Florida Individual Health Insurance Buyers Connection

Yes, health insurance in the Sunshine State is pretty depressing of late. With nearly 3,000,000 Floridians without individual health insurance coverage, (that's 18% of the state's population) we are among the most expensive States in the country for health insurance. There are solutions to combating rising health insurance premiums but many people would rather risk bankruptcy or worse yet. The simple fact is that with even a high deductible health insurance plan people would at least have access to one of the best medical systems in the country.

Health insurance related bankruptcy is on the rise - the leading cause of individual bankruptcy today. When you consider the costs involved for health care it should come as no surprise that without health insurance you may be literally one insurance claim away from filing personal bankruptcy, a.k.a. debtors prison. It will ruin your credit for a minimum of ten years, and make it difficult to get any kind of credit – think car loans, mortgages. If you do manage to secure a loan, the interest rate will be humongous – even 24%. And if you file you may never file again, no matter the extreme situation.  You will lose some of your property. With the new bankruptcy laws (which Florida enacted in 2005), the requirements are even tougher to qualify and you have to pay something. There will be no privacy here. Your filing is a part of the public record (potentially in the newspaper under legal notices) and stuff you may not want your nosy neighbor to know may be included in that record. 

If medical bills have you running in the red, get yourself a good health insurance agent and find an affordable health insurance plan. When shopping for Florida health insurance the details (yes, like the costs) presented may scare you away. But before you turn and run, there are a few things that you will learn when comparing Florida health insurance. First off and foremost, you will be able to see how premiums vary widely depending on how the plan is structured - what's covered and what isn't. If cost is a major factor you will learn all that you need to know by simply checking out a few prices before you even get started. After that you want to drill down into the detail checking out such things as deductibles, coinsurance, stop-loss and out-of-pocket maximums.

Applying for a Florida health insurance policy is an eye opening experience for many.  You may experience any number of insurance-related problems, including claim denials, sky-high premiums, cancellations, or refusals to grant or renew policies. Florida health insurance program for children: the KidCare program is our States' health insurance program for uninsured children under age 19. 

For any health policy, a company might consider age, occupation, current health status and medical history. They can also look at lifestyle, and habits to see what type of health risks a person may have. If individual risk factors indicate that a claim is likely, the company may charge more for the policy or even worse, refuse coverage. Before applying for an individual health insurance policy, Florida Individual Health Insurance Quotes Website advises talking to a qualified health insurance consultant for advice on which policy to choose (yes, like us).

Most individual health insurance companies in Florida have certain clauses regarding risk factors and pre-existing conditions. Limits on risk and 'pre-existing conditions' are a standard part of most health plans. These limits ensure that benefits are paid only for conditions that occur naturally and only after your health coverage becomes effective. Paying only for approved services and covered conditions helps control healthcare costs and prevent possible insurance abuse. Even if you are coming off a Guaranteed Issue health insurance or Employer Group Plan you are going to be subject to pre-existing condition clauses. The only time you aren't is when you go from an Individual Florida Health Insurance Plan to a Group Plan or from one Group Plan to another Group Plan. And even then, if you don't have continuous coverage you will be subject to pre-existing conditions for up to one year depending on the health insurance carrier you are dealing with.

Call (407) 425-9347/ (800) 444-5797 for help with questions. (If you get a busy signal please leave a message and your call will be returned shortly)

The legal aspects of failure to disclose pre-existing conditions could jeopardize future claims or invalidate the policy. Florida Individual health insurance companies may completely exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions by attaching an 'exclusion rider' to the policy. If an applicant lists their pre-existing conditions on the application and the company issues coverage without attaching an exclusion rider, the company must begin covering the pre-existing conditions when the policy's pre-existing waiting period expires. Pre-existing condition waiting periods can be a maximum of two years on individual policies. Exclusion riders can be in-force indefinitely.

What else can someone do to get individual health plans? Corporations are able to purchase health insurance that cover pre-existing conditions for their employees so many CPA's recommend using S-corporations status instead of individual. Simply create an S-Corp online from a state like Nevada or Delaware, ($350) and then apply for insurance under the corporation. One word of advice when it comes to applying for an individual health insurance policy: applicants should be forthcoming and honestly answer all questions about medical conditions. Withholding information about an illness or medication is bad, the health insurance company may deny subsequent claims.'

Ask questions, especially if the wording of the policy is difficult. Be sure about specifics of the health insurance coverage. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification about policy details. For more help, have a Florida health insurance consultant give you an explanation. Try to get answers in writing.

If a person loses health insurance coverage from their job, they may opt to continue coverage with insurance called COBRA. COBRA stands for (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). COBRA is a law that makes it mandatory for an employer to provide the option of retaining membership in their health insurance plan. However applicants will have to pay the entire monthly premium part which was paid by the company earlier. Most people are surprised at the high cost of the COBRA premium.

If none of the above ways to reduce insurance costs work, then the only way is to go for a standard Florida individual health insurance policy. As mentioned earlier they are usually costly, but this online website can help Floridian's weed through the mounds of policies and select the best price and coverage available.