Halloween can be a scary time for some business owners. For those that run haunted houses, corn mazes, pumpkin patches and other venues that are popular destinations this time of year, it can be extremely scary if they’re not properly insured in case any boys or ghouls happen to have an accident. According to a report from Claims Journal, it’s important to consider the risks for any event whether you’re operating a hay ride or a petting zoo. “I actually had one person tell me they had a tiger in their petting zoo,” David Baker, principal at Stratum Insurance Agency in Costa Mesa, Calif, told Claims Journal. “That is not a good idea.”

Since insuring a haunted house isn’t exactly the same as insuring a regular one, it does require some extra research by insurance agents. “From an agency standpoint, what you need to know is the basis of that haunted house, the event they are having, how is it going to be laid out, is it indoors or outdoors? Really get your hands around what they are going to have there and what kinds of risks there are going to be,” Brett Hager, account executive at Market Financial Group, told Claims Journal. “Some get a little crazy and might have a flame thrower or a canon that shoots pumpkins. Does the public have access to these? That’s something you need to know.”

Slips, falls, and things that go bump in the night can all equal big claims for the insurance company when covering venues for Halloween. Agents need to tour the venue beforehand and find out if it’s worth the risk. “People say it’s a pumpkin patch, but in reality they might have a carnival running, too,” Hager told Claims Journal. “Know what your customer truly has; don’t just take it at face value. A lot of people call us and say, ‘it’s just a pumpkin patch’ and I say, ‘well I am looking at your site and see you have a shooting range, too.’ There can be a lot of risk there.”

Some insurance companies say Halloween venues are just too scary, so they’ve opted out insuring them due to risk. But those that do service the industry offer general liability insurance, volunteer accident coverage and equipment insurance, according to Claims Journal. “I think standard carriers underestimate the professionalism that most of these guys operate under,” Robin Walker, commercial department manager for InPro Insurance in Troy, Michigan told Claims Journal. “Some of these are movie quality, theater quality sets and scenes, and the good ones that want to stay in business and want people to come back have to be safe. Standard carriers underestimate the safety aspect.”

The first Sunday in November marks the time to set your clocks back. It also marks the onset of darker evenings. Home insurance experts say it’s a time when burglars can increasingly target properties this time of year. They have more dark hours which gives them a great opportunity to strike, according to Halifax Home Insurance. The insurance provider says last year they recorded a 63 percent increase in burglary claims during winter months compared to summer months. “Year on year we typically see far more burglaries occurring during the winter,” said Halifax Home Insurance Senior Claims Manager Martyn Foulds in a news release. ” Burglars will tend to go for the path of least resistance and look for homes that lack even the basic security measures, so a few simple cost effective steps can go a long way to avoiding a break in.”

Some tips to help you make it through the winter without welcoming in a burglar include:

* Keeping valuables away from windows and doors where a crook can easily spot them.

* Mark property with an inscription or ultra violet pen.

* Photograph your personal items and keep track of receipts and serial numbers.

* Invest in a small safe to keep unused credit cards, personal documents and small valuables like jewelry.

* Make sure all doors and windows are locked.

* Even though it’s convenient, don’t hide a spare key outside of your property.

* Consider installing an alarm.

* Trim bushes near windows to give burglars fewer hiding places.

Not only is it a good idea to revisit your home insurance policy for theft reasons, WVNS says it’s also a time to reevaluate your coverage overall. Insurance agents advise assessing the true value of your home. That way if bad weather, flooding or snow hits you’ll be covered. “When a loss happens we have insurance to pay for the damage, but there’s a lot of hidden costs that you’re not compensated for; in that you don’t have insurance coverage to pay for you to shop around for a new refrigerator and a new roof, or a contractor to repair the damage,” Jim Songer, President of Songer Insurance told WVNS.

Want to pay less for car insurance? Just ask, says US News and World Report. While there’s nothing new about car insurance discounts, many people still forget to ask about them. According to US News and World Report, here are the top six insurance discounts that you may want to inquire about.

1. Multi-Policy and Multi-Vehicle Discounts. Do you purchase many of your insurance products from the same place? You should be rewarded for that. Same goes with car insurance when you have multiple vehicles insured at one company.

2. Low-Mileage Discounts. Not all providers offer this according to US News and World Report, but you should definitely ask. You can save up to 40 percent they say.

3. Good Driver Discounts. It doesn’t seem right that accident prone drivers pay the same as cautious ones. Some insurance companies will reward you for your good record.

4. Vehicle Safety Features. Things like a car alarm, anti-lock brakes and airbags can all add up to savings. Be sure to let your insurance company know if you have these features.

