Individual Health Insurance

Health coverage for an individual is relatively easy to plan because there is only one person to consider. For this person, there are two major categories of health insurance available: group and individual.
Most people try to save money by buying a group policy.
People also have the choice of buying individual health insurance, although it costs more. When buying individual insurance, the policy is written solely for that person, based on his/her personal medical conditions.
If there is a pre-existing condition, it can make buying individual insurance difficult. Whether a person is accepted for insurance is very unpredictable at times.
It may help to know that a person may be accepted for comprehensive insurance, excluding the pre-existing condition.
One thing which affects the cost of individual health insurance is smoking—smokers always pay more.

 

Individual health insurance is insurance you buy on your own. Most insurance companies have on-line tools to help you find out how much individual health insurance will cost.
If you have a chronic illness or other health condition, it may be hard to buy individual health insurance.
However, group coverage and continuation coverage such as COBRA, will not deny you insurance because of a health condition.
Please examine your options carefully before declining group coverage or continuation coverage, such as COBRA that may be available to you.
You should be aware that companies offering individual health insurance typically require a review of your medical history that could result in a higher premium or you could be declined coverage entirely.

 

Underwriting:
When you apply for individual health insurance, the health plan uses a process called underwriting to look at your age, sex, and health history to decide how much it will cost to provide your health care. Plans must complete the underwriting process before they accept you and they must have an actuarial basis for decisions. An actuarial basis is a statistical reason.