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<keyword id="22053621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Insurance-regulator-IRDA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Insurance regulator IRDA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Insurance regulator IRDA">Insurance regulator IRDA</keyword> has introduced sweeping reforms for various <keyword id="19936531" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="life-insurance" source="keywords">life insurance</keyword> products. In its master circular dated 12th June, 2024, the insurance watchdog laid out a slew of customer-friendly directives for life insurance companies to follow with immediate effect. Read on to know all about how these new rules will impact you : <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Customer information sheet" comment="subhead" text="Customer information sheet"><keyword id="22033784" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="customer-information-sheet" source="keywords">Customer information sheet</keyword></cmsannotation> Going ahead, all life insurance companies will have to mandatorily provide their policyholders with a CIS, or Customer Information Sheet. This will serve to explain to them the basic features of the policy in very simple terms, and will include essential details like sum assured, benefits, policy loan options, free-look period and procedures for making claims and redressing grievances. In addition, benefits payable to the policyholder if they survive the policy tenure (maturity benefits), upon death and surrender of policy should also be clearly spelt out. Along with this, the policyholders are also entitled to a customised illustration of how the policy will benefit them while they are being sold the policy. CIS should also be made available to the policyholder in their local language on request. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Free-look and grace period" comment="subhead" text="Free-look and grace period"><keyword id="22053620" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Free-look-and-Grace-Period" source="Orion">Free-look and grace period</keyword></cmsannotation> Policyholders will now have a 30-day window from the day they receive the policy document to review and cancel the policy if they want. If the policy is cancelled within this period, they will be entitled to a full premium refund. Earlier, this period only lasted for 15 days. For grace period, which basically refers to the additional, penalty-free window given to the policyholder to make premium payment post due date to avoid losing coverage, the windows will differ depending on premium payment frequency. If you pay the policy premiums on a monthly basis, you will get a 15-day grace period. For premium payments made on a quarterly/half-yearly or annual basis, the grace period will be of 30 days. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Penalty on violating Ombudsman’s word" comment="subhead" text="Penalty on violating Ombudsman’s word">Penalty on violating Ombudsman’s word</cmsannotation> The insurer is bound to comply with the <keyword id="960887" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Insurance-Ombudsman" source="Orion">Insurance Ombudsman</keyword>’s award within 30 days of receiving the same. In case the same is violated, the insurer will have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 per day to the complainant. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Higher value on early policy surrender" comment="subhead" text="Higher value on early policy surrender">Higher value on early policy surrender</cmsannotation> Often, policyholders ended up with a low, negligible amount as refund upon surrendering their insurance policy. This is set to change with <keyword id="21879234" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IRDA" source="keywords">IRDA</keyword>’s latest directives. Now, policyholders will be eligible for <keyword id="885219" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="surrender-value" source="Orion">surrender value</keyword> even if they decide to surrender their policy after just one year. Previously, only 50% of <keyword id="2939473" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="policy-premium" source="Orion">policy premium</keyword> would be refunded, provided the policyholders surrendered their policy between years 4-7 of the policy tenure. Moreover, they would lose the entire premium amount if they surrendered their policy within a year. Customers will also be entitled to higher special surrender value (SSV) from now on. This SSV should be at least equivalent to the expected present one of the these three: <ol><li>Paid up sum assured, or present value of your sum assured after you stop paying premiums</li><li>Paid up future benefits</li><li>Accrued benefits</li></ol>Also, it will be compulsory for life insurers to offer loans to policyholders as per the eligible surrender value of the policy. Says Vivek Jain, Head, Investments, Policybazaar.com, "The provision for higher Surrender Value (SV), calculated at a prevailing 10-year government securities rate with a limited spread, significantly increases the value returned to policyholders in the event of a policy surrender, after the completion of first year. The mandatory facility of policy loans across all life insurance savings products and the allowance of partial withdrawals under pension products will provide vital financial flexibility, which will enable policyholders to meet liquidity needs and specific financial goals. These measures will certainly enhance trust and transparency in the industry." <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Partial withdrawal allowed from pension products" comment="subhead" text="Partial withdrawal allowed from pension products">Partial withdrawal allowed from pension products</cmsannotation> Policyholders will be allowed to make partial withdrawals, provided they have 3 years of continuous coverage under their insurance-cum-pension plan. Also, these withdrawals cannot be more than 25% of the total premiums paid till date. The insurer cannot use this withdrawal towards making any adjustments in the policy's sum assured. However, this withdrawal will only be allowed for specific situations, like funding children’s higher education/marriage, constructing a house, treating critical illnesses, starting a new venture or for skill development purposes.

