Things To Know When Shopping For Health Insurance? 
The purpose of insurance is to protect yourself financially against a catastrophic event by shifting the risk to a third party -LRB- e.g. the insurance company - you pay a monthly premium and they take on the risk of claims -RRB- . In health insurance , you have the options for bronze , silver , gold , and platinum level plans -LRB- as you go up in metal , the price goes up , but provides better benefits -RRB- - some areas also have a catastrophic plan available . In addition , your age is a big factor as well . 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 . 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 . You may also qualify for a premium subsidy , depending on your income . If you qualify for a subsidy , you can reduce the total premium you pay for your coverage . You may also have the option of group health coverage available through your employer that can be competitive with an individual plan - the drawback with group coverage is that if you left the company , your coverage does n't go with you . You would either have to go on COBRA or enroll in an individual plan -LRB- assuming you do n't have the immediate option to enroll in a new group plan through your new employer -RRB- . This is where consulting with an experienced health insurance broker can be very advantageous . There 's many moving parts to health insurance and an experienced broker can help you compare a wide range of options to determine the course of action that is mostsuitabletoyour specific needs and budget.Please feel free to contact me for help . Thanks very much . 