The majority of US citizens who have their health insured get their coverage through employer-sponsored group plans. Still, not all employers provide such coverage options. And if you happen to be employed at such an enterprise this means that you are forced to look for an individual insurance plan.

Despite the common belief, there are some pros to buying individual insurance through private companies. The biggest advantage here is of course in the possibility of tailoring your policy to your exact needs, instead of coping with plans selected by the employer. You are free to adjust the plan just as you like, dropping coverage you don’t need and raising your deductibles for lower premiums.

And instead of being the hostage of your workplace in terms of insurance coverage, with individual plans you get the protection you need no matter where you are working at the moment. For as long as you pay the premiums you will be covered, even if you’re unemployed.

However, there are certain disadvantages to individual insurance plans as well:

* Group insurance plans provided by employers usually carry more coverage than individual plans with the same rates. That is because group plans have lower marketing and servicing costs compared to individual ones.

* Most group insurance plans provide coverage to all employees and their family members, while individual plains may refuse to cover persons who have certain health problems. And some plans will also drop coverage on a range of pre-existing health conditions.

* In the majority of states, the premiums you pay for individual health insurance gradually increase as you get older. At first, you can avoid paying too high premiums by switching providers on a regular basis. But as you age, it will be harder to get cheap health insurance as most companies charge older people with higher rates.

If you still wish to find good individual insurance plan then you will definitely need a good insurance agent to work with. Defining the amount of coverage and types of coverage to be included in your plan is a tough decision. Working with a competent agent will help you define your insurance needs and get the right coverage for your personal situation. Remember that you have to trust your agent in order to get the most out of your collaboration. You have to provide all the information required as only this way your agent can help you with the best health insurance quotes he can find.

Don’t forget to ask the following questions when looking for an individual plan:

• Will this plan offer the coverage for going to a specific doctor or hospital?
• What the referral system is all about?
• How pre-existing conditions are covered?
• What about coverage away from home?
• How much should I pay in premiums, deductibles and co-payments?
• Are there any additional payments I have to know about?
• Are there any maximum amounts that the plan will pay?
• Are there any specific benefits available with this plan?

It may look hard finding a good plan in the individual insurance market. So make sure to make the purchase with caution, like you would do with an expensive item, say a car. Research all of your options, see what companies are offering and make the decision only after analyzing all the possibilities.

You cannot be sure that you’ve gotten the best health insurance coverage unless you understand health insurance terminology. Here are some of the most commonly used terms in the health insurance industry.

COBRA: The Act that allows for continuation of group coverage for a limited time after you leave the group.

Co-insurance: The amount you must pay for treatment after copayments and deductibles.

Copayment: The fixed amount that you must pay out-of-pocket for physician visits, medical procedures and prescription medications.

Deductible: The out-of-pocket amount you must pay before your policy benefits start kicking in.

Exclusions: Any medical conditions or illnesses whose expenses are not covered by your insurance policy.

HIPAA: A health insurance Act that sets privacy standards in an electronic world and guarantees portability of coverage and new policy issue after COBRA benefits run out, as long as there has not been a significant break in coverage (varies by state but usually at least 63 days).

HMO: A type of insurance policy that allows only treatment within a set network of physicians and facilities.

Lifetime limit: The maximum amount your insurer will pay out in benefits.

PPO: The type of insurance policy that has a network of physicians but still allows you to visit physicians and facilities outside the network for a reduced benefit.

Pre-certification: Some insurance companies require that you get preapproval from them before you have surgery or other medical procedures. This is called a pre-certification.

Pre-existing conditions: Any illness, injury or chronic disease you suffered from before you took out your insurance policy is considered a pre-existing condition.

Premiums: The fee that you pay to your insurance company monthly, annually or quarterly is your premium.

Underwriting: The process of reviewing and evaluating the risk you pose to the insurance company based on your medical history.

Waiting period: The amount of time you must wait before your pre-existing conditions are covered by your policy.

There are many aspects of your health and habits that must be taken into consideration when you have a health insurance policy underwritten. These things work together to create the general risk that you life presents to the insurance company. It is not until all these factors are considered that your insurance agency can determine whether or not to issue your policy and what premiums to charge. Here are some of the main factors that health insurance underwriters consider when reviewing your health insurance application for approval.

Your medications: The meds you take give a good insight not only on the prior events of your health history, but also on what your doctor thinks might be in the future. For instance, you might not have had a heart attack yet but if your doctor has you on a cholesterol medication, then it is likely that he or she thinks you may be at risk for one in the future. That indicates to a health insurance underwriter that you could be a risky bet.

Your health history: The events that comprise your health history give an insight not only into what your health future might hold but also in how you treat and respect yourself. For instance, Type 2 diabetes is often caused by obesity and poor eating choices. If you have Type 2 diabetes then it is unlikely that you eat well or exercise, which puts you at risk for a whole host of additional health problems.

Your family history: DNA ruins a lot of things health wise. If heart disease runs in your family then you are much more likely to suffer from it eventually. The same can be said for cancer, obesity, diabetes and certain mental illnesses. Knowing that someone in your family has suffered with these issues could change how a health insurance underwriter views your application for coverage-even if you are in perfect health.