Here’s how your life insurance plans are set to change

Shares of state-owned behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (<keyword id="19903588" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LIC" source="keywords">LIC</keyword>) have outperformed rivals like <keyword id="20079495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC-Life" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="HDFC Life" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="HDFC Life">HDFC Life</keyword> and <keyword id="21278696" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICICI-Prudential-Life" source="keywords">ICICI Prudential Life</keyword>, as it placed bets on India's growth sectors, including infrastructure, while the private sector concentrated its bets on tech, consumer and consumer-related <keyword id="19910880" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BFSI" source="keywords">BFSI</keyword> companies. LIC's stock has gained nearly 79% from Rs 620 on June 18, 2023, to Rs 1,109.15 at the closing on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data. In contrast, HDFC Life gave a negative return with Tuesday's closing price of Rs 646.55 on the BSE as compared to Rs 666.55 a year back. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co delivered a return of 12%, considering its stock price rise from Rs 582 on June 18, 2023, to Rs 654.10 on June 16, 2024. Over the past one year, <keyword id="19898108" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SBI" source="keywords">SBI</keyword> Life Insurance shares have risen from Rs 1,314 to Rs 1,621.20, delivering a return of 23%. Capital market analysts said <keyword id="19935977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance-companies" source="keywords">insurance companies</keyword> make money in two ways - charging premiums for policies and then investing the premiums into assets. It is the latter that generates the bigger delta in profits, thus impacting value creation and managing risks. Global majors, including Warren Buffet-owned Berkshire Hathaway, have been successful due to their ability to make superior investments. Most Indian insurance companies are yet to capitalise on the emergence of the country's <keyword id="19997284" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="infrastructure-sector" source="keywords">infrastructure sector</keyword>, analysts said. Indian insurance companies have concentrated investments in the BFSI, IT, and consumer sectors - all of which have been underperformers in the recent past. Only 8-10% of their investments are in the infrastructure sector. This is far less when compared to global standards. Large global insurance companies -- such as Allianz, Nippon Life Insurance, and Metlife, and other insurers like Berkshire Hathaway -- have much larger exposure ranging from 15 to 30% to the infrastructure sector, analysts noted. Over the past few years, global insurers have been increasingly considering infrastructure investments as 'core' investments as the stable and long-term cash flows of infrastructure assets naturally align with the liabilities of insurers. Additionally, infrastructure assets have defensive characteristics of high barriers to entry, strong pricing power, structural growth, and predictive cash flows, and listed infrastructure can provide investors with inflation-protected income and solid capital growth. <h2>Infra sector outperforming all</h2>For India, a strong government focus on the sector with large spending, supporting initiatives and encouraging policies, and improving governance has helped the infrastructure industry has come of age. This has helped the infra sector to outperform all other sectors, according to analysts. They said the high focus on retail loans, and the strategic reluctance to look at infrastructure for growth opportunities is proving detrimental for the shareholders of such companies. SBI, with its higher exposure to the infrastructure sector, has seen its stock gain 48% in the year (from Rs 592 to Rs 880.95 on Tuesday), while those of its private counterparts HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have gained only in the range of (-)3%to 24%. Kotak and HDFC Banks with negligible exposure to the infrastructure sector are the worst performing, with their shares giving a negative return, stock exchange data showed. Kotak Mahindra Bank shares were at Rs 1,895 on June 18, 2023, and closed at Rs 1,805.20 on Tuesday. HDFC Bank closed at Rs 1,619.20 on BSE on Tuesday, down from Rs 1,679 a year back.

Exposure to India's infra sector helps LIC, SBI outshine peers

<keyword id="19960762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SBI-Life-Insurance" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SBI Life Insurance" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="SBI Life Insurance">SBI Life Insurance</keyword> on Friday reported 4 per cent rise in <keyword id="19942166" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="net-profit" source="keywords">net profit</keyword> at Rs 811 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2024 as value of new business grew modestly. The life insurer had posted a net profit of Rs 777 crore in the year-ago quarter. <keyword id="20840570" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="total-income" source="keywords">Total income</keyword> during January-March FY24 rose to Rs 37,567 crore from Rs 22,805 crore in the same period of FY23, <keyword id="19906098" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sbi-life" source="keywords">SBI Life</keyword> said in a regulatory filing. Net premium income in Q4FY24 stood at Rs 25,116 crore as against Rs 19,897 crore in the year-ago period. For the full year 2023-24, the company's net profit grew 10 per cent to Rs 1,890 crore from Rs 1,720 crore in the previous year. Total income during the year rose to Rs 1,32,631 crore from Rs 81,598 crore a year ago. SBI Life said it registered a growth of 9 per cent in the value of new business (VoNB) to Rs 5,550 crore in FY24. VoNB is the present value of expected future earnings from new policies written during a specified period. It reflects the additional value expected to be generated through the writing of new policies during a specified period. Assets under management (AUM) grew 27 per cent to Rs 3.8 lakh crore as of March 31, 2024, it said. Solvency ratio declined to 196 per cent from 215 per cent in the previous fiscal. Solvency margin represents the additional capital that an insurer must maintain to cover potential claims beyond their expected liabilities. This serves as a financial safety net, ensuring their ability to settle all claims even in the most challenging circumstances. