What if you could strip down your current health insurance? What if you really don’t need office visit co-pays or co-pays to visit a specialist? Have you ever thought about what a “zero" drug deductible is costing you every month? If you are one of the many people that think about this everyday or maybe just that person who we talk to that tells us they don’t go to the doctor very often except for a physical, then why have you not opted to switch to the ever growing popular Health Savings Account?

Depending on your situation the Health Savings Account can really save you money every month and if done properly save your wallet. There are many companies marketing the plan these days but what really is the Health Savings Account? If you are familiar with Flexible Spending Accounts and IRA’s then you have won half the battle. The other half of the battle is the HDHP or High Deductible Health Plan that must be coupled with the HSA in order to qualify.

Think of the HDHP as a catastrophic cap on your out of pocket expenses. For an individual you could be looking at a $2600 deductible HDHP which means that your annual out of pocket would be $2600. The latter part of the HDHP will be what the company picks up after that. We always choose the 100% plan which means that after the deductible is met, the insurance company pays 100% of expenses. You have to have this in place in order to qualify for a Health Savings Account. Now $2600 seems like a lot of money but this is where the Health Savings portion comes into play.

As an individual you decided to pick the $2600 deductible, which is paid just like a regular insurance premium every month. Below is an example of premiums paid for a 30 yr old male non smoker living in Florida:

Typical Insurance 80/20

$1000 deductible $25 OV Copay

$0 Drug Deductible

Max Out of Pocket $3000

Total: $134.15

HDHP

$2600 deductible

no bells and whistles

Max Out of Pocket $2600

Total: $82.76

The savings is $51.39 a month

Since you opened up the HDHP, you now qualify for the Health Savings Account. The account is nothing more than a place to put the money you saved every month up to the deductible amount annually which for our example is $2600. This account is then used to pay for the bells and whistles that you stripped out of the typical insurance. When you go to the doctor you pull out your Health Savings debit card and pay for the doctor. You save money for qualified health expenses with tax deductible contributions and tax-free withdrawals.

Here is where the real savings happen. If you don’t go to the doctor or anything that year, the money that you saved rolls over into the next year where you can start saving again. This happens year after year, earning you interest and rolling over, again and again. You have the chance to build a little nest egg that you never thought you would never have. You have now taken control of your health care.

You can use the Health Savings Account for covered expenses that apply toward your annual deductible. You can also pay for qualified medical expenses that are not covered by the health plan such as vision care (glasses, contacts) or dental or braces or long term care. Some examples of qualified medical expenses are:

Dental

Hearing Aids

Diabetic Supplies

Physical Therapy

Vision

Laser Eye Surgery

Over the Counter Meds

Speech Therapy

And much, much more!

You will need to check with your insurer for a complete list as the lists vary among different insurance carriers.

The HSA is the only program around that puts you in control of your health care. Granted you do not have the office visit co-pays or the drug options. More and more companies are vying for this solution as the cost of health insurance continues to rise. This is a way for the companies to provide health insurance and a little nest egg for their employees with the convenience of one plan. I am telling you that this is the future of health care. You might think twice about going to the doctor for the typical cold but if you don’t at least you saved $100 by not going to the doctor and going to your pharmacy to get over the counter medication which you can use the HSA for. This is a chance for you and me to save real money so why have you not opened one up yet?

Gulf Breeze Insurance, Inc.

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Good dental health, as well as correcting dental problems, is essential to overall health. Many Americans are finding themselves without effective dental coverage to treat and maintain their dental needs. This is due in part to businesses increasingly cutting-back or offering inferior dental coverage for prices many can’t afford. So what are people to do? As a result, people have started looking for alternatives for their dental coverage needs especially online. The #1 question people are asking is, “What’s the difference between Dental Insurance and Discount Dental Plans?"

