Health insurance — why is buying online better?

Why buy online? In the days before the internet came along, we were all forced into a simple choice. Either we trusted an agent to find a good health insurance policy for us, or we spent time and money identifying all the main insurance companies and talking directly with them. There was always a risk the agent would be recommending the policy giving the most commission rather than the "best" policy. There are only so many hours in the day and talking to more than three or four insurers directly takes up a lot of time.

When the internet came of age, it joined everyone up together in the same network of communication. Now, with a single click, we can contact all the main health insurance companies in the state. How do we know these are the main insurers? Well, also on the internet you will find your state’s Insurance Commissioner. These dedicated men and women are there to look after your interests. They all have a website describing the insurance market in your state. If you want to know whether an insurer is reliable, the best Commissioners publish lists of the insurers who have complaints upheld against them. You can also check out the financial status of the insurers. There are specialists who publish details of each insurers financial standing. This reduces the risk you will buy a policy from an insurer and then find it in liquidation the following month.

In other words, the internet is a treasure house of information. Better still, most of it is free.

As to the search engines, they usually provide access to all the main health insurance companies in your state. Once you click through, you receive quotes by return. This makes comparison shopping easy and enables you to find the most affordable plan in the shortest possible time.