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/ultraviolette-f77-mach-2-electric-sports-bike-launched-in-india-starting-at-2-99-lakh/slidelist/109615934.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/ultraviolette-f77-mach-2-electric-sports-bike-launched-in-india-starting-at-2-99-lakh/slidelist/109615934.cms" target="_blank">Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2 electric sports bike launched in India starting at ₹2.99 lakh</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/realme-c65-5g-with-5000mah-battery-120hz-display-launched-starting-at-10499/articleshow/109619597.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/realme-c65-5g-with-5000mah-battery-120hz-display-launched-starting-at-10499/articleshow/109619597.cms" target="_blank">Realme C65 5G with 5,000mAh battery, 120Hz display launched starting at ₹10,499</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jiocinema-introduces-new-ad-free-premium-plans-starting-at-29/articleshow/109581033.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jiocinema-introduces-new-ad-free-premium-plans-starting-at-29/articleshow/109581033.cms" target="_blank">An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema</a>

SBI Life Q4 profit rises 4% to ₹811 crore

It was already a hectic day when my <keyword id="19996817" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance" source="keywords">insurance</keyword> broker left a frantic voicemail telling me that my homeowner's insurance had lapsed. I felt nauseous and naked. Suddenly, any leak, fire, or tree branch falling onto the hundred-year-old Hudson Valley house that's been in my family for nearly 40 years could <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-meltdown-rebound-fed-japan-interest-rate-decision-emergency-2024-8">wipe out</a> my bank account. I spiraled in shame. How did I let this happen? Did I forget to update a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-rewards-points-friends-fights-brunch-money-payment-venmo-2024-7">credit card</a>? Did I miss a bill? Did I do something wrong with the policy? But when I checked my records, even the <keyword id="20508386" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Travelers" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Travelers" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Travelers">Travelers</keyword> website, there was nothing. A few hours later, my panic turned to bewilderment. When I finally reached my insurance broker, he told me the reason Travelers revoked my policy: AI-powered aerial <keyword id="19942081" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="surveillance" source="keywords">surveillance</keyword>. My finances were imperiled, it seemed, by a bad piece of code. I take privacy and surveillance extremely seriously — so seriously that I started one of the leading <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.stopspying.org/">think tanks</a> on the topic, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. But while I study <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-walmart-warehouse-surveillance-employees-oxfam-report-2024-4">surveillance</a> threats around the country for a living, I had no idea that my own insurance company was using my premium dollars to spy on me. Travelers not only uses <a target="_blank" href="https://www.travelers.com/about-travelers/technology-analytics/data-driven-and-powered-by-ai">aerial photography and AI</a> to monitor its customers' roofs, but also <a target="_blank" href="https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20240005470">wrote patents on the technology</a> — nearly 50 patents actually. And it may not be the only insurer spying from the skies. This didn't just feel creepy and invasive — it felt wrong. Literally wrong: There was nothing wrong with my <keyword id="20715650" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="roof" source="keywords">roof</keyword>. I'm a lazy homeowner. I hate gardening, and I don't clean as often as I should. But I still take care of the essentials. Whether it's upgrading the electrical or installing a new HVAC, I try to make sure my home is safe. But to Travelers' <keyword id="19899640" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI" source="keywords">AI</keyword>, it appeared, my laziness was too big a risk to insure. Its algorithm didn't detect an issue with the foundation or a concern with a leaky pipe. Instead, as my broker revealed, the ominous threat that canceled my insurance was nothing more than moss. Where there's moisture, there's moss, and if you leave a huge amount of it on a roof for a protracted period, it can undermine the roof's lifespan. A small amount is largely harmless. Still, treating it couldn't be simpler. Sure, I could have knocked out the moss sooner, but life was busy, and so it kept falling (and growing) between the cracks. Finally, in June, weeks before I knew my roof was being surveilled, I went to the hardware store, spent 80 bucks on moss killer, hooked the white bottle of chemicals up to the garden hose, and sprayed it on the roof. The whole thing took about five minutes. A few days later, much to my relief, the moss was dying. I thought it was the end of an entirely unmemorable story. Who knows. Maybe if I'd done that a month sooner, Travelers' technology never would have flagged me, never would've said I was an insurance risk. But one of the deep frustrations of the AI-surveillance age is that as companies and governments track ever more of our lives in ever more detail, we rarely know we're being watched. At least not until it's too late to change their minds. While there's no way to know exactly how many other Travelers customers have been targeted by the company's surveillance program, I'm certainly not the first. In February, Boston's ABC affiliate reported on a customer who was threatened with nonrenewal if she didn't replace her roof. The roof was well within its life expectancy, and the customer hadn't encountered any issues with leaks; still, she was