Insurance. It is word that most people dread hearing. Usually it means costs: healthcare costs, car accident costs, a death in the family, or more. Insurance means coverage from those things, but the association is clear: Insurance is there if something goes badly. This is helpful to know.
There are different kinds of insurance. There is health insurance. There is car insurance. There is life insurance or accidental death insurance. There is insurance to cover possessions, like renter’s insurance. There is insurance to cover a home in case of damage, called homeowner’s insurance.
Insurance works in some vary basic ways. As an example, there is health insurance.
Health insurance, before the advent of the American Care Act, boiled down to a few premises. If a person was employed, they were possibly offered insurance through that employer. If a person was employed part time, they were left to fend for themselves. If a person was self-employed, they had the option of getting health insurance another way.
Today, millions of Americans get their health insurance through the healthcare marketplace. The healthcare marketplace was created with the passing of the American Care Act, which was legislation passed under President Obama early in his presidency. The healthcare market originally had numerous providers. Today, that number has decreased.
Healthcare on the marketplace works because individuals who are sick are counterbalanced by individuals who are not sick. This levels out the cost of the premiums, which are the monthly amount people pay for health insurance coverage. This is similar to auto and life insurance, which have their own premiums to keep the coverage active for individuals.
On the marketplace, there are a series of sometimes confusing words. There is the deductible, the co-insurance, the formulary, and more. These terms deserve definitions, as they have allegedly confused Americans for the past few years. People who weren’t used to dealing with those terms had to deal with them suddenly.
The deductible is the term used to describe the amount of money a policyholder must pay before the insurance coverage kicks in. The deductible for health insurance can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending on the insurance. The amount of the deductible depends on the type of coverage.
Someone who is more likely to become sick will go for a plan generally with a higher premium. The higher premium plans generally have the best and most comprehensive coverage. Those who are less likely to get sick may go with “catastrophic” plans, which are high deductible plans (sometimes in the thousands of dollars) that cover a bad health event.
These main components are present in many different insurance plans. There is a premium, which is the monthly or semi-yearly amount needed to be paid for continued coverage. There is the deductible, which is the amount needed before insurance will cover any costs. And there is the balance between individuals who may affect the insurance plans.
With car insurance, for instance, the pool of people is not between sicker and healthier; it is between those who are more likely to have car damage and those who are less likely to have car damage. Within life insurance, the pool of people is between people who are more likely to die and people who are less likely to die.
This helps balance out premiums for the entire pool of people. There are differences to many policies as well. Some people may opt for a coverage that is more comprehensive, while some people may go for a coverage that is less comprehensive but costs less. This covers in some general principles how insurance works in the American markets.
Insurance companies are companies that handle insurance policies and claims. Insurance companies may cover more than one type of insurance. Some insurance companies handle health insurance, while others handle car insurance and other kinds of insurance. Insurance companies are often in competition with one another.
There are many terms to know when it comes to insurance companies and insurance. There is the insurance company, an insurance quote, the insurance rate, life insurance policies, life insurance companies, health insurance plans, health insurance quotes, homeowners insurance, homeowners insurance companies, and more.
There are some other terms as well. Insurance can be complicated if it’s made to be. Knowing the terms helps.
