Did you know that?

Individual health insurance policies are the fastest growing form of health insurance in the United States. The number of individual health policies is steadily growing as well. There were 12 million members in 2002, 24 million members in 2008 and is expected to reach 30 million members by 2010. In comparison, group policy numbers have considerably declined with the number of people that are covered by group health insurance, less than 40% of small employers in the United States now offer group policies.

An individual health insurance policy, sometimes called a “personal” or “family” health insurance policy, covers you and your designated family members. Individual health insurance policies are purchased through licensed health insurance agents who are appointed to represent the specific health insurance carriers in the state that you live in. Individual health insurance policies are based price wise on your age and your health at the time of the application. Once you have insurance though, your premium cannot increase because you become sick or ill.

In almost all states, once you have an individual health insurance policy you and the family members that are covered on your plan are guaranteed the right to renew that policy until the age of 65. When you go to renew your policy, your premium may not be increased due to your previous claims experience. The renewal policy premium will increase though when you enter a higher age band – every five years – or with general medical price increases. This is all based on people in your state, a very large number that have purchased similar policies. If you don’t like the renewal premium that was proposed, and are healthy, you can shop around for a new policy. Just like with homeowners or auto insurance, there are more then 300 different carriers that offer individual health insurance policies.