Buffalo Chicken Dip - Buffalo Tried and True well 0 komentar

This Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe is like eating a chicken wing, with a spicy kick from Frank's Red Hot Sauce, and a nice cooling effect of creamy Bleu Cheese and Cheddar, only without the mess. Scouring the internet for a perfect recipe, you come across quite a few variations, some are region specific, some just look down right awful. Some people prefer Ranch to their Bleu Cheese, some areas have no idea what Franks Red Hot Sauce is, even more, some people use canned chicken for their Buffalo Chicken Dip. Not exactly sure what planet these people live on, but if I am going to offer something while tailgating for an event, or for family members at a picnic, I am not using canned chicken. In a pinch I will purchase a rotisserie chicken from my local grocery store but I prefer to bake or grill my own chicken ahead of time and shred it prior to adding it to the mixture of cheese and spice that make up my buffalo chicken dip. This recipe contains many Buffalo, NY specific ingredients, one of which is Franks Red Hot Sauce. If you don't have access to Franks locally, buy some online. Franks is used in authentic Buffalo Chicken Wing sauces, and will really give your recipe a kick.
The other product is Rooties Blue Cheese dressing. This dressing is a little more difficult to find online, so if you do not have access to it substitute your favorite bleu cheese dressing. With football season kicking into full gear, this buffalo chicken dip recipe is perfect for your Saturday College Football or Sunday NFL parties with friends and family. If you are lucky enough to make your way to a game and get the full experience of tailgating, this buffalo chicken dip recipe is perfect. So without further ado, I present to you a Buffalonian's take on a dip that has been created and recreated by people everywhere. Please feel free to leave comments on the recipe, and please enjoy.
Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe Ultimate Tailgating Dip
Ingredients

• 24oz of Chicken, Shredded - I grill or bake 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves which I have removed any fat from, then shred them. If you are in a pinch, I highly recommend buying a rotisserie chicken from your local food market and shredding it yourself.
• (2) 8oz packages of Cream Cheese softened
• 1 cup of Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1 cup of Rootie's Blue Cheese Dressing
• 2 cups of Mild Cheddar cheese
• Optional - Scallions for garnish
• Serve with Tortilla Chips, Toasted Pitas, Celery or Carrots

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bleu cheese, cream cheese, half a cup of the cheddar, and the hot sauce until mixed through.
3. Fold in the chicken pieces and transfer to a 9′x11′ baking dish or tin. Top with the remaining cheddar cheese.
4. Bake the mixture uncovered for 25-30 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and somewhat browned on the top.

Tips And Recipes For Healthy Cooking At Your House 0 komentar

It's time to bring it all back home: Now that you know how to make healthy decisions at the supermarket, it's time to implement a few new habits in the kitchen. This will be simple, and don't worry, I won't have you eating cardboard or rabbit food. By following a few general rules, and making a few changes to your culinary routine, you'll find that you can lighten up most of the recipes you enjoy. Here is a list of tips and suggestions you can refer to (and refer to often) while cooking at home:
* Substitute Stevia or Splenda for sugar wherever possible. You can also use applesauce to sweeten cakes if you are baking.
* Use vanilla whey protein powder to replace the bulk of processed white flour in sweet baked goods. You can also try a 50-50 mix of protein powder and nut meal.
* Use nonstick cookware so that you can cut down on oils and butters and brown your foods using less fat. If you need oil, use it sparingly to cut down on calories. Try cooking sprays like Pam or apply oil with a pastry brush so that you have as light a coating of fat on your food as possible.
* Replace fat-laden heavy cream or half and half with whipped evaporated skim milk. For best results, pour the canned evaporated skim milk into a metal mixing bowl. Place the mixing bowl along with your electric mixer's beater attachments in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until ice crystals form around the edges. Remove the bowl and the beaters from the freezer; whip on high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Use at once.
* Use spices and lemon to flavor foods rather than fattening sauces or heavy, sugary marinades.
* Choose low-fat, low-cal, low-sugar, or low-carb versions of a food if they exist. Get low-fat dairy products like skim milk, low-fat cheese, and sour cream. Rethink all of your favorite condiments. Try out some low-cal, low-fat salad dressings until you find one you really like. Switch to fat-free mayonnaise and light variations of gravies and sauces. There are a wide range of low-carb condiments on the market including ketchups and barbecue and steak sauces. When you're cooking meat, choose the leaner cuts. Remove skin from chicken, but not until after cooking, so the meat will retain some of its moisture.
* Steam, bake, grill, braise, boil, or microwave your foods instead of frying them.
* When combined with water, bouillon cubes are a great low-cal way of adding robust flavor to most recipes that call for beef, chicken, or vegetable stock. You can also add bouillon cubes and water to stir-fries they enhance the flavor and reduce the amount of fat needed to cook.
* Try using different vegetables as starch replacements. Spaghetti squash is great for replacing pasta, strips of zucchini or yellow squash can be cut with a shredder or vegetable peeler to replace lasagna noodles, and you can puree cauliflower as a stand-in for mashed potatoes. Be creative the possibilities here are endless.
* When browning vegetables, put them in a hot pan, then spray with oil, rather than adding oil to the pan first. This reduces the amount of oil the vegetable can absorb during cooking.
You can use the above suggestions to transform recipes into healthier versions of old standby favorites, but you can also use them to come up with new dishes of your own. Be creative, think outside of the box, and you'll be astonished at how well you will be able to eat while still staying totally healthy. Just so you know I'm not lying to you, and so you can get your imagination going, I've included my favorite healthy and delicious! recipes for breakfast (on the-go style and traditional sit-down), lunch, dinner, dessert, and snacks. Many of these won me major points with my team members on The Biggest Loser. But you needn't take our word for it, try them and see for yourself!

