Uncover How To Sign Up For Affordable Health Insurance And Save Cash!

Do the words above seem like they belong in the same sentence?

Health insurance premiums used to be somewhat manageable but now they account for the single biggest portion of living expenses for many people (no longer mortgage payments.) Like many others, if you have a permanent health problem such as asthma or diabetes, your monthly health insurance payments might exceed what you have to pay for your home and car.

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 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.)

Affordable health insurance, not "cheap" however, is definitely available... if you know how and where to look.

To fit your monthly budget on the hunt for affordable health insurance, obviously, price is the one of the most important factors in your decision making process. But, the most important question to really ask is this: what is the company's record for payment?

Do they pay you quickly and hassle-free or do they take forever and fight you every step of the way? Take any budget and you can find a great car. Take any budget and you can find a great affordable health insurance. Maybe you won't be able to afford a "Mercedes" insurance policy but there is no reason that you can't find a solid "Toyota" policy.

There are many reasons why, but the internet has made easy to shop for affordable health insurance.

1. To submit claims to your insurance company, you no longer need a local agent. Because of the information age, you save 8-12% because your insurance company no longer has to pay agents' commissions for filing your claims. Why? Your medical provider, such as your doctor or hospital, usually submits your claims directly to the insurance company so that they get paid faster.

2. With a simple internet search for "insurance companies", you'll easily find all of the top insurance companies. Most local agents can only quote you from the few companies that they represent. They may not offer you what is best for you financially or health-wise but only what they happen to have available.

3. Because it's really easy now for potential customers to discover what all companies are charging for their policies, health insurance companies try much harder to remain 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 change your coverage, deductibles and payment options with just a few clicks rather than going through the paperwork delay with a local agent (and then finding out he/she made a mistake... more delay!)

5. Instead of having to remember let alone mail a damn check every month to the insurance company, you can just have your payments charged to your credit card. Furthermore, this feature will usually earn you a discount with your insurance company in addition to giving you another 30 days before you actually have to pay if you need it.

Health Insurance Is To Protect Against Extreme Financial Hardship

If you want to find affordable health insurance, let me reveal the simplest, and yet most overlooked, secret: health insurance's purpose is to protect against extreme financial hardship.

It's main function is not to save money on doctor's visits for the common cold. 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. Protecting your family, your assets and you is, more than anything else, the purpose of health insurance.

And another way to think of insurance for your purposes is this: as with any type insurance, it is a hedge bet. Essentially, you are betting that over time you will receive more than you pay. To grasp the situation simply, this is a good enough way to look at it. But it's not quite the way it works.

I always hear people compare casinos and insurance companies so let's use that as an example. They think that when they are placing a bet on their favorite team that they are betting against the casino. This is not true. But what actually happens is this: they are betting against people that placed bets 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" for managing the whole process.

Like placing a bet at the sportsbook for your favorite team, when you sign an insurance policy, you are not betting against the insurance company. 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. Then they simply tack on their fee (like the casino's vig) for paying everyone when the money is needed for health situations. For the most part, you are betting that you are going to need more money for your health care than the average person in the group will need. This is what the insurance industry calls the "law of large numbers" and is what really makes affordable health insurance possible.

Do Not Confuse "Affordable" With "Cheap"

A Toyota Camry is "affordable". A Yugo is "cheap". "You get what you pay for" has a lot of truth but it can also be taken too far. Just because someone spends $30,000 more for their car does not mean that they will receive $30,000 more car. You actually get less for your money the more you spend. There are many similarities with health insurance.

However, the opposite is also true. Driving a Yugo, for instance, will get you from point A to point B when it's working, but "when" is the operative word.

• 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?
• Would you want to drive a crappy Yugo to a sales meeting?

I will never buy anything (not even a paperclip) from someone driving a Yugo (unless I'm in some poor country on travel.) Not to be a snob but being cheap can cost you money than you save!

Keeping all of this in mind, I seriously suggest that you do not consider any health insurance 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 health insurance company. Sure, you will probably have to pay a little more to go with the better company but it is almost certainly the better deal and the best choice. 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. The simple method to lowering your rates so that you have affordable health insurance is to raise your deductible, spend a little time doing research and compare seven to ten insurance companies.

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