You probably don’t think much about life insurance– after all, cashing in a policy usually means someone close to you has passed away. But it’s important to know a little bit about how you can use life insurance proceeds. Most people know that life insurance proceeds can pay for funeral expenses or to pay off a home mortgage. But here are some lesser-known ways to use a life insurance policy according to Life Quotes, Inc:

Medical expenses due to terminal illness: According to Life Quotes, Inc, if you are battling a terminal illness you can take a portion of the death benefits to fund medical expenses involving treatment and care. This means your family will be stuck with less of a bill after you pass.

Children from a former marriage: Insurance proceeds can be used to pay for expenses involving any children left behind. It’s important to purchase enough insurance to care for your youngest child, a reason to reevaluate your coverage regularly. As your children grow your needs likely change.

Charitable donations: Your life insurance proceeds don’t have to go to a person– they can also be given to a cause. You can set up for your insurance money to go to a charity as the beneficiary.

Your business partner or long-term girlfriend or boyfriend: Your life insurance beneficiary doesn’t necessarily have to be a relative. You can also designate a business partner or long-term girlfriend or boyfriend as long as they meet certain criteria.

A new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, NICB, shows a big jump in questionable claims in New York. With 145 questionable claims, the city of Buffalo came in second behind New York City which had 4,016 questionable claims. New York City held57% of the statewide total of questionable claims. In all, 7,026 questionable claims were filed across the state of New York in 2010. That’s up from 6,378 in 2008.

So how does an insurance claim become “questionable?” Authorities say there are seven reasons, but most are because they were “faked/exaggerated injury”. Other reasons include “excessive treatment” and “staged/caused accident.” According to reports, most of the questionable claims come from automobile insurance policies. In fact 83% of questionable claims in 201 involved auto insurance.

Allstate responded to the report. Krista Conte, New York spokesperson for Allstate said, “We commend the NICB on their efforts to fight fraud and raise awareness about this issue, which is extremely important to all New Yorkers. Not only is no-fault fraud, or auto accident fraud, costing New York consumers and insurers hundreds of millions of dollars, it puts drivers at risk. Those who would commit this type of crime are taking advantage of the broken no-fault system and are organized, calculating and part of a big business. They are gaming the auto insurance system and the victims are honest, hard working New Yorkers.”

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.

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.

Some experts say Medicare may be around a little longer than originally projected. Trustees who oversee Medicare and Social Security are adding another 12 years onto the life of Medicare and they say it’s because of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. But others remain skeptical that the program’s life has really been extended, according to an Associated Press report. The trustees were careful to add that these projections, “do not represent a reasonable expectation” for hospitalizing America’s elderly.

Originally, Medicare was projected to run out of funds in 2017, but the new report says the program will have enough money to be sustained until 2029. Meanwhile, Social Security is expected to run out of funds in 2037. And the trustees also say they’re not enough money to include a cost-of-living increase in next year’s social security checks.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the report showed positive gains, but that much work was left to be done. “We must continue to make progress addressing the financing challenges,” he said according to the Associated Press. “Those reforms require that we achieve very substantial improvements in efficiency and productivity.”

Analysts say that in the future, more of the economy will be taken up by Medicare costs. Right now 3.6 percent of the economy goes to Medicare, but by 2050, experts say that will grow to eight percent, which equates to hundreds of billions of dollars. John Rother, Executive Vice President of the AARP says the affect of Obama’s health care plan won’t be fully known for a while. “The purpose of the law was to slow the growth in health care costs,” Rother said to the AP. “The fact is we really won’t know until some of the regulations get spelled out.”

The recession isn’t helping matters. For the first time since the 1980′s Social Security will hand out more money than it collects. It’s expected to return to a surplus, but then once again have a deficit in 2015. And by 2037 it will only collect enough money to pay out about three-fourths of the benefits that are owed to citizens. “The fact that the costs for the program will likely exceed tax revenue this year is not a cause for panic, but it does send a strong message that it’s time for us to make the tough choices that we know we need to make,” Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue told the Associated Press. Social Security built up a $2.5 trillion surplus, but the government has borrowed that money over the years to fund other programs.

Missouri voters hit the polls to vote on Proposition C. They were the first in the country to speak their minds with ballots on whether health care should be mandatory. And voters said loud and clear, no. About 71 percent of Missouri voters supported Proposition C, which prohibits the government requiring citizens to carry health insurance or from penalizing anyone who doesn’t.

But what the vote actually accomplishes is up for debate. Federal law always trumps state law, but some say it may change the outcome of the upcoming November elections. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Republican National Chairman Michael Steele believes it’s a big blow to the Obama administration and believes it’s a sign that Republicans will regain the majority in November. “By rejecting ObamaCare with nearly three-quarters of the vote in a critical swing state, Missouri sent a clear message to Democrats and the Obama administration that government-run health care is a gross overreach of the federal government that needs to be repealed and replaced,” Steele said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch.

Other states have similar upcoming votes including Arizona and Oklahoma. Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana and Virginia have passed similar measures, but did not put them on a ballot.

Next Tuesday Missouri voters will tell the world what they think of the recently passed federal Health Care Reform Act when they head to the polls. Missourians are the first in the nation to vote on the issue. They’ll be voting on Proposition C, a law that would prohibit the government from forcing people or businesses to buy health insurance, according to Fox 4 News.

If it passes, the public would be saying that the government could not issue fines to those who refuse to buy health insurance. But, a no vote would mean they support health care reform. “If Proposition C is passed, it’s also going to cause a lot of the uninsured to continue going uninsured,” Mase Hakes, who plans to vote “no” on Proposition C, told Fox 4 News. “And no one will be forced to change their policy if they’re happy with something they already have, they don’t have to change it. This is just something to make it available for those who cannot.”

According to the Associated Press, a recent Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KMOV found that 61 percent of people opposed the federal health care law. Federal law says that the new health insurance program will go into affect in 2014.

Travel insurance is one type of insurance that many people gloss over. They make sure that they have enough clothes and enough money for activities during their vacation and then they travel without another thought to what could go wrong.

Domestic partner health insurance is an insurance that can be shared by an unmarried couple who have a committed relationship. When you think of couples sharing insurance plans you usually think of married couples but this type of insurance extends to unmarried opposite sex and same sex couples.

Every year companies pass out insurance open enrollment packets to their employees and every year many employees do not take the time to look these materials over. This is a mistake. Your open enrollment period is your time to look over your insurance choices.