Austin Insurance Law Blog

Regardless of your age, there is a chance that you could become disabled either through an accident or due to a medical condition. To help plan for your future and ensure you can still take care of your obligations in Texas should you become disabled, you have the option of getting long-term disability insurance. 

According to Insure.com, long-term disability insurance is designed to offer you an income when you cannot work. You can often this insurance as part of your benefits package at work, but you also can buy it privately.

Being laid off in Texas can cause a person to fret about providing for one's self in the future. For example, if you possess a retirement pension at your job, one of your concerns may be whether you can maintain that pension or if you can at least collect on the assets from it. Thanks to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), basic protections for your pension are in place, although whether you can cash out your pension or maintain is still up to the employer who first set up your pension.

According to Findlaw, ERISA sets minimum standards for employers who choose to offer pensions to employees. Pensions are not required under federal law, but employers who offer them must state how long an employee can work at a job before the worker has a non-forfeitable interest in his or her pension. What ERISA does not state, however, is whether a plan can be paid out in a lump sum if the worker leaves the job or if the workplace goes bankrupt or is shut down. A worker may receive a lump sum if the pension plan specifically calls for it and if the worker has met the requirements under the plan.

If you own property in the Austin area, chances are high that you have an insurance policy on it. You purchase homeowner's insurance for peace of mind against the unexpected. As long as you pay your premiums, you expect your insurer to cover damage that occurs from fire, storms and other covered catastrophes. You do not anticipate the need to ever file a claim, but you know that it might become unavoidable at some point. 

It is important for you to understand some common reasons insurers deny claims. Insurers must cover legitimate claims, but that does not stop them from looking for ways to deny them to avoid paying. Here are some common reasons for homeowner's insurance claim denials. 

Families depend on life insurance to survive if something were to happen to one or more breadwinners. Collecting benefits can be the only comfort in a time of mourning and uncertainty. However, some families discover the unfortunate truth: many insurance companies attempt to avoid paying this vital support.

Forbes contributors report that the life insurance industry is struggling financially. Their profits have lagged over the past few years. They are behind in technological tools. Customer satisfaction is low. In an effort to recover, these companies will have to make a few major changes, which could affect Texas beneficiaries for better or worse.