• Don’t overpay for insurance. Shop around and get multiple quotes. Not all insurance plans are created equal.

• Don’t pay an insurance company for something you can afford to pay yourself. Insure yourself and family against catastrophic loss due to illness or injury. Don’t pay an insurance company to cover your runny noses and sore throats. Pay for those yourself out of your own pocket. Raise your deductible to an amount that you can afford, and reduce your monthly expense.

• Supplement your insurance to cover the larger deductible with a plan that pays cash for emergencies, accidents, and/or other critical illnesses.

By following these tips you can reduce your monthly premiums and increase your coverage.

We often get a lot of questions about why people need supplemental insurance, or how our insurance actually works.

To help people understand how our insurance plans work, we created this video (see below).  We have plans to fit every budget. Enjoy!

What is supplemental health insurance ?
Basically, supplemental health insurance is a policy which addresses specific health care concerns and covers them either in part or 100%. Some examples of available types of coverage are: Accident & Injury, Cancer, Critical Illness, Disability, Hospitalization, Long-term Care.

Why do you need a supplemental health plan?
Having a supplemental health plan puts the consumer in control of their health care. They determine what features, benefits, and exclusions are important to them and the cost they are willing to pay. Applicants can customize almost every feature of these policies to their exact needs. By doing so, people have the flexibility to adjust their major medical policy to be more specific to their situation. Consumers can opt to increase deductibles, reduce features, limit the physician’s network, or increase co-pays or share of cost to reduce health insurance premiums. The savings can be in the hundreds of dollars each month according to a recent example.

According to Robert Scott, CEO of XSI Sports Insurance, the leading accident and injury insurance provider in the United States, there are supplemental medical plans for anyone and everyone. He adds that plans can be tailored to cover a family, an individual, professional athletes, baby-boomers, child and teen amateurs, and everyone in between.

“At XSI we show our clients how to save money and increase their health care coverage today. We have seen actual savings of $50-$200 a month for some just by adding an XSI accident plan to their major medical plan for about $20 a month,” says Scott. “Supplemental health plans are the absolute future of health insurance! “

Are supplemental health plans difficult to qualify for?
Most supplemental health plans are easy to qualify for. Long-term care and cancer plans do generally have underwriting and health qualifications. But these are the exception. In fact, some accident plans, such as those offered by XSI and others, are guaranteed to be issued based only upon a single question on the short two-page application. Online applications, electronic signatures, and credit card payment options make supplemental health plans easy to apply for as well.

Frankly, health insurance may suck. But adding a supplemental health insurance plan can give consumers options they may not have known they had and at a price they can afford. The next time your health insurance premium is due, you may want to talk to a health insurance agent to see what options are available to you to save money and regain control of your health care costs and options.

Accidents happen. That’s a fact, right? Everyone knows that. But people tend to think it won’t happen to them. Have you considered what you would do if you tripped on the front steps of your house, fell off a ladder, got poked in the eye, or stepped on a shard of glass? These things happen to the safest and most careful every single day. Household accidents are the third leading cause of death in the US according to a recent study.

Then why don’t we think we need an accident plan?

Recent industry studies show that the most common reasons people think they don’t need an accident plan are:

• Most people are not aware that accident plans exist as stand-alone policies.
• They think their major medical plan will be enough to cover their expenses.
• They won’t qualify.
• They can’t afford it.

Luckily for consumers, none of these objections are valid. Here’s why…

Accident plans have actually been available for many years. Until recently, however, they have not been an area of focus for marketing organizations and health insurance agents because they have been focused on other products. With the up coming health insurance reform and rising health care costs, agents and organizations have begun to look closely at providing this vital coverage for their clients and members and are getting the word out.

Companies such as XSI Sports Insurance, are committed to putting the emphasis on accident coverage that these products deserve, according to Andrew Scott, Inside Sales Agent. “We find that people don’t even know these plans are out there,” Scott adds. “They are so valuable. I get excited offering XSI accident plans to people because I know how much they need it!”

What happens if you get injured while working around the house or playing basketball? What if your child is injured on the playground at school or on the soccer field? And now you can’t go to work on Monday. Your major medical plan will not cover you for that lost time at work. Most accident plans will!

If you had to take an extended time off of work because of an accident or injury do you have the financial resources to cover your living costs? If not, you may need an accident plan even with a major medical policy in place. It also might be helpful to remember the deductibles, co-pays, and share of costs associated with most medical plans. Accident plans are designed to help pay for these unexpected expenses.

Accident plans are so easy to qualify for and afford. Many plans are guaranteed to be issued, have no pre-existing condition exclusions, have a short 1- 2 page application, and begin at $12 a month for substantial coverage. Online submission, electronic signatures, and credit card payment options make getting an accident policy fast and easy.

