An Insurance Policy For Your Health Insurance
December 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
UnitedHealth, one of the country’s largest insurers, has introduced a new kind of policy that insures your health insurance policy. That’s something, huh? Insurance for your insurance.
Appropriately enough, the new product is called Continuity, as reported by the New York Times. One UnitedHealth official stated that for a modest premium this product is designed to essentially protect your ability to keep your health insurance for the future.
Let’s list a few red flags that go up. Continuity won’t protect you against your premiums increasing as you get older. The premiums for Continuity will increase over time. You have to qualify for Continuity just like regular coverage, and you may be denied based on your health status. This won’t help you get coverage if you have a pre-existing health condition. Most states have guaranteed renewability, which means an insurer can’t cancel your policy anyway if you become sick or get injured. This coverage costs as much as 20 percent of your health insurance premium.
On the surface, Continuity doesn’t seem like a good value for the consumer. It could be of particular value for contract workers who expect coverage gaps, but as a recent interview with an insurance broker revealed, it is of limited appeal for most.
As the Times article reported, Continuity isn’t a health insurance plan, so what’s the point? If the protection it offers is already covered by most states, then there apparently is no need for it. Customers will need to examine their own situation and decide for themselves.