People searching for health insurance quotes often wonder if they are getting legitimate information. Thanks to the recession, more and more con artists are trying to prey on people with financial needs through insurance scams. Many people also fall victim to health discount plans, which are not insurance but often masquerade as standard healthcare coverage. To ensure the quotes they receive are legitimate, consumers should get health insurance quotes from reputable organizations and verify those quotes with the companies they are interested in patronizing.

First, consumers should never request health insurance quotes from organizations that might not be legitimate. Reputable websites include health insurance company sites and insurance information websites. Reputable sites almost always have information in an "About Us" section; they also usually have a "Contact Us" page on their websites. If shoppers are on a website that does not have at least one of these pages, they should avoid that page, as there is no evidence as to who is running the site. Similarly, people who receive e-mails about health insurance quotes should be wary about clicking the link in the e-mail unless the recipient can verify the sender. Consumers should never accept or request health insurance quotes through e-mail unless they are sure they are e-mailing someone they know, such as their insurance agent or doctor's office.

In addition, people who are searching for health insurance quotes should run another search first. They should search for health insurance quote fraud and scams. This way, would-be insurance customers can avoid falling victim to the latest quote scams and fraud.

Second, consumers must always verify their quotes with the company from which they want to purchase insurance. Company and insurance information websites do their best to provide potential customers with quality information, but insurance information is fluid and flexible. The prices of packages go up because of expenses in standard healthcare, economic trends and an individual's lifestyle choices. What a customer is quoted one day might not necessarily be true the next, so consumers should call the companies on their quotes list to verify that the rates and plans they were quoted are current before they decide which insurance company to patronize.

Finally, health insurance shoppers who notice an obvious error or misleading information in a health insurance quote should quickly report it to the quote service or the insurance company. An error could indicate that incorrect information was processed for the quote. In this case, the customer would have to request another quote using correct information.

Knowing whether health insurance quotes offer legitimate coverage helps consumers avoid fraud and save time. By getting quotes from reputable organizations and verifying them, potential insurance customers can shop safer.