Get a Quote

We have 3 ways of providing you with quotes.

Free online quote: This will give you “instant” quotes for a few different carriers. It gives you only “preferred” rate quotes. This is a good way to get a quick sense of how much it will cost to get insured and allows you to apply directly on-line for any of the plans quoted.
Customized quote: Fill out the quote request form and have an agent contact you with a custom quote.
Give us a call! In the greater Danbury area: 203-730-8304, Toll Free: 800-363-2271

Health Insurance

Instant Health Quote

This quoting tool will give you only “preferred” prices. It is a great way to see what companies and plans are available in the marketplace. The HIQS Group represents all of the available carriers; we truly try to advise our clients in selecting the best carrier and choosing the right plan, with personal service.

Custom Quote

This detailed quote form will provide more details for our agent to discuss carrier and plan options with you. This information is kept confidential and will not be communicated to any carrier or anyone else.

Life Insurance

Life Insurance rates…

This is a great site to look at term life quotes. It includes a tool to help calculate the amount of insurance you may need. You are encouraged to use the “health analyzer” to help you get more a more accurate determination of your potential health rating and prices.

Dental Insurance

There are two types of dental coverage available: Discount plans & Full dental plans.

Discount plans

Offer a reduced rate on dentistry
You must use a dentist in their network. So, if you can find a company that includes your dentist, this is an excellent option.
Cheaper than full dental plans
- Between $80-$160 per year for individuals
- Between $120-$200 per year for families
Some plans include vision benefits and free cleanings

Click the link then go to the “Compare Savings” button on the right of the screen. For information on the dental plan options available to you from a variety of companies.

Here you will find charts with pricing information, the number of dentists within 50 miles of your zip code, and any extra benefits that the plans may offer.

Discount Dental Plans

Accident Insurance

Don’t let an unfortunate physical set-back put your finances in jeopardy. Accident plans are affordable and can potentially save you from excessive medical bills.

Get Started…

International Insurance

Will you be spending some time living outside of the United States? International insurance is worth looking into.

International Plans

Short Term Insurance

In Connecticut, there are only two carriers that offer short term insurance: Celtic and United Health Care. There are carrier-specific rules. It may seem like you have to jump through hoops to even purchase short term insurance. You are right! The state of Connecticut does not encourage consumers to buy short term insurance. They do not cover pre-existing conditions. Use of consecutive short-term insurance policies is problematic.

United Health Care allows payment to be made on a month-by-month basis up to six months. Their policy will re-price claims using the United Health Care PPO. United Health Care only allows three short term policies during the lifetime of the insured. There must be at least a 60-day break between the first and the second policy and a 6-month break between the second and third. Go figure.

Celtic Insurance Company does not offer short-term coverage on a monthly payment basis, but does offer coverage if you make a single up-front payment for your entire coverage period. If you know how long you will need coverage for, you may be able to lower your costs and have a larger selection of plans by making a single up-front payment. Celtic does not have PPO re-pricing. Celtic does allow consecutive policies as long as no claim was made during the current policy. Go figure.

That’s all the information I feel comfortable torturing you with at this point.

Medicare

Good to know…

Secrets and Tips about Selecting Health Insurance:

Use an independent agency like the HIQS Group!

There are other online web sites that show health insurance quotes. They are a good resource, but there are some things to be aware of…

Most of them are specifically created by agencies that sell insurance online.
Typically only show the companies that they sell
You are NOT applying directly to the insurance companies.
You still have an “agent” assigned to you
Know whether or not you are working with a “captive” agent. Captive agents only offer products from one company
Online quoting software may only give you an accurate quote if you are a “preferred” health rating.
Only 40% of all applicants are rated “preferred.”

Prices of health insurance are submitted to the state departments of insurance and cannot vary by agent or agency.

The insurance company cannot legally give you a better price, even if they sell it directly.
If you find a different price for what appears to be the same product, you can be certain that there is a difference in the product itself, perhaps different riders or coverage limits.

Get an agent who is an expert in the product you want and is up to date on the specific rules and regulations associated with your state.

Available plans and rates change constantly.

The lists of participating doctors and hospitals affiliated with HMO’s change with little notice. Most full service agencies, who also offer home, auto, life and business insurance, can’t keep up with all of the changes and so only offer a few options. In fact, a few agencies send hard to place clients to us.
Health insurance is complex. An agency like ours can help you understand the differences.

