Anyone use short term health insurance? I will be needing it very soon and have heard it is very affordable. After searching the net i have found Clarendon and the price is very cheap are there any catches to the cheap price?
Don't know anything about the one you are talking about but Fortis Health is great. It's strictly for short term (30-185 day) and the home office is in your state. It's major medical and it cost me $135/mo. I got it through State Farm here in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I'm sure you can call around and find out where you can get it where you live. I didn't have to get a physical. Lynn
first post here. I just saw a thing on our local tv news the other night about going online to find health insurance, and one of the ones they mentioned was einsurance.com. I think there are other online services like this - I just gave it a try and they do list actual companies, along with their AM Best ratings. Hope that helps! melinda in houston
Fortis cheap? Just hope you don't have a medical problem and have to keep them. My wife broke her foot so she is going to have to stay with Fortis a while before other company will insure her. It has been going uo $ 75.00 per month on her birthday and $ 75.00 per month on the policy renewal date. Now paying $ 402.00 per month for just her with $ 1000.00 deductable, then 80/20.
Fortis cheap? NOT I've been with Fortis for longer than I care to admit. Every 6 - 12 months, they increase my premium ......and boost my deductible. Me 49, nonsmoker, excellent health throughout life, Her 52, nonsmoker, excellent health throughout life. Monthly premium for the 2 of us $452 Deductible $2500/each Cheap? yowser. I've been shopping around for another company since July.
One thing that you should know about the Fortis short-term policies is that they are not considered creditable coverage. This means that even though you are covered, other insurance companies may consider that time period as a lapse in coverage. Also, they are under no obligation to renew your policy after it expires, so if you do run into any kind of major health problems, they won't keep you on and it's unlikely that you'll be able to get coverage from any other company- coverage that you can afford, anyway. However, it's probably better than no insurance at all if it's your only option. I had the short term for 6 months, then got regular coverage with them when it became apparent that I wasn't going to get any work-related benefits anytime soon. I would look into their regular policies: they are a bit more expensive but are creditable and have a prescription plan and cover a yearly physical (at least mine does). I haven't had to put in a claim yet (fingers crossed) so I can't speak to rates going up.
Golden Rule is quite likely the biggest ripoff company in the insurance industry. Case in point. My brother & his wife had Golden Rule for several years. $1000 yearly deductible. My brother developed some sort of ear infection, and went to see a physician. The bill for services came to $700. He submitted the bill to Golden Rule, knowing full well that it would only be applied toward the yearly deductible......and he would be paying the entire $700. Golden Rule said the $700 cost was unreasonable (of course it was, thats the reason we carry insurance) and only applied $150 towards the deductible. Anyone that carries health insurance with Golden Rule is playing Russian Roulette.
Please try to look into some other way to get group coverage, even if you have to go back to community college. Join an organization if you can. Individual coverage is always a rip-off, no matter who you get it from. If you fall into certain income guidelines, you may fall under your state's plan. Imho, unless you drink, smoke or do drugs (prescription or otherwise) to excess, everyone should pay the same for healthcare premiums. If you do the above three things, your healthcare costs from these substances (including bills from drunk driving from third party victims) should be submitted directly to the alcohol and smoking industries (they should be made to set up a fund for this). For prescription drug problems--both the drug companies and anyone who overprescribes should get the bill. As far as illegal drugs, the bill (and of course an arrest warrant) should go to your pusher--you don't tell, no treatment.
I don't know what you are considering "'very cheap". DH just lost his job last month. The insurance hadn't been paid by the company and was going to run out on the 9th of this month. That same day a meeting was held for the laid off workers to explain the different policies and a few options. We chose to take a wicked high deductible ($15,000/year) to pay the lowest rate (approx. $250/month) and protect our assets in case of catastrophic illness. The kids qualified for the state's free health insurance. So until we know what the future holds, that's what we did. There may be a better plan out there. I was thinking of checking into self employed group rates, because we may go that route in the future. But that's all I know. Take the higher deductible, if you're in good health. You'll have to pay for the basics out of pocket, but if something drastic should happen, maybe you wouldn't lose everything you own. For example, my mother in law had cancer. She had treatments off and on for a period of 10 years. Total cost, $1.5 million. No way could they have afforded treatment without insurance.
