightning strike survivors in what we call “the one in a million club you don’t want to join.” Businesses & cyber exposure
At Terms + Conditions, Claire Wilkinson posts about the recent spate of cyber attacks, highlighting the exposure that many businesses face. (And we would note that you don’t have to be a bank or financial institution to have exposure. Note this recent item on how employers are vulnerable to a security breach by their own employees’ ignorance of phishing scams.)
Data risks are here to stay. At DePaolo’s Work Comp World , the topic is the convenience and risk of electronic records. He notes that the real real issue is the ease by which sensitive information may be obtained in large quantities, then analyzed and/or utilized for malicious purposes, and underscores the above point that employees rather than hackers likely constitute the biggest risk. Healthcare related matters
How did one hospital address the increasing risk that nursing home patients will be transferred to a hospital for their end of life care? Jason Shafrin of The Healthcare Economist explores the issue in his post about maximizing utility for end-of-life care.
David Williams of Health Business Blog demonstrates the risk of being an early adapter of online services in his post about the disappearance of Google Health. He also offers a case study in physician risk in a post dissecting a medical malpractice defense related to a paraesophageal hiatal hernia repair and Nissen Fundoplication procedures.
Does providing user-friendly, patient-centric, clear, concise and objective information about the risks, benefits and alternatives of various treatment options enable consumers to choose wisely and forgo risky, dubious and expensive options. Jaan Sidorov posts about Health Advocacy Groups, Evidence-Based Medicine & Shared Decision Making at Disease Management Care Blog . Safe retirement planning
Variable annuities are often promoted as a risk-free way to receive consistent retirement income. Kevin Mulligan of Retirement Planning Blog looks at the truth of the matter in his post on the risk of variable annuities.
If you plan to retire before Medicare kicks in, what are your healthcare coverage options? Free Money Finance looks at various ways to get retiree health insurance before the age of 65. Assorted terrifying perils
For our final entry, Consumer Insurance Blog poses the most important question of the day: Are you ready for the Zombie Apocalypse? Find out before it’s too late.
That concludes this week’s edition – thanks to all submitters!
The next issue of Cavalcade of Risk is scheduled for July 13 at the Notwithstanding Blog – see you there!
We are pleased to be hosting the biweekly Cavalcade of Risk. We thought we’d kick things off on a light note with these amusing ads from Bangkok Insurance that cleverly illustrate the concept of probability.
Insurance is based on weighing and measuring the odds, and protecting ourselves against those odds. You can consult this handy chart on the lifetime odds of death for selected causes to assess your risk. (And to cheer you, you can also check dead at your age to see which famous people you’ve already outlived.) But even when you know the odds, life can throw curve balls … clever insurers know this and use the unexpected to remind us to keep our policies up to date …
When real life outperforms the commercials…
As we delve into this week’s submissions, we see a few real-life examples of what can happen when people don’t pay-to-play in hedging against risks. Khaleef Crumbley at KNS Financial talks about whether pay-to-spray fees are good idea or not in his post about the recent TN case where firefighters stood by as a home – and the pets within – burned to the ground because the owner forgot to pay his annual $75 protection fee. This case was notable because it involved a public service, but Tred R. Eyerly of Insurance Law Hawaii posts another cautionary tale about paying fees on time – this one involving an insurance company. He discusses a legal case in which the court denied an insured’s claims against its flood insurer.
If you aren’t happy with your insurance coverage, Jeff Rose of goodfinancialcents offers 6 factors that make switching insurance companies and firing your agent all worth it. But if you are considering a switch in insurers, Nancy Germond of AllBusiness.com suggests that you not be too hasty and you don’t do it for the wrong reasons because cut-rate insurance may cost you much more.
And when considering insurance coverage, Silicon Valley Blogger reminds us about coverage to which we are often entitled but frequently overlook: Extra insurance coverage through credit cards: use those perks. Miscellaneous perils
Henry Stern of InsureBlog notes that if you think those big old Bel Airs of your parents’ day were safer than today’s econoboxes, think again. He offers compelling video evidence in his post Retro Risk Reduction. And while on the topic of transportation risks, we point to our own post on a rather unsettling mater: the sorry state of medical certification of commercial drivers and other public transportation regulatory issues.
Ironman at Political Calculations cautions that you not let technological advances leave you in the dust. He offers a cool tool to help you assess whether you are keeping up: When will you become obsolete?. But while technology advances offer opportunities, they are not without their own risks. Emily Holbrook of Risk Management Monitor posts that if we find ourselves in a courtroom, social media has increased our risk for an unfair trial.
