Trending December 2023 # Insurance Agent Vs Insurance Broker # Suggested January 2024 # Top 17 Popular

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Difference Between Insurance Agent vs Insurance Broker

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Let’s delve into these concepts further to gain a clearer understanding. An insurance broker represents multiple insurance companies, providing their customers with a diverse range of selective and personalized options. An insurance agent, often referred to as a captive agent, exclusively associates with one company and exclusively sells products offered by that particular company. They are tied to and appointed by a specific insurance company.

However, there are additional significant distinctions between insurance agents and insurance brokers in terms of their job responsibilities and the parties they represent. Let’s explore these differences in more detail.

Head To Head Comparison Between Insurance Agent vs Insurance Broker (Infographics)

Key Differences Between Insurance Agent vs Insurance Broker

Both Insurance Agent vs Insurance Brokers are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the major differences:

Insurance agents represent the Insurance Company and would provide information only for the same company to any prospective buyer. They have a deep understanding of the company they are associated with. Insurance brokers represent Insurance buyers and provide information from multiple Insurance companies to ensure the right insurance plan for the buyer.

Products offered by the agents are that of the insurance company only for whom they are the employees. They are more responsible for the paperwork required after any plan is sold, processing of the forms, and the premiums. On the other hand, brokers choose to be more involved in knowing your requirement and getting you the best possible policy available among different insurance companies and products.

An insurance agent can usually represent a maximum of 1 of each of these – life insurance, general insurance, and health insurance. They also do not have access to all the insurance vendors’ policies. At the same time, a broker can fetch your information for the companies and insurance plans available and does not limit him. The broker is also equipped enough to further give you more details if more than 1 type of insurance is what you would need.

Since brokers need to identify the best insurance contracts for their client’s specific needs, they must assess their business / financial needs and situation for the best available. To do this, they need to assess all possible unique insurance situations and have useful and in-depth knowledge about the market and its products. Because of this additional seeking quality, insurance brokers charge administrative and premium fees (which includes a percentage of their commission) higher than the insurance agents. Some companies also pay salaries to their captive agents as they are treated like employees.

Insurance Agent vs Insurance Broker Comparison Table

Below is the 11 topmost comparison between Insurance Agent vs Insurance Broker

Basic comparison

Insurance Brokers

Representation Represents only one Insurance Company Represents Multiple Insurance Companies for the Prospective Insurance buyer

Appointment Appointed by the Insurance Companies Selected by buyers after careful and informed scrutiny from a pool of brokers

Types 2 types – Independent and Captive 2 types – Retail or Wholesale

Number of companies It represents only 1 company. Sometimes it might fetch data from multiple companies as needed. Represent by extracting plans and policy documents from multiple but relevant insurance companies to the buyer.

Recommendation Biased toward the company it represents. In favor of the buyer.

Expertise Brokers develop qualifications to recommend the best suitable policy out of the many, offering a high level of experience.

Motive Profit-making: they try to sell those products of the company which help them earn the highest individual profits. The broker does not get anything additional for a specific range of products.

Disclosure No disclosure of the rate of commission or any additional fees charged to the customers. We must disclose the commission rates earned from the sale to any customer, including the percentage of the premium allocated as commission.

Obligation The customer needs to research the data and facts of the company and the policy being offered. The obligation of the accuracy of the facts and other details lies with the broker. They can be sued in case any information provided to the customer does not match.

Support Quality Back office support is better as they have an entity to back upon. Highly personalized service is offered, which gives better quality support.

Weakness Agents cannot provide you with the best policy as they do not navigate through the multiple options in the market. Brokers do not upgrade themselves with any change or updates in a given policy.

Conclusion

Choosing between an agent and a broker depends on your needs. If you have a specific product in mind, go for a captive agent. If you want to help explore various options and make an informed decision, choose an insurance broker. Some companies, known as’ direct writers, sell directly to buyers without intermediaries.’ Consider factors like cost, speed, data security, and peace of mind when selecting a plan. Gather complete information and be diligent in choosing an agent or broker.

How Do You Verify Patients’ Healthcare Insurance?

Insurance verification maximizes your cash flow, minimizes your denied claims and keeps your patients happy.

Insurance verification confirms your patient’s coverage and benefits, whereas insurance authorization gives you a green light to provide certain services.

The insurance verification process involves collecting patient insurance information and verifying it with the insurer.

This article is for medical practitioners looking to learn the ins and outs of insurance verification.

