Securing the right health insurance plan for your needs is intended to provide support and peace of mind when we need it most.
Unfortunately, thousands of health insurance imposters, scams, and even “fake” companies worldwide are experienced at using knowledge, persistence, and psychology toward giving them your important personal information.
One misstep or unwise decision can mean losing your hard-earned money, having your identity stolen, or can leave you without insurance coverage when you need it most.
The good news is, by learning how to spot insurance scams, you can better protect yourself and your financial security from fraud.
Here are four ways to protect you and your family:
1. Verify the Broker’s License Online
Reputable insurance agents and brokers sell real insurance policies to the public. However, pretending to be an insurance broker is one of the most commonly used tactics scammers use to gain access to your personal information. They may use many different methods to contact you, including phone calls, emails, or text messages.
Always verify that an insurance broker is qualified to sell insurance policies by researching whether he/she has a required license.
The Arizona Department of Insurance & Financial Institutions provides consumer resources and instructions for researching various types of insurance agents and licenses.
This can be a great first step to making sure the insurance broker contacting you is legitimate.
2. Don’t Feel Pressured to Act Quickly
A common clue that you are being scammed is that you feel pressured to act quickly, especially via phone or text solicitation:
If a solicitor offers you a product that sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
There are health plans that require enrollment within or before a specific date(s) each year (Medicare/Medicaid, plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace aka “Obamacare”).
However, be wary of any person attempting to sell or promote a product only available for the next several hours or few days.
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- Spend time researching your options before spending money or sharing personal information.
- Walk away or hang up if you’re being made to feel guilt, pressure, or negative consequence for not immediately accepting an offer or product (ex.: you will “miss out,” or “you will not be protected if something bad happens”).
- Always trust your instincts. If you feel pressured, it’s often an indication that additional research on the offer is warranted.
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3. Contact the Insurance Company
If your gut is telling you that you might be receiving messages/calls from a scammer, you can investigate whether the deal is real or not by contacting the insurance company that the scammer is claiming to represent.
Find the company’s website and contact information. This can help you make sure that you are contacting a trusted source. From there, a customer service representative can help you purchase a real policy, or verify the details of the agent/broker that contacted you.
4. Vigilance Matters: Trust Yourself
Scammers use many creative ways to gain access to your money and personal information. Many use long, confusing words or phrases to sound credible/knowledgeable. Many rely on fear and rely on you not doing your own research about the information and/or product that you’re being sold on.
If your “gut” feeling says something doesn’t feel right, it likely isn’t.
By verifying your broker’s license, avoiding being pressured, and contacting sources yourself, you can help secure the right plan for your health needs, and protect yourself and your personal information.