Asia Foods, Have You Ever Tried? 0 komentar

Sushi and Sashimi
Yes, some people are a bit revolted by the idea of eating raw fish, but these two Japanese dishes are oh so good, especially when the vinegared rice is prepared just right and the fish is so fresh that it's still in rigor mortis. Fish and seafood used for sushi include salmon, tuna, though not the overfished bluefin, eel, flounder, octopus, shrimp, abalone and salmon roe. If the dieter really can't bear raw fish, they can have sushi made with avocado, sweetened egg, or cucumber.
Dashi
Dashi is a broth made with a sheet of kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes, bonito being a fish. It has a delicate taste and aroma and is the basis for many Japanese soups. It is wonderful to drink with nothing in it on cold winter nights.
Tempura
The calorie count with this dish might be fairly high because it involves dipping food in batter and deep frying it. The great thing about tempura is that it can be made out of anything, including chunks of seafood, sliced Japanese eggplant, carrots, tofu, green squash, slices of lotus root and green onions. It should be drained and eaten while it's hot, for cold or left over tempura has lost much of its appeal.
Hot and Sour Soup
This delicious soup is made from tree fungus, dried tiger lilies, dried shiitake mushrooms and tofu in beef stock. All of the ingredients can be found easily in an Asian market and they're inexpensive. The dieter shouldn't worry about the tree fungus. It's also called cloud ears and is a black mushroom that's grown on logs. It's dried and when it's rehydrated it seems to grow ten times its size, then it's sliced and added to the soup. The soup only needs one or two to suffice.
Peking Dust
This dessert is a bit fussy to make, but it's heavenly. It uses raw chestnuts, sugar, a pinch of salt, heavy cream, one orange and glaceéd walnuts. The chestnuts are pureed, then garnished with the orange and walnuts and slathered with whipped cream in a mold.
Lamb Korma
This is an Indian dish where chunks of lamb are cooked in a creamy curry sauce and served with rice, chutney, raita or onion sambal. Made with coriander, cumin, cardamom seeds, ginger, cloves, red pepper and garlic, it smells as good as it tastes.
Wontons Stuffed with Pork, Cabbage, Scallions and Ginger
Though a lot of people may have bought wontons at their take-out place, there's nothing like making some at home. They're not that hard to make, and practice makes perfect.
Onigiri
These are rice balls and are very popular in Japanese picnic boxes. The ingredients include fresh salmon fillet, one sheet of dried nori, which is also used for wrapping sushi, bonito flakes and umeboshi, pickled and salted plums. Onigiri are a bit labor intensive to make, but, again, worth it.
Miso Soup with Oysters and Bean Curd
Miso is soy bean paste and this dashi-based soup uses red and white miso, fried bean curd, regular bean curd, about 16 oysters, Japanese parsley, fresh ginger root and sansho powder. It's very, very delicious indeed.

