As a freelancer, you’re going to have a unique range of freedoms and extra responsibilities when it comes to your work.
For example, as a freelancer, you generally have the freedom to create your own schedule, to work with the clients you choose to work with, to perform the functions of your business the way you see fit, etc.
You’ll also have some extra responsibilities.
For example, you’re responsible for filing your own taxes, making your estimated tax income payments, etc.
However, as a freelancer, you’re also responsible for your own insurance.
Here’s the nitty-gritty of it.
As a freelancer, you’re on your own as far as insurance goes.
If you don’t source it for yourself, you’re just not going to have it.
And that could spell disaster if you run into some trouble.
So in this post, we’re going to talk about the basics of everything you need to know about getting freelance health insurance.
Hopefully, this post will equip you with the knowledge you need to get started on the process of acquiring the right insurance for you.
Let’s jump into it.
1. You’ll Need Insurance At Some Point
Sometimes, when you’re just getting started with your freelance hustle, you can get away for a little while without insurance.
Now, keep in mind that this is risky.
But sometimes, the budget just doesn’t cover personal benefits, especially until the business gets rolling.
However, going sans insurance isn’t a long term strategy.
At some point, you’re just going to need to find a way to cover these costs, even if it means raising your prices a little bit or finding more work to help cover the expense.
2. Sourcing Insurance On Your Own
Finding health insurance as a freelancer can be especially difficult, since you don’t have an employer health plan to buy into.
Plus, you won’t necessarily be getting any of the potential benefits or price breaks that you could be getting if you were to source health insurance with the rest of an employee group.
So the best way to start this process is to really just take responsibility for doing your due diligence, and trying to figure out what your most cost-effective options are.
Of course, you also want to make sure that you’re looking at the details.
And that brings us to the next point.
3. The Importance Of Looking At The Details
Whenever you’re shopping for health insurance, it’s important to examine the specific details of the different plans you’re looking at.
For example, you want to look at how much the deductible is.
You also want to look at what the premiums are, what they cover, what the limits are, etc.
It’s really important to understand the ins and outs of the insurance plan, to make sure that you’re actually getting what you think you’re getting when you pay the premium.
If you’re struggling on this point, it may be a good idea to find a health insurance agent that you trust to help you walk through the process.
Insurance agents do this professionally.
So if you find one who you trust to give you advice, that may be a great way to help overcome some blind spots.
4. What About Supplemental Benefits?
In addition to basic health insurance, you’ll also need to consider other types of insurance for things like eye care, dental care, etc.
Everyone is going to need to see the eye doctor at some point—and pretty much everyone is going to need to go to the dentist.
Therefore, it’s in your best interest to try to cover these insurance gaps as well.
5. What About Life Insurance?
Life insurance is another crucial area that’s important to look at when it comes to protecting yourself and your family from the potential for disaster.
Here’s the thing.
If you don’t buy health insurance for yourself, then your family is going to be saddled with the financial burden of dealing with your death in the unlikely and unfortunate event that something happens to you.
You definitely don’t want that financial burden to fall on them.
However, it’s also important to understand that not all life insurance plans are equal.
Some of them make more sense than others. So it’s important to shop around to find the best deal possible.
Conclusion
There you have it—everything you need to know about getting freelancer health insurance.
Unfortunately, there’s just no alternative to doing the legwork and performing a bit of your own research to help you find the best deals for you.
And of course, you’ll need to find a way to fit it into your budget as well.
With all that being said, we hope that this post has been helpful in giving you some ideas for how to get started.
Good luck out there.
It’s definitely worth it.