Would Like Some Advice Please From Everyone

I am currently employed, the company I work for treats me great, the equipment is great, the miles are 3k a week give or take 200 miles. The health insurance is my issue. I have 4 children and a wife to insure on top of myself. We have 3 children 5 and under, that is why my wife can’t cover the insurance because we couldn’t afford daycare, so she is a homemaker.

I will not put the name of the company I work for on here, however insurance on the open market is cheaper than the family insurance plan here.

Question after the quick rundown is do I stay here and pay out of pocket for insurance on the open market or do I move to a company that has a very affordable plan for the family and works for my family?

My thoughts are if you have no other reason to leave your company besides that and you can afford the market insurance then do that. Another thing you can do is just poke around to other companies to see what their rates would be. If they don't or can't tell you, talk to some of there drivers. Hope you figure it out

As Heavy C mentioned, shopping around to different companies would be my first step, to see their rates. Keep in mind that you may have to go through a probationary or trial period with the company before qualifying for said rates.

Also, don't just compare prices, compare coverage. Open market prices may be great, but the coverage may lack significantly.

After some thorough research, you should have your answer. With a family of your size, you really need to think long-term. Proper insurance coverage can be huge.

Everyone is complaining about insurance these days and a big part is obamacare. what you think is high mighy not be. it might be the going rate, welcome to government controlled healthcare. even the federal employees healthcare my brother and mom have increased ridiculously. so in additional to what the others said, keep in mind that many companies give a retention perk with cheaper insurance. For example, my insurance went down significantly...like less than half...once i stayed a year. if you hold out a little longer, do you get a discount?

and, in order to get some of those marketplace prices you have to give up coverage. the best price for.me that i saw wanted to remove all maternity and infant care as well as substance abuse. but that was all in the fine print.

whats the point in moving to nother company that may pay more for the insurance but pays you less in cpm and miles?

The going rate for family at my current company is around 1400.00 a month give or take. However there coverage is phenomenal. They told us in orientation that it’s cheaper on the open market for dependants. That is why I am asking for advice as to not look like a job hopper.

Also my company does not have a drop in premiums due to longevity.

Everyone is complaining about insurance these days and a big part is obamacare. what you think is high mighy not be. it might be the going rate, welcome to government controlled healthcare. even the federal employees healthcare my brother and mom have increased ridiculously. so in additional to what the others said, keep in mind that many companies give a retention perk with cheaper insurance. For example, my insurance went down significantly...like less than half...once i stayed a year. if you hold out a little longer, do you get a discount?

and, in order to get some of those marketplace prices you have to give up coverage. the best price for.me that i saw wanted to remove all maternity and infant care as well as substance abuse. but that was all in the fine print.

whats the point in moving to nother company that may pay more for the insurance but pays you less in cpm and miles?

I am not complaining just looking for advice because of potential for the job hopping outlook at potential carriers to change to, if thats the route I have to go.

The math is quite simple and comparing policies is not that difficult. My wife used to work in health care for 16yrs, she can read and make sense of it better than me

I get that. but ask drivers at the companies you are looking into. ask at truck stops. cause you might not get 3000 miles a week elsewhere without really working hard for it. or whatever bonuses etc. hopping to one next company is a lot different than jumping to 3 or 4 within a year.

$1,400/month does sound high. Heck, that’s higher than our mortgage and we have a pretty nice house. It actually sounds like the company is passing on the entire premium to you instead of “sharing” part of that cost like many employers. However, your company might be paying you better than companies who “share” the premium.

With three little ones, can you survive until they’re all in school and your wife can return to work? You mentioned the coverage is phenomenal. Are the phenomenal parts benefits you actually will USE?

If the company, and future opportunity, is good, I’d seriously look at insurance on the open market. Or, getting yours through the company and the dependents on the open market. But, the devil is always in the details.

You might wanna talk to your benefits person and see if there are any changes on the horizon.

Good luck with this. I hope this is helpful.

The phenomenal parts I may never use, its not a bad company at all. The insurance for the month would be working about a week and a day for just the insurance. Yes it is more than my mortgage with insurance and taxes every month as well. We can afford it however the money will be well spent elsewhere. You may be right that they may be passing the entire buck off onto the driver. With that said, the company from what I have seen and heard, looks as though they are going through a transition process to make it more driver friendly, new equipment and maintenance program and driver wages are somewhat competitive along with performance bonus, also very small company a little less than 100 trucks total.

$1,400/month does sound high. Heck, that’s higher than our mortgage and we have a pretty nice house. It actually sounds like the company is passing on the entire premium to you instead of “sharing” part of that cost like many employers. However, your company might be paying you better than companies who “share” the premium.

With three little ones, can you survive until they’re all in school and your wife can return to work? You mentioned the coverage is phenomenal. Are the phenomenal parts benefits you actually will USE?

If the company, and future opportunity, is good, I’d seriously look at insurance on the open market. Or, getting yours through the company and the dependents on the open market. But, the devil is always in the details.

You might wanna talk to your benefits person and see if there are any changes on the horizon.

Good luck with this. I hope this is helpful.

Totally agree, as we all know people promise things they cannot deliver. All the promises have come to fruition. Thank you guys for the advice. I was looking for another perspective and received it. Sometimes I have short sightedness.

I get that. but ask drivers at the companies you are looking into. ask at truck stops. cause you might not get 3000 miles a week elsewhere without really working hard for it. or whatever bonuses etc. hopping to one next company is a lot different than jumping to 3 or 4 within a year.