5. Affinity Groups. Your HR department or an organization you belong to may be the source of more insurance savings. Ask around to see if your group affiliations can lead to discounts.

6. Hybrid Cars. These fuel-efficient cars are also good for saving money on insurance, according to US News and World Report.

According to new research, workers are increasingly opting to forgo insurance benefits from their employers so they can instead have bigger paychecks. Nearly 40 percent of companies say it’s a growing trend for employees to opt out of benefits like pension plans, life insurance or income protection in order to take home more money.

Another 18 percent of companies polled say they’ve also seen a drop in the amount of money staff are willing to contribute to their pension. “We’re witnessing several concerning trends that would point to many employees currently taking a very short-term view of their financial situation,” Marketing Officer Marco Forato told The Press Association. “Although there’s no denying that a lot of people are struggling financially as a result of the recession, workers should only opt out of long-term financial benefits as a last resort. It is vital that employees instead seek to protect themselves and their dependants by having robust financial cover in place.”

Officials say that while the workers may be getting a slight cash boost, they could be laying the groundwork for future financial problems. Not only are they jeopardizing their retirement plans but if they become ill and can’t earn a salary, their dependents will also be in trouble. Research shows that roughly one in three British workers would only be able to survive less than a month on the statutory sick pay which equates to about $100 a week.

Government programs are helping kids get insurance, and not just those in households below the poverty line. The New York Times interviewed Dean McCrea, a 55-year-old widow who lost his job when his employer went out of business. McCrea could no longer afford insurance for him and his 16-year-old son, but recently he was able to get help through a program called Healthy Kids. It’s a state-run health insurance program for middle class families. McCrea was able to get his son insurance for just $38 a month. “A lot of people in my circle, solid middle-class families, are struggling,” McCrea told The New York Times. “The peace of mind that this program has supplied me is not measurable.”

According to the Census Bureau, the number of insured children under the age of 19 was just under 91 percent which is a record high. “To a surprising extent, the government has really stepped up to provide affordable coverage options for middle-class kids, along with their lower-income counterparts,” Jocelyn Guyer, co-executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, told the New York Times. “It’s a success story.”

That means that close to ten percent of children, or seven million, don’t have insurance. But experts say more than  half could qualify for government insurance through programs like Medicaid and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program). “Our biggest obstacle has been to convince families that don’t qualify for food stamps or other subsidies that they qualify for our program,” Cathy Kaufmann, administrator of the Healthy Kids program in Oregon, told The New York Times. Children in families of four with incomes of up to $44,100 qualify for certain government insurance programs. And if you live in a state like New York where the cost of living is higher, families of four can earn over $88,000 and still qualify.

Eligibility varies greatly depending on which state you live. But in a dozen states, even if you earn too much you still may be able to buy in to to more affordable CHIP policies. Finding out if you qualify is easy. Just visit InsureKidsNow.gov to find out about what’s available in your state. You can also visit the government’s new health insurance website Healthcare.gov to search for child-only policies. Plug in your child’s information and you’ll immediately have access to various policies at different price points so you can make an educated decision about keeping your child insured.

Here’s a reason to throw away your dead flowers. State Far Insurance Co. ruled that dead flowers in a plastic flower pot spontaneously combusted, sparking a house fire that did $20,000 in damages to a northeast Arkansas home, according to the Associated Press. “The fire was caused by self-heating through decomposition of organic materials contained within a plastic flowerpot,” the Aug. 25 letter from State Farm Insurance Co. to the owner said.

The homeowner Brian Duncan said the flowerpot was holding dead, decomposing flowers and potting soil that his wife planted over a year ago. “She had intended on repotting (the flowers),” Duncan told the Associated Press. But instead they sat on the porch, drying out and dying. Duncan said it was obvious that the fire started in the flower pot because there was a charred hole on the porch and the remnants had fallen to the ground several feet below. But the homeowner told the Associated Press he was still surprised when the results showed the fire started due to spontaneous combustion.

No one was hurt in the late-August blaze, but considerable damage was done to the home. Duncan’s father-in-law used a garden hose to squelch the flames before firefighters showed up to the scene. Duncan said some of the damages included ruined decking, burned vinyl siding, a broken window and damage to the air conditioning system. “The house was full of smoke,” he told the Associated Press.

A local fire marshal maintains that spontaneous combustion is very rare. “Spontaneous combustion is something where you have to have a lot of variables come together and it has to be just right,” Jason Wills told Jonesboro television station KAIT. “It’s something that does happen, but this is the first one in our area that I’m aware of.”

