About The Health Insurance Shop

We are independent brokers of Health Insurance, Income Protection, Accident and Sickness, Life and Critical Illness policies.
We provide access to the whole of the Health Insurance market that will allow us to match your requirements to your budget.
It is also important to protect your health so that in turn you can protect your wealth.
Many people insure their pets, TV’s, Washing machines etc. but do not insure the one thing that is most important to realising their lifestyle and that is their salary. The Health Insurance Shop has specific expertise in Income Protection and Accident and Sickness insurance policies, where we deal with all of the major insurers and Friendly Societies to find the best policy for you. Whether that is day one cover, high monthly benefit or long deferment periods we will find the income protection or accident and sickness policy to give you the best value for money cover to meet your needs.
The Health Insurance Shop will also look at defining your family needs. We will assist you in finding the right Life and/or Critical Illness policy to meet the needs of your family in the event of death or critical illness. Would you prefer a lump sum or a monthly benefit? These are questions we can advise you on when you come to purchase a Life Insurance policy.
The service we bring to you is most important at point of claim, where we will be able to assist you in making your claim with your Health Insurance, Income Protection, Accident and Sickness, or Life and Critical Illness policies.
* When choosing an Income Protection policy the key things to consider are:
* Does it cover your own Occupation?
* When does it pay out?
* How long does it pay for?
* Is the premium fixed or reviewable?
* Are there any exclusions?
We have been at the fore front of selling Income Protection policies in the UK for a number of years and have access to policies to meet all requirements including that of professional sportsmen and security staff that are normally excluded from Income Protection policies.
We can also cover Income Protection, Health Insurance and Life Insurance for overseas workers and ex pats.
If it is personal insurance you want then "The Health Insurance Shop is your one stop shop"

Protecting Your Family

Health insurance is important in the event that you, or any member of your family is ever sick or injured.
Having this coverage will protect you from financial hardships. State Farm® offers various types of health insurance, so that you can choose the product that best suits your personal situation.
Choose the plan that best fits your individual needs.
Individual Medical Coverage
This is primary medical insurance coverage that is designed for people who don't have this type of coverage through their employer or another group.
Prescription Drug (Part D) Plans
Medicare Part D is prescription drug coverage available to those enrolled/eligible for Medicare Part A and/or Part B.
Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) Coverage
Medicare Part C (otherwise known as Medicare Advantage) is a Medicare health plan available to those enrolled/eligible for Medicare Parts A and B.
Medicare Supplement Insurance
This is designed for the senior citizen who participates in Medicare, yet desires additional coverage to help with many of the expenses that Medicare does not pay.
Supplemental Medical Insurance*
This is Ideal for supplementing your primary health insurance coverage. It provides you with a pre-determined benefit amount for those extra, unbudgeted expenses that arise.
Unless you tell us otherwise or benefits are assigned according to state law, the benefit is paid directly to you.
You decide how the money is spent.
Benefits may be paid for necessary:
* Hospitalization
* Accidental Injury
* Outpatient Surgery
* Extended Care
* Intensive Care
*Supplemental Medical is the marketing name for our Hospital Income, Hospital Indemnity and Hospital Confinement Indemnity policy series 97024.

How to find and keep affordable health insurance

The writers and editors at the Health Insurance Resource Center put the pieces of the medical insurance puzzle together for you in our Health Insurance 101 section, as well as shifting through the best information from across the Internet throughout our pages:
Finding individual health insurance for your family can be confusing. We provide several tools to help you make better choices.
* get health insurance quotes
* glossary of medical insurance terms
* information on high-risk insurance pools.
* Frequently-asked questions on health care
* Self-employed medical insurance
What can you do to provide low cost protection for your family's health? Here at the Health Insurance Resource Center, we strive to make you a better-informed consumer to aid you in your quest to secure and keep an adequate health plan for your family, regardless of your individual situation.
Lack of health insurance an epidemic – what should be done?
Nearly 16 percent of Americans – 47 million people – are uninsured. According to a story in USAToday, the people without health insurance aren't just the poor – they are all of us. Medical bills are the cause of more than half of all personal bankruptcies in the United States.
Urge Congress to act now – a call to action
Access to private medical insurance that is safe and affordable is easily the biggest domestic crisis facing us. Our advocacy page urges you to join us in urging Congress to support President Obama's call for health care reform. His plans are to ensure health plans do not discriminate on the basis of pre-existing conditions, expand access to the government's own insurance program, lower the cost on existing plans and give you the ability to keep your coverage if you switch jobs or become self-employed. Contact a member of the House of Representatives. Contact a US Senator. Contact the White House
Healthinsurance.org has long-held a well-deserved reputation for promoting health insurance reform, and with President Obama's election we are stepping up our efforts.
State Guides to health plans and health care quality
You'll also find information on the quality of health care in individual states from across the nation, spanning New Jersey to California. Each page also gives you the opportunity to receive quotes on protecting your family, getting pricing and details from competing companies. Many states are seeking ways to tackle the problem of access to affordable health insurance on their own, and we look to health care reform initiatives on our state pages. We also have links to the contact forms for your elected officials, so you can easily lend your support, or offer alternative ideas.

