Health insurance is another type of insurance that is all too easy to underinsure to save money. You may come to regret that if you ever need to claim though, especially if you have a family. You need to take care of your health insurance on a regular basis and revisit it often, especially as your circumstances change. It is sometimes difficult to consider this seriously when you are healthy, but that is the best time. Nobody knows when their health is going to be affected by something, it is far better to have cover in place than to try and get it once the worst happens.
It is easy to put a value on your home or your car, but how much do you value your health? Like many things in life, you only really value it when it’s gone. Nothing could be more true about health.
There are a wide variety of policies which insurance companies offer. Some of the more common types of policies include:
· Home-Health Care. Speaks for itself really. This cover enables you to stay in your home while receiving treatment. That will include most kinds of ‘home help’ or ‘assisted living’.
· Long -Term Care. This is provided to people who otherwise would not be able to take care of themselves. A range of services from delivery of prepared meals, assistance with managing the house, to stays in residential homes.
· Major Medical cover provides coverage for doctor visits, surgery and hospitalization or ongoing illnesses.
· Hospital and Surgery cover provides coverage solely related to hospital stays and surgical services, such as room and board, laboratory tests, X-rays, plus doctors’ charges.
· Hospital Confinement Indemnity is a policy designed to pay a set amount for each day you are an in-patient at a hospital.
· Health Maintenance Organizations are a centralized service provider. Doctor visits, surgery, hospitalization and often reduced-rate prescription medicine are covered. IT may also cover preventive care, often not included in major medical policies.
· Specified Disease (also called “Dread Disease”) is a lovely title, and it covers costs associated with a single disease, such as cancer, AIDS, heart attacks, etc.
· Short-Term is typically a major medical policy but with coverage lasting only for a specified length of time. Might be purchased to cover the time you are between jobs.
· Accident Only – provides coverage for doctor visits, surgery and hospitalization resulting from an accident. This would not cover you for any illnesses or diseases you may encounter.
· Dental provides coverage for costs associated with dentists and orthodontists.
· Vision provides coverage for sight correction
· Limited cover is not very common any more. It is a bare-bones type of coverage intended to cover specific situations.
That was just an overview of the kind of cover out there. It should be enough to give you an idea of what to expect when looking at health insurance. Just make sure you do it before, and not after you need it.
