Thursday, January 1, 2009

Detect Fraud On Cyberspace When Obtaining Texas Health Insurance

By Jordan FeRoss

Fraud has increasing become an issue of concern for most people, but they usually think of credit card fraud or identity fraud and few people realize the growing problem with health insurance fraud. Sadly, you have to be on the lookout for fraud whenever you deal with giving people your personal information, like buying health insurance in Texas over the internet. It is vital that you use common sense whenever you make a purchase online and especially one that involves divulging a lot of personal information.

Because setting up an online insurance shop is so easy for just about anyone, it can be difficult to know who to trust when providing sensitive information to someone supposedly selling you insurance. You must always be vigilant when using the Internet to shop for health insurance in Texas. And keep in mind that if it sounds to good to be true it probably is, especially with regard to health insurance.

So how can you recognize a fraud when it comes to buying health insurance in Texas over the internet? There are several health insurance related scams being peddled on the internet these days. One of these is the age old "pyramid" scheme. This deal claims to be health insurance, but then advertises that you can make money by getting more people to sign up under you. While the basic idea may sound like a bona fide network marketing business, beware the telltale signs of the "pyramid scheme". In a scam like this, if you read the fine print you will realize that you aren't actually getting anything for your money, other than a "membership" and a chance to make money. It isn't real health insurance. They may tell you that you will qualify for "discounts" on medical services, but you will be hard pressed to ever recoup any of your investment with these so-called discounts.

This will create more cash in the pot. In addition to that, others are asked to sell memberships to others and pitch the same script. With the so-called "health insurance", members are also told that they can take money against the value of their insurance policies. Unfortunately, there is nothing to show for it. Health insurance in Texas is a big business and there are people that will try to profit from it any way they can.

Another scheme is when you encounter a website that claims to be selling health insurance in Texas. They entice you by promising low rates on your health insurance. Later on, you find out that it's not a real insurance company and the health insurance policy is null and void.

There are other scams where people get duped easily. There are people that set up bogus companies only for the "owners" to take the money and run. There are others where an agent advertises online to get business and find out that it's just another scam.

Another one of the major frauds regarding health insurance in Texas is when unlicensed agents attempt to sell you health insurance. The laws in Texas require both the insurance company and the agent to be licensed in order to sell you health insurance. This protects the consumer and makes sure that an agent knows what they are doing before they sell a product like health insurance in Texas that has a huge impact on a person's life and well-being. If you find suspicious activity that may be fraudulent, you should report it to the better business bureau and any other local or state agency that deals with fraud.

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