Podcasts about premiums

Welcome to another episode of The Cashflow Project Podcast! This episode explores one of multifamily real estate's biggest challenges: rising insurance costs. We dive into group captive insurance—an innovative model that lets owners share risk, gain greater control, and potentially turn insurance from a major expense into a profit center. Tune in to learn how these structures work, who can benefit, and how alternative insurance strategies can improve your bottom line. [00:00] Getting into insurance by accident [05:56] Pivoting to real estate insurance [09:05] Corporate mutual insurance explained [13:20] Understanding Reinsurance and Underwriting Profit [17:17] Aligning interests for private business [19:04] Joining a real estate insurance collective [22:30] Evaluating real estate operators [26:03] Stabilizing insurance costs long-term [29:23] Adopting a systems thinking approach [33:14] Reflecting on personal growth choices [36:18] Managing insurance and taxes Connect with Nicolas Lares! Website LinkedIn Instagram Connect with The Cashflow Project! Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook Instagram

State regulators announced rate hikes for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans, more Cyclosporiasis cases in the Grants State and Gov. Scott wants to make changes to primary elections. Plus, listen to track of local music about “adulting” on the Friday Song.

Premiums are climbing, deductibles feel heavier every year, and most people still can't tell you why health care costs what it costs. From the Mackinac Policy Conference, we talk with Dominick Pallone, CEO of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, to get a clear look at what health plans actually do in Michigan and how state policy decisions ripple straight into employer coverage and family budgets.We start with the basics: MAHP represents nine health insurance companies covering nearly four million Michiganders, and their day-to-day work is advocacy with state lawmakers and regulators. From there, we dig into competition and choice in a market long shaped by a dominant carrier, and why employers and individuals should know they have other network options. The goal, Dom argues, is competing on access, quality outcomes, and real value rather than just headlines.Then we get to the affordability problem everyone feels. Dom explains why insurers often function as pass-through entities for underlying prices, and why pharmacy costs have become the biggest lever right now. We talk about double-digit premium trends, specialty drugs that are clinically remarkable but financially punishing, and the policy tightrope between supporting innovation and keeping coverage usable. We also explore practical fixes: value-based care arrangements, custom high-value networks, and health literacy tools like real-person call centers and apps that help members compare cost and quality for elective care.If you care about Michigan health care, health insurance affordability, pharmacy pricing, and what can actually move the needle, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend or colleague, and leave a review with the biggest cost question you want answered next.Support the showEngage the conversation on Substack at The Common Bridge!

Senior Associate Editor Dave Pilla discusses AM Best's 2026 rankings that show California still leading the nation in private passenger auto direct premiums written, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and Georgia.

"People say 'I believe in vaccines.' Nobody says that about seatbelts." Aaron Siri is the managing partner of Siri & Glimstad and, by most measures, the most consequential vaccine litigator in America. He's the attorney behind the famous nine-hour deposition of Dr. Stanley Plotkin — the man they call the godfather of vaccines — lead counsel for the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), a 2025 Senate witness, and a central legal figure in the RFK-era reshaping of federal vaccine policy. His new book is Vaccines, Amen: The Religion of Vaccines — in his words, "a cross-examination in book form." This one steps outside the show's usual lane, and I want to be upfront: this is not medical advice, I'm not a doctor, and everything Aaron argues here is his own case — where it's contested by public-health bodies, treat it as one side of an open debate. What ties it to this show is the question we always ask: how do you know what's real when you're not allowed to check? From there we go deep — how a custody case led to the legendary Plotkin deposition; the Hepatitis B shot Aaron says was licensed on a trial of 147 kids, five days of monitoring, and no control group; the 1986 law he calls "the original sin" that handed vaccine makers liability immunity; the Ford Pinto and what punitive damages actually do; informed consent versus the right to refuse; whether vaccines really stop transmission; and the measles-mortality data he argues almost no one talks about. A conversation about evidence, incentives, and who gets to audit the people in charge. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Car insurance in Australia has leapt by nearly 50 per cent in the last six years and this week, the financial regulator blasted insurers for failing to adequately explain to customers why they have jacked up prices by so much.So what's behind the spike in premiums?Insurers talk about the cost of repairing cars these days and global volatility, but there's plenty of evidence that companies will reduce the cost if you threaten to walk.Today's guest, national consumer affairs reporter Elias Visontay, talks about the real reason premiums have risen so steeply, and what you can do about it.The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your pods.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Car insurance in Australia has leapt by nearly 50 per cent in the last six years and this week, the financial regulator blasted insurers for failing to adequately explain to customers why they have jacked up prices by so much.So what's behind the spike in premiums?Insurers talk about the cost of repairing cars these days and global volatility, but there's plenty of evidence that companies will reduce the cost if you threaten to walk.Today's guest, national consumer affairs reporter Elias Visontay, talks about the real reason premiums have risen so steeply, and what you can do about it.The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your pods.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you thought your car insurance was getting more expensive, you're not alone.Premiums soared above inflation in the 2024-25 financial year and the corporate regulator ASIC has put some car insurance companies on notice for failing to explain why costs are rising.While the insurance sector says there's valid reasons for the trend, ASIC's investigation reveals there's still room for companies to charge less.

