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[Tiana Dubree]

Simply put, a deductible is the amount of money that the insured person must pay before their insurance policy starts paying for covered expenses. For example, if you have a health insurance policy with a $1,000 deductible and you receive a medical bill for $2,000, you would be responsible for paying the first $1,000 and your insurance would cover the remaining $1,000.

Deductibles can vary widely depending on the type of insurance policy, the level of coverage, and other factors. Some insurance policies, such as liability insurance, may not have a deductible at all. Others, such as homeowners or auto insurance, may have a higher deductible in exchange for lower premiums.

It's important to note that deductibles only apply to covered expenses. If a particular expense is not covered by the insurance policy, it cannot be applied toward the deductible. Additionally, deductibles typically reset each policy period. For example, if you have a health insurance policy with an annual deductible of $2,000, you will need to pay that amount each year before your insurance starts covering expenses.

Understanding your insurance deductible is important because it can have a significant impact on your out-of-pocket expenses. Policies with lower deductibles typically have higher premiums, meaning you'll pay more each month for your insurance coverage. However, if you have a higher deductible, you may be able to save money on your premiums but may be responsible for paying more out of pocket if you need to file a claim.

When choosing an insurance policy, it's important to consider your individual circumstances and financial situation. If you have a chronic medical condition that requires frequent visits to the doctor, for example, you may want to choose a health insurance policy with a lower deductible to help manage your out-of-pocket expenses. On the other hand, if you have a healthy lifestyle and rarely need medical care, you may be able to save money by choosing a policy with a higher deductible.

It's also important to understand the different types of deductibles that may be included in your insurance policy. For example, some policies may have separate deductibles for different types of coverage, such as collision and comprehensive coverage in auto insurance. Additionally, some policies may have a percentage-based deductible, which means that the deductible amount is calculated as a percentage of the total cost of the claim.

Finally, it's important to know what expenses are covered by your insurance policy and what expenses are not. In some cases, you may be able to lower your out-of-pocket expenses by taking advantage of preventative care services or using in-network providers.

In conclusion, understanding your insurance deductible is an important part of managing your insurance coverage and expenses. By taking the time to understand your policy and your individual circumstances, you can make informed decisions when choosing an insurance policy and filing claims. If you have questions or concerns about your insurance coverage or deductible, be sure to speak with your insurance provider or a licensed insurance agent.

Many colleges are grappling with how to define consensual sexual activity between students. Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, mandates that students get verbal permission before making any sexual advance. Peggy Turbett/The Plain Dealer/Landov hide caption

On one level, it's obvious. As the old line goes, "You know it when you see it." But less obvious is how to spell it out for the student handbook. There are about as many different definitions of consent as there are colleges.

"If consent were easy to put into words, we'd have a sentence, and we wouldn't have a page and a half of definition," says Mary Spellman, dean of students for Claremont McKenna College, which recently rewrote its definition.

As with most colleges, the bulk of Claremont McKenna's definition covers what's not consent. That's the easier part. For example, any OK from someone who's drunk or drugged or coerced can never count as consent. And consent to have sex last weekend or even an hour ago can't imply consent now.

The trend now, and what the White House recommended in its recent guidance to colleges, is toward what's called "affirmative consent." In other words, instead of the old "no means no," the idea now is that only "yes means yes."

"Is the person actively participating?" says Spellman. "Are they touching me when I am touching them? Are they encouraging me when I'm doing various different things? Those would all be signs that the person is an active participant in whatever is going on."

In one example, "Tyler and Jordan are both drinking heavily. ... Tyler becomes extremely drunk. Jordan offers to take Tyler home ... [and] ... initiates sexual activity. ... Tyler looks confused and tries to go to sleep. Jordan has sex with Tyler."

But other examples are trickier. One describes two friends, Morgan and Kai, who are engaging in sexual activity in Kai's room. Morgan "looks up at Kai questioningly" before escalating the activity and "Kai nods in agreement" so Morgan proceeds. But when Kai reciprocates, "Morgan lies still for a few minutes, then moves away, saying it is late and they should sleep."

