UNDERSTANDING RISING INSURANCE COSTS - INCREASE IN INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE RATES

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This page contains dozens of short articles that will help you quickly understand international insurance. For example, terminology, purchasing details and managing your insurance coverage are topics that are all covered within these articles. Choose an Article From the Topics Below

WHY INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE RATES INCREASE

This is always a question! We are not sick! We have not been to the doctor! We have not used the insurance! Yet our rates went up! Why? First of all, it is important to note that your rates will not go up even if you have used your insurance. Insurance companies do not raise the rates on individuals if they have used the insurance. So then, why do the rates go up?

There are several reasons. Insurance rates go up annually because of inflation. Medical inflation in recent years has been running around ten percent. Why that high? Because the cost of medical care has increased for various reasons, one reason being the cost of prescription drugs and another being the increased use of advanced and expensive technology.

Besides this, when you move into a higher age bracket, the rates will go up for you, because insurance rates are based on age.

Finally, if a couple of people in your age group (i.e., those between the ages of 35-39 who applied for Plan X with Company Y in 2003 when you applied for your coverage) had a serious case of cancer or a heart attack that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, that would cause your rates to increase. The insurance company compares “premium received” to “claims paid” for your 35-39 age group; and if “claims paid” exceed “premium received,” then the company will increase the premiums in that age group in order to recoup its loses in the coming year.