Finding A Best Deals at Restaurants 0 komentar

The first piece of advice would be to find as many restaurants that have regular specials as possible. An example of this would be a restaurant that has a special every Tuesday that lets you buy two meals and only pay for one. Quite a lot of the bigger chain restaurants run these kinds of specials. For example, Spur runs a special where you can buy two burgers on a Monday and only pay for one. Dros is another one of the restaurants in Johannesburg that have regular specials and really great deal.
The next piece of advice would be to keep up-to-date with once-off deals happening at restaurants around Johannesburg. Social buying is a great way of doing this. Social buying websites basically make deals with different businesses and restaurants in Johannesburg and offer really great discounted vouchers to the public. You would have a limited time to buy these vouchers and they are usually redeemable for up to 6 months.
Great examples of these social buying websites here in Johannesburg include Groupon and UCIT. You simply register with the website free of charge and they send you emails daily about the specials on offer for the day. If you are looking for a great deal at restaurants in Johannesburg then you would simply look at the meal specials. These include great deals such as paying R100 for a voucher and being able to order food for the value of R200 at the restaurant. You would have to use your credit card to buy vouchers and they are then emailed to you. Simply print these and take them with you when going to the restaurant for the meal.
The last piece of valuable would be to look for restaurants that offer loyalty cards or programs. These would reward you with a voucher for a free meal or discounted meals if you frequent the restaurant. One of the restaurants in Johannesburg that have one of these loyalty programs in place is Spur.
There are numerous blogs, websites and search engines that can assist you. All you need is an internet connection and a device with which to browse the internet. There is tons of advice and information not just about finding the best deals at restaurants in Johannesburg, but information and blogs about how to be a financially savvy South African as well.

Plastic Containers in Small Number - Purchase Number of Containers for Your Needs 0 komentar

You may think that if you're looking to purchase from a plastic manufacturing company that you'll have to order a huge amount of containers. The thought of that may be preventing you from ordering what you need. If you don't need a large quantity of containers, your best bet would be to find a plastics manufacturer who specializes in small quantity orders.

You don't want to use your company's budget on unnecessary items. So finding just the right amount of containers would be a great benefit. The advantage of ordering in small quantities is, you'll get to decide what will be the right amount of plastic containers for your needs.

Find a company that offers high clarity, high impact clear PVC plastic. PVC is a great general purpose plastic. Make sure the plastic containers you're purchasing are FDA approved, food grade plastic. With this you can be assured food will be safe if it comes in contact with the plastic. There won't be any harmful chemicals. With this in mind you'll be able to display candies, nuts, and snack items, such as pretzels or beef jerky.

Also look for containers that have wide mouth openings. Then if you're displaying merchandise it will be easy for potential customers to handle the items. If a customer holds something in their hands, they're more likely to buy it. So find a container that makes this step less cumbersome for your customers. It's best to find a company that offers lids as well because transporting your merchandise should be worry free.

Let's say you're a business owner looking to set up displays of your merchandise at trade shows or your shop. Clear plastic containers would be perfect for displaying a variety of items specific to your business. For instance if you're in the hardware business you could take advantage of containers that highlight nuts, bolts, screws, nails, small flashlights or tape measures.

If you're in the beauty business, plastic containers are perfect for displaying nail polish, lipstick, fingernail files, lotions, and small hair care products such as brushes or combs.

Some times in business, deadlines sneak up on us and we panic. To help alleviate this panic it's best to find a plastic manufacturer who can ship most orders in 24 hours.
Also look for a company that has drop ship capabilities.

If you're running your own business you know that your business has exclusive needs. Your merchandise is your business, how you display your merchandise is part of your image. Find a clear plastic manufacturer who offers different sizes and shapes of containers.

Get Organized in Various Places Theme Parties Corporate Events 0 komentar

Many corporate events are organized in order to get work done and they are therefore very professional in nature. However, corporates do get to have a lot of fun as well as companies organize a variety of theme parties and fun events as well, especially when team building or motivational sessions are underway. If this is your requirement then you will have to select a corporate events venue based upon its ability to manage such an event with a great degree of expertise.

It is not very easy to organize a really great theme party because there are plenty of small details that have to be looked into. The décor, food and entertainment should all match perfectly so that the actual event is a great deal of fun. You need to select a corporate events venue that can host theme parties well because people have a lot of expectations these days, having been to plenty of these events. There is almost no limit to the themes you could ask for and the people managing the venue should have the ability to deliver what you are expecting. Mardi Gras, Hollywood (or even Bollywood), Casino and Arabian Nights themes are just some examples of what you can organize for your big event.

