Cavalcade of Risk #107

Welcome to the Cavalcade of Risk #107. As the name indicates, this Carnival is about risk - e.g. insurance, health, financial, and other types. Thank you to all bloggers who submitted a post to this Cavalcade. I enjoyed reading each one. While every post was a great article, I selected only those primarily related to risk.

In this carnival, the posts naturally fell into two categories: Provider Related and Customer Related, where providers are those that create or offer risk management products and customers are those looking to manage specific risks. I have organized the Cavalcade by these categories to enable more efficient browsing by readers.

Provider Related

If you've wondered about how insurance companies manage risk, determine premium costs or make a profit, the following posts offer some insights:

Nina Kallen presents This is insurance posted at Insurance Coverage Law in Massachusetts. Simply, insurance is about "pooling risk." It's the profit part that introduces complexity.

Henry Stern, LUTCF, CBC presents From the P&C Files: Rate Increases Looming posted at InsureBlog, saying, "Oil spills and volcano ills look to push the cost of managing risk even higher"

Jason Shafrin presents California Health Benefits Review Program posted at Healthcare Economist, saying, "How do mandates affect health insurance cost? This is the job of the California Health Benefits Review Program."

Jaan Sidorov presents A Primer on Insurance Exchanges posted at Disease Management Care Blog. In his post, Jaan Sidorov MD visits a linchpin concept of health reform, the “health exchange” by summarizing a New England Journal of Medicine article by Obamacare golden boy John Kingsdale of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Connector, one of two exchanges up and running in the U.S. He also discusses when this means for brokers and finds that the two concepts are not that far apart in either service OR price. In the end, Dr. Sidorov concludes, it looks like you get what you pay for.

Louise Norris presents Owning Fast Food Stock Not Such a Bad Thing posted at Colorado Life Insurance Insider. "An insurer's chief responsibility to us as policyholders is to remain financially solvent and profitable in order to be able to pay claims as they arise. Investing in profitable stocks is a good way to go about that, and the fact that some of those stocks are in fast food companies is irrelevant."

Here's an example on how a business might create it's own risk management program:

Nancy Germond presents Supply Chain Risk Management a Must as Global Sourcing Intensifies posted at AllBusiness.com - Risk Management for the 21st Century, saying, "With catastrophes like earthquakes and political unrest, and the added complications of overseas supply acquisitions and just-in-time inventory, supply chain risk management is more important now than any time in history."

Customer Related

If you're considering purchasing insurance, here are some perspectives on which types to purchase and the levels of adequate protection:

Crystal presents The Necessary Insurance Coverages posted at Budgeting In the Fun Stuff, which describes the types and levels of insurance carried by her family.

FMF presents The Eight Money Ratios, Part 4 posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "Here are two ratios to help you determine if you have the right level of life and long term care insurance coverage."

Jeff Rose, CFP presents What is a Term Life Insurance Policy? posted at Jeff Rose, saying, "In order to protect your family’s financial situation, life insurance is necessary."

Consumer Boomer presents How to Compare Life Insurance Policies posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, "Let’s look at closer look at all the options when we compare the different types of life insurance policies and which might be best for your situation."

In addition, here are some perspectives on non-insurance risk.

Everything Finance considers the minimizing risks when hiring a company in The Importance of Bonds to Consumers posted at Everything Finance, noting how consumers are protected when a company is licensed and bonded, i.e. one that has purchased a surety bond.

Finally, Kim Luu discusses the risks of sharing personal information in Is Your Facebook Friend a Spy or IRS Agent posted at Money and Risk, saying, "People rarely think about the risks that social media platforms bring to their personal and business life. It can range from losing your job to losing your life."

That concludes this edition. I hope you enjoyed the posts that were included. The next edition of the Cavalcade of Risk will be hosted at Wisdom from Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

This is not financial, insurance or risk management advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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