What an independent agent does
An independent agent explains health plans, helps you compare them, and helps you fill out the application. You still choose, and the carrier still decides whether to approve you. An independent agency is not owned by one insurance company, but which plans are available to you depends on the carriers the agency is appointed with and on your answers to the health questions. Ask which ones.
People often use the words agent and broker for the same job. What matters is that the person holds a current license for the line of insurance they are selling, and that you can verify it.
Agent, carrier or comparison website
There are three common ways to shop. You can go direct to a carrier. A carrier representative can usually speak about that company's plans, and not about anyone else's. You can use a comparison or quote website. Some of these collect your details and pass them to other companies or agents, which is why calls can pile up. Ask any site who will receive your information before you submit it. Or you can work with an independent agent, who can explain the plans available through the carriers the agency works with.
None of these is right for everyone. What helps most is asking three questions up front. Who will contact me? Who gets my information? And who is the licensed person I will actually talk to?
How Prime Health Consultants works
One licensed advisor works with you from start to finish, so you are not handed from person to person. We never sell your information. We work in English and Spanish, by phone, WhatsApp or video, and at our office in Sunrise, which is our only office. Talking with an advisor costs nothing.
We offer private health insurance plans for people under 65, including self-employed workers, families and individuals, and employer-sponsored plans for small businesses. The private plans are PPO plans: a PPO (preferred provider organization) has a network of doctors and hospitals it prefers you use, and staying in network usually costs less. We do not offer Medicare. Prime Health Consultants is paid by insurance carriers through agent commissions, and our site explains that this does not increase your premium. Ask any agent how they are paid.
How to check any agent's license
Do not take our word for it, or anyone's. Ask for the agent's full name and National Producer Number, called an NPN. Then look the person up. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers a license lookup at sbs.naic.org, and the Florida Department of Financial Services has a licensee search at licenseesearch.fldfs.com. Check that the name matches, the license is active, it covers health insurance, and it is valid in the state where you live.
Our footer lists our licensed agent Julio Fernandez, his NPN and a link to the NAIC lookup. If you want a step-by-step walkthrough, read our guide on verifying a Florida insurance agent license.
What a broker cannot do
An agent cannot promise that a carrier will approve you. Private plans are medically underwritten, so the carrier asks about your health and may decline an application or exclude certain conditions. Our plans are private and medically underwritten, not ACA Marketplace plans. Every plan has exclusions and limitations, and it may not cover every benefit. An agent also cannot give tax or legal advice, and should not ask you to leave answers out of an application. Answer every question truthfully.