It has been revealed that health insurance companies have found a secret weapon to battle the financial downturn, and their saviour comes in the shape of singletons. This new found strength was said to be “steady and consistent.”

In Minnesota, individual health insurance policies have increased, as unemployed workers are signing up in masses for single health plans to replace the coverage they lost along with their jobs.

Several insurance groups have seen a steady rise in such policies. Medica’s individual enrolment has increased almost 70%. HealthPartners, which was selling around 200-300 policies per month has seen this cover type jump to more than 1,000 per month and Blue Cross has also seen a rise.

Shawn Patterson, vice president of marketing for Blue Cross said: “Many unemployed people are considering individual insurance for the first time in their lives.”

It is expected that single health insurance policies will continue to rise because of the new health reform schemes being invented nationally.