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I Hate Insurance!

I've always hated insurance. I just love what insurance does. We have to separate the product and the process from its promise. Products can be complicated and filled with confusing "explanations". The process of purchasing insurance can be even worse. Invasive questions, the perception that all agents are pushy and underwriting that takes time and creates uncertainty all make the process painful. But the promise makes all that worth the effort.

When claim time comes (and it does more often than we think) and that promise is fulfilled insurance then becomes magical. When disaster hits and claims are paid, then the product and process are worth it all. That undesirable necessity called insurance has now paid off. When the rest of the world sends you bills to be paid - insurance delivers benefits to help pay those bills.

That's how it is when everything goes as planned. That's how insurance is supposed to work. That's exactly how it has worked for years. That is until now.


Economic pressures have changed Insurance.

Everyone is looking for places to cut back. Health insurance premiums are painfully expensive. Sometimes the only way to have affordable health insurance is to purchase a higher deductible health plan. That higher deductible removes a huge chunk of the magic of insurance. Now after paying premiums the individual discovers that they still have to pay things for which they thought they were buying insurance.

Cost sharing is the new reality.

Done to reduce the premiums to the insured, but leaves their finances at even greater risk than ever before. Insurance carriers have anticipated this shift and began to offer products that can help fill these gaps in coverage. While helpful the public is more confused than before. This provides validation of the "I hate insurance" feelings.

How can we help clear this up? The health insurance premium monster isn't going to get any better. Costs for health insurance aren't going to get lower any time soon. How do we restore the magic of insurance? We have to make insurance make sense for the individual.

What makes sense?

Begin with the most devastating of all - critical illness. Cancer, heart attack, stroke, heart surgery, end-stage renal failure and organ transplant all are life changing events. Life will never be exactly the same following any one of those events. Providing a lump sum of cash when the event happens can ease the burden. Nothing is worse than battling an illness as described above and having to pay all of the deductibles and additional costs at the same time. Knowing the financial concerns are handled makes the recovery process less burdensome.

Before considering any other type of coverage, begin with the most financially devastating of all. Look at Critical Illness Insurance protection as your financial safety net before you ever consider anything else. Usually this can give you the most amount of coverage for lower premiums than products designed to cover only one or two of those events.

Instead of addressing a single issue like cancer (obviously a huge concern for people today), critical illness insurance provides a broader base of coverage. Look for coverage that provides multiple pay outs rather than a "one and done" type of coverage. Then look for lump sum payments rather than treatment based payments.

Restore the magic of insurance. Make sure what you buy provides the protection you need. Don't be a hater... love what insurance can do for you!


Article Source: Eric Mulford


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