told that without a roof replacement she wouldn't be insured. She said she faced a $30,000 bill to replace a slate roof that experts estimated could have lasted another 70 years. Insurers have every incentive to be overly cautious in how they build their AI models. No one can use AI to know the future; you're training the technology to make guesses based on changes in roof color and grainy aerial images. But even the best AI models will get a lot of predictions wrong, especially at scale and particularly where you're trying to make guesses about the future of radically different roof designs across countless buildings in various environments. For the insurance companies designing the algorithms, that means a lot of questions about when to put a thumb on the scale in favor of, or against, the homeowner. And insurance companies will have huge incentives to choose against the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-new-homes-ugly-construction-builders-design-materials-architecture-2024-7">homeowner</a> every time. Think about it: Every time the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-quietly-picking-your-pocket-with-personalized-pricing-2024-7">AI gives the green light</a> to a roof that actually has something wrong, the insurance company picks up the bill. Each time that happens, the company can add that data point to its model and train it to be even more risk-averse. But when homeowners are threatened with cancellation, they pick up the bill for repairs, even if repairs are unnecessary. If the Boston homeowner throws out a slate roof with 70 years of life left in it, the insurance company never knows it was wrong to remove it. It never updates the model to be less aggressive for similar homes. Over time, insurance companies will have every incentive to make the models more and more unforgiving, threatening more Americans with loss of coverage and potentially driving millions or billions of dollars' worth of unnecessary home repairs. And as insurers face increasing losses due to the climate crisis and inflation, the pressure to push unnecessary preventive repairs on customers will only rise. A confusing coda to this whole ordeal was what Travelers said when I reached out with a detailed list of fact-checking questions and a request for an interview. In response, a spokesperson sent a terse denial: "Artificial intelligence analysis/modeling and drone surveillance are not a part of our underwriting decision process. When available, our underwriters may reference high-resolution aerial imagery as part of a holistic review of property conditions." How did this make sense given what was written on Travelers' own website and patent applications? Then the precision and slipperiness of the language started to stand out. What exactly counts as the "underwriting decision process"? When Travelers boasts online that its workers "rely on algorithms and aerial imagery to identify a roof's shape — typically a time-consuming process for customers — with close to 90% accuracy," does that classification not count as the underwriting process? And even though Travelers has flown <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aloft.ai/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Travelers-case-study-updated-5.14.21.pdf">tens of thousands of drone flights</a>, are those not part of underwriting? And if AI and drones aren't actually affecting customers, why file so many patent applications like "<a target="_blank" href="https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20240005470">Systems and Methods for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roof Deterioration Analysis</a>"? It felt like the company was trying to have it both ways, boasting about using the latest and greatest tech while avoiding accountability for errors. When I brought these follow-up questions to the company, Travelers did not respond. Thankfully, my own roof isn't going anywhere, at least not for now. A few hours after my panicked ordeal with Travelers began and I started to scramble to find new coverage, the situation resolved. Travelers admitted that it screwed up. It never conceded that its AI was wrong to tag me. But it revealed the reason I couldn't find my cancellation notice: The company never sent it. Travelers may have invested huge sums in neural networks and drones, but it apparently never updated its billing software to reliably handle the basics. Without a nonrenewal notice, it couldn't legally cancel coverage. Bad cutting edge tech screwed me over; bad basic software bailed me out. Part of what is so disturbing about the whole episode is how opaque it was. When Travelers took aerial footage of my house, I never knew. When it decided I was too much of a risk, I had no way of knowing why or how. As more and more companies use more and more opaque forms of AI to decide the course of our lives, we're all at risk. AI may give companies a quick way to save some money, but when these systems use our data to make decisions about our lives, we're the ones who bear the risk. Maddening as dealing with a human insurance agent is, it's clear that AI and surveillance are not the right replacements. And unless lawmakers take action, the situation will only get worse. The reason I still have insurance is simple consumer-protection laws. New York state won't allow Travelers to revoke my insurance without notice. But why do we let companies like Travelers use AI on us in the first place without any protections? A century ago, lawmakers saw the need to regulate the insurance market and make policies more transparent, but now updated laws are needed to protect us from the AI trying to decide our fates. If not, the future looks unsettling. Insurance is one of the few things that protect us from the risks of modern life. Without AI safeguards, the algorithms will take what little peace of mind our policies give us. Correction: August 9, 2024 — A previous version of this story cited a Travelers broker who said the company flew a drone over the author's house. After the story was published, Travelers clarified that any "high-resolution aerial imagery" it used did not come from a drone. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/albert-fox-cahn">Albert Fox Cahn</a> is the founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, or STOP, a New York-based civil-rights and privacy group.

