Energy Saving Light Bulb by Pablo S Rios

Just in case you accidentally broke one of those curly bulbs be sure to adhere to the advice suggested by the British government, until they discover a substitute for mercury.

Mercury is recognised as a health hazard by authorities worldwide because its accumulation in the body can damage the nervous system, lungs and kidneys, posing a particular threat to babies in the womb and young children.

The risks are illustrated by guidance from the British government, which says that if a compact fluorescent lightbulb is broken in the home, the room should be cleared for 15 minutes because of the danger of inhaling mercury vapour.

Read the full story at www.timesonline.co.uk

Via InsuranceOnline.my

Mistake 1: Did not contact the Insurer during an emergency

Let’s face it, we all panic during an emergency. That’s why it’s called an emergency, a state for us to justify our panic-driven behavior. And it is during such a time that a calm and collected mind would provide the best solution to get us out of the emergency, with the most minimal damage or loss.

And so it is when you are traveling out there in a foreign land. Mistake number one is of course, not having any proper travel insurance coverage. I’m not saying you should pay through your nose for travel insurance, but unlike traveling domestically, getting stranded in an emergency while traveling overseas can really complicate things. So getting some basic coverage can at least minimize the psychological burden, while it buys you some time to analyze the situation.

However, one of the most common mistake for people who are covered with travel insurance is that they often did not notify their insurer immediately. They do not realize that the travel insurance also comes with advice on how to get the most effective treatment or solution for their emergency. Also, by contacting the Travel Insurer immediately, you can also get the necessary information on what paperwork you must obtain from the relevant authorities to ensure a speedy claim when you are back to your home country. Most people just assume that by filling up a claim form provided by the Travel Insurer, they will get their reimbursement. This is definitely not the case- all claims must be backed by authentic and relevant documents.

Yes, it’s also true that the travel insurance do not cover every emergencies, but one should utilize the facility provided by the Travel Insurer where you can ask for the best course of action.

Mistake 2: Did not submit original documents when making a claim

Most if not all Travel Insurer only accepts original receipts for claim submission. Yes, if you have lost your original receipts, you will have some problem verifying the authenticity of your claim. The alternative is to probably request for a copy of receipt from the relevant party and have them verified by either the party involved. Some Travel Insurer might also allow you to use your original credit card statement, verified by the card issuing bank.

However, by not providing the original bills or receipts for the payments you have made, you are just putting yourself in between a rock and a hard place. Don’t take it as an insult on your character when the Travel Insurer says that they will not reimburse you until you show up with the original documents. No one is saying your dishonest, it’s just that, to proceed with the claim, photocopy of your payment documents are not going to make it through the Claims Department, period.

There is a reason why Travel Insurers insist on original documents, in fact, it is the practice of all Insurer that all monetary claims that is to be reimbursed to the policyholder must be furnished with original and authentic payment receipts. This is to ensure that policyholders do not claim the bills from other Insurers and try to profit from the claim.

So, no matter what policy is being practiced by the country you have traveled to, you must insist on the original copy of all the payments you have made. Do not settle for photocopy or carbon-copy. You have the right to receive original receipts as proof of your payments.

Mistake 3: Did not submit the claim within the stipulated time period

Most people would think that as long as they have the proper documentations in place, they can submit their claim anytime. Nonetheless, it’s a good idea to check the details of your travel insurance policy before making any assumptions on the time given for you to submit your claims. A ‘Notice of Claim‘ clause in a standard Travel Insurance policy might look like this:

NOTICE OF CLAIM: Notice of claim must be given to the Company within thirty (30) days after the Date of Loss/Accident. The Policyholder and/or Insured Person hereunder shall produce for the Company?? examination pertinent documents at such reasonable times and shall co-operate with the Company in all matters pertaining to any loss and/or claims. Failure to comply with this condition may prejudice the claim. Notice of claim given by or on behalf of the Policyholder and/or Insured Person to the Company, or to any authorized official of the Company providing information sufficient to identify the Policyholder and/or Insured Person shall be deemed notice to the Company.

In some cases, it might not be feasible to send in or fax a written notification to the Travel Insurer. Hence, it’s a good idea to always keep the Travel Insurer’s 24 hours emergency assistance hotline number and your travel insurance policy number when you are traveling. Check out this link for a list of Malaysia Travel Insurance Provider’s emergency hotline numbers.

