math class time

[dalej]

Our insurance was at 175.00/month for 08. Received a letter that the 09 rate will be 250.00/month.

Question, what percent did our insurance premium increase?

[rfoster]

Dale: Dang near 45 percent increase.

Who is that little girl in the picture with you?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

42.85714% give or take a bit.

Who insures your coach, the government?

[dalej]

I told the guy 43% and he told me only 30%. I wanted to get the advice of you math majors.

I took 250 divided by 175 = 1.4285... thats where i got 43 percent
I thought that to figure it you would divide 175 by 250 that equaled 70 percent. If I take 250 x .70 = 175
So I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong.

[hobobimmer]

I took 250 divided by 175 = 1.4285... thats where i got 43 percent

I took the increase ($75) and divided it by your starting point, or previous payment ($175). That gives the 42.85714%, like Jon said.

Who would have ever thought three guys from East Tennessee might be able to help someone with a math problem?

eric faires
huntsville, TN

[dalej]

This is for our health insurance. The little girl and I took out a new policy a year ago and after a year it went up 42.85714% Wow! I best be looking around again.

[Ray Davis]

So, just to add insult to injury, if you now got a $75/mo decrease (back to original price), then you'd only be getting a 30% reduction.

Their 30% figure came from dividing by the new value, which is wrong.

$75 is a larger percentage of $175 than it is of $250.


Ray

[tdelorme]

This is for our health insurance. The little girl and I took out a new policy a year ago and after a year it went up 42.85714% Wow! I best be looking around again.

While it's not a pure bait and switch tactic, every health insurance company I have dealt with in the last ten years or so pulls the same stunt. They will quote a reasonable premium for the first year to get the business and then do the 30 to 40% jump the second year. No big claims, just a big premium increase. We had Pacific Life health insurance for our employees for years. Great policy, reasonable premium no huge claims ever. Then they hire that darn whale, get all over TV and the premium doubles. That was six years ago and we've been switching every two years since. The plan I have for employees now is Total Plan Services out of Dallas. Not bad coverage but nothing like we had in years past and sure enough, I saw a letter come in today that I just know is the yearly jump in premium.
And while we're on the subject of health insurance, if you are 65 and have Medicare, whatever you do, DO NOT give up your traditional Medicare coverage. The Medicare Advantage plans that are all the rage these days are a joke. These companies will tell you anything to convince you to switch from traditional Medicare to an Advantage plan. The only advantage is that they are getting rich and you are getting screwed. You would think that folks who have reached Medicare age would have learned over the years that you don't get something for nothing. Medicare Advantage plans do not pay like Medicare does and if an agent of one of these companies tells you otherwise, he/she is either misinformed or a liar.

[dale farley]

Dale, You can do it two ways and get the same answer. You could also divide the amount of increase ($900) by the original $2100 and get the same 42.857. Either way, it is more than 30%. A rather significant increase. I do hope this is on your house, not your bus.