Health insurance should be considered a vital part of your life. Without health insurance, you can be paying thousands and thousands of dollars on our of pocket health care costs if you need surgery or any other services. Everyone needs health insurance and some of us are lucky enough to get health insurance through our employers.

For those of us who aren't lucky enough to have employer-sponsored health insurance, are recent graduates, or may be unemployed - buying an individual health insurance plan from a health insurance broker is a great way to stay covered in case of illness or emergencies.

Typically, individual health insurance is suitable for people who have exhausted COBRA coverage (see COBRA tab), are self-employed, or have retired early and need health insurance coverage until you are Medicare-eligible. Other people who buy individual health insurance are recent graduates who are no longer covered under their parents plans or your spouse or dependent that may be covered under your group insurance plan but find it cheaper to get their own individual health insurance plan.