Tuesday, June 16, 2009

All optimism aside

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!

Normally I consider myself to be a pretty up-beat and optimistic person - able to see the silver lining to almost any cloud. Well, apparently, today I'm not myself.

Let me paint you a picture- my husband is self-employed. While that makes him an awesome person, full in integrity, motivation, entrepreneurial spirit, etc. there also comes the hassle of one's lifestyle. Many business owners are not well-off. More than a majority of them are just squeaking by. Part of this reason is ....

insurance

Stupid insurance.

Can't live without it, but sometimes I just want to try.

Liability Insurance

Workman's Comp. Insurance (which is no more than a dummy policy, but he needs it to be a subcontractor)

Homeowner's

Car

Life

Health

Don't get me started on that last one- what? I'm already started???? Let's go then!
We got a notice that our premiums (which were already high and covered zilch) were going up by 26%. Seriously!!! Going up by more than $110!!!

What, over a 6 month period? That wouldn't be too bad...

OHHH NO, per month!!!

In a budget with VERY little wiggle room, how the heck is this going to work?!?!?

So, I called our "agent" and was given a bunch of sales jargon and slick talking. He said he would call me back either yesterday afternoon or this morning. End of morning. No call.

So, last night I started shopping on the Internet. Within 3 minutes of submitting a search on a web site, I had a phone call from an agent (mind you, this is at 9 at night!). We talked for 45 minutes. She was actually very nice and not sales-y at all. She's going to put together a few quotes and get back to me.

This morning, I had 3 more emails from various agents all wanting a piece of the action. An additional two phone calls later from other agents...I feel like a beat up carcass that the vultures have descended upon.

deductibles
maximum out-of-pocket
preventative policies
immunizations
limitations
exclusions
riders
Dr. visits
Hospital visits
Ambulance and air transportation
Out patient procedures
Hospital stays
Transplant programs
Sterilization
Pharmaceuticals
premiums

My head is spinning


In the meantime MY agent has yet to call.

5 comments:

Lyndsay said...

Oh my! You visited my blog for NMM so I thought I stop by and say hi.

I totally get what you are going through. My husband has a full time job, but he also has his own painting business on the side. It's really small though so the only thing we've have is his license. We can't afford anything else right now. As for health insurance yeah we haven't had that for 6 months now. I didn't have insurance when I got pregnant with our second son and they consider pregnancy a preexisting condition like cancer so we had to pay out of pocket for my C-section! Thankfully the hospital gave us a grant to cover 80%, but we still have to pay off the rest of it within a year so hence the no health insurance right now. Times are tough!

Kathy said...

Oh no! I'm so sorry you're going through this! We have an excellent insurance rep. that we've used for years and Matt's parents have used for years if you need a recommendation. It sounds likes you've had lots of agents contacting you, but if you need a referral just let me know. He's actually in your neck of the woods too, right on 28th St. near Cascade Rd. Thinking about you!!

Rach said...

I feel you Sandy...100% We're still paying back all my bills from last year's year of GI fun....and we HAD insurance....good insurance! This does not include the HOURS spent on the phone paying bills, clarifying bills, talking to reps....repeating my story 5 times in 1 long 85 minute phone call, freaking out when yet another bill arrives asking for payment from a random doctor that did not even see me...he just happened to be in the hospital at the same time I did....ARG! My heart goes out to you.

Leah said...

My parents ran their own business. In the long run it was not worth it. Was too much strain on our family. But, for some it is a dream come true and a blessing. I pray that your family will come through the rough times to enjoy the benefits of all your hard work.

Sandy said...

Rach, I understand that!!! I spent 1 1/2 hours on the phone with our insurance company who put Colin's circumcision under "routine newborn care" which put us over the max for all his preventative well-baby visits by week 2 of his life. Tell me, what about a knife cutting on my baby's penis is ROUTINE newborn care?!?!? They fixed it. :)