Health insurance

[faster1]

As an owner operator i have to pay for my own health insurance and also have an accident policy. Where are some of you getting your policies from and how are the rates?  its the time of the year i always shop around,lol.

[mainiac]

15K deductable on me another 15K deductable on wife and 2 kids no wellness program. $415/m Anthem. Only have two choices in Maine and the other Co. is more pricey.

And people wonder why things cost so much.

[SwampDonkey]

I have Disability, and Extended Health that covers loss of earnings, annual cost of living adjustments, medications, and travel. I have to pay up front for any health expense of $200 or less while traveling. I can add on loss of earnings benefits every year if I want, for no premium increase. I also have a Compassionate care benefit if I have to stay home to take care of a terminally ill family member (spouse or child). Right now that doesn't apply to me, no kids, no wife. But, there is no cost for that anyway on my premium. I got mine through Canadian Council of Professional Engineers. I didn't add on dental because that is real expensive it seems. All I ever get is a cleaning, which is way cheaper than the insurance. Didn't add on vision either, way cheaper to pay out of pocket in my circumstance. Premium is around $1150 a year. I know that doesn't help you US clients, but maybe someone from Canada will benefit from this post.

[Stephen Alford]

maybe someone from Canada will benefit from this post.
[/quote]   Hey sd I am available for adoption  ;D

[gascher]

Health insurance coverage is very state specific.  Individual states have their own mandates, so costs can vary significantly between states and so can availability.  Some examples of state differences include coverage for chiropractic and mental health.  I see that there has been one post already about Anthem.  In the midwest, I also find them to be very competitive.

When checking out health insurance, consider a Medical Savings Account (MSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA).  Under these plans, you purchase a high deductible policy from the insurance company - $5,000, $10,000, etc.  Then, you put money in a side fund.  You can pull money from the side fund to pay for deductibles and to pay for other approved expenses.  Your agent should be able to give you a list of the approved expenses.  This plan works best for generally healthy people.  In theory, the premium savings from purchasing a high deductible plan goes into the medical savings account and after paying for out-of-pocket expenses during the year, you still have money left over that stays in your medical savings account and accumulates on a tax-advantaged basis.  That money is yours.  If it accumulates over a lifetime, eventually you can pull it out like an IRA.

WARNING:  Not all health policies provide 24 hour coverage.  Some polices require self-employed persons to also have workers compensation insurance.  Specifically ask your agent if it is 24 hour coverage.
 

[gascher]

If you don't carry Workers Comp on yourself, in addition to 24 hour health insurance coverage, you need Disability Income Protection and Life Insurance.  Disability is the toughest to get, but very important.  AFLAC has some plans that act like Disability Insurance if you can't get it elsewhere.

Term Life Insurance is cheap.  The cost varies by age, sex, smoker vs. non-smoker, general health, etc.  In Wisconsin, a 10 year level term, male, age 35, non-smoker, preferred basis, $100,000 of protection is $14.36 monthly.

To get an idea of the cost of Life Insurance, go to www.coverrainsurance.com.  In the upper right corner is a picture of a baby's hand gripping an adult finger, and "Life Insurance Rates" in red.  Click on that and check out the costs.

Gary

[ErikC]

  My disability insurance is from Pennsylvania Life, it's about $100 a month, and just covers me. I have a policy that will pay 1/2 my income up to $1500 a month after 1 week out, For the rest of my life if necessary. Even if I am able to do another job, it will still pay as long as I am unable to do what I am insured for regardless of that income.  I got the policy as a horseshoer, it was the highest risk of my occupations(Horseshoer, sawmill/heavy equipment operator), and was my primary income at the time. I would have to go through the doctors and all that of course. Also it only covers work related accidents.  I have had this policy about 15 years, I'm not sure what is currently available.
For regular health insurace it is Blue Cross, which is all that is available around here. several hundred bucks a month and poor coverage. I don't have much good to say about them, but they are all we can get at this point. At least we have some. :-\

[Jeff]

To get an idea of the cost of Life Insurance, go to www.coverrainsurance.com.  In the upper right corner is a picture of a baby's hand gripping an adult finger, and "Life Insurance Rates" in red.  Click on that and check out the costs.

I went and tried that, as a heads up, you must be using Internet Explorer as the chart does not work with Firefox Browsers.

Gary,
What is the difference in Ultra Preferred, Super Preferred and Preferred?

[gascher]

I'm sorry that it doesn't work with Firefox, we'll have to work on that.

The difference between Preferred, Super Preferred and Ultra Preferred is mainly medical history plus height and weight.  Also, no tobacco use - no smoking or chewing.  If a person has a relatively good medical history and their weight in relation to height is not too bad, there should be no problem getting accepted as preferred.  You can be a little overweight and still get preferred.  To get Ultra Preferred you have to be "lean and mean", no bad habits and a good medical history.  The Super Preferred is in-between.  The Insurance Company makes the final determination regarding which classification you qualify for.  If you ride a motorcycle, with some companies you will be ineligible for Ultra Preferred.  Each company is a little different.

Gary