What Does a Health Insurance Agency Do, and How Can They Help You?
In 2021, around 25 million working adult Americans were without health insurance. When including children, that number rises to 28 million.
Health insurance is essential to protect yourself from unexpected medical costs that can run into the thousands. For example, being in a severe car accident or falling ill with an illness can land you in the hospital, leaving you will high medical costs you need to pay.
When you have health insurance, your health insurance agency covers most, if not all, of the charges, and you pay a deductible.
So if you’ve decided you need health insurance, you may not know how to get it. If so, keep reading as we answer the question, “what does a health insurance agency do?” and explain how they can help you with your insurance needs.
What is a Health Insurance Agency?
A health insurance agency is a company with several health insurance representatives. These representatives can assist you by finding you the best health insurance. These health insurance agents are licensed professionals qualified to give you professional advice. There are three types of insurance dealers:
- Captive Agents: Commonly represent one specific insurance company, either as a direct employee or an independent contractor
- Independent Insurance Agents: Can work for an agency and represent more than one insurance company
- Independent Insurance Broker: Works for themselves representing several insurance companies
Only some people are familiar with all the terms used in insurance policies, so by utilizing a health insurance agency, everything will be explained to you in a way you feel comfortable with and can understand.
Furthermore, independent health insurance agents or brokers won’t bill you but will receive a commission from the company whose plan you selected.
Health Insurance Broker vs. Agent
You may have heard the term “health insurance broker” being used and assume they are the same as health insurance agents. However, this assumption would be incorrect as the two have a few significant differences.
A captive health insurance agent, as we discussed above, works for a health insurance company. They are licensed to sell insurance but can only present you with their company’s insurance plans.
An independent health insurance agent can work for a health insurance agency that offers plans from several health insurance companies. They will have expert knowledge of several insurance plans they can sell you.
A health insurance broker is an independent contractor, much like an independent agent. These brokers will have relationships with several health insurance companies. For this reason, insurance brokers can offer you insurance plans from each company they have partnered with.
Benefits of Working With a Health Insurance Agency
You can gain several benefits from working with a health insurance agency. Let’s review some of the more significant benefits.
Knowledgeable Advisors
When working with a health insurance agency, you benefit from working with someone trained in the insurance field. This means they can work with you to find the right coverage that fits your requirements. They can also review the policy and contract before you commit to anything.
Complete Service
When using a licensed health insurance agent, you get a complete service. What this means is agents can complete the insurance sale themselves. If you use an insurance broker, they have to hand off your contract to the insurance company to complete the transaction and bind coverage.
Saves Time
If you’re trying to take out health insurance for yourself or your business, it may take a lot of time to research several companies and compare their plans and prices.
When you hire an agent from a health insurance agency, they will already have done the research and know how to find the best insurance deal for your needs.
Transparent Options
Another benefit of working with a health insurance agency is they will spend time with you making your coverage as transparent as possible. Insurance policies can be complicated and overwhelming if you try to understand them independently. Using a health insurance agent means they can walk you through everything.
Best Pricing
One of the most significant benefits of working with a health insurance agent is they will be able to find the best pricing for you on your selected insurance plan.
They will work with you to understand what you require from your health insurance policy and present you with insurance plan options from several companies. This way, you don’t sign up for a more expensive plan with fewer or incorrect benefits.
Free Services
One of the best benefits is that you can use an agent’s services free of charge. This means there is no money coming from your pocket because the insurance agent makes a commission from the company of the plan they sold you.
After-Sale Service
Finally, once you’ve decided on a health insurance plan and have completed the transaction, you still have access to the services of your health insurance agent and agency. They will be able to assist in any queries you may have further down the line and can help you with re-shopping for better insurance options each year.
Additionally, your insurance agent can advocate when you query any benefits or how your health insurance company processed a medical claim.
How to Choose a Health Insurance Agency
Now that you’ve decided to work with a health insurance agent, how do you know which health insurance agency to go with? Follow these guidelines to get started:
- Ask for recommendations from family and friends
- Check the agency’s credentials and licensing status
- Review client references
- Interview prospective agencies
Find Affordable Health Care Today
Now that you know how important health insurance is for you and your family, you can start looking for companies that can help compare prices and plans for you. Of course, we don’t recommend you do this alone and encourage you to work with a health insurance agency to get the best plan for your needs – for the best price.
If you’re looking for health insurance, then contact us today. We can help you see if you prequalify and answer any questions you may have. We also offer dental, life, and medicare insurance.