Five additional parents of US soldiers killed during duty have joined with another parent in a lawsuit against Prudential Financial. The suit claims Prudential profited from the dead soldiers’ policies by paying only a small amount of interest on life insurance benefits while holding on to a large portion of interest themselves. According to a report by the Associated Press, the families say bookkeeping misrepresented how the insurance beneficiaries could collect lump-sum payouts.

The case could eventually impact tens of thousands of soldiers’ beneficiaries who received payments. The Associated Press reported that company officials couldn’t address the current legislation, they say they are handling money properly. The suit deals with Alliance Accounts which are similar to checking accounts. Beneficiaries can write “checks” to receive some of the insurance money or they can get 36 equal payments each month. If they opted for the Alliance Account, beneficiaries received interest rates ranging from .5 to 1.5 percent. But the soldiers’ families say Prudential actually holds the money in a general account worth $2 billion and that the company earns five to six percent interest. Then they say the company keeps the difference.

Some experts say that insurance agents, brokers and small insurance companies may become victims of the massive health care overhaul set to kick in in 2014. The health care reform bill will impact nearly every corner of the health care industry which makes up one-sixth of the US economy. According to a report by Time Magazine, agents and brokers are concerned they’ll soon be viewed as redundant under the new legislation.

At a recent meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 25 commissioners passed a resolutions stating that health care reform should “recognize and protect the indispensable role that licensed insurance professionals play in serving consumers.” At issue is how insurance companies should now calculate their medical and administrative expenses. Most experts believe health care reform will put an end to agent and broker commissions which make up anywhere from 5-20 percent of premiums. Health care reform may also make their roles as sales people and marketers unnecessary as new state insurance exchanges will be posted online by 2014. This will be a place where people and small groups can go to purchase insurance directly.

One role that brokers and agents are confident they’ll still be able to fulfill is that of a navigator through the health insurance maze. “More of the upfront stuff will be done online, but it won’t replace the service,” Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters, which represents agents and brokers, told Time Magazine.

A 2008 wind storm is still causing problems for Ohio homeowners. This time instead of downed trees and ripped off roofs, homeowners are having to deal with higher homeowners’ insurance rates. According to the Ohio Department of Insurance, rates increased by an average of 9.7 percent. The Ohio Department of Insurance surveyed the top ten providers of homeowners’ insurance, according to the Dayton Business Journal.

The increase comes on the heels of a seven percent increase in 2008, which at the time was the largest jump in five years, according to reports. Insurance companies say they paid out more than $1.4 billion in 2008 as a result of the September wind storm that left millions without power for days. The storm was what was left of Hurricane Ike, wiping out power to 1.9 million electricity customers in the Dayton area.

In addition to increased homeowners’ insurance rates, Ohio residents will also see a 2.8 percent increase in auto insurance rates. But despite the increases, reports show that Ohio is still the sixth lowest in the country for homeowner’s insurance rates and the 11th lowest for auto insurance rates.

People who get laid off on or after June 1 can no longer turn to the government for help to cover 65% of their premium costs for COBRA health coverage. COBRA lets workers stay on their former employer’s group health plan for a period of three months. This assistance that once came from the government expired on June 1, and it does not appear that lawmakers will continue it according to the Wall Street Journal.

A new jobs bill once held an extension of the COBRA payment plan, but it was removed. The bill is now in the Senate. Those who lost their jobs between September 2008 and May 31, 2010 could still apply for insurance assistance for up to 15 months. Their former employer would be responsible for paying health insurance costs plus a two percent administrative fee. Under subsidies provided by the economic stimulus package, premiums run $387 on average. Without the assistance, family premiums jump to over $1100 a month. For those who lose their jobs after June 1, the government will no longer pick up that $720 difference.

Families USA found that those laid off after June 1 would have to spend 84% of their monthly unemployment insurance checks on COBRA premiums in order to keep their families covered. Unemployment checks are about $1,313 on average. However in 11 states unemployment income actually would not be enough to cover insurance costs. ”It’s ironic that in a little over two months after health reform passed and is designed to achieve significant coverage improvement, in the short term we will go backwards,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, in a Wall Street Journal report.

Another option would be finding individual coverage which could be cheaper, as long as there are no preexisting conditions. “Cobra coverage is so expensive, but the alternatives are either going without coverage or having to go to the individual market,” Park said to the Wall Street Journal. “As long as there’s not a gap of 63 days or more in coverage, you’re guaranteed access to the individual market so insurers can’t deny you. But it may not provide the same comprehensive benefits.”