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eLearning Series:
Your Most Popular Insurance Questions
Answers For Health and Home
Insurance
( 50 articles
in this series )
5 Secrets To
Finding a
Health Insurance Company Online
Purchasing health insurance used to be a tedious
process. Usually, one had to make appointments with agents,
visit their offices, fill out reams of paperwork, and then
submit to a physical exam. Fortunately, times have changed,
and consumers are now able to preview and choose a health insurance
company from the comfort of home, at any time of day or night
they may find convenient. All this can be accomplished by the
use of the Internet; however, the convenience comes at a price,
and buying health insurance online is only an enjoyable experience
if done correctly. To this end, here are a few tips to keep
in mind:
1. Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You
Many of us receive SPAM e-mails on a regular basis. Aside
from the prescriptions and get-rich-quick schemes these e-mails
offer in staggering numbers, some of them have now ventured
into the health insurance coverage domain. If you have received
a SPAM e-mail that advertises insurance, health plans, or even
prescription drug coverage, stay away! If any company will
stoop so low as to send unsolicited e-mails to prospective
customers, they will probably not be too picky about their
other business ethics either.
2. Protect Your Privacy
When taking advantage of the many insurance companies and
agents that offer to give a free online quote, a prospective
client will almost always be asked to give out personal information
and also an e-mail address. Unless you are certain that you
want to do business with a particular company, take a very
close look at the privacy policy that should be posted. These
privacy policies will spell out what the company promises to
do and refrain from doing with the data you provide to them.
It is safer to do business with a company who will not share
or sell your information to anyone else than to have your sensitive
data go to a variety of companies and individuals.
3. By All Means, Call!
While the Internet will most likely supply you with any and
all of the information you may need, it is wise to check out
an insurance company’s telephone support prior to actually
needing it. Having to read through long pages of fine print
in order to glean a number is a bad sign. Additionally, if
the company does not offer a toll free number, but expects
you to pay for a long distance call out of your own pocket,
you may wish to consider if you are willing to spend your money
while holding for an agent or supervisor, etc. Last but not
least, call the telephone number and get a feel for average
hold times, times of operation, and also services offered via
telephone.
4. Hire An Agent
Unless you have already decided which insurance company you
wish to do business with, it is wise to contact a licensed
health insurance agent who will be able to access, compare,
and discuss health insurance plans from any given number of
insurance companies. In addition to comparing prices and products,
an agent will be able to give you personalized service, such
as feedback received from other consumers about a company,
their support, services, and also rates. Naturally, an agent
will also be able to give you some suggestions about needed
coverage and ideas about foreseeable changes to your situation
that will necessitate a health plan update of possibly and
overhaul.
5. Compare Apples To Apples
With so many different health plans to choose from, it is
easy to get side-tracked. In addition to the foregoing, some
insurance companies will showcase a full range of their products
online, while others may only highlight their most popular
plan choices. When relying on a website for complete information,
it is wise to choose one that will allow you to have access
to a broad range of plan information.
In closing, buying health insurance online is a welcome convenience
for any consumer who does not wish to be inconvenienced by
banker’s hours, weekend restrictions, or the faxing of lengthy
documents to and from an office fax. Yet, since health insurance
is such a critical component to anyone’s quality of life, let
the buyer beware!
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2005
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