Have you looked into your medical insurance policy lately? Does it cover such things as; Lasik eye surgery, glasses or catastrophic eye problems? Most medical policies do not have these coverages. Even the best medical coverage policies do not always cover such things. Perhaps you need to look into vision insurance and see if you can get the coverage you may need in case of problems with your eyes.

Of course you will need to talk to an expert insurance and it is best to talk with someone before such issues with your vision arise. One eye insurance policy I looked into had a monthly membership fee which was nominal and low deductibles too. I asked my insurance person about this and she told me she had even a better plan that what I had found searching on the Internet, which tells me that shopping around makes a lot of sense.

First, review your current medical policy, then study what is available on the Internet a little and then once you have a pretty good handle on it write down a list of serious questions to ask and get the answers you need from an insurance expert.

Sometimes employer medical plans include such things, but not always and for us self-employed folks well we are clearly on our own when it comes to such things, but we must not forget our eyes.

Running a business blind is truly visionless indeed. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

You may fall into either of the two categories: you have perfect eyesight and will not need prescription glasses or treatment/surgery for vision in the next several years. Or you either currently have poor eyesight or may develop some vision problems in the near future. Unfortunately, people belonging to the former category are almost impossible to find these days, what with the increased strain put on the eyes by our modern lifestyle where most of our time is spent before TV and computer screens. If you belong to the latter category, you would definitely benefit a great deal by investing in individual vision insurance.

What exactly is individual vision insurance? To explain in simple terms, it is an added benefit that can be purchased in addition to your regular health insurance. It costs only a few dollars each month (around $15-20 for most providers) and covers a variety of benefits. These range from providing coverage for visits to an eye doctor, partial coverage for eye glasses/lenses, and even surgical procedures such as LASIK.

Anybody who has suffered from poor vision knows how expensive the above mentioned treatment options can be. A single visit to the optician for a routine pair of glasses can set you back by a couple of hundred dollars. For most people, this is prohibitively out of reach. Fortunately, by paying your insurance company just a few dollars extra each month, you can cut costs dramatically on these services.

In most cases, your individual vision insurance provider will be separate from your primary insurance provider, although you should be able to find a plan that offers both. One of the biggest vision insurance providers in the United States is VSP and it works in partnerships with various insurance providers to avail you of its services. If you get your insurance through your employer, you should be able to obtain vision insurance as an added benefit without any trouble, though you may have to pay for it through your own pocket (which is a minor expense compared to the possible benefits).

For people who have poor vision, or may suffer from it in the near future, individual vision insurance is a must have that can dramatically cut costs from regular visits to the eye doctor, prescription glasses, lenses, and surgical treatments.

Many people wonder if the cost of their prescription glasses is covered by their insurance plan. The answer is that it varies tremendously from plan to plan. Before you pay out of your own pocket for prescription glasses, take a look at your plan to determine whether or not you have vision coverage.

What Most Insurance Plans Cover

Most medical insurance plans cover losses of vision and finances due to eye injury or disease. In other words, if your eye is damaged in a car accident and you require the services of an eye doctor, it will be covered. Most medical insurance plans do not cover typical “wellness” care for your eyes, such as prescription glasses and routine eye exams, unless the plan has a vision insurance policy attached to it.

Adding Vision Insurance

If you are part of a group insurance plan, you may have the option to add vision insurance to your policy. This is usually considered a value-added benefit that is attached to a traditional health insurance structure. Whether you have indemnity health insurance, an HMO, or a PPO, you may have the opportunity to add vision insurance. By adding this coverage, you will be able to access a network of eye care providers and specialists, as well as coverage and discounts on your routine eye care. This usually includes the cost of prescription glasses.

Paying for Vision Insurance

Adding a vision benefits package to your health insurance adds an annual premium amount. You may also have a deductible that you have to meet before the insurance will cover your eye care. Typically, the premium will be an amount up to $144 a year, and the maximum deductible is typically under $40. Each plan is different, so be sure to read the fine print, but you will pay more for this coverage if you pay for your own health insurance. Some companies provide this as part of their overall healthcare benefits, so read your policy to see if you are covered.

In general, those with vision insurance will receive:

- A yearly eye exam
- Eyeglass lenses and frames
- Contacts
- LASIK discounts

Some providers will put limits on their coverage, such as only allowing the insured to get new glasses or contacts every other year. They also may put a limit on the amount they will pay for frames, which means you will pay a little out of your pocket if you want designer frames.

Tips for Using Vision Insurance

Before you schedule an appointment, check with your benefits information packet to see what doctors are covered. Remember, you will need to use a doctor in your network if you want to be covered. If you need to see a doctor who is not in your network, you may still be able to have your prescription glasses covered by filling your prescription elsewhere, but you will have to pay out of pocket for your exam.

When it is time for your eye exam, make sure you talk to your optometrist about your insurance. Most policies require the doctor to seek pre-authorization before they treat you if you are going to be covered. If this is necessary, have the doctor make the necessary calls before your appointment.

When you arrive for your appointment, present your vision insurance card. You will be asked to pay any deductibles or co-pays associated with the coverage you have. After your exam, the doctor or his staff will help you choose frames. If you have limits on the amount you can spend for frames, make sure you are looking at covered options.

