Insurance Questions, Answered Properly
The longer answers to the questions people ask us on the phone, by text and at the kitchen table. Each one says what a plan does, what it does not, and what to ask before you buy. Short answers live on the FAQ page.
Health insurance
Moving to Another State: What Happens to Your Health Insurance
Some health plans stay behind when you move and some travel with you. Which kind you have, the clock a move starts, and how to land with no gap.
Aging Off a Parent's Health Plan: Your First Plan of Your Own
Coming off a parent's health plan? The clock it starts, why a private plan often fits a healthy first-time buyer, and how to start with no gap.
Having a Baby: Adding Your Newborn and Choosing Family Coverage
A new baby is a deadline as well as a joy. Adding your newborn, the window a birth opens, and whether the family plan you have is still the right one.
Check Your Prescriptions Before You Pick a Health Plan
The monthly price is easy to compare. The drug benefit is not. How prescription coverage differs by plan, and the list to send before you enroll.
Health Insurance Claim Denied? What to Do Next
A denial letter is not always the end of it. Read the explanation of benefits, find the reason, call us, then ask the carrier to look again.
Dental Insurance Waiting Periods: How to Plan Around Them
Need a crown soon? Some dental plans wait before paying for major work, others do not. How to pick before the dentist's chair, not after.
Retiring Before 65: How to Cover the Years Until Medicare
Leaving work before Medicare at 65? COBRA, a private plan or the Marketplace can carry you there. How to pick before the job plan ends.
The Out-of-Pocket Maximum, Explained
The most you could pay for covered care in a year, and the costs that sit outside it, starting with your monthly premium.
Using an Independent Insurance Broker vs. Buying Direct
Buy from one company, or have an independent agency compare several? What each path gives you, from the first quote to the renewal notice.
The Health Questions on a Private Health Plan Application
A private plan asks about your health before it says yes. Why the questions are there, who decides, and the list to have ready before you start.
When Does New Health Coverage Start?
Applied today does not mean covered today. When a private plan, a life-event enrollment and an Open Enrollment plan each start, and why the old plan stays put.
Health Insurance Metal Levels Explained: Bronze to Platinum
The metal is about how you and the plan split the bill, not about the quality of care. What each level trades, and what it does not tell you.
What Happens If You Do Nothing at Open Enrollment?
Doing nothing is still a choice. What can change on a plan you keep without looking, and the short list to check before December 15.
How to Compare Health Plans by the Real Yearly Cost
The lowest monthly price is only part of the bill. How to add up a year on each plan, from a quiet year to a hard one, before you pick.
High Deductible? Supplemental Insurance Pays You, Not the Hospital
Accident, hospital and critical illness plans pay cash to you. How they fill a high deductible, and why they never replace major medical.
How to Switch Health Plans Without a Gap in Coverage
The order matters. Why the new plan comes first, the old one ends the same day, and you never cancel before you are approved.
PPO, EPO or HSA: Which Health Plan Type Fits You?
Three plan types, three trade-offs. What a PPO, an EPO and an HSA-eligible plan each do, and the question to answer before you choose.
Your Doctor Left Your Network: What to Do at Open Enrollment
Network type decides whether you can keep seeing that doctor. What a PPO and an EPO each do, and how to check a plan by name before December 15.
Open Enrollment Is Here: Do You Have to Use the Marketplace?
Open Enrollment is the Marketplace's window, not yours. When the Marketplace is the right call, when a private plan often wins, and how to decide before December 15.
Small or No ACA Subsidy? Why a Private Plan Often Wins
Full price, nationwide networks, and the crystal ball problem: why guessing next year's income is risky for the self-employed.
Is Your Employer Plan Really the Best Deal for Your Family?
Keeping the employee on the work plan and moving the spouse or children to a private plan can cost far less. How to find your real number.
Is a Limited Medical Plan Real Health Insurance?
It is real coverage, but it is not major medical. How each one pays, where the cap bites, and five questions to ask before you buy.
Calendar-Year vs. Plan-Year Deductibles: Why Your Start Date Matters
Two plans with the same deductible can cost very different amounts in the first year. A worked example of why the reset date matters.
Supplemental and dental
Accident Insurance, Explained: What It Pays and Who It Suits
A broken arm, an ER trip, a sports injury. How accident plans pay cash to you, and why they never replace your health plan.
Critical Illness Insurance, Explained: The Diagnosis Lump Sum
Cancer, heart attack, stroke. How a critical illness plan pays one lump sum to you, and the fine print to read before you buy.
Hospital Indemnity Insurance: What a Hospital Plan Pays
Cash paid to you per admission or per day in the hospital. Why it pairs with a high deductible, and what it does not cover.
Is Vision Insurance Worth It? How to Do the Math
A yearly eye exam and an allowance toward glasses or contacts. A simple way to check whether a vision plan beats paying cash.
Home and auto insurance
Bundling Home and Auto Insurance: When It Helps, and When to Compare Separately
A bundle is a discount, not a guarantee of the best total. What bundling really gets you, and why we price it both ways.
Landlord Insurance vs. Homeowners: Insuring a Rental vs. Your Own Home
Renting out a property is not the same risk as living in it. What a landlord policy covers, what it leaves to the tenant, and what to tell us.
Life insurance
Term vs. Permanent Life Insurance, in Plain Language
Term protects the years people lean on your paycheck. Permanent lasts for life. What each one does, what it does not, and why many families use both.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
Skip the rule of thumb. Add up what your family would need, subtract what is already there, and the gap is your number.
Start from what is happening to you
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