b.cognosco

I tried eHealthinsurance.com but, like Scott Walker's experience, I found them less than helpful. Their forms are a Mobius loop, their customer service isn't, and when you finally get through all the hoops you find their relationship with the insurers isn't all that great.

Instead, I called my local independent insurance agent -- the people who carry my house and car insurance. They pointed me to a local representative from GE Financial services. This guy specializes in individual health care policies.

He talked me through it over the phone, sent me a couple of different options to review, and told me how to fill out the forms. He made it pretty easy. Where the eHealthinsurance.com approach took Scott 10 weeks, my application to BlueCross BlueShield of Georgia was approved in 10 days! What a deal. And I didn't pay any more than the price posted on eHealthinsurance.com.

The upshot of this is that, as Doc Searls points out, sometimes the online service brokers just aren't what we think they are, and working with real humans in the traditional way is all you need.