Buying a healthcare plan is all hunky-dory until you need to figure out which one would be better for you based off of your needs. However, with our brief guide, you’ll have an idea about where to start.
When it comes to healthcare plans or insurance, the first step is to determine how much you’re realistically going to need. Things like college tuition and mortgage, along with other expenses like funeral costs, play a major role when deciding your insurance amount. Moreover, if you have dependents that need cash flow then you might even want to consider income replacement.
There are a few helpful tools online to calculate the lump sum amount to take care of any expenses that might need to be covered.
Furthermore, life insurance applications usually require some personal and family medical history and beneficiary information for which you might have to take a medical exam and disclose any preexisting medical conditions along with any history of moving violations, dangerous hobbies such as skydiving or DUIs.
The other elements crucial for life insurance applications are:
Gender: Since it is statistically proven that women live longer than men, there are generally lower rates for them than men of the same age.
Age: This plays a very important role in determining how much your insurance is going to be as life expectancy is considered the biggest determinant of risk for any insurance company.
Smoking: A smoker is at a higher risk for health issues than a non-smoker, leading to a likelihood of a short life and increased risk-based premiums.
Lifestyle: As said above, dangerous lifestyles do increase the risk attached to your life which also means more expensive premiums.
Health: Some insurance policies require medical exams that include screening for health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and related medical metrics that can indicate risk.
Driving record: Another thing insurance companies are on the lookout for is your driving record. Any person that has a history of moving violations or DUIs can dramatically increase the cost of their insurance premiums.
Family medical history: People with a history of major diseases in their family have a higher risk of developing that certain condition.
Insurance companies may also ask for standard forms of identification before writing you a policy, such as your Social Security card, driver’s license or passport.
Once you’ve compiled all the information and documents the insurance provider requires, you can go ahead and get quotes from different providers to compare the rates. This is where the work of a healthcare agent comes in and we’ll provide you with the best rates depending on the information you have provided and what you are looking for.
There can be a slight difference in prices depending on the company so it’s important to take the effort and find the best policy that offers you competitive rates and has a good overall company rating. Since life insurance is something that you will be paying for months and investing a lot of money into, it’s always a good idea to find a plan that is not just affordable but also a good deal to save you some bucks in the long run.