Purchasing coverage through a small company health insurance plan is often less expensive than purchasing coverage on your own. Here’ what you need to know: Coverage is generally a guaranteed issue, you need at least one employee to qualify, you must contribute toward employee premiums and you can shop for coverage at any time of the year.

Assessing your needs for your small business:

First determine who will be covered by considering their needs and their dependents to find a plan that will suit their medical needs. How much cost sharing can you afford because premiums for small businesses health insurance are paid by the employees and the employer. Just make sure to consider how much cost sharing makes sense for your business.

There are a lot of factors to consider when weighing your small business health insurance options like, monthly premiums, deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. You should also consider medical provider networks, prescription drugs coverage and coverage add-ons.