If you receive medical insurance through your employer, you’re pretty safe. You don’t have to worry that your insurance company isn’t legitimate. All you need to worry about is picking the right plan between the options given by your employer.

If you don’t have insurance and have to buy it yourself, however, you’re at risk. If you’re not careful, you can be taken in by con artists who want to separate you from your money rather than keep you in good health.

Here are some signs that a medical insurance might be a scam:

1. The sales pitch is invasive. If you’re repeatedly called by a telemarketer or spammed in your email, you probably aren’t dealing with a legitimate medical insurance provider.
2. The salesperson is pushy. Now, this isn’t always a hard and fast rule. There are pushy insurance salespeople (surprise!) selling legitimate products. But, in some cases, a rep may be deceptive or misleading. Always verify before you buy, and don’t be pressured to sign.
3. They make outrageous claims regarding health care reform. Some scam artists will claim that their product is part of the “health care reform bill” or some other such nonsense. Don’t buy it. Most of the changes that the bill makes don’t even take place for a few more years.
4. The deal seems too good to be true. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If the premiums are amazingly low and signing up is easy, you might be looking at a scam. Real insurance is complex and expensive.
5. The salesperson is evasive. If you ask direct questions and the salesperson replies with an answer like “it’s all in the policy,” look out. It doesn’t mean it’s a scam, but it may mean the salesperson doesn’t know the product very well, and that’s a bad thing.
6. You have to join a group to get the policy. Unless you’re talking about the local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Association, you shouldn’t have to join a union or an association to get your insurance.
7. They ask for credit card or bank account information. You should be able to get medical insurance and pay however you want. If they can only process a credit card or electronic debit, as opposed to accepting a check that you mail, they may be fraudulent.

Photo via Randy Son Of Robert