My insurance company spied on my house from the sky. Then the real nightmare began.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A couple in North Carolina were caught in a landslide caused by heavy rain from Hurricane Helene.</li><li>Their house and livelihoods were destroyed, and Lindsay Thomas left unable to walk.</li></ul>On the morning of Friday, September 27, Andrew Marsh and Lindsay Thomas were at their home — one of a few lodges scattered along a winding mountain road in Marion, North Carolina — drinking coffee with two neighbors and waiting for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/before-after-satellite-photos-hurricane-helene-destruction-florida-2024-10">Hurricane Helene</a> to pass.They lived in the 500-mile stretch of the US that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-helene-hits-asheville-beer-microbreweries-north-carolina-floods-2024-9">Helene would roll through,</a> including parts of Florida, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. But the couple weren't worried; they knew a storm was coming, but hadn't been told to evacuate because their home was on high ground in the Blue Ridge Mountains.Still, they had <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-helene-slams-florida-power-outages-flooding-2024-9">prepared for flooding</a> and had enough food, supplies, and a generator to survive for one or two weeks "if it got really bad," Marsh, a 34-year-old metalworker, told Business Insider.But they didn't know that several days of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quartz-mine-computer-chips-hurricane-helene-spruce-pine-semiconductor-2024-9">heavy rain from Hurricane Helene</a> had weakened the soil on the mountain, triggering a landslide that was headed straight down toward their home.Marsh and Thomas were thrown down the mountain by a wave of sliding earth, rocks, and trees that onlookers estimated was 40 to 60 feet high, destroying their home and livelihoods in a matter of seconds.The debris crushed Thomas, dislocating her legs and leaving her unable to walk. Marsh had "at least 50" flesh wounds and couldn't use his right hand because it was sliced open down to the muscle, he said.<h2 id="9ce482e9-d9f9-495f-9341-3326f5a4784f">Helene is estimated to have caused up to $34 billion worth of damage</h2>Since Helene made landfall, at least 215 people have been confirmed dead, making it the second deadliest hurricane in the US in recent years, after Katrina in 2005.On Monday, Moodys estimated the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/analysts-estimate-up-to-34-billion-damage-from-hurricane-helene-2024-10">hurricane caused between $20 billion and $34 billion</a> worth of damage, with between $15 billion to $26 billion affecting properties alone.As the Federal Emergency Management Agency <a target="_blank" href="https://www.floodsmart.gov/get-flood-insurance">estimates</a> that only 4% of homeowners in the US have flood insurance, and those who do <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-helene-north-carolina-flood-insurance-2024-10">might not be covered</a> for flooding or landslides, this looks to be an expensive disaster for many.Marsh and Thomas, 40, a yoga teacher and masseuse, will be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-flood-damage-rescue-helene-asheville-north-carolina-us-2024-10">dealing with the aftermath</a> long after Thomas is discharged from hospital. The couple told Business Insider they will have to rebuild their lives and careers from scratch, all while paying off medical bills, trying to claim home insurance, and dealing with the psychological fallout.<div type="image" title="The hands of Lindsay Thomas (top) and Andrew Marsh (bottom) holding hands with bandages and a cannula in." height="1188" width="1586" msid="113943321" hostid="261" sizebytes="97044"></div>Stories like Marsh and Thomas' are only going to become more common as the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/safe-places-for-climate-change-vermont-floods-2023-7">climate crisis brings more rain</a>, and with it landslides to vulnerable areas, researchers concluded in a 2016 paper published in Earth-Science Reviews.Natural disasters have already cost the US in a big way: between 1980 and 2021, the country spent $2 trillion on both immediate and longer-term restoration such as repairing infrastructure, a 2023 article published in The Journal of Climate Change and Health found.<h2 id="d4f10174-5a8d-4ae9-8084-14331ab8ba28">'Mud and water was being pressed into my nose, ears, and mouth'</h2>Just before 10 a.m., the couple heard a "deep rumbling" and "loud cracking thunder-like noises" a few hundred yards from their home, Thomas said, before the ground dropped out from beneath their feet."It happened so fast that there was no chance of reacting. The best way I've been able to describe it is as if somebody just threw the house into a blender and hit the puree button," Marsh said.Thomas added: "I just fell down and down. I remember my vision going from light to brown to black, and mud and water was being pressed into my nose, ears, and mouth."I remember a very specific moment where I kind of surrendered and recognized 'I am dying right now.' So I decided to just soften to the experience and moved into more of a place of acceptance and acknowledging all of my blessings."I let go of my phone, and it felt really good to let go of the struggle."It was then that she was "miraculously spit out" of the sliding earth and found herself about an eighth of a mile from where their home had been, straddling a tree trunk and covered head to toe in mud.<div type="image" title="A decimated bit of woodland in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene." height="878" width="1586" msid="113943323" hostid="261" sizebytes="198690"></div><h2 id="20463e93-243f-4cfd-abb9-92fb10f320c2">It took hours for rescue workers to find the couple</h2>Marsh managed to pull himself from the debris with some effort. He then helped Thomas, who had lost the use of her legs, down from the tree trunk, before digging their neighbor, John Norwood, out of neck-deep rubble. They didn't know where Norwood's fiancé, Julie le Roux, was, and he "wandered off" to try to find her, Marsh said. She was still missing as of October 3.Marsh found an empty Airbnb property about 250 yards away and helped Thomas limp into it. There, they were able to do some basic first aid about three hours after the landslide.Norwood showed up after two hours, "covered head to toe in wounds," he said.Then, at about 4 p.m., six hours after the landslide, they spotted a rescue worker across a 50-foot-wide flow of runoff. By midnight, the three were evacuated from the area by North Carolina State Fire Marshals and were treated for their injuries at nearby hospitals by what Thomas described as an "amazing" EMT care team.<h2 id="0bfde9e5-2693-4a75-ac8c-b13d7e8106c4">Covering medical costs 'somehow'</h2>"We're both still in a lot of pain. It's near constant, but there's definitely signs that we're making a recovery and that we are going to be OK," Marsh said.<div type="image" title="A selfie of Lindsay Thomas and Andrew Marsh, both in black." height="1284" width="1182" msid="113943326" hostid="261" sizebytes="39702"></div>As a veteran, Marsh has access to a medical benefits package, but Thomas is without active health insurance. They will have to cover her medical costs "somehow," Marsh said. But since he lost his workshop, van, and equipment in the disaster, and Thomas' job depends on the "strength and mobility" of her body, it's unclear how.The couple's insurer has refused to cover the loss of their home, but "even with the homeowners insurance policy, if it was to completely pay out, it wouldn't come close to being able to replace our lives," Marsh said.For now, Thomas is trying to remain in the present and not worry too much about the future, although it hasn't fully hit her that they "don't have a home to go back to," she said.Marsh's brother set up a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-andrew-and-lindsays-recovery-journey?qid=360add922ba022e599f5153952f0bebe">GoFundMe</a> for the couple, to cover their medical expenses, temporary housing, and living costs as they get situated. Marsh said that although he struggles with the idea of accepting help, he knows they need as much as they can get right now."When this whole situation has passed, I'm going to dedicate some part of my life to returning the favor to the world," he said.