The people managing the party venue should be able to offer you the exact kind of seating arrangements you require. The venue should be large enough to accommodate your group easily and also the theme settings and buffet station, bar, dance floor and the like. The place should also have a really good sound system because the party will not be a success without good music. There should also be space for live entertainment in case you wish to organize that. The employees at this place should also be competent, friendly and dedicated because this will reflect on the quality of service they provide.

Make sure that you spend some time to select the best possible corporate events venue for your theme parties so that you are completely happy with all the arrangements. Once you select a particular venue you should make your booking immediately so that you don't face a problem with lack of availability later on. If the place you like is really good then there are bound to be many more people who like it as well! Don't leave anything to chance when organizing your events in order to give your guests the best possible time.

Decorating Your Office for this Holiday Season 0 komentar

The first thing to consider in decorating your office for any holiday season is making sure to include various belief systems if the office is quite diverse in staff. There is no use in offending clients or staff because their views are not represented. There does not have to be a lot of thought involved in this or much personal insight if the holiday is Halloween or Flag day, yet during the fall and winter holiday season, a little more care should be taken to incorporate symbols that will not be offensive. You can avoid offending anyone simply by not placing up any decoration with religious overtones.
During the winter season, decorated evergreen trees are widely accepted. You can hire someone to create a fabulous decorated tree or decorate one as a group office project. Using ornaments that reflect the industry in which you work is awfully cute and will elicit many compliments. Get creative while decorating a tree. Buying an artificial one for multiple years of use is more economical than purchasing a new tree from year to year. An evergreen tree can also serve to represent all the diversity which your office exhibits, if the whole office decides to participate.
Holiday decorating is easy to do and pleasing on the eyes with the use of seasonal flowers and lights. Holiday flowers are abundant, can be purchased in live or fake form and have no connotations with any religion. It can brighten any office, desk, entryway or room. For fall holidays, choose arrangements that are in sync with typical fall colors. Switch out those fall colors in December for arrangements of poinsettias, wreaths and small potted evergreens. Stringing lights, as long as they are not too distracting, adds a subtle effect to an office without being overly sentimental to any one belief system.
An alternative to a Merry Christmas sign can be a Season's Greetings sign. Snowflake ornaments or cut outs are very appropriate to the winter season as well. There are many beautiful, innovative and inexpensive ways to decorate an office for the holiday season and you can move forward with confidence to add a little bit of flair to your office.

Christmas Parties 0 komentar

As Christmas is a busy time of the year for everyone concerned, it would be prudent to choose one's caterer well ahead of time. There are lots of people who throw Christmas parties and catering for one of them could prove to be a cake walk if things are planned and organized well. By hiring a caterer you will be saving yourself a lot of trouble, as you will be able to circulate among your guests and you will not have to slog getting food ready. However make sure that you discuss everything with the caterer well in advance for you will have other jobs on your hands like decorating you home and putting up the Christmas tree, shopping etc.

In order to choose the right menu, one must have a good idea of the budget and the number of people attending the party. Once you have chosen the venue it is best to inform the caterer so that you will be able to decide on what type of service should be rendered, if you want a barbecue, a particular theme, etc. you should discuss the details with the caterer way ahead of time and not take them by surprise.

The caterer will be able to help you hire things like seating, tents, restrooms, lights, etc if you need them. Make sure that you get a quotation from the caterer and ask if they have the required liquor license.

Usually caterers take out liability insurance and employer's insurance that covers their catering staff, this way those hiring them are not liable.
Catering for one's own Christmas party is not as frightening as it seems for there are a number of individuals who prefer the personal touch when it come to eating home cooked food. If you are serving buffet style you could prepare the food ahead of time and heat it up just before serving. This way you could cook the food a day in advance and will not be hard pressed for time. It would also be a good idea to enlist help from other family members and assign each one a task this way you will get a load off your shoulders.

Managing Social Event 0 komentar

There are things we hope we never become responsible for in life. One of these happens to be managing an office social event. We all hope we never become responsible for one but just in case you do there are some really important tips you need to remember. A great social event in the workplace can be good fun. It can be rewarding to see your coworkers in another environment outside of work.

The first requirement is that your guests need to have fun. For whatever reason this event is being thrown it will make or break when it comes to fun. So renting a decent location is important. Gauge how many people you intend to have at your party so you can be sure to have sufficient space for the event.

This also goes the same for catering. Knowing how many people you intend to have show up will determine how much food you will have prepared. You can host this yourself but with something like this you may want to look into professional catering for the food, especially if the social event is work related.

