Archive for September, 2009

How to Get the Cheapest Health Care Insurance Quote in 3 Easy Steps

Insurance rates have skyrocketed in the last few years. But if you follow these 3 easy steps you can get a cheap health care insurance quote with a top company.

1. Choose the Least Expensive Plan

There are numerous individual and family health care plans available. They range from comprehensive health care plans that cover all your medical needs, to specialized plans that cover particular illnesses or situations.

The first step toward getting affordable health insurance coverage is to pick a plan that best fits your needs.

Here’s a rundown on the major plans …

Comprehensive Plans

  • Fee-for-service plans - These are the traditional plans that cover all your medical needs, from doctor visits and prescription drugs to hospitalization. With these plans you pay a deductible, usually $500 to $1,000 before your insurer will start paying claims, then you pay a co-payment which is usually 20% of the medical bill. Fee-for-service plans allow you to choose your health care provider and are the most expensive plans.
  • Managed health care plans – These plans – HMOs, PPOs, and POSs – also cover all your medical needs. But unlike fee-for-service plans, you’re assigned to a group of hospitals and doctors that you must use. With these plans you pay a small co-payment for each doctor visit, usually $5 to $15, and there are no deductibles to pay. Managed health care plans are the least expensive comprehensive health care plans.

Specialized Plans

If you’re in good health, consider using one of the following plans which are much cheaper than comprehensive plans:

  • Hospital and surgical plans - These plans restrict your coverage to hospital expenses such as surgical costs, room and board, X-rays, and lab tests.
  • Specified disease plans - These plans pay your medical expenses for a particular disease such as AIDS, heart disease, or cancer.
  • Accident only plans - These plans pay for doctor visits, hospital costs, and surgical fees when you’re injured in an accident.

2. Get Quotes

Insurance rates can vary by hundreds of dollars form one company to the next. So whatever plan you choose, get quotes from different insurance companies.

The easiest way to get quotes is to visit an insurance comparison website. Here you can get quotes from a number of A-rated companies in a matter of minutes. You can then compare those quotes and choose the best plan with the best rate.

3. Get a High Deductible

If you choose a plan with a deductible, getting a high deductible can save you hundreds of dollars a month on your premium. Just make sure you have enough money in reserve to cover that deductible.

In time, the money you save on your premium will more than pay for your deductible.

There are many good reasons that people take out life insurance policies. They want to leave money behind for their children when they pass away. They want to make sure those they love do not struggle to pay off their debts or pay for their burial when they pass away. It all comes down to the desire to make sure others are cared for when you have to leave them, but there are many circumstances in which it is more realistic or valuable to go through with a life insurance settlement than to continue to pay for the policy.

For instance, many people are falling on hard times right now and finding themselves desperate for money. They may still wish very much to care for their children and loved ones in the future, but their current survival has to take precedence in the moment.

Others may experience the death of a child which was their sole beneficiary or similar circumstances may make them second guess leaving the money to their beneficiary.

In all of these circumstances, the only way to stop paying for the whole life insurance policy and get the money that is needed is to opt for a life insurance settlement.

A settlement essentially means the policy is traded in for the real cash value. This value can be determined and cashed out either by the insurance company who issued the policy or a third party investor of some sort.

This is the only way to get out of a life insurance policy short of stopping payments and allowing it to expire. With that method you lose everything you have invested in the policy, so a settlement is the only option that makes any sense.

If you want to find a good company to complete your life insurance settlement and turn your policy into cash, look around online and get a few quotes. You will find many businesses currently looking for this type of negotiation.