Best Health Insurance Companies: 2018
Insure.com’s annual analysis identifying the best health insurance companies found that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Emblem Health (also known as Health Insurance Plan of New York and ConnectiCare) and Human earned the top three spots, respectively, based on responses from current policyholders who rated carriers on six customer satisfaction metrics.
Health insurance companies with the most market share in the nation were ranked based on the ratings from surveyed policyholders in the categories of:
- Value for price
- Customer service
- Claims satisfaction
- Usefulness and ease-of-use of its website and mobile apps
- If plan to renew
- If would recommend
Insure.com did extensive research to find which health insurance companies operated in each state in the country, to ensure that the survey results were truly representative for everyone in the nation, and show data by region below the table of rankings.
Unlike evaluations you might find elsewhere, Insure.com's Best Insurance Companies is the result of a survey of 3,160 current customers – people just like you. We believe it to be the most comprehensive, assessment available and a useful guide to help you find the best health insurance company for your needs quickly and easily.
The Top 5 Health Insurance Companies
| Rank | Company Name | Overall Score (Out of 100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horizon BCBS of New Jersey Health Insurance | 89.46 |
| 2 | EmblemHealth Health Insurance | 89.29 |
| 3 | Humana Health Insurance | 87.59 |
| 4 | Cigna Health Insurance | 86.90 |
| 5 | Blue Shield of California Health Insurance | 86.50 |
While everyone loves a bargain, price was overshadowed by service when surveyed policyholders were asked to leave feedback. When customers described their home insurance company, the overwhelming majority commented about how the company treated them and how responsive the company was in answering questions about coverage and about features of the coverage. It’s not that price wasn’t mentioned, but rather that it wasn’t the key reason policyholders liked – or disliked-- their insurer.
You’ll see in the table below how each company scored overall, as well as on each metric, in Insure.com’s Best Health Insurance Companies ranking. To see all the comments for each company, as well as detailed information on each company’s coverage , visit our company pages by clicking on the logo in the table below.
Company |
Score |
Value For Price | Customer Service |
Claims
Service | Website and Apps | Customers Who Recommend | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
89.46
out of 100 |
89 |
90 |
90 |
87 |
89%
| See Details | |
|
|
89.29
out of 100 |
89 |
91 |
90 |
87 |
97%
| See Details | |
|
|
87.59
out of 100 |
87 |
88 |
90 |
84 |
89%
| See Details | |
|
|
86.90
out of 100 |
86 |
87 |
91 |
84 |
86%
| See Details | |
|
|
86.50
out of 100 |
85 |
87 |
90 |
81 |
88%
| See Details | |
|
|
86.28
out of 100 |
86 |
85 |
88 |
83 |
87%
| See Details | |
|
|
86.16
out of 100 |
86 |
86 |
90 |
82 |
88%
| See Details | |
|
|
85.73
out of 100 |
85 |
87 |
88 |
83 |
81%
| See Details | |
|
|
85.43
out of 100 |
82 |
86 |
90 |
83 |
83%
| See Details | |
|
|
84.44
out of 100 |
82 |
85 |
91 |
80 |
85%
| See Details | |
|
|
84.16
out of 100 |
81 |
84 |
89 |
83 |
79%
| See Details | |
|
|
83.27
out of 100 |
80 |
85 |
86 |
82 |
79%
| See Details | |
|
|
83.15
out of 100 |
80 |
84 |
90 |
76 |
76%
| See Details | |
|
|
83.03
out of 100 |
82 |
84 |
86 |
81 |
79%
| See Details | |
|
|
82.92
out of 100 |
82 |
83 |
89 |
78 |
75%
| See Details |
Here are what some policyholders had to say when asked to make a comment about their experience (you can see all comments for each company by clicking on the logo in the table above):
1. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
- Great customer service, paid claims on time.
- I have a positive experience with this company and would recommend it to all my friends and family.
- Most doctors and hospitals accept the plan, worth the extra money.
Good to know:
BCBS is known for having one of the largest networks of providers, so provides members with a significant amount of choices for care. Its membership program Blue365 provides discounts on health and wellness programs, for instance reduced prices for health club memberships, fitness monitors, athletic wear and diet programs.
