By: J Rowe,
Salt Lake
If your insurance is $400 a month and you are young and healthy, sometimes even risking a $50,000 medical procedure may be worth it over a number of years at that high a monthly rate. Just over ten years if they don’t charge you interest and you would have even this paid off at that monthly insurance rate.
Also remember whether your deductible kicks in by calendar year (January 1st) or some other date. We had to spend $1500 out of pocket before the plan paid. ($1500 deductible). We spent half that on doctor bills out of pocket in December only to find out that money didnt count come January towards a pregnancy – it only applied for expenses for the previous year.
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Response from Vicki:
Thank you so much for sharing.
Mike has a saying, that one can be “insurance rich and cash poor.” This is certainly a situation to be aware of when a professional truck driver is facing open enrollment time regarding annual sign-up for employee benefits.
While insurance policies are written in pretty much a standard format, there can be keywords or key phrases that are perfectly understandable in two totally different contexts: the insurance company understands it one way while the insured party understands it another.
Mike’s favorite keywords to pick out regarding insurance policies are “reasonable” and “regular.” Others are “usual” and “customary.” Make sure, make sure, make doggone good and sure you know what these terms mean if they are in your policy. You don’t want to faint from getting a bill from your doctor or hospital (or other health care provider) when your insurance company doesn’t pay for some part of your treatment that you “thought” your policy covered.
Review your policy at least once a year to see if any changes need to be made. Also, insurance companies change the terms of their policies occasionally, too. Usually, changes occur at the same time that insurance rates go up!
In the USA, there has been great upheaval in the health insurance industry since the “universal” health care legislation was passed. Many people were of the opinion that their health insurance premiums would go down when in fact they went up!
We shared what happened the last time Mike signed up for employee benefits through a former trucking company.
The health insurance policy that was offered had been “pre-selected” from among all policies the company reviewed. The “enroller” claimed that the company was offering “the best rates” that were available. We knew that to be utterly untrue since we already had (at that time) a health insurance policy that offered more, with a higher lifetime maximum, at a lower cost.
So, in that case, the insurance being offered by the company certainly was not worth it. Not only that, but Mike has also turned down expensive health insurance available through his local truck driving job. He just considered (with my counsel) that the weekly amount was not worth it.
Thanks again for sharing.
We wish you safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.
Best regards,
Vicki Simons
