There are many self-employed individuals who forego health insurance completely due to the high costs associated with individual health insurance policies. There are options available for self-employed individuals to take advantage of group health insurance rates. Here are a few different ways to access group health insurance for the self-employed.
Hire A Full Time Employee To Get Access To Group Health Insurance For Self-Employed
If your business is doing well, you might consider hiring at least one full-time employee which will grant you access to some group health insurance for self-employed. This type of small group health insurance policy is still more affordable in most cases than purchasing an individual health insurance policy. For obvious reasons, this is not going to be an option for all self-employed individuals due to the added expense associated with hiring an employee. However if this is something that you planned on doing in the near future anyway, then you may consider moving up the timeline on the hiring process to take advantage of lower health insurance rates.
Look Into Group Health Insurance For Self Employed As A Group Of One
Some health insurance companies are now writing group health insurance policies for a group of one. This seems like nonsense to most people being that the word “group” usually indicates more than one person, but if the health insurance company is willing to go against the grain and write a group health insurance policy for a group containing only a single person, then you may as well take advantage of the savings.
Group Health Insurance For Self Employed Through An Association
Trade Associations could be your key to accessing great group health insurance rates and comprehensive coverage. Look into what trade associations you could become a member of and then see if they offer the ability to enroll in a group health insurance for self-employed through them. Another place to check and see if you can enroll in a group health insurance for self-employed through them is your local chamber of commerce. In many cases, a local chamber of commerce can offer you many different choices of group health insurance policies with different coverage levels with varying deductible and premium amounts. These group health insurance policies are also likely to be cheaper than other options because the larger the group that the health insurance company has to enroll, the more they can spread out their risk. The more that a health insurance company can spread out the risk they are taking, the lower the premium rate they can offer for the group. Some associations that do offer group health insurance policies that you might want to look into in addition to your local chamber of commerce are the National Association for the Self-Employed, the American Association of Home-Based Businesses and the Home Office Association of America.
Another tip to save you money when shopping for the best group health insurance for self-employed, is to shop online when possible. When health insurance companies are able to offer their policies and issue quotes using the internet, they save money because they do not have to pay any fees to a broker or insurance agent. When they save this money on the initial transaction and getting the word out about the products they offer, they pass along some of the savings to those that end up purchasing a policy through them. The savings could be in the form of better coverage and benefits, lower deductible amounts or lower premium payments. No matter how the health insurance policy chooses to pass along the savings, most people would agree that a savings of any kind could be the advantage that earns their business.
