I had a number of health insurers contact me to point out that they also have some form of kid/young adult friendly health education and awareness campaign after my post about Aetna's yesterday.

The one that I missed, that everyone else seemed to know, was the DocRock series of videos offered by Cigna. Dr. Mache Seibel, a.k.a. DocRock, is a real doctor with the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He has teamed with CIGNA to launch the H1N1 Rap video at www.youtube.com/cignatv. One video "raps" for kids about 5 tips to avoid Swine Flu.

The series may be a bit too kid-centered to be an effective tool in an employment setting. But they are fun to watch. Perhaps letting employees know and share the videos with their kids may help those with kids stay healthy.

Health insurer Aetna has taken an interesting, and entertaining, approach to increasing prevention awareness for the H1N1 virus infection. The insurer has created a video featuring kids talking about prevention.

The kid advice is great. "If you cough onto someone, they can get sick. So cough into a tissue. Then throw it into the garbage and wait for the garbage truck to come." Or this reminder: "If you sneeze into your hands and then grab the remote to change the channel, there are germs on the remote." Bill Fried, MD, Aetna's medical director heading the company's pandemic flu response initiative, states, "Kids listen to other kids. Adults should listen too. We've all heard the advice about washing your hands and covering your cough, but sometimes kids say it best. After all, who knows more about germs than kids?"

I agree. The video is available on YouTube and the insurer's website. It is readily accessible, and, especially where your employees are younger, is a great use of media.

When choosing business insurance, doing preliminary research into insurance companies is a good idea.

One resource we have looked at before are state boards of insurance. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) website is also an excellent resource. The Consumer Information Source on the site has links regarding AIG and any replacement insurers. It has a search feature allowing a search of filed complaints against insurers. There are a number of useful resources that allow you to compare insurers.

Unscrupulous merchants and contractors in Florida seeking to take advantage of Hurricane/Tropical Storm victims beware! The State's Attorney General set up a "price gouging hotline" at 1-866-9-NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226). Florida resident are encouraged to report any storm related price gouging.

The Attorney General offered the following advice to residents to avoid scams (and these tips are good anywhere):

• Require home repair contractors to obtain all necessary government licenses and permits.
• Make sure contractors have proper occupational licenses as required by state law.
• Work only with reputable, established businesses. Take caution with "contractors" who knock on doors and offer to fix roofs and windows. Try to obtain more than one estimate for the repair work.
• Before signing a contract, check the payment terms and other provisions carefully.
• Do not pay cash to home repair contractors or tree removal services.