For example, let’s say that you’ve lost your passport the moment you’ve arrived in your destination. Under most travel insurance, the loss of travel documents entitles you for a claim. And it would be another 2 months before you are heading back to Malaysia. Under this circumstance, it would be wise for you to call up the Travel Insurer and inform them about the loss and then have them advise you on the steps you need to take to ensure a speedy claim. If you wait till you come back to Malaysia, which is more than 30 days after your loss, you might need to furnish all the reasons of you not being able to notify the company and all the unnecessary ping-pongs with the Travel Insurer’s Claim Department.

So, to make your life easy, always contact your Travel Insurer whenever you have an emergency, regardless of whether you are entitled for a claim or not.

If you have been getting your vegetable supplies from the supermarkets, you would have probably notice the surge of organic produce on the shelves of major supermarkets. You can find them in a special section, where I suppose the term special was reserved for the ‘price tag’. These so-called organic produce usually cost almost 2-3 times more expensive than their non-organic counterparts.

There’s generally no easy way to tell whether if you are really getting the real deal, since not everyone has the same definition of organic. Even if we can agree with what makes a produce organic, most of the products that I have seen so far on the shelves are not certified by the Organic Alliance Malaysia (OAM). I think OAM has to take a more active stance on protecting the consumers of organic produce by spreading the awareness on how to tell if the produce that we are paying 2-3 times more than the market price is truly organic.

If you are into growing things, you can also start your little farming project as an alternative to buying organic produce. Of course, unless you have a huge piece of land, don’t expect your hobby to be able to sustain your consumption. And if you are like me who lives in a high rise apartment, your available land for cultivation is even more restricted. However, if you really enjoy seeing seedlings sprouting into edible produce, these restrictions should not hold you back.

And here are some pictures from the first farming project: Project Popeye.

Overcrowded spinach sprouts.

These spinach sprouts definitely looks very promising in the beginning...

You can literally see life in these little seedlings.

Unfortunately for these cute little spinach sprouts, the funding for the project was stalled and all these baby sprouts was exterminated. Just kidding.

Under the hands of an inexperienced farmer like myself, these little spinach sprouts will eventually meet their doom in the next couple of days.

Actually, the real cause of crop failure was very likely due to insufficient sunlight and soil issues…

In the next post, I will be showing you another project which I have managed to harvest just after 2 months.

Here it is again, the Marathon of Hope for 2009. This will be my 3rd consecutive year joining thousands of other Malaysians.

Via 1.com.my…

Date: Sunday, 1 November 2009
Venue: Flag off @ 9.00 a.m. Taman Tasik Perdana (Lake Gardens)

Rules & Regulations:
1) All participants must run on the designated route. There are 2 routes- 5km and 3.5km for the family run.

2) For wheelchair bound, and physically challenged participants, please note that there are slopes along the run route.
3) Participants are to be at the assembly area by 8.45 a.m.
4) No registration required. Just turn out during the run day. You can buy the Terry Fox Run official t-shirt, RM25 each.

Parking:
Limited parking is available on site, and public transport is recommended.

Notice:
The organisers, their agents, representatives, successors and assigns, are not liable for any injuries suffered, damage and loss of properties by participants at this event

Official T-Shirt

Terry Fox Run 2009 Official T-Shirt

The t-shirts will be available in September
Please contact:
Ms Yoon / Mr Peter Kang, CARIF, 2nd floor, OPC, Sime Darby Medical Centre, T: 03-56391874. Or email us at organizer@terryfoxrunkl.org
Report on Last Year’s Run

I hope this year there will be more active attempts by the organizers and the benefiting institutions to spread the awareness on cancer. For the past 2 years, I can only notice the Milo van being the most successful post-run attraction. There is very minimal effort on spreading awareness and information on cancer education.

Getting everyone to run is one thing, getting everyone to understand why they are running is another. For the informed runners who already knew about Terry Fox and his battle for cancer, they probably already know why they are running. What about the children from the younger generation, who will be tagging along with their parents for the run?

Organizers, time to go the extra mile (pun definitely intended)!