"We need Bitcoiners to fight for Bitcoin. If no one fights for Bitcoin, Bitcoin will very soon be dead." Hodlonaut is a Bitcoin citizen journalist, the founder of the Citadel21 zine, the man behind the 2019 Lightning Torch, and the person who told the simple truth about Craig Wright and then stood in the fire for five years over it. Most recently he is the author of the Capture series, a deep investigation into how informal power over Bitcoin Core was assembled, exercised, and defended. We recorded this on August 2, 2026, in the middle of the ColdCard fallout, and the grief of that moment runs underneath the whole conversation. From there we go all the way back: how he found Bitcoin in 2013, the Pirate Bay ethos, Citadel21, and the birth of Hodlonaut and the Space Cat. We get into the Lightning Torch as a three-month experiment in trust, the Craig Wright war and how stoicism carried him through it, and then the heart of it: the Capture series, the "priesthood" narrative around Core, the OP_RETURN uncap, the DEI and "extractive" playbook used to shut down criticism, why every line of code must serve monetary sovereignty, and his return to fully supporting BIP-110. This is a conversation about the human layer of Bitcoin, and why we have to fight for it. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Home insurance costs are skyrocketing—and it's affecting far more than just homeowners in high-risk states. This week on Trading Secrets, Jason Tartick sits down with risk and resilience expert Chloe Demrovsky to unpack the real reasons insurance premiums are surging, why coverage is disappearing in certain markets, and what every current or future homeowner needs to know before it's too late. From climate risk and billion-dollar disasters to hidden policy exclusions and the true cost of rebuilding after catastrophe, Chloe breaks down the insurance industry in a way that's practical, easy to understand, and immediately actionable. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why home insurance premiums have increased faster than inflation • The biggest coverage gaps most homeowners don't discover until after disaster strikes • The difference between replacement cost and actual cash value • Why flood insurance, alternate living expenses, and policy exclusions matter • How AI can help you understand your insurance policy • The simple steps every homeowner should take today to protect their finances and family • Why your insurance premium is actually a warning signal—not just another bill Whether you're buying your first home, own multiple properties, or simply want to protect your biggest investment, this conversation could save you thousands—and help you avoid costly mistakes when it matters most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

www.insurancebrokerplus.com

In this week's episode of Medicine: The Truth, hosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl dig for the facts beneath healthcare's biggest headlines. Today's show opens with the issue most likely to shape how Americans think about healthcare heading into the midterm elections: affordability. Dr. Pearl explains that medical costs have now reached $5.7 trillion, rising more than 7% for the third consecutive year. Federal actuaries project that healthcare spending could approach $9 trillion by 2034, accounting for more than 20% of the U.S. GDP. For voters, employers, patients and families, those numbers aren't just an endless string of zeroes. They're impacting everyday life. Premiums, deductibles, copays and prescription drug costs are forcing people with private insurance, Medicare and exchange coverage to delay care, take on debt or choose worse coverage. Two major drivers stand out: hospital spending and drug costs. Hospital care remains the largest share of national healthcare expenses, while drug spending is rising fastest, driven in part by the growing use of GLP-1 medications. Pearl sees enormous potential in these drugs to improve health and reduce complications over time, but only if prices fall low enough for the long-term savings to justify the near-term expense. That tension becomes clearer in the discussion of Medicare's new GLP-1 pilot program for weight loss. Under the “bridge program,” eligible Medicare enrollees will be able to obtain GLP-1 medications for $50 a month, far below current retail prices. Pearl calls the program an important experiment, but also notes its limitations: coverage is not automatic, eligibility is restricted, administrative hurdles remain and the pilot may end after 18 months. If patients lose access and regain weight, the program could fail despite the promise of the medication. The episode then moves into several unusual and important stories, including new research into the origins of life, the medical risks of cannibalism, the promise and limitations of wearable health data, a large cyclosporiasis outbreak, rising e-bike injuries among children and adolescents, a new cholesterol-lowering pill, CDC leadership and measles. Here are the major storylines from episode 109: Researchers studying the origin of life made progress by taking a counterintuitive approach: building a synthetic cell from simple inorganic materials rather than stripping existing life forms down to their minimum parts. “Spud cell” research could eventually help scientists understand which genes are essential and create engineered cells capable of producing new medical treatments. A new study suggests cannibalism may have disappeared in part because of medical consequences, including infections and prion diseases that harmed tribes practicing it. Wearable devices are generating valuable health data, but most doctors lack the time, reimbursement and regulatory pathways needed to integrate that information into clinical care. A large cyclosporiasis outbreak has raised concerns about foodborne illness surveillance, produce safety and the difficulty of identifying contamination sources when symptoms appear one to two weeks after exposure. E-bike injuries are rising, especially among children and adolescents, with head, face and neck injuries posing particular concern. The FDA has approved a new pill that can lower LDL cholesterol to very low levels, though Pearl emphasizes that most average-risk patients should still rely on low-cost generic statins. The nomination hearing for Dr. Erica Schwartz as CDC director highlighted the continuing tension between science and politics, especially around vaccines, RFK Jr. and public trust in federal health agencies. Measles cases continue to rise, with nearly all occurring among unvaccinated people and with serious risks for those whose immunity has waned. Generative AI may reduce costs and accelerate parts of drug development, but no AI-generated medication has yet obtained FDA approval. The episode closes with a broader reflection on Season 11 of Fixing Healthcare. Pearl notes that the concerns raised by guests with large public followings are often different from the priorities emphasized by clinicians and national medical societies. Most Americans are not asking for unreasonable things. They want healthcare that is easier to access, affordable for their families and personalized to their circumstances. That gap, Pearl argues, may change how patients use technology. Large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are available 24/7, provide information at no additional cost and become more personalized as patients share more details. While many doctors worry that hospitals or insurers will replace them with AI, Pearl sees a different threat emerging: patients at home, frustrated by delays, high costs and feeling unheard, turning to generative AI because the healthcare system has not met their needs. Tune in to hear the full discussion and subscribe to Medicine: The Truth for more fact-based analysis of the medical, scientific and policy stories shaping American healthcare. * * * Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of “ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine” about the impact of AI on the future of medicine. Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on X and LinkedIn. The post MTT #109: Healthcare affordability, GLP-1s and the patient revolt ahead appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Solicitor Cora Sherlock breaks down the ongoing legal aid crisis, where Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan's new single-fee structure for criminal legal aid has triggered solicitor strikes, leaving defendants without representation and causing court backlogs to spiral. She also explains how the Personal Injuries Assessment Board works, tracing its origins from a 2003 Act designed to […] L'articolo A Question of Law – Legal Aid Strikes and Insurance Premiums – Cora Sherlock, Solicitor proviene da Radio Maria.

