Alfa Insurance

• Types of Plans Offered
• Unique Features
• Customer Service
• Time in Business

Types of Plans Offered

In 1921, the Alabama Farmers Federation was founded. Composed mostly of farmers, the group eventually sought out fire insurance, which led to them creating an insurance company, Alfa Insurance, in 1946. This insurance company, then, is not devoted to health plans but actually offers a wide assortment of insurance types: life insurance, auto, and home insurance, protection again floods, watercraft insurance, liability insurance, business and church insurance, and, of course, farm insurance.

Health and dental plans are just two types of plans in this collection. That said, the setup for Alfa's health plans is a bit unique. They make no mention of health plans set up like PPOs, HMOs, or short-term insurance. They don't have Medicaid or Medicare either. They simply offer seven different plans, each with a different deductible, copay, and out-of-pocket maximum:

• Blue Choice Platinum: Deductible: $100 per individual or $200 per family
• Blue Access Gold: Deductible: $500 per individual or $1,000 per family
• Blue HSA Gold: Deductible: $1,500 per individual or $3,000 per family
• Blue Secure Silver: Deductible: $2,000 per individual or $4,000 per family
• Blue Saver Silver: Deductible: $3,000 per individual or $6,000 per family
• Blue Value Silver: Deductible: $2,400 per individual or $4,800 per family
• Blue Saver Bronze: Deductible: $6,350 per individual or $12,700 per family

Each plan covers a certain percentage of a member's doctor visits, physicals, medications, and hospitalizations. To get specific coverage information and plan prices, though, customers need to provide more personal information, such as their birth date and tobacco use. Though Alfa doesn't have any vision plans, they do offer dental insurance through two different plans: (1) Dental Blue, which pays for a certain percentage of preventative care like cleanings, and (2) Dental Select, which provides coverage for more extensive work like orthodontia or dentures. Dental insurance, however, is only available to Alabama residents.

Unique Features

One way that Alfa Insurance stands out among the rest is by its experience and unique company history. It was, after all, founded back in the '40s-but not just by anyone. It was founded by a group of farmers and offers a wide array of insurance plans, which can be a perk for customers looking for other types of insurance in addition to health plans. Because of Alfa's background with the Alabama Farmers Federation, many of the added advantages here come through a membership with the AFF, not just membership with Alfa.

For example, if you become a member of the AFF (which is mostly made of farmers but has more than 360,000 members so far), you have access to the Everyday Extras program. This gives you discounts on dining, hotels, and shopping, among other things. This is the main discount program mentioned though none of these perks relate to healthy products or offer assistance to manage any health goals or illnesses you're trying to overcome.

As for health insurance features only, there is a convenient tool to find an agent who can help you personally find the best policy. This tool, the live chat feature, or one of Alfa's phone numbers are your best avenues for finding a doctor in the Alfa network, as the company doesn't offer a specific Find a Doctor resource. Finally, Alfa2Go, the company's mobile app, is certainly an added feature. It brings more convenience to your plan, allowing you to make a payment, file a claim, and view your health plan right from your phone.

Customer Service

Alfa is very dedicated to its customers, striving to give them more than what they expect. They consider their customer base part of their family. Primarily, customers can contact the company using phone numbers, live chat, social media, or mail. It's convenient to have a live chat function, but Alfa's is only available during certain hours of the day, not 24/7.

In addition, the representative on the other end can't always answer questions about specific policies. If you want any information about member discounts or the types of plans they offer, the live chat will only get you so far. Specifics like these are best answered by someone over the phone or in person, especially after you've given more personal information about your health needs.

One advantage to their customer service is that they have representatives dedicated to helping customers with any claims they need to be filed or that they have already filed and need to check up on. To file a claim, you need to contact this representative, who will ask for some basic information about you and what you're trying to have covered. This includes your name, contact information, and policy number. If it applies, you'll also have to provide any witnesses and details about the bill that you're trying to have covered. After this, the claims adjuster will review your claim and provide you with an estimate for a reimbursement.

Time in Business

Alfa has been around since the mid-'40s, which means they've had almost 70 years to expand their customer base, refine their policies, and learn what insurance members really need.

• Member Resources
• Service Area
• No Medicare or Medicaid

Member Resources

Admittedly, Alfa doesn't really go above and beyond for member resources. They provide the basic features members need to manage their account and contact the company, but basic features alone pale in comparison to the detailed tools provided by some other insurance companies. As a potential Alfa member, you can get a free quote on your insurance plan. Both members and nonmembers alike can also use their Find an Agent tool to get personalized help. Also available is their live chat feature (though it's only available during certain hours of the day) and even connections to the company's social media profiles on Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and Facebook.

Specific to members are Alfa's tools to report a claim, make a payment, and get help to set up automatic billing. There is a dedicated phone number for members as well. Alfa is available to customers in 11 states, so the customer service depends on the state you live in. For the most part, members can contact Alfa 24/7 with any concerns, including tracking their claims. The 24/7 status is not available for every single state, however. Alfa2Go is the name of Alfa's mobile app, which is a definite perk as well. Members can use this to view their plan details, make payments, and even file claims.

Service Area

Alfa only provides insurance to 11 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. That means the company is not as widespread as other insurance providers, which makes their network naturally smaller in some ways.

No Medicare or Medicaid

Alfa offers seven different health plans, each with varying deductibles and copays, but they don't dabble in Medicaid or Medicare. If that's the insurance plan you need, then Alfa won't be an option.