Posts Tagged ‘Health Insurance’

WeCompareInsurance.com, an independent resource for comparing insurance quotes, announces its easy-to-use online application is now available in Spanish.

“Here at WeCompareInsurance we are very pleased to offer our application in Spanish,” says Sharlene Baker, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of WeCompareInsurance. “We feel this market is under served, and in these difficult economic times we think it’s important to make it easier for our Spanish speaking users to fill out the free insurance application on our web site, and find out how much money they can save.”

The WeCompareInsurance application process is provided at no cost to website visitors seeking insurance and takes about five minutes. The application is presented to hundreds of insurance providers and brokers, and the top five offers based on each individual application are immediately returned for review.

Baker adds, “We are always searching for ways to help everyone looking for insurance find the best policy for their needs.”

In both Spanish and English WeCompareInsurance.com offers:

1. A quick and easy online application process.
2. Access to hundreds of insurance providers and brokers ranging from companies with nationwide reach to brokers located right in your neighborhood.
3. The opportunity to compare insurance quotes soon after completing your individual application.

Every insurance application is different. WeCompareInsurance excels in getting each application to insurance providers who can best meet those insurance needs.

About WeCompareInsurance.com

Taking stock of your current life insurance policy should be a regular event, but the reality is you probably haven’t given it much thought beyond making your premium payments. If that is the case right now is a great time to evaluate your life insurance coverage for a number of reasons. Economic conditions have put large life insurance providers in the news so it’s a good idea to check into how much protection your life insurance policy has against industry trends, and the life insurance market has fundamentally changed over the last several years.

Life insurance trends

Let’s take a look at that last trend; that the life insurance industry has fundamentally changed over the last several years. If you’ve had your current life insurance policy for five years or longer most likely you can find a much better deal right now. Because life expectancy is rising life insurance – particularly term life insurance – rates are dropping. A good way to take advantage of this trend in term life insurance and still retain access to whole life insurance is to purchase term life insurance with a convertibility feature to eventually turn your life insurance policy into whole life insurance.

Economic conditions and life insurance

Looking at current economic conditions brings two factors into consideration. The first is you want your life insurance provider to remain in business, and if for some reason your life insurance provider can no longer honor your policy you want to ensure you are protected against any loss. To keep tabs on the financial health of your life insurance provider check with all the ratings services such as Standard and Poor’s and A.M. Best on a regular basis. Maybe even weekly. If your life insurance provider’s rating is dropping do take the time to look into the ramifications, financial and otherwise, of leaving your current life insurance provider for a new company.

Everyone likes to save money and your health insurance is a place where you can find savings. The easiest way to save money with health insurance is to only insure yourself for large, catastrophic medical problems or to increase your deductible in order to decrease your monthly premium. Both of these choices might not be the best health insurance option for everyone because each will increase your out-of-pocket medical expenses for everyday medical care and preventative examinations.

There are a number of tips to keep in mind beyond increasing your out-of-pocket expenses to minimize your health insurance costs while receiving the health insurance coverage you and your family needs.

Here are six things to consider for saving money through your health insurance:

1) If you are part of a health insurance plan such as a POS (point-of-service) or PPO (preferred provider organization), make sure you only use doctors and medical services that are in-network for your plan.

2) Take every tax deduction offered on health insurance. For the self-employed this means deducting all your health insurance premiums, and for participants in employer-based plans deducting the portion you pay of your health insurance premiums. And medical and dental expenses you incur that your insurance doesn’t cover that exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI) can be deducted as well.

3) When you are comparing health insurance quotes take a look at the long-term implications of your plan. Lower health insurance premiums and up-front costs will mean more out-of-pocket expenses and possibly much higher medical costs over the long run. Consider how you expect to use your health insurance and factor all the costs when comparing health insurance quotes.

Business health insurance is one of the significant advantages companies are offering to their employees these days. Health insurance is also one of the prime considerations for an employee while taking up a job. For an employee, it is satisfactory to know that he/she and family’s health is secured under insurance while working in the organization. Poor health and expensive health care can stand in way of a productive output of a business organization in the competitive labour market.

The health insurance in a company should be altered as per the needs of each employee. The employees past medical history should be submitted with the company and there should be group discounts. The company should make sure that the insurance company is a reputable one and that the hospitals covered in the policy are accessible from the company’s office. By providing access to employees to the medical care they need, the companies are not only taking care of them but also improving the productivity of the company itself.

Companies provide group health insurance as an additional benefit to the employees. Such insurance plans meet the cost of necessary health care requirements of the employees, their spouses and dependents. Group health insurance is a great plan for both employers and employees, and their families. With an increase in the insurance premium, group health insurance is taking a toll on employers, as it is employer-sponsored but group health insurance may help in reducing employee turnover, considering the cost of health care.

As President Barack Obama prepared to take to the airwaves to defend his health care overhaul last week, Hernando school officials got a little insurance sticker shock of their own.

The district’s insurance carrier, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, is seeking a 21.5 percent rate increase.

“We expected increases in health insurance, but you don’t really expect 21 percent increases,” said Heather Martin, the district’s executive director of business services. “It’s very disappointing in these economic times.”

The actual increase will likely come in at least a few percentage points below that, Martin said. Last year, for example, Blue Cross started with an 18 percent increase. By tweaking plans and raising deductibles and co-pays, the two sides brought that down to 12 percent.

Martin said she’s hopeful this year’s increase will be closer to 15 percent and that the district’s insurance committee — composed of staffers and members of both unions — had made progress toward that number during talks with Blue Cross on Wednesday.

Blue Cross declined to comment beyond a written statement issued through spokesman Mark Wright.
“The specifics of our negotiations with any client are confidential. However, I can say that for groups such as this, projected claims experience for the upcoming plan year is the determining factor for premium rate calculations.”

In other words, the company uses the district’s claims history and estimates for what next year’s claims will be to justify the rate increase.

The district’s history isn’t exactly pretty, Martin acknowledged.

Claims have been “relatively high” in recent years, she said. Last year, Blue Cross paid more than $14 million in claims.

When buying insurance – auto insurance, health insurance, home insurance, life insurance or renters insurance – choosing your insurance provider is a big part of the decision process. When you compare insurance quotes it’s easy to see the different prices offered by different insurance providers, but cost alone may not go into your insurance purchase decision. Your insurance provider should help you get the best possible coverage at the best possible price.

Your insurance provider must be licensed to sell insurance in your state so make use of your state’s insurance department. This department can provide you with recommendations for insurance providers and it keeps a file on insurance providers with complaints and recommendations. Check into any complaints to find out why some customers had problems with different insurance providers. Also don’t be afraid to use your social network and friends for recommendations on insurance providers.

It should go without stating, but on the subject of insurance licensing make sure your insurance provider is licensed to sell insurance in your state and absolutely avoid any unlicensed insurance providers.

It’s also worthwhile to look beyond the lowest price when choosing an insurance provider and take experience into account. Insurance agents are paid the same commission percentage regardless of their experience level. Often a more experienced insurance provider can help you maximize your coverage while saving you the most money over the long term.

A regular review of your insurance policy is a service you should expect from your insurance provider. Before buying insurance, ask the potential providers how often they will look over your policy with you. These reviews ensure your insurance policy is not outdated in any way and that you have the coverage you want.