Health - How to Choose a Health Insurance Agent

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Finding the best health insurance plan can often prove to be quite a chore without the assistance of a professional. Many people have had their health coverage set in motion by their employer with little or no effort on their own part for the majority of their working career. Often, when a new job without health benefits is obtained, a would be entrepreneur strikes out on their own. Or a soon to be retiree sees retirement looming in the near future then one can find themselves swamped with an unfamiliar world of individual health insurance deductibles, coinsurance, copays, networks, stop loss limits, and other insurance jargon that is often indecipherable to those without proper training.

A good health insurance agent will help you make an informed decision and find a policy that will best meet your needs. If you want to find an insurance agent then its quite easy to pick up the phone book or do a quick internet search but not all health insurance agents are of the same caliber. Here are some things that you should know in order to choose a health insurance agent.

The first important thing to keep in mind is that you really are better off by having a health insurance agent versus trying to go it alone. Many people make the assumption that choosing to work directly with an insurance company will save them money versus working with an insurance agent/broker. While health insurance is regulated at the state and not Federal level; one thing is true almost across the board – the health insurance company sets the health insurance rates and the State’s Department of Insurance regulates the insurance company’s (i.e. Texas health insurance is slightly different than Illinois health insurance and so on and so forth).

It is against the law for an insurance company to show a lower health insurance rate depending on where or whom you bought the policy from. In other words, you will pay the same rate whether you purchase a policy from Bob Smith Insurance Agency down the street, an online health insurance agency, or directly from the insurance company. If you choose to purchase directly from the insurance company then you lose a valuable resource to help you to search for and understand your policy in your agent. Also, the insurance company doesn’t give you a lower rate – they simply keep the commission that they would have paid the insurance agent had the agent sold you the policy. Always remember, shopping for health insurance is not like buying a used car. You cannot receive a “special deal”. You can find cheap health insurance if you know where to look – you just won’t be able to save any money by purchasing direct versus using an agent!

That being said, you should immediately steer clear of any health insurance agent that makes promises of being able to cut you a “special deal” as this is simply not true or legal. What happens if an insurance agent shows you a lower rate than a different insurance agent for the same policy from the same company? How could this be possible? Your insurance rates are based on a number of factors such as your home zip code, your date of birth, whether you smoke or not, your health history and other factors. Some sneaky insurance agents will stoop to the unethical practice of “lowballing”. “Lowballing” is when the insurance agent will show you a rate quote that is based on incorrect input information that falsely makes your rate appear lower than it should be.

For example, an agent may try to fool you into purchasing health insurance from them by changing your age from 42 to 39 which will of course make your rate much lower. Watch out for these types of shenanigans because of course when you actually submit your application with the correct information then your rate will be adjusted upward to its correct level.

Of course honesty is something that is very important to look for in a health insurance agent. Coming in a close second to honesty is independence. Your agent should be independent and want to help you best meet your insurance needs – not just a salesman only interested in pushing one particular insurance company’s products on you.

There are two main types of health insurance agents: independent agents and captive agents. Independent insurance agents can work with many different health insurance companies and will typically show you plans and rates from more than one insurance company. A captive insurance agent can only work with 1 insurance company and of course will only show you rates from the insurance company that they happen to represent – whether that particular company happens to have the best policy for your specific situation or not.

Another big advantage to working with an independent health insurance agent is that you will be able to remain lifetime clients. As your health insurance needs change over time then your independent agent will be able to continually review and re-evaluate different insurance company’s offers and rates on an ongoing basis. Since health insurance rates change often and you typically are only able to lock in your rate for 12 months then so long as you are healthy it can often be quite smart to shop with your independent agent for new rate quotes every 12 months to save money.

Here at iWebQuotes, we provide you with a way to compare multiple agents by requesting a free health insurance quote from multiple health insurance agents. When you submit a quote request, this request will go to 2 or 3 agents, who will then propose to you what they feel will best suit your needs. Choose the health insurance agent which you feel is working in your best interest, and you will be well on your way to finding a low cost and comprehensive health insurance plan!