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Over the years, we've posted about some very unique, even weird insurance policies. From ***love*** to ***virginity** to ***moon-watching, I thought we'd pretty much covered it all.

Not so:

"Ernest Digweed was a retired schoolteacher from Portsmouth. When he died in 1976, he left behind approximately $44,000, with instructions that the money should go to Jesus Christ, if Christ should return to Earth in the next 80 years."

Okay, Henry, that is unique, even weird, but what does it have to do with insurance?

Well:

"Digweed's relatives ... weren't happy at all with the will and sued to get the money. Eventually ... the courts [agreed] to give it to them, but with one condition. The family had to take out an insurance policy that would pay back the money, should the original benefactor (Jesus) make an appearance."

As one might expect, this was indeed a case for that most famous of insurance markets:

"A Lloyd's [of London] broker has arranged coverage through a private insurance firm ... One problem was identification: There had already been two unsuccessful claims."

Just the two?

[Hat Tip: Ace of Spades blog]

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I have been a longtime customer of LovePop, very imaginative and well-executed "pop-up" greeting cards. I've bought them for my wife for Mother's Day, and at various times throughout the year for significant holidays. They are (as my much missed sister used to say) "spendy," but I thought they were worth it.

So my most recent experience was disappointing (to say the least), though:

On December 18, I ordered a Chanukah-themed card. For the holidays, the site was offering free shipping which was attractive; unfortunately, it turned out that "free shipping" actually meant "very slow shipping." I waited and waited, and watched the delivery tracker slowly change. And I do mean slowly: it wasn't until the 23rd that I saw any actual movement. It's now the 27th, and the tracker says the card was delivered yesterday.

Unfortunately, even if true, it want to me, and it should haven't have taken over a week (even this time of year).

So I reached out to the LovePop folks to express my displeasure.

To my delight, I received a prompt reply:

"I'm so sorry to hear your card hasn't arrived yet! As you state, the tracking indicates that the card was delivered this morning, December 26th at 9:46 am. Because of how tracking works, occasionally packages are marked as delivered too early.

If you still haven't received the card with the mail tomorrow, please confirm the shipping address for me and I'd be happy to send a replacement Mennorah Lights card, a different card of your choice, or a full refund.

Thanks for reaching out, Henry. I'm so sorry again the card hasn't reached you."

So I re-confirmed my address, and then sat back to see what would happen.

Soon, I received this:

"We've got your order

Thank you for placing your order with us - we know you're going to love it. We'll process your order and send you an update once it's shipped"

Hunh. What's that about?

Ah, another email:

"Thanks for following up! I'm Rebeca​ and I'll be taking over. I read through your previous emails and I'm here to help.

I'm sending out a replacement ASAP through FedEx's expedited 2 business day shipping. Your new order number is #2352355 and you should receive an email update shortly.

I really apologize for the inconvenience because as you mentioned, it shouldn't have to take this long for you to receive your card. We always aim to provide our customers with the best experience possible and I really appreciate your patience."

Now that's how it's done.

Kudos (and Thank You) LovePop! 

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Even with the illegal extension, these numbers are abysmal:

[click to embigen]

Called it.

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Our recent post on Alcoa's latest life insurance kerfluffle left unanswered an important question. From the comments, posed by co-blogger Bob:

"I would think at least some of the cash settlement would be taxable. But perhaps not."

As promised, I reached out to longtime FoIB Joe Kristan, who kindly replied:

"Without knowing more, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be taxable. It doesn't seem to fit in the rules for tax-free insurance settlements."

So potential double-whammy for the company's "valued" retirees.

#Fail

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Christmas is a time of miracles and blessings. But so is every other day of the year.

You see, miracles and blessings can happen any time. You just need to learn how to spot them.

Questions That Bother

Regardless of your religious affiliation, most everyone knows the story of the first Christmas. They may not know all the details, and some may have doubts about veracity of the story.

Some may disbelieve the virgin birth. Sadly, even some clerics openly state that followers are not required to accept everything in the Bible as factual.

Molding Religion in Our Image

Even those who have left the church in search of God still cling to many of the tenets of faith while rejecting the parts that make them . . . uncomfortable. It's almost like a child that eagerly comes to the family dinner and picks at their food. They eat the chicken and mashed potatoes but push the peas to the side.

"Seekers" as they are called are not necessarily unbelievers. They just want to create a new religion that allows them to live the way they want . . . without constraints.

Sanitized Christmas

The nativity scene in this post has been circulating on the web and social media for a while now. I don't know who created it, or why they chose to draw the picture this way.

Perhaps it was to create a non-offensive representation of the birth of Jesus. By drawing a picture "without color" neither Jews, nor Arabs nor anyone of color would be offended.

But without Jesus it is just a shelter for animals. Just a simple barn with no real meaning or significance.

Evolving 

The same can be said for those who want to change religion to fit THEIR style. Keep the "good". Discard the "bad".

