If you're contemplating the purchase of health insurance then there's a good possibility that a health insurance broker might be able to help you. A health insurance broker is a professional individual whose job is to provide health insurance companies or providers with prospective consumers that are seeking to obtain health insurance for themselves or their family. Normally, a health insurance broker is eagerly sought after by an individual or individuals that are not covered by any type of group health insurance plan. Typically this includes folks that have some sort of medical condition prior to obtaining health insurance but it can also include self-employed individuals that aren't covered by an employee health care plan.
In some ways a health insurance broker is almost like a real estate agent. The health insurance broker tries to find the best deal for the individual seeking health insurance based off a list of requested benefits provided to the health insurance broker by the consumer seeking to become insured. After finding a plan that is suitable for the consumer the health insurance broker then works towards a signing of a mutual health insurance contract by both parties involved, the insurance provider and the individual seeking insurance.
Although it may sound like the health insurance broker works for the insurance company it's actually quite the opposite because in a way the health insurance broker works for the consumer. The insurance broker is responsible to know about the many different health insurance providers or companies that may or may not be suitable for his clients. Additionally, they can provide information regarding claims, processing times, customer service and of course health insurance rates or premiums. In some cases the health insurance broker may be paid a referral fee for putting a health insurance company in contact with a consumer seeking health coverage, provided the consumer does actually sign up for health insurance through the recommended company.
Typically, a health insurance broker receives their compensation in the form of a commission. The payment for this commission can come from the consumer, the insurance company or a combination of the both, each paying their respective portion of the broker fee. Still, if a health insurance broker does a good job and actually finds you a health insurance company that offers excellent health coverage with reasonable rates then it may be money well spent in the long run. Also, because the health insurance broker is normally governed or regulated by state licensing requirements you can rest assured that they are trustworthy and will do the right thing ethically speaking in order to find the very best health insurance coverage that you can afford.