To find out how an accident plan can help you specifically, it is best to speak with a licensed health insurance agent. There is a good amount of information available via the internet as well. With the cost of these plans being well within the average family’s and individual’s budget taking the time to research accident plans, no matter how you do it, may be the best time you have spent in protecting your family against the expense of an accident. An accident plan can give you security, knowing you’re covered.

Major Medical Health Insurance is a HOT topic today. Everyone is thinking about it and talking about it. Maybe you are asking yourself questions like:

• Do I have enough coverage?
• Why are my premiums so high?
• What does my deductible mean?
• What are exclusions?
• How can I be sure that I’m covered but save money on my premiums?

These are common questions. Below we will help answer these questions and help you understand what major medical is and how to get the coverage you and your family need.

Do I have enough coverage?

Knowing whether you have enough coverage can be a difficult thing to determine. Basically you need to ask yourself a few questions:

Do I have enough savings or financial resources to pay the entire cost of a major illness or accident? (Remember, these amounts could be in the millions of dollars on average.)

How much of my financial resources do I want to spend paying for medical needs?

After you have determined the answers to these questions, it is valuable to work with an experienced agent to research the available options and how each addresses your individual situation. You can also research on the internet various plans and programs which may be right for you.

Supplemental medical policies such as critical illness, cancer, or accident can help ensure that you have the maximum coverage in the specific areas that are of concern to you.

Why are my premiums so high?

Premiums are determined by many factors such as age, sex, risk class, etc. But basically, premium is controlled by three things:

1. Choice
2. Share of Cost
3. Features

The more choice and features and the lower your share of cost your policy has, the higher your premiums will be. Adjusting those will also give you the most flexibility in premium. For example: you may choose to limit the number of doctors you can see and take a greater share of the cost by raising your deductibles or co-payments in order to keep the features you need at the cost you can afford. But there are many combinations insurance companies offer today that give you control of the plan and the price. One of the least expensive, fastest, and easiest ways to keep features and choice high and share of cost low is to add a supplemental health insurance policy such as an accident, cancer, or hospitalization plan to your major medical plan.

What does my “deductible” mean?

Deductibles are simply the part of your medical cost you have agreed to pay before the insurance company begins to pay their part of your medical treatments costs. Deductibles can run anywhere from $500 to $15,000 on average. Some policies with deductibles pay 100% of all costs after you have met that deductible. Other plans may pay 80%, 70%, or 50%, which leaves a significant amount of the cost of care for you to pay.

Deductibles are an excellent way to reduce premiums and keep features high. If you think you are paying too much in premium you can reduce that cost and save hundreds of dollars each month just by increasing your deductible and adding a supplemental health plan to your insurance coverage. By combining your high-deductible medical plan with a low-cost, feature rich supplemental health plan you can ensure that you have the maximum coverage at the minimum cost.

What are exclusions?

Exclusion are the types of treatments, services, procedures, etc. that your plan does not cover and therefore, your insurance company will not pay for. Exclusions vary per policy but there are general exclusions on most major medical policies such as acts of war, elective surgery, fertility treatments, as well as many others. It is critically important that you know the exclusions of any policy prior to purchase. A knowledgeable agent is one of the best ways to ensure that you not only know, but understand the exclusions of your policy and how they may affect you. Having a supplemental medical policy can cover some of those exclusions if an excluded service is of concern to you. Speaking with a licensed health insurance agent can be the safest and easiest way to explore the options you have in regards to exclusions and supplementing them with a specialized policy for your individual situation.

How can I be sure that I’m covered but save money on my premiums?

Spending money for health insurance you don’t feel you use and may not understand can seem like a frivolous expense during tough economic times. But having major medical insurance with a supplemental policy is an ideal way to ensure that you have the best coverage for unforeseen accidents and illnesses. The combination of the two gives you the maximum control of features and cost available in the health insurance market today. Supplemental policies can be customized to your unique situation, are available to individuals and families, and cost as little as $10 per month for significant levels of coverage. Generally, supplement plans do not have the underwriting requirements of a major medical plan and can be issued immediately, in some cases. Once you have chosen to add a supplemental medical plan to your coverage or if you have specific questions, speak to a knowledgeable health insurance agent, research the plans via the internet, or call your current health insurance company. However, an experienced health insurance agent will be able to detail how to reduce your major medical premiums and customize your coverage to your specific situation. In addition, a good agent will be able to explain the costs and benefits of each option so that you can have peace of mind knowing you are covered at a price you can afford. Anyway you decide to explore your options, it is a good idea to know that your medical costs are going to be covered without spending too much to have the protection you want and need.