Sometimes our risk comes from quarters where we least expect it. We’ve all been alerted to the dangers of identity theft – but usually we expect the danger to be from strangers. Wenchypoo of Wisdom from Wenchypoo says that the danger is sometimes all in the family. She posts on the strange phenomena of parents stealing their kids’ identities. Risk management & health care
David Williams of Health Business Blog tells us that reducing the use of head CT scans for certain kids can reduce cancer risk, improve customer service and maintain quality. The only new risk is to reimbursement: Fewer scans often mean less revenue for the provider organization.
Speaking of kids, Louise of Colorado Health Insurance Insider suggests a real-world compromise for child-only policies, which would offset the increased risk that insurers take on in guaranteed-issue, open enrollment periods for child-only policies.
If you haven’t heard about accountable care organizations(ACOs) yet, click on over to Healthcare Economist. Jason Shafrin talks about why providers love ACOs. Hint: it may be less about improving patient outcomes and more about market power.
Jaan Sidorov of Disease Management Care Blog offers 10 reasons why health insurers that offer fully insured products are unlikely to offer work-site wellness programs anytime soon – despite their cost saving potential.
Welcome to the June 2, 2010 edition of Cavalcade of Risk. With this issue, we mark the fourth anniversary of our biweekly risk roundup. Kudos to Hank Stern, Cavalcade’s founder, keeper of the flame, and all round good blog citizen. He’s the perfect person to lead the charge – as an insurance expert, he knows quite a bit about managing risk. Kudos to him and to all my fellow risk wranglers who’ve continued to dole out sage advice over all 106 issues of the Cavalcade – yay for us! Risk is so random. You are enjoying the Stanley Cup playoff game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins when a massive sinkhole swallows you and your family whole sending you to an untimely death. No, this isn’t the plot of a bad ’60s sci fi flick, it was a real event that occurred in Canada just a few weeks ago. And as living proof of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, right after hearing about this horrific event, we learn of the total disappearance of a six-story building in a Guatemala sinkhole.
Whether in business or in our personal lives, risk is unavoidable. Both consciously and unconsciously, we are all in a continual process of sizing up situations and activities, weighing the relative risk versus reward, and determining the maximum acceptable level of risk in going forward. The business or discipline of such assessment is called risk management; in our day-to-day lives, it’s called living.
In the biweekly issues of Cavalcade of Risk, we turn to various experts who weigh in with risk management advice for assorted business and life activities. Because risk can be messy, our topics span the gamut. While there may be some ongoing themes that recur in our lineups, by the very nature of the beast, it’s not always easy to sort submissions into neat little categories. Today’s issue follows suit.
We’ll kick off this issue with a post from Hank Stern of InsureBlog, who shares his own experience in Risk Management: It’s Personal, too, along with a poignant video about the nature of personal risk management.
As we watch the gulf coast scenario play out, it is increasingly apparent that oil drilling is very risky business. Emily Holbrook of Risk Monitor examines the risks of oil-producing countries. And is the best way to prevent oil spills to regulate the oil companies or allow for those injured by the spills to sue the firms in court? Jason Shafrin weighs in at Healthcare Economist in his post about Rand Paul and the Oil Spill.
At Risk Management for the 21st Century, Nancy Germond talks about the potential risks that social networking can pose to your company’s brand and reputation. She offers a prescription for minimizing that risk by crafting a social networking policy to prevent abuse.
At her eponymous blog, Wenchypoo talks about a a little-known but common clause that might leave you without property coverage in her post about vanishing homeowner’s insurance. And while on the topic of homeowners, Silicon Valley Blogger offers tips to lower your home insurance premiums at Digerati Life.
Kim Luu at Money and Risk considers the reduction in retirement portfolios that the recession has wreaked and offers 5 good habits for the DIY investor to limit risk when managing investments online.
If you want to limit the risk in your portfolio, Mike Piper of The Oblivious Investor talks about why single premium immediate annuities can be helpful for retirement planning.
The emerging epidemic of childhood obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions bodes poorly for the state of our nation’s health going forward. At Health Business Blog, David Williams looks at a recent study that shows almost 30% of adolescents take prescription drugs. Joe Paduda of Managed Care Matters notes the same disturbing trend, and also looks at the drug cost inflation and pricing indicators in the report.
In a post on 5 Notorious Identity Theft Cases Sheryl of Change of Address Blog discusses various types of ID fraud and whether the burgeoning protection services are worth the investment.
Here at Workers Comp Insider, in a post on 2010’s worst teen jobs, we offer advice to parents to help them limit the risk of injury to their summer teen workers.
Did you know that this week is Protect Your Identity Week? Identity fraud seems like a rather timely theme for the week leading up to the nation’s second most-popular holiday, noted for widespread trickery, mayhem and identity assumption. All levity aside, Halloween holds a fair amount of risk, so here are some risk reduction tips for the homeowner, the employer, and all the little monsters. And a word to the wise: don’t forget to update your Zombie Insurance.
While we can’t do much more in the way of protecting your from monsters, ghosts and zombies, our contributing bloggers have submitted some excellent posts to help you tame some very real-life risks. Without more ado, I give you the pre-halloween edition of Cavalcade of Risk.