A self-employed couple lost their home and livelihoods in Hurricane Helene. Their home insurance doesn't come close to enabling them to rebuild their lives.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Lisa Jolly pays less for her health insurance thanks to enhanced premium tax credits.</li><li>These subsidies aim to reduce the price of health insurance purchased through the ACA marketplace.</li></ul>When Lisa Jolly enrolled in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-expanding-obamacare-without-congress-health-coverage-2022-4">Affordable Care Act</a> marketplace, it was a lifeline, she said.Jolly, 55, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 32 years old. Since then, she's had compounding health concerns, including neuropathy, stage 3 kidney disease, and anemia.For most of her life, Jolly was insured through her ex-husband's employment. But when they <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/divorced-boomers-lower-retirement-savings-401ks-social-security-income-2024-10">divorced</a> in 2021, she lost that coverage."I was probably near tears every day, wondering what in the world I was going to do," she said.Jolly enrolled in the ACA marketplace the following year and qualified for enhanced premium tax credits, which aim to reduce the price of health insurance purchased through the ACA marketplace. She pays $96 monthly for healthcare coverage, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider."I just remember being extremely grateful and almost astounded that there was something out there that was going to help me be able to afford health insurance," she said.Jolly is among the millions of Americans who use the enhanced premium tax credits to afford healthcare coverage and who could see costs rise next year if the subsidies expire.According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millions-americans-lose-health-insurance-subsidies-congress-presidential-election-2024-9">19.7 million ACA enrollees</a> qualified for enhanced premium tax credits this year, which is 92% of all ACA enrollees. Additionally, the enhanced premium tax credits cut consumers' costs by about 44%, saving the average enrollee $705 annually, according to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire/">report</a> published on July 26 by KFF, a nonprofit health policy group.The subsidies were introduced in 2021 as a temporary measure and expanded eligibility to include enrollees with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty line — which is $60,240 for one individual and $124,800 for a family of four. In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act extended the subsidies through the end of 2025.According to a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis shared with Business Insider, without the enhanced premium tax credits, Jolly's monthly payments could increase to $275, a roughly 186% jump."It would just have an enormous negative impact on my life," Jolly said.<h2 id="4569c228-efc2-46ce-bac2-07c53459536a">Subsidies helped Jolly afford healthcare coverage</h2>Jolly lives in Steubenville, Ohio — a city about 30 miles west of Pittsburgh — with her 24-year-old daughter, Jessica. Jolly bought a small house in September 2023, using the funds she received from her divorce settlement.Jolly receives a monthly spousal settlement payment, which is her only income. Due to her health complications, Jolly said she is unable to retain a full-time job. She said she is trying to land a part time job as a teaching assistant, but her health issues mean she is often faint and unable to concentrate for extended hours.Jolly said she isn't eligible for many social safety nets. Additionally, she said she's burned through her savings."I'm struggling," Jolly said. "When I combine rising grocery costs with rising insurance costs, it just becomes almost unbearable."<h2 id="ec005901-4bba-4522-bd8a-c2e31c9f82d3">The subsidies expiration could pose difficulties for millions of Americans</h2>The results of the November election could determine the fate of the enhanced subsidies. On September 25, Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Tammy Baldwin introduced the Health Care Affordability Act, which would make permanent enhanced premium tax credits. Rep. Lauren Underwood, another Democrat, introduced an identical bill in the House.The bills would have to pass both the Senate and the House and then be signed into law by the president to come into effect. It's <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/09/25/aca-health-plan-subsidies/">unclear when a decision</a> on the tax credits will be reached.Republican lawmakers oppose the subsidies' cost to taxpayers. The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-06/60437-Arrington-Smith-Letter.pdf">estimate</a> that making the policy permanent would increase the budget deficit by $335 billion over the next 10 years.Cynthia Cox, a vice president at KFF, previously <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millions-americans-lose-health-insurance-subsidies-congress-presidential-election-2024-9">told</a> Business Insider that Congress might end up with a divided House and Senate after the election, making it difficult to pass a bill."There's a pretty significant chance that there's going to be a divided power in Washington, and then it's really anyone's guess what happens to these subsidies, but it would probably be an uphill battle to renew them," Cox said.The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 3.8 million people could become uninsured if the enhanced subsidies expire, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/rate-us-uninsured-rise-89-next-decade-congressional-budget-office-says-2024-06-18/#:~:text=Enhanced%20subsidies%20for%20plans%20introduced,the%20expiration%20of%20marketplace%20subsidies.">Reuters</a>.For enrollees like Jolly, the hundreds of dollars saved each month have been crucial to affording coverage."If we didn't have them, I don't know how I would have survived day-to-day," Jolly said. "It just would have meant total ruin for myself, and I'm not even talking economically, but I mean health-wise, too."