Affordable Health Insurance - Free Online Quotes

Tips for Finding Affordable Health Insurance
It can be a daunting task to find affordable health insurance especially if you are self employed or have a family that's not covered on your health plan at work. In addition to this, if you have a pre-existing condition, you are in real trouble because in most cases it will not be covered at all. One of the best ways to get affordable health insurance is with a group plan and this is normally done through an employer. That employer generally pays some or even all of the insurance cost for the employee but the employee may choose to add a spouse or a family member at an additional cost.
But, if you are self employed or lose a job, these affordable health insurance choices aren't offered to you, which can present a problem. However, you should be able to find something that is available for small business owners and self-employed people but it will be at a much higher cost. So, this makes it all the more important to shop around to help you find affordable health insurance. If you get quotes from several different companies, you'll be much more likely to find affordable heath insurance.
Top Health Insurance Carriers
When looking for a top health insurance carrier, you may consider looking into some big companies because they may give you the best rates. Often a larger company is capable of giving you a much better rate than smaller companies because they have more resources available to them to aid in offering better pricing. There are many large health insurance carriers to choose from in this day and age that can offer you the highest quality service at an affordable price. The key to finding one you like is to spend some time in research looking for the best carrier and then getting some quotes from them as well.
You may confuse best rate with best health insurance carrier but be advised that this is often not the case you and may not the quality of insurance you want with a cheaper coverage. In order to avoid any problems in this area, you should consider doing some research on the quality of coverage of the company you do decide to get your health insurance from. By taking the time to look into their payment history of claims, you can save yourself some time and hassle and know with certainty if you are choosing a top health insurance carrier after all.
Why You Should Compare Health Insurance Quotes
We are all looking for the best possible price we can get on the necessities of life, and health insurance is no different. This is why it's imperative to compare health insurance quotes to help you find the best one you possibly can. When you take the time to get several quotes, you are much more likely to get the best deal. These days it is extremely easy to do this with the aid of the Internet. You can easily log on these days and visit health insurance Websites and get several quotes at one time. This can allow us to compare prices and coverage. You need to be certain you look at the quality of coverage you will receive as well as the cost of the coverage. This will allow you to get the best of both.
It's very important for you to compare health insurance quotes to make certain you are getting the absolute best coverage possible. If you just commit to one health insurance company without shopping around, you could be making a huge financial mistake. Therefore, you should invest a few minutes to finding the best health insurance to meet your needs at the best price as well.
Online Health Insurance Resources
We have provided a number of online articles and resources to answer some of the most common question we receive about finding affordable health insurance coverage. Spending a little time researching before you choose a plan can make a big difference in the quality and price of the policy you end up purchasing.

I Introduction

Health Insurance, insurance designed to pay the costs associated with healthcare. Health insurance plans pay the bills from physicians, hospitals, and other providers of medical services. By doing so, health insurance protects people from financial hardship caused by large or unexpected medical bills.
People obtain health insurance from private organizations or from government agencies. All industrialized countries other than the United States have government-funded national health insurance systems that provide health insurance for virtually everyone. Countries with national health insurance generally consider access to healthcare to be a basic right of citizenship.
In the United States private organizations have traditionally provided the vast majority of health insurance coverage. The U.S. government operates some publicly funded health insurance programs but access is limited to specific groups, such as the poor and the elderly. Most Americans obtain private health insurance through their places of employment.
Americans pay the cost of health insurance in a variety of ways. Workers may pay for private health insurance by authorizing their employers to deduct a specified amount from their paychecks. Alternatively, individuals may work for employers who pay the direct costs of health insurance. People who do not receive health insurance through their jobs or through government programs can purchase private health insurance policies by paying premiums directly to an insurance company.