"Bitcoin secures over a trillion dollars in value. It has no security team." Luke de Wolf is a cybersecurity professional and author of Defending Bitcoin. Luke spent his career defending critical infrastructure, the control systems behind power grids and gas pipelines. His claim: Bitcoin is the world's first decentralized critical infrastructure, and it should be defended with the same risk-management frameworks that protect the physical world. A trillion-dollar network with no security team. And Luke is a former BIP-110 skeptic who flipped to supporting it making him a moderate who pisses off both sides. We get into the CIA triad and why availability is the whole game, people as the weakest link and the Stuxnet lesson, the real cost of running a node over time, spam as a DDoS and the hidden tax on Bitcoin, the two CVEs behind inscriptions, and the full BIP-110 fight. We discuss why he flipped, the game theory of activation, soft fork vs hard fork, the intolerant minority, and whether BIP-110 even has a failed state. This is the defender's case for Bitcoin, and the fight is happening right now. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Welcome back to a special encore presentation of Turn on the Lights! As we continue our transition series, our new host, Dr. Philip, has selected one of our most impactful and widely listened-to conversations from the archives to revisit. He introduces this timely discussion with Chris Van Gorder, which explores how cost shifting, regulatory mandates, and Medicare Advantage risk transfer are pushing healthcare toward structural unaffordability. Summary: Leading a major health system today means juggling patient-first ethics with a financing model that keeps tightening the screws. In this episode, Chris Van Gorder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scripps Health, explains why health care is becoming structurally unaffordable amid soaring premiums, uncompensated emergency care, and rising input costs. He describes how hospitals have become the default safety net as county systems disappear, while underpayment by Medicare and Medicaid forces cost shifting onto employers and commercially insured patients. Van Gorder also highlights California's seismic rebuilding mandates, which create massive capital pressure without matching reimbursement. He critiques managed care, value-based care, and Medicare Advantage for pushing risk onto providers through prior authorization and denials, recounting Scripps' difficult decision to exit several Medicare Advantage contracts after heavy losses and the downstream impact on patients. Tune in and learn how payment design, intermediaries, and regulation shape what hospitals can sustain and what patients can access. About Chris Van Gorder: Chris Van Gorder, MPA, FACHE, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Scripps Health in San Diego, where he has led the organization since 2000 after serving as its Chief of Healthcare Operations and COO. A veteran healthcare executive with decades of experience across California hospital systems, he previously held CEO and senior leadership roles at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, and Little Company of Mary Hospital. Beyond health system leadership, he has served on multiple boards, including Prolacta Bioscience and previously Abiomed and Z-Medica, and he has been active in national and civic service as a commissioner for the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. He also brings an uncommon public-safety background, including reserve service with the San Diego Sheriff's Department and long-running involvement with California's Emergency Medical Services Authority, earning a Distinguished Service Medal. An educator and author, he teaches at USC and wrote The Front-Line Leader (2014). Things You'll Learn: Healthcare executives are dealing with an unprecedented volume of simultaneous operational, financial, and workforce demands, raising the stakes of everyday decisions.  Affordability isn't just a household problem; it's a system design problem that forces hospitals to cover the growing cost of unpaid care.  Cost shifting is not a theory; it is the mechanism that pushes public underpayment onto commercial premiums.  Regulatory and capital mandates can dramatically raise costs without generating new revenue, especially in California.  Medicare Advantage often adds friction through narrow networks, prior authorization, and payment disputes, while shifting risk downhill. Walking away from bad contracts can stabilize a system financially, but it creates real disruption for patients and exposes policy gaps in switching coverage. Resources: Connect with and follow Chris Van Gorder on LinkedIn. Follow Scripps Health on LinkedIn and explore their website! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan, Dana, and Read Shepherd discuss the dramatic decline in Florida property insurance claims and lawsuits in 2025, and listen to Talkback messages from listeners sharing their own insurance experiences.

