Supplemental Insurance

The Ins and Outs of Supplemental Insurance

Supplemental insurance coverage provides extra protection for specific things that are not covered by one’s normal policies. Examples include major medical costs and more. It is a stand-alone policy with separate benefit provisions.

Likely the most common example is Medicare supplement coverage. Medicare often is inadequate as it will not cover prescription drugs, in-home care, nursing homes, or care for long term. This is why so many seniors will purchase additional insurance which handles one or more of these issues without interfering with one’s Medicare coverage, thus eliminating coinsurance obstacles.
Coinsurance refers to that which is covered by two policies, and in most cases the maximum coverage limit is equal to the highest coverage of one of the policies held. Conversely, good supplemental insurance is designed to cover that which is not already covered at all.

There is a myriad of plans available of this type. In addition to plans engineered to augment Medicare coverage, there are is hospital indemnity coverage, accident plans, extra dental and vision coverage, supplemental disability plans, plans for cancer plans, and additional life insurance protection. Some of these policies pay cash benefits that can be utilized handle out-of-pocket costs in addition to assisting in the payment for actual medical expenses.

Hospital indemnity plans help protect the policyholder from the often exorbitant costs of hospitalization. Accident plans will only dole out compensation if there is a covered accident for which medical care was used. Disability plans often mandate that a person be both unable to work and also be under a doctor’s care. Vision plans can assist by, for instance, obtaining a new pair of glasses periodically, but can give out benefits should one have a medical condition that adversely affects the eyes. Cancer coverage pays out when one is diagnosed with a covered cancer illness.
Accident coverage is often exploited by families with dependents. It helps mitigate unexpected costs since children will, as most parents certainly know, inevitably get hurt at some point in time. Vision and dental policies fill in the holes left by most major medical policies.

Supplemental insurance is terrific extra coverage that people can choose to buy to help fill in the gaps that standard coverage does not have. It provides peace of mind in knowing that, even under the most extreme of cases, you still can be protected.