The AHIP Center for Policy Research (a division of the health plan trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans) has released a summary report of its annual survey on Individual Health Insurance 2009.  Among other findings, the survey shows that the average premium for family coverage purchased in the individual health insurance market is much less than the $13,000 plus figure for employer-sponsored family coverage reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation, even for people in their late 50s and early 60s.  A major reason for the lower average premiums in the individual market is that it offers more choice and the policies purchased often include significantly higher deductibles than employer-sponsored coverage.