How to Verify Insurance Policies

Before utilizing health care services, patients should verify their insurance coverage. Before providing health care services, providers, including doctors and hospitals, should verify the patient's health insurance coverage. This eliminates any confusion about available benefits and who is responsible for paying. For other insurances, such as auto, homeowners and life, the insurance company will send the insured a written policy that verifies the policy start and end dates and the coverage amounts.

Things You'll Need

• Insured's Social Security number or insurance policy number
• Insured's date of birth

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Instructions

• 1

  Look at your medical health insurance identification card. You can verify the insurance company, coverage start date, name of the insured, plan type and ID number by looking at the card.

• 2

  Call the phone number on the back of the medical health insurance card. You will reach a representative who can verify your coverage and provide you with information about your insurance policy and benefits.

• 3

  Go to the website of the insurance carrier and register as a member. As you register, the site will verify your eligibility during the registration. Log in using your Social Security number or insurance plan identification number. Once logged onto the website, you gain access to information about your policy.

• 4

  Verify patients' eligibility on the provider portal of the health insurance carrier's website, if you are in a doctor's office or hospital. Insurance companies may also have a fax back system through which you can have the insurer fax verification of the patient's eligibility. Refer to your network provider handbook for specific directions.

• 5

  Locate your insurance policy declaration page for any automobile, homeowners or life policies you may have. The declaration page will verify your coverage to and from dates as well as your coverage levels -- the amount of coverage dollars on your policy.