American Community has been around since 1938. They are an insurance company that uses its independent field force to do their advertising. They are one of the oldest health insurance providers in the country. So far, from what I have experienced they are an excellent carrier to work with.
One of the benefits I, as well as most of clients, am excited about is the accident benefit. It’s so unique that I haven’t seen it in any other policy. Most accident benefit programs are in a form of supplemental insurance. It is most common that the supplemental program will have $100.00 or $250.00 deductible and you receive a check up to $2,500, $5,000 or even up to $10,000 for each accident. Please note that the benefit is chosen when you sign up for the policy and is only paid up to your exposure at the time of claim. If your exposure is zero, you don’t get a check. On top of this, you are paying additional premiums for the benefit.
American Community has their accident plan built into all of their plans, at no additional cost! They waive the entire deductible at the time of claim. That’s better than receiving a check for your exposure. The covered charges are then paid at your selected co-insurance level, i.e. 80%/20%, 100%. The only catch to this is you have to seek treatment within the first 30 days of the injury.
Some may argue that you still have exposure due to the co-insurance. I would agree with that statement. However, if you add up all over exposure you are anywhere from $4,500-$9,000 out of pocket, typically. This is the reason I would advise my clients to go with a higher deductible, such as $5,000 or move to American Community’s HSA Plan. We would then choose the 100% co-insurance. This way you would have 100% for the accident benefit. As an added bonus, if you elect a $5,000 deductible or higher on their standard plan, American Community will lock the premium rate in for 24 months – at no additional cost!
In summary: You reduce your overall exposure by increasing your deductible. Add the 100% co-insurance, and have your deductible waived for an accident. From there my clients add in a decent amount of Critical Illness Insurance to eliminate their exposure from a critical illness, possibly enough to pay off their mortgage and take some time off of work to insure they will gain their health back, stress free. Refer to your local agent and plan details.
Butch Zemar
Elite Benefits of America
http://Blog.eliteBenefits.net
Posted in 1 Tagged: Affordable Health Insurance, COBRA, critical illness insurance, Deductibles, Employer Sponsored Plan, Health Insurance, Health Savings Account, Health Savings Accounts, HSA Plans, Medical Insurance, Small Business Insurance