Between October and December, some risk runs on four legs. That’s when more than half of all deer-car collisions occur. Check the likelihood of hitting a deer by state at Consumer Insurance Blog’s post Seasonal road hazards: deer, moose and other ruminants.
Ironman at Political Calculations has created a tool for working out how much term life insurance a person might need while also discussing how factors like the amount of replacement income and debts to be paid off might influence how much insurance coverage you choose to get.
If you are one of the 9.7% of the workforce that is unemployed, you might be among the many who are turning to independent contract work. Jim Rose offers suggestions for affordable self-employed health insurance at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
Check out Cavalcade of Risk #62 at Wenchypoo – the Wall Street Wipeout Edition! The financial crisis and workers comp – According to a recent broker survey by Advisen, more than 75% of the respondents were confident or very confident about AIG’s financial security. Meanwhile, some preliminary news is starting to filter out about the effects of the market meltdown on workers comp. The Montana State Fund is down by about $26 million – the first of many such reports we are likely to hear. West Virginia is considering suing Wall St. firms due to losses in investments for public employee pension funds, workers comp, and other benefit programs. The meltdown is global. In Australia, WorkSafe Victoria reports a $600 million drop in the value of its investments. New Jersey comp reform – Governor Jon Corzine just signed five bills to strengthen and reform New Jersey’s workers compensation system. The measures were taken to in response to an investigative series in the Star-Ledger last spring revealing a series of weaknesses and holes in the system which left injured workers facing lengthy delays for benefits and medial treatment. The new measures expedite hearings involving medical issues; mandate employer proof of workers compensation coverage and increases penalties for employers who fail to have coverage; increase the power of workers comp judges; and broaden public representation on the governing board of the Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau. Carrier preference survey – Insurance Journal recent conducted a survey of 1,600+ independent agents which offers a window on agent attitudes to the carriers they work with. Unsurprisingly, pricing is the the leading factor that influences most agents (63%) to select a new market over their preferred market. This is followed by coverage (55%), customer need or request (53%), or underwriting restrictions (51%). When asked why they avoid carriers, agents cited three issues: poor service, muddled carrier organization and erratic underwriting.
Michael Cannon is hosting Cavalcade of Risk this week and he’s posted a diverse collection of risk-related links at The Cato Institute blog – good end of week reading. Insurance reform – Is insurance due for a regulatory overhaul? The move to an Optional Federal Charter appears to be gathering steam. To help you stay informed on the topic of insurance reform, Networks Financial Institute at Indiana State University has recently launched an online Insurance Regulatory Modernization resource. It is designed to serve as a clearinghouse for resources relevant to insurance regulation and reform. Health care debate – Kaiser Family Foundation has compiled Viewpoints: The Health Care Debate. This is a series of interviews with leaders of organizations representing health care providers, insurers, policymakers, employers, labor unions and consumers sharing their views on shortcomings in the nation’s health care system and how it could be improved. Interviews are available in video, podcast or transcript formats. Prescription promos – Merrill Goozner notes that the pharmaceutical industry is trying to eliminate the practice of showering physicians with gifts and trinkets emblazoned with drug brand names. (We’ve previously discussed promotional efforts based on dining and pom poms.) Goozner suggests the voluntary ban should be broader, and notes that it doesn’t get to the most significant ways that drug companies influence doctors. He suggests additional practices that should be banned. Kudos to Jottings By an Employer’s Lawyer – Michael W. Fox just celebrated his 6 year blogoversary yesterday – his informative and excellent law blog is one of our regular reads – we’re happy he keeps on keeping on. Congrats, Michael! Physician humor – although we don’t think it is a medical specialty often called upon for work-related injuries, we can’t resist posting the Colorectal Surgeon Song (video). It’s a silly but amusing ditty performed by popular Canadian comic duo Bowser & Blue.
Jonathon Pletzke of Consumer’s Health Insurance Book Blog does a fine job hosting this week’s back-to-work edition of Cavalcade of Risk – the first edition of the New Year. We’ll be hosting the January 16 edition here at Workers’ Comp Insider. Also, Health Wonk Review had a brief holiday hiatus but will be returning to its regular schedule a week from today with a stop at Bob Laszewski’s great blog, Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review.
David Williams has a great edition of Cavalcade of Risk posted at Health Business Blog – more than 20 choice links summarized with concise, witty commentary. We particularly enjoyed his “pariah”s corner.” David’s one of the health care blogging luminaries, a mainstay in the Cavalcade and Heath Wonk Review. If you haven’t seen his newer adjunct blog, MedTripInfo, you might check it out. The focus of that blog is what has come to be known as “medical tourism” – and if you aren’t yet cued in to what this emerging issue is all about, then David’s blog is a good place to start.
