| Last year, I found myself in a new situation that I | | | | time, so I needed to start looking for an individual |
| had never found myself in before. I was laid off from | | | | health insurance plan that might cover some of the |
| my job and I didn't know what to do. Aside from the | | | | things I needed covered. |
| obvious issue of needing an immediate source of | | | | Anyway, I started shopping around through some |
| income, I also faced another problem. I didn't know | | | | online brokerages and eventually came into contact |
| what I was going to do as far as health coverage | | | | with a few carriers who seemed like they'd have |
| was concerned. My job had offered me a severance | | | | what I needed. After the basic application process I |
| package with some benefits included, but in a few | | | | was contacted by an agent, who asked me some |
| short months I'd be faced with some premiums that | | | | follow up questions about my health. |
| were twice as high as they were before. | | | | Two months later, I'm now approved and enjoying a |
| I simply couldn't afford to pay over $500 per month | | | | pretty good policy with benefits around $300 per |
| for myself. This sounded outrageous to me, as I'm | | | | month. It's not ideal for me, but it sure beats |
| sure it would to you too. Especially when I had no | | | | COBRA. Look hard enough and you'll find one for |
| job and no means to afford it. COBRA was simply | | | | yourself too. |
| way more money than I was able to afford at the | | | | |