Subsidies help a 55-year-old pay $96 a month for health insurance. Her costs could increase 186% if they expire next year.

Gina Papini honestly isn't sure whether she got taken for a ride on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/should-i-get-pet-insurance">pet insurance</a>, but it's pretty clear she didn't get much bang for her buck.Papini and her husband decided to add coverage for their two dogs and their cat when it was offered in 2021 as a bundle with their home-insurance plan. It seemed like a simple way to protect their pets' health. But the whole endeavor wound up being a headache. The pets' <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/what-is-an-insurance-premium-definition-cost">combined premiums</a> cost hundreds of dollars a month, she says, and the coverage proved far less comprehensive than they anticipated. The couple never really needed to use the insurance for their two younger animals, and for their older dog, Kato, the process was a mess. Whenever Kato wound up at the vet, usually with stomach issues, they'd pay the bill and then submit it to the insurance company, which would then balk at reimbursing them."We thought it would save us money in the long run if we got it, but then they would refute claims and say, 'Well, this could have been a preexisting condition,' and preexisting conditions aren't covered," Papini said. "You need extra vet paperwork to back up that it wasn't. And so then you just get to a point where you're jumping through so many hoops."Papini and her husband got tired of dealing with all the rigamarole and axed their insurance plan after a year. Despite paying thousands of dollars in premiums, they never saw a single reimbursement.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/half-owners-say-pets-equal-human-family-member-survey-2023-7">People love their pets</a>, and they're willing to do a lot for them, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/protect-finances-pets-likely-recession-2022-11">financially</a> and otherwise. The American Pet Products Association has estimated that Americans spent $147 billion on their animals in 2023, including $38 billion on their healthcare. This level of attachment has helped turn the pet insurance industry into a lucrative and rapidly expanding market. The North American Pet Health Insurance Association found that pet owners in the US paid $3.9 billion in premiums in 2023, a 22% increase from the year before. Some 6.25 million pets in the US were insured as of the end of 2023, per NAPHIA. That's still a small fraction of all the pets in the country, given that there are over 80 million pet dogs and 60 million pet cats, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. But it's growing.As pet insurance becomes more prevalent, so too do the questions about it. While some people swear by it, others think it's a scam. One thing is for sure: As the industry grows, pet insurance is becoming as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insurance-companies-get-you-to-pay-more-deny-claims-2023-10">confusing and messy</a> as health insurance is for humans. It's barely regulated, and deciphering what it does and doesn't encompass can be super confusing. Just like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-fight-rejected-insurance-claims-2013-11">regular health insurance</a>, coverage for pets often winds up being riddled with loopholes and fine print that allows insurers to deny claims, declining to pay for the very care that motivated consumers to buy the policy in the first place. Because consumers pay up front, they often don't realize they won't be reimbursed until it's too late. Pet insurance gets pricier over time, meaning many people can no longer afford to keep their coverage just when they might start to need it.In short, pet insurance isn't a grift — some people do end up using their benefits. But for many people, insuring their furry friends ends up being a money suck.Pet insurance isn't technically even health insurance; it falls in the property-and-casualty category. It's generally regulated pretty lightly by states. There are no broad federal regulations around it, and only a handful of states have laws and standards around it specifically. How it usually works is people pay a monthly premium, and after they've paid a vet bill, they submit it to the insurer to try to get their money back. Just as with human health insurance, there are also deductibles and copays and annual limits on how much the policy will pay out. There are three categories of pet insurance: accident only; accident and illness; and accident, illness, and wellness. Adding more coverage makes the policy more expensive. Accident and accident-illness policies cover costs only if something goes awry — Rover gets into a rough fight at the dog park or develops arthritis. Fancier, more-comprehensive policies also cover wellness visits and preventive care, like dental care and vaccines. No matter the policy you choose, insurance <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-cost-pet-insurance">can get expensive fast</a>. Premiums generally go up each year as a pet gets older. And <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soaring-home-car-insurance-rates-hurting-americans-finances-us-economy-2023-11">as with many insurance products</a>, pet-insurance premiums across the board are on the rise because of inflation and the increasing cost of care."The big problem with pet insurance is it's just an expensive product," said Kevin Brasler, the executive editor of Consumers' Checkbook, a consumer watchdog group. "If you're going to be one of these plans, buy it when your pet's young, but just know your costs are likely going to skyrocket as time goes on."Even if a pet owner can find an affordable policy, they may have trouble deciphering what's covered. