If you’re looking at individual health insurance plans you may be a little confused at what exactly you should be looking for. One thing is certain – not all policies are created equal. It is not just a case of choosing the cheapest plan. That one may cover you for something, but certainly not for what you needed.
There are five main types of cover you can consider. The most basic covers you for hospital and surgery related health needs, plus related costs incurred for tests and specialist care. This can be rather precise and not cover everything under the sun. It covers those unexpected illnesses, as long as you didn’t have a related pre existing condition. This is a highly recommended basic level of insurance and it is often less expensive than you think it will be.
If you want a little more peace of mind, or are exploring options for families at the same time, you might want to stick with the hospital and surgery care but add on the option for all specialist tests to also be covered (rather than just the ones related to any surgery or hospital stays). This means you can cover initial screening of potential issues. This is probably only a good way to go if the excess is under five hundred dollars.
You can also get your GP visits covered as part of your individual health insurance plan but this does bump the price up considerably. You normally don’t get cover for the first three months.
You can of course have a policy that helps with dental and or optical services. This is also a lot more expensive and not all providers will give this sort of cover. The stand down for these options is often around six months.
The first option is to combine all the trimming into a full comprehensive cover, including hospital, surgical, GP visits, tests and procedures and dental and optical cover. Of course again this is the more expensive option but may be ideal for those who want assurance that their health needs will be looked after. You can relax, knowing that you are covered, though there may be some variances on when you can claim certain accidents or health concerns.