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How to Find Affordable Health Insurance

Do these words really fit together: affordable health insurance? Most people don't think so anymore. Health insurance monthly premiums have become the biggest single expense in our lives - surpassing even mortgage payments. And that's just the beginning. If you have a family history of diseases such as cancer or any recurring health problens such as asthma or diabetes, your monthly premium could easily exceed BOTH your mortgage payment AND your car payment.

Just trying to find affordable health insurance can seem like a trek to find the Holy Grail. Did you used to have health insurance benefits where you work (or used to work) and now have to cover everything yourself? Now, you might find think that you can't afford the same level of coverage that you are accustomed to (especially if you used to be a federal or state employee.)

All that being said, if you understand how to look for it and where to look, you can definitely find affordable health insurance. Just don't confuse "affordable" with "cheap".

Of course, your an extremely important factor is price because, after all, you are looking for "affordable health insurance." But, even more importantly, you want a company that has a good record for paying without fighting with you on every detail. There is affordable health insurance for any budget just as there are affordable cars for any budget. Of course, you probably won't be able to afford the BMW policy (otherwise you would never have searched for "affordable" in the first place, right?) but you can find a "no frills" policy.

Shopping for health insurance on the internet is the easiest and best way to find affordable health insurance. Here are five reasons why.

1. To submit claims to your insurance company, you no longer need a local agent. Today, there is no "middle man" anymore because your doctor or hospital bills your insurance company directly. This saves your insurance company money as they do not have to pay agent commissions and they pass a savings on to you between 8-12%.

2. Want thorough information about all of the insurance companies that you are considering? Just jump on Google or Yahoo and within seconds you'll have it. Since local agents can only represent a few insurance companies, generally they point you to the best health insurance product for your health and financial needs (unless their product is actually the best.)

3. In addition, because it is so easy and quick for customers to compare rates online, health insurance companies strive to be extremely competitive. Got a couple of weeks to find the best insurance deal? Well, that's what it took to get the best deal before the internet came along. Driving all over town. Meeting with a dozen agents. What a pain in the ass! Thank God for the internet!

4. You can save hours upon hours whenever you need to change your payment options, deductibles and coverage. Just hop online and fill out some forms rather than mailing it all to your local agent who often made mistakes since it wasn't as importat to them as it is to you. Whew! What timesaver.

5. Charging to a credit card means you aren't going to forget a payment and be without insurance. Also, it gives you another 30 days before you actually have to pay. Also, many companies today give an additional discount for "auto-pay".

Realizing that health insurance's main function is to protect you from a heavy financial loss rather than protecting you from spending money on splinter removal is the single most important secret to finding affordable health insurance. They might be a bit of a pain in the ass, but little things like these won't hurt you or your family too much financially. It might mean one less night out per month but no more. What will break you financially is the $100,000 heart attack. That's the financial disaster health insurance was originally designed to prevent.

Keep in mind that for you, as in gambling, insurance is a hedge bet. You are gambling that you will draw out more than you pay in. From the customer's POV, this is a good enough way to grasp the situation. This may seem to be how things work but it's not entirely correct.

Most people draw an analogy between the insurance company and a casino, so let's use that example. Most people think that when they place a bet on their team that they are betting against the casino. This is not true. In fact, what really happens is that they are not betting against the casino but rather people that are betting for the other team. The casino simply sets the lines to balance the action on both sides and collect a small fee called "the vig".

Much the same, the insurance company is not betting against you when you purchase insurance. Actually, insurance companies determine the average cost per person by averaging the cost of a large yet similar group. How it works is that over time, the insurance company knows that the average payment will cover the same group with some being paid more and others less. And just like the casino taking their vig for managing the bet, the insurance company charges their fee for managing the group fund. Therefore, you are really betting against other people in your group. Essentially, you are betting that you will need the insurance more than they will need it. This is what the insurance industry calls the "law of large numbers" and is what really makes affordable health insurance possible.

Last but not least (in fact most importantly), do not think that "cheap" and "affordable" are synonymous. A Toyota Camry is "affordable". A Yugo is "cheap". There is some truth to the old saying that "You get what you pay for" but it is also important to understand that just because your friend spent $30,000 more for his Lexus than you did for your Toyota that he got $30,000 more car. In fact, you are probably only getting about $10,000 more car. There are many similarities with health insurance.

On the other side, least expensive does not necessarily mean better value. Of course, when it's working, you can get from point A to point B driving a Yugo but "when" is the important word in the situation. Should you rely on a crappy car to get you to work if it breaks down all the time? What if it caused you to get fired because you are always showing up late? What if you're a salesman... would you want to drive to a meeting in a dumpy Yugo? What about this... would you buy something from someone driving a beat up Yugo? I know I wouldn't! Not to be a snob but being cheap could cost you money!

Keeping all of this in mind, I seriously suggest that you do not consider any company that a rating less than A at the ratings companies such as Standard & Poors (standardandpoors.com) and AM Best (ambest.com). Nine times out of ten, the most expensive policy from a lower rated company with not be nearly as good as the least expensive policy from the higher rated company. Spending a little more money to go with the better company is almost certainly the better deal and the better way to go. It would suck to need the money and have nothing but trouble trying to get it from your insurance company let alone getting it quick, wouldn't it?

To wrap up, finding affordable health insurance is not nearly as difficult as most people think it is... not nearly that difficult.

Taking more of the risk with higher deductibles, spending a little time on the internet comparing eight to ten different companies, and deleting coverage that you will not likely need (such as maternity for many folks) will make it very possible to find your own affordable health insurance.

Ed Brancheau, The Insurance Egghead (http://www.insurance-egghead.com/), helps businesses, individuals and families find an affordable health insurance (http://www.insurance-egghead.com/affordable-health-insurance.html). Drop by his website, The Insurance Egghead, for tons of free advice, articles and guides about health, dental, vision, accident and life insurance.

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