Life doesn't work that way.

The saying goes, that "Man plans and God laughs".

So true.

No matter how much we plan for our future, life get's in the way.

God, or life, or Mother Nature, or the universe has a way of telling you that life does not always go the way YOU planned.

You can live your life in a God-centered manner.

Or you can live it me-centered.

Your choice.

True Belief

From a personal perspective, this year has taught me that, no matter how much I want to BELIEVE I am in control of my destiny, I am not. Stuff happens. Things that I never expected, or planned for.

Yet there it is. It happened. What comes next can be labeled as a coincidence . . . or a miracle. It is up to the individual to decide which one fits.

God had a way of reminding me that HE is in control. But at the same time, he also showed how miracles can happen right before your eyes. All you have to do is believe.

I DO believe in miracles. But I also know that sometimes I don't recognize them, until long after the event has passed.

Rachel and I faced some difficult times this year, but we also experienced miracles. Too often we missed the miracle until it had passed.

But that is the way life is.

We are so focused on what is happening at that moment that we miss the big picture.

The nativity scene is so focused on being non-offensive, that the true miracle is overlooked. The miracle of a baby that will become a man who forever changed history.

December 25th is a time for celebrating miracles and blessings.

But so are the other days of the year.

Peace and Blessings. Merry Christmas to all!

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Keep in mind that this has been proposed, it is far from law.

But it's a start:

"U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) this week introduced the Personalized Care Act (PCA), legislation to make Americans' health care more portable, accessible, and tailored to meet their unique needs by dramatically expanding Heath Savings Accounts (HSA) - a pre-tax savings tool millions of Americans use to cover the costs of their health care."

Some highlights:

• Expand HSAs to Millions of Americans

This is perhaps the most important feature, since, as we've been proposing for years, it "decouples HSAs from high deductible health insurance plans (HDHP)." In fact it seems to go even further, and, as we've also long endorsed, it includes alternative mechanisms and policies like Sharing Ministries and Short Term Medical plans.

• Allow HSAs to Pay for Direct Primary Care and Other Direct Medical Care Arrangements

This is fantastic: by allowing folks to use HSA funds to pay for DPC, these plans should become even more popular, both with patients and as a model for doc's.

One disappointment is that it doesn't seem to contain any mechanism for re-legalizing true catastrophic plans. Still, it's a great step in the right direction.

Kudos, Senators!

[Hat Tip: FoIB Dr Lee Gross]

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Well, a life insurance lesson.

I've recently been working on an outreach program to our agency's clients to remind them that we also do life insurance, and to educate them on why that's important. One of the most common responses has been that "I already have life insurance at work." What they mean, of course, is that their employer provides them coverage while they are employed there (although some may, in fact, also have coverage like AFLAC which they do own). That employer-provided plan is called 'group term life' and it almost always terminates when one's employment does.

But Henry, I've worked at XYZ Widgets for years, plan to retire from there, so why should I worry?

Well, friend, here's why (and Thanks to co-blogger Bob for the heads' up):

"Alcoa is terminating life insurance policies for its retirees ... the letter contains a bold-face warning: cash the check and you're waiving all claims for life insurance from Alcoa."

Is this right? Maybe, maybe not, but it's real, and I bet the folks that also bought their own coverage are sleeping a little easier right now.

More to the story?

Bob also sent along this update from a colleague:

"Yes we have an Alcoa plant near us. I had the first walk in with one of those policies in the cancellation paperwork and a check in his hand yesterday.

They can send the check back to Alcoa and fill out a form and have life insurance continue. But the only problem is they don’t tell them how much coverage to have or if they have to make any premium payments in addition to the check. When we called the phone number it was with the letter they acted like we didn’t need to know all the information they could just cash the check and put it in the bank or they could send it in and have some life insurance.

The man I was helping was almost 90 years old and not in great health so I feel very certain the G.I. option on the life insurance is what he needs to go with. But you can’t make decisions like that without knowing how much that check is going to buy.

That check was for $6000. If that gets him $10,000 of paid up coverage then it’s a no-brainer. But if it gets him $7500 of coverage plus he still needs to continue his monthly payment then I probably wouldn’t do it. It was way beyond the scope of what they could help us with getting that information. They said they can have an insurance agent calling within five business days. The man is 90 years old and he was overwhelmed with it and very frustrated. They should have people on those phone lines that can give you the basic information you need or better yet put it in the letter that you sent out to the retirees along with the check."

This is unconscionable. So I reached out to Alcoa, and their Director of Communications, Jim Beck, offered this reply:

"While any action that affects our retirees is difficult, this decision is in alignment with our strategy to improve Alcoa for the long term, including through balance sheet improvements. As a voluntary action, however, we are offering affected retirees cash payments that can be used for any purpose, including finding alternative insurance. If a retiree does not cash the check, that will not change the planned termination of coverage on December 31, 2019. We took similar action with other retirees in 2018.”

Make of that what you will.

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