Let’s say you have a great encounter with a patient and feel good that you’ve provided a satisfactory patient experience. That excitement can come crashing down if you find out your patient’s insurance information was inaccurate and your claims were denied. Proper insurance verification before a patient encounter can avoid this undesirable outcome. The good news is that the verification process is nowhere near as tough as it’s often made out to be.

What is insurance verification?

Insurance verification is the process of confirming a patient’s insurance coverage and benefits prior to an encounter. More importantly, it’s the process of confirming that a patient’s insurance plan covers the services you provide and is in your network. If not, you can either block the patient from seeing you or inform them that they’ll have to pay entirely out of pocket for your services.

At some medical practices, the front-office staff handles insurance verification. In this case, insurance verification can comprise a staggering portion of a staff member’s workday. If you’d rather ensure that your front-office staff has ample time to interact with patients, you can outsource insurance verification to third-party medical billing companies. Our reviews of the best medical billing and coding services can help you decide which company, whether it’s the user-friendly Kareo or the highly customizable AdvancedMD, might be best for you.

Tip

You can outsource insurance verification to third-party medical billing companies if handling the process in-house would be too challenging.

The health insurance verification process

To verify a patient’s health insurance, take the following steps:

1. Collect patient insurance information during intake and registration.

When was the last time you saw a patient intake or registration form without an area for the patient’s insurance information? When was the last time you heard an appointment scheduling call during which the patient wasn’t asked for their insurance info? You probably can’t think of the answer to either question, or maybe it’s simply never. There’s a reason for that. With a patient’s insurance information immediately available, your verification process starts right away.

Collecting patient insurance information at intake means more than asking the patient which company insures them. It also means getting the patient’s insurance ID, policy number and, if applicable, group number. The patient’s insurance card should also have a phone number that providers can call. You should record this number too.

Additionally, you should check whether the patient or someone else is the policyholder. Make sure to record the policyholder’s full name and relationship to the patient. Group all the insurance information you’ve collected with the patient’s full name and date of birth, and you’ll have everything you need.

Tip

Capturing a complete record of patient demographics offers several key benefits to your medical practice, including faster check-ins, insurance verification, and reduced labor in recordkeeping.

2. Reach out to the patient’s insurer.

Whether you have an excellent relationship with the patient’s insurer or have literally never worked with them before, contact them once you have the patient’s information. You should reach out early on, as insurers cover so many people that they might need several days to acknowledge and act on your verification request.

To start, try reaching out by phone. Call the insurance provider number you collected from the patient and wait for a representative to answer. If you find yourself waiting for what feels like forever, call back later, as insurance provider lines are often quite busy.

Once you reach an insurance rep, verify that the person with whom you’re speaking is authorized to confirm a patient’s insurance details. Next, confirm with the rep that your current phone conversation is a HIPAA-compliant way to transmit patient information. Then, share the insurance information you’ve collected from the patient. See the next step for tips on doing so effectively.

Alternatively, many insurers have online portals in which you can enter the patient’s data to verify their coverage and benefits. However, these portals have a reputation for being outdated, so the results of your verification could be inaccurate. Phone calls are thus generally best for insurance verification, but online portals can be a decent option in a pinch.

Did You Know?

The best medical software automates insurance eligibility verification, integrating with the systems of major payers to batch-check scheduled patients in real time.

3. Ask the right questions.

With an insurance rep on the phone and your patient’s insurance information handy, you’re ready to learn the ins and outs of your patient’s coverage and benefits. To start, ask the rep to confirm all the information you’ve gathered. Then, ask whether the policy is active and when it expires. Assuming the policy is indeed active, you should ask the insurer what the patient’s copay will be. You should also collect information on the patient’s deductible.

At this point, you’ll have confirmed all the basics of your patient’s insurance plan, but you shouldn’t stop there. You’ll now need to find out whether any sort of insurance authorizations are necessary before you see the patient. As you inquire about these needs, ask about additional documentation or unusual coverage limits as well. Finally, ask any questions that you know are pertinent to this specific payer from previous experience.

4. Start from the top before every patient encounter.

The three steps above comprise the entirety of the insurance verification process. However, patients can theoretically lose insurance or switch plans at any time. It’s best to collect the patient’s insurance information before each and every encounter, or to incentivize them to do so through your practice’s patient portal. This notion holds true whether you haven’t seen the patient in a year or a week.

Don’t just ask whether the patient’s insurance has changed, as this question doesn’t tell the patient the date of your most recent data on them. Instead, show them all the information you have and ask whether it’s correct or needs updating. If the information you show the patient is correct, then your insurance verification process is complete. If not, start from the top and don’t cut corners. Your cash flow, claims denial rates and patient satisfaction are on the line.

