Can Unvaccinated People Be Charged Higher Insurance Premiums – Quartz
Life insurance companies have the freedom to charge different premiums based on risk factors that predict mortality. Purchasing a life insurance policy often entails a health status check or medical exam, and asking for vaccination status is not banned… Health insurers are a different story. A slew of state and federal regulations in the last three decades have heavily restricted their ability to use health factors in issuing or pricing polices. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act began prohibiting the use of health status in any group health insurance policy. And the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2014, prevents insurers from pricing plans according to health—with one exception: smoking status.
Gartner Releases the 2021 Edition Of Its Hype Cycle – ZDNet
Gartner publishes a hype cycle and it is generally good for debate, but in recent times it serves better as tool for tech buyers to filter out buzz-wordy and vaporware ladened sales pitches than it does a pure predictor of technological trajectories. This article pulls out a few highlights and does its best to distill down over 1,500 technologies into a list of must know tools.
A Startup Is Turning Houses Into Corporations and Some Neighbors Aren't Happy – NPR
Pacaso a startup formed by two former executives at Zillow has done two things. It reached unicorn status at a self-proclaimed record rate and also raised the ire of neighbors in a quiescent Napa Valley neighborhood. Pacaso is a company that buys homes and fractionalizes ownership of the home by transforming it into an LLC. Then the fractional owners can inhabit the house for a specific number of days according to their fractional share of ownership. The founders say their approach is not just a money grab in hot housing markets but rather a way to give more people access to the luxury of a second home experience. Neighborhoods are fighting back by changing the “Owner Code of Conduct” policies and even Pacaso itself is fighting in court to not be classified as a time-share arrangement.
GM Says It Will Seek Reimbursement from LG Chem for $1B Chevy Bolt Recall Losses – Tech Crunch
“American automaker General Motors expanded its recall of Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles on Friday due to fire risks from battery manufacturing defects. The automaker said it would seek reimbursement from LG Chem, its battery cell manufacturing partner, for what it expects to be $1 billion worth of losses.”