Illinois Health Insurance Broker & Agent: Compare Off-Exchange Plans
November 14, 2026 · by Bernie Sobalvarro
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Led by Bernie Sobalvarro, Senior Advisor, with his team of licensed agents
Looking for a health insurance broker or agent in Illinois to talk with one on one? I am Bernie Sobalvarro, an independent health insurance advisor and licensed broker (NPN 19189235), licensed in Illinois and 30 other states. I compare full-price ACA plans side by side with private, medically underwritten and off-exchange options, by phone or webinar screen share. I work for you, not for one insurance company.
Priced the marketplace already, found you do not qualify for a subsidy, and the full price was too expensive? That is the usual starting point for my Illinois clients. If you are healthy, you may qualify for private, medically underwritten or off-exchange options, and I compare private health insurance in Illinois side by side with the full-price plan, for self-employed professionals, 1099 contractors, families and owners. You can check my Illinois license on the NIPR license lookup or on our state licenses page.
Who our brokers help in Illinois
Six kinds of Illinois households make up most calls to our brokers. We do not sell Medicare or Medicaid plans, and most of these clients are comparing private underwritten coverage with an unsubsidized ACA plan.
- Turning 26
Turning 26
Coming off a parent’s plan at 26? Young adults can usually stay on a parent’s plan until they turn 26 (HealthCare.gov). After that, healthy applicants can compare private underwritten plans with full-price ACA plans.
- High earners
Too much income for a tax credit
Couples and families in Naperville who earn above the cutoff often stop at the first full-price quote. We keep going: private, medically underwritten plans compared with unsubsidized ACA plans, line by line.
- Self-employed & 1099
No HR department
No benefits team to pick a plan for you. Freelancers and independent contractors get a written comparison of private underwritten and full-price plans after one call.
- Leaving a job / COBRA
Off a group plan
Sold the business, went part-time or got laid off around Naperville? Before you sign the COBRA election, we compare it with private and full-price individual options.
- Families
Covering a spouse and children
If your employer pays for you but not much toward dependents, the family premium can sting. We check private underwritten plans for healthy family members and the full-price ACA alternative.
- Small business 2–30
Owners with a small team
For Illinois employers with 2 to 30 people, we look at group coverage and at individual plans so the owner can weigh cost, simplicity and what staff actually use.
Whichever applies, you get a written comparison and no pressure to choose on the call.
Self-employed health insurance in Illinois: who I help
If you searched for a health insurance broker in Chicago or Naperville, these are the people I help: consultants, traders and creative freelancers in Chicago and Evanston, business owners in Naperville, Aurora, Schaumburg and the western and northwest suburbs, and self-employed families in Rockford, Peoria, Champaign and Springfield. I help anywhere in Illinois by phone or webinar screen share.
Small businesses are 99.6 percent of Illinois businesses and employ about 2.4 million people, or 43.7 percent of Illinois employees; 1,100,655 of the state’s 1,353,957 small businesses have no paid employees (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 profile). Ask your tax professional whether self-employed premiums are deductible in your situation. This is general information, not tax advice.
Illinois uses Get Covered Illinois as its marketplace for 2027 coverage (KFF, 2027 marketplace types). If that is where you priced a plan, we can use it as your starting point. ACA plans are also sold off-exchange at full price, and private underwritten options sit outside the marketplace entirely. Insurers and agents in Illinois are regulated by the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Off-exchange and private health insurance in Illinois
Think of the exchange as one storefront among several. ACA-compliant plans, and coverage that follows different rules, can also be bought from an insurer directly or through a licensed broker. Federal premium help does not follow you off the exchange (KFF), which matters little if your income already rules it out.
Medically underwritten plans ask health questions before they approve you. The insurer uses the answers to decide whether to offer coverage and on what terms, so approval is not guaranteed; these plans may limit pre-existing conditions and do not include every ACA protection (Georgetown CHIR). For healthy applicants, that trade-off is what we compare. Some private plans use PPO-style networks; whether your Chicago-area or downstate doctors are included depends on the plan and county.
