Health Insurance Articles

Why Being A Firefighter Can Increase Your Health Insurance Rates

2010-12-03

Firefighter insurance rates tend to be higher than the rates other individuals pay. Health insurance rates are determined based on the probability that a person will need medical treatment while they are insured. Since firefighters put themselves at risk of injury every day, they have a higher tendency to need medical care.

High Risk of Injury at Work

Every time a firefighter is called to the scene of a fire, he or she has the possibility of being injured. Burning buildings are filled with danger that can be as severe as high grade burns or as mild as smoke irritation. Firefighters do wear protective gear to keep themselves as healthy as possible, but the odds of living a long life as a firefighter without any injuries are very slim. Simply stated, firefighter insurance rates are higher because firefighters use their health insurance more often.

Need to Stay in Top Physical Form

A firefighter is also interested in being as fit as possible. Maintaining a high level of fitness will help protect a firefighter from on the job injuries. Part of the routine of keeping your body in top physical form includes regular checkups with a medical doctor. That means that firefighters will visit their doctors more often than most people would in a regular year. The exercise that firefighters rely on for fitness maintenance can also cause injuries like pulled muscles, which need to be treated by a doctor. Since being a firefighter is a physical occupation, a firefighter's body is in more danger of physical harm.

Emergency Medical Treatment More Likely

When a firefighter is injured on the job, the medical treatment required is often an emergency situation. Emergency medicine is far more expensive than planned treatment. The health insurance that a firefighter carries will be used for high cost medical emergencies almost as a matter of course during a firefighter's career. Since emergency medicine is remarkably more expensive, the health insurance rates need to be substantially higher to cover the costs. Even a short visit to the emergency room can burn through a health insurance deductible quickly.

Long Term Health Problems

Years of working as a firefighter can cause long term health issues. Even if the exposure to smoke does not bother a firefighter during their career, the accumulation of smoke in a firefighter's lungs can lead to serious breathing trouble as the firefighter ages. The stress that a firefighter puts on their joints and muscles during a career will wear their body down so that they need more medical care as they get older. That increased need for long term treatment helps keep health insurance rates higher for firefighters throughout their lives.