Nice sales pitch, theric . . .

Too bad you only know the pitch and dont really understand the industry.

For starters, most carriers do allow you to move from state to state as long as they are admitted to write business in that state.

Strike 1, theric.

No networks means the insured pays full price, not a negotiated, contractual discounted fee for services.

Strike 2.

In most states companies are not allowed to single an individual for rate increases. They can only increase rates by class.

Strike 3!

Back to randy . . .

The fact that you have been with the same carrier for 15 years is remarkable, but the $30k profit? Hardly. Would you have felt the same if the carrier had just paid out $100k for you?

Carriers dont look at individual clients to determine loss ratios, only at blocks.

The block you are in is so old you are probably one of the few healthy ones left in the pool.

Carriers dont award gold stars for perfect attendance so you arent hurting yourself to compare what is on the market. The truth is you should probably move about every 3 - 4 years to keep from gettting stuck in a pool that is going south.

There are risks associated with moving but there is no reward for carrier loyalty.

Bob vineyard, clu

Yes, it was a nice sales pitch, theric . . . And unfortunately, bob's information is misleading...

Strike 1????
Yes most carriers may allow you to move from state to state if they are licensed in those states, but they will want to reevaluate or underwrite your policy if you do! If you have acquired some disease in the meantime, they may decline coverage or put you in a high risk pool at a high rate. Many insurances with the same name are still not portable state to state without underwriting a new policy.

Strike 2????
No networks means freedom of choice---the insured has the opportunity to choose their own doctors, hospitals, and medical treatments. "no network" does not necessarily mean that there is no negotiated, contractual discounted fee for all medical services. For example, insurance companies who offer an open plan, as theric suggested, usually have contracts with all the big medical networks, but if the insured chooses to go to a specialist of his or her choice for the best medical treatment available who happens to be out of all of those (or not even in the same state or country), there is insurance coverage available for him or her, even if the cost may be a little higher. Being limited to a network means the insured may not have insurance coverage if they want that same specialist.

Strike 3????
In many states companies are allowed to single an individual for rate increases. Some can only increase rates by class. For example, there is a candidate for state representative in englewood, florida, who is running in order to try to change state law. She had been paying something like $220 a month for insurance, got cancer, and had her rates go up to about $1800 a month. Most individual policies (and small groups) do act like car insurance---the rates go up if you file claims. Each person needs to check to see if their state allows their rates to be raised individually---read the policy carefully, especially the sections on rate increases and termination clauses.

Nice try, jean . . . But you twist the facts as much as theric.

Moving to another state may require issuing a different policy form. But a new policy does not automatically mean new underwriting. Many carriers now use a master trust to issue policies and rarely does a new policy or additional underwriting come in to play. An exception would be if an individual is covered under a blue cross plan.

Moving to another state may require a premium adjustment, up or down, depending on the cost factors and available networks.

An "open" plan such as is used by mega, midwest of tenn and a few others may offer a ppo network as an option but it is not integrated into the plan design. With an integrated ppo network benefits are almost always higher when an insured uses network providers vs venturing outside of the network. This is not the case with an "open" plan.

I cannot comment on regulation in fl as I no longer write coverage in that state. Each state determines their own level of involvement in regulating coverage & rates. It is easy to point to one example as justification for an argument but I would be curious to know the "rest of the story". Was the individual in question truly singled out for a rate increase or were her rates increased for other reasons? Was the carrier losing money on the block which resulted in a general rate increase for all? How do you know the carrier is singling out an idividual for rate action simply because of a claim? The only way you could possibly know that is to have documentation from the carrier stating the reasons for the renewal action.

I have had others tell me that carriers like mega & midwest say they do not single folks out for rate increases yet I see things that seem to indicate just the opposite. I have a client who would like to change carriers because his rates have more than doubled in less than 3 years. In addition he had an emergency admission last fall in which a 3 day stay generated a $42,000 bill. His carrier, one of those with an open plan and pledges not to single out individuals for rate increases, only paid $17,000 toward the bill.

It seems his "major med" policy had quite a few holes in it that were never explained by his agent.

Imagine that . . .

Just so you all know there is no advertising allowed here. Posts will be deleted and you will be banned. Thanks.

You should not be concerned about changing health insurance carriers if you are in great health. They will do the underwitting before you are accepted into the policy and once you are covered, you are covered. Always ask about riders, etc.. Most people these days are switching carriers for the simple fact of increasing rates.


Paul