Health insurance companies issue thousands and thousands of quotes to prospective policyholders. To generate health insurance quotes efficiently, companies develop propriety algorithms that create an estimate of insurance premiums based on a patient's age, medical history, lifestyle and personal factors. Unfortunately, each company uses a unique formula that factors the weight of each answer differently. Because health insurance quotes are estimated so differently, consumers can have trouble comparing similar plans and deciding which plan offers the best value.

When consumers compare health insurance quotes for similar plans and benefits, many quotes are often in the same price range, but there are inevitably several outliers can be many times higher or drastically lower than competing quotes. Exceptionally high and unexpectedly low quotes both pose several problems. Customers often believe higher costs equate to a better overall product, but this is not always the case with health insurance quotes. Quotes that are unexpectedly low can also be dangerous. While selecting a low-priced plan might seem like a good choice for saving money today, low quotes could be a sign of financial instability or poor cost estimates. This could mean policyholders are subject to rate hikes or worse, a claim denial.

There are many reasons why health insurance quotes may seem out of line, and it's important for consumers to understand the possible reasons as well as ways to pinpoint the cost differences. At first glance, two insurance plans might look the same, but reviewing the fine print may reveal significant differences. Verify all policy limits. Even on a high-deductible plan, it's imperative to have enough coverage to pay for catastrophic injuries. Look for plans that offer a lifetime limit of at least two million dollars. Exclusions can also contribute to differing health insurance quotes. Before enrolling, review information regarding potentially cumbersome restrictions requiring policyholders to use in-network providers or satisfy stringent claim requirements. Drastically different quotes are also affected by co-pay rates, deductibles, co-insurance rates and preventive care coverage. In many cases, co-insurance benefits only kick in after a hefty deductible is satisfied. Make sure the terms are clear before committing to any plan.

If plans from different health insurance companies appear to offer comparable benefits, rate differences could be caused by the provider's proprietary quote-generating algorithm. Smokers often receive drastically different health insurance quotes because companies weight smoking, lifestyle choices and medical history differently. Whether health insurance quotes are clustered in the same price range, seem unexpectedly high or unusually low, it's important for consumers to identify the plan that offers the best value by reviewing the policy terms and calling issuing health insurance companies as necessary to determine the differences in coverage terms and benefits.