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Part 1: What do you have?

In order to evaluate your options, you should know exactly what you have. Inventory your Vital Policies using the chart on page 21 of your workbook.

What kind of insurance planning has been most neglected in your retirement planning? Answer here.

Part 2: Investigating medical insurance

1. Go to "Health Plan Indicator" at quickquote.com
   Complete the five questions on the screen and click on "Submit." Based on your answers, according to Quickquote:
   
   
   1. What is the best plan for you -- a PPO, HMO, or indemnity plan?
      
      
   2. Given the description that appears for those plans, is that type of policy acceptable to you? If not, which type do you prefer and why?
   
   
   
2. Go to the quotes area and complete the required information for the type of policy you would like to price. Assume you will buy a policy within the next 90 days, and complete all required information to obtain a quote. When you are done making your entries, click on "Display My Quote" 
   
   
   1. Do you consider the premium costs for the policies displayed in the next screen costly or about what you expected?
      
      
   2. If you find them costly, then short of dropping coverage altogether, can you increase the deductible and decrease the coinsurance to bring premium costs down to an acceptable level?
      
      
   3. Will the cost of health insurance cause you to rethink the date you intend to retire? Would switching to a different type of policy (e.g., from major medical to PPO) change the cost to you?
      
      
   4. Also consider the type and potential cost of Medicare Supplemental Insurance starting at age 65. The AARP's Supplemental Insurance Tips is a good place to start.
      
      
   5. How do you intend to approach the issue of long-term care insurance in your planning? Do you find the above-stated Seniors Health Cooperative guidelines reasonable?

Extra Tips: There's a trend afoot for employers to stop health plan coverage of retirees. Find out whether your employer will allow you to remain covered under the company's group health plan in retirement. How does this affect your planning? Share your findings, problems, and tips with other Fools on the Retirement Realities board.

Part 3: Go in-depth

1. Resources for the 65+ Retiree
   Check out the guv'ment's Medicare Basics material and the AARP's tips on choosing supplemental insurance.
   
   
2. Resources for the Younger Retiree
   You'll want to look at the always riveting Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and Microsoft's MoneyCentral online series of articles on How to Find Affordable Health Insurance.
   
   
3. General Insurance Resources
   For some tips regarding long-term care see the six articles in our series on long-term care that ran from January 31 to March 6, 2000, and finally, check life (or auto or disability or car or...) insurance quotes in the Fool's Insurance Resource Center.