Not everyone has access to employer-sponsored insurance. While business supported health insurance companies garner the efficiencies of scale, providing more benefits with lower premiums simply because of the number of people enrolled, Individual health insurance policies can be an effective way to protect yourself in the case of injury, illness, or disability. Going without health insurance in these days of increasingly high medical costs can cost you everything you own.

Shopping for an individual health insurance policy can be confusing and more than a little intimidating. By knowing what to look for, what to avoid, and what questions to ask, you can provide yourself with more than adequate coverage, even if you are self-employed, a new employee, or simply seeking more coverage than is provided by your place of employment.