You pick the cheapest monthly price
And only find out what it does not cover when you make a claim.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
How does insurance work for beginners
Read an insurance policy for what it pays, what you pay and what it leaves out.
A course on how insurance works before you sign up. It covers how pooling risk works, premiums against deductibles and co-payments, limits and exclusions, comparing total yearly cost rather than the monthly price, and when to ask a licensed adviser about your situation.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I am about to buy insurance and the documents make no sense to me. I want to understand premiums, deductibles, exclusions and limits well enough to compare policies and know what I am actually covered for.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Four things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Add up the total yearly cost
HealthCare.gov advises comparing estimated total yearly costs, not just the premium. Illustrative example: Plan A costs $300 a month with a $500 deductible; Plan B costs $200 a month with a $3,000 deductible. If you use the full deductible, A costs about $4,100 a year and B about $5,400. With no claims, B costs $1,200 less.
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Find the out-of-pocket maximum
In US health insurance, the out-of-pocket maximum is the most you pay for covered in-network services in a plan year; after that the plan pays 100% of covered benefits. Premiums do not count toward it. Check the figure and ask whether you could pay it if you had to.
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Read the exclusions first
Before comparing prices, find the section on exclusions or what is not covered. Write down three risks that matter to you, such as flood damage for a home policy, and check each one. A cheap policy that leaves out your main risk does not protect you from it.
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Ask three questions before you sign
What is my deductible or excess per claim and per year? What is the most this policy will pay? Which situations are excluded? Get the answers in writing. For complex needs, a licensed agent or adviser can explain how a policy applies to you.
Sources: HealthCare.gov: premiums, deductibles and your total yearly costs; HealthCare.gov: what the out-of-pocket maximum includes and excludes. Practical examples are starting points, not promised results.
- Best for
- Personal finance
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What kind of insurance are you looking at: health, car, home or renters, life, or travel?
- Are you choosing your first policy, renewing, or comparing a few options?
- How large a bill could you pay from your own savings if something went wrong?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
The policy wording loses you
Deductible, coinsurance and excess all blur together.
You are buying cover for the first time
A new job, car, home or family has made insurance your problem.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06How insurance works
Pooling risk, and why insurers price by the likelihood and cost of claims.
What you pay
Premiums, deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance, and how they trade off.
What they pay
Limits, out-of-pocket maximums and how a claim is settled.
What is excluded
Reading exclusions, waiting periods and conditions before you buy.
Comparing policies
Working out total yearly cost in a quiet year and a bad one.
Getting advice
When your situation needs a licensed agent, broker or adviser.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Understand the mechanism
See how many people's premiums pay for the few who claim.
Read the key terms
Know premium, deductible, co-payment, coinsurance, limits and exclusions.
Compare on total cost
Estimate what each policy would cost you in a quiet year and a bad one.
Know what to ask
Prepare the questions to put to an insurer or a licensed adviser.
Ideas this course corrects
The cheapest premium is the cheapest policy
A low premium often comes with a higher deductible or more exclusions, so it can cost more in a year you need to claim.
Insurance covers anything that goes wrong
Every policy has limits and exclusions. What is covered is what the policy wording says, not what its name suggests.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
How does insurance work for beginners: what can I do today?
Add up the total yearly cost. HealthCare.gov advises comparing estimated total yearly costs, not just the premium. Illustrative example: Plan A costs $300 a month with a $500 deductible; Plan B costs $200 a month with a $3,000 deductible. If you use the full deductible, A costs about $4,100 a year and B about $5,400. With no claims, B costs $1,200 less. Find the out-of-pocket maximum. In US health insurance, the out-of-pocket maximum is the most you pay for covered in-network services in a plan year; after that the plan pays 100% of covered benefits. Premiums do not count toward it. Check the figure and ask whether you could pay it if you had to. Read the exclusions first. Before comparing prices, find the section on exclusions or what is not covered. Write down three risks that matter to you, such as flood damage for a home policy, and check each one. A cheap policy that leaves out your main risk does not protect you from it. Ask three questions before you sign. What is my deductible or excess per claim and per year? What is the most this policy will pay? Which situations are excluded? Get the answers in writing. For complex needs, a licensed agent or adviser can explain how a policy applies to you.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on how insurance works before you sign up. It covers how pooling risk works, premiums against deductibles and co-payments, limits and exclusions, comparing total yearly cost rather than the monthly price, and when to ask a licensed adviser about your situation. It sits under Personal finance in the Life & growth part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I am about to buy insurance and the documents make no sense to me. I want to understand premiums, deductibles, exclusions and limits well enough to compare policies and know what I am actually covered for.