- Step 1
Have the following information available before be for searching for affordable health
care insurance on line:
Who will be needing the insurance?
What are the birth dates of the people to insure?
What are the SocialSecurity Numbers of insured? (not all require it)
Are their any pre-exisiting medical conditions?
Is anyone a smoker? (Smokers generally pay a higher insurance premium than non-smokers) - Step 2
Online comparisons for health insurance companies are available at eHealthInsurance, InsureMe and Health Insurance Direct. With eHealthInsurance, Insure Me and Health Insurance Direct, you can find affordable health insurance with the click of just a few buttons.
You will be able to compare plan prices for a single person health insurance, couple health insurance and family health insurance.
See resources below for direct link to eHealthInsurance, InsureMe and Health Insure Direct. - Step 3
Cinergy Health Care - Some insurance policies at Cinergy cost as little as $6.00 a day (under $200 a month) for health insurance. Some people with pre-existing health conditions will have to wait a period of 6 months before approval.
Before signing up for Cinergy, be sure this is the best insurance for you by comparing health care insurance plans in step 2. - Step 4
If you cannot afford any health insurance plan and are in need of medical care, be sure to visit free clinics for your health care. Do not let your medical needs go without professional medical attention.
Rabu, 10 Februari 2010
How to Get The Best Price on Health Insurance
How to Get Health Insurance
- Step 1
Sign on with the health insurance provided by your employer: it is likely to be the cheapest option you can find. Search for your own insurance if you're self-employed, or if your company doesn't offer it.
- Step 2
Investigate coverage under COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985) if you've recently left your employer. Through COBRA you can extend your coverage for 18 months beyond your separation date, though you have to pay the premium yourself.
- Step 3
Find a health insurance broker to compare plans and costs for you. The National Association of Health Underwriters (nahu.org) can help find one in your area.
- Step 4
Purchase a fee-for-service plan. The biggest plus is that you have complete control over which doctor you see and determine for yourself when you need to see a specialist. However, there is a significant out-of-pocket cost for this kind of care, the premiums are generally higher, and if your doctor charges more than what is considered customary, you may have to shell out additionally for that care as well.
- Step 5
Sign up for a managed care plan where your insurance provider determines which doctors you can see. There are three basic kinds of managed care:
- Step 6
Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) have a list of doctors to select from when choosing a physician who will be your first contact for health
care . If you see doctors in your insurer's network, you pay a low co-payment. However, if you see a physician not in the network, your co-pay is higher. You also generally don't need prior approval to see a specialist--PPOs give you the most flexibility but cost more in monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs. - Step 7
Point-of-service (POS) networks are similar to PPOs, except that your primary care physician makes decisions about which specialists you can and can't see. You can still see a physician outside the POS network, but face higher fees and more paperwork to do so.
- Step 8
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are the most restrictive, yet least expensive managed care programs. Most require that you see a doctor in their network, but offer low or no copays in exchange. Many HMOs also require you to see your primary care physician before getting referred to a specialist.
- Step 9
Find out if benefits are limited for preexisting conditions, or if you have to wait for a period of time before you're fully covered. Other plans may completely exclude coverage of preexisting conditions.
- Step 10
Compare the prescription drug coverage offered by various plans. Many plans have tiered benefit systems, and usually offer a preferred list of prescriptions that have a lower co-pay. Search for any medication you are taking on this list; drugs not on the list can have a co-pay that is twice as high. Also, see if any plans limit the amounts of new prescriptions or refills on a given drug.
- Step 11
Check to make sure your regular doctors are on your plan's preferred provider list. All plans provide a database of their provider list on their Web site. Go with a plan that lists most or all of your regular doctors. Be aware that most PPOs will pay up to 20 percent less for out-of-network doctors.
- Step 12
Investigate what sorts of delays you may encounter with managed care. Some plans are notorious about keeping members waiting to see a doctor. Ask a doctor you intend to visit how long a typical wait is before you choose a plan.
- Step 13
Shop around. Call several agents and compare policies and premiums.
