Thank you for considering Insurance Brokerage Service for your individual major medical insurance. We currently track several different companies with many different plans offering individual health insurance for individuals and their families and will be happy to search them to find the best health insurance quote for you. You can choose from a variety of health insurance plans with deductibles ranging from $500 to as high as $20,000 for truly catastrophic coverage and co-insurance plans from 50% to 100% (NOTE: 100% plans require a minimum $1,000 to $2,500 deductible, depending on the company) so you can make your own choices in finding affordable health insurance.

A number of factors go into determining your insurance rates--your age, your sex, whether or not you use tobacco products, where you live and more. Because there are so many variables, please carefully answer each question in the form below so that we can provide you with the best quote for low cost health insurance. In the event you live in a state in which we do not write, we will forward your request to an agent in that state that we work with so that you can be quoted by a local agent.

The plan benefits themselves strongly impact the rates you will be quoted. The higher the deductible, the lower the rates. The lower the co-insurance percentage, the lower the rates. Adding additional benefits such as Maternity Coverage or Supplemental Accident Benefits, while enhancing your coverage, will also increase your premiums. Remember, the purpose of insurance is to prevent economic loss. Therefore, don't look at your personal health insurance as a maintenance mechanism but as a mechanism to prevent economic loss beyound your ability to otherwise pay. Choose the highest deductible and lowest co-insurance percentage you feel comfortable with and keep the stop-loss (the maximum amount you must pay out of your pocket in the worst case) to the level at which you feel most comfortable. The stop-loss is the percentage you pay of your claim before the insurance company steps in and stops the loss by paying 100% of covered expenses beyond that point.

For example, a plan that paid 80% of the first $5,000 of expenses incurred and 100% thereafter would have a stop-loss of $1,000 (your 20% of the first $5,000). To this stop-loss you must add your deductible to arrive at the total amount you would be out-of-pocket for covered expenses in the worst case scenario.

Most plans today have PPO features that pay a higher percentage if you use participating PPO facilities and physicians (or conversely, pay a lesser percentage if you do not use the PPO facilities). When considering a PPO plan always ask to see a list of participating hospitals and doctors in your geographic area before making a final decision. Additionally, most plans automatically feature office visit co-pays if you go to a participating doctor's office. Instead of falling under your regular major medical reimbursement schedule, you would only pay a co-payment (most commonly $10-$35) for each visit and the insurance company would pay the balance. Similarly, most plans feature prescription drug cards with similar co-payments. Often companies treat reimbursement for generic drugs differently from name brands, so be certain to compare benefits before making a final decision.

Because such routine benefits as office visits, prescription drugs, minor accidents and wellness benefits are paid no matter how high or low the deductible is, we recommend that you consider a deductible of at least $1,000. You do not have to satisfy your major medical deductible to receive these benefits. They are paid with only the small co-payment required.

A QUICK PRIMER ON OPTIONAL COVERAGES

24-Hour Coverage--Most individual major medical plans exclude coverage for losses that occur due to something happening to you while on the job. The reasoning behind this exclusion is that you will be covered for such a loss by Workers Compensation and your plan will not want to duplicate coverage. However, companies recognize that some people are self-employed and others work for firms too small to have Workers Compensation coverage so they either include this coverage or allow you to "buy back" this coverage if you fall into this niche. Some companies will only permit this coverage to be added to the primary insured; others will only permit the coverage to those who are self-employed.

Maternity Coverage--Your individual policy will usually cover you or your insured spouse for complications of pregnancy. However, a normal delivery is not covered at all unless you "buy back" the coverage with the Maternity option. Most individual health insurance policies cap the maximum coverage for a normal delivery at between $2,000 and $4,000. Because companies assume no one buys this coverage who doesn't plan on using it, costs for normal Maternity coverage are quite high. If you are considering maternity coverage, be certain to compare the maximum benefit for normal deliveries and also compare the waiting period required before this benefit is payable (some companies have waiting periods of up to two years).

Supplemental Accident--Your individual major medical policy will cover you for accidents (other than on-the-job as discussed above) just like it would for any illness. However, for an additional premium you can add a Supplemental Accident benefit which will waive the deductible in the event of an accident and then pay your covered expenses at 100% (instead of whatever other co-insurance percentage would apply) of the first several hundred dollars of your claim. This benefit is usually between $300 and $1,000. After the cap is reached any additional expenses are paid at your normal co-insurance percentage just like any illness claim.

Listed below are a series of questions for you to answer so that we can determine the best rates for you. The form asks questions about a spouse and children. If you do not have one or the other, just enter the appropriate response on the form. Please answer each question carefully then submit the entire form with the SEND button. We'll have a quote back to you within 24 hours in most cases.

INDIVIDUAL MAJOR MEDICAL REQUEST FORM

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