Insurance is a necessary part of everyday life. We encounter it in all different forms, including car insurance, home insurance, and insurance to protect our property and possessions. Investing in insurance can often leave people feeling overwhelmed, there seems to be a near endless supply of companies, policies, and conflicting opinions out there.
Perhaps the two most important types of insurance we can get are medical insurance and life insurance. Medical insurance can give a safety net to fall back should we require any sort of medical or health treatment, while life insurance will guarantee that our loved ones are financially secure when we leave them. When shopping for any insurance policy, using comparisons is the best way to find the one that’s right for you. Let’s take a look at how to do this in more detail.
Comparing Medical Insurance Policies
There are vast numbers of different health insurance plans available, each with their own unique benefits and particular drawbacks. Knowing which is the right for you is not an easy task, it can be easy to get bogged down in details and feeling frozen with indecision.
Determining what kind of medical insurance you need can be a helpful step before you begin comparing policies. First, check if you are eligible for any subsidies to help cover the cost, these can be obtained from local authorities or even directly from the insurance companies themselves.
Next, you’ll need to have an understanding of the different types of medical insurance before moving forward. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans will give you access to hospitals and doctors within that plan’s particular network. Services within the network will offer lower rates to plan members, but HMO holders can often be restricted by the number of visits, treatments, or tests. Additionally, some HMO plans may stipulate that you receive a referral from a primary care physician before you will be eligible for treatment.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans can offer more options, with fewer limitations on accessing services from non-network providers. Most PPO plans will payout if you see a non-network provider, while HMO plans will not. Additionally, PPO plans will allow you to receive treatment without a prior referral from a primary care physician. However, premiums for these plans tend to be higher than for HMOs.
Knowing the difference between types of medical insurance will allow you to compare them effectively before deciding which is right for you.
Comparing Life Insurance
Life insurance works as a guarantee that your loved ones will be financially secure after you pass away. There are several types of life insurance policy available, with most of the largest life insurance companies offering a range of options. Knowing the details of and differences between each type can help you evaluate which is most suitable for your particular needs and requirements.
Term life insurance policies are used to guarantee that your loved ones or beneficiaries receive a guaranteed lump sum if the policy holder dies within an agreed period of time. The length of this period can vary and will be determined when you take out the policy. If, for example, you agree to a term life insurance policy of 40 years, your loved ones will receive a payout if you die within 40 years. However, if you die after the time period, they will not receive anything. The length of the term can influence how much you pay for premiums, with your accumulated premiums contributing to the eventual payout your loved ones receive.
Level term life insurance establishes a set amount that your loved ones will receive no matter how many years into the policy you pass away, while increasing term life insurance sees the payout increase over time, designed to account for inflation.
Whole life insurance covers the span of your entire lifetime, paying out to loved ones in the event of your death no matter when that takes place. This is usually the most expensive life insurance policy, as the insurance companies are required to always pay out at some point.
With balanced cover life insurance, premiums remain the same throughout the length of the policy, as will the payout guaranteed to loved ones. Maximum cover life insurance uses your premiums to make investments, with profits from these investments contributing to the final payout. However, if the investments do not perform well the insurance premiums can increase.
Parents of young children will often consider taking out life insurance to ensure their children are supported financially after they die. In this situation, term life insurance is usually the best option. It will guarantee that the children are financially secure should the parents die young, as debts like mortgage repayments can often be passed on to loved ones after death.
Conclusion
Don’t let the thought of having to compare and analyze different medical and life insurance policies overwhelm you. While it may seem like there is an enormous number of different plans and options, most perform relatively similar functions. Evaluating your particular situation and individual needs can help you establish what exactly it is you are looking for in a medical or life insurance policy, making the process of comparison and selection far more straightforward.