- Step 14
Look into other potential sources for health insurance. Alumni associations, professional groups, fraternal organizations and other associations often offer health coverage to their members.
- One way to hold down the cost of a fee-for-service plan is by increasing your deductible. This is the amount you must pay before any coverage applies.
- Make certain your policy has a guaranteed renewal clause. It ensures that you can renew your coverage as long as you like. It also prevents your insurer from dropping your policy or raising your premiums if you get sick.
- Pay attention to the maximum coverage amount. Avoid any policy that doesn't cover at least $1 million in healthcare costs.
States with Highest Car Insurance Prices
Every six months to a year, drivers voluntarily or, in some states are required to, play Premium Poker: the high-stakes game in which you bet your driving fortunes against the car insurance companies, all of which have better hands than you do.
Even in these days of almost universal nationwide mandatory coverage, about 15 percent of motorists drive uninsured, according to Insurance Research Council estimates. "The problem of uninsured motorists persists," said Elizabeth A. Sprinkel, IRC senior vice resident. "Responsible drivers who purchase insurance end up paying for injuries caused by uninsured drivers."
Other unofficial estimates of uninsured drivers, which include illegal aliens, the underage, elderly, medically unfit and disqualified individuals who are driving, put the total at a much higher level than the quoted 15 percent. An even more frightening recent GMAC study found that one in six licensed drivers currently on the road are unfit to drive. It is estimated that 600,000 drivers in New Jersey alone are hitting the roads without car insurance. However, they (the car insurance agencies) know that sooner or later the odds catch up with nearly everyone, and your chances of making it through your driving years without a major automotive incident are outstandingly rare. Last year there were there were 5,930,182 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, resulting in an average of one fatality every 12 minutes (every 31 minutes in alcohol-related crashes), an injury every 12 seconds, and 4,181,000 cases of property damage.
Even more sobering, is the U.S. Department of Transportation's estimate that an additional 10,000,000 crashes go unreported, many because the drivers have no car insurance and just as many because the drivers are trying to avoid a possible increase in their car insurance prices due to the accident.
So what makes up the cost of your car insurance prices? There are four basic standards:
•Who you are: age, occupation, marital status, geographic location, medical condition.
•What you drive: SUV, sports car, minivan, luxury sedan, high performance model, truck.
•How you drive: tickets, DUIs, accidents, high mileage.
•Where you drive: high crime and crowded urban areas, suburban town, rural and wide open spaces.
There are multiple other factors punched into the cost calculator: is your vehicle financed so the cost can be recovered if totaled; what safety equipment does it have (side impact airbags and curtain airbags are much better); driver education courses taken; history of illnesses which could affect driving safety and that occupational information which shows some drivers (like professors and engineers have) as a sub-culture with much better driving records than, let's say, young, blonde celebrities and aging movie stars.
There can also be a credit check and another verification to see if you are one of the 36 million licensed Americans who have been judged unfit to drive in a study by GMAC, the 2007 Insurance National Drivers Test. That probe found that one in six current drivers could not pass a written DMV exam if taken today. The worst odds of running into one, or perhaps one of them running into you, are on the East Coast, while your chances of fewer encounters would be among the best-educated drivers in Idaho and Oregon.
With all of those factors stacked against your chances of continuing to drive without incident or accident, there are things you can do to lower your car insurance prices, like not driving drunk and giving up street-model NASCARs. Then again, there are those you can't control, like where you drive.
Of course if you decide to move in order to lower auto insurance costs, here are some actual numbers to juggle:
The national average annual outlay for liability coverage alone was projected to be $847 for 2007, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The estimate was based on combined stats of the institute and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an organization which assists state regulators. It does not include collision or comprehensive coverage.
Car insurance figures like those can be misleading. For example, consider the highway robbery for drivers in major urban areas. According to Insurance.com, drivers in Detroit, Philadelphia, Newark, New York and Los Angeles were paying, from $5,984 to $3,303 a year, in that order as of February 2006, for $100/300/50* liability, $500 deductible each for collision and comprehensive and $100/300* for uninsured. These multi-thousand-dollar car insurance prices are due, to higher density of traffic, increased likelihood of theft or vandalism and greater incidence of fraudulent claims, according to insurers.
