The Self Employed have to be prepared and need be ready for change.

Group Health Coverage:
Health Insurance for groups of 2 and up is considered Group Health Coverage. Group health coverage is offered by a wide range of companies depending on your state of residence or the main business location. Blue Cross Blue Shield or Anthem
has indepent state franchises that operatesin most states and offers both individual and group coverage. United Healthcare also offers group health coverage and is a well known provider in most states with a vast network of doctors and hospitals. Other carriers with an extensive market share include Cigna, Aetna, Pacificare, Humana, and others depending on your state. Major Medical Group coverage is considered Guaranteed Issue and policies can have a large range of benefits and rates differ depending on benefits selected. Deductibles may range from $250.00 to $5000.00 and benefits may include Doctor Copays, prescription drug coverage, well visits, annual check ups, as well as dental and vision benefits. Independent Insurance Brokers distribute Group health policies and most brokers represent several companies. This is helpful for the employer because the broker will have inside knowledge of claim payment history and how often the company has raised rates on his existing clientele. Insurance Brokers serve as the servicing agent and provide the employer with information and training on how to manage the policy. Contact an Insurance Broker Today.

Individual and Family Health Insurance coverage

Most self employed business owners and service providers find it more affordable to purchase individual health plans rather than purchasing more expensive group health plans for their families. Although a Husband and wife may be able to qualify as a
2 person group its simply not cost effective for most people. The major difference between Individual and group health insurance plans is that in most states the insurance company will underwrite the policy and the potential insured must qualify for coverage by satisfying the underwriting eligibility standards set by the company. For example people with diabetes very seldom qualify for a true individual major medical plan which is underwritten in a non guaranteed issue state. The company simply declines to make the coverage available. This creates a real problem for people who are self employed that have pre-existing medical conditions. If this is the case there are options however true major medical with stated policy out of pocket max limits are pretty much unavailable unless you apply for a group policy which will be quite expensive if the group is small and the risk is high the premiums are usually unreasonable.
Individual underwriting for policies is not done in all states however most states are not guaranteed issue states. To find out if your state is guaranteed issue contact your state department of insurance authority. If you have pre-existing medical conditions and live in a state that requires the policy to be underwritten and you don't qualify for coverage be very careful, there are more choices today than ever however you need to have a trusted advisor and have to know the right questions to ask or you can get stuck paying for a glorified discount program. There are agents and brokers that specialize in providing coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions and that will educate you on the best way to cover some of your liability. Request to be contacted by an agent or broker that specializes in placing people with pre-existing conditions.
Companies which offer Individual and group plans alike have the right to raise rates. Rate increases can be any amount and at any time however most people with an individual health insurance policy see annual rate increases from 5% to 18% a year. Others see rate increases as high as 60%. On the other side of the coin companies offer a 2 year rate guarantee and some even offer return of premium riders which give the insured back all premiums that were paid in less claims paid after a specific term outlined in the policy this is called a Return of Premium rider. Assurant Health has began to get a reputation for rewarding people with low claims and actually lower the rates by up to 10%. There are other companies which offer a good initial rate and then have multiple rate increases, once your on the books they start the rate hikes. That's why its important to work with a knowledgeable industry professional Insurance Broker that has inside knowledge of what's happening with existing clients and understands the trends that companies tend to use. Things change fast and the agent can help provide you with the first hand knowledge you need to make an informed decision.
Choices to make: Comprehensive or Catastrophic coverage. Comprehensive coverage provides richer benefits and usually requires less out of pocket expenses however the rates are much higher than catastrophic.

To illustrate how important it is to have the right benefits in place here is an example situation.
A self employed man and his family purchase a catastrophic plan with a $2,500 deductible and 80% coinsurance to $10,000.

This means that the max the family can be out of pocket per person per year is a total of the deductible plus the coinsurance max of $2,000 which is 20% of $10,000. This amount is $4,500.00. Sounds good right? Well the plan is catastrophic and only covers for inpatient hospital stays and surgical procedures and has a lot of other helpful discounts if used in-network. Still not bad if the premiums are low. Lets say the premium is 425.00 per month, the policy does not cover doctor visits or outpatient services and only has generic drug coverage.

The man develops Diabetes which he found out at a doctors office visit where they did outpatient testing and discovered he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and now requires 2 shots of 10 cc's of insulin per day to regulate his sugar. The monthly cost for his insulin is 150.00 a month.
Lets break down what the policy will pay for his doctor visits, outpatient testing, and now daily use of insulin to control his type 1 diabetes. The catastrophic plan does not cover doctor visits nor outpatient testing nor does it cover brand name or specialty drugs. That's right the plan paid nothing. No problem he should simply increase the benefits or buy a new plan right, nope, when electing to increase coverage its like re-applying, you have to satisfy the underwriting and eligibility standards set by that company just as if you were applying for a new policy. Once diagnosed with diabetes unless he has opportunity to join a group plan he is pretty much stuck. That's why its important to make sure you have adequate coverage prior to when you actually need it. If you wait until you need it you will not be able to get covered in states that require underwriting of individual policies.

