Friday, July 4, 2008

Do I Need to Secure Medical Insurance?

Unexpected medical emergencies do happen making a medical insurance policy a necessity. Many businesses are either not offering any medical benefits to their employees or offering a prefixed amount to compensate for any medical needs. This puts the burden of finding adequate medical insurance on the employee.

Recent laws have made it easier to qualify for medical insurance. Companies are no longer allowed to disqualify due to certain medical conditions. A quick look online will provide a list of many insurance companies.

Before signing up for a plan, consider your family's medical needs and budget requirements. There are basically two types of plans to consider, a private plan and a government plan.

Types of Coverage

Some companies will provide a private medical insurance policy for their employees. The larger the company the better price they can secure. Some insurance companies may have a list of stipulations for qualify for this insurance.

Individual plans are available to people who are either unemployed or their employer does not offer medical benefits.

If you are going to sign on with a private plan learn all you can about the coverage in the contract. Read all the inclusions and exclusions and avoid signing up with a plan that has a long list of exclusions. Also make sure you obtain a copy of all the paperwork you sign.

Health insurance offered by the government is generally on a state or national level. One example would be Medicare which is a national plan. Medicare is available for those people over 65 years of age and also is available to disabled people. Some other types of government assisted health care plans include Medicaid which is based on income level, health and care for veterans and children's health programs.

Do Your Homework

In general, it is very important to be covered, no matter what plan you qualify for. Research your options and search the internet. Many websites offer price comparisons for different options and policies. Check out what coverage options are available to you, get quotes and don't forget to read the fine print.

Trip Travel Insurance Is a Sensible Choice

If you are planning to take an overseas trip, you should definitely look into purchasing a trip travel insurance policy for yourself, your travel companions and your family. So, you may be asking right about now, what is travel insurance? Travel insurance is a short term policy which usually covers things like medical expenses, financial losses and the like for the duration of a trip, whether domestic or overseas.

It is important to read the fine print on any policy for any exclusions or special restrictions. Check your regular medical coverage to see if it includes or excludes coverage while out of the country. You do not want to pay for something you may not need. If booking through a travel agency they may offer trip travel insurance for just such emergencies.

If you are purchasing a single trip policy make sure you are covered for enough time. Add a few days to the start of the trip for coverage in case of early cancellation and a few days after you are due to return in case you have to stay a few extra days.

Travel insurance is also available on an annual basis. This is great if you have to travel often. Check the premium costs for a single trip verses an annual policy that will cover any number of trips for the whole year. Again, read the exclusions, you may think you are getting a deal but you may not be getting great coverage.

Most trip travel policies, whether single or annual, will generally cover anything from an emergency airlift situation to lost luggage. These things do happen and you want to be sure you are covered.

Eliminate the stress and worry of losing prepaid fees with an annual trip travel insurance policy. Most of us today have very busy lives and losing sleep over an upcoming trip is unnecessary and can be alleviated with the purchase of an annul trip policy.

An annual policy would give the assurance that you would not lose any of your deposits or other prepaid expenses on any trip you plan or take during the year.

Do some research on the web to find adequate insurance for trips. Make sure it covers not only medical emergencies but financial loss and trip cancellation.