How Much Is A Premium For Health Insurance? 
A premium is the amount you pay to the insurance company in exchange for coverage under a given policy . When a certain type of claim is made , the insurance company is going to pay the claim instead of you up to the defined amounts as stated inside the policy - for health insurance , the policy may only state the carrier is going to cover a percentage of the claim/fixed dollar amount and you would pay the difference -LRB- your coinsurance or copayment amount -RRB- Unfortunately there 's too many factors that go into premium pricing to say what an average plan costs . Your age is a big factor - the younger you are , the cheaper your premium - the older you are , the higher your premium . Also , if you use tobacco products , your premium can be increased up to 50 % as well . If you 're an individual buying on or off the exchange -LRB- and not securing group coverage through an employer -RRB- , you need to consider the level plan you want . There are four metal plans : bronze , silver , gold , and platinum.Bronze plans generally cover about 60 % of your healthcare expenses , Silver is 70 % , Gold is 80 % , and Platinum is 90 % . So , in short , the better the benefits that you want to have , the higher the premium will be.There 's also a catastrophic plan , but these are only available to individuals under age 30 . If you qualify for a subsidy , the cost of your premium can be lowered as well - whether you qualify for one depends on your income . This is where an independent insurance agent can really help you . They can work with you to look at a wide range of options from many of the top carriers in the industry . 