Posts Tagged ‘Health Insurance’
Health Insurance Scams: How Can You Protect Yourself? Part 2
A second indicator that the health insurance provider you are dealing with might be a scam is the presence of less than usual or even the absence of the regulations that govern other insurance providers. Fraudulent health insurance plan providers also try to attract potential clients by boasting about regulatory freedom at the state level. Don’t be fooled: legitimate health insurance providers are not immune from state regulation. Quite the opposite is true. Many types of insurance, including health care insurance, are regulated primarily by each state.
Additionally, while health care insurance fraud is a nation-wide problem, a survey of some of the identified medical insurance scams has revealed Texas and Florida as particular hotbeds of fraudulent insurance activity. Beware of any health care insurance providers that have recently started business. Check with your Better Business Bureau to make sure there have been no complaints.
There are some things you can do to protect yourself against fraudulent health insurance plan scams. The first thing you can do is be aware that bogus plans are out there. The second step you take to protect yourself while still getting a reasonable health care insurance plan is to educate yourself about your available options: shop around, ask questions, request proof of licensing (operating an unlicensed insurance operation is illegal in every state), get recommendations and contact a state insurance commissioner to verify the legitimacy of a health care insurance operation before you sign anything. Check out our information about the best health insurance companies to find a great company that isn’t a scam!
10 Things You Should Consider When Choosing an Insurance Company, Part 2
Continued from part one…
5. Have It Your Way!
Since you will have to live with the health plan of your choosing, it is important that it will work for and with you. Therefore, you should think through your wants and needs when it comes to coverage. For example, how important is it for you to pick your own doctors? If it does not really matter to you, then an HMO (health maintenance organization) may be a cost-saving choice. On the other hand, if you have a favorite doctor and wish to continue consulting this physician rather than picking someone else, you may wish to consider the pricier PPO (preferred provider organization).
6. Add-Ons
Some companies will bundle their products with other coverages, such as short- and long-term disability, prescription drug coverage, dental coverage, and vision coverage. If these are important to you, you should make sure the insurance company you want to do business with will offer them.
7. Out Of Pocket Expenses?
Take the time to look at the fine print. For example, how much are the co-pays? Is there an annual cap on the co-pays? Do these caps pertain to a calendar year or any 365-day period? In addition to co-pays, what is the percentage of coverage?
8. Accessibility
An insurance company should be easy to get a hold of, should have extended office hours, and naturally also a toll-free number. Give the company a call and get a feel for average hold times, times of operation, and also services offered via telephone.
9. Rating
Check out the insurance company’s rating with the Better Business Bureau. A company that has too many unanswered complaints does not need your business!
10. Rate Increases
Talk to friends and neighbors who are insured with the company you are choosing, or if you are working with an agent, search to find out how often the insurance companies has raised its rates in the last two years. This will be a fair measure of the possible rate changes that will await you once you sign on!
I hope all that information helped you!
10 Things You Should Consider When Choosing an Insurance Company, Part 1
We don’t think of it too often; as a matter of fact, unless we are faced with a health crisis or need, we don’t think about health insurance at all! It is no wonder that many of us are caught unaware when an emergency occurs, and some of us suddenly realize that the insurance coverage we bought ten years ago is woefully out of date for our current needs. While purchasing insurance can be a daunting task in itself, remember that any plan is only as good as the company that underwrites and stands behind it. To this end, here are ten things to consider before choosing your next insurance company:
1. Full Disclosure
When purchasing an individual health insurance policy, the underwriter will look at your medical history. Prior to comparing rates, be sure to write down all pertinent information, so you will be able to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Additionally, it will give you a feel for what kind of information raises red flags for insurance companies. If you suddenly deal with a company that does not bat an eyelash at your skydiving accident that happened just last month, you will need to ask a few more questions to make sure the rates don’t suddenly change after you sign on.
2. Pre-Existing Conditions
Most companies will not insure pre-existing conditions; others will do so after a sometimes lengthy waiting period. Still others are legally mandated to carry “guaranteed issue” policies. Prior to signing on with a company, get a detailed list of what is considered a pre-existing condition, the exclusionary period, and also what kind of coverage will be provided one the exclusion ends.
3. Interview An Agent
A licensed, independent insurance agent is a goldmine of information and industry gossip. Furthermore, the agent will be able to share feedback received from other clients about a given health insurance company, insurance products, and even customer service.
4. What Does The Future Hold?
When picking an insurance company it is imperative that its products and coverages can grow with you and your changing needs. Thus, a company that specializes in catastrophic coverage only will be of little use once you have children in the house.
Continued in part two…
Individual Health Care Plan
Everybody should have a health care plan. There are many people that think it is fine to not have coverage, but in reality, it isn’t. You might do fine for a few years, but one small accident with a few nights stay in the hospital can cost you a huge sum of money. It’s a much better choice to just get some health insurance for yourself… (more…)
Best Health Insurance Companies
There are tons of health insurance companies out there, all vying for your attention. There are constant promotions and advertisements. Practically every time you turn on the television, you see an ad for an insurance company. They try to get in your face to get your business.
So how do you choose which is the best for you? Well, there are several ways… (more…)
Our Service
Through Health Quote Insider, we provide a great service that can get you free health insurance quotes. It takes just a little bit of your information to figure out your coverage and then gives you a free health plan quote from the best health insurance companies. Simple as that!
FAQ
Q: What does the service you offer through Health Quote Insider do for me?
A: That service gives you FREE health insurance quotes from a variety of the best health insurance companies! Simply by entering some of your information that will help them figure out what your coverage should be like, they’ll give you these free quotes.
Q: You’re kidding me. Is that service actually free?
A: I’m not kidding you! That service completely free!
Q: How does it determine my coverage?
A: Through a complex algorithm based on the information you give it, the service can figure out your coverage.
Q: Wow, great. How do I get there again?
A: Just click HERE!
About Us
CompareHealthInsuranceNow is a site dedicated to helping you compare the multitude of health insurance plans out there. We can give you information on many types of coverages including (but not limited to!) individual health care plans, discount medical plans, HMO plans, self employed health plans, and much more. We can also help you find the best health insurance companies out there!
We do a ton of work to help make sure you can make an educated decision about which is the best health insurance company for you and what type of coverage you need!