Selecting Medical Insurance

27 MAy 2009



Individual Vs. Group Health Insurance

If your employer offers a group health insurance, the choice is easy. The employer has already selected the insurance company, and your choice is probably limited to select few possible choices. Since the company pays for most of the premium, you are most likely to take the insurance.

Selecting an individual health insurance plan, however, takes a bit more effort than enrolling in your employer’s group health insurance plan. If you are an individual worker, a contractor or a cunsultant, you need to care about the health insurance for yourself and your family.



Decide on the coverage you want
First, you must figure out what kind of health coverage you need. Consider any pre-existing health conditions and check if the insurance company will be covering it. Do you have diabetes? What about mental health conditions? Any heart problems? Search for health insurance companies that offer coverage for these conditions. You should try to be true and should choose the insurance company that covers these. If you are expecting pregnancy in your family, try to find if the insurance company covers it.

In some cases, if you think you are pretty much well off in your health, you may chose the plan that takes premium but covers all accidental health plans.


Find the premium Vs coverage
Next, think about premiums. The premiums will obviously increase with the level of coverage you want. You want an individual health insurance plan that you can afford, but you also want one that offers the coverage you need. Take a look at your budget and decide on a price range with which you’ll be comfortable, i.e. one you can afford without having to take a second job. As you search for your individual health insurance plan, look for policies within this price range. Always make sure the policies you can afford provide the coverage you require.





Research Insurance companies
Finally, do some research on the health insurance companies you’re considering. Just because the company offers an individual health insurance plan that will cover your needs without emptying your pockets doesn’t mean it’s the company with which you should do business. Find the financial rating of each health insurance company by visiting an independent research company’s website. Search for the health insurance company on the Better Business Bureau’s website to find complaints filed against the company. And contact your state’s department of insurance to make sure the health insurance company is licensed to do business in your state.

A final word of caution: What may seem like an affordable individual health insurance plan may actually only be a discount plan. There’s a significant difference between the two, so always ask the representative.