No health insurance company’s products work for everybody. When you work with us we ask a lot of questions because it helps us find you a good cost effective match.

Different insurance companies specialize in different types of coverage and vary as to which health conditions they consider risky.

Health insurance companies offer insurance at different price levels based on a number of health factors. These factors help them predict your potential claims.

Companies differ in the way that they treat different health issues.

Some deny coverage for certain conditions.
Charge higher rates using a “rate up” for you conditions and
Offer you a policy excluding certain “pre-existing” conditions from coverage.

When appropriate, we will pre-screen your case with various companies to find the best offer and determine the probable outcome. Prescreening helps you to choose a company knowing that they are likely to accept you at a rate that you can afford.

Why is it important to have this information? Unless you are perfectly healthy you run a risk of being declined for coverage. This could affect your ability to get insurance from another company in the future. This whole process could take you two to three months and you would be back where you started.

We look forward to helping you and hope that you will find the process both enjoyable and informative.

Secrets and Tips About Selecting Life Insurance

Use an independent agency like the HIQS Group!
Be aware that many life insurance quoting websites are not all the same. Most are specifically created by agencies that sell insurance online. They are a good resource, but they often only show the companies that they sell.

You are NOT applying directly to the insurance companies. You still have an “agent” assigned to you. When dealing with major companies, it is common that the agent may not be a resident of the state. As specific rules and regulations differ from state to state, it is best to work with an agent who is familiar with the peculiarities of your home state.

Prices of life insurance are submitted to state departments of insurance and cannot vary by agent or agency. The insurance company, even if they sell it directly, cannot legally give you a better price. If you find a different price for what appears to be the same product there is some difference in the product itself, perhaps different riders or different conversion options (more about that later). We can help you understand the differences.

Find out how you will be rated. Your health “rating” can more accurately determine your acceptance and real pricing that the insurance companies will charge you. Life insurance companies offer insurance at different price levels based on a number of health factors, which, when considered together, help them predict how good a risk you are. No matter what rate you are quoted, the insurance company is not bound by it some times they even offer a better rate than quoted.

Literally, the insurance companies are experts at predicting what the average life span would be for someone with your health profile. Factors such as height and weight, blood pressure, smoking history, family history, even your age and sex are all used. We help you with this, which is especially vital if you have an atypical health history.

For some companies only 2% or 5% of the applicants get that “preferred plus” fantastic rate. They are trying to attract your application with a very attractive price. The next rate category down might be much worse. Many people who apply without the advice of an agent feel like they are the victim of a “bait and switch.”

Price is not the only factor. When you get quotes we do not always recommend the least expensive plan. Health rating categories are different from one company to the next. Note that similar sounding names such as preferred plus, ultra preferred, or preferred non-smoker are grouped together in quoting software but this does NOT mean that they are equivalent.
Some companies have tighter standards for factors like height and weight, for instance. So, you may qualify for a certain rating level and get the quoted rate with some companies but not others.
Convertibility & Term Life Insurance Policies

Convertibility is a very important issue involved with term life insurance. A conversion option means that you can purchase a permanent life insurance plan based on your original rate category. This is true even if you have serious health problems now. You pay a rate based on the age you are when you convert.

Convertibility is crucial if your health deteriorates and future purchases of insurance would be too expensive. The big benefit to this is that you can do so without any evidence of insurability. With no required medical exam you could complete the conversion, even if diagnosed with a terminal illness. Nearly 99% of all life insurance owned in the United States is Term Insurance. There are situations, however, where permenant insurance makes financial sense

The potential drawbacks of many of the more competitively priced term products is that they allow you to convert only to very expensive permanent products or limit the conversion option to only a few years. We can recommend term plans that have longer conversion options to reasonably priced permanent plans.
We recently had a case where a client had decided to purchase a life insurance plan, which had a ten year rate guarantee because it was less expensive. He had a need that was more than 10 years, having 3 young children, but assumed he could buy another inexpensive term policy when that one expired. He survived 2 cancers in one year in the 9th year of the policy. He was only 49. Thankfully, he exercised his option to “convert” the term to permanent coverage before the 10th year and kept his coverage in force. Had he let it lapse he would have been uninsurable.