Private Health Insurance Comparison Tips

When comparing a medical insurance contract against others there are several things you should do. You want to make sure that the company has a limited number of consumer complaints, is likely to be financially able to pay claims in the future and you want to make sure that the particular policy you choose covers benefits you are likely to need.

Not every medical insurance company will be in good standing with your state's department of insurance. Be sure to buy only from companies that meet the standards or your state's insurance department.

Your state's department of insurance is probably the best place to look to see if a health insurance carrier has an excessive number of consumer complaints against them. You should be able to get this information from them on their website, by calling or by email to ask about any medical insurance company that sells in your area.

The number of complaints should be compared to the number of contract holders a health insurance company has. The volume of complaints isn't the important factor. Larger companies are likely to have more complaints against them than smaller carriers. The ratio of complaints to policy holders is the important thing to look at.

The financial stability of an insurance carrier is also crucial. You can visit AM Best's website to get their opinion of the carrier's financial stability. Buying a health insurance policy from a company with a poor rating is like getting an IOU from a person who is no longer employed.

Once you have limited the field of carriers to choose from to those who are in good standing with your state's department of insurance, have a reasonable number of claims when compared to the size of their contract holder base and that are financially stable, it is important to know whether or not the policy itself is a good one for you and your family. You will need to know whether you will be able to get treated by doctors and hospitals that are convenient to you. You will need to know whether or not they will cover you when you have a major medical care expense.

Most private medical insurance contracts today will have a network of physicians that they encourage you to use when you need care. If you go to a doctor who it outside of their network, you will wind up paying more for your medical expenses or may wind up paying the full amount for your care. The penalty for using a non-network provider is usually pretty steep.

Since using network providers results in your getting more of your medical bills covered, the network is critical. You will want to see if your doctor is in their network. If your doctor isn't in the network, as a minimum you will want to make sure that there are physicians in the network who are near your home and/or job. You will want to make sure that a hospital near your home is in the network as well.

When looking at the benefits of health insurance contracts, be sure to investigate how each policy covers the big expenses. A policy with a low copay for physician visits but an unreasonable limit on what it pays in the hospital is a bad policy.

Be sure to purchase a contract with a lifetime limit of no less than 3 million dollars and no separate lifetime limit. Also be sure that your benefit level in the doctor's office is not limited. Beware of contracts that have limited benefits in the physicians' office. You can go bankrupt trying to pay physician bills even if you never go to a hospital.

Knowing what to look for when comparing private health insurance contracts is important if you want to make the best choice for yourself and your family. A good policy will be backed by a good company that has a history of paying its claims and is expected to be able to pay its claims in the future. A good contract will have a good network of doctors and hospitals that is convenient and will not have unreasonable limits on the medical expenses it pays for.