| |
| |
|
Insurance Information | Mommy Home Jobs |
|
|
|
Health Insurance And Insurance Brokers
If you are in the market to purchase your own health insurance coverage you can save yourself precious time and money by shopping and comparing policies right online. Sites dedicated to giving you quotes on various types of insurance make it very easy for you to get an idea of what your coverage and costs will be. However, please be forewarned that there are some pitfalls in using an insurance broker as I discovered within the past year. As a self employed person, I carry my own health and life insurance for my family. When making the move from New Jersey to North Carolina in 2004 I knew two things about our health insurance: 1. I would have to shop for a health insurance provider covering North Carolina. 2. Rates would be cheaper than in New Jersey, with costs being about half of what I had been paying and with slight better coverage. Several weeks before we moved I contacted a well known internet insurance broker and received quotes. We selected one company and received the paperwork from the broker about ten days before our move. Quite frankly, I wish I had started the process a little earlier as all of our free time was dedicated toward preparing and making the move. So, I ended up packing the paperwork with my personal stuff and was only able to fill it out and submit it one week after our arrival in North Carolina. Dealing with the online insurance broker was a simple task, but I soon discovered that they were an extra step in the application process, one that only slowed down our approval. Once the paperwork was received by the broker, they acknowledged the same via email and mentioned that they would review our package before forwarding it to the health insurance company. Over the next couple of weeks we received messages from the insurance broker stating the following: 1. We are in the process of reviewing your application. 2. We have sent your application off to the insurance company. 3. The insurance company has your application and will be reviewing it in about one week. 4. The insurance company expects a delay in reviewing your application due to the high volume of applications received. 5. Please do not contact the insurance company directly; we will keep you posted as to the status of your application. Yeah, right. Originally, we were assured by the insurance broker that the health insurance company would review and approve our application within two weeks. Follow up phone calls by us to the broker along with several exchanges of emails revealed that this was not going to happen. In addition, when we contacted the health insurance company directly - at the encouragement of the broker - the health insurance company had difficulty finding our application. Within a few days the application was found sitting in another department; our contact at the health insurance company blamed the broker for sending the information to the wrong address. As it turned out, the original insurance quote we received online was off by just over 20%. Once the health insurance company determined that certain pre existing conditions needed to be factored in our rates rose accordingly. Of course, when working with the internet broker we knew that the rate quoted wasn't 'absolute' but the big jump was still a bitter pill to swallow. Among our thoughts at that point in the process were: 1. Had we known ahead of time that our "final rate" would be so high, we would have shopped around some more. 2. Because of the delays and the passage of time, we needed to complete the application process as our coverage with the NJ health provider would need to be canceled, preferably by the end of the year. By the middle of December, a full ten weeks after we submitted our paperwork, we received official notification that our application was approved and that we were covered. During the last couple of weeks of the lengthy application process we contacted the health insurance company directly several times to learn what the status of our application was. At no time during the process were we assured that we would receive approval; essentially we were told that coverage would begin pending approval. In conclusion, I offer the following recommendations for shopping for health insurance: 1. Comparison shop online. Get quotes through the online brokers to get a general idea of what your costs will be. If you have pre-existing conditions, the prices quoted will not be reflected in your quote. 2. Narrow down the list of companies quoted to three and then contact them directly. Bypass the broker as they are an unnecessary additional step in what certainly is not a quick approval process. 3. If you need insurance by a particular date, apply well in advance to allow for delays, for misplaced paperwork, changes in your application, etc. Our insurance coverage was approved effective a specific date, but we were able to move it to another date to coincide with the dropping of our NJ health care provider. In all, the experience was wearisome at times and a real eye opener. I know you see ads all the time for online insurance quotes. I am not saying to avoid the sites, but please consider what we went through before using an online broker exclusively. Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful web design and marketing company based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net and the Aviation Employment Board at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.net
