Staffing-agency stints end, install seasons slow down, and small crews rarely come with benefits. Here's how solar installers are keeping themselves and their families covered for less.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a licensed health insurance broker in Tampa, I'm licensed in 36 states, and you can do everything with me over the phone.
Solar installation is a trade where a lot of people move between employers. Federal labor figures show that electrical contractors employ the biggest share of installers, but a sizable slice work through temporary staffing agencies. Some install crews are run by small owners who never set up a group plan. That adds up to a lot of installers buying their own coverage, or losing it every time an assignment ends.
Here's how solar installers in different situations are getting coverage that sticks.
The question I start with: is your household expected to earn less this year than the cutoff for premium help on the marketplace?
That cutoff is four times the federal poverty level. If it's just you, the figure is slightly more than $60,000 a year, and it's higher for every person added to the household. If you're paid on a 1099 or own your company, the marketplace uses your net self-employment income, meaning what's left after tools, your truck, gas, insurance and other business costs.
Many installers land under the cutoff, which makes the first scenario below the most common one. But owners and crew leads can end up on either side.
If that's you, the marketplace is very likely your most affordable option, because premium help can only be applied to marketplace plans. For many installers, the help makes a solid plan fit comfortably in the budget.
You enroll with an estimate of your yearly income, and installation work can change fast. If you land a long project or a raise and your income goes up, update it with the marketplace. Otherwise, the extra help is reconciled on your tax return, and you might have to repay part or all of it.
We'll build the estimate from your last tax return and what you expect this year, then decide when to check it again.
Next step: Send me last year's return and your current work setup, and I'll help you pick an estimate and a plan that fits.
If your coverage came through a staffing agency or an employer and the job ended, losing that plan counts as a qualifying event. You'll generally have 60 days from the loss of coverage to enroll in a marketplace plan, no matter the month. Don't let that window slip while you're lining up the next assignment.
If you were offered COBRA, keep this in mind: dropping it early on your own doesn't open a new window to enroll. COBRA running out does.
Coverage you buy for yourself doesn't depend on the next assignment, so it can keep you covered between jobs instead of starting over each time.
Next step: Call me as soon as you know your coverage is ending and I'll help you choose a plan before the window closes.
If your company does well and your household is over the cutoff, there's no premium help, and the marketplace charges full price. For a healthy family that's often a lot to pay for coverage you hope not to use much.
That's where private underwritten plans come in. You answer health questions on the application, and if you're healthy, the price can be much lower than the full marketplace rate. These plans run on PPO networks across the country, giving you a wide choice of doctors and coverage away from home.
Keep the trade-offs in mind. An underwritten plan can decline you, or exclude a condition you've been treated for. Benefits vary by plan, so we go through what each one covers before you decide. And if you hire at least one employee who isn't an owner or family member, your business may qualify for the marketplace's small business option.
Since you're on roofs every day, I'll also say this plainly: workers' comp handles on-the-job injuries. It isn't a health plan, and it won't cover illness, checkups or your family.
Next step: Call me and I'll compare a nationwide PPO price with the marketplace price for your household.
If anyone in your household manages an ongoing condition or relies on a prescription, stay on the marketplace, even if you pay full price. Marketplace plans can't turn you away or raise your price for health reasons. An underwritten plan might decline you or exclude the condition.
The goal is to find the marketplace plan that keeps your doctors in network and covers your medications, so the plan works for the care you really use.
Next step: Send me your doctors and prescriptions and I'll check which marketplace plans in your area include them.
In some places the marketplace sells no PPO plans, and in others the PPO is too expensive to consider. That doesn't mean a PPO is out of reach. I can still get an installer onto a PPO with a national network, in every one of my 36 licensed states. If you're healthy, a short call will tell you the price.
These help me get you an answer faster:
My part is free for you. Once your plan is active, the insurance company pays my commission, and your monthly rate is exactly what it would be if you'd enrolled alone.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
If you lost health coverage when the job ended, you generally have 60 days to enroll in a marketplace plan. The window starts when the coverage ends, so don't wait.
Yes. With no employees, you buy coverage through the individual marketplace like any self-employed person. If you hire at least one non-owner, non-family employee, the small business option may open up.
It depends on who you work for. Installers employed by larger contractors or utilities may get a plan. Agency workers, 1099 contractors and small-company owners often have to buy their own.
No. Workers' comp covers injuries that happen on the job. A health plan covers illness, routine care and your family.
Tell me whether you're on an agency assignment, a 1099 contract or running your own crew, roughly what you'll earn this year and who's on your plan. I'll lay out the path that fits and price it, and if you're already covered well, I'll tell you.
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