UPDATED:

Here is a list for the latest Terry Fox Run KL 2009 T-Shirt sales locations:

• 1 Utama, Community Corner, 1st. Floor, Oval, 23-25 Oct (Fri to Sun), 10.00am to 9.00pm
• Bangsar Village, Ground Floor, 24-25 Oct (Sat & Sun), 10.00am to 9.00pm
• Mid Valley Megamall, 3rd Floor, North Court (Celebrity Fitness), 26-30 Oct (Mon to Fri), 5.00pm to 8.00pm
• Sunway Pyramid, LG1, Blue Atrium (near Bata), 30-31 Oct (Fri-Sat), 10.00am-9.00pm
• Menara Citibank, Foyer, 26-30 Oct (Mon to Fri), 12.00pm to 2.00pm
• Mont Kiara and PJ Hilton (Clark Hatch Fitness Centre), 20-23 and 27-30 Oct (Tue to Fri), 4.30pm to 7.30pm
• Canadian High Commission, Menara Tan & Tan, Off Jalan Tun Razak – From 19 Oct, Mon to Thurs,8.30am to 12.00noon, 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Fri 8.30 am to 12.00pm
• Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF), Sime Darby Medical Centre ??From 15 Oct, Mon to Fri, 9.00am to 5.00pm
• Run Day – Lake Garden, Kuala Lumpur, 1 Nov, Sun, 8.30am – 10,30am

Here’s the latest press release from Great Eastern:

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

Kuala Lumpur, 19 August 2009 ??Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad?? Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Koh Yaw Hui informed that as a good corporate citizen with a hundred and one years??presence in Malaysia, Great Eastern will cover hospitalization claims made by its policyholders, who have been hospitalized due to influenza A (H1N1).

??his pandemic disease is distressing for our community. We would like to dispel all uncertainties on hospitalization claims by affirming that Great Eastern will compensate our policyholders who have been hospitalized for treatment of influenza A (H1N1),??assured Mr Koh.

Similarly, Mr. Koh in his capacity as a Director of Overseas Assurance Corporation (Malaysia) Berhad (??ACM??, would also like to take the opportunity to assure the policyholders of OACM who have been hospitalized due to influenza A (H1N1), that they will be accorded similar treatment.

Mr Koh urged the public to adhere to the authorities??request to take precautionary measures to prevent further spread of this disease by practising isolation should one feel ill or show symptoms of influenza A (H1N1), to curb further spread of this deadly disease.

Mr. Koh added, ??reat Eastern and OACM have constantly briefed our employees on influenza A (H1N1) in relation to insurance claims. We have also taken the initiative to communicate regularly with our employees and our agency force on this pandemic so that we are able to serve our policyholders on a timely basis.??/blockquote>

Here’s another announcement by Etiqa:

(The Edge, 21st August) KUALA LUMPUR: Etiqa will pay the claims made by its medical and health plans??policyholders should they be hospitalised for treatment for H1N1 influenza, with immediate effect.

Etiqa said on Aug 21 the H1N1 influenza can affect everyone physically and also financially, in terms of the medication and treatment.

Its CEO and director Datuk Aminuddin Md Desa said in this difficult time, it decided to extend the cover of H1N1 influenza to its medical and health plans and ensure that claims are paid to policyholders hospitalized and treated for the H1N1 influenza.

Etiqa is extending the cover for H1N1 influenza treatment and hospitalisation to its group and individual medical and health plans. This H1N1 coverage benefit is extended to all current policyholders of Etiqa?? medical and health plans and any new policyholders who will be joining the plan from now on.

Here’s another press release from Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM), the Insurance Industry’s self-regulatory body:

Life Insurance Coverage for Influenza A(H1N1) – Press Release

Kuala Lumpur, 21 August 2009: The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) has confirmed that death due to the Influenza A(H1N1) will be payable. In addition, all the 16 life insurance companies under LIAM will also be paying claims arising from hospitalization due to Influenza A(H1N1). Even though a majority of the medical policies carry exclusion on communicable diseases requiring quarantine by law, life insurers are responding to an immediate need of the nation in light of the increasing number of people who have been infected.

Life insurance companies will nonetheless continue to monitor the Influenza A(H1N1) situation. In the event of any review of this decision on life insurance coverage, the policyholders will be duly informed.

I should think that all insurers that provide Hospitalisation benefits should be made mandatory by Bank Negara to extend their coverage to include H1N1.

I have not read about PIAM’s take on H1N1 claims, but some of the travel insurance packages offered by General Insurers are already providing limited benefits to H1N1-related compensations and expenses.

Heh, yours truly clocked 1hr 26min 24secs.

Not too bad, considering this my first attempt. According to the announcer that Sunday morning, there were about 5,100 runners in the Men and Women 10km category.

For comparison, the number one men runner in this category was a fellow Malaysian Mr Ruburn Kummar, who clocked 36min 26.43secs, while the number one women runner was an Australian lady, a Miss Georgina Beech, clocking 44min 11.18secs.

If you’ve ran last Sunday, you can check your personal time here: KL-Marathon Result Search.