The good news about auto insurance costs is that despite the increasing costs of medical care and vehicle repair plus cumulative weather-related damage such as the Katrina disaster, car insurance experts have anticipated a drop in rates. The Insurance Information Institute forecast a drop of 0.5 percent in 2007, once again, for liability coverage alone. That would be the first decrease since 1999.
Making state-by state comparisons is trickier, however, as the official Insurance Information Institute premium charts are only as recent as 2004; the highest car insurance price for that year was $1,221.08 in New Jersey, the lowest, $579.95 in Iowa.
Below are the most up-to-date state figures from the Mid-Year Auto Insurance Pricing Report by Insurance.com. It's based on car insurance quotes given to consumers by participating auto insurance companies in the 47 states where Insurance.com operates, plus the aggregate profile of consumers who shop using their Web site.
The cost of getting caught driving without auto insurance can vary from state to state, depending on the percentage of drivers who are uninsured in that state. In Massachusetts, residents can be charged anywhere from $500 to $5,000 in fines and receive a one-year jail sentence. In Florida, Louisiana, Connecticut and New Jersey, drivers operating a vehicle without the state required minimum will have their vehicles impounded, which can cost thousands depending on how long it takes to recover the vehicle.
Finally, even though there remain two states –New Hampshire and Wisconsin -- which do not require motorists to carry liability insurance, all 50 have some auto insurance requirement about. In many states, motorists can't register a car without showing proof of liability insurance. In others, they don't ask for proof of car insurance until drivers have accidents or tickets on their records. Read More......
Tips to Avoiding Health Insurance Fraud
Thousands of people fall victim to health insurance fraud every day. It can be extremely difficult to spot the fraud until it's too late. In many cases, it's not until you are denied a claim that find out you've joined the growing list of victims of this especially unpleasant form of fraud.
The biggest obstacle in combating health insurance fraud is the variety of techniques being perpetrated. Most are cleverly carried out and very difficult to spot. However, there are a few things that you should do in order to protect yourself and your family.
1. Be wary of any health insurance plan that promises you excellent insurance coverage at an extremely low cost. For years, medical procedures and other health-related costs have been continuously rising. Health insurance, in whatever form you purchase it, isn't a "cheap" item. If you are offered insurance coverage at a price appearing too good to be true, chances are you've stumbled across a possible scam.
2. Be suspicious of any unsolicited mail that offers you low cost insurance. Your alert level should be heightened if those offers come from an insurance provider whose name you don't recognize. Scammers are particularly adept at using names or brands that closely resemble popular national names, but after closer inspection, you'll find they have been spelled slightly different.
If you are not certain about an insurance provider, but feel that they could be genuine and honest, check the State Insurance Commission to verify first. You will also want to be sure the company has been licensed to sell insurance in your city or state.
3. Before you accept an offer that seems to be genuine, read it through closely and pay extra attention to all fine print. Even if an insurance offer is proven to be genuine, the fine print may detail numerous exclusions affecting your needs. This turns a great offer into a very expensive one should you ever need to file a claim.
4. If a salesperson calls with a great health insurance offer, but urges you to either pay up front, or to pay in cash, immediately hang up. This type of advance fee tactic is the most common form of health insurance fraud.
Insurance Principles
This is understandable because they do not know the basic principles of insurance companies work, so the amount of sum assured in excess of the amount of money given the premium is considered only the lure to get people to buy insurance.
In the community have been subjected to regular social fund contributions, the amount varies every month. Dues are useful when there are community members who are sick or died will receive compensation.
The principle of insurance work exactly like that. What can be done by people named as customary insurance. The amount is not how but there seemed to get welfare money.
In a larger scale, society is coordinated by the insurance company to pay a premium (= contribution) according to the size and ability will get compensation according to the amount of premium paid and expected by the existence of this allowance, the family left behind by customers, can continue his life properly.
Responsibility of a head of household is making sure his family can live though it was not feasible to assist.
How do you think? Read More......
