Three Counterintuitive Secrets About Health Insurance

A Strange Industry

Large group health insurance is weird. Often things work the opposite of the way they should in this industry so it’s good to keep an eye out for quirks that work to your advantage.

Here are three things I think everyone should be aware of.

1. The more stubborn you think they are, the more money they can make off of you.

Carriers have more leverage if you buy into their idea that they're stubborn and money focused to a fault. In truth it's a reps job to keep your insurance with them, and if your broker applies simple leverage combined with time pressure (standard negotiating) you can get a great price without much of a hassle. They change premiums for companies every day, and it’s not just for their friends, it’s simply their job.

2. They really do care about the number of families at your company.

More families means more children, which are always easy to insure because they don’t usually have serious medical conditions. Citing the number of children and spouses specifically to the rep has gotten adjustments almost every time we’ve done it.

3. You become more valuable to the carrier the longer you stay with them.

Insurance companies place a lot of value on a “stable book of business” and for good reason. Having consistent clients or customers means a sigh of relief to every business out there, which means you can often get better deals from the company you’re already with, even if a competitor wants your business. Simply cite the competitor and most carriers will tell you what you want to hear: “Well we can lower the cost somewhat and give you a rate guarantee as long as you sign a contract saying you won’t switch next year.”