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.

There’s one sneaking, creeping, crawling, biting, whimpering consideration you have probably not made when looking into your home insurance quote, and that is the impact that your pet might have on your home insurance quotes. You see, depending on the type of pet you have, you may find that the price of your home insurance rates are affected by the furry little beast you call family.

Generally, most breeds of cats and dogs will not cause your home insurance rates to go up. But if you have a breed that is associated with aggression and dog bites, like a Pit Bull or Rottweiler, then you will likely experience an increase in premiums. The reason for this is because if your dog bites someone, then they can place a claim against your home insurance policy for the medical expenses caused by the treatment of the bite. They may even get some additional funds for stress and damages. By walking your dog on a leash and having a securely fenced area for the dog to play in you will reduce your likelihood of risk and may even reduce your premiums. Likewise, some exotic pets like monkeys, dingoes and sloths might carry increased premium risks. You’ll need appropriate pens and play areas to help keep your premiums down.

Another pet that may increase your home insurance premiums is a lizard or other cold-blooded creature. This may seem strange, but because you must have special warming lights and devices to keep your clod-blooded pet alive, it can increase your risk of having a fire which can increase your insurance premiums. Make sure to buy the right kind of equipment and keep it in good repair to help reduce your risk of a claim.

It is important that you disclose your pets to your home insurance company. You might think that by keeping your dangerous or risky pets a secret that you can get away without paying an increased premium. In reality, If you have a claim that is caused by these pets it will not be covered by your policy and you may even lose the policy because of your misrepresentation. It isn’t worth losing the investment you make in a home insurance policy to avoid the increased premium that certain pets can cause.

COBRA is the acronym for a health insurance portability act signed into law during the 1990′s. Thanks to COBRA, if you leave an employer who is providing your group health insurance coverage, you can keep the coverage for 18-36 months even though you no longer really qualify for the group coverage since you are not a member of the group. COBRA is a great benefit to many people-but not every employee who leaves an employer with group benefits should take advantage of COBRA coverage.

COBRA coverage is extremely expensive. If you are someone in relatively good health, who rarely goes to the doctor and has no pre-existing conditions, then COBRA coverage might not be the best use of your financial resources. Instead, you could search for low cost medical insurance on an individual basis and get your own policy, not hinged on group participation, that can cover you for a fraction of the cost of a COBRA policy.

For individuals with pre-existing conditions, low cost medical insurance is a pipe dream. Not only are premiums expensive for formerly ill individuals, but they may not even approve you at all depending on the risk you present. Or, they may approve you and agree to pay for your medical expenses through your policy while excluding a whole host of expenses that stem from your pre-existing condition. It is then that you are a good candidate for retaining your COBRA coverage. Even if you never go to the doctor, keeping continuous coverage through a program like COBRA is vital because it prevents another group insurance plan from declining to cover your pre-existing conditions (something they cannot do unless you’ve had a break in coverage for 63 days or longer during the past 6-12 months).

So remember, if you are young and in relatively good health, look to a low cost health insurance policy of your own for coverage after leaving a group plan. It will be much less expensive that COBRA and will allow you complete portability since its approval isn’t tied to group participation. If you have a pre-existing condition, be sure to opt for COBRA coverage immediately after leaving your job so that there is no risk of a 63 day or longer break in coverage. No matter what option you choose-make sure you always have some sort of health coverage so that you are not left to fiscally stand alone after an expensive illness or injury.

Whole (or permanent) life insurance policies are more than meet the eye. Sure they offer a death benefit that caries through the rest of your life as long as you pay your premium and keep the policy in force, but more than that they offer an additional benefit of premiums accruing into something called cash values. These cash values can grow in a few different ways:

1. They can grow at a fixed rate like in a traditional whole life policy.
2. They can grow at a variable rate by choosing a sub account to invest them in. Sub accounts in a variable policy may have fixed investments like money markets, they may have stocks, bonds or mutual funds.
3. They can grow at a variable rate tracking the returns of a specific index-like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The third kind of growth is seen in an equity indexed life insurance policy. When you have an equity indexed life insurance policy, your cash values grow as they would in a variable policy but the sub account you choose is created to mimic the performance of a particular index. If that index goes up, then your cash value will likely go up. But if the index goes down, then so will your cash value.

One of the most important things to remember about an equity indexed life insurance policy is that there is no guarantee that you will earn money. Many illustrations for life insurance will show the great amounts of cash that can be accumulated in an equity indexed life insurance policy, but there is always the chance that the index you choose for your sub account will go down in value and will reduce the cash values you accumulate. The great things about equity indexed life insurance policies, however, is that they often have a floor, or minimum amount that you are guaranteed to gain. While this threshold is often significantly less than the fixed rate of return in a traditional life insurance policy, it at least offers some sort of gain while markets are down. On the other hand, there is also often a ceiling or maximum gain you can experience which may be less than the actual increases experienced by the index that you choose.

Choosing an auto insurance policy is often considered to be all about the price of the policy. Sure you want the best coverage you can, and you want to be sure that you will get reimbursed for the types of accidents that are likely to happen to you, and absolutely you want to have the cheapest policy you can get, but what about choosing an auto insurance company that can actually afford to pay your claims?

One of the best ways to make sure you choose an car insurance company that can afford your policy is to check the company’s AM Best rating before you take out the policy. AM Best is an insurance rating company that examines the financials of an insurer in order to determine how likely that insurer is to be able to pay the claims it receives. By checking the company’s balance sheets, income statements, insurance policy load and other information AM Best can get a good idea of whether or not they can handle their financial load.

Once they assess the financials they give a letter grade to each insurer. These letter grades give you an idea of just how capable AM Best things the insurer is. Generally, you want to choose an insurer with an A rating or higher. You don’t need a special sign in or a paid membership in order to access the ratings, you just need to go to the website and look up the insurance company.

Before you decide that you don’t need to worry about the rating of your insurer and instead can just pick the cheapest car insurance rate and move on with your life, remember-an insurance company is only as good as its ability to pay your claims. If an insurer is unable to actually pay the claims of its premium paying clients than it is nothing more than just an empty promise-one that you pay for out of your own pocket.