The catering brings you now to the third item of throwing an office social event, the liquor. Everyone is an adult so having a dry party may indeed be out of the question but if you have alcohol present this may lead to some bad incidents with those who do not know when to stop.

Then there is some entertainment. Even social event needs a little entertainment. Now depending on how big you make this event will also determine the extent of your entertainment you have. Usually this is music, so hiring a DJ may be in order or having a good sound system with a nice array of music. If you are renting a banquet hall then you can have your guests get up and dance. If you want something smaller you can usually hold a social event within the office space itself. This may be a bit more cramped and it can cut down on what you spend on catering and food. Usually this is how office Christmas parties are thrown.

Tips to Ensure That They Are including Success 0 komentar

Breakfast luncheons are seemingly very easy to organize because you might assume that all you have to do is book a venue to conduct your event in. However, you need to be warned that these early morning meetings need to be organized with a great deal of care so that they turn out to be successful. Always remember that the main objective of this meeting is to get a lot of business done and the breakfast timing is just an opportunity to get an early start to the day. You therefore need to ensure that you organize the event accordingly.

One of the most common mistakes that people commit when they organize corporate breakfast luncheons is to serve too much food. If you have a very elaborate menu there is a chance that people attending the meeting will not be able to get work done. The food served should also not be too complicated or messy, enabling people to eat it easily whilst putting a lot of focus on their work. In fact, the best menu for such an event is tea and coffee served with baked goods or sandwiches. These are foods that can be eaten without any hassle. Make sure that you find out if any person has any dietary restrictions before you plan the menu.


You will be able to organize extremely good breakfast luncheons during which a lot of work gets transacted as long as you plan things very well. Make sure that you communicate your requirements to the managers at the venue so that there is no doubt with regards to what needs to be done. Clear communication ensures that there is no opportunity for misunderstandings to arise, leading to potentially embarrassing situations for you and your organization. Make sure that all communication is in writing and that you received acknowledgement for your requests. You don't necessarily need to get into contracts because an exchange of emails will suffice. Follow these tips in order to ensure that your breakfast meetings go off well.

Get 3 Important Tips to Decrease Your Risk 0 komentar

Let's face it - In today's economy there is a lot of risk associated with doing business. It seems like every week you hear a story on the news or from a friend about some new business going bankrupt. We are surrounded by people who are being shattered by this economy.

So, what are we supposed to do?

As entrepreneurs/business owners, how can we ensure our own financial security in this time of hardship? How can we be sure that buying a business for sale won't be just another in a line of business failures?

Well, today I would like to talk to you about 3 ways you can ensure that you are running a competitive business. Specifically, I'd like to talk to you about business acquisition and how to do it the right way so that you are taking much LESS risk, instead of more.

3 Tips to Decrease Risk When Buying a Business for Sale

Tip #1. Be Patient

Just because you've decided that you'd like to buy a business for sale doesn't mean you have to go out and commit to a purchase tomorrow.

Take several weeks or even several months to monitor the listings in your area. Try to develop an eye for which businesses seem to be going up for sale because they're losing money and no longer viable, and which businesses are going up for sale simply because the owner/management no longer has the time or desire to commit to their business.

Obviously, we would like to find the latter.

If you rush into this acquisition you're liable to make a stupid decision, or to perceive something the wrong way, which down the road could cost you your success.

Tip #2. Study Cause and Effect of Promotion Strategies

One of the huge advantages of buying a business for sale over starting your own is that you have an opportunity to see what that business has done to promote itself, and how it had an impact on that business. In other words, you can observe a promotional campaign and judge its ROI without having spent any of your own time or money on doing so.

This is immensely powerful, and not something to be skipped over lightly.

Once you have a business in mind that you think you might be interested in, it's important that you talk to the owner about what promotional strategies they tried in the past and what kind of results they seem to. Comparing promotional campaigns to financial data is one of the most powerful ways to pre-judge the current and future success of a business before you buy, and if possible I advise you try to find a way to do so.

Tip #3. Embrace the Brand, Don't Shake the Brand

Many people who acquire a new business think that the only way they're going to be able to make it successful is if they put their own "personal touch" into it. In other words, they believe that their own personal branding is going to be what makes or breaks a business' profits.

However, this is nothing more than a romantic ideal that many entrepreneurs can't seem to separate themselves from, and in the end it causes them to lose money.

When you buy a business for sale, don't immediately try to take things in a radical new direction. Do more of the same and make small tweaks one at a time so you can see their effects. This is the secret to taking an already profitable business and turning it into a truly booming success.

