Making a wise decision on which Health Insurance Policy to buy may seem like a confusing task, but if you consider just these five most important items you and your agent will both find that you are a Savvy Buyer! These items are your KEYS to picking a policy that’s right for you:

1. The Insurance Company’s Rating

Ask your agent for the Company’s A.M. Best rating. If the company is highly rated at this national rating registry, then the company will have literature showing their rating with an explanation of what it means. Choose only companies that have an A or A+ rating.

2. The Insurance Company’s Record of Complaints at your State Board of Insurance

Every large company will have some complaints. Avoid companies that have a high number of unresolved complaints. Ask your agent for the phone number for your State Board of Insurance. If he will not give it to you, this is a warning signal! You can also look up the number in any directory of your state’s agencies. No matter what your agent says, CALL your State Board of Insurance and ask them for the record on any company you are considering.

3. The Limits Shown On Your Health Insurance Quote

Check your quote to see if you are comfortable with the benefit levels. You can usually change several levels to fit your needs and budget. For example, a higher deductible will cost less each month. Also, many plans give you a choice to split your medical bills with the Insurance Company either 50/50 or 80/20 (with them paying 80%). Then they will have an amount (your stop loss) where they will take over at paying 100% of your covered bills for the remainder of the year. These deductibles and other levels start over every year in most plans. Some plans, though, have a “per cause” deductible. Such a deductible means that you will be responsible for bills up to that deductible for each accident or illness. Make sure you are aware of this distinction, so you can choose a plan that’s right for YOU!

4. The Limits Revealed Within The Policy

Ask your agent for a sample policy, and then check two sections: The Benefits and The Limitations and Exclusions. Many of your benefits are actually limited in the Benefits section. For example, diagnostic testing or outpatient treatment may be severely limited. These days, you could have a serious disease such as cancer, and never go into the hospital for it. You could rack up thousands of dollars in medical bills for the diagnostic and follow-up lab tests and MRIs, and then have surgery, chemo, or radiation therapy all on an outpatient basis.

Other items that may be limited are your hospital room rate and intensive care. Your hospital room rate should be at least average semi-private and your intensive care benefit should NOT be tied to your room rate, but should, instead, be covered as whatever is an average ICU rate for the area of the hospital, also. Some policies limit the ICU benefit to 3 times the regular room rate, when ICU can cost you 10 or 20 times the room rate each day. A short hospital stay with a limit like this in your policy can cost you literally thousands of dollars. A long hospital stay with a limit like this in your policy could drive you into bankruptcy. Even if your policy says it takes over at 100% after $5,000 of covered medical bills, the important term here is “covered” medical bills. If the policy only pays three times the room rate for ICU, then the rest of the ICU bill is considered an “uncovered” charge!

Look out for these types of limits!

Also, be sure to check the Pre-Existing Conditions Limitation if you already have any medical conditions, and ask your agent if the Company will be excluding your conditions permanently on your policy.

5. Pay the Insurance Company, Not the Agent, & Follow Up!

And lastly, make your check payable to the Insurance Company, and then follow up to make sure it was received. When you get your policy, check the Schedule of Benefits to verify you got the coverage you ordered, and then check to see if any special Amendments were added to your policy to exclude any of your conditions. If an Amendment exists, these conditions will always be excluded from this policy, even after the Pre-Existing Conditions Limitation expires.

Following these five tips will help you choose a health insurance policy which will protect you from catastrophic medical bills. You may think, “Isn’t that what any health insurance policy is for?” Yes, that is the reason for buying any health insurance policy, but, unfortunately, many policies fall short of actually providing this protection! Be sure to take the time to choose wisely when it comes to your health insurance!

Take the time necessary to make sure you are getting the best value when you shop for Seattle auto insurance. If you follow the tips in this article you can save time and money when getting quotes for coverage.

Make certain that you know what the minimal requirements of insurance coverage is needed to be legal on roads in Washington. If you already have car insurance, have your policy in front of you when you call to get quotes so you can make sure that you are comparing similar policies. You will need to have at hand information on the drivers, and vehicles being covered as well as know what types of coverage you want.

Purchasing more than the minimal insurance coverage required by state is recommended by most insurance experts. Any amount of expenses related to the accident above the limits set by the minimal coverage can be the responsibility of the driver making it a good idea to raise these limits.

Determine if you need comprehensive and/or collision coverage and know the amount of deductible you want to set. Usually your premium will be lower if you raise your deductible amounts.

With all the information needed at hand it is now time to call insurance providers and request quotes for coverage. Calling at least more than three companies is suggested to make sure you get the best rate. Make sure you give all agents the same details about coverage and deductibles to make an accurate decision.

Quotes can be obtained by calling the companies or visiting their websites. Or another option is to visit a comparison website where you can enter your information in once and receive several different quotes at once.

Multi-policy and anti-lock brakes, among other things can result in discounts from your insurance providers. To get the best savings it is important to ask each company what they have available.

Utah auto insurance can be obtained at lower rates if you first obtain quotes from various sources. This will not take you very much time and will be well worth the savings you will realize.

Utah regulations require drivers to have car insurance, but the rates differ from company to company. By shopping around for comparison quotes you can be sure that you are getting the best rate. This may seem like it will take a lot of time, but the value in savings could be great.

With the privacy of your computer you can get quotes quickly on the internet. You can request a quote by going to individual company’s and agent’s web sites. There is also the option of going to a comparison web site that will give you many quotes but only require the submission of information once.

Have handy the information you will need for a quote. Information on the vehicle such as the make, model and year will be needed, as well as information on the drivers you want on the policy. Some companies may request your social security number to get you a more accurate quote.

Because there are many types of coverage available, first determine what you want and need, and also consider the level of deductibles. A requirement of Utah law is that all drivers have at least Bodily Injury and Property Damage liability coverage. Further peace of mind can be had by increasing coverage above the minimal requirements.

There are many ways to save money on Utah auto insurance. A couple to consider are driving less miles, increasing your deductibles, or combining your auto and home insurance coverage onto one policy.

Insurance brokers can be a great resource to you when you are shopping for the best rates on auto insurance. Brokers are different than other insurance agents in that they work with many different insurance providers at once and can speed along the process by quickly making quote comparisons.