[apba]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and first time poster... Anyways I was hoping you folks could provide some information regarding a local insurance company. I don't know if I'm allowed to post the name of the company in question. If not, I'm sure the name of the company will be edited.

Anyhow, there's a health insurance broker in the Metro Detroit area, "Health Insurance Giant", that advertises affordable health insurance for individuals and companies. I am interested in purchasing an individual health plan for myself because I cannot afford the company plan at work which is close to $400 a month. I spoke to rep at this company and they provided me with a quote of under $150 a month for full coverage and a reasonable deductable ($1200/annual). The quote was from a local health insurance company based in Southeast Michigan. This sounds like a much better deal but at the same time, too good to be true.

What I would like to know is if anyone had any dealings Health Insurance Giant? If so, would you recommend purchasing insurance through this company? I'm still in the process of searching for insurance that is both affordable and covers what I would need (hospitalization, office visits).

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all ,

AJ

[TaxBait]

Health insurance is very age dependent. Depending on you age, that might not even be a good deal. Company insurance is often a really bad deal for younger workers since they tend to price it for an average age over 50. At 46 I was paying only $126/mo for a Blue Cross Flexible Blue individual plan.
The deductible was a little higher but that's what an insurance plan should be IMO. Insurance should be for the big, unforseen problems. Billing regular office visits through insurance companies is a stupid waste of resources and is part of what's driving up costs.
But enough of the soap box. Check out the BCBSM web site. You can get an accurate price comparison without any strings attached.

[mikehu2]

Becareful of pre existing condition exclusions if moving from group coverage to individual. Particulary with Blue Cross of Michigan. visit joinMyBlue.com to learn about these issues.

[Cliffie]

I called them once when I was facing unemployment and the lady I talked to carefully took all my information down. The guy never called back. As it turned out I did land another job before the wolf got to my door. On the other hand I have never heard anything bad about this outfit. On the other other hand, I have never really looked into it.

I would call the Better Business Bureau and see if they have any complaints on file:

BBB of Detroit & Eastern Michigan
WWW: http://easternmichiganbbb.org
Email: info@easternmichiganbbb.org
Phone: (248) 644-9100
Fax: (248) 644-5026
30555 Southfield Road, Ste. 200
Southfield MI 48076-7751
BBB of NW Ohio & SE Michigan
WWW: http://toledo.bbb.org
Email: info@toledobbb.org
Phone: (419) 531-3116
Fax: (419) 578-6001
Integrity Place, 7668 Kings Pointe Rd.
Toledo OH 43617-1551

Another thing to look into is your local Chamber of Commerce or the Michigan Business and Professional Association. Self-employed people can often get group health insurance rates through them. That premium DOES sound too good to be true.