If you are lucky enough to have prescription glasses coverage, make sure you take advantage of it as often as you are allowed. This will ensure that you have updated glasses as often as you need them, helping you see the world around you clearly.

South eastern Ontario and some of Quebec were hit by an earthquake last week, did you get caught up in it?

Luckily, the magnitude was only 5.0 according to the US Geological Survey, and no extreme damage was disclosed. The earthquake began in Ottawa, the accounts say it was 61km north of the city. There have been many descriptions of how the earthquake was felt, but the simplest one to envision is construction work going on below you. The rumblings could be felt as high up as the 9th floor of office and condo blocks according to eye witnesses.

Even though natural disasters happen very rarely in Canada, they do take place and it brings home to us all how exposed we all are. It definitely makes me wonder what I can do to look after myself and my family should another disaster happen. There are many things you can do to prepare yourself for such emergencies, but one important thing to remember is life insurance.

What many individuals do not understand is that along with disasters such as floods or windstorms, earthquakes are one of the most expensive natural disasters. Earthquakes account for 30% of all devastation by natural tragedies from 1950-2001. Although, they account for only 9% of the human cost, fading in comparison to famine, which killed 42% of people, but accounts for only 4% of the total devastation over those years.

People losing their lives fell in the 90′s from 86,328 per year in the 80′s to 75,252; but those hit by natural disaster climbed from147 million in the 80s to 211 million people a year in the 90′s.

There are three times more natural disasters now than there ever were in the 1960s and the monetary impact has climbed by a factor of nine over the same time frame. With more disasters occurring then it stands to reason that more and more individuals are going to have their lives affected by them, so it is only natural to look at ways of minimizing the impact on your family.

Searching for life insurance that covers these types of disasters is imperative, so read the small print, satisfyingly all the five major Canadian insurance companies we looked at do. If you are urged not to travel somewhere, such as a war zone and you do, be aware that this is one exclusion that insurance companies put in place on their schemes.

Anyone who has ever had trouble with their eyes will know the discomfort of having to constantly wear spectacles or contact lenses all the time. Sports and other pastimes are difficult since the glasses or lenses have to be taken along and taken care of. With the advent of Lasik surgery, many people are now able to live their lives without these bothersome accoutrements. But the cost is on the high side so many people are now using vision coverage in their insurance contracts to counteract the cost. Vision plans reduce the rate charged for this eye surgery by quite some degree bringing it well within the reach for the average working person.

The surgery is quite simple in itself. What it concerns is the surface of the eyeball itself. Most people are born with eyeballs that are perfectly round on both planes. This means that the retina, the seeing part of the eye, is looking through that surface on a perfect ninety degree angle. Some unfortunate souls are born with eyes that are slightly ovoid, egg shaped, on one or both planes. This then means that the retina is looking through a slanted surface which in turn distorts the sight.

The eye is measured very carefully and a plan to excise the unwanted cells on the front of the eye is worked out. A laser literally slices the cells off the surface leaving a perfectly flat space for the retina to do its job properly. Although this procedure is quite complex on paper, it actually is a quick procedure done under local anesthetic while the patient is awake. After several days of drops and rest the patient should be able to see much better than he did before.

Of course, some people will not get perfect vision after this style of operation but they will enjoy a better degree of vision without a doubt. Spectacles, if they still have to be worn, will be of a lesser strength and weight which gives some relief at least.

Coverage by insurance is also quite easy. Most people who have a normal health insurance through their company will be able to add a rider onto this for as little as fifty cents per month. This then allows them access to a list of approved surgeons who can carry out this kind of operation. Their charges normally range about one thousand dollars less than those who are not on the approved list.

Of course, the patient can pick and choose any doctor that they want to do the operation and there are still savings to be had. However, using one of the surgeons on the list is probably the highest savings.

This service becomes even more important if the patient has family members because these are also covered by the insurance scheme. If two or three members avail themselves of this service then the savings are extremely high. For the sake of a few dollars per year, this must be one of the bargains of the century!

Many people have health insurance but don’t carry things like vision coverage. The reason for this is that it is expensive and many times doesn’t seem to cover very much. There is also the mindset that a heart attack could bury you financially but a new pair of glasses won’t so why worry. The result is millions of people putting off visits to the doctor until the problem is too big to ignore, then paying for everything out of their own pocket. It is estimated that 7 out of 10 Americans are either under insured or completely uninsured and some of the largest numbers are those without vision coverage.

Maybe you are one of the many that wants lasik surgery but hasn’t done anything because you don’t have the money, or needs new glasses but doesn’t want to spend the money. You’re not alone. People are delaying treatments that can greatly improve their quality of life because of money. We also know that if little problems are left untreated they can often grow into much bigger conditions that are more difficult and more expensive to correct. Sometimes they even leave permanent damage.

I personally have faced the dilemma where I didn’t want to fork out large amounts of cash every month for insurance I would rarely use, but at the same time paying those huge doctor bills wasn’t any more appealing. I started researching and looking for an affordable answer to my problem. After going through numerous articles and website that where pretty much selling me the same thing I discovered a new concept called customer driven health care. it turns out that the majority of people are like me and put off check ups and exams as long as possible. This has really hurt medical practices especially eye doctors & dentists, leaving them hungry for new patients.

There are now medical savings groups that bring doctors together with members. The doctor get a new influx of new business and the members get huge discounts on services. Everybody wins.