Finding quality, long term health insurance in Arizona can be a painful chore for self employed individuals unless they know what to look for in a health insurance company. As self employed, you need to be spending time building your business and catering to your customers vs. shopping for health insurance every two years. Here are a few tips for self employed individuals who are looking for dependable rate stable health insurance in Arizona.

Don't just shop price

Most self employed individuals tend to get frustrated with their health insurance rates increasing, and upon receiving the rate increase letter, they jump on the internet to find the insurance company that will offer them a policy with rates close to what they had before the increase. They tend to get caught up in this cycle every couple of years with no end in site as the average length of time for a policy to be owned is 18 months. One of the reasons they keep finding new lower prices, is that the average health insurance company buys business by getting them in at the lowest possible rate with every intention of jacking it up quickly and continuously.

If you enjoy the challenge of finding new lower cost insurance often, and you stay healthy enough to get through underwriting every time, this strategy may work for you. However, if you or a family member have a serious accident or illness, you will be stuck on the policy you have at the time. Hopefully it will be with a company that pays it's claims, has no hidden details like limited benefits, and does not raise rates based on claims. Any of the above will be a major problem.

Check Them Out Thoroughly

Find out how long the company has been around. health insurance is not a product to be experimenting with. Find out if they pay claims as advertised. Check their history for rate increases. Your premium should not go up by more than 2-5% per year. Finally, ask how they divide up their blocks of business and if they close them at any point in time. The best situation is a large block of business, preferably nationwide instead of by state or zip code, and one that stays open to accept fresh clients in order to keep the block from stagnating.

Find a Company That Offers a Large Group Concept

By doing this you will avoid having yourself or your block of business singled out for rate increases based on claims. A company that has small blocks of business and closes them after a period of time will start raising rates rapidly until all who can afford to go elsewhere do so. Unfortunately the ones left behind get priced out of the policy and may have to go without health insurance until age 65.

Stay Away From Co-Pay Plans

Car insurance was not meant for oil changes or routine maintenance just like health insurance should not be used for every little ailment. Co-pay plans are expensive for insurance companies to run, and are hard to manage. On this type of plan you will end up paying for others to hang out at the doctor's office. The most affordable and stable plan is one that allows the insured to pay a portion out of pocket before the insurance kicks in.

Accomplishing the above tasks will take time and effort, but will assure security for you and your loved ones long term.