Full-price plan too expensive? How an Illinois health insurance broker compares your options
For Illinois households above the subsidy range, I compare a full-price ACA plan with off-exchange and private options side by side: whether your doctors and hospital systems in Chicagoland or downstate are in network, deductibles and out-of-pocket limits, what is covered and excluded, how pre-existing conditions are handled, renewal terms and the monthly price. I do not say “any doctor” is covered; we check every plan.
I would rather lose a sale than put you in the wrong plan. Underwritten plans can decline you or exclude a condition, and ACA plans cannot. If your answers to the health questions are likely to cause a problem, we look harder at the full-price ACA option.
Applying outside open enrollment
Enrollment dates matter for ACA plans and much less for underwritten ones. Federal rules limit ACA individual-market plans, sold on or off the exchange, to open enrollment and special enrollment periods (45 CFR 147.104); underwritten plans that are not ACA individual-market coverage usually are not held to those dates. We verify the plan’s start date in your state first.
Small business health insurance in Illinois
If you own an Illinois business with a few employees, we can put a small group plan next to individual private coverage for you and your staff, so you can see the cost and network trade-offs. The small business page has the details.
Talk with an Illinois health insurance agent
Have your zip code and the birthdates for everyone on the plan. That is all we need for a 15-minute call by phone or webinar screen share. I follow up with the side-by-side in writing; applying is optional, and Spanish is available. Family in another state? I am licensed in 31 states, including Florida and Texas; there is also our Florida guide and Houston page. The full list is on our state licenses page.
Frequently asked questions
Are you a licensed health insurance agent in Illinois?
Yes. I am a licensed health insurance agent and broker in Illinois (NPN 19189235). I am based in Florida and help Illinois clients by phone or webinar screen share, from Chicago to Springfield. You can verify my license on the NIPR lookup.
I priced a full-price plan and it was too expensive. What are my private options in Illinois?
You may have more than one. Healthy applicants may qualify for private, medically underwritten coverage, which can be priced differently from a full-price ACA plan. Approval is not guaranteed and pre-existing conditions may be excluded (Georgetown CHIR), so we compare both before you decide.
What is off-exchange health insurance in Illinois?
“Off-exchange” only describes where the plan is bought: directly from a carrier or through a broker. The plan may follow ACA rules or different ones. Premium tax credits are not available off the exchange, per KFF.
Can I get private health insurance in Illinois outside open enrollment?
Usually, if it is a medically underwritten plan outside the ACA individual market. ACA plans, including off-exchange ones, still follow open and special enrollment periods. We check the rules for your specific plan first.
What self-employed health insurance options are available in Illinois?
It depends on your health, doctors and budget. Many healthy self-employed people in Illinois who earn too much for subsidies compare an off-exchange or private underwritten plan with a full-price ACA plan; if a condition could affect approval, the ACA plan may be the better fit. I compare both for you.
Do I pay a fee to use a health insurance agent?
It does not. I am paid by the insurer rather than by you, so the price of the plan is the same either way.
I’m 25 and on a parent’s plan in Illinois. What should I do before 26?
Dependent coverage on a parent’s plan usually lasts until you turn 26 (HealthCare.gov), and losing it generally counts as a qualifying event for ACA plans (HealthCare.gov). If you are healthy, a private, medically underwritten plan may also be an option; it asks health questions and can decline. We compare both before your coverage ends.
I got a COBRA notice. What else can I compare in Illinois?
COBRA keeps the same plan and doctors, which matters mid-treatment, but you may be charged up to 102% of the plan’s cost (U.S. Department of Labor). If you are healthy, a private underwritten plan may be worth pricing, and a full-price ACA plan accepts everyone. We put the three next to each other.
Do you sell Medicare plans in Illinois?
No. We do not sell Medicare or Medicaid plans.
Want to talk with a licensed advisor about private or full-price plans? Get a Quote. Hablamos Español. More general questions are on the FAQ page.
Sobal Nationwide Health does not sell Medicare or Medicaid plans.
Licensed Health Insurance Advisor · NPN 19189235 · Licensed in 31 states · Hablamos Español
