Archive for January, 2010

I came across this article by an Assurant Health Insurance consultant that I thought I would share.
Making Health Insurance Affordable
by: Dennis Anthem

As health insurance costs are increasing we have to proactive in making our choices when it comes to choosing a health insurance plan. Health insurance companies are constantly coming out with new health insurance plans to stay competitive in the marketplace. New health plans offer you flexibility to customize your own health insurance plan. Most health plans in the past were packaged with features that some of use did not need and some features that we did not know we had. We know that car insurance offers us flexibility to where you can pick your coverage limits, deductibles and the types of coverage that you want. It is only when people could not afford their health insurance anymore that insurance companies had to come up with new ways to make health insurance affordable. The days packaged group plans that offered 5 dollar co-pays and pay for your gym memberships are over. Why pay for the plan features that you are never going to use. Most of us and our parents come from the world where large companies paid for their health insurance plans. Large companies do have advantage of numbers; more people are part of the group the more competitive monthly rates are.

First I want to address health insurance quote shopping. If you are looking for some great deal on a plan that covers everything for small monthly premium you are going to be very disappointed. Health insurance prices are health insurance prices no matter what insurance company you go with. The main difference in how insurance companies compete with offering more affordable health insurance rates is by being more creative in their plan designs. Stays away from “good deals” in health insurance, chances are the plans are not going to cover anything when you have a claim. Then you will end up with bills from the hospital and a bill from your health insurance company.

Health insurance companies like Assurant Health underwritten by Time Insurance offer health insurance plans where you have opportunity to design your own plan. It is one of the only large reputable health insurance companies to offer customizable health coverage plans. They offer five plan designs two of them are Health Savings Accounts qualified health plans and the other health plans are your standard PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). What makes Assurant Health unique is that every type of plan gives you opportunity to customize that plan by choosing your co-pay or no co-pay option, choice of deductible, prescription drug coverage deductible, dental discount plan or dental insurance and plan specific options. If you are looking for simple to use and simple to understand HSA plans, Assurant is one of the first companies you should consider. Assurant formerly knows as Fortis was the first medical insurance provider to offer HAS plans.

When designing your own health insurance plan keep in mind of your previous health insurance usage. Choosing higher deductible for your health insurance plans will make the largest difference in your monthly premium. Keep in mind in most cases deductible applies only to when you are hospitalized. That means when you are admitted to the hospital then you are responsible for your deductible. Most health insurance plans will cover your doctor visits, physical exams, prescriptions drugs and your lab work with a co-pay before you meet the deductible. If you choose a high deductible plan and something does happen to you that you end up in the hospital for something major and you do not have money at the time to cover your deductible. Every hospital will work with you by offering you payment plans. In some cases you can take as much as five years to pay off your deductible. There have been instances where hospitals even waived the deductible. Therefore it does not make any sense in choosing a plan with low deductible. Get health plans with high deductible and you are going to save thousands on your health insurance. Some companies like Assurant Health offer you option to where if you choose a health plans with deductible of thirty five hundred of higher you automatically qualify for two year rate guarantee. Save money monthly and avoid rate increases. Just with little knowledge and understanding of how health insurance works you can save thousands with the health coverage that is based on your needs.

About The Author
Dennis Anthem leading authority in individual and group healthcare industry. Consultant for Assurant health insurance and Anthem Blue Cross health insurance that provide individuals, familes and small group with access to affordable healthcare.

For affordable health insurance quotes, go to: www.cransonhealth.com

For Business Insurance quotes or Workers Compensation Insurance quotes go to: www.cransoninsurance.com

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Getting a Life Insurance Quote can be a dull, boring and even a depressing process. First you need to talk about dying, which nobody enjoys talking about. Then you need to discuss all of your personal financial information with your agent, which is usually another unpleasant discussion. Lastly you need to tell your agent of any medical condition you had from when you were born! For these 3 reasons I can see why many people are now going online to purchase life insurance. You give your information to either a stranger or an online website and get quotes kicked back to you instantly. Now as easy as that sounds I don’t always recommend buying life insurance online. You can buy your life insurance online but it needs to be from an Independent Insurance Agency that can access multiple companies and an Insurance Agency that understands the correct type of coverage that you need.  The most common and most affordable life insurance you can get is Term Life Insurance. Typically a Term Life Insurance Quote will be a 10, 20 or 30 year term life insurance quote. This simply means the rate is locked in for a 10, 20 or 30 years and usually renewable after that term until age 95 (but the premium will drastically increase after the term). The other form of Life Insurance is called permanent life insurance. This type of insurance usually consists of Whole Life Insurance or Universal Life Insurance. These types of life insurance policies are always more expensive than term life insurance but also has many additional benefits such as a cash value that you can access in case of emergency or actually subsidize your retirement accounts once you reach retirement age. Permanent Life Insurance isn’t always the best fit for a client but many times will serve a great purpose in life insurance planning.

Since I handle the Property Casualty Insurance for many businesses, something I come across a lot is the need for a Buy Sell Life Insurance contract or a Key Person Life Insurance contract. These are more advanced contracts that usually involve the clients attorney but are extremely important to the survival of a business if an owner or key person dies. For a Buy Sell Life Insurance contract usually what happens is that they have a legal contract (Buy Sell Agreement) that states if one of the business partners passes away that the surviving owner has to pay either his estate or his spouse a pre-determined amount within a certain period of time after his or her death. So when you write the life insurance, you put 2 life insurance policies on both owners (or as many owners as there are) and the beneficiary is the other owner(s). The death benefit is usually the same as the amount stated in the buy sell agreement so that the partner can immediately pay off the estate or spouse upon the death of the partner. Key Person Life Insurance is a little more simple. This type of contract is simply put on a key employee in the business, not necessarily the owner but a person so valuable that the company will struggle financially if he or she were to die. This provides an amount suitable for the company to either find a replacement or spend time and money training another employee to assume the new role.

If you are a business owner or someone that needs life insurance please give us a call. I have been working with individuals for over 7 years in Business Life Insurance, Business Property Casualty Insurance and Health Insurance.

Cranson Insurance Agency offers Oakland County Life Insurance Quotes, Michigan Life Insurance Quotes, Buy Sell Life Insurance and Key Person Life Insurance Quotes in the entire states of California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Bryan Cranson is the owner of Cranson Insurance Agency specializing in business insurance quotes, workers compensation insurance quotes, health insurance quotes, disability insurance quotes and life insurance quotes in Oakland County, Washtenaw County, Kent County, Cook County and Wayne County, plus the entire states of Michigan, California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Missouri.

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