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My wife and I reside in Wisconsin, are self-employed, and are currently shopping around for "the best" health insurance. We currently are insured through Assurant ...
My wife and I reside in Wisconsin, are self-employed, and are currently shopping around for "the best" health insurance. We currently are insured through Assurant Health (for the last three years), and have seen our monthly premium go from $210 to $525 in that span. We basically only require major medical. Our current plan has a $4000 deductible, and we pay $6300 a year for the right to pay our first $4000! We are both in our early 40's. Searching the internet can be overwhelming, as well as talking to some local agents. We have had zero claims on our existing insurance, with very few doctor visits (sinus infection, OBY/GYN visits). How can a company more than double our monthly rate in such a short time span? Any reputable insurance carriers you may suggest will be much appreciated. I've picked up on one suggestion from this forum, and that is DO NOT GO WITH N.A.S.E.! Thanks for any advice.
I'm sure you'll get some advice from health experts here, which I am not. Assurant has a good reputation in the market. I don't know why you have seen such steep increases. You're right to not go with NASE. Good luck.
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Originally Posted by bedafish
My wife and I reside in Wisconsin, are self-employed, and are currently shopping around for "the best" health insurance. We currently are insured through Assurant Health (for the last three years), and have seen our monthly premium go from $210 to $525 in that span. We basically only require major medical. Our current plan has a $4000 deductible, and we pay $6300 a year for the right to pay our first $4000! We are both in our early 40's. Searching the internet can be overwhelming, as well as talking to some local agents. We have had zero claims on our existing insurance, with very few doctor visits (sinus infection, OBY/GYN visits). How can a company more than double our monthly rate in such a short time span? Any reputable insurance carriers you may suggest will be much appreciated. I've picked up on one suggestion from this forum, and that is DO NOT GO WITH N.A.S.E.! Thanks for any advice.
It sounds like you need to speak with John Petrowski. He is a member on this forum. You can find his email address in the members section. If anyone can help you, he can.
Sounds like you guys need to shop the hsa market....and think about taking sep. policy's on you and your wife to cut risk....and go here and get rates from all these company's......go to your yellow pages and look under health insurance and see if you can find someone that can give rates on all these co's.....do not try to do it on line because your name will get sold to a bunch of pesky yahoos......
You went from $210 to $525 with Assurant in 3 years? Assurant normally runs 22% for increases which means you should be at $380 - but then again I sell in MD. The only explanation is three years ago you were on a plan they no longer offer. In that case you might have got higher than normal increases if they had bad claims experiences.
You went from $210 to $525 with Assurant in 3 years? Assurant normally runs 22% for increases which means you should be at $380 - but then again I sell in MD. The only explanation is three years ago you were on a plan they no longer offer. In that case you might have got higher than normal increases if they had bad claims experiences.
I'm telling you John back in the day when it was just fortis that was the business norm.....
We are enrolled in an HSA thru Assurant (Fortis). I just think these rate increases are abnormally high, and am looking for a better deal. I have some local agents working on my requests, but who do you trust? It seems like these companies will just continue to bump your rates every year so that you'll pull out before making a claim. New quotes coming in to me range from $200 - $275. What is the norm for increases from most insurance companies? John, you mentioned Assurant is @ 22%, is that an industry norm?
... and why would a company that I've been with for 3+ years (without a claim) be more than double a "new" insurer who is basing my rate on age & smoking preference alone?
... and why would a company that I've been with for 3+ years (without a claim) be more than double a "new" insurer who is basing my rate on age & smoking preference alone?
Because they have taken the risk for 3 years and think its time to move it to another company....who knows...but what I do not like about this co is that you can have a different rate that you are paying on your health plan that you have had for several years and the new street rate is cheaper on the same plan that you have....but have you looked into converting your current plan to another assurant plan.....and usually if I have just a husband and wife hsa plan we usually split them.....
1) You can submit a supplement app with Assurant and get their new business rates.
2) In MD average rates increases are 20% - Aetna just hit 19%, Assurant's 22%, Golden Rule was 24%.
Why the increases? Because the effect of underwriting wears off over time. That simply means health insurance companies get to pick and choose who they want based on your health at the time of the applications.
But after the application and approval over the course of years people have new accidents and illnesses so insurance companies "force" people to either go through underwriting again or cancel every 3 to 5 years depending on the carrier. Does that stink? Yes...it does.
And if you think this only applies to individual policies go talk to small business owners are their rate increases.
But after the application and approval over the course of years people have new accidents and illnesses so insurance companies "force" people to either go through underwriting again or cancel every 3 to 5 years depending on the carrier. Does that stink? Yes...it does.
If we DO get some kind of universal or single payor coverage which puts the carriers out of business, many people will say that the health carriers brought it on themselves by their business practices.
How did we get the Do Not Call list? Because the direct marketing/telemarketing industry simply screwed over enough people who finally spoke up and said "Time to put a stop to this crap."
It might be the same with health insurance. No one loves an insurance company... and even less so these days than when I was young (a long, long time ago!)
But after the application and approval over the course of years people have new accidents and illnesses so insurance companies "force" people to either go through underwriting again or cancel every 3 to 5 years depending on the carrier. Does that stink? Yes...it does.
If we DO get some kind of universal or single payor coverage which puts the carriers out of business, many people will say that the health carriers brought it on themselves by their business practices.
How did we get the Do Not Call list? Because the direct marketing/telemarketing industry simply screwed over enough people who finally spoke up and said "Time to put a stop to this crap."
It might be the same with health insurance. No one loves an insurance company... and even less so these days than when I was young (a long, long time ago!)
Al
Instead of focusing on the negatives, what about admiring the positives about the people have been helped.
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[COLOR=#000066]"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." Confucius
I wish I had your problem. My premiums went from $500 per month (+/-) to nearly $1000 per month over a 4 year period. It got so bad I had to withdraw from my employer's health plan because I couldn't make my car payment (need a car to get to work).
I would KILL for a $525 per month premium with a $4000 deductible!
Advice on self-employed health insurance
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