Comments on: Lowering Our Health Insurance Premiums

By: Jay Norris

Jay Norris — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:51:50 +0000

I think the rate only increased by $8 because of underwriting, not bad. But I really would expect no underwriting on just switching to a plan with more exposure.

By: Louise

Louise — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:52:55 +0000

@Don Levit: The rep told me that it was guaranteed issue since the out of pocket exposure was higher than our current plan, and that our rate was based on our claims history - but I'm not sure if there's a max rate up in that situation. Yes, the rate we got with our software would be for a new client with no adverse health conditions.

By: Don Levit

Don Levit — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:28:32 +0000

Louise:
That does sound like like an excellent rate.
Are you saying it was guaranteed issue, up to a maximim rate, depending on health history?
The base quote that you got with your software, was that the initial rate a new customer would have paid upon proving health?
Don Levit

By: Louise

Louise — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:09:00 +0000

@Don Levit: The policy was guaranteed issue for us, because it's a higher deductible policy. Humana would have made us reapply and go through underwriting only if we wanted to switch to a lower deductible. In this case, they did include our claims history in the quote, and it was $8/month more expensive than the base quote we got with our own quoting software. The billing rep I spoke with said this was because our claims history was included in the rate on the new plan. Considering the fact that our claims this year were quite large (two knee surgeries), I'm happy with an $8/month increase.

By: Don Levit

Don Levit — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:07:06 +0000

Louise:
Thanks for your personal story.
Included with the paperwork, were any health questions asked?
If not, if you did prove insurability with Humana and passed, on the same plan, would the premium be even lower?
Don Levit