Veeam Agent Is A Free Backup Software For Windows Computers

No matter how much effort you put in to ensure the proper functioning of your Windows computer, it is bound to behave erratically at some time or another. The reasons could be many, starting from a ransomware attack, an incompatible installation, software expiry, or even a hardware failure. Such times are definitely few and once in a while but still there is a need to ensure that your data is secure when such incidences happen.

To safeguard your PC data, you need to constantly backup them and have a plan for recovery in case a mishap occurs. This is when you may require a tool that can assist you in backing up your data and provide a recovery option too.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is a useful backup and recovery software for Windows-based desktops and laptops and is compatible with the latest Windows 11/10. This freeware can help in backing up your files, volumes, or the entire PC.

Please note that Veeam Agent was earlier called Veeam Endpoint Backup Free. Here is a look at the features and how to use them.

Veeam Agent Free Backup software for Windows Backing up your data

Veeam Agent Free Backup software provides Image-based backups of your files, drives or even the whole PC. The tool saves only the blocks of data changed since the last backup. Talking about where to backup, Veeam allows you a variety of options to choose from.

Backups can be done on the USB drive, External hard disks or a network location. The recent update to Veeam has now added a possibility to actually eject the USB drive after the backup is completed. Hence, although the drive is physically connected, there are no chances of malware or virus leaking into the backed-up files.

Recovery of the data

Veeam Agent Free Backup software provides flexibility in recovering the data too, all from the image-level backup. You can restore using any of the below options,

Removable storage devices: Using a USB storage device which is the best option if PC is infected with a virus, malware or cryptolocker.

Taskbar: Using the taskbar icon you can also restore full volumes. This option can be used if your PC can be booted.

Start Menu: The third option is through the Windows start menu.

Recovery types include

Bare-metal Restore: Restore your entire system to the same or different hardware

Volume-level restore: Restore a failed hard drive or corrupted partition

File-level restore: Restore individual files from ANY backup type in minutes

Using Veeam Agent Free Backup software

The program requires you to create an account on the site before you are allowed to download the free backup tool. Those with corporate email addresses get full access. The installation file is a bit bulky, and if you have weak internet access, then it will take time to download 197 MB. However, these are the only two drawbacks.

Step 1: Choosing Backup Drive

During the installation, the program prompts you to insert a backup target. As shown in the below screenshot, you can configure backup later as well.

If you insert an external drive now, the tool automatically detects it and prompts you to choose it for backup.

In case the chosen storage device doesn’t have sufficient storage memory, the program automatically pop-up a message to attach another device or skip auto configuration.

Step 2: Create Recovery Media

As soon as the installation is completed, you are prompted to create recovery media which you can use if the Windows system fails to boot. You may create recovery media from within the program as well if you don’t create it during installation.

Veeam Endpoint Backup Free also includes device drivers and network settings into the backup image so as ensure a smooth recovery.

The recovery media is easy to configure, and the recovery image can be placed either on a removable storage device, a CD, a DVD or a BD media or within an ISO file and used as an alternative booting method, in case your computer fails to start. The program shows you the size of the recovery image as below.

Once you have selected the type of recovery media (I selected ISO as shown below) you can choose the location where you want to save the file. Veeam also lets you put a username and password to the recovery media so that it is not accessible to others.

While testing, it took around 2 minutes for the ISO file to be generated. Below screenshot shows the progress while recovery is completed.

Step 3: Choosing Backup Drive

Once you have selected the drive, choose the destination where you want to save the backup.

Veeam Agent Free Backup software lets you save backups either on your local drive, shared folder or Veeam backup and replication repository.

How to schedule backup using Veeam Agent Free Backup software

While creating backups you can schedule the days of the week when you want the backup to run.

Veeam Agent Free Backup software can protect from ransomware

Veeam Agent Free Backup software offers CryptoLocker ransomware protection for USB Storage. This feature allows backing up a system with a USB drive connected where at the end of the backup it gets disconnected but not unplugged. Hence, although a Cryptolocker may sneak in the PC after the backup was taken, it is not able to spread to the backups.

Email notification for reports

To keep track of what was backed up and what remains, especially if you are managing multiple PCs, you can enable email notification under “Settings” to receive reports on your email address.

Apart from above, there are several other features that come with Veeam Agent Free Backup software. Here are they,

Battery drain prevention. To reduce power consumption and save battery life, job retries are now automatically suspended while your device is running off of the battery.

Protection from a missed daily backup.

