It’s not the first question a parent asks. It’s likely not the fourth or fifth. But for parents like Brian and Diane Vollmert, the question of how to pay for their son, Scott, to receive the best care while providing for their family became an unmanageable challenge.
“From the very beginning, Scott didn’t fit cleanly in any category. He wasn’t clearly autistic. He wasn’t clearly developmentally delayed. He had characteristics of both,” said Diane. That combination of Autism Spectrum Disorder and developmental delay can add up to more than $2.4 million in care over Scott’s lifetime, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Pediatrics last year. An astronomical sum for most Americans, including the Vollmerts.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7422152-northwestern-mutual-special-needs/
Global health service company Cigna is putting a healthy spin on the popular social behavior of taking food selfies and sharing them with friends. Now your healthy snack can reap more than “likes” -- with a chance to win a grand prize of a healthy cooking retreat for the winner and their guest with the Conscious Gourmet; 1-on-1 sessions with a Cigna nutritionist for a year and a smartphone with pre-loaded Cigna healthy apps, to name a few.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7185731-cigna-your-healthy-you-food-contest-go-you/
At 37 years old, with a thriving concrete business, a wife and three young children, dying was the last thing on Travis Roberts’ mind. But after a doctor’s visit for a kidney stone, Roberts learned he had cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer of the bile duct. His survival rate was zero.
Roberts shared his story as part of Northwestern Mutual’s ongoing Client Stories series, which highlights the importance of financial security in the face of life’s most difficult circumstances.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7100753-northwestern-mutual-financial-security-cancer-diagnosis-disability-insurance/
Knowing what is important in life became clear to Michael and Kim Jones after Michael was diagnosed with terminal neck cancer. “It changed us dramatically,” Kim said of the diagnosis and the ensuing five-year journey that followed.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7100755-northwestern-mutual-client-stories-life-insurance/
Nearly all homeowners (90%) are concerned about protecting their homes, yet haven’t valued their possessions in years – let alone documented what they have. And while the majority say they know the value of their big-ticket items like TVs and stereos, most forget about things like home décor, area rugs and appliances, not to mention mundane possessions like bedding and bath towels, according to a recent survey from Allstate.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7278351-allstate-protect-it-or-lose-it-2014/
Only 3 vehicles of more than 100 evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have child restraint installation hardware that earns a good rating for ease of use, while more than half have hardware that is poor or marginal.
The Institute's new LATCH ratings will serve as a resource for families looking for a vehicle that makes it easy to transport their children safely. They also are intended to encourage vehicle manufacturers to pay attention to this equipment and make improvements. Properly installed, age-appropriate child restraints provide considerably more protection for children in crashes than safety belts alone. However, observational studies have found that parents and caregivers often fail to secure them tightly or make other installation mistakes.
LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, is intended to make it easier to install a child seat properly. It works: Child restraints installed with LATCH, rather than with vehicle safety belts, are more likely to be installed correctly, research has shown. But in many vehicles, LATCH hardware could be better. Parents are more likely to install the seat correctly when the LATCH hardware meets certain key ease-of-use criteria.
The Island of Bantayan in Northern Cebu in the Philippines watched their country’s boxing hero Manny Pacquiao fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. during a live public screening on the island, which brought boundless inspiration to many who were still recovering from the effects of Typhoon Haiyan which struck the Philippines in late 2013.
The public screening on the island was made possible with the effort of a large British life insurance company operating in the country in its bid to bring inspiration to the typhoon survivors. The screening was for the first time held simultaneously in Santa Fe, Bantayan and Madridejos municipalities on Bantayan Island.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7516751-prudential-corporation-asia/
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today issued a warning to the public about an organized scam involving sales of vehicles through the popular online market place, Craigslist.
Working with law enforcement agencies in the Chicago area and across the Midwest, NICB has identified nearly 100 instances of sales of vehicles that went sour when phony bank checks were used to pay for the vehicle.
“These scams are well organized and have all the appearances of being legitimate,” said NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. “But in the end, the criminal gets the car and the sellers or their financial institutions are left on the hook for thousands of dollars still owed on the car.”
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7523151-nicb-craigslist-auto-sales-scam/
For families who have a dependent with special needs, financial planning often takes a back seat to the necessities of daily life; but it also bears an increased importance.
“April’s Autism Awareness Month offers a great opportunity to emphasize the importance of planning for families who are caring for a dependent child, sibling or spouse with special needs,” said Ruthann Driscoll, JD, CLU, CFP®, director of advanced planning at Northwestern Mutual. “Crafting a comprehensive plan that addresses the needs of the dependent with special needs — for today and for tomorrow — and balancing that with the needs of the rest of the family is essential to achieving lifelong financial security.”
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7422151-northwestern-mutual-autism-awareness/
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today released its annual Hot Wheels report which identifies the 10 most stolen vehicles in the United States. The report examines vehicle theft data submitted by law enforcement to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and determines the vehicle make, model and model year most reported stolen in 2013.
Also in today’s release is a list of the top 25 2013 vehicle makes and models that were reported stolen in calendar year 2013.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/70506512-national-insurance-crime-bureau-nicb-hot-wheels-10-most-stolen/
The Los Angeles Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) are warning motorists of a growing problem with unauthorized tow truck operators in the LA area.
These “bandit” tow truck operators monitor police radios and respond to accidents seeking to hook up vehicles and tow them to body shops or storage facilities where they are held hostage until the motorists and their insurance companies pay inflated towing, storage and possibly repair charges to get the vehicle back.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/70506514-nicb-lapd-bandit-tow-truck-scams/
The recent flooding in Texas means the end of the road for an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 insured vehicles that suffered water damage.
That’s the current estimate from Copart, a company that works on behalf of insurers to handle the vehicles damaged in catastrophes. About 2,500 cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs and other vehicles have already been towed to one of Copart’s locations, a 200-acre processing facility in Houston.
After a disaster, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) works with its member companies, law enforcement and companies like Copart to identify the vehicles that have had an insurance claim filed and to process them for sale. All of the cars will be retitled with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the new title will indicate the fact that the vehicle has been flood damaged. Most of the vehicles are sold to parts companies who will dismantle them and re-sell usable parts that were not damaged by the flooding.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7523152-nicb-texas-floods/