Bottom line:
Horizon BCBS of New Jersey ranked first overall and on price, and second on customer service and website/app service. It landed in the middle of the pack for claims handling, at eighth, but the difference between it and the top score was less than one point.
2. Emblem Health (also called Health Insurance Plan of New York and ConnectiCare)
- An easy to use mobile app that is user friendly and helpful for any of your insurance needs.
- They understand the needs and questions of their clients, it’s easy to reach a live person and they have a wide range of services and coverage that fit my needs.
- They pay my medical providers promptly and I have had no issues with the plan.
Good to know:
Emblem has a host of wellness and community resources at its website, including a personal health tracker, a treatment cost calculator and a guide to local farmer’s markets.
Bottom line:
Emblem Health is No. 2 overall and for price, but took the top spot for customer service and for having the most people say they’d recommend them and for having useful and easy-to-use website/apps.
3. Humana
- They provide excellent service both online and in person.
- I am quite satisfied with the service offered by my insurance company and their representative is always willing to help me with what I need, plus I always get the best specialists so I feel that my family and I are protected.
- Great quality service, fast response time and they make it easy to understand the amount owed and the amount they’ve taken care of on your coverage.
Good to know:
Its online rewards program HumanaVitality lets you accrue points that can be used for discounts on healthy foods as well as other merchandise such as sports equipment and movie tickets.
Bottom line:
Humana ranked No. 3 on nearly every metric, overall score, customer service, claims satisfaction, price and useful websites/apps. However, it recently stopped selling individual health plans, though you may still see it offered as an option for your health benefits from your employer.
Here is how insurance companies ranked when data were analyzed by age and region.
Best health insurance companies by age
- Best health insurance companies for millennials:
- Emblem Health (also Health Insurance Plan of New York; ConnectiCare)
- Horizon BCBS of New Jersey
- Aetna
- Best health insurance companies for Gen X:
- Cigna
- Horizon BCBS of New Jersey
- Emblem Health (also Health Insurance Plan of New York; ConnectiCare)
- Best health insurance companies for Baby Boomers:
- BCBS of North Carolina
- Horizon BCBS of New Jersey
- Emblem Health (also Health Insurance Plan of New York; ConnectiCare)
Best health insurance companies by region
- Best health insurance companies for Northeast region:
- Humana
- Horizon BCBS of New Jersey
- Emblem Health (also Health Insurance Plan of New York; ConnectiCare)
- Best health insurance companies for Midwest region:
- Cigna
- Humana
- BCBS of Michigan
- Best health insurance companies for South region:
- Cigna
- Coventry
- Humana
- Best health insurance companies for West region:
- HCSC - HealthCare Services Corp - (BCBS of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas)
- Aetna
- Coventry
Agree with our findings? Disagree? Join the conversation by sharing your own experience with your car insurance provider in the commenting forum below.
Note that this is an independent editorial analysis devoid of affiliations or partnerships of any kind– companies did not pay to be included. Finally, the A.M. Best financial ratings represent an assessment of an insurer's ability to meet its financial obligations to policyholders, and are separate from the editorial ranking.
Insure.com commissioned Op4G to survey more than 3,100 insurance customers nationwide in December 2017. The survey collected customer ratings for 20 leading companies in the auto category and 15 leading companies in each of the home, health and life categories. Only current customers of the insurers on our lists were surveyed, and the survey was not open to the general public on the Insure.com website.
Auto, home and health insurers were ranked according to a weighted 6-point measurement of the following factors: customer service, claims processing, value for price, website/apps and would recommend and would renew. Life insurers were rated on a weighted 4-point measurement on customer service, value for price, website/apps and would recommend. Weighted measurements were derived from surveyed policyholders’ historical rank of prioritization of these factors. Overall score shown out two decimals, individual ranking scores (claims, etc.) shown without decimals; however, we used additional precision to assign rankings.
The A.M. Best ratings, discounts and coverage options noted in the survey do not affect the scores, but are provided as a supplementary resource.
Insure.com makes these ratings freely available via this site. The views and opinions expressed by users do not reflect the views and opinions of Insure.com. Insure.com expressly disclaims any and all liability in connection with the ratings.
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