Small Business Group Health Insurance
Unfortunately, there are just as many insurance swindlers on the market as there are legitimate insurance agents. If you buy into the wrong policy, you could end up throwing away money to a company that will perform a disapearing act as soon as they need to pay. If you don’t want to be left high and dry, you should educate yourself on small business health insurance plans.
If your company employs between 2 and 50 people, then you will most likely qualify for group health insurance. As long as you can show that you have at least two taxable employees, you will be able to qualify, and the benefits are astranomical. Most of your contributions to the health insurance plan will be tax deductable, and you’ll receive lower premiums by insuring all of your employees.
The great thing about a group health insurance plan is that it works both for the group and for the individual. Rates and plans will vary based on age, health status, the risks involved with the job, and where your business is located, but the format will apply to all of your employees, including you. You’ll be able to choose from HMO plans, PPO plans, and fee-for-service plans so that your most basic needs are covered. All of your employees will not have to participate, but there is usually a minimum number of people that must carry policies.
Unfortunately, health care is never cheap, but acquiring group health insurance will make individual policies much easier on your wallet. As the employer, you will be required to pay between 25% and 50% of each individual policy, and you can choose whether or not you want to assist with the policies of the dependants of your employees. Depending on where you live and what kind of policy you choose, you can customize your group health insurance plan to fit your company and your budget.
Before you pursue health insurance, you will have to obtain pertinent information about each of your employees, and find out how many will be willing to take part. The more policy holders you have, the lower the premiums and the more coverage you can obtain. Large policies will have more coverage because the financial liability is spread throughout your company, thereby lessening the risk of the insurance agency.
Collect data pertaining to your employees’ age, health, number of dependants, and amount of coverage they need. If you don’t have all of the data, you can still apply for group health insurance, but you will eventually need to collect that information.
Before you begin applying, however, you should do research on the companies supplying the insurance. There are too many scams in the world for you to be caught up amongst. I recommend that you check with the AM Best Rating to determine whether or not you should pursue a particular company. An agency with a score less than A- (Excellent) will probably not make a good business decision.
If you are still concerned, check with the insurance provider for your auto, life, or home insurance. Ask them to check up on a company before accepting their policy. That way, you will know that you’re in good hands.
And finally, never choose your group health insurance based on price alone. There are always multiple factors, including copays, deductibles, specialist referrals, and available doctors that should weigh into your decision just as much as the monthly cost. You should also look at little-known factors such as lifetime maximums, chiropractic coverage, maternity coverage, and the out-of-pocket limit. Think of your employees when you’re deciding on a package – just because you don’t plan on having a baby anytime soon doesn’t mean one of your employees isn’t!
