Family Dental Insurance: Where to Get it

A family dental plan is a lifesaver in any family. Dental care is a daily need just like any other health need for the family. There are routine dental operations like loose teeth that need pulling, that could be done at home.  More complicated care like crown filling would require the attention of a good dentist. Even more complex operations like surgeries will require a team of dental surgeons and the cost that go with them. Not many will afford to pay for these operations out of pocket and that is where insurance comes in.

Getting a family dental health plan need not be expensive. There are many affordable insurance plans out there if you know where to look. The problem is that information on insurance is not very common and you really have to look for an expert opinion on the subject. An insurance attorney could also be of great help. Much of insurance speak is covered in legalese and a lot of ifs and buts that could really confuse you. It is always good to know what you are getting into.

The web is a good place for research. A simple search for affordable dental insurance plans will turn out huge volumes of information. You will find all kinds of offers and bargains, many genuine and some not so genuine. Read through them carefully to see what you are looking for. Get the one that covers as much as possible for reasonable cost, but if is too good to be true think twice.

Rating agencies

More than 97 percent of the global ratings come from three companies that dominate the rating industry. They are Standard & Poor’s (S&P) owned by McGraw-Hill, Moody’s Investor Service and Fitch Ratings. They have an immense influence over the $40 trillion global debt market including corporations, sovereign, municipal and structured finance. A good example to show their influence is the down grade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating in August 2011 that resulted in $9.7 trillion loss in global equities for the last quarter of 2011.

They rate corporations, sovereign, municipal and structured finance. They analyze every new debt issue of the above for credit worthiness. Since no government wants to assume the responsibility of ratings, the big three holds enormous power and responsibility.

However, they are not immune to criticism. The big three rated the now bankrupt MF Global as investment grade a week before its bankruptcy filing which was unable to account for $1.2 billion of investor funds. Additionally, they rate banks, municipalities, and companies that pay for their service creating a conflict of interest. The Dodd-Frank financial regulations adopted by the U.S. set limits on activities of the rating agencies in order to address the conflict of interest issue.