Friday, October 1, 2010

Health Insurance - Rates are Going Up

Have you checked your health insurance lately? Well, just in case you haven't noticed, the rates are definitely going up. You must be aware that the monthly premiums can increase over time. Some people may not be bothered by the increase in the rate but there are also those who suffer greatly. You see, when you're on a tight budget, the last thing you need is an increase in the rate of premiums. If you want to be prepared for these things, you should be aware why rates go up.

People tend to react when the rates go up but when the rates go down, they don't give any remarks. Premiums rarely fall but increase in the premium rates happen most of the time. Inflation affects the health care industry. Living in today's world can be very costly and because of this, medical care is getting expensive as well. The reason why insurance companies raise premium rates is because they don't want to go out of business. This is one way of protecting themselves from losing huge amount of money. When there is inflation, premium rates tend to go up as well.

By making more claims, the insurance company is required to spend money on you. The company will see you as some sort of financial liability and so you will be charged higher rates. Many policy holders often encounter financial strains especially those who file for many claims in a year. Their insurance rates will surely go up.

The insurance companies don't charge the same rates for all their clients. Rates differ from one individual/family to another. It depends on the number of claims they make. Policy holders suffering from asthma, diabetes, and other chronic conditions are charged higher premium rates. Those without the same conditions are charged lower rates. Non smokers also enjoy low rates as compared to smokers since the latter is more prone to smoking related problems. Visiting your doctor more than twice a year will also cause your premium rates to go up.

If you're healthy and you seldom get sick, you will benefit greatly from your health insurance because you will be charged lower rates. But if the insurance company charges you high rates, it's that you analyze your situation. Do you get sick often? Do you file claims frequently? If your answer is yes, then those are probably the main reasons for the high rate. The rates charged by the insurance company are not merely due to inflation but on how you use your policy.

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