A great, low health insurance quote can mean lower monthly bills and better coverage. However, many buyers mistake a health insurance quote for an offer, and there's a distinct difference; health insurance quotes can change slightly (or in some cases, drastically) before a policy takes effect. A changing health insurance quote might occur for a number of reasons, but inaccurate quote websites and inaccuracies in forms are the main culprits.

Insurance companies use a tremendous amount of information to figure each health insurance quote. In order to accurately estimate their costs, they ask questions about policy holder health history. A slight inaccuracy can mean a changing health insurance quote before the policy is purchased. More often than not, a health insurance provider will ask for a copy of a physician's records to verify certain health conditions, and they won't change a policy's price significantly unless the policy holder misrepresented his or her medical condition. Hiding a preexisting condition can be grounds for major quote changes and can even invalidate coverage, so buyers should be try to input accurate information when looking for health insurance quotes.

Inaccurate health insurance comparison websites can generate inaccurate quotes, as some rely on outdated algorithms or don't gather enough information to accurately estimate a policy buyer's premiums. This is one of the many reasons that it's important to carefully evaluate insurance comparison websites before using one. It's best to avoid comparison websites that ask for personal contact information (other than an email address) and to look for websites that deliver quotes from major insurance providers. High-quality insurance comparison websites can be incredibly accurate. Many deliver quotes as accurate or more accurate than the quotes generated by insurance agents, but it's still best to exercise some caution when getting insurance quotes online.

In some cases, the algorithms that a health insurance company uses to determine quotes will change slightly before a policy is approved, and this will lead to slight changes in cost in either direction. It's also worth noting that the questionnaires for health insurance quotes are sometimes much less detailed than actual health insurance applications, so this is can be another reason for slight differentiation. In any case, buyers always have an option to approve or decline coverage when a health insurance application is finally issued, and if a quote came from a reliable source and accurate information was used to generate it, chances are good that there's nothing to worry about. Slight variations in health insurance rates are common, but major changes from the time a quote was issued to the time a policy takes effect are very rare.