Tuesday, June 21, 2011

19 year old student - health insurance with 1 million lifetime max enough?

I don't currently have a job; I'm just a student, so it's doubtful that I will even keep this insurance the rest of my life. I have a $750 deductible with $2k max out of pocket and no deductible on prescriptions, but the lifetime max is only 1 million. I know with a chronic condition that would be eaten up, but is it sufficient for now?
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At age 19 1 million is adequate. Statistically speaking you have very little chance of capping one million. However, depending on the carrier you may be able to extend the lifetime max for very little additional premium. I have been a health agent for 15 years and chances are that if you have medical expenses in excess of $1 million, you would not survive the accident/illness in question anyway. Having said all of that however, you may want to seek a reinsurer who will come in and accept risk for any medical bills in excess of one million. The premium should be next to nothing, and for obvious reasons. In my opinion you have ample coverage. My only suggestion would be to see if your policy has an aggregate. ( a per sickness/accident limit) you could have a one million lifetime max, but you may have a per illness/accident cap of only say $250,000 for example....this is important to know. Also in response to Kay's comment....NEVER rely on insurance from your employer. EVER. It's YOUR responsibility and not your employer's (or your government's for that matter) to protect your financial assets. Employer based policies ALWAYS end. Termination, job change, etc. An individually owned plan is yours as long as you pay the premium, and gives you much more control and freedom. what would happen if you worked for a company who offered health insurance, but then you had a heart attack or got diabetes? Then you would be FORCED to stay at that job just to have coverage. Whereas if you had a private plan your job would not be slave to your benefits, etc. You need to look into an HSA (Health Savings Account) which will not only save you monthly premiums but also assist you in paying less taxes AND saving for retirment.
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