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I was talked into payroll deducting my auto insurance premium at work.  Others were doing it and it was convenient.  Now, I have lost my old agent, who always answered any questions I had and it seems to me like those convenient deductions are getting bigger all the time.

You wonder whether it is convenient for you or for the insurance company who can just take what they want out of your paycheck.  Very rarely will you come out ahead by going with the big insurance company who made a deal with your big employer.  As you are finding out small payments can equal a lot of money, if you are making them frequently.  You should give your old agent a call or call an independent agent, who can shop dozens of companies to make sure you’re getting the best deal available to you.  Your payroll deducted insurance company has no incentive to check to see if you’re getting a good deal.  A good agent will check with other companies on renewal, if your current company has taken a big rate increase.  The only down side may be coming up with a down payment, but your savings can be huge and you can often avoid the big down payment by setting up an EFT (electronic funds transfer) out of your checking account.  This will give you the convenience of payroll deduction and you will have only one lower payment a month.

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You tell me you are 19 years old and you have just learned a hard lesson about “quotes”.  I can tell you that a quote is no more accurate than the information you put into it, but it is even more complicated than that.  If you had “forgotten” about some tickets you would understand the uprate, but so many things go into a final insurance quote that you may have entered the information with total honesty and still had the same result.  Did you have three full years of driving experience ?  What is your insurance score ?  The only way to know your final rate is to have your motor vehicle report, insurance score and all other reports required by the  insurance company run.  If this is not done, your quote is just an estimate;  and as you found out, sometimes a totally useless estimate.

Many of our clients get a quote from our online web rater that shows the top three quotes from the dozens of insurance companies that Insurance World represents in Florida.  When they actually come into our office, we make sure all the questions are answered completely and often get them discounts that they qualify for or even better get them qualified for companies that their prior answers did not allow them to be rated for, resulting often in savings of hundreds of dollars from the online quote.

Bottom line, insurance can be complicated.  So instead of trying to do brain surgery on yourself or get a junior insurance agent degree online, you can save a lot of money by calling and having a licensed agent run your quote or coming into the office and talking to an agent in person.  That way, you will know before you buy and you won’t have any nasty surprises.

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I heard you were one of the few experts on Consumer Directed Health Care in North Central Florida.  Can my company really save money by changing our Group Health Plan to a Consumer Directed Plan?

The figures have just come out for 2010.  The average monthly individual health insurance premium in the U.S. was $215.00. compared with the average group health insurance premium of $420.00 or almost $1,200.00 for a family.  So, yes, the savings are big for an individual and potentially gigantic for a family.  By the way, the Florida average individual monthly health insurance premium for 2010 was $178.00.  Of course, each situation is different, but it may pay you big to send a census of your employees to a Licensed Independent Health Insurance Advisor and see how much you can SAVE.

Perhaps, the even better news is that those individuals and companies who are going without Major Medical Coverage because they don’t think that they can afford it, will now stop assuming and get an actual quote that may be surprisingly affordable.

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This year those already on Medicare can make any changes to their Medicare Insurance during the Annual Election Period, which starts October 15 and ends December 7, 2011.

Many age 65 or better folks will be caught unaware, because in year’s past they had until the end of the year.  Snow birds may not even be here in their State Income Tax free Florida homes before their time runs out.  The choices are still great:  Ten Medicare Supplement Plans to choose from, zero premium Medicare Advantage Plans and stand alone Prescription Drug Plans, but now is the time to sit down with an agent and get the information you need to choose the plan that is best for you for 2012.  Then you can relax and enjoy the holidays with your family.

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Thanks for the emails and phone calls on the Business Report article in September 2011, written to help small business owners find affordable health insurance.

You can read it on our site.  There is a link under the health insurance tab.  Let me know if you’d like a plan quoted for your company through any of the major companies like United Health Care, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield or Humana.

Many people like the Health Savings Accounts best, not only because they are tax deductible, but because they can go to their accupuncturist or other alternative health care professional without getting approval from an insurance company.

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