What Health Insurance companies Consider Before Giving Health Insurance Quotes

Different health insurance companies offer different health insurance quotes to their clients after considering several factors. Before an insurance firm gives you a premium, they review your risk profile by checking the information included in your health insurance application and a background check is also conducted. Every insurance company applies different standards and assumptions to add up your premiums.

Factors that are considered when providing health insurance quotes

Age – insurance companies provide lower premiums for the young people as they are less vulnerable to get sick. Most of the young people have fewer diagnosed and undiagnosed health situations as compared to older people. Old people are more prone to fall sick, therefore, they are charged higher premiums of almost two to three times that of the younger people.

Marital status – Married couples are provided with lower premiums as compared to singles. It is believed that married couples live longer and healthier than singles.

Smoking tobacco – insurance companies charge high premiums to people who chew tobacco, use cigarettes and snuff them. Other insurance firms penalize tobacco users by either charging them very high premiums or not covering them at all. Since it can take a long period of time before a tobacco user completely quits, those who used it in recent years are also charged with high premiums.

Location – the health insurance quote that you are given might be affected by where you live. People in rural areas tend to be charged with high premiums as there is little competition as compared to urban areas. Areas that experience high costs of living and stiff competition from healthcare providers might be charged with high insurance quotes. Also, areas that are prone to certain diseases will have high health insurance quotes.

Medical history – Families that have a history of a certain medical condition or ailments might end up paying more than a family without any history of a medical condition. The medical condition might be cancer, sickle cell anemia, Down syndrome and hemophilia among other diseases.

Type of plan – insurance firms may provide quotes according to the health plan that you require. The insurance health plans are grouped by premiums costs, deductibles and overall out-of-pocket expenses.

Gender – insurance companies charge higher premiums to women than men. This is because, women are more likely than men to visit the doctor on more occasions, take prescriptions, and they are also subject to some chronic diseases. In addition, insurance companies that provide maternity insurance charge highly even without the inclusion of prenatal and postnatal care for the women.

Profession – People who work in high risk areas like those exposed to hazardous chemicals, radiation or work in injury prone areas are charged with high insurance quotes as compared to people with jobs that have less risks. Also, people who work in sedentary jobs are charged with high premiums because they have high risks of cardiovascular diseases.