Thursday, November 29, 2007

Day 29: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

It is open enrollment for insurance at work. Since they changed our health insurance program this year, everyone had to fill out all of the paperwork again. It is a bit of a pain because I even had to fill out all of the beneficiary information for my life insurance and accidental death & disability policies.

If you have an AD&D policy, read it sometime. It is exactly what it says it is. It only pays if I am dismembered or die in an accident, but it is rather comical to read. There are things in there about how much they'll pay if you lose an arm or a leg or just fingers or some combination of your appendages.

Loss Percentage of the Principal Benefit
Life 100%
Both Hands or Both Feet 100%
Sight of Both Eyes 100%
Speech and Hearing 100%
One Hand and One Foot 100%
One Foot and Sight of One Eye 100%
One Hand and Sight of One Eye 100%
Quadriplegia 100%
Paraplegia 75%
Sight of One Eye 50%
Speech or Hearing 50%
One Hand or One Foot 50%
Hemiplegia 50%
Thumb and Index Finger of One Hand 25%
Uniplegia 25%

The funniest part is if I lose my arm in the ocean and can't produce my arm, I have to wait a year from the date of the loss for them to pay the claim. um, huh? So if a shark eats your arm, you'd better get at least part of it back, I guess.

I have more actual life insurance than I thought I had. Basically, like most people in the world, I'm worth much more if I'm dead than if I'm alive. (So not planning on going anywhere anytime soon... planning a long, full life.) But choosing beneficiaries is hard. I don't have a husband to leave it to, so Moma (and Daddy by default, but it's only in Moma's name) is my beneficiary. They also make you choose contingent beneficiaries. So, who to choose? I mean, right now I've got it listed as my sisters. But in all honesty, should I leave it to my niece and nephews for their college educations? Does it really matter 'cause if they are collecting then I'm dead.

Still, these are hard decisions to make. I so hate making decisions.

4 comments:

The byrd said...

You better watch your fingers and thumbs closely. Only 25%!

Carrie said...

what happens if it's the thumb of one hand and a finger on another? :)

I've never heard the terms hemiplegia or uniplegia although Mrs. Reinert was a uniplegia due to polio. I just didn't know that's what it's termed.

Julie said...

I would like to have been in on the sessions deciding those percentages..."Okay, just to make it interesting, let's add sight of one eye and a foot, or how about if you can't produce the missing limb, you have to wait for payout."

I would have wanted to add both pinkies, or the toes of one foot, and stuff like that.

Maybe this is why I do not work in the insurance industry.

Donna said...

I know... isn't it hilarious. And who gets to decide the percentages? I really did just laugh as I read it.