Archive for September, 2009

Watch Out! Viatical ahead!

September 9th, 2009

What is a Viatical?

A viatical insurance settlement is an agreement in which a third party buys a life insurance policy from an insured person and becomes the legal beneficiary of the policy. The insured person receives an immediate cash payout and in most cases the buyer of the policy agrees to continue to pay the premium on the life insurance policy until the death of the insured.

If someone waves a viatical contract at you, run for help

Bob thought he was doing a clever thing when he invested $50,000 in a viatical contract. He was told he would be making a humanitarian investment by purchasing the life insurance policy of a terminally ill person and that he could expect a large profit for himself. But the insured person wasn’t really sick at all and Bob ended up paying the policy premiums to avoid losing his investment.

How Viaticals Are Supposed to Work

When you buy a viatical, you purchase the life insurance policy of a terminally ill person at a discounted price from a viatical broker who takes a commission. The ill person gets a chunk of money to help pay expenses or take a cruise and the investor gets the full face value of the policy when the person dies. Brokers also sell a spin-off of viatical settlements, called life or senior settlements, in which the investor is offered the life insurance policy of an older, healthy person. The investors are told they are helping older people stay financially secure in their golden years. The pitch is based on a high rate of return—often 20 to 40 percent—and a humanitarian opportunity to help a sick person, a combination appealing to older investors.

Watch out

Viaticals can end up costing investors a lot of money. It is known to be a great investment scam. Securities regulators are “concerned that the inherent risk of viatical investments – gambling on when someone will die – aren’t being adequately disclosed, and second, many investors have been outright defrauded by some viatical companies or their agents.” A Florida Grand Jury in 2000 found as much as 40-50% of the life insurance policies viaticated by viatical settlement providers may have been procured by fraud.

Here’s how the investor can lose money:

• With improved medical care, the ill or older person may live longer than expected. As the new owner of the policy, you have to pay the premiums to keep the policy in force. You tie up your money longer and your profit declines the longer the person lives.
• Sometimes the insured person is not ill at all, so the investor will need to make insurance payments, maybe for years, or the investment is lost.
• The insurance company or viatical settlement company may go out of business along with your invested money.

Protect Yourself

It is important to learn all you can about a viatical before you invest. Failure to research the investment could result in financial disaster.

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My cellphone died last night – now what?

September 8th, 2009

Hunting for a job without a cellphone just doesn’t work

Old blue, my vintage cellphone died last night. I am bereft. The truth is that I never really learned to use all the facilities that she apparently offered, but I knew enough to get me around and she was my constant companion for about 10 years.

The cell phone service center

I took her into the service center this morning, kicked my heels in the long line of customers and was finally told by the smiling young lady that mine is an old phone. “it is so old that we cannot fix it,” she confided, “so we are going to sell you a new phone. The new one will have a camera and a diary and a GPS and a calculator and a this and a that. What color would you like, sir?” In the rush to sell she forgot to tell me if the new phone could make calls. I then explained that I have had this phone for a long time and that I love it and that I want it fixed and that I am not interested in buying a new gadget that I will never learn how to use. Take it to a private lab, she said and beckoned the next customer in the line. Furious, I stormed out.

Have you heard about the depression?

In the very short and one-sided conversation I had with the young woman in the service center I never got the opportunity to tell her that I am a pensioner and that my pension is linked to some index or other and goes down every month. At this time I am not entering into any long term contracts with anyone, let alone for the purchase of a cellphone. So I will throw this one away and you will lose a customer and both of us will be contributing towards the depression in our own little way.

Life before cellphones

I managed my life for a good 50 years before the advent of cellphones and I can manage again although it will not be easy, especially at job hunting time. Amazing as it may seem to the younger set, there is a life without cellphones. If by any chance I discover that I am wrong about the cellphone, I will simply buy one on the booming second hand cellphone market from a private source and not from the phone companies who are adding coals to the fires of the depression.

The cellphone industry

The entire development of the cellphone industry from its very humble beginnings to what it is today was mind-boggling. The poorest counties in earth boast booming cellphone systems. Barefoot kids in Africa walk around with cellphones pressed to their ears. It has brought them into the modern world. These phones have saved many lives of people stuck in impossible situations. It has also created some of the largest companies on stock exchanges around the world.

Posted in Personal / Internet | No Comments »

Haggling Is Back In Fashion

September 4th, 2009

What, me haggle over the price? Are you kidding?

I’m strolling through the Old City of Jerusalem, looking at the shops crammed full of goods. A shirt hanging high on a ladder catches my eye and I stop to look at it. Instantly an assistant is at my side, “you like this one?” he grabs a long pole and takes down the shirt. It’s nice and it will fit me. “How much?” I ask. “Normal price is $70 but you are a tourist, right?” I nod. “For you, $60 only.” I shake my head and walk on. He shouts after me. “The actual price, including discounts is $50.” “Still too much.” “I see it’s one of today’s specials; that makes it, $40.” I turn away. “Sir! My best price is $35.” I pay for the shirt and walk on. Both seller and buyer are satisfied with the price.

The popular game of haggling

This is the haggling game, popular in the Middle and Far East and rapidly spreading to other corners of the globe. Haggling is an art – one has to know how far to push and when to stop. A good haggler is always prepared to walk away empty-handed. The dedicated haggler works on the principle that if ‘you don’t ask you won’t get’ and in these recessionary times many shopkeepers are prepared to meet the shopper halfway.

It’s the same everywhere

The guy who says he wouldn’t be caught dead haggling over the price of a pair of pants will haggle like a demon over the price of a house he is interested in. So why not haggle over the pants? Look what happens with used cars – haggling is no longer the operative word for those negotiations.

Lots of people are doing it

I keep hearing haggling stories in the office: A co-worker called his TV provider and said he was paying too much. He didn’t threaten to cancel, but did mentioned the size of his neighbor’s bill and the name of his company. In a few minutes, they cut his bill by $25 a month. There was no haggling, just a discussion. Not bad for a few minutes work!

Learn to be a haggler

You must remember that you are not forcing merchants to negotiate or to lower their prices. They don’t have to drop the price if they don’t want to. Keep the negotiation pleasant and smile and talk nicely without raising your voice. This will work better than tough talk.

The merchants are haggling in their own way

I passed a clothing store and saw an interesting tee-shirt. I priced it, $70. Too much I decided. Then I saw a sign that said, “second item: $10”. I bought 2 for $80. They were great. I went back the next day. There was a 50% sale on. I took tee 2 shirts and now they were marked $100 each, meaning that I would pay $100 for the 2! Who’s haggling now?

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