Renewable

This is an absolute must. Don't buy a policy unless it is guaranteed renewable. What's the point of having insurance that can be taken away from you? What's the point of paying premiums to an insurance company that's going to abandon you at the first sign of trouble? Your policy must not only be renewable it must be renewable at your original rate. The next paragraph is on underwriting which ties in closely with renewability.

Underwriting

Ok, you've got the insurance salesman in front of you and he's assuring you that the policy is renewable. Here's your next question. "Do I have to go through underwriting every time the policy is up for renewal?" Insurance companies use statistical underwriting to set rates. Obviously the older you are the more your insurance will cost. If you have existing medical conditions your policy will cost more. The real catch here is that many insurance companies will underwrite you every year. In other words,at the end of the year you are obviously one year older so your rates go up. Also, if you have developed a serious medical condition during the course of that year your rates will go up. If the insurance company wants to get rid of you, they simply raise your rates to the point that you can't afford them. (This is a trick used by one of the largest health insurance companies in the state of Louisiana. They have a name that's familiar to everybody and a really bad habit of raising rates and canceling people who get really sick.) The point here is this: ask a specific question about this issue, such as: "I'm 30 years old now, will my rates be raised just because I get older and how much does my health factor into it on a year to year basis?" What you want is an issued age policy without underwriting once accepted. That way, you stay in the same class as long as you're with that company, and if you develop an illness like cancer or diabetes your rates will stay the same. This is so important I can't even begin to overemphasize it. Insurance is for protection against really bad and expensive things happening to you. Don't get hung up on cheap doctor visits and prescription drug co-pays. They don't mean a thing if your insurance can be taken away from you or priced out of your reach when you really have to have it.

Cacellation

There are only two reasons an insurance company should be able to cancel you.1) You lied about something on the application or, 2) You didn't pay your premium. That's it. Nothing less is acceptable. Again, if you are presented with an insurance policy that is offering any less than this and you accept it then shame on you. Once again our unnamed large policy issuer in the state of Louisiana can cancel you for stupid reasons like you got a divorce. Here's a really good trick they pull. I'm a married man with a wife and two kids, one of whom has just developed a serious medical condition. On my way home across the Causeway, I get flattened by an 18-wheeler full of Mardi Gras beads. Since I died in the accident, this unnamed insurance company now has the right to cancel the insurance on my wife and kids, regardless of their health. What a bunch of nice guys right? On the other hand, certain insurance companies will not only not cancel them, they'll give them free insurance for a year. Which company would you rather be with?

HMO and Network plans

HMO's and network plans are great if you don't get really sick. The trick here is to understand how an HMO works. Basically the doctor is paid a certain amount of money every month to take care of you. If you don't get sick he makes more money. The less treatment he gives you the more money he makes. Also, he's got somebody standing and looking over his shoulder telling him what he can do for you under certain conditions. His hands are tied. Umpteen years of medical school and some pencil pusher is making his treatment decisions for him. Give yourself an education. Go on the internet to Making a Killing and learn what a wonderful thing HMO's can be. PPO's are just doctor's and hospitals that have agreed to work cheaper. The really alarming thing is that in the case of a serious illness like cancer, you may not be able to go to the facility of your choice, robbing you of the chance to get the best medical care you can. If a doctor told you "Mr. and Mrs. Jones, your baby has a rare form of cancer. If I were you I'd take the baby to M.D Anderson hospital in Texas. They're the best in the country." Better hope your HMO or PPO will pay for it.

PORTABILITY

This is getting to be a bigger and bigger issue because more people move from state to state nowadays. If you buy that network plan you may be stuck in this area. Here you are, your wife has developed diabetes over the last few years you were in your in-state network plan. Donald Trump calls and wants to pay you a million dollars a year as an independent consultant but guess what. You can't go because your wife is costing some serious money and only looks to get worse before she gets better. Bottom Line: If you're buying an individual health policy make sure it's not limited to the area where you live.

Doctor visits

Don't get hung up on this. It's a good benefit if your boss is paying for it but if you're footing the bill it's probably not that great a deal. Like I said earlier, insurance is for the really bad stuff, not routine stuff. Nobody buys insurance in case their house needs to be painted. Why? Because they know it's going to happen. Same with doctor visits. Everybody's gonna get sick with the flu or something sooner or later. Being in the health insurance business I deal with this all the time. You ask somebody what's the most important thing they want in a health plan and they say "Cheap doctor visits." Then you ask them how many times they went to the doctor last year and they say "Oh, I never go to the doctor." Let's face it. Is a few bucks to pay for a doctor visit going to break you? Probably not. Is $18,000.00 to $25000.00 for an average 5-day hospital stay going to be a problem? Probably so.

Request a Quote