April Medibroker are now delighted to work together with a handful of insurers who will seek to cover pre-existing conditions and all related conditions, from day one.
Crucially, the exclusion would typically exclude the 'consequences of' the pre-existing condition. This could potentially lead to very wide ranging exclusions for a condition that seemed quite insignificant.
However, in the last 12 months or so, several plan providers have approached underwriting from a different angle. We now have plans that will look at your medical history and your pre-existing medical conditions and will try and include them in cover, albeit with a potential premium loading if they do.
This is a major step forward in underwriting and can lead to better cover for a great number of applicants. For a Free quotation including pre-existing conditions visit medibroker.com.
Pre-existing Medical Conditions
Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of medical insurance in the last 10 years, is pre-existing medical conditions.
In the past pre-existing medical conditions have been excluded from cover, along with all related conditions. This is true even if the condition was under control with medication. Therefore, for instance, someone suffering from high blood pressure, would find themselves faced with a whole host of exclusions on their policy, such as Angina, Aneurysm, Heart Attacks, Stroke, Thrombosis, Phlebitis etc