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Life Insurance: Who Needs It And How Much Do You Need? Your friendly, neighborhood life insurance agent is most likely to answer this question with the word "everybody."The fact is, not everybody does need life insurance. Car and Home Insurance Northern Ireland Don't skimp on insurance. This probably doesn't sound like a way to save money. Saving on Home Insurance: Tips for Cutting Costs Everyone is searching for a way of cutting costs, a method to lower their overall monetary expenses. Saving on home insurance is a reasonable, viable option when choosing to take control of your finances. Why Should You Purchase Your Auto Insurance Online? If you're interested in slashing your auto insurance bill in half then there's no reason why you shouldn't consider purchasing auto insurance online. Buying your auto insurance online is extremely easy and very convenient. Car Insurance Monitoring for Discounted Insurance Rates - Privacy Devouring Monster Eating Us One Bi For a price, would you let car insurer along for the ride? - asks a USA Today technology story by Kevin Maney. It seems that Progressive Insurance and IBM have worked out a scheme to pay drivers to be safer - by monitoring their every move in their own cars, and how fast they make that move, and where they park, and what time they drive. Life Settlement: Towards A Free Market for Life Insurance The Life Settlement market is all about providing due access to needed cash from existing life insurance.This so-called free market referred to as the life insurance industry's secondary market is based on a central premise, namely that the value of life insurance is best determined by independent market forces and has been validated in recent years by its rapid growth. Flat Insurance in the UK What are the factors involved in flat insurance? Do I need to provide both buildings and contents cover? Who will cover shared flats or flats with student tenants?The responsibility to insure the building fabric of a flat lies with the freeholder. This means that if you own your flat on a leasehold basis then you only need to insure the contents. Life Insurance Benefits Life Insurance is a legal contract between you and a life insurance company with the purpose of providing an income to spouse, children or other beneficiaries in the event of your death.There are two different categories of Life Insurance. Need Low-cost Temporary Family Health Insurance? Many families will find themselves without medical coverage at some point in their lives. So, what do you do if you find yourself in this situation? Here are some thing that you should consider when purchasing quality, low-cost temporary family health insurance. Insurance or Assurance - Do You Need Reassurance? Insurance versus assurance: what is the difference?Should you care?Yes!!The world of finance is extremely complicated and there are many factors to consider when choosing any financial protection product.When looking for a policy you need to know what you are looking for and what is on offer in order that you get the right cover for your needs. Understanding How Your Credit History May Affect Your Car Insurance Coverage Many personal auto insurance companies consider your credit information when determining how much premium to charge for your insurance. So if you are calling around for new insurance, keep in mind that many insurers are looking at your credit history. Term Life Insurance Quotes for Singles Term life insurance quotes are rarely a concern of single people, but they should be. Unfortunately, there is a misconception that term life is something owned only by families in the event that the chief breadwinner dies. Life Insurance Without Life Value: Why Young People Are Snubbing Financial Advice This article is written by a 27 year old female (borderline Generation X / Y) called Rachel. Rachel spent six years at university, has no outstanding debts with the exception of government student loans. High Deductible Health Insurance Plans For Individuals and Families Do you pay more attention to your car than your body? You change your oil every 3000 to 4000 miles. You have your tires rotated every other oil change. What to Look for in Good Health Insurance Health insurance is a kind of protection that provides payment of benefits for covered sickness or injury. Included in health insurance are various types of insurance such as accident insurance, disability income insurance, medical expense insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Consumer Driven Health Plans [ CDHP ] Do you know that skyrocketing health care costs have been draining the federal government and employer's exchequers over the last couple of years? The health care costs account for 15.5 percent of U. Which Car Should You Own To Keep Your Insurance Rates Most Affordable? Do you consider the cost of insurance before you buy your dream car? You should. The Highway Loss Data Institute analyzes the cost to insurance companies from theft, collision, and injury claims as they relate to cars. Cheap Term Life Insurance is Available Everywhere Cheap term life insurance is easier to get than most people think. Dealing with a life insurance company has been made much simpler thanks to the Internet. Insure Your House When we talk about insurance the thing you have to remember is that always the price of your house must be higher then the value of the mortgage. This is not a hard thing to take care of if you like your house and care about the quality of your life. 5 Strategies To Reduce Your Car Insurance Premiums Your latest car insurance bill has arrived and it is not a pretty site. In fact, it is downright ugly! What can you do? Must you remain hostage to the ever spiraling rate increases foisted upon you when your policy renews? In a word, no.
|
| Mommy Home Jobs | Mommy Matters | index | site map |
| Copyright © MommyHomeJobs.com |