A Access to Health Insurance

In 2007 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that as of 2006 about 47 million people in the United States (about 15.8 percent of the population) lacked health insurance coverage. Those without insurance are usually self-employed, work part-time, or work in low-wage jobs, so they lack access to low-cost, employer-sponsored group plans. Many of these workers cannot afford to purchase individual healthcare insurance, but they do not qualify for coverage under government programs for low-income Americans. For example, in the early 21st century almost half (47.5 percent) of full-time workers in low-wage jobs were uninsured. Nevertheless, even without insurance, these individuals may be able to receive emergency care without charge or at reduced rates in government-run hospitals.
Although millions of Americans lack health insurance because they cannot afford it, many others cannot buy health insurance because insurers consider them at especially high risk of needing expensive healthcare. Insurers assess the risks posed by applicants for insurance and then group applicants into similar classes of risk. Americans who are considered average or better-than-average risks can usually purchase insurance policies at a relatively affordable price. When an applicant presents too much risk, however, private companies consider it difficult or even impossible to offer insurance coverage to that person.
For example, some private companies will not offer coverage to an individual with a known predisposition to develop cancer because he or she presents a high risk of needing expensive treatment. Also, the few companies willing to insure such high-risk individuals will charge higher premiums to assume the risks. Increased premiums often make the insurance policy unaffordable to high-risk individuals. Even worse, occasionally no insurance company will offer a policy to a person who presents an exceptionally high risk of needing expensive medical care, such as a person infected with the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Some insurance companies have introduced clauses to their policies that are designed to keep costs down by denying access to private insurance for anyone who already suffers from significant medical conditions. Introduction of preexisting condition clauses in insurance policies became especially widespread in the 1980s and early 1990s. Many workers found it virtually impossible to change jobs if any member of their families had a serious health problem because preexisting condition clauses in their new employer-sponsored plan would deny them access to insurance coverage. The Congress of the United States addressed this problem by introducing the Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996, which requires most employer-sponsored plans to accept transfers from other plans without imposing a preexisting condition clause.
Congress further addressed the issue of preexisting conditions in 2008 when it banned any form of discrimination based on an individual’s genetic makeup. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act forbids health insurance companies from denying coverage or raising the cost of premiums to individuals whose genetic makeup predisposes them to disease or other condition requiring medical treatment. The new law also prohibits employers from using genetic information to make decisions about hiring, firing, or denying compensation to an employee. Employers who are found to have misused this information face fines up to $300,000. See also Gene; Genetics.

B Insurance Costs and Quality of Healthcare

The costs of healthcare have increased dramatically for consumers and insurers, particularly since the 1980s. For example, in 1980 Americans spent $247.3 billion on healthcare. By 1999 that figure had more than quadrupled to $1.2 trillion, and it reached $2.3 trillion in 2007, according to one study.
One reason costs have risen is that Americans are living longer than ever before, and older people generally require more healthcare. In 1900 the average American had a life expectancy of about 50 years. In 2003 the average life expectancy was about 77.6 years. During the 20th century, the number of persons aged 65 or over increased 11 times. The elderly comprised only 1 in every 25 Americans in 1900, but represented 1 of every 8 Americans in 1994. By 2006 persons aged 65 or older represented 12.1 percent of the U.S. population. When older Americans join an insured group, the whole group’s healthcare risks—and costs—rise accordingly.
Advances in medical technology have also driven up the costs of healthcare and insurance. Medical procedures such as computerized tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and arthroscopic surgery are commonplace today, but they did not exist until the 1970s. Although such new technology sometimes allows healthcare providers to introduce less-invasive and less-expensive treatments, more often it provides new but expensive ways to treat conditions that were previously untreatable.
Increased use of healthcare has also led to a growth in healthcare costs. Americans are more likely than ever to seek professional health services for medical problems. For example, in 1991 there were an estimated 669.7 million visits to doctors' offices, or 2.7 visits per person. In 1999 there were an estimated 757 million visits to doctors' offices, or 2.8 visits per person. Many Americans today seek medical care for treatment of sexual impotence, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other problems that previously were not always considered health problems. Just as increased demand pushes prices up in other industries, increased demand for healthcare leads to escalating medical costs.

Low Cost Health Insurance

Finding low cost health insurance is a priority for many Americans today. But it isn't always easy to find a plan that fits within your budget, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions. If you have a family and would like to get coverage for everyone, consider getting a group health plan from your employer or on your own. These are the most affordable and include HMOs, PPOs and POSs.
Affordable Health Insurance Options
With the PPO, or Preferred Provider Organization, and HMO, or Health Maintenance Organization, you are given a network of physicians to choose from. Only the HMO requires you to choose one of their doctors as your Primary Care Physician (PCP). Using one out of their network would result to you enduring the full cost of the expenses rendered. With the PPO you get more freedom to choose any doctor, but by using one out-of-network will raise the co-payments. The premiums are higher for the PPO, making the HMO the cheapest. The POS is a combo of the two.
Another option you can go with is an HDHP, or High Deductible Health Plan. This may not seem like a low cost option, but once you pay the annual high deductible, your benefits will kick in. Plus, your premiums are much lower than average from the start. After enrolling in this type plan you will qualify for an HSA, or Health Savings Account, which allows you to save up tax-free money for your medical expenses - even for alternative healing treatments/procedures, eye care and chiropractor therapies. The HSA also allows you withdraw the money you’ve accumulated for other purposes once you reach retirement age