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I'm pleased to be sending you our first regular, weekly shot of

 

A bad insurance agent can burn through your money faster than an Enron executive can shred 5-years worth of evidence: More and more cases involving self-serving insurance agents continue to surface...now here comes the disclaimer: For the most part, the typical insurance agent probably does a pretty good job in their attempts to provide you with a valuable service and necessary part of your overall financial plan. HOWEVER...

Like any other industry, you need to always be vigilant and aware that there are a few bad apples out there that can smear an entire industry with their dirty tricks. Always question the motivations of anybody trying to sell you anything! Or anybody counseling you in an area of such impact that a bad decision could hurt you for years to come. In other words: Always question your doctors. And your lawyers. And your CPAs or accountants. And especially the guy trying to sell you insurance.  We'll get second opinions on stuff relating to major expenditures on our homes or cars, but too many times we blindly plunge into whatever insurance ideas are put on the table by someone carrying a briefcase and some impressive printouts (their buzzword is "illustrations" I think)...and many times what they're selling you not only rewards them with fat commissions, but ends up being a worthless investment for you and in many cases, is out-and-out fraud.

Ben's Bottom Line...FIVE Steps To Avoiding Being Ripped Off From Someone Selling You Insurance:
    * Don't buy investments from someone who isn't licensed to sell them!  Make sure they've got the proper credentials!
    * Call State insurance & securities regulators!
    * Be blunt! Ask the agent what or how they're being paid, and by whom!
    * Gray hair is GOOD! Okay, maybe not as easy to spot here in Southern California, but the moral of this story? Avoid anyone that hasn't been in the business for at least 2 years.
    * DEMAND to know the downside of your potential investment.

Wanna know more about making the best insurance agent choices?  Then you've gotta get smart and ask the best questions the next time anyone approaches you or a family member or friend about buying any type of insurance.  Liz Pulliam Weston's gotta great column about this...check out what she's got to say.....

 

Please tell me you've signed up for Ben's free Dose of Dover weekly/e-mailed newsletter: The price is right, and it'll make you smart(er)...it's especially helpful if you happened to have missed the radio show.  Sign-up here, or send this link to a friend or family member and make your life easier by making them smarter!  Here you go: www.bendover.com/newsletter.asp

Didja make the unfortunate mistake of signing up with one of those credit re-negotiation companies...or are thinking about signing up with one now?  You might wanna think twice, and do your homework.  If you missed Ben's show on August 18th about one of the more notorious of these companies here in Southern California, spend a few minutes reviewing the show notes and don't make a mistake you might end up regretting!

You will find it's going to be a little easier to get through the brain-damage of security at the airport: Last week the Transportation Security Administration announced some changes in policy that are designed to speed up the screening process while making it a bit flyer-friendlier.  Now you can keep your coffee when you go through security...and those inane questions that all of the baggage handlers and ticket agents were forced to ask us: "Have any of the items you are traveling with been out of your immediate control since the time you packed them?" have also been eliminated. [Yeah, like one of the bad guys is gonna admit to whatever they've been doing or intend to do...you betcha...]   But the airlines' willingness to waive certain fees for stuff like extra baggage or change fees are probably a thing of the past...for now, anyway.  Here's Ben's Politically In-Correct but Un-Common Sense Solution that always works:  At least for stuff like over-sized or extra baggage...always check it at the curb with the Skycap and have an extra $5 - $20 on the counter, in your hand with your ticket, ready to hand over. If the Skycap starts to pop you for any extra fees, put up a little fight and ask 'em to help you out...while sliding the cash inducement into their hand. It always works...and could save you a bundle, especially with Delta charging $40 and Continental, $80 for each extra bag.

The Feds are finally getting involved in the back child support debacle...and the Bush Administration has declared war on deadbeat Dads [and deadbeat Moms]!  Great national story about this awful problem, and I've written my share about the subject over the years, including information about hiring collection agencies that specialize in child support.  Wanna know more?

If you own a van, or ride in one [think airport shuttles or daycare centers], some insurance companies are no longer going to insure these vehicles because of costly lawsuits settling a slew of wrongful death claims. What you need to know, BEFORE you go: How safe is that ride?  Read what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has written about it...and why some people think the vehicles aren't the problem...but the drivers of those vans are!

We've talked about these clowns before and now someone's doing something about the continued abuse we've been forced to endure at the hands of www.fax.com in Aliso Viejo: The Feds wanna fine 'em $5.4 million...but now they've been hit with a $2.2 TRILLION dollar lawsuit. Got your attention yet? Maybe it'll finally get theirs down in Orange County...Ben's Bottom Line? If you hate junk faxes, if you hate spam, if you hate tele-marketing calls at your home or office, there's only one effective way to deal with these idiots: REFUSE to do business with any company that hires them!!!

GM's about to end their zero-percent financing offers...and if the rest of the car industry is true-to-form, they'll follow suit like a bunch of sheep. Do you need to rush to the car lot to get a deal done for 0% financing while you can?  Probably not.  Why?  It's summed up in Ben's Bottom Line: Because so few people actually qualified, anyway. It was a come-on designed to get you on the car lot. There are still gonna be some great deals out there, especially on pre-owned vehicles coming off of 2-3 year leases. 

It's a fact of life that more and more of us are going to have to face in the not-so-distant future: What to do and what you need to know to help a parent that can't help themselves!  Didja hear about how some intelligent, clear-thinking, well-educated adults right here in Southern California buried their heads in the sand, and it's ended up costing them their entire inheritance!!!  A bunch of [free] information, what you need to do and where you need to go do it is available on-line.

 

There's a terrific resource for teaching and helping seniors handle their money, their debts and all of the affairs called H.E.L.P.  You've gotta check out their website...it's a treasure loaded with great information and resources, for older consumers or their families.

 

Find out the latest developments on the proposed bankruptcy law changes: And figure out the best way out of your mountain of financial heartache before it's too late!

 

There's a right way and a wrong way to approach your health insurance company with the hope of getting 'em to change their mind and either pay for something [after the fact] or approve a surgery that could change and improve your life forever!  We'll be talking about this on next week's show...put it on your calendar: Sunday morning, September 1, 2002, from 8-10a PT on KFI-AM/640.