What To Choose - Group Or Individual Plans?

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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There's a lot of debate around the topic of insurance for health, especially when it has become so expensive to get proper coverage these days. It gets even harder to find the right plan because there are so many options available and you don't know what to start with. But one of the biggest debates concerning health plans is of course the debate between individual and group plan advocates. One camp states that group plans are the best way to get lower rates while insuring your health. The other camp argues that only an individual plan can meet your exact insurance needs adequately. So is there any right or wrong in this endless rivalry?

Let's first see the pros and cons of each plan type and let you decide which is more adequate for your personal insurance needs. As you can guess from the name, the main difference between individual and group health plans is the number of people included into the insurance policy. With group plans you may cover your entire family or the whole office under the same policy, while an individual plan only deals with a single customer.

Due to the higher number of customers included, ...
... group plans are usually much cheaper than individual plans. There's no need to issue different contracts and create multiple accounts under a group plan. One single plan covers all the persons included under the same conditions. That makes it much easier for the insurance company to service such a plan that's why they are usually cheap. Besides, in most companies of the US, group health insurance plans are partially or entirely paid for by the employer, which makes this form of health coverage really attractive in terms of costs. On the other hand, with group plans you get a standard selection of things that get covered, which rarely deals with serious or pre-existing conditions. Anything that goes outside the standard set of services will have to be paid for out of own pocket.

Individual plans, on the other hand, provide a much high grade of customization, letting you tailor your policy for your exact needs. This means that you have any particular health problems or needs certain examinations or specialist consultations more often than others, you can make your policy pay for these things as well. On the other hand, such flexibility comes for a price that not everyone can afford. Having a separate contract with each client and providing an individual approach to his or her needs costs more for the insurance company and this is reflected in the premium the customer pays for having an individual plan.

So let's sum up the facts. If you're looking for cheap health insurance and aren't bothered by any health problems or are generally a healthy person that doesn't go to the doctor often, you will benefit from being a part of a group insurance plan. At times it can cost you almost nothing, if your employer is generous enough to pay your entire premium. But if you have pre-existing health conditions and need the help of certain specialists or prescription medications on a regular basis, then it would be better to have an individual health insurance plan. It will cost you more, but will provide all the coverage you need.