Tips on Shopping for Individual Health Insurance

Many people associate health insurance as a benefit that you get in a compensation package from your employer. However, over 46 million people don't have that option and are forced to fend for themselves. The problem with this scenario is that there are more and more people that put off coverage until they can manage it into their budget. Trust me, I can understand wanting to be careful about spending but health insurance isn't a great place to cut costs unless you do it responsibly. Did you know that over 50% of ALL bankruptcies deal with unexpected medical expenses? Most of these bankruptcies happened because people thought that they could put off medical coverage until they needed it. Here's a big problem with that arguement: Once you realize that you NEED it.. for an individual health plan you are now considered "uninsurable". This can be one of the most careless ways to save money and is comparable to buying a lottery ticket for retirement funds. The risk is too great to put your trust in "chance". There is a solution however, and there are many ways that you can have coverage without becoming insurance poor. Here are a few suggestions.

USE A BROKER
Using a broker can be a great way that you can save time and money. A broker is licensed to sell many different companies and their responsibility is to you..not the insurance company. Now, do your homework and find someone that you can trust, but once you do..let them help you through the process. Any time you deal with a broker you are able to get industry experience without the pressure of a sales person. Its like buying a house...you could buy a house without a Realtor, but the likelihood that you are going to end up with crummy options, and a high price is very good. Think about it..you don't buy a house this way and you shouldn't insure you body this way.

RAISE YOUR DEDUCTIBLE
This is an easy way to lower premiums, but you want to be careful and calculate the risk intelligently. If you save $20/month by raising your deductible $5000 and you have an accident you saved $240 and gained $5000. Thats not very good. So be smart and understand that when you raise the deductible you are taking on more financial responsibility.

USE AN HSA
If you are a healthy person or have a healthy family, an HSA is a great option to help you save money. HSA, or Health Savings Accounts, are a tax free savings account that you can use to help pay for medical expenses. These are paired with a high deductible health plan and usually dont have Co-Pays. So only use this option if you can take on more financial responsibility. If you would like to find a calculator that helps to determine whether this makes sense for you simply email me at j.marvin@comparemyinsuranceonline.com.

STAY HEALTHY
This sounds simple, but one of the best ways to prevent huge increases in premium is by participating in prevention medicine. Go in for yearly exams, and do the things that will help you stay in good health. Smoking, or tobacco use increases your premium by 25% minimum, and other weight and health factors will increase your premium as well.

At the end of the day, all people need to have health insurance and putting it off not only puts you at risk, but also the people close to you that would be responsible for paying bills if you cant. If you want a good tool to help you start evaluating prices you can visit our website (www.CompareMyInsuranceOnline.com) and click on the INDIVIDUAL HEALTH link and it will show you all top rated health carriers in Texas. Implementing these simple steps will give you the protection that you need and keeping the price manageable.