Personal Thoughts on Health Carriers Trend

Here we are and it is already October 2011.  Before we know it we will be in the full swing of 2012.  How fast time goes when you have your head down pushing through life's obstacles.  We will be at 2014 in hearts beat at this rate.  What does that mean to someone in the health insurance industry?  It means that we will be seeing more change at rates we have never seen before.  As I contemplate those changes I can't help but think what the landscape of those changes will look like.

I believe that one of the biggest changes we will see are carriers that move from being all to everyone to offering a highly specialized product to certain groups.  No longer will we see multiple carriers with similar products and pricing.  We might possibly see one carrier move away from group benefits all together, another carrier that specializes in small mom and pop companies with lower paid employees. They may specialize in high deductible plans, moving away from HMO's all together. We will see another carrier that offers dozens of plans to employer groups of various economic backgrounds. Making sure that every employee within that company can have a plan that offers a level of service that they can afford.  If they make more money, they can buy a richer plan and vise-verse.  We will see one captive carrier dominate the field with it's streamlined practices and no frills service.  Who will dominate the medicare supplemental group?  I believe that one carrier will.  Sure the other carriers may keep plans available to people not in their marketing focus.  But they will keep the cost so high for those products it wont make sense for anyone to be on those plans.

Will this be better for the consumer?  Maybe.  Hopefully.  Will this be better for the broker?  I don't know yet.  It seems to me that people will still need help navigating this complex world.  And as long as there is a need, we still may have a job to do.

To find out more about a specific plan or carrier for you or your company please check out our website at www.ansainsuranceservices.com.

Life Insurance

Life insurance is one of the most important purchases we can make for our families.  It is neither glamorous or fun to purchase, but it is a true necessity.  I say this not from a broker view point but rather as a mother.  My old term policy is coming to term and though I can keep it and pay more for it I know that I must purchase a new policy that will protect my family for at least the next 20 years.  So what does that mean for me?  It means that I must fill out a new application and then subject myself to port-a-med physical.  Yes they will need to weigh me and take my blood.  They will also need to ask me a series of health questions most of which I have already answered on the application. 

I am not looking forward to this.  But as a mother I am acutely aware of the fact that if something were to happen to me, my children's lives would be altered forever, whether I have life insurance or not. That being said, it gives me peace to know that if I did die my kids would be financially protected.  They could not replace me, but their needs could still be met.  My husband could take time off to care for them and to ensure that their lives go on as we have planned. He would have options opened to him to see that they received all the care that they might need. I am not excited about the prospect of purchasing a new plan, but I am thankfull that I can provide this protection.

If you are interested in finding out what would be involved in attaining a life insurance policy for yourself or your spouse please check us out at http://www.ansainsuranceservices.com/.

News update

As you may have heard, The Health and Human Services Department has just issued another batch of waivers for companies trying to get out of Obamacare.  This brings the total number of waivers so far to just under 1,500.  Amazing isn't it!  If it is going to be so great why do we need to keep issuing waivers? Yet the bigger question should be, why are some companies and unions allowed to get out of Obamacare and others are not?  Is the process open and fair? To me it feels as if the favored will get their favors and everyone else not playing the game will be thrown under the bus.  Let's all hope Washington can get their heads out of their backsides and figure out their budget so they can then get to work on what to do about this mess.

I know that here at Ansa Insruance Services we are doing all we can to help our clients.  We are looking forward to the future as uncertain as it is.  If you would like to learn more about us please check us out at http://www.ansainsuranceservices.com/.

Getting Started

We have decided it is time to share our knowledge and seek out others to share with us their knowledge of the health and life insurance industries.  As we are all too aware of, there is a mountain of information on health insurance today.  We hope to sift through some of this to help simplify what is important to the people we do business with. 
We are also committed to our communities.  We hope to share with you our passion to help others and to give back to those we care about.  Lisa is quite involved with the Santa Fe Springs Chamber of Commerce.  She has been awarded both the Presidents Award and the Volunteer of the Year award.  Currently she is co-chairing the Relay for Life Committee.  So please keep an eye out for more information on this to follow.
To check us out please see our web site at:  http://www.ansainsuranceservices.com/