File-level backup optimizations to improve performance by 10% on average, increase stability and reduce VSS warnings.

File exclusion logic enhancement

Ability to skip bad blocks

Full backup to a custom location.

Job progress monitors progress indicator on the Veeam Endpoint Backup taskbar icon.

Wi-Fi signal strength display. Current Wi-Fi signal strength is now displayed on the Wi-Fi icon of the Recovery

Media screen to inform you about possible connectivity issues that may result in slow or failed recovery.

Volume resize UI to prevent conversion mistakes due to large numbers.

Conclusion

Veeam Agent Free Backup software is useful freeware that allows you to quickly create restore volumes and backups of important data. The tool has built in several features that are not commonly found with other backup tools.

More freeware from this publisher:

Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition Free lets you backup, restore and manage Virtual machines

Veeam ONE Free Community Edition is a monitoring and reporting for VMware and Hyper-V.

Power Bi Vs Tableau Vs Qlik

Difference Between Power BI vs Tableau vs Qlik

Power Bi is a Business Intelligence tool we can upload data and publish data throughout our companies. Business Intelligence response to any query and improves decision making. Adding power to the business for good visualization of data. Another feature of Power BI Is Quick Insights in which we can search a dataset for interesting patterns and provides a list of charts for a better understanding of data. It uses artificial intelligence and data mining to analyze the data. Qlik is also a Business Intelligence and data visualization tool.

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It is an end – to end ETL solution yielding good customer service. With qlik, we can create a flexible end-user interface, make good presentations based on the data, creates dynamic graphical charts and tables, perform statistical analysis, builds own expert systems. Qlik can be used with the virtual database. It is a window-based tool that requires the following components: Qlik Server, Qlik Publisher.

Features of Power BI

Rich Graphical visualizations from complex BI data.

Ad-hoc Reporting

Good Navigation Pane

Includes a dataset with customizable dashboards.

Features of Qlik

With the use of a hybrid approach, the user can associate data stored within big sources are stored within the Qlik view in-memory dataset.

With the help of direct discovery, they allow users to perform Business discovery and visual analysis.

Mobile-ready, Roles, and Permissions

Interact with dynamic apps, Dashboards.

Features of Tableau

They have a good drag and drop.

For data sharing, they use Tableau Public.

They implement interactive data visualizations on the web.

Their performance is strong and reliable and operates on huge data.

They are mobile-friendly and supports full online versions.

Head To Head Comparison Between Power BI and Tableau and Qlik(Infographics)

Below is the top 9 difference between Power BI vs Tableau vs Qlik

Key Differences Between Power BI and Tableau and Qlik

These are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the major difference:

Qlik can be immediately accessed by multiple users. Qlik is faster than Tableau. Power bI connect to any data source they do not require ETL.

The documents are stored in. the qvw format we can access these documents via Qlik Views proprietary communication protocol and stored in Windows OS, and all the events are taken in Qlik Server, they are responsible for Client-Server Power BI has three types of files excel(.xls), power BI desktop(.pbix), (.csv). Tableau extract files can have (.tde) file extensions.

Qlik structure is not well managed whereas Tableau structure is managed by well user guide.

Qlik works as a standalone technique. Publishing the data to the outside world are managed by QlikView Publisher. Power BI is available only on the SAAS model whereas Tableau has cloud and on-premises option. Power BI desktop version is free.

Data modeling facilities are increased using POwerBI. In Qlik Data insights are generated rapidly.

Tableau and Power BI is user-friendly. Qlik has high customizable patterns.

Qlik and tableau work for statistical analysis. Power BI does not have this capability.

Power BI vs Tableau vs Qlik Comparison Table

Below is the 9 topmost comparison

The basis of comparison Power BI Tableau Qlik

Performance It Lacks behind on data visualizations. They are more User-friendly because Non- technical users can work with this tool. They use cubic Technique Qlik needs a developer to work with reports and dashboards. They take all types of datasets.

They have good visualizations.

User Interface

Dashboards are the key feature of PowerBI when has a good User interface to publish the report.

User Interface is better

User Interface is quite down when compared with Tableau.

Ease of learning

User-friendly- Knowledge of Excel is enough

They do not require any technical or programming skills to work with.

Easy to learn with Data science background.

Supportive requirements

Power BI has Power BI desktop, Gateway

They work with front-end tool such as R.

Qlik consists of both front-end (Qlik Developer) and back-end (Qlik Publisher)

Version

The desktop version is free, Power BI Pro is pay per month. Tableau Reader is a free version. Tableau Server is a licensed one. Qlik Personal Edition is a free version of Qlik and runs without a license Key.

