Health insurance agents can help you find an employee health insurance plan that fits your company’s health benefits needs and budget. The primary difference between health insurance agents and brokers is that agents represent one specific insurance company, whereas brokers can represent multiple health insurance providers.

Health insurance is not one size fits all. Health insurance agencies assist businesses in finding affordable benefit options for their employees. It’s important to find health insurance agents who are reliable, honest and committed to providing the best possible service. Consider the following tips to help you in choosing a health insurance agent.

1. Create an outline of the type of medical benefits you need for yourself and staff.

2. Discuss coverage and rate options with agents of health insurance.

3. Talk to your agent regularly to stay current on rising health care costs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know what you want before consulting with health insurance agents

Prepare for health insurance discussions by gathering all pertinent business information. Be ready to share information about the size of your company, the number of employees you have and which medical benefits you'd like to extend to your staff. This will help health insurance agents put together realistic and reasonable options that address your specific insurance needs.

I recommend: Consider exploring rates and coverage options offered by eHealthInsurance Services, a leading company that offers online health insurance quotes. USA-Online-Health-Insurance.com is another online health insurance company from which businesses can obtain quotes from various health insurance companies.

Talk to your health insurance agent about your budget

Save time by discussing your budget constraints with your agent. Because health insurance brokers work on commission and may charge business owners a flat fee for services rendered, it may be more cost-effective to go with a health insurance agent instead.

I recommend: Visit the Kaiser Permanente website to obtain health insurance services based on your company's location. You may also consider obtain health insurance information from Anthem.

Keep in contact with your health insurance agent

Staying in contact with your health insurance agent can help you in making the necessary plan adjustments to lessen the affect of rising health care costs. Medical insurance agents can assist you with plan modifications and in finding a provider with more affordable rates. Be sure to keep your agent abreast of any staffing changes and business expansion that could potentially affect your medial benefits.

I recommend: Consider obtaining health insurance quotes from Aetna, a leading health insurance company. The Internet Insurance Agency provides online health insurance quotes.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before choosing a health insurance agent, it's a good idea to talk to other business owners about their experiences with health insurance agents. You may also obtain information on agents by contacting your state's insurance commissioner.