Finding health care insurance as a self-employed worker, or someone who is considering starting their own firm, is one of the most daunting tasks.
Given that most employers handle health insurance coverage for their employees, most Americans are woefully unprepared to enter a consumer-focused health care marketplace.
There are quite a few important pitfalls that one will need to avoid when shopping for self-employed insurance.
The most debilitating pitfall is not understanding when health insurance does not cover preexisting illness.
If you have a major pre-existing illness, you will likely be rejected by most health insurance companies and forced to pay heavy surcharges at others.
Given the highly regulated nature of the insurance market, it is important that you learn exactly what your individual state's regulations are for individual insurance.
Some states offer addition protection to individual insurers, above what the federal government offers and it is wise to know what self-employed health insurance regulations exist in your state.
Certain types of "specialized" insurance often come with low premiums and high limitations.
Some of the things to be especially skeptical of include: one-disease insurance, accident insurance, student health insurance, indemnity policies, direct mail solicitation insurance, and celebrity-pitched insurance.
Not these are always bad, but be sure to do extra legwork to figure out if they are actually worth the money they cost - even if the premiums seem low.
Of course, there are some more obvious pitfalls when looking for self-employed health insurance - things that apply to any consumer area.
The most important of which, is know the legitimacy of who you are dealing with.
Have you heard of the company?Do you know someone else who uses them?Are they accredited with any organization that boosts their legitimacy?These are important questions to ask, because there are many fly-by-nights and less than scrupulous health insurance providers out there who prey solely on individual insurance consumers.
Also, if you are working through an agent, or third party, you'll need to do additional due diligence to make sure that this agent is fully licensed in your state and is an authorized representative of the provider that you choose.
Despite all of these pitfalls self-employed insurance is not impossible to find.
While the constructs of the current health care system in the United States makes it difficult to traverse the myriad programs and plans, simply spending some time to do your own homework on the issue will help you to make an informed decision.