Ryan, Dana, and Read Shepherd discuss the dramatic decline in Florida property insurance claims and lawsuits in 2025, and listen to Talkback messages from listeners sharing their own insurance experiences.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Most of the money problems we talk about with Bitcoin — they're not money problems. They're time problems." Scott Dedels — founder of Block Rewards and author of The Age of Time — says the clock is a technology. It was invented about 600 years ago, and somewhere along the way we forgot it was ever invented at all. His claim: the problem of time is upstream of the problem of money. Fiat was downstream of a civilization that had already agreed to be ruled by a machine that only moves forward, in the direction of consumption. We went from asking what is time to only ever asking what time is it. We get into the Prague Orloj and the birth of mechanical time, the 1944 essay that turned time into a commodity, Saturn as civilization's invisible operating system, why we stopped building 300-year cathedrals, AI and the information hyperstream — and Bitcoin as a ten-minute heartbeat no one controls. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

(July 16, 2026) California employer health premiums will cost as much as a new car in 2027. AI knows what you did online and so does your employer. Sleeping robotaxi riders are triggering 911 calls and straining first responders. Several streets in West Hollywood were flooded with rushing water following a water main break overnight.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colorado continues to have some of the highest homeowners insurance in the country. Today, business reporter Tamara Chuang talks about why that is, the sharp increases in the past five years and how homeowners are coping. https://coloradosun.com/2026/07/10/wildfires-insurance-homeowners-regulations/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marco Rosso, global head of sustainability and corporate affairs at Syngenta Biologicals and Seed Care, talks with Ian Welsh about the shifting economics of farming. They discuss the psychology putting young people off agricultural careers and why sustainability has to deliver a real return on investment for farmers to adopt it. Plus: lab-grown cocoa as a hedge against cocoa price volatility; US coffee prices double on tariffs and Red Sea disruption; China's largest US soybean purchase since 2025; and, European Commission cuts sustainability reporting requirements by 60%, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh

"21 million isn't a promise. It's a rule — and rules only hold if your node enforces them." Bitcoin Mechanic — of mining pool OCEAN — says Bitcoin is in a civil war, and most holders don't even know it's happening. The fight isn't over price. It's over who's actually in charge: Core or Knots, miners or developers — or the nodes that quietly outvote them all. We get into the Eye of Sauron turning toward Bitcoin, why 21 million is a rule and not a law of nature, what running Knots actually does, and the battle for the soul of Bitcoin. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Bank On It, financial insights you can count on with Jason Shields, the COO of Gulf Coast Bank & Trust

LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured  Chris examines proposed double-digit Obamacare premium increases for 2027, arguing that rising healthcare costs, shrinking insurer risk pools, and physician shortages point to deeper structural problems. He questions why costs continue climbing despite advances in technology and warns that healthcare could become a major issue in the upcoming midterm elections.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 15 years broadcasting on the internet. On Thursday's show, we visit with the Co-Founder and CEO of the Florida Citizens Alliance Keith Flaugh about a federal Appeals Court decision to overturn Florida's 2022 Stop Woke Act, and we discuss the candidate Forum on Saturday for Congressional District 22. Cato Institute Director of Health Policy Studies Michael Cannon and I discuss the reduction in enrollment in and the escalation of Obamacare premiums. CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young and I discuss inflation, employment, trade, and the Fed. We also visit with Substack columnist Patrick Carroll about rent controls and “rent strikes.” We have terrific a terrific guest for Friday's show, author and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this and past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

* Healthcare premiums keep going up. Why? * We're learning more about GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Here's what to know * What makes New Orleans unique? How do we avoid losing that? * Fewer forecasters & inferior info: NWS cuts are hurting hurricane forecasts * Are city-owned trees putting some at risk of losing their insurance? * All this rain means lots of breeding spots for mosquitoes. Here's what to do

* Obamacare premiums jumped this year…and a new report says they could increase even more in 2027. What's behind it? Have YOUR premiums been going up? * Are city-owned trees putting some New Orleanians at risk of losing their homeowners insurance? We'll get the details

Obamacare premiums jumped this year…and a new report says they could increase even more in 2027. What's behind it? Have YOUR premiums been going up? We talk with Walter “Dub” Lane, Associate Professor of Economics & Finance at LSU New Orleans.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 15 years broadcasting on the internet. On Thursday's show, we visit with the Co-Founder and CEO of the Florida Citizens Alliance Keith Flaugh about a federal Appeals Court decision to overturn Florida's 2022 Stop Woke Act, and we discuss the candidate Forum … The post Obamacare and Escalating Health Insurance Premiums appeared first on Bob Harden Show.

A new report finds much higher premiums on the horizon for Affordable Care Act customers. The AP's Jennifer King has more.

Marketplace enrollment in Virginia has dropped roughly 20% this year after premiums rose and federal tax credits expired.

"Mining isn't just how Bitcoin gets made — it's a decentralized money printer." Kent Halliburton — CEO and co-founder of Sazmining — makes a claim that should bother everyone who only buys their Bitcoin: mining isn't just how Bitcoin gets made, it's a decentralized money printer anyone can run. He calls it hash punk. We get into why you get better Bitcoin when you mine it, his arc from solar to hosted mining, and the bigger thesis — Bitcoin isn't one zero-to-one innovation, it's two. This is Bitcoin against the machine. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Join Impact as a Member --> DianeKazer.com/IMPACT Join Impact as an Independent Business Owner --> DianeKazer.com/IMPACTTEAM Join Impact for Your Business --> DianeKazer.com/IMPACTBIZ Join Our Elite VIP Tribe --> DianeKazer.com/VIP All Yeptide Resources ->DianeKazer.com/YEPTIDES Apply to Become a 1-on-1 Patient --> DianeKazer.com/PATIENT Can we all agree on one thing? Our healthcare system isn't exactly... health care.

