Friday, February 16, 2007
Self Employed Health Insurance - The Cheap, The Expensive, and the Downright Ugly
If you are self employed and in need of health insurance then you have an abundance of choices ahead of you. There is individual health insurance, small group health insurance, discount plans, association benefits, and then of course the actual choosing of the best insurance company and the most comprehensive plan – all without breaking your budget! Just as it is key to get everything in just the right order when starting out on your own and forming your own business so too it is key to do a little research right now and figure out which type of health care coverage is best for you and your loved ones. Here is a quick primer:
If you are healthy and no one in your immediate family that will be on the coverage is pregnant then this is almost always the way to go. Why? Everything else being equal, individual health insurance is roughly half the cost of a comparable group health insurance plan due to the differences in underwriting (that is why if you are healthy then by all means take advantage of your good fortune and compare quotes to find some very attractive low rates).
Small Group Health Insurance
Most states require at least 2 people to form a small group although there are some exceptions so you if you are a sole proprietor and running out of options request quotes and speak with an agent that is knowledgeable about self employed health insurance. As stated earlier, group health insurance is much more expensive than individual health. However, the positive side is that even if you have a major health issue in your past they cannot turn you down and exclude that issue as a pre-existing condition (you must have had continuous coverage up to that point and other criteria sometimes apply differing from state to state).
Discount Health Plans
Stay away from these at all costs. If you find yourself backed into a corner and cannot obtain anything else I would even go so far as to say that you probably should sacrifice in other areas rather than taking the risk that all of your assets could be attached due to an unfortunate large medical bill (if you are doing business as a sole proprietor then you deserve a double dose of warning – request quotes in your area for an HSA or other high deductible health plan to save money on your monthly premiums).
Association Benefits
You may often see these type of self employed associations pushed upon you by unscrupulous agents who are after a large commission. If an agent tells you that this is the only way to get lower rates or to qualify for special tax benefits then run! They are misrepresenting the facts. Regardless of whether you join an association, choose individual health insurance or group health insurance – so long as you have some schedule C income then you will be able to deduct 100% of your health insurance premiums up to your net schedule C income. (Tax laws change and your specific situation needs specific attention so speak with a qualified CPA or other financial advisor).
Your Health Insurance and your Vacation: What to Know Before you Go
Florida Health Insurance Agents
There are a number of different types of health insurance agents in the state of Florida. Independent health insurance agents and captive health insurance agents comprise the two main categories of health insurance agents in Florida. Learning some of the differences between the two types of health insurance agents can greatly help you in choosing what type of Florida health insurance agent can best meet your health insurance needs.
First of all, there are many outstanding Florida insurance agents that are captive agents just as there are many outstanding Florida insurance agents that are independent agents. It should go without saying that you want to work with a health insurance agent that actually lives in Florida, handles himself/herself in a professional and ethical manner, and looks out for your best interests. Contrasting the pros and cons of both Florida independent insurance agents and Florida captive insurance agents should not be misconstrued as a positive or negative outlook on a specific individual agent or his/her character and business practices.
That being said, there are many advantages to working with an independent health insurance agent as opposed to working with a captive health insurance agent. Why is that? First of all, let's define both a captive insurance agent and an independent insurance agent so that we have a clear understanding of what each term means.
A captive health insurance agent is an agent that is held "captive" by one specific health insurance company. That captive agent can only work with that one health insurance company and can only sell health insurance products from that particular health insurance company. All of this is specified in the agentэs contract and to attempt to sell a product from another health insurance company is not possible.
An independent health insurance agent is an agent that is not tied to working with only one particular health insurance company. An independent health insurance agent typically has a contract with 3-5 of the top health insurance companies that offer coverage in the agentэs state (some independent agent's have contracts with even more than 5 insurance companies - although the level of quality of the health insurance companies begin to drop off quite significantly after the top 3-5). Independent health insurance agents have many more options available to them that they are able to offer to their clients than does the typical captive health insurance agent.
Usualy see this links:
First of all, there are many outstanding Florida insurance agents that are captive agents just as there are many outstanding Florida insurance agents that are independent agents. It should go without saying that you want to work with a health insurance agent that actually lives in Florida, handles himself/herself in a professional and ethical manner, and looks out for your best interests. Contrasting the pros and cons of both Florida independent insurance agents and Florida captive insurance agents should not be misconstrued as a positive or negative outlook on a specific individual agent or his/her character and business practices.
That being said, there are many advantages to working with an independent health insurance agent as opposed to working with a captive health insurance agent. Why is that? First of all, let's define both a captive insurance agent and an independent insurance agent so that we have a clear understanding of what each term means.
A captive health insurance agent is an agent that is held "captive" by one specific health insurance company. That captive agent can only work with that one health insurance company and can only sell health insurance products from that particular health insurance company. All of this is specified in the agentэs contract and to attempt to sell a product from another health insurance company is not possible.
An independent health insurance agent is an agent that is not tied to working with only one particular health insurance company. An independent health insurance agent typically has a contract with 3-5 of the top health insurance companies that offer coverage in the agentэs state (some independent agent's have contracts with even more than 5 insurance companies - although the level of quality of the health insurance companies begin to drop off quite significantly after the top 3-5). Independent health insurance agents have many more options available to them that they are able to offer to their clients than does the typical captive health insurance agent.
Usualy see this links:
5 Things you Must Know Before you Choose your Health Insurance!
Be Careful, Don’t be Victimized by Health Insurance Fraud!
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