Group health insurance offers a lot more benefits than an individual plan. But before you start out, you must first collate all the information that you have and you also need to know whether you are eligible for the plan.
The first thing to do is gather all your business information. If you are dealing with a broker or an insurance agent, ask for a check list that you can refer to. If you are going to apply for the plan on behalf of your organization by your own, then you need to gather the following information,
- Employer name
- The exact address of your business, including your PO box number
- The list of all the employees who will be covered under the plan
- Employer identification number or in other words the tax identification number
- How old your business is
- Head count of the organization
- What type of industry you are dealing in
The next step is to get a rate quote from different insurance companies. In order to do so, you will be required to provide the following information for each of your employees,
- Name
- Date of birth
- Number of dependents
- Postal code
Then you will have to decide the scheduling. If you are looking for a plan, try to get one from between the next six weeks to the next 3 months. If its too close, you might not be able to get the paper work done in time and if it is too far away, you run the risk of losing the plan altogether.
You also need to work out the budget. You need to decide what part of the insurance amount you are going to pay. You will also need to work out the per employee cost per month. You do not need to worry about the variables immediately, based on your budget you can figure them out later. You also need to keep in mind that the insurer will require the first month’s premium in advance. For the payments that you make every month, there is a grace period. So even if you are a few days late, your group insurance policy need not be cancelled. Try to find out the cancellation and reinstatement procedures just to be on the safe side. There will be annual premium increases, some insurance companies have a 6 month period for premium increases. But in all situations, the insurance company has to give you at least a 30 day notice period for premium increases by law. It pays to know all the characteristics of your policy even if you are not going to have to deal with any problems.
Lastly, check group health insurance quotes online before you buy.