Insurance for Individuals & Families

Health coverage for individuals and families is relatively easy to plan because there are less people to consider.

When buying insurance for an individual or family, the policy is written based on their personal medical conditions. If there is a pre-existing condition, it can make buying individual insurance difficult. Whether a person is accepted for insurance is very unpredictable at times. It may help to know that a person may be accepted for comprehensive insurance, excluding the pre-existing condition. One thing which affects the cost of individual health insurance is smoking—smokers always pay more. Also, there is one single item which creates the most variation in the cost of a policy and that is the deductible.

The amount of the deductible can be changed where the higher the deductible, the lower the premium and vice versa. Other coverages affect the cost of the premium also. Options added to some plans will, of course, raise the premium. Determine your true health needs because some options might not be necessary. Do spend money, however, to ensure your maximum coverage on each claim and maximum coverage over your lifetime are at recommended levels.

Other items that need to be detrmined are co-insurance, copay (at the doctors office) and which carrier network to use.