Insurance World

The need for affordable individual health insurance is becoming more prevalent because of the rising numbers of self-employed. Entrepreneurs are changing the landscape. Home-based businesses are growing at a phenomenal pace. The enormous growth of small business has generated a greater demand for individual health insurance. This is a first time experience for many of these new start-ups. Group health insurance is provided by the employer. The employee that is enrolled in the company group health insurance plan rarely examines the coverage or the cost. This changes dramatically when they are forced into purchasing their own individual plan.

COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) guarantees a continuance of coverage when you leave your employer. This coverage is made available for 18 months after you leave. You have a 60-day window after termination of employment to shop for your own individual health plan. This window of time is critical to the insurance shopping process. If you have any thought of leaving your employer then it is imperative that you investigate the availability of individual health insurance.

Individual health insurance is medically underwritten. That means that the insurance company will gather all applicable medical information on you and or your family to determine if they can offer you an individual plan. Pre-existing conditions are often eliminated and in some instances coverage can be denied.

Things to consider:

1. Health – Do not presume that you or any of your family is Insurable. There may be certain pre-existing conditions that are covered by some companies and excluded by others.

2. Self-Insuring – The higher deductible that you elect will decrease your premium dramatically. This is called self-insuring. Some companies have deductibles that go as high as thousands.

3. Insurance Company – There are many reliable insurance companies in the health insurance industry use their quotes to compare coverage.

We have done the research so you don’t have to. Please see our recommended source for insurance quotes online.

Almost all of us will have taken out some sort of insurance. Whether it be car insurance, home insurance, health insurance or travel insurance to name just a few, we will all have paid over considerable sums of money to an insurance company in exchange for the peace of mind that comes with knowing that should disaster strike, you are insured. However, how many of us have fully understood the details of the agreement we are entering into?

Within all the documentation that comes with any new insurance contract, there is contained some of the most complex legal provisions and contractual terms that you are likely to find anywhere. Insurance companies spend millions on lawyer’s fees and have teams of professionals constantly up dating and amending the terms of their contracts to cover for every possible eventuality. You on the other hand, probably have very little time to spend getting familiar with the contents of your insurance contract and will simply glance over the main points that are highlighted by the insurance company.

However, there are a couple of things that you can do to make sure you have at least a reasonable understanding of the contract you are signing. All insurance contracts basically have the same purpose and methods. They take on the risk of an event, which may or may not occur and pay the cost of it if it does. This may be any event, but the most common are car accidents, house damage, medical treatment and the like. Life assurance is slightly different in that it guarantees to pay out on your death, which unfortunately is still a certainty that is bound to occur. However, the timing of death is uncertain and in this sense there is still a very real risk that you will die at a time when your children or spouse is completely dependent on you.

There must also be some financial cost to the occurrence. The insurer must be able to have a reasonable idea of the cost of the loss if they are to be able to calculate the price of the premium accurately. Therefore, while medical expenses and lost earnings are recoverable under insurance, the pain and suffering, or the sadness of losing a loved one will not be recoverable under an insurance contract.

Therefore, what you will really be looking for in an insurance contract is what exactly is covered. In which circumstances will the policy pay out and which occurrences are not covered. Then there are the exclusions and conditions you must meet to keep the policy valid. This might include keeping your door locked or having health checks. Make sure you understand what you have to do under the contract and do it.