Individual Or Group Health Insurance?

By J.D Theis

Health insurance is a necessity. Even though you rarely get sick, you don't know when a serious illness will strike or an accident will happen to you. The insurance is the safety net of the insured person because it will help cover high medical costs and health related expenses like diagnosis tests, doctor consultation, prescription drugs, regular check-ups, serious illness, etc. Instead of paying the full amount, he will only pay a nominal fee.

People who have insurance pay the premium monthly or quarterly for future coverage benefits and given health insurance identity card to be presented to a hospital, doctor, or medical facility.

One advice to insurance shoppers is to know the options available for them. There are two insurance options for an individual. There is the individual insurance and the group insurance.

Individual insurance applies only to one person. A person who is not eligible for group policy opts for this such as those who are self-employed, working part time, unemployed, not covered by employer, students and retirees who are ineligible yet for Medicare.

It is more expensive than a group insurance. The choices for this are health maintenance organizations (HMOs), point-of-service plans (POS), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), and fee for service or indemnity plan.

This is also called a private coverage. The insurance is obtained directly from an insurance company.

Group insurance covers a select group of people who gets the same benefits such as employees of a business, association, employer group or union. This is usually offered as benefits by employers to their employees.

It is cheaper compared to individual insurance plans because the risk is shared by group members. The choices for this are health maintenance organizations (HMOs), point-of-service plans (POS), and preferred provider organizations (PPOs).

One of the benefits of this plan is that when the costs of premiums are shouldered by the insurer, premiums become deductibles and the benefits received by the group is tax free. It is more restrictive than individual insurance because an employer may choose what type of plan the group gets.

When buying insurance plans, it is always important to check the reliability of the company. Negotiate only with a state licensed company because it is your health and money that is involved. Moreover, the policy's terms and conditions must be read so you will know its limitations. Consider also the premiums and deductibles.

To find a cheaper insurance, compare rates from different insurance providers through subscribing to health insurance quotes. - 29970

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