Christmas

Christmas celebrated to honour the glory of the nativity of Jesus on 25th December is the most significant and spectacular of Christian festivals. No other celebration is so enriched with so many customs and ceremonies. There is an array of spectacles like Christmas Star, Christmas tree, the Crib, Christmas cake, Christmas presents and the Christmas Father. The last named is quite a fascinating personage, who claims above all to be the very embodiment of the most vibrant and quintessence of the gayest of all the festivals. Children allowed to occupy the central stage, in the enchanted company of Christmas Father, Christmas takes on the look of a festival of children. The mood is set with the advent of the season by the twinkling of Christmas stars and there is no home or shop without the Christmas star, the beautiful pointer to the Babe of Bethlehem. The Christmas tree is a new feature in Kerala, perhaps less than sixty or seventy years old. The crib is a miniature production of the stable where Jesus was born. It developed from the old practice of giving dramatic expression to the events and the surroundings of the birth of Christ. Carols and songs developed from earlier nativity plays have become one of the most cheerful spectacles of the festivities.Priests hold mass in churches three times starting with the first at midnight. Just before the midnight mass, an image of the Child is brought by the priest, preceded by rows of Children holding lighted candles that are placed in the crib. The hymn 'Gloria in exelcis Deo' is intoned admidst the explosion of crackers. A sumptous lunch with rate delicacies is a significant feature of the celebration. Meat forms part of the feast even in rural homes where meat is rarely eaten. Cake has also become common in the villages where women have learnt to make it. In Kerala, Xmas retains its homeliness and expresses itself in the cultural forms of the country without losing what is native to itself.

HIPAA Versus Underwritten: Premium Issue

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and we are now heading into the Christmas season.

I ran across something interesting a few weeks ago and I wanted to share it with you. It forms the basis for the order in which I help people enroll in individual & family coverage in California.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, CA PPO plans are able to be rated up from the standard premium in increments determined by each carrier. Some carriers offer more tiers, meaning more chances to get coverage approved.

Anthem Blue Cross (CA) Level 1 (standard), +20%, +25%, +50%, +75%, +100% (6 tiers)
Blue Shield CA Tiers 1-5 (1 being 80% of standard cost which is not always realistic) (5 tiers)
Health Net CA standard, +25%, +50% (3 tiers)
Aetna A (standard), B and C (3 tiers)

As you can see, Anthem offers the best range with 6 full tiers, Blue Shield next with 5 (as stated, Tier 1 is less than likely in the majority of cases), and Health Net and Aetna have less at 3 tiers before decline.

With all of that out of the way, here is something to consider for those who are HIPAA-eligible:
There are cases where a rated premium on an underwritten plan can exceed the premium of the duplicate HIPAA plan. If you are approved say Level 1 + 50%, that premium may in fact be higher than the HIPAA PPO.

Now it gets sticky. Since you are enrolled in an underwritten plan, you have lost HIPAA eligibility (perhaps). There is a way around this if you are working with a good, head's up agent. During the 10-day free look period, you can cancel as never effective and retain HIPAA eligibility. It is a very short little window there.

The advantage of working with an agent (besides not costing you anything) is that we can see how the policy was rated before they even mail anything out to you. You won't know how you were approved until you receive the information in the mail if you bought direct.

Since this situation can and does happen, I prefer to enroll in HIPAA first then follow up immediately with an underwritten application. That way the HIPAA coverage is secured and we can try to get you a better offer through underwriting and make the switch.

General insurance

General insurance includes

• motor insurance;
• household insurance;
• some travel insurance (see below for travel insurance we do not regulate);
• health cover; and
• pet insurance.

Mandir Shri Nimbark Peeth

Cause of Establishment:To liberate people from the tyrannical practices of a Tantrika Fiquir Masting Shah and to propagate Vaishnava doctrines amongst them.

Brief of the Diety:Shalagram idol of the size of a Gunja (Abrus prectorious grain) representing Shri Sarveshwar Prabhu

Important Architectural Characteristics:Bhati chief of Khejarli Shri Sheoji and Gopal Singh Ji Bhati founded this Peeth following instructions of his holiness Shri Nimbarkacharya Peethadhishwara Shri Parashu Ram-Devacharya Ji. The temple has been so designed that the Deity is visible for Darshan the moment one enters the main gate.A flight of seven steps leads to the main entrance . The wide main gate has two small upraised gates, one on earchside. This is typical of the architectural designs adopted for the main gate of a temple in the 15th century .

Emerald

Emerald is the green variety of beryl with a chemical composition of Be3Al2Si6 O18. This beryllium aluminium silicate frequently has some sodium, lithium, and cesium included in the mineral ( Chesterman, 1979, p.560). The luster is vitreous and beryl has a colorless streak. The hardness is 7.5-8 and specific gravity ranges from 2.66 to 2.92. Beryl's fracture is uneven to conchoidal and the cleavage is indistinct in one direction. Gem quality stones are transparent to translucent. The crystals are hexagonal and are usually six sided prisms that are striated lengthwise. The natural emerald is noted for its deep green color and the presence of inclusions verify its natural origin. Colors for beryl include blue-greenish blue (aquamarine), yellow (golden beryl), light yellow green (heliodor), red (bixbite), pink or peach (morganite), colorless (goshenite), as well as the bright green emerald, which is considered the most valued of these varieties. Beryl develops in pegmatites and certain metamorphic rocks. Fine emeralds have velvety body appearance and the value is in the even distribution of color. Beryl can also have a pale green variety that is not gem quality and this mineral occurs with scheelite in a pegmatite near Oreana, Pershing Co. Nevada as well as in North Carolina, Colorado and California (Chesterman, 1979, p. 560-563).