From the day of birth, most people are covered by at least one insurance policy. Health insurance is a requirement, and parents generally cover their own children until they are of age. In addition, there is life insurance, homeowners insurance, car insurance, travel insurance, key person business insurance, wedding insurance, and even obscure insurances such as fantasy sports insurance. All in all, a percentage of one’s monthly budget should be going to private insurances, and you also need to be aware of any coverage you might have rights to from federal or state insurances.
June 28th is dedicated as Insurance Awareness Day. The very fact that you are a resident of Rockaway Care Center, or are associated with a resident at Rockaway Care Center, shows that you’ve needed to deal with insurance (unless you plan to pay fully out of pocket). Thankfully, our facility works smoothly with the private and public insurance providers covering Rockaway Care Center, and at the same time, the insurance usually needs to be set in place before arrival at our center.
Take advantage of this annual insurance focus day to ask yourself, or your caretaker team, to review your insurances. Are you getting the best deal? You’ll want to make sure of the following factors, for all insurances:
1) Do I really need everything on the policy? Paying out of pocket for the problem covered might be less than one would pay in insurance. This is often the case with smaller issues. For example, if you have dental coverage, but calculate two routine checkups, and two emergency costs per year, is the monthly insurance worth it? On the other hand, life insurance payouts are usually worth the monthly premium.
2) Does the insurance provider’s policy pass reviews – state and public? Is this insurance company known to give the run-around, delay tactics, and threats, or are they customer-friendly? You can check out online reviews as well as insurance regulators in your state.
3) The fine line on pricing. Talk about attention to detail. Look seriously at the deductibles, co-payments, and maximum payouts in your plan, in addition to any other caveats associated with the policy. In addition, make sure that any projected increase in pricing long term won’t outweigh advantages of short term lower pricing.
Keeping on top of insurance plans is a part-time job, and should be done yearly. If you are unable to manage, or do not wish to manage, this yearly review, delegate it or outsource it to someone you trust, be it family member or paid professional. If you choose the latter, the amount you pay them should come back to you in savings. After all, the peace of mind that you are hopefully getting the best for your insurance money is, in itself, a form of insurance. If you have any particular questions about your coverage with Rockaway Care Center, we are here to assist in any way we can.