Insurance Carrier

Contact the insurance carrier directly.  When you call, a representative will assess your needs and recommend plans that meet those needs.  They will ask questions about your medical history and the medical history of anyone who will be covered under the plan.  The answers you provide will be used to determine your eligibility so it’s important for you to provide accurate information.

You may be able to get health insurance quotes over the phone from some insurers.  Or you may have to wait until the insurer has had time to process the information you give them.  Contacting the insurer directly can be helpful if you have questions you need answered.  But it can also be time consuming because you have to call each insurer separately.  Also, some insurance carriers don’t sell directly to the public.  They only work through brokers, so you may miss out on plans that meet your needs.

Online

If you don’t want to call insurers for quotes, many offer pricing details online.  But you will still need to visit each carrier’s website and provide any information they require to give you a quote.  When you get health insurance quotes online, it’s more convenient than contacting insurers by phone because you don’t have to do it during normal business hours.  However, if you have questions, you may not be able to get answers right away.  You may need to submit them via email and wait for someone to get back to you.

Broker

Working with a broker is the fastest way to get multiple quotes from different insurers.  Brokers sell plans from a variety of health insurance carriers and have access to plans that may not be available to the public.  When you work with a broker, you make a single phone call to get access to a wide range of plans that meet your needs.  Brokers are equipped to evaluate your needs, answer questions you have and make recommendations about the Canada health insurance plans available in the marketplace.

When you get health insurance quotes from a broker, you save time because you don’t have to contact each insurer directly.  But you still get the benefit of comparing different plans from different carriers so you can find the one that offers the best value for your money.  Brokers get paid differently based on the products they sell, so make sure the plan you choose is the best one for you and not the broker.