Individual health insurance is coverage that a person buys independently. It can be sold to a single individual, to a parent and dependent children, or to a family. The majority of Americans get their health insurance coverage through an employer or through a government program, but five percent of the population purchases private health coverage on an individual basis. Each state separately regulates how individual policies may be marketed and sold.

We sell insurance plans from many companies, which can help you find the coverage that best suits your individual needs.

Individual health insurance is very different than group health insurance, which is the type of insurance that is offered through an employer. Since laws mandating what types of services must be included in individual policies are often different than those dictating what must be included in group policies, benefits are generally less extensive than what most people would receive through coverage they have through work. Individual consumers may be surprised to learn that some benefits that may be considered 'standard' in a group policy, like maternity coverage or substance-abuse treatment, may not be included in an individual plan. Sometimes individual health insurance consumers have the option to pay extra for coverage of additional services like maternity coverage. This extra coverage is referred to as an optional rider.

Cost is often the primary factor for individual health insurance consumers, which is another reason why the benefits included in individual policies are often simpler. In addition, deductibles (the amount you have to pay before insurance benefits begin) and cost-sharing (the fees you pay directly to medical providers at the time of service) are also generally higher.

Individual health insurance companies are much more limited than group insurance companies in their ability to spread risk, so the laws concerning individual health insurance are different in most states. This means that applicants for individual insurance will need to complete a brief medical questionnaire when applying for benefits and, unlike a group insurance policy, in most states a company can decide not to cover people with very serious medical conditions (e.g., HIV or cancer), deeming them 'uninsurable'.