Your weight and height: Your weight and height indicate how well-proportioned you are. Someone who weighs 300 pounds and is 5’3″ is much more likely to be considered obese than someone who is 6’5″ and weights the same.

Smoking status: If you are a smoker-even an occasional lighter upper-then you are putting your body at risk for cancer, lung disease, emphysema and more. This will not be looked upon favorably by the underwriters reviewing your health insurance application.

You might think that once your home is paid off you can drop your home insurance and live a carefree life with no insurance premiums. But just because there are no state requirements to hold home insurance on your house, that doesn’t mean that this useful coverage should be ignored after your home is paid off.

Your home could endure an insurable incident whether or not you have a mortgage. After all, it is not the fact that you owe money on your home that exposes you to risk-it is the fact that risk is everywhere and could happen to anyone. You see, when you have a mortgage your lender is at risk for damages to your home because they have more money riding on it than you do. That is why they demand that you have home insurance. But if you think that you don’t need to look for home insurance quotes once your home is paid off, then consider this: if your home catches fire, floods, is vandalized or has any other insurable event happen to it then you must pay for the damages out of pocket unless you have insurance. You might not even have a home left to live in until you can find the money to pay for all the repairs and in the mean time, you will be forced to pay out of your own pocket for your temporary living space.

Of course, you can look for less expensive home insurance quotes once your home is paid off. You could consider raising your deductible since you no longer have a mortgage to pay off and can likely afford to pay more deductible out of your own pocket. You can look for lower limits as long as you stay within the range that your home is worth so you can be fully reimbursed for an event that destroys your home. You can even determine what is and isn’t covered based on how you perceive your risk.

Remember, while saving money on home insurance quotes is important, having an insurance policy that is there for you when you need it is vital. Don’t scrimp too much on the policy and make sure you look out for your own self-interest and bottom line.

When your auto insurance policy is underwritten, your insurance underwriter attempts to figure out whether or not you should be approved for the policy, what you should be charged and if there should be any special amendments to your policy. Many different factors and traits are considered during this process including:

Your motor vehicle report: Your motor vehicle report (MVR) is a report that shows your driving record. It shows all the tickets you’ve gotten for reckless driving, speeding, and not obeying general traffic laws. This report is extremely important in determining how risky you are to insure. If you have many tickets and incidents on the report that show you are not a responsible driver, then you are going to be expensive to insure because the auto insurance company is going to assume that your recklessness translates into expensive claims for anyone who insures you. The underwriters will then decide to charge you a higher premium than you might expect in order to offset the likelihood of claims.

Your age: The older you are, the more likely you are to be an experienced and responsible driver and the less expensive your premiums are likely to be-until you hit a certain age. Because as you start to get older, you again become more risky as a driver because you are less sharp witted, have worse eyesight and less hand-eye coordination. So whether you are too young, too old, or right in the middle, it will have an effect on your auto insurance underwriting and premiums.

Your gender: Unfortunately for the masculine set, male drivers (especially those who are young) are seen as riskier bets by insurers. Males are often considered to be risk takers and less responsible than their female counterparts.

Your relationship status: Married individuals are often seen as more stable and responsible by auto insurance underwriters. Singles get a bad rap and are often charged more for auto insurance.

Your car: If you drive a flashy, speedy, light and rocket ready sports car, then you are likely to be charged a higher premium than someone who drives a four door sedan. Sports cars are often purchased by people who want to test out the speed and handling of the car and usually want to push the car to its limits. That doesn’t always reflect well when an underwriter is looking to set the premium for your auto insurance policy.

One of the most basic and popular types of life insurance policies available is the whole life insurance policy. Whole life insurance policies pay out a death benefit over your entire life, unlike term policies which only pay for a certain period of time. In addition, they accrue cash values.

Life Coverage in A Whole Life Policy

Whole life (or permanent life) insurance policies generally require medical underwriting and offers a death benefit for you entire life, as long as you pay your premiums in full and on time. If your health changes and you become uninsurable, it won’t matter as long as you keep your policy in-force. That is one of the benefits of a whole life insurance policy over a term life insurance policy, which will stop paying a life insurance policy after a pre-determined number of years.

Cash Value Growth and Accumulation

When you have a whole life insurance policy you pay more than just the cost of insurance. The additional premiums that you pay are put toward the accumulation of cash values. These cash values give your policy an added benefit that just a death benefit. Cash values can offer tax-free loans to the policy owner, a cash value given when the owner surrenders the policy and a source of funds for applied premium loans if the policy owner neglects to pay their premium.

Fixed Growth of Cash Values

One of the best aspects of a whole life insurance policy is that the policy’s cash values grow at a fixed rate. That means that instead of dealing with the ups and downs and general volatility in the stock market, you get fixed, guaranteed growth that is honored by the insurance company. In order to ensure that you choose an insurer that can both pay claims and keep your cash values growing according to the illustration, take the time to check the insurance company’s rating on AM Best. AM Best is a company that assesses the financial strength of insurers and assigns a letter rating representing their financial strength. When you choose a financially strong company then you can rest assured with the knowledge that your claims and cash value requests will be honored.