In this episode, Michael Blank sits down with Nicolas Lares, founder and CEO of Insur3Tech, to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing real estate investors today: skyrocketing insurance costs. Nicolas shares how his experience building innovative insurance solutions for Amazon's logistics network led him to create a group captive insurance model that gives real estate investors—from single-family landlords to large multifamily operators—more control over one of their fastest-growing expenses. They discuss why insurance premiums continue to rise, how captive insurance works, and why this alternative model can reduce costs, improve coverage, and even generate profit distributions for policyholders. If you're looking for practical ways to protect your portfolio and improve cash flow, this episode offers a fresh perspective on an often-overlooked wealth-building strategy.Key TakeawaysTraditional Insurance Is Becoming a Major Threat to Cash FlowRising premiums, reduced coverage, and increasing claims costs are making insurance one of the biggest challenges for real estate investors today.Captive Insurance Gives Investors More ControlBy joining a group captive, investors become part owners of the insurance company, allowing them to potentially lower costs while sharing in the company's profits.Smaller Investors Can Now Access a Strategy Once Reserved for InstitutionsGroup captives make it possible for investors with just a few rental properties to benefit from a model that was traditionally only available to large portfolio owners.Lower Claims Lead to Lower Long-Term CostsCaptive insurance aligns incentives by rewarding responsible owners who actively manage risk instead of encouraging unnecessary claims.Strong Underwriting Protects the Entire GroupCareful member selection, property inspections, and ongoing risk management help create a healthier insurance pool and more predictable results.Creative Solutions Can Strengthen Your Investing BusinessExploring alternatives like captive insurance can help investors protect NOI, improve long-term profitability, and build more resilient real estate portfolios.Connect with our Deal Maker PartnersCheck out all Partners hereAttorney - Swafford Law LLC Mentor - Deal Maker MentoringResourcesConnect with Michael BlankTheFreedomPodcast.com Join the Deal Maker MastermindExplore Michael's Mentoring ProgramReview the Podcast on Apple PodcastsGet the Syndicated Deal AnalyzerGet the Book, Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing by Michael Blank For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session530/

"Paper is where Bitcoin goes to die." James Caruso — co-founder and VP of Stamp Seed — joins the show with one of the most unlikely origin stories in Bitcoin: how a 70-year-old metal-stamping company stumbled into Bitcoin through its own search data, and became one of the most trusted cold-storage backups in the space. We get into why paper — and the gel pen you wrote your seed words with — is the weakest link in your stack, why titanium, what's actually in the box, and James's arc from get-rich-quick Robinhood trader to "it could drop 40% and I'm just buying more" conviction. Then the cold-storage deep end: single-sig versus multisig, planning for your heirs, and the most creative hiding spot we've ever heard — a seed plate disguised as a rock, sunk in a backyard pond. No batteries. No firmware. No third-party trust. Just a titanium-sized post-it. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

"Bitcoin is a rights-protection entity." Tomer Strolight returns for his ninth visit — and reads four of his own essays start to finish, with conversation in between: Bitcoin Is More, Living With AI, AI Built to Survive, and This Is Not the End. We discuss why Bitcoin isn't a price but a superstate no government on earth can reach — even as Iran floats a Bitcoin toll in the middle of a war — why self-custody is the whole point, and how inflation's slow squeeze is finally being felt by everyone. Then it turns: three short stories about living with AI, and what we surrender when we let a machine do our thinking for us. No host intro, no warm-up. We open cold, on Tomer's voice. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Glue Store just became the latest fashion victim to permanently close its doors after the stores were losing too much money for its owner Australia's biggest insurers have warned home insurance premiums will rise by double digits every year for the foreseeable future BMW has suffered a 6% fall in share price after it hit the brakes on its own profit outlook _ Want to lean how to go from a Saver to Investor in just 7 days - watch our new series here Complete the Budget survey for your chance to win 3 x $100 gift cards - takes only 2 mins Download the free app (App Store): http://bit.ly/FluxAppStore Download the free app (Google Play): http://bit.ly/FluxappGooglePlay Daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/fluxnewsletter Flux on Instagram: http://bit.ly/fluxinsta Flux on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flux.finance —- The content in this podcast reflects the views and opinions of the hosts, and is intended for personal and not commercial use. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or other information provided or distributed in these episodes. ____ Important Information: This material has been created with the co-operation of BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited (BIMAL) ABN 13 006 165 975, AFSL 230 523 on 19 May. Comments made by BIMAL employees here represent BIMAL’s views only. This material provides general advice only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation, needs or circumstances. Before making any investment decision, you should obtain financial advice tailored to you having regard to your individual objectives, financial situation, needs and circumstances. Refer to BIMAL’s Financial Services Guide on its website for more information. This material is not a financial product recommendation or an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any financial product in any jurisdiction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Bitcoin is not physical gold. You can kill Bitcoin." Matthew Kratter — who runs Bitcoin University, did a PhD in literature under René Girard, and ran global macro at Peter Thiel's hedge fund — joins the show to explain why he now holds nearly everything he owns in Bitcoin, and why he's become one of the loudest voices warning that Bitcoin is under attack from the inside. We trace the improbable path first: from Girard's seminar table to growing Thiel's $50M Roth into a $2 billion fund, and the 20 years trading that taught him to spot financial engineering "traps" — the same TradFi tricks he says are now being smuggled back into Bitcoin. Then it turns to the civil war happening right now: how Bitcoin Core blew open OP_RETURN and "went rogue," why spam and CSAM are an existential risk to node runners, what BIP-110 actually does, and who really controls the network (hint: not the miners, devs, or exchanges). His thesis throughout — consensus flows from culture — and his answer to all of it: stop being a spectator, run a node, and mine from home. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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"Rehypothecation is cryptographically impossible." Martin Matejka joins the show to break down the rise of Bitcoin-native lending, Firefish's 3-of-3 multisig + DLC architecture, and why the February 6 stress test was the day Bitcoin-backed credit grew up. We discuss why rehypothecation can be engineered out rather than promised away, how Firefish thinks about LTV, margin-call cadence, and the three warnings before liquidation, and why $160 million in non-custodial loans across 27,000 users in 70 countries is the proof a Bitcoin-native lender can scale. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