I really hope that these 3 tips have helped shed some light on what you should be doing as a potential business buyer to ensure that you see a good return on your investment, both time wise and money wise.

If nothing else, I encourage you to at least browse some of the local listings of businesses for sale in your area. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by some of the things you find.

Small and Medium Business on Health Reform 0 komentar

First, a word of caution: wait. Wait and see what transpires in health care reform. Whatever I write today will probably change this year, next year, or the year after. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is being challenged by most states. The latest kerfuffle was initiated by the Thomas More Law Center. It filed suit because the law stipulates that people who choose not to participate can be taxed under the Internal Revenue Code.

Did you get that? If you do not want to engage in commerce, in this case the purchase of a product of insurance, the government has the power to tax and punish you. Not exactly freedom of choice, is it? One of the dissenting judges in the Sixth Circuit said, "If the exercise of power is allowed and the mandate upheld, it is difficult to see what the limits on Congress's Commerce Clause authority would be." (Italics mine.)

Indeed.

In January 2011 federal judge Roger Vinson quoted President Obama declaring in 2008, "It a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house." Clearly the President uses flexible thinking when it's pet project. Nevertheless, 28 states have sued over the Act. At heart lies the right of states to determine for themselves what their citizens can do.

The egregious behavior only begins there. How would you like to be the enforcer of this twisted law? As a business owner, you would be. Here is the mechanism, as outlined by the Congressional Budget Office that estimates revenues of $35 billion, yes billion, in a decade. You would have deduct the penalty payments from your employees' paychecks.


Those of us who sell insurance and tell our potential customers that we will never try to sell them something they neither need nor want will find this impossible to swallow. Those of us who are business owners definitely do not want to become collectors of fines for the feds.

Health Insurance - Work Efficiency Barriers? 0 komentar

Health Insurance is being hotly debated in corporate amongst regulatory bodies, legal bodies as well as among the personnel. People are the key to remaining competitive in addition to technological innovations.

Hiring and retaining the best in human-power calls for an invigorating workplace, attractive pay-packages as well as that elusive component of intangible benefits. Very often, corporate HR ties itself in knots in evolving an unbeatable offer or one which is a tad better than the industry norm.

Health insurance offers a way out for the employers. It goes without saying that there are both pros and cons to providing insurance of health to employees. Let us glance at some of the advantages and disadvantages of insurance of health

For

    Change of scene from manufacturing to the less risky service oriented sectors
    Statutory mandates
    Rising awareness levels of the employer as well as employees
    Tool to retain talent and stay as a force to reckon with in the increasingly competitive world

Against

    Complexity of Insurance plans
    Easily dissatisfied employees
    A justification for discontinuance of the benefits arising out of the alleged high costs of insurance

Some more aspects that need to be considered

    Is the cost of health insurance rising?
    Why is it important in the context of employment?
    What are the alternatives available to insurance of health?

The Rising Cost: All the available evidences (rising cost of medicines, charges for consultation. hospitalization, surgery, etc.) point to it.

Importance in Employment: The support offered by health insurance is often seen as an addition to the income of the employee and can affect productivity, motivation, loyalty etc. The employers see it as an important tool towards hiring good talent and staying ahead of the pack

Alternatives:

a) Accidental Death and Disability Insurance: A strong challenger to the costly regular health insurance plan is the 'Accidental Death and Disability Insurance' once an add-on measure but now an insurance requirement (often legally required on some countries), and is low cost too, given the rising education levels, incorporation of safety measures at the workplace making accidents & the resultant economic losses less likely but covers the employer too against 'worker compensation' cases.

b) Group Insurance Schemes: Certain Group Insurance are custom made for meeting needs of employees are another low cost option before the employers.

c) Sharing Cost: Sharing of health insurance costs is an option and it is advisable to explore options with statutory agencies, employment partners etc.

d) Expert Advice : share information on new policies, cost sharing options, ill-health prevention, healthy practices among other information.

Provider of Choice for International Health Insurance 0 komentar

Private international medical insurance is hugely important for providers, particularly around the end of the year - those who do not provide this option are encouraged to read ahead and research this option further.

Why IPMI?

If you already represent a number of sectors, you might wonder how the addition IPMI could make any kind of impact on your existing numbers.

The IPMI market, especially in Asia, is one of the last growth areas for health insurance. With five out of the top 10 countries in the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey 2011 located in Asia, there is a clear signal that Asia continues to be a favoured location for IPMI's classic target audience. Many providers are now also able to offer cover to local nationals as well as expats, which widens the target base even further.