"When you see these scenarios, you understand that this is something that is complicated," says Rory Gerberg, a student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government who helped advise the White House on its recent guidance for schools. She says these kinds of hypotheticals are critical to showing students what "loud and clear" consent actually looks like.

A clear definition is critical not only to educate students, but also for the adjudication process. Just ask Djuna Perkins, a former prosecutor who now consults with colleges as an investigator of complaints and is the one left trying to sort through the murky question of whether a student's actions amounted to a nonverbal "yes."

"The fact of the matter is that consent is very tricky, and you're getting into minutiae of what happened in a particular event," she says. "It will sometimes boil down to details like who turned who around, or [whether] she lifted up her body so [another student] could pull down her pants.

"There have been plenty of cases that I've done when the accused student says, 'What do you mean? [The accuser] was moaning with pleasure. He was raising his body, clutching my back, exhibiting all signs that sounded like this was a pleasurable event.' "

Perkins says schools are being asked to define consent more narrowly than even most state criminal laws do. And the stakes couldn't be higher; those who get it wrong risk not only lawsuits and bad press, but also the loss of federal funding. The federal government is already investigating at least 55 schools for complaints that they're too soft on sexual assault.

"Some [schools] feel like they want to throw up their hands," Perkins says. "I know of colleges who are trying to revise their policies literally every summer. In this climate, I don't think there's a single school out there that really, truly feels like it's under control."

Some schools have tried to avoid the ambiguity by mandating that students get explicit verbal permission before making any sexual advance. (The only way around the rule is if students have a prior verbal agreement to use a pre-arranged hand signal.)

"It's on them to say, 'Can I do this?' And the person has to respond verbally, 'Yes.' And if they don't, it's considered nonconsent, and that's a violation of our policy," says Louise Smith, dean of community life at Antioch College.

Smith says consent by Antioch's definition has to be clear and enthusiastic. "I guess so" wouldn't cut it. Also, the Antioch definition says consent must be continually renewed each time things escalate to "each new level of sexual activity."

The policy actually goes back to the early 1990s, when it was seen as so extreme it was mocked on Saturday Night Live. "Yeah, we're not laughing now," says Smith. She says Antioch feels vindicated because the rest of the country is finally coming around.

"Yeah, it can be hot, like, 'Do you like it when I bite your neck?' " says Rebecca Nagle, co-founder of a group called Force: Upsetting the Culture of Rape, which runs campus workshops and a website using the slogan "Consent Is Sexy."

"We can be making out, and I can be like, 'So, how do you feel about teeth?' " Nagle says. "And if I have a certain look in my eye, that's really flirty. And then, I can be like, 'Do you like it like this?' And that exchange is incredibly hot," she says.

"Students will have their lives maybe seriously damaged by administrators who are essentially creating standards by the seat of their pants," says Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. She worries that the stricter standards come with no due process for the accused, who face the burden of proving they did have enthusiastic and continual consent.

Neal says allegations of sexual assault should be handled by the criminal justice system, not schools. "To allow bureaucrats on our college campuses arbitrarily to determine what is consent and what is not, when even the law has difficulty, certainly underscores the absurdity of this system," she says.

Murylo Batista, a junior at Dartmouth College, has been pressing his school to narrow its definition of consent. He says he's shocked by how many students still don't get it and are unsure the morning after if they crossed the line.

Batista says colleges are not the only ones who have to do more to help young people understand the meaning of consent. In order for students to really get it, he says, the lesson needs to start long before students even get to college.

Australia currently has a target to reduce its domestic emissions by 43 percent on 2005 levels by 2030. Voters at the 2022 Federal Election overwhelmingly signalled they want stronger climate action, and they want it now. But the 2030 target will need to be strengthened significantly to align with the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (2C), and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius (1.5C). For this to happen, emissions need to peak by 2025, and rapidly decline thereafter. The Climate Council recommends that Australia cut its emissions 75 percent by 2030 (based on 2005 levels), and aim to reach net zero by 2035. This is the critical decade for climate action, and every fraction of a degree of warming avoided will help ensure a safer climate for generations to come.

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