Health Insurance can be one of the most frustrating things to shop for.  Trying to understand deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance.  As if you didn’t have enough things to do in your day.  Now you have to try and navigate all this insurance jargon.

With the ever increasing precense of the internet, more and more people are taking the do-it-yourself route when it comes to shopping for insurance.  Whether it’s for their car, their home, or their medical coverage, they enjoy the ease of getting multiple quotes in one place.  I myself have shopped for insurance this way.

I own a small business unrelated.  I was without health insurance.  Prior to getting in to the insurance field, I experienced first hand the frustation of shopping for health insurance.  I would choose the cheapest plan that looked great, office visits, decent deductible.  Only to get a bill from my doctor later, going WTH?  I tried going through a broker.  Maybe my first clue should have been him requesting me to come to his house to discuss coverage.  That plan sucked too.  Of course I didn’t know it until I had to use it.

And there in lies the frustration with health insurance.  While it serves it’s purpose in keeping us financially secure.  My expection of what I was purchasing was not inline with what I was actually getting.

So when I say it’s up to you.  What I mean is that it’s important to ask the right questions.  What does the coverage do if X happens?  What about Y?  If I get cancer is that included in the coverage I purchased?  What about prescription coverage.  I see that it’s included, but do I need to get approval before I go to the pharmacist.

By asking all the right questions up front you can alleviate some of the frustration that you run into on the back end.  Of course when you shop online, who are you going to talk to?  Well, there is a reason why they have a talk to live support on most insurance websites.

Make sure you do you due diligence. If it seems confusing consult a licensed agent.  While most of the time your dealing with guys/gals who are hounding you because of a quote request.  It’s amazing how helpful they will be answer questions when you are calling them.  Agents know their stuff.  Thats why they have a license.  Good luck!

Originally posted 2009-07-09 04:40:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter