Speak with an experienced advisor! The biggest expenses in most retirees’ budgets is health care. As we age, the need for certain medical services tends to increase - and due to the constantly rising cost, sometimes getting the necessary care can become unaffordable.
Even if you have Medicare Part A and B for hospitalization, outpatient surgery, doctor visits, and other healthcare needs, you could still end up paying for a lot of medical bills.
In helping to combat these costs, there is Medicare Supplement Insurance. These plans are also called Medigap plans, because they fill in the holes left behind by Medicare.
Currently, there are 10 different Medicare Supplemental Insurance policies on the market. These plans are also called Medigap coverage, because they fill in the gaps left behind by Medicare.
The first plan is Plan A, which is the smallest additional coverage you can buy. Every plan after Medigap Plan A is going to have the core benefits, but will build on those coverage areas.
For example, regardless of which insurance company you purchase a Medicare Supplement Plan A from, the benefits will be the same. The premium price, however, can differ - in some cases, significantly. You need to find the company who offers the lowest premiums.
You should review the financial strength and stability of the insurance company that is offering such plans so that you can be better assured that it will be there when you need it to pay claims. One insurer that has an excellent reputation in the Medicare Supplement insurance niche is Gerber Life Insurance Company.
The History of Gerber Life Insurance Company
Gerber Life Insurance Company has been providing quality life insurance since 1967 - particularly for those who may be on a limited budget. As an affiliate of the Gerber Products Company - “the baby food people” - the two Gerber companies share one common goal, and that is to help parents in raising happy, healthy children. (Gerber Products Company, is, in turn, a subsidiary of Nestle, in Fremont, Michigan).
In addition, Gerber Life also has a mission of being the company that parents and grandparents trust for helping them to achieve financial security and protection at all stages of life. By offering affordable, industry-leading juvenile life insurance, as well as life, accident, and Medicare Supplement insurance for adults, the company strives to give their customers the comfort and the peace of mind that they deserve.
Gerber Life Insurance Company Review
Gerber Life is a well-known and respected insurance carrier. The company is licensed to offer life insurance coverage throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico. Today, the company has more than $45 billion of life insurance in force, and more than 3.3 million policies.
Throughout the years, the company has earned high accolades and awards. The company is also conservatively managed so as to ensure its long-term growth and financial stability - which provides its policyholders with assurance that the company will be there when they are needed.
Ratings and Reviews
Gerber Life Insurance Company has high ratings from just about every scale out there. This includes an A (Excellent) from A.M. Best Company. (This reflects the third highest possible rating that is provided by A.M. Best).
Gerber also has an A+ grade from the BBB, which is one of the biggest rating companies out there.
All of these ratings point towards a financially sound insurance company you can rely on. Gerber has been around for a long time, which means you probably don’t have to worry about the company shutting down.
Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans Offered by Gerber Life Insurance Company
Gerber sells several different Medigap plans. These plans include Plan A, Plan F, and Plan G, along with Medicare SELECT Insurance Plans F and G that can help to pay some of the eligible expenses that are not paid for by Medicare.
If you want the cheapest additional coverage, then a Plan A will be the best choice:
- Part A of Medicare’s coinsurance, as well as hospitalization costs - up to an additional 365 days after the Medicare benefits, have been used up
- Part B of Medicare’s coinsurance or copayment amount
- The first three pints of blood that may be needed each year
- Medicare Part A’s hospice care copayment or coinsurance amount
If someone is seeking more comprehensive coverage, then there are other Medigap policies offered through Gerber Life. Each of these must include the basic, core benefits that are provided via Plan A, along with other coverage options. For example, Medicare Supplement Plan F offers the most protection of all the Medigap insurance plans. This plan offers the following coverages:
- Part A of Medicare’s coinsurance, as well as hospitalization costs - up to an additional 365 days after the Medicare benefits, have been used up
- Part B of Medicare’s coinsurance or copayment amount
- The first three pints of blood that may be needed each year
- Medicare Part A’s hospice care copayment or coinsurance amount
- Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance
- Medicare Part A deductible amount
- Medicare Part B deductible amount
- Medicare Part B excess charges
- Foreign travel emergency - up to the plan’s limits (80 percent)
One factor which can impact your coverage is the state you live in. If you live in Wisconsin, Mass., or Minn., your protection is going to be different than the plans in other states.
Gerber Life also offers Medicare SELECT plans. Medicare SELECT plans can help to meet health care needs, and budgets, in covering some of the costs of services such as Medicare’s hospitalization and doctors’ services, as well as certain costs that are related to a skilled nursing home need.
For example, all of the Medicare SELECT plans that are offered include these basic benefits:
- Hospitalization - Medicare Part A coinsurance and coverage for 365 additional days after Medicare’s benefits end
- Hospice Care - This includes outpatient prescription drug copayments and inpatient respite care coinsurance
- Medical Expenses - Medicare Part B’s coinsurance, which is usually 20 percent of the Medicare-approved charges
- Three pints of blood each year
The Medicare SELECT Plan A, F, and G Benefits Include The Following Coverage:
| Plan A | Plan F | Plan G | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Benefits | X | X | X |
| Skilled Nursing Coinsurance | X | X | |
| Medicare Part A Deductible* | X | X | |
| Medicare Part B Deductible | X | ||
| Medicare Part B Excess Charges | X | X | |
| Foreign Travel Emergency | X | X |
*The Medicare SELECT insurance plan pays the Medicare Part A inpatient deductible when you use a network hospital (or if you use a non-network hospital for emergency care). Otherwise, you pay the inpatient deductible.
Other Products and Services
As you probably know, Medigap plans are not the only things Gerber sells. They also sell a lot of life insurance policies.
Adult Life Insurance
For adults, Gerber Life Insurance offers final expense, whole life insurance coverage. These plans are available to those who are between the ages of 50 and 80 - and regardless of health condition, acceptance for these plans is guaranteed. There are no medical exams to complete, nor any long health questionnaires to fill out. In most cases, applications can be completed online, and will usually only take a few minutes.
The face amount on these adult life insurance policies can range between $5,000 and $25,000. These policies are whole life, which means they will also build cash value.
These life insurance policies can provide the additional funds that loved ones may need for paying the insured’s funeral costs, and other related expenses such as flowers, a memorial service, and headstone.
Child Life Insurance
Gerber Life also offers life insurance for children. While nobody wants to think about it, accidents and illnesses can strike - and if they do, having the additional funds from a life insurance policy can be beneficial.
The Gerber Grow Up plan is also a whole life insurance policy that will build up cash value over time. Coverage from $5,000 to $50,000 is available, and a parent or guardian can apply for this type of coverage on a child when the child is anywhere between 14 days and 14 years old.
With the Grow Up Plan from Gerber Life, an affordable premium can be locked in for the life of the child - and provided that the premium continues to be paid, the coverage doubles when the child turns age 18, with no increase in the premium cost.
College Savings Plan
The Gerber Life College Plan can help to provide a safe and secure way to help pay for a child’s college education, through guaranteed growth and the additional benefit of the life insurance protection.
As long as you pay the premiums, a guaranteed payment of between $10,000 and $150,000 will be received when the policy reaches maturity. And, unlike 529 college savings plans, the money that accumulates in the Gerber Life College Savings plan can be used for any need - regardless of whether it is education-related or not.
Getting the Best Medigap Protection
When you’re shopping around for supplemental protection, there are a lot of factors you’ll need to consider. We hope this article has given you all the info you need to make an educated decision about your Medigap protection.
Gerber is one of the most popular companies out there, but that doesn’t make them the best choice for you. Every applicant has different insurance needs.
If you want additional protection which Medicare doesn’t provide, you need to find the perfect policy for you and your healthcare needs. If you have any questions about Medigap plans or the carriers we are partnered with, please give us a call today.