Cost- Effectiveness Less expensive. Qlik website has two editions. Personal version is free, Enterprise version can be used contact with the team.

Online Analytical Programming They connect to OLAP cubes via SQL servers for multidimensional analysis. Tableau can connect to OLAP taking out the cube measures at the deepest level. Access to OLAP provides encapsulated data views.

Speed They have smart recovery Speed depends on RAM and data sets. They have better Speed since they store the data in the server RAM (In-Memory Storage)

Advantage Power BI are inexpensive and have scalability for larger projects. They are top ranked in intelligence visualizations. They provide wide range deep analytics and they have good customer satisfaction

ratings.

Conclusion Recommended Articles

This has a been a guide to the top difference between Power BI vs Tableau vs Qlik. Here we also discuss the key differences with infographics, and comparison table. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more.

Power Supply Ratings Explained: 80 Plus Platinum Vs. Gold Vs. Bronze Vs. White

Efficiency ratings explained

A power supply’s efficiency rating tells you how much energy makes the conversion from AC power (what it draws from the wall) to DC power (what your PC’s components run off of). The rest is lost as heat. Power supplies rated as 80 Plus will have a 80-percent power to 20-percent heat ratio at 20-percent, 50-percent, and 100-percent load. As you get into the precious metal designations, the efficiency rises, capping out at 94-percent under 50-percent load for a Titanium-rated model. The efficiencies for power supplies rated at 80 Plus Bronze and above vary based on the amount of load.

The more efficient a power supply is, the less power it uses and the less heat it generates—which means a lower electricity bill and a quieter PSU. The components tend to be better too, which means you should be able to use it for longer. Manufacturer warranties usually reflect this: A Bronze-rated power supply might get a 3- to 5-year warranty, while a Platinum-rated model will be backed for 10 years.

These days, the most power supplies from well-known, reliable manufacturers have an 80 Plus or above certification, but it is possible to find other PSUs that fall below that. Those cheap power supplies that get included as part of a bundle with ultra-cheap cases? Not 80 Plus-rated.

The actual percentage of efficiency for the U.S. and other countries with electrical grids that run on similar voltage. (You can see the full chart on CLEAResult’s site.) The minimum efficiency to meet ATX specifications is 60-percent at 50-percent load—much lower than where the 80 Plus standard begins.

How to choose an efficiency rating for a power supply

Three main considerations help determine what efficiency rating will work best for your PC build:

Local electricity rates

Ambient temperatures

Budget

Most average PC users who live in a temperate climate with low pricing for electricity will do fine with a standard 80 Plus or 80 Plus Bronze power supply. As you can see in the table above, the efficiencies don’t dramatically jump as you move to a higher rating.

EVGA

Typically as you go up in wattage, power supply efficiency ratings rise as well. But efficiency ratings don’t always tell the whole story about a specific model’s performance, so be sure to read reviews to get the full picture.

If you live someplace where electricity is more expensive, then the cost savings of a more efficient power supply can be worth the higher initial price. A higher-rated PSU can also make sense if you live somewhere that gets very hot for long periods, as ultra-warm ambient temperatures can reduce a power supply’s efficiency. Less heat from your power supply means less noise from its fan and less work on your part to keep your PC cool overall, too.

In general, the higher you climb in wattage, so too does the efficiency rating. Your decisions will typically fall between just two to three options, which will make the selection process easier. Don’t feel obligated to spend more than you need—budget still matters. Buy a power supply with an efficiency that fits your situation, not the demands of other people who believe you must always maximize on specs.

Mobile Testing: Real Devices Vs Emulators Vs Simulators

The infiltration of web apps and mobile apps is a major concern. Testing is a key focus for many companies. It touches almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives. App and Web Testing are important parts of the overall development process. This involves finding and fixing bugs, including issues with navigation, signup forms, payment processing, and more. This ensures that users have a seamless experience on all devices.

A thorough testing process can lead to a variation in the results when it is done on different devices. It is even more important to test on mobile devices because of the many devices with different operating systems, browsers, and hardware configurations.

This helps identify bugs and weaknesses in the app and benchmark its performance. This mobile testing exercise is designed to ensure that the app is ready for market and meets customer expectations.

It’s time to look at the different methods and mediums for executing mobile testing.

Emulators

Emulators can be described as software that mimics the hardware and software of a device.

Pros:

Most emulators are open-source and can be used for free

Testing web apps with Eases

They make binary translation for the machine easier

Cons:

They are likely to use a lot more computing power.

Not all apps are supported by emulators