America Out Loud PULSE with Dr. Angelina Farella – Whether you're working for a company, running your own business, raising a family, or planning for retirement, healthcare costs seem to touch every part of our lives. Premiums continue to rise, deductibles are often higher than we'd like, and many people wonder whether they can truly afford the care they need...

America Out Loud PULSE with Dr. Angelina Farella – Whether you're working for a company, running your own business, raising a family, or planning for retirement, healthcare costs seem to touch every part of our lives. Premiums continue to rise, deductibles are often higher than we'd like, and many people wonder whether they can truly afford the care they need...

Matt Cole spent fifteen years at CalPERS — the largest public pension fund in the U.S. — running more than $70 billion in global fixed income, where his portfolios reportedly never underperformed their benchmark in a single year. Today he's Chairman & CEO of Strive (Nasdaq: ASST), the first publicly traded asset-management Bitcoin treasury company — and the man who just made a security pay a dividend every single business day, the first time that's ever happened in U.S. market history. This is the structured-finance mind behind "digital credit" — the idea that you can split a perpetual Bitcoin position into two instruments: a low-volatility, yield-bearing preferred (SATA, now paying daily) and the amplified Bitcoin common stock underneath it. Matt explains why he calls digital credit the biggest story in Bitcoin, how a zero-debt balance sheet survives Bitcoin going "to one penny tomorrow," and why he's laser-focused on a thirty-year digital gold rush. If you've ever wondered what happens when a Wall Street fixed-income operator goes all-in on Bitcoin — this is it. We discuss: The first security in U.S. market history to pay a dividend every business day — and why "the dividend event is no longer an event" Digital credit as the biggest story in Bitcoin — attacking a $300 trillion TAM, where 1% is larger than Bitcoin's entire market cap today Zero debt and 18 months of dividend reserves — why "Bitcoin could go to one penny tomorrow and we don't blow up" Why Michael Saylor called Strive's SATA the most interesting story in Bitcoin right now "Bitcoin is hope" — the line that closes the show Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

