How to determine if supplemental health insurance is right for you
What is the insurance of life?
Life insurance is needed for the “contingencies” of life. What happens if I die unexpectedly? Could my family continue to live in our house? Would my children have the funds to go to college? Will my family have funds to pay for my funeral and final expenses? Life insurance provides financial help to those affected by “unforeseen” situations.
Permanent Life Insurance and Term Life Insurance
There are two types of insurance, permanent life insurance, and term life insurance. The specifics of your life — your age, income, and other factors — will help you determine what type of life insurance is right for you and what amount would be right for you. But one thing is always sure: funds for your funeral and final expenses will always be needed. If the loss of your income would harm those who depend on you, consider adding a term life policy to your permanent life policy. Term life insurance can help your family if you die during your peak income and asset-building years.
Supplemental health insurance helps pay for costs and services that your regular health care plan doesn’t cover.
Health care costs can add up quickly and unpredictably due to illness or injury. Regular health insurance policies don’t necessarily cover all potential costs, including out-of-network charges, deductibles, and copays, to name a few. A 2020 survey of insured American adults found that a third of respondents had received at least one unexpected medical bill in the previous two years.
Unforeseen medical costs can strain your monthly budget. Supplemental health insurance, also known as secondary health insurance, can help close those potential budget gaps.
What is supplemental health insurance?
Supplemental health insurance is an insurance policy that helps you pay for unexpected medical bills that your regular health insurance plan doesn’t cover. Here are some examples:
- Unexpected Child Care – Pays someone to care for your children while you’re sick or in the hospital;
- Pet Care – Keeps your pets active even if your injury or illness makes it impossible for you to walk them on your own;
- Meals – If you can’t cook, you can use part of your benefit to have food shipped to your home;
- Home Maintenance – Makes sure to mow the lawn or shovel the snow when you can’t do it on your own.
- Transportation – Pay for gas or even airfare and parking if you need to travel to see a specialist or make regular trips to a clinic;
- Deductibles and Coinsurance Amounts – Help pay for deductibles not covered by your primary health insurance plan;
- Private duty nursing fees and personal room costs ;
- Outpatient surgery; and
- Emergency room visits.
Things to Consider with Supplemental Health Insurance
- When you think about additional health insurance, start reviewing your current policies, including policies that cover your partner/spouse and your children. The key is to make sure you’re supplementing your primary health insurance, not duplicating.