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/preexisting-conditions-in-dogs">Pet insurance almost never covers preexisting conditions</a>, and what <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-counts-pre-existing-condition-bcra-trump-obamacare-2017-7">qualifies as preexisting</a> can be quite broad and hard to parse. (It's wild that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/obama-jimmy-kimmel-healthcare-preexisting-conditions-2017-5">we used to do this for people</a>, by the way.) If you get a policy for your puppy before it has a chance to develop any problems, it might be a good deal. But if you have a 10-year-old dog with diabetes, that's a different story. I got some quotes from the website Pawlicy Advisor for my fictional dog, a mixed breed named Dan. When I changed the inputs to make Dan a six-month-old in optimal health, the platform recommended a policy starting at $28 a month. When Dan was 10 and had some issues, the first policy it suggested was $125, and some plans were about $350.Michael San Filippo, a spokesperson for the American Veterinary Medical Association, said in an email that the group endorsed the "concept" of pet health insurance, which can help keep vet costs down and save animals' lives, but he acknowledged that when the rubber hits the road, it can get hard to figure out."It's important that pet owners understand the scope of what their pet insurance does and does not cover, so they're not caught off guard by unexpected payments," he said.Even getting good advice on which pet-insurance policy is right for you can be a challenge. There are endless listicles recommending various policies, as well as websites dedicated to comparing insurers. The sheer volume of information can be hard to parse. It's also difficult to differentiate what is genuine advice and what's paid for. Many comparison tools get <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-earn-six-figures-with-affiliate-marketing-websites-2023-5">commissions for sales</a> made through their platforms, so what they're recommending may not actually be the best option — it's just the one <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-creators-discuss-new-affiliate-program-rates-features-2024-3">they'll make money off of</a>. (This is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-affiliate-marketing-report-how-mainstream-publishers-are-turning-performance-based-marketing-into-a-fine-art-2015-11">true for all sorts of platforms</a> that compare and recommend financial products, from credit cards to travel insurance.) The spread of these lists also points to another problem with the industry: the corporatization of pet insurance. Doug Kenney, a retired veterinarian who writes about the pet-insurance industry, said in an email that a decade ago, most pet-insurance companies were considered small businesses and were led by a founder/CEO with a vision for the company. Over time, these companies took on larger corporate structures, and some founders were pushed out by their boards. Nowadays, there are many large pet-insurance companies, some of which specialize only in pets, others of which are larger insurers that offer pet insurance, and many of which are publicly traded, meaning they ultimately answer to shareholders."This new structure has been a detriment to the industry with profit as the primary motive versus what is in the best interest of the consumer," Kenney said. "I used to say that pet insurance was a win, win, win proposition with the insurance company, veterinarians, and the policyholders and their pets all benefiting. I don't think that's the case anymore."Reporting this story, I fully expected to come down on one side or the other on whether pet insurance is good or bad. But I really didn't come up with an answer. I heard about a wide array of experiences with pet insurance, from awesome to mediocre to awful. One woman saved $4,000 on vet bills thanks to her insurance after her cat ate a pom-pom toy and the doctor had to fish it out. One man looked into getting coverage for his two cats after learning that both had extra teeth, but the minute they were documented, those overcrowded mouths became a preexisting condition. Another woman adopted a dog from Mexico with a "pretty wonky leg" that's "very noticeable." At her first vet appointment with the animal, the doctor told her to apply for pet insurance. She said she wouldn't note the leg on the dog's chart so the application would be approved — everyone agreeing to do a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insurance-fraud-artificial-intelligence-detection-2023-10">light amount of insurance fraud</a>. In a purely financial or economic sense, pet insurance seems pretty worthless for many consumers. There are too many exceptions, too many hoops to jump through, and little regulatory recourse if you think you got taken for a ride. Unless something goes really awry, people pay more into their policies than they get out of them. Brasler was pretty blunt in his assessment of the overall product."You really need to think carefully about 'What kind of pet owner am I?' No judgments," he said. "This is a really expensive product. It's not likely to save you money down the road, and if it does, you're an outlier."Ultimately, a lot of the value of this sort of insurance is emotional. It's possible to do some back-of-the-envelope calculations to figure out the lifetime cost of a policy, but the personal side of the equation is considering how much you're willing to spend on your furry friend. Maybe you feel like spending $10,000 over the course of your pet's life on insurance is worth it for the peace of mind. Or maybe you forgo insurance, figuring that if your companion has a serious health problem, you'll make the decision then to spend the money on them — or not. (Again, no judgments!)As for Papini, she's not getting back on the pet-insurance train. It was just too hard to deal with, and her husband is still cranky about the ordeal. She knows they're fortunate to be able to pay out of pocket for their animals' needs, which remain expensive. Kato now has cancer, and the treatments cost thousands of dollars. Would the insurance be worth it now? It's hard to know."Who's to say they wouldn't have been like, 'Well, he had diarrhea in 2017, so therefore it's a preexisting condition,'" she said. "Then we would've spent thousands of dollars for the insurance, never been able to use it, and still had to pay out of pocket on top of it."<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

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