IUL gets pitched to young professionals, families, business owners, retirees, and pretty much everyone in between. The message is always consistent: this product can solve your financial problems, provide market upside with downside protection, and generate tax-free retirement income. One product, all things to all people. For most people, IUL is the wrong tool entirely. Not because it's fraudulent. Not because it can't work for anyone. But because there's a fundamental mismatch between how it's sold and who it actually serves. And that mismatch shows up in the data.  https://youtu.be/fZS1uPmsCS0 According to a 2021 study by Gottlieb and Smetters, published in the American Economic Review (1) and drawing on SOA and LIMRA persistency data, nearly 88% of universal life policies never pay a death benefit. That figure covers all universal life products, including IUL.  And IUL was built specifically to fix the lapse problems of earlier UL products. It hasn't. The chassis is the problem. This article is a profile-by-profile look at the people who should not buy an IUL, the data that supports why, and a fair look at the narrow group for whom it might make sense. We're not taking sides. We're giving you the information you need to make a decision that actually fits your life. Key Takeaways:What IUL Actually Is, and Why the Chassis MattersThe One-Year Renewable Term ProblemWho Should Not Buy an IUL PolicyAnyone who hasn't mastered the financial basicsAnyone who needs guarantees and predictabilityAnyone practicing or planning Infinite BankingAnyone without a high, stable, long-term incomeAnyone who cannot handle the lapse riskAnyone who misunderstands what market risk means in an IULAnyone building a multi-generational legacyThe Data Nobody Shows You Before You SignThe Headline NumbersA Pattern That Keeps RepeatingTo Be Fair: Who IUL Actually ServesThe Right Buyer ProfileThe Alternative Built for the Rest of UsWhy Endowment MattersThe Reduced Paid-Up Safety NetBehavioral FitThe Decision Is Yours: Make It With the Full PictureBook a Strategy CallFrequently Asked QuestionsWho should not buy an IUL policy?Is IUL worth it for most people?What is the lapse rate for IUL policies?Who is IUL actually designed for?What is the difference between IUL and whole life for banking purposes?Can I use IUL for Infinite Banking? Key Takeaways: IUL is built on a one-year renewable term chassis, meaning internal insurance costs rise every single year as the policyholder ages Nearly 88% of universal life policies (including IUL) never pay a death benefit, with 57% of permanent policies (particularly universal life) lapsing in the first 10 years IUL cannot endow and cannot be converted to reduced paid-up status, meaning premiums are required indefinitely The product demands a level of behavioral consistency over 30 to 40 years that most people, including the most disciplined, cannot sustain IUL is not compatible with Infinite Banking because it lacks the guaranteed, predictable cash value growth the strategy requires The narrow group IUL actually serves is sophisticated, high-net-worth individuals using it specifically for estate planning leverage What IUL Actually Is, and Why the Chassis Matters Indexed universal life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance where cash value growth is linked to a market index, typically the S&P 500.  The policyholder isn't actually invested in the market. The insurance company credits growth based on index performance, subject to a cap (the maximum you can earn) and a floor (usually 0%). You participate in some of the upside. You're protected from direct index losses. That's the pitch. The One-Year Renewable Term Problem The structural reality is different from the marketing version. Unlike whole life insurance, which spreads insurance costs evenly across a lifetime so the premium never changes, IUL is built on a one-year renewable term chassis. That means the cost of insurance increases every single year as the insured ages. In the early years, you barely notice. Over decades, and especially in retirement, it becomes a serious structural pressure on the policy's cash value. The flexible premium feature, often marketed as a benefit, is part of the same structural reality. Flexibility sounds good. But it means the policy requires ongoing management and can deteriorate if premiums are reduced or skipped.  The policy doesn't just sit there working for you. It demands attention, funding, and active monitoring year after year. For a deeper look at the structural risks, internal charges, and illustration problems with IUL, see our posts on the dangerous truths about IUL risks and Todd Langford's analysis of IUL math. Who Should Not Buy an IUL Policy This is the core question. Not "is IUL good or bad?" but "is the person buying it actually a match for what the product demands?" Seven profiles. If you recognize yourself in any of them, that's information worth taking seriously. Anyone who hasn't mastered the financial basics IUL is an advanced financial product. It should not be anyone's first or second financial move. Before using a structure that combines insurance, investing, and tax planning, a person needs the basics in place: spending less than they earn, building consistent positive cash flow, and saving habitually. Parkinson's Law, the tendency for expenses to rise to meet income at every level, is real. IUL does not fix a cash flow problem. It adds complexity on top of one. If you haven't overcome the basic discipline of keeping your income above your expenses and putting the gap into savings, a complex product isn't a solution. It's a distraction from the actual problem. Anyone who needs guarantees and predictability If you need to know with certainty what your policy will be worth in 10, 20, or 30 years, IUL cannot give you that. There is no guaranteed cash value dollar amount in an IUL. The crediting depends on index performance, caps that can change annually, and internal costs that increase over time. If your financial planning requires a predictable future asset base for retirement, a major capital need, or a legacy strategy, a product built on variables is the wrong foundation. The middle class, upper middle class, and anyone with fluctuating income fall into this category. And that's most people. Anyone practicing or planning Infinite Banking IUL is actively marketed as a vehicle for Infinite Banking. It is not.  Infinite Banking requires a pool of capital that is predictable, guaranteed, and always growing. The arbitrage that makes policy loans powerful, earning in two places at once, only works when the policy's growth is reliable. In a year where the index earns zero, a policy loan doesn't just cost the loan interest. It costs the loan interest with no offsetting policy growth.  The banking system breaks down exactly when it should be working hardest. For a full breakdown, see our post on why IUL is incompatible with Infinite Banking. Anyone without a high, stable, long-term income IUL requires consistent, maximum funding over a very long time horizon to have any chance of performing as illustrated. Life disruptions like job changes, business downturns, family expenses, and medical costs interrupt premium payments. And because the policy relies on the index to help fund its own rising costs, any gap in funding creates a cascade effect that's very difficult to reverse. Even Nelson Nash, the creator of Infinite Banking, once missed funding PUAs on one of his own policies, causing the rider to close. If the creator of the strategy had trouble keeping up with premiums, the expectation that ordinary policyholders will fund an IUL perfectly for 30 to 40 years is unrealistic. Anyone who cannot handle the lapse risk Nearly 88% of universal life policies never pay a death benefit, and IUL is part of that picture. That number should stop anyone from considering this product and make them ask: why?  The answer is structural. Rising internal costs, non-guaranteed crediting, and the behavioral reality of managing a complex financial product over decades. And lapsing isn't just losing the policy. When a policy lapses with outstanding loans and cash value above the cost basis (the total premiums paid), the gain is treated as taxable ordinary income in the year of lapse. That tax bill arrives at the worst possible time, often in retirement, when income is fixed and absorbing it is most painful. Anyone who misunderstands what market risk means in an IUL Many buyers hear "zero is your floor" and believe their money is protected from losses. This is technically true and practically misleading. The 0% floor only protects against index-linked losses. It does not protect against the internal drag of rising mortality costs, administrative fees, and hedging strategy expenses, all of which continue to come out of the cash value regardless of what the index does. A zero-credit year is effectively a negative year once internal charges are factored in. And when markets perform poorly over multiple years, the insurance company's cost of maintaining those hedges rises. They respond by lowering caps. Lower caps mean less upside potential. This cycle of poor performance, higher hedge costs, and lower caps compounds over time. Anyone building a multi-generational legacy Legacy planning requires certainty across decades and generations. A policy that cannot endow, cannot be converted to reduced paid-up status, and requires active management indefinitely is not a reliable foundation for generational wealth transfer. Whole life policies endow at age 120 or 121. The cash value and death benefit converge, and the policy is contractually complete. IUL policies do not endow. Premiums are required for as long as the insured lives. There is no actuarial endpoint.  ...