The products and regulatory framework are relatively simple, which means that it's a quick process to learn and get any of the necessary approvals.

Retention rates for this market remain high, with the market average around the mid-to-high 80% range, so customers are likely to stay once they've bought.

Commission rates start at around 15% for new business and are also payable on renewal, so a USD 100,000 book could earn USD 60,000 in four years.


So with an existing book of customers to review, what's the best way to assess if your customers have a need and what kind of plan would fit the bill?

There are three simple steps to take:

Review any existing cover already in place
It's likely that many of your clients will already have some kind of health insurance in place and it's important to start with an assessment of the current cover.

If your client has a local plan in place, a review of the annual maximum benefit limit, the sub-limits and any excess or deductible, against their current lifestyle and expectations is the best place to start.

Expat or local national?

Expat clients often have a clear need for IPMI because they want the option to return to their home country for treatment.

The most recent development within the IPMI customer base is the addition of local nationals to the mix. Many providers are now able to offer customers resident in selected locations the opportunity to buy. Assessing the demand for this segment is not as clear-cut, since the desire to seek treatment internationally is driven by more emotional needs such as wanting better quality care and more choice and control over treatment plans. A good way to start with this segment is reviewing any second homes or international business travel.

What kind of product?

There are three basic elements in assessing your clients' needs:

• Do they need access to out-patient care or is in/day-patient care sufficient?
• Do they need access to routine and complex dental care?
• Do they need access to routine maternity care?

It's worth noting that dental and maternity benefits are always subject to waiting periods before the benefits can be accessed. If you have a client on a similar plan however, they may be transferred onto a new plan with no break in cover and all waiting periods removed.

Budget

Of course, your client can tell you that they need top-end out-patient, dental and maternity benefits but if the premium is out of their range, there are a number of things you can do to maintain the levels of cover without breaking the bank.

Many providers provide a wide range of excesses on plans to reduce the premium. These can be anything from zero to USD 15,000 or more.

There are also co-insurance options, where clients pay a portion of costs with the insurance provider, which can also provide significant cost savings.

Some providers also offer significant discounts if they are prepared to seek treatment in a semi-private hospital room as opposed to a private one.

Choosing a provider

So once a full assessment of the client's needs has been completed, who are the best providers in the market and what's the best way to choose them.

Making sure that you ask the right questions is key. Common complaints in this market are mostly claim-related. The time it takes to reimburse claims, the instance of declined claims, getting underwritten at the point of claim, are some of the most common.

A checklist for finding the right provider could be:

- Are they a big insurer with an international division or a specialist?
- What are the maximum limits on their plans, especially the sub limits?
- How do they underwrite customers? Full medical underwriting or moratorium?
- What are their turnaround times? i.e. how quickly do they pay claims and make decisions?
- What claim tracking tools do they have in place?
- How extensive is their medical provider list?
- Do they manage claims from one location or are there on-the-ground experts?

Afraid of Love 0 komentar

Sometimes we put up all of these defenses and are afraid to fall in love. I believe that all of us have something within ourselves that wants to protect our feelings. Falling in love leaves us vulnerable. It kind of takes over our whole psyche, and we feel that we might lose control. When we fall in love, sometimes we remember a certain song that comes on the radio that reminds us of the one we love. Most of the day, we can't get them out of our mind even though we keep trying to stay busy so we don't think about them, somehow, the thought of them creeps back into our mind. We wonder what they're up to and with who? We still fight that feeling of love. Why? I believe it's because we don't want to be hurt. When we fall in love we put all of our feelings out there, and we feel a connection to that person. We don't want that feeling of love to take over too much, in case on down the road there is a breakup. So, we put up this great wall of defense between them and us. Sometimes, you just have to put your defenses down and know that being in love is a good thing. Yes, you might get hurt on down the road, but wouldn't it be better to have loved even if it's just for a short time? Love is a beautiful feeling. You have that happy feeling all over, those butterflies in your stomach when you look at that someone special. Love just kind of takes over, doesn't it? Love is a feeling that you can't put a price on. Love is a special beautiful connection between two human beings. It can last for a minute, a day, a week, a month, a year or a life-time.


I want to be able to say that when I am old and in the rocking chair that I have loved. How many people grow old and gray and never have been able to say they have truly loved someone. So, next time, you are afraid of love try to remember what is more important to you being afraid of love and not doing something about it, or letting your defenses down and letting your feelings show. Don't be afraid to love. You never know where a relationship will go unless you're not afraid of love.

