We understand the word “insurance” can often induce feelings of worry and confusion, but you can avoid those uncomfortable vibes by being informed and understanding your policy. As many of you know, fall marks open enrollment season for insurance, where you can review your employer insurance benefits and change your plan, if necessary.
High deductible health plans (HDHP’s, with a deductible of $1,000 or more) are popular these days because they can lower monthly payments, but if you don’t pay attention, you can make costly mistakes when choosing your insurance. In fact, according to the 2016 Aflac Open Enrollment Survey, 56% of millennials say there are aspects of their health care policy that they don’t understand and 24% admitted they didn’t spent enough time researching their chosen plans. Even more alarming, many millennials said they would rather be doing anything else, such as changing baby diapers (16%), walking across hot coals (14%) or talking to their ex (17%) than spending time researching their insurance plans. Yikes.
You might be laughing a little (we are, too) but it’s really no laughing matter when you could be wasting hundreds -if not thousands- on insurance expenses. Many millennials are already living paycheck to paycheck trying to keep up with living expenses, student loan debt etc. 70% of millennials estimate that they waste up to $750 because of mistakes they made during open enrollment (Aflac Open Enrollment Survey, 2016). The good news is, by choosing the right plan, you can save up $750 during open enrollment. So, here’s a few things to consider before choosing your plan this fall:
- Many workplaces offer the option to speak with a benefits expert about your specific needs and provide online portals to compare plans, so be sure to check in with your employer to get a full, comprehensible explanation of your benefits.
- HDHPs are becoming a popular choice and more than half (60%) of millennials selected a major medical/health insurance plan with a high deductible of $1,000 or more last year. However, 38% regretted it and 43% felt their HDHP was a financial detriment to themselves and/or their families. (Aflac Open Enrollment Survey, 2016)
- Millennials who do choose, or are forced into, a HDHP may want to encourage their employer to ensure they have other benefits options available. For instance, a health savings account and voluntary insurance can help pay for deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs to give you the freedom to live your life to fullest, instead of being burdened with medical expenses.
So, what can you do to help make things easier for yourself? Consider getting voluntary insurance. This will help keep you covered in the event of unexpected injury and sickness if you have minimal cash or savings. Unlike traditional insurance policies which pay directly to hospitals and doctors, voluntary insurance pays cash directly to you (unless otherwise assigned), so you get to decide how to use it.
Our friends at Aflac offer accident, disability, critical illness, cancer, hospital and life insurance policies that can complement your major medical insurance policy. Protect your life, your family, and the things you love. It’s a low-risk “expense” that will give you peace of mind, so you won’t have to stress and dip into that travel fund, take out loans or borrow money if something happens to you.
Want to see what your options are? Head over to Aflac to check out a variety of voluntary insurance policies -because your peace of mind is priceless.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. Z161128T 10/16
