Insurance World

Paying for health care can consume a large portion of an individual or family’s disposable income. Some costs are non-negotiable but there are ways to lower the amount you spend on insuring your health.

Deductibles

You may be able to pay a lower premium by paying a higher deductible. This is particularly true if you are insured as an individual rather than through your employer. If you choose this option it is wise to place a portion of the money saved on your premium into an account which is used solely to pay your deductible.

Co-pay amount

Many companies have lower premium policies available for those willing to make a higher co-payment when they visit the doctor. Opting for a higher co-payment can be especially advantageous for people who don’t often visit the doctor.

Generic drugs

Generic drugs are manufactured to the same standards as brand name drugs. Choosing to have a prescription filled with a generic drug can offer substantial savings over having it filled with a brand name drug.

Healthy living programs

Many insurance plans offer pre-emptive health care services which are entirely funded by the insurance company. Employee plans often do this as a way of avoiding paying for higher priced services later on down the line. Programs may include free immunizations, mammograms, prostate exams and general physicals. Paying a portion of monthly health club dues is also available on a few plans. Be sure to take advantage of these options if possible.

Remember, while health insurance premiums are high the peace of mind brought by knowing you
and your family are insured is priceless. Gathering as many quotes as possible is the best way to learn and compare companies.

Please view our recommended sources for insurance quotes online. We have done the research so that you don’t have to. This site is powered by the largest online insurance broker in the world. With more brokers competing you save.

Have you filled in a life assurance application recently? There’s a little box that strikes fear into the heart of the “slightly overweight”. It simply asks you to state your weight. Do you go straight to the scales, undress to the state of nudity and jiggle about on the said scales, trying to pinpoint the lowest mark on the gauge? No, I thought not, you probably take a vague and over optimistic guess, write it in and swiftly move on to the next question. Most of us do it. It’s not really cheating. You know you’re going to lose it soon, before Christmas/holidays/the wedding. If only!

Now, one of Britain’s biggest names in life insurance, namely Scottish Provident, in an effort gain more accuracy in working out the risk factors, has added another innocent little question, i.e. When did you last weigh yourself? Aware of the fact that many people are self conscious about their weight and tend forget the odd few pounds gained since they were last on their “diet to end all diets”, they feel that this should help to give a true picture of their clients potential health risks. It should also be noted that there are some people who will lie in an effort to obtain cheaper premiums.

Scottish Provident are quite rightly concerned that they are being told the truth. The UK government are taking obesity very seriously and it has been announced recently that almost a quarter of us are overweight, and it’s thought by Cancer research UK that around a quarter of these are not interested in losing weight. We are second only to Greece in obesity levels as a nation.

The definition of obesity is based on the British Medical Association’s Body Mass Index (BMI). To work this out, you need to know your height in metres and then multiply by the same figure. Take the result of this and divide by your weight, using kilograms. This gives you your BMI, which can be used to indicate if you are underweight, normal, overweight or obese. It will, however, overestimate fatness in people who are muscular or athletic. These figures are for adults.

BMI categories are

· Underweight = less than 18.5
· Normal weight = 18.5 to 24.9
· Overweight = 25 to 29.9
· Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

In a recent study of 33,000 adults reported in the Lancet, the above figures for normal weight were agreed and there was a suggestion was that only adult patients with a BMI of 35 or above would present a serious lowering of life expectancy.

Most of the life insurance industry has accepted a BMI level of 30, which seems fair and even generous. For anyone with a BMI of over 30 your premium will be loaded and you may even be asked to take a medical examination. This means if you’re overweight you could find your critical illness or life assurance premium could increase by 50% and it seems likely that for some, cover could be refused.

It’s a risky business!