Disability Income Protection and Disability Insurance Plans

Probably the most important type of insurance for a self employed service providers is a disability policy. This type of supplemental insurance is so important because it replaces lost income when time is lost from work due to an accident or injury. Self employed service providers that's sole income is brought in from their completion of work are especially in need of a disability policy. People that fall in this category would be any self employed person that works personally with his or her clients like Beauticians, Electricians, plumbers, landscapers, and just about any business that is sole operator. Even if your not a sole operator if partial profit would be loss due to the owners loss of time its not a bad idea to have something in place to replace lost income. Employees expect to paid and jobs have to be completed regardless of the health of the owner and sometimes a third party contractor may have to be brought in to help or fulfill the contract.
Not all disability policies are created equal and they have a wide range of monthly premiums from $10 a month and up depending on the monthly benefit you select and the occupation of the insured as well as the elimination period. The elimination period is the time that you must wait before receiving benefits when filing a claim. Example a 7 day elimination period means that if your injured and loose 2 weeks of work (14 days) you will begin receiving benefits after the 7th day. So the insurance company would be responsible for paying the claim for 7 days of benefits (14 - 7 = 7).
Also carefully consider whether or not the policy will pay for illness as well accident. There are a lot of Accident Disability policies that are offered for a very attractive monthly premium however should illness strike the insured would receive nothing. Most service providers consider buying supplemental accident disability policies for their contract laborers or employees that work in the service industry. Mutual of Omaha has a laundry list of plans that can be customized to fit the needs of just about everyone. Combined Insurance Company of America has been a provider of accident and disability policies for years and have gained a good reputation for paying claims in a timely fashion. Other companies in this market include; Aflac, John Alden, Old Mutual, Aegon, Asurity, Mutual of Omaha, Combined Insurance, Liberty National, Woodmen of the World and many more. Most disability plans are offered through Independent Insurance Brokers which are available to service your needs via this site. Just fill out the form on this page and an agent will contact you to provide you custom quotes.

Workers Compensation aka Workman's Comp
Protect your company, employees and future profits. Workers Compensation is mandated by the federal government and requires that businesses that have employees carry worker compensation. Workers Compensation
laws are governed by state which enforces these regulations upon employers. Workers Compensation is usually not available to the owner of the company only to the employees Workers Compensation is offered though independent brokers and agents that specialize in Insurance products for small to large business. To learn more about the requirements for your state see the .gov web site for your state.

Umbrella Policy
Most Self employed business owners and service providers find it important to protect their assets and future profits from lawsuits. That's why umbrella policies are so popular. Protecting your assets from lawsuits may be just as important to your portfolio as insuring your health is to you. Should an unfortunate event cause you to loose judgment in a lawsuit where you are required to pay damages it could mean bankruptcy and even the end of everything that was worked for. An umbrella policy in place with the right coverage insures your assets from lawsuits. Umbrella liability insurance is so named because it acts like an umbrella, sitting on top of your auto and homeowners liability policies to provide extra protection. (Even if you don't own a home, remember that you still need renters insurance to cover both your liability and your personal property).
(Courtesy of Money Central)
Some examples of where umbrella coverage often comes into play:

• An auto accident in which you're sued under your auto insurance policy.
• Your neighbor slips and falls on your property, and you're sued under your homeowners insurance.
• A natural disaster in which another person's property is damaged by, say, a tree on your property crashing down on their vehicle or home. This usually falls into the, "I thought that was covered by my homeowners policy" category.

Your auto and homeowners policies have at least some liability insurance that would be used to settle legal claims. But what if a settlement (or judgment, if it goes to court) is $800,000 and you only have $300,000 of liability insurance? The insurer would pay its $300,000, but where are you going to get the other $500,000? Virtually everything you own would be fair game to pay off the debt. The only good news is that some states protect certain assets (like your home) from seizure.

Umbrella policies are written through independent Insurance Companies and Brokers. To learn more about how you can protect your assets and receive custom quotes fill out the request quotes for insurance form above.

Auto Insurance Policy
Individuals and the Self Employed alike are continuously searching for affordable car insurance. Today there is more choices than ever. State Farm, Alpha, Geico, AllState, Nationwide, the list goes on and on. More consumers are turning to the internet to search for auto insurance quotes and are finding offers in their mailbox daily. With this very competitive market consumers tend to change their auto insurance company on a more frequent basis. The bottom line is the best way to shop for auto insurance quotes is to use a free consumer shopping site that provides quotes from multiple companies with just one form to fill out. This will save you time and provide you with the resources to compare more quotes. Request quotes from multiple companies click here. Remember make sure to check the liability limits and deductibles for collision and comprehensive and check deductibles for all limit types when searching for affordable auto insurance quotes.

Life Insurance Policy
The need for Life Insurance is of particular importance to the self employed. When a business is running there are usually obligations that will need to be handled in the event of the owners death, so its not only neccessarry to have personal life insurance policy but also a special life insurance plan for the business. The most popular Life Insurance Type is Term Life Insurance. Because its the cheapest, you get more benefits for your dollar. Life Insurance may confuse people with all the choices available. Term Life Insurance is considered Temporary Insurance because you purchase it in a specified term. 10 year term life, 15 year term life, 20 year term life, 30 year term life are few examples of the choices available. Term Life Insurance is offered through independent insurance brokers and agents. The best way to shop for Life Insurance plans is to compare Life insurance plans online. Their are consumer quote engines that provide this free service with no obligation. http://Lifeco.org provides multiple life insurance quotes and allows consumers to compare rates and plans online with no obligation. Get Instant Quotes for Term Life Insurance Online.
Whole Life Insurance is anothe Life Insurance type which is considered permanent insurance. Whole Life is more expensive than term life however the benefit term does not expire in a specified time. Whole life plans are paid on for a time period then may be considered paid up for life. Whole life policies also have other benefits such as borrowing from the cash value of the policy while the policy is still in force. Whole Life insurance is designed to provide a guaranteed death benefit and usually pays out at age 100. To request more information about whole life insurance from an industry expert click here.