Ask Colleen King

Health Insurance, life insurance, annuities, long term care insurance–okay, my usual topics are in. But today’s article is not to talk about insurance, I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
2008 was a lousy year for many people, so kick it to the curb and get ready for 2009. As far as insurance, [...]

Wow–time got away, and I’ve posted nothing in December! Other than the usual holiday stuff keeping me busy, I also had several group health plan clients whose renewals are coming up January 1st. My advice to you when your group health insurance renewal comes around is to attend to it early on, and not wait [...]

Health insurance thoughts are usually more focused on what doesn’t work instead of people being grateful that they have it. Not all plans are good, but most are. The actual cost of care would wipe most people out if something significant happened to their health.

But if you purchase your own coverage or you obtain it [...]

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a great way to handle health care coverage for many people. In order to have one you need to have a specific type of health plan, referred to as a Qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). In order to qualify as an HSA eligible HDHP in 2008, plans for a [...]

I recently heard this statement at a sales training session, and it’s become my new mantra. Health insurance and most other types of insurance for that matter, can be really expensive and now’s not the time to be absorbing rate increases.
Even though I sell insurance for a living I don’t like to see people pay [...]

Health Insurance is treated differently by people as opposed to homeowners or auto insurance, because unfortunately we tend to need to use it more often. Individual health insurance plans generally over 70% (or less) after you meet the deductible. So until you hit the out of pocket maximum, which is like a stop loss, your [...]

Health insurance tends to be confusing to most people, so going to a big, national web site to decipher what all is available might be okay for some. If you really understand it, then go for it. I can understand wanting to do it on your own and not risk being pressured into buying more [...]

When dealing with Individual Health Insurance, depending on your personal health history, it can be dicey to apply because you don’t know whether you’ll be accepted or not and if you are, and are offered coverage at an above standard rate, will it be affordable? Depending on your situation there are some options in California, [...]

Did you know that it doesn’t really cost $10 to see a doctor? The HMO plans have gotten people into the mind set that it’s only $10 to see a doctor. When you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) you have a much more tuned in idea of cost.
In HMO plans mainly, you have a [...]

I always feel bad for people who find health insurance confusing–the things that really make it hard to understand, most people don’t even encounter. Most initial questions revolve around ‘what’s a deductible?’ Right after ‘what’s the difference between an HMO and a PPO (see my other post about that).
When evaluating a health insurance plan, either [...]