It's difficult to get your life back together after divorce. In many cases it's like starting over, especially if you are on your ex-spouse’s group health insurance plan; now, you must decide whether to remain on the plan through COBRA or to create your own plan for health insurance coverage that focuses on the premiums, benefits and networks you want.

• Insurance Plans to Consider
• Individual health insurance: This is an insurance policy for an individual or family, purchased independently with the help of an insurance agent. When choosing individual insurance, there are many different types of plans to review, including:
• Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
• Point of Service (POS)
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
Each of these plans will give the policyholder many different options in terms of doctors they can visit, premium costs, co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. Your agent can help you decide which plan best suits your lifestyle and your existing medical history.


• COBRA through a former spouse’s group insurance policy: After divorce, a former spouse can remain on their ex’s group insurance through COBRA for up to 36 months. However, during this time, they will be expected to pay an additional charge for administrative fees and they will be restricted to only those coverage options afforded in the group insurance policy. For example, if the group insurance policy is an HMO plan, the ex-spouse will be restricted to only visiting those physicians and medical facilities covered within the HMO network. If they decide to go out of network, they will not be provided any benefits or discounts. This kind of restriction is uncomfortable for many and as a newly divorced individual, it may not be representative of the freedom of choice that you now want to enjoy.


• Other group coverage: If your employer offers group health insurance coverage, you can take part but remember, as with COBRA from your ex’s group insurance, you will be limited in the benefits you get and networks you can access.

It's important that you take your choice of health insurance plans seriously. If you're not sure where to begin or what might be the best option for you, give us a call. We can work together to develop a plan that has a network of physicians you're comfortable with, prices you can afford and flexibility that you want.

For more information about Texas health insurance call Citizens Insurance at 866-589-1312 or get your free Texas health insurance quote today!

An insurance contract is a unilateral agreement between an insurer (your insurance carrier) and the insured (you). That means that an insurance company has many responsibilities toward their policyholders. In turn, policyholders must promise full and honest disclosure and timely premium payments.

So you know what your responsibilities are, but what exactly are your insurance carrier’s?

1. Pay claims in a timely manner. The whole point of having an insurance policy is so that your claims will be paid and you will be made whole after a qualified loss following an insurable incident. In order to have the money for claims, insurers must put money away into reserves. Claims are generally unexpected and—with some types of insurance—can affect hundreds or thousands of insurance holders all at once.
2. Charge appropriate and fair rates. Insurance actuaries analyze the experience of various groups and determine the likelihood of claims based on these experiences. This knowledge allows them to develop rate schedules that are sufficient enough to pay insurance company expenses as well as claims.
3. Remain financially secure. Insurance companies need to continue marketing and bringing on new clients. They also need to have actuaries continually working on rate schedules all while having customer service staff trained and ready so they can keep existing clients happy. All of this works toward bringing in money that the insurance company needs to offset risk and pay claims.
4. Investigate claims. When the insurance company is defrauded out of money on invalid claims it doesn’t just hurt them, it hurts you. They must put a system in place to examine all claims and reduce the amount of fraud that occurs. That way, money isn’t paid out on fraudulent claims that could have been paid towards actual damages.
5. Adjust to new regulations. Insurance is a highly regulated industry Not only that, it is regulated by each state. This may be hard for carriers to integrate, but integrate they must.

Your premiums not only work toward ensuring that you get your claims paid, they also help the insurance company do all the things they need to in order to offer you reliable protection. When you work with us on fulfilling your insurance needs, we can help you find the right insurer to help you minimize your cost and maximize your protection.

At Citizens Insurance, we have been providing service to Texans for 20 years.  We specialize in all types of insurance including Austin car insurance as well as home, auto, business and health insurance in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and surrounding areas in Texas. If you are in the market for new insurance, make sure to call or email us today. Let us show you what a difference friendly knowledgeable service can make.

Austin car insurance can be difficult to understand. With the various requirements for deductibles and limits and all the different coverage options available, car insurance in Austin, Texas is confusing to many—and this makes it difficult to find the right kind of coverage for your driving needs.

If you are looking for car insurance quotes and you are a Austin driver, allow an experienced agency with an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau to take your side and help you navigate all your options. It’s possible to get cheap auto insurance in Austin while still getting a policy that protects your family’s assets.

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. Austin has a population of 790,390 (2010 U.S. Census). The city is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan area, which has a population of over 1,716,291 (2010 U.S. Census), making it the 35th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

The area was settled in the 1830s on the banks of the Colorado River by pioneers who named the village Waterloo. In 1839, Waterloo was chosen to become the capital of the newly independent Republic of Texas. The city was renamed after Stephen F. Austin, known as the father of Texas. The city grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its development into a major city in the 1980s and emerged as a center for technology and business. Austin is home to many companies, high-tech and otherwise: Fortune 500 corporations Freescale Semiconductor, Forestar Group, and Whole Foods Market, are headquartered there; AMD, Apple, Broadcom, Google, IBM, Intel, Qualcomm, ShoreTel, Synopsys and Texas Instruments have prominent regional offices there. Also Dell's Worldwide Headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin.

(Source: Wikipedia.com)

Citizens Insurance Agency

Citizens Insurance Agency has been serving residents of Texas for over 20 years from our main location in Central Texas. We work with a number of the top national insurance companies. Now we have made it easier than ever to get accurate quotes instantly. All you have to do is fill out one form and it will be compared through multiple companies within seconds. You also have the option of calling us to receive a quote. There is no wait to speak with an agent, and we are over 70% successful at saving people money on all of their insurance needs.

Many sites that offer insurance quotes are not operated by independent agencies. They are websites that sell your vital info to various agencies who will harass you with telephone calls, spam, and mailers. We don't run our business that way. Your info will only remain in our possession. Our specialties are Austin Car Insurance, home, business and commercial insurance. We service the cities of San Angelo, San Antonio, Dallas, and all other areas of Texas. Contact us today to lean more about car insurance or get a free Austin car insurance quote.