There are distinct differences between the way dental insurance plans and “discount dental plans work. Usually, dental insurance is used by large groups and businesses to cover their employee’s dental care. Dental insurance is true insurance where monthly premiums are paid for defined coverage. Dental insurance is not readily available to individuals and families, unless provided by their employer. The pitfalls of dental insurance include annual benefit maximums, deductibles, waiting periods for procedures, and limitations and exclusions. There are also claims forms to fill out and submit. Dental insurance a lot of times doesn’t even cover the cost of preventative measure until deductibles are met. You are able to use any dentist but the monthly premiums for dental insurance may be as much as $30 per month for individuals and over $100 per month for family plans.

Discount dental plans or “fee for service" plans, on the other hand, are available for everyone whether or not you are covered by a group plan. Fee for service plans are designed to provide clients dental networks at reduced rates or better yet, pay a certain amount and only that amount for services performed. Discount dental plans are affordable and are the most widely available dental programs for individuals and families. These discount plans work differently than dental insurance plans, yet provide consumers with real and substantial savings on most dental procedures. Discount dental plans are membership-based programs that usually provide coverage on an annual basis. Consumers pay a membership fee in exchange for secured discounts on most dental services, such as dental exams, routine cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, dentures, crowns, and braces. These plans typically save the consumer ten to sixty percent off most standard out-of-pocket fees when visiting a participating network provider. Most discount dental plans provide a “fee schedule" with the discounted fees listed out in the membership materials to ensure consumers will receive their promised savings.

While there are several differences between traditional dental insurance plans and discount dental plans, they can also be used together in certain situations to maximize savings. Gulf Breeze Insurance Inc. offer both plans but prefer to off the fee for service plan for the basic fact our clients like to save money and most need dental coverage now with no waiting period or stipulations on the money they spend. The fact that you know exactly what you are getting and saving is enough to prefer these plans over any other. Many dentists will even tell you at the time you checkout how much you have just saved.You can even visit http://www.gulfbreezeinsurance.com to see if one of these plans is available in your area and how much it can help you.

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A life insurance agent sits across the dining room table from a couple. The couple is middle class with two children ages 2 and 10. After conferring with the couple for 45 minutes the agent has designed a plan to protect the family against death of either the mother or father or both. The agent slides the proposal across the table to the parents. The parents glance at the proposal and see that the plan will cost them $50.00 a month. The couple hesitates then glances at each other.

The agent observes the hesitation. He anticipates an objection and reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out 2 quarters, 2dimes, 3nickels and 4 pennies. He then puts the change on the table and states that “The children’s future will be protected in the event that a tragedy takes the life of one of you or both for a little over a dollar a day or a cup of coffee." In sales, the next one that speaks loses. The couple smiles and asks “Where do we sign?"

This is called “Reduce to the Ridiculous" and it is a form of “framing." In the sales profession this is a very effective way to overcome the “monthly objection." Millhouse framed his decision in the very same manner. The salesman reduced to the ridiculous and Millhouse bought. Forty cents a day sounds better than $12.40 a month. The couple in this example was faced with the dilemma of $50.00 a month. The children would still be taken care of financially in the event the parents died but $50.00 a month is a lot of money, that is $600.00 a year or just $1.61 a day. “Wait a minute, just $1.61 a day? We can do that! Where do we sign?" What does this say about our customer base?

People do not respond the same to prohibitions and allowances (Plouse, 1993). Take for instance the agent and the couple or Millhouse and the salesman, both were faced with a substantial amount of money out of pocket even though the need warranted it. When the agent and salesman turned the concept around to the point of value for only pennies a day, the customer’s frame was changed and the sale was made. The “framed" saw that the allowances far outweighed the prohibitions regardless of the fact that everything was the same. This is very powerful in the world of sales. “How you make a decision is often determined by how you view your choices or how you frame the questions around it" (Anderson, 1999).

In the Millhouse example the salesman framed the question around the future success of the company being worth “one can of soda." This statement is pretty ridiculous to the point that anyone would say yes to that statement. If the salesman framed the question any other way, the possibility of a sale at that moment could have been greatly diminished. For example, if the salesman stated that the future success of the company depended upon the purchase of this product today, there is no value associated with the gain or loss. Millhouse didn’t see a can of soda being the reason the company is successful rather Millhouse can easily validate that the decision could be made tomorrow and thusly rationalize against the purchase. For example, he could rationalize the overall cost versus gain, interest paid, and “Is it really a value." People tend to be against risk and will look for reasons to talk themselves out of the situation when given the chance (Anderson, 1999).

