A health insurance policy acts like a contract between an insurance company and an individual or an employer for group health insurance. The contract specifies the type and amount of health care costs will be shouldered by the group health insurance providers and it can be renewed on a yearly or monthly basis. The terms for the contract are set in the contract prior to any payments and agreements made. Health insurance also covers disability insurance, long-term nursing needs and you can also get life insurance.
However, this comes with certain obligations that take several forms:
Premium the amount that is needed to be paid monthly by the individual or the sponsor (employer) to be able to avail of the health insurance benefits.
Deductible the amount that is needed to be paid out of an individual or sponsor's pockets before the health insurance company pays it. The person must reach the amount of deductible (from all the medical costs) before the insurance company starts to pay for it.
Co-payment the amount that is needed to be paid each time a service is obtained.
Exclusions since not all services are covered, the person needs to pay for the services that are not included in the health insurance.
Coverage limits health care insurance companies have a dollar limit set and they won't pay anything in excess of that.