Matt Hougan is the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management — one of eleven spot Bitcoin ETF issuers, managing over $10 billion. When family offices, RIAs, and pension consultants size their Bitcoin allocation, his is the analysis they read. This is the institutional case for Bitcoin in plain language: Bitcoin as two investments at once (digital gold plus a call option on becoming the world's apolitical currency), the math behind his $1.4 million by 2035 call, and why he thinks Bitcoin is about to repeat the supply shock that just took gold parabolic. If you've been trying to explain Bitcoin to the most sophisticated person in your life — send them this. We discuss: Bitcoin as two investments in one — store of value + call option on currency status The kinetic vs. monetary chaos lenses, and why both push Bitcoin up Why Harvard's endowment quietly went BTC + gold as their two largest 13F positions The $36 billion first-year ETF launch — 6× the previous all-time record Why Matt's personal price target is $1.4 million by 2035 The gold supply shock parallel — and why Matt thinks Bitcoin is next Quantum computing — manageable upgrade problem or existential threat? Three ways to pitch Bitcoin to three different kinds of institutional allocator Why generational change is the biggest underrated catalyst in the space Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Affordable Care Act premiums are higher this year, after Congress declined to renew subsidies for the health insurance program. As a result, about a million fewer Americans enrolled for 2026 and even more are slated to drop by the year's end. In this episode, why falling enrollment will raise premiums further. Plus: Bond yields hit record highs around the globe, businesses start to see tariff refunds ahead of schedule, and utility rates are about to get worse.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Affordable Care Act premiums are higher this year, after Congress declined to renew subsidies for the health insurance program. As a result, about a million fewer Americans enrolled for 2026 and even more are slated to drop by the year's end. In this episode, why falling enrollment will raise premiums further. Plus: Bond yields hit record highs around the globe, businesses start to see tariff refunds ahead of schedule, and utility rates are about to get worse.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Jeff Casler and Angelo Firenze don't run a Bitcoin conference. They run a Bitcoin camp. Jeff is a serial entrepreneur and MS survivor — co-founder of Camp Nakamoto and @btc_mass, with a thesis-forward "why this matters" voice. Angelo grew up on Sandy Island. He spent decades as director of the original family camp the property was built around — and now runs the Bitcoin version of the same idea. Every summer, the Bitcoin world boards another plane to another conference. And every summer, some of us come home wondering if we actually made a single real connection. This is the conversation about what happens when someone looks at that and decides to build the inverse — four days on a 66-acre private island in Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. Cabins. Campfires. All-inclusive meals including the Cattleman's Feast. A speaker series that doesn't feel like a speaker series because you're sitting with the speakers at dinner. June 18-21, 2026. I'm speaking there — and I said yes because I believe in what they're building. Their thesis is simple: the typical Bitcoin conference is great for introducing ideas. Camp Nakamoto is great for integrating them. You don't have five minutes after a keynote to ask your question — you have 72 hours. Larry Lapard, Tom Luongo, Efrat Fenigson, Joe Consorti aren't in a green room. They're at breakfast. Around the campfire at sunset. In the cornhole tournament. As Angelo puts it: the whole thing is the lobby. We also get the "last boat" moment — what Angelo realized after the first event in 2025, why he didn't believe it would work until the last ferry pulled away. The 2026 speaker lineup including Tom Luongo, Ben Justman, Efrat Fenigson, Joe Consorti, Seb Bunny, Luke Broyles, Anders Jensen, Matthew Lysiak, Kevin McKernan, Haley Lennon, Brandon Gentile, Beau Turner, Kyle Huber — plus Ainsley Costello playing live. The Cattleman's Feast partnership with Texas Slim's Beef Initiative. And the family case: why parents on the island let their kids run free in a way you don't see in modern society anymore. If you've ever wondered what the post-orange-pill phase actually looks like in person — not on Twitter, not in a conference hallway, but around a campfire with people who showed up for the same reason you did — this is the conversation. We discuss: Introduce vs. integrate — why ideas land differently when you have 72 hours with the speaker instead of five minutes after a keynote, and Angelo's design principle that "the whole thing is the lobby" The "last boat" moment — Angelo's emotional origin moment from the first event in 2025, why he didn't believe it would work until the last ferry pulled away, and what it taught him about the difference between selling tickets and building community The Cattleman's Feast — Texas Slim's Beef Initiative partnership, the grass-fed high-omega-3 steak that made attendees say "the best I've ever had," Peony Lane Bitcoin wine pairing, and why food became one of the strongest brand moments of the first event Kids running free — what happens to parenting when an island full of Bitcoiners decides to let their children explore, why it feels like 1950s parenting in the best possible way, and the case for bringing your family Why community in 2026 matters more than ever — Jeff and Angelo's "we need our peeps" thesis, the move from talking the talk to living the life, and what real-life Bitcoin community looks like after the orange pill metabolizes Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

6. International Diplomacy and Maritime Chokepoints Guest: Emily Wang Emily Wang examines the difficulties of securing maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that private insurance premiums could be a more effective tool for regional stability than traditional diplomatic negotiations. 61900 DOWNTOWN LA SPRIGN STREET