Family Health Insurance Plans - How to Find The Best Provider Online

Family health insurance plans typically need to offer more coverage than plans for an individual.
Pick Your Plan

Fees-for-service and managed care are the basic types of family health insurance plans offered. Fees-for-service allows you to choose your own physician, but often they don’t cover preventative care. Managed care plans offer preventative care with a lower premium, but you have to use physicians from their network.
Within these types of plans, there are hundreds of variations depending on the health insurance provider. Some providers offer preventive care coverage with their fees-for-service plans, while others allow you to go outside of a managed care network for a price.

Shop Online

Since 2001, health insurance providers have been competing online for customers. As a result, it is easier to gather quotes and research companies.

Demand Customer Service

The best health insurance providers offer excellent customer service along with a good price. Many providers offer customer service online, over the phone, or at an office. Health insurance providers are now completing most of the application process online.

Health Insurance 101 for Individuals and Families


Executif Summary About Best Health Insurance by Michael Ertel


The changing healthcare and health insurance landscape in the United States has resulted in more individuals and families purchasing health insurance coverage on their own.
-What are your typical health and medical care expenses in a calendar year? Most people are surprised when they go through this exercise to learn that they would be financially better off in most years to purchase a high deductible health insurance plan and use the premium savings to directly offset heath care expenses throughout the year.
-How long do you anticipate needing the health insurance coverage? It is nice to have a policy that covers items such as: physician office visits, routine physicals, outpatient testing, and blood work. However, it is essential to have coverage for major services such as cancer treatment, transplants, critical illness, traumatic accidents, and infectious diseases. Find out the lifetime maximum amount as well as if the policy contains “internal” dollar limits.
-Always carefully read and understand the pre-existing condition clause and policy exclusions so that you will not be surprised down the road if a claim is denied. 6)Does the insurance company you are considering have a substantial network of preferred doctors and hospitals in your area? Also, what are your options for preferred health care providers when traveling?
-If you need to go “out of network”, will you still have coverage? Most insurance policies will have coverage in the event you need to go outside of their network for care. How are reimbursement levels determined for out of network claims? In the right situation, HSAs can be an excellent way to pay for eligible health care expenses, reduce your taxable income and save for retirement.
-What are the financial ratings of the insurance company you are considering? A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s are organizations that rate the financial stability of insurance companies.
-What type of customer service will you get from your insurance agent? Do they specialize in health insurance? If you do not have the time or patience to look into all of the items mentioned above, develop a relationship with an independent insurance agent that specializes in evaluating and servicing health insurance policies.