The can of soda a day is not a loss compared to the future success of the company. Framing in the business world can be a powerful ally to the salesman. Salesman are trained not to go into a sales pitch right away but rather “feel out" the prospect, gather information and find the hot spots. An experienced salesman knows his prospects as well as the product if not more. An experience salesman builds a relationship with the prospect. An experienced salesman asks the right questions. An experienced salesman frames the closing statement to the point that the prospect would be a fool not to buy.

A good listener as well as inquisitor can learn more about a person in one conversation than they think. The more the person knows the more power that person has to be an influence upon the decisions we make. In these cases knowledge is power. Successful businesses with products to sell have uncovered so much information about the people and markets to which their products are being sold to. Without this knowledge, the marketing departments would never know how to cleverly make that closing statement, or put that person there in that commercial or use those colors within the product they are marketing to sell. This is all a form of decision framing by influencing the way the customer sees the product, convinces themselves to purchase the product and rationalize that the purchase was a good decision. Framing a decision in part is controlled by the normalcy, habits and attributes of the decision maker (Plouse, 1993).

Morally, people must take the decisions they make into careful consideration and accountability. One can have a great influence over another when it is done right. We are all guilty in one way or another of framing, from the toy companies to convincing your boss you need a raise. The world is bought and sold face to face or across the airwaves using frames. Conflict and peace and the reasons for either one are thrust upon us by using frames. The key is to take time in making a decision.

Usually a decision can be made on a product or situation with a little bit of time in between. Will the decision be different? There is an extreme possibility that it will. If one was framed and took time to think about it, more than likely the decision will be different. Millhouse didn’t take time to analyze the total cost of the product on the extended payment plan and the difference that would make on the actual bottom line and whether it was worth it then. We are all guilty of framing and being framed. We all have a responsibility to take a few steps back and think about and realize the decisions we make. The fact of the matter is we would probably be surprised about how differently our lives might actually be.

Gulf Breeze Insurance, Inc.

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Having been in the business for 8 years I believe I can honestly have something to say about this. I have been and agent for companies and now I am a broker for my clients. It really depends on who you ask which is better for the client. The agent will say he is better and the broker will in turn say he or she is. Being a broker I will state that a broker is better for the client than an agent.

The Agent
An agent represents a company’s interest and is compensated for that interest. If it is like this everywhere, a book of current business is given to the agent and he or she is told to go see them and introduce yourself, then when you are done there go knock on the doors next to them and across the street. “Create the need" or better yet “Scare them into the need" is the catch phrase I believe when it should be “Take care of the need." By that I mean take care of your people and they will take care of you. People do need to be aware of their needs but I have been around to many marketing schemes that were made to scare the client.
Another important point to be made is how many families is that agent feeding? More than likely that agent is not only feeding his or her own family but his sales managers’ and district managers’ and so on and so forth. So the next time you see an agent coming ask him how many families are being fed if you were to buy from him.

The Broker
A broker represents many companies with no centralized interest or compensation. The broker in turn is also compensated for their time and effort by the company that gets the business but that is just it, the company that gets the business. Whether you go to company A or B, you the client have the choice based on recommendations made by he broker.
The broker has the capability of finding the right mix for a client, for example, the client’s needs and budget. One company might come back with a mix of products at “X" amount of money a month. This option may be out of the clients reach due to budget constraints, well now the broker can switch to another company to find the most viable option.

The Client

The client is best served because it is not an all or nothing relationship as it is with an agent. The broker has the ability to shop around within his or her portfolio to find the best mix to meet the client’s situation. The broker acts as a go-between for the client and the company. I consider this a win-win situation. I believe that when one has the ability to shop for the client for the best product, the clients’ interest is at heart. A client that becomes a prospect six months later was never a client at all.

To be fair to all parties involved the company and client is only as good as its agent or broker. A bad one can break you and on the other had a good agent and broker can become your best friend and ally.

Gulf Breeze Insurance, Inc.

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