Getting a Health Insurance Quote When Your Redundant

Research by the government has indicated that some 2 million workers have already lost their jobs in the light of the previous credit crunch and the recession fall-out. The government estimates that another 4 million workers will lose their jobs before the economy makes a turn for the better. In view of these terrible stats, it's only normal for people to get anxious about their future.

The main things that people worry about when it comes to this recession is the loss of income and also the loss of health coverage provided by the employer. For most people their job represents the only income stream that they have and the health coverage provided by the employer is also the only health insurance coverage that they have. The unfortunate thing is most employees have their uncertainties unfounded. To have your health insurance benefits yanked out under you is certain impossibility in this day and age.

For those who are fortunate enough to be signed up with a health insurance provider that allows you to transfer your previous job based health insurance coverage to a policy that you can pay privately, it may yet be too soon to count your blessings. The law that allowed for this continuation of health insurance coverage is called the COBRA, short for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act which was a law passed in 1986 to ensure continued health benefits even if an employee is laid off.

For most people, this would seem like a very good thing. After all, if you are laid off this will grant you a bit more time to go search around for new jobs and spare you from the worry of the health insurance needs of your family right? On the surface it seems like a good thing, this however normally dissipates when you realize the amount of money that you have to pay just to keep this COBRA enabled health insurance going. In almost all cases, the COBRA enabled health insurance is always more expensive than a similar health insurance quote provided by an outside provider. It is not uncommon to hear that ex employees have to pay up to 2-3 times what they are used to just to maintain their current health insurance policy coverage.

It is now a matter if you want to continue with your inflated COBRA enabled health insurance policy for your family or for you to get another health insurance quote from a private and separate provider. Most people who are using the COBRA enabled health insurance do not actually go out and look for separate health insurance quotes. They think they should be happy with that they got and that it is unlikely they can get a better deal. Unfortunately this is the wrong way to think. Choice is on your side and you must take this advantage to see the best quotation for you and your family.

There is no harm in getting another health insurance quote from another provider. There is no point in you accepting coverage that is simply too expensive for you. You must take the effort to drill down your health policy to each coverage item and see the actual costs of that coverage in comparison to the one that you receive from your new quote. You have to compare apples with apples in order to get the real determination of which coverage better suits your needs.

It is important to understand why the job provided health insurance is more expensive compared to quotes received from outside health insurance providers. Job provided health insurance is normally very comprehensive. It covers almost every single coverage item as it is a blanket coverage for all the company's employees, male, female, young and old. At the very least you must make an effort to trim off the access coverage that you don't need if you intend to keep your COBRA enabled coverage. There will be many coverage items that simply don't apply to you. Keeping those coverage items will be a severe waste of money.

Overall, we suggest that there isn't much point in stressing over health insurance if you think that there might be a possibility that you'd be laid-off. Ultimately there are laws in place that will effectively guarantee that you will still be covered with health insurance. The problem will be the lack of income and also the cost of the health insurance. It is at this stage that shopping around for health insurance quotes become very vital. You must find that health insurance policy that provides the best coverage at the best prices.