Safe When Driving In Case of Rain 0 komentar

When you are driving in the rain, it isn't just your visibility that is reduced, your ability to stop is also compromised. Your car tyres will work as hard as they can to disperse the water from the road to maintain as much grip as possible, but there is only so much they can do! In order to compensate for this reduced grip, you should also reduce the speed you are driving at, and leave a bigger gap between yourself and the driver in front.

As a basic guide, under normal driving conditions you can work out the distance you need to maintain from the car in front with the two second rule, i.e. you should not be less than two seconds behind the car in front. When the road is wet, this rule becomes the four second rule. This allows you plenty of time to avoid an accident if the vehicle in front does anything unexpected.

Aside from keeping your distance, there are other precautions you can take to reduce the risk of an accident in the rain.

Visibility is one of the biggest concerns. Even with your windscreen wipers working as well as possible, rain reduces the distance you can see. To retain as much visibility as possible you need to replace your windscreen wipers when they start to be ineffective, use a decent windscreen wash and keep your windows clean as dirty windows are more likely to mist over. If your windows do start to mist up, switch on your air conditioning, or if you don't have that, turn the heater fan on.

Aside from visibility, the biggest problem rain causes is not water in the sky, but water on the road. It sprays upwards, pools into puddles or floods and can lead to aquaplaning. How do you deal with that? Spray can suddenly reduce your visibility to zero, but it is not usually unexpected. If there is water on the road you should leave a large gap between yourself and the car in front so that you are out of reach of any spray coming off its wheels, and if you see a large vehicle coming towards you on the other side of the road, turn your wipers on or increase their intensity in preparation.

Puddles and floods can be more than just roadblocks. If you drive through them the water can pull at your wheels causing you to swerve, and they can kick up spray reducing your visibility. If you can't avoid driving through a deep puddle or flood, make sure you drive over the highest part of the road (usually the centre) so that the water is as shallow as possible. Drive slowly and carefully - faster driving will create a wave and risk water ingress to your car and to other vehicles. To avoid getting water in your exhaust keep your foot on the accelerator, and if the car is manual, stay in first gear and slip the clutch. When you make it through the flood, gently apply your brakes to make sure they are still working, and to dry them off.

To avoid aquaplaning you should drive slightly slower on wet roads, but if you do find yourself aquaplaning, the best thing to do is to gradually release the accelerator so that the car slows down sufficiently to allow the car tyres to regain their grip on the road.

Medicare Advantage Open Until December 7th Registration 0 komentar

You only have until December 7 to decide whether you want one of the MA Plans to provide your Medicare benefits. This year the open enrollment period is earlier than last year. This way, they can make certain that those who sign up will have benefits in place by January 1. If you find that your new plan doesn't work as well as the Medicare coverage you left, you can switch back to traditional Medicare between January 1 and February 14 next year. You can add a stand-alone prescription drug plan at the same time to get your prescriptions covered.

What's Good About Medicare Advantage Plans?

There are two main reasons why people select MA Plans. With one exception (End Stage Renal Disease), Medicare Advantage Plans accept people with any health problem. That's called guaranteed acceptance. The other reason is one we mentioned already - MA Plans can be very inexpensive. Certain plans may not cost any more than what you're paying for Medicare Part B. In that case, they'd be $0.

Next year, which is when your MA Plan coverage will begin anyway, Advantage plans will cover the same preventive health care services with no out-of-pocket costs as Medicare already does. As long as you can find a doctor who accepts Medicare's pre-determined payment amount, you'll have no co-pays or co-insurance and you won't have to meet a deductible when getting preventive services from in-network providers.

Since it's getting harder to find doctors who work with Medicare, these Advantage plans may be helpful. They have existing provider networks just like standard HMO and PPO plans. Medicare Advantage Plans usually add on extra benefits that Medicare doesn't have, such as help with eyeglasses or hearing aids. Most Advantage plans also pay for certain prescriptions. Not all medicines are covered, though, to confirm whether the medicine you need is covered before you enroll in an Advantage plan.

Do Medicare Advantage Plans Have Disadvantages?

While having a network of providers can be an advantage, you're typically restricted to using those providers unless you experience an emergency. If you need a specialist who is not a covered provider, you won't have any coverage to see that doctor through Medicare, either. MA Plans essentially replace your Medicare coverage.