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
Contact Us Today For Ad Information... Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... What is auto insurance? Auto insurance (or car insurance, motor... Read More If you're self-employed and facing high health insurance bills, there... Read More Auto Insurance rates are a complicated business. Have you ever... Read More Most of you have heard about "consumer directed health plans".... Read More Cheap insurance? Auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, liability insurance... Read More Risk ManagementAlternate Risk Transfer is a fancy way of saying... Read More When purchasing New Jersey car insurance there are many decisions... Read More So, you've decided to purchase life insurance. Well then, you... Read More OK, you take that stroll down to the mailbox excitedly... Read More Finding auto insurance quotes online is easy, but finding the... Read More UK car insurance companies make substantial profits every year because... Read More The insurance policy is a package that includes more than... Read More When I suddenly had to become a fulltime caregiver to... Read More There are 6 different types of homeowners insurance in general... Read More By searching online for life insurance, you can get a... Read More Some business relationships are forged through blood and friendship. When... Read More Insurance is always a gamble, a bet actually.You are betting... Read More With Nursing home Cost's running $4,000 to $6,000 a month... Read More What is a deductible? A deductible is the amount you... Read More At first glance, homeowners insurance may seem perplexing and quite... Read More Here are some useful tips on how to reduce Home... Read More Mortgage insurance, to pay off a mortgage, is something you'll... Read More Finding discount auto insurance is so easy when you do... Read More If you decide not to do a car insurance comparison... Read More In their efforts to cut costs more and more finance... Read More
Cheap Domain Names
Auto Insurance Primer
Self Employed Health Insurance - Tips For Getting Cheap Health Insurance When Youre Self Employed
Who Sets Auto Insurance Rates?
Consumer Directed Health Plans
Cheap Insurance - Ten Ways
Alternate Risk Transfer (ART) - Insurance Strategies
New Jersey Car Insurance - What Do You Need To Know About It?
Affordable Life Insurance!
What Are The Differences Between A Cancellation Notice And Non-renewal Notice?
Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes ? Tips For Getting The Lowest Rate
Dont Just Accept Your Car Insurance Renewal Quote
Basic Coverage of Homeowner Insurance Policies
Long-Term Care Insurance: Eldercare Solution
Types of Homeowner Insurance
A Free Term Life Insurance Quote Is Only Easy To Obtain
We Dont Need Another Broker: How To Get The Best Liability Insurance Rates Available
Why Dont Insurance Companies Reward Us for Being Healthy?
Long Term Care Insurance - Low Cost Alternatives For Budget Conscious Seniors!
Should You Have Higher Deductibles On Your Coverage?
Homeowners Insurance at a Glance
How to Reduce Home Insurance Premiums
Mortgage Insurance Plans: How Good Is Yours?
Discount Auto Insurance - Keep Your Hard-Earned Money
Need A Car Insurance Comparison? Dont Have Time?
Poor call centre performances driving motorists online for insurance
Contact Us Today For Ad Information... California high risk truck insuranceIf your are in need of... Read More When it comes to your family, selecting the right health... Read More The Life Settlement market is all about providing due access... Read More With a life insurance settlement, seniors now have the ability... Read More So, you've decided to purchase life insurance. Well then, you... Read More Risk ManagementAlternate Risk Transfer is a fancy way of saying... Read More Most of us don't like thinking about our own funerals,... Read More Getting your business up and running is exciting, challenging and... Read More Car insurance rates are prohibitive nowadays. Many families really struggle... Read More Aren't all travel insurance plans basically the same?No. When you... Read More In the United States most companies offer their employees dental... Read More Here comes the insurance adjuster. Is he overly friendly? If... Read More Life insurance is a type of protection that can be... Read More There is always a chance that there is a better... Read More Here is a useful guide to life insurance. Simply put,... Read More Drivers are applying for auto insurance online not just for... Read More It seems as though the price of everything is on... Read More If you are in the market to purchase your own... Read More Catering truck insuranceNot many agents/brokers write catering truck insurance as... Read More When deciding on the appropriate amount of homeowner's insurance coverage... Read More If you're trying to decide between health insurance plans, you'll... Read More Not a year goes by that insurance rates go up.... Read More One of the things that is important to consider when... Read More Health Insurance For Seniors On The NetWhen a good friend... Read More Here's the good news: with improvements in medical technology and... Read More
Affordable and Reliable Web
Hosting Starting
Finding California High Risk Truck Insurance
Health Insurance for the Beginner
Life Settlement: Towards A Free Market for Life Insurance
Life Settlements, More than a Cash Surrender Payout
Affordable Life Insurance!
Alternate Risk Transfer (ART) - Insurance Strategies
Canadian Funeral Insurance: Our Final Gift to Those We Love
Business Insurance ? And What You Need To Know
Car Insurance Rates ? Can You Lower Them?
Who Else Wants to Understand Travel Insurance Policy Language?
Can I Get Affordable Dental Care?
Insurance Adjusters How They Work And How They Think
Everything You Need to Know About Life Insurance
Discount Life Insurance Will Give You The Best Protection You Need
Guide to Life Insurance
Car Insurance Online ? Benefits of Applying for Auto Insurance Online
How Do I Lower My Auto Insurance Premiums?
Health Insurance And Insurance Brokers
California Catering Truck Insurance
Homeowners Insurance Coverage
Medical Insurance - Health Insurance Coverage & Plans Explained
7 Tips Toward Helping You Reduce Your Insurance Costs
Affordable Health Insurance - Health Insurance For The Self Employed
Senior Health Care Insurance
Taking The Mystery Out Of Long-Term Care Insurance
Insurance |