Need health insurance for your kids?

If you'd like health insurance for your kids - don't wait to enroll! You have until April 30 to get an individual health plan or add them to your coverage. (Individual plans are for people who don't get health insurance through their employer).

Until April 30,you can get health insurance for your kids without having them take a health screen.

Use this map to see which companies are available in your county. Then, contact the company directly to enroll. If you have any problems, call our Insurance Consumer Hotline at 1-800-562-6900.

The next chance to get an individual plan for your kids is Sept. 15-Oct. 31. There are some exceptions for people to enroll outside of these time periods. You must apply 31 days after one of the following events:

• You no longer qualify for a state program.


• You lose your coverage due to a divorce.


• You lose your employer's health plan (including COBRA).


• You move and your plan is not available where you live.


• Also, parents or guardians can apply year-round for a health plan with 60 days of birth, adoption.

More tips and what if you miss an enrollment period?

How do you get tsunami insurance?

How do you get tsunami insurance?

Buy a flood policy.

Earthquake coverage generally doesn't include damage and flooding from a tsunami. But flood policies under the National Flood Insurance Program, a federally run program that insures millions of homes and businesses, do cover tsunami damage. The surge of water is treated the same way as a storm surge from a hurricane would be.

We double-checked this with the NFIP, which steered us to the following definition of flood in the National Flood Insurance section of federal law:

Sec. 1370 (42 USC 4121)

(1) The term “flood” shall have such meaning as may be prescribed in regulations of the Director and may include inundation from rising waters or from the overflow of streams, river, or other bodies of water, or from tidal surges, abnormally high tidal water, tidal waves, tsunamis, hurricanes, or other severe storms or deluge.

The federal flood program has issued more than 5 million policies across the country, insuring more than $1.2 trillion in property. Here in Washington state -- a quake-prone region with hundreds of miles of coastline -- some 51,000 policies are in force. Coverage is particularly heavy in places like Centralia, Aberdeen, King County and Snohomish County.

Here's a plain-language summary of federal flood coverage.

And we should also point out that the federal program does not cover things like business-interruption coverage, which can be crucial for businesses. Also, NFIP commercial coverage maxes out at $500,000 for a building and $500,000 for contents. The good news: insurance brokers can find additional flood coverage for you, often through what are called surplus line insurers.

WA insurance agent arrested in alleged $1 million theft

Investigators from the Washington state insurance commissioner’s office on Tuesday arrested a King County woman on suspicion of stealing more than $1 million in retirement funds from five elderly insurance clients.

Jasmine Jamrus-Kassim, of Kent, was arrested in Factoria by members of the insurance commissioner’s Special Investigations Unit and the Washington State Patrol. She was booked into the King County Jail on 21 counts of first-degree theft.

“This is an appalling abuse of trust,” said state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. “Vulnerable people trusted this agent with much of their life’s savings. And she just pocketed the money.”

A months-long investigation by Kreidler’s office found that several of Jamrus-Kassim’s clients repeatedly cashed out large portions of their annuities with Bankers Life and Casualty. Jamrus-Kassim was an agent for the insurer.

“We want to see justice done,” said Kreidler. “We also want to see if there’s any way to make these victims whole. We’re still investigating to what extent Bankers Life may have any liability for the actions of their agent.”

The victims, who ranged from age 74 to 90, typically made out their checks to “S.A. Saad” and gave them to Jamrus-Kassim. Several said they believed that S.A. Saad was an insurance company official. They thought their money was being reinvested.

In reality, Jamrus-Kassim has two daughters, both with the initials and surname “S.A. Saad.” Most of the money was deposited briefly in the girls’ accounts, then moved to Jamrus-Kassim’s personal credit union account. Jamrus-Kassim’s financial records show thousands of dollars spent on clothes, jewelry, and a trip to Mexico. They also show large payments to online psychic advisors, including $20,000 in charges from one psychic website in one month.

In total, Jamrus-Kassim is believed to have stolen at least $1,052,088 from the five victims between late 2007 and late 2009. She returned $25,503 to a 90-year-old Renton woman after the woman complained to the insurance commissioner’s office. That’s one of two complaints that triggered the state investigation.

Jamrus-Kassim submitted a letter of resignation to Bankers Life on Jan. 13, 2010.

Subsequent investigation by state insurance officials found three other victims. Last week, investigators interviewed an 83-year-old Seattle man who had no idea that Jamrus-Kassim had taken his $352,000.

Want a health plan for your kids? Enrollment starts today

If you're looking to add your children to your own individual health plan or want to buy health insurance for your children, you have from today through April 30 to do so.

Be sure to apply early. In most cases, applications received after March 20 will not have coverage until May 1.

This is the first of two open-enrollment periods this year for children in the individual health insurance market -- the second is from Sept. 15-Oct. 31. During these times, health plans cannot screen children or deny them coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition.

Federal health care reform prevents health insurers from deny coverage to children because of a pre-existing medical condition. However, individual plans -- like most employer-sponsored health plans -- can create open-enrollment periods.

If you need a health plan outside of the enrollment dates, you can apply either to the Washington State Health Insurance Pool (WSHIP), or if you qualify, to the new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP-WA).

Exceptions where you can apply for individual coverage anytime include the birth or adoption of a child or if a child or parent:
No longer qualifies for a state program.

• Loses coverage due to a divorce.
• Loses employer-sponsored coverage (including COBRA).
• Moves and their plan is not available where they live now.

In 2014, when the full federal health reforms take effect, no one of any age can be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.

What a Seattle tsunami would look like

Due to a spike in visits, we're reposting this post:

The experts say it's inevitable that the Seattle area will be hit with another tsunami similar to the one from 1,000 years ago. Here's a computer-generated video of what a tsunami hitting Seattle would look like:

(video courtesy of NOAA's Center for Tsunami Research)

The animation assumes a magnitude 7.3 quake on the Seattle Fault.
Here are similar projections, based on a 9.1 quake, for Long Beach, Ocean Shores, and Bellingham, all modeled on a quake similar in size to what Japan experienced last week. (These are very big files; give them plenty of time to load. Smaller, less-detailed versions are at the NOAA link above.)

Daylight savings time: Move your clocks AHEAD 1 hour

OK, so this has nothing to do with insurance. But just a friendly reminder: Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Don't forget to move your clocks ahead 1 hour.

Why to wear your seatbelt

A British team put together this extraordinary video to encourage people to wear seat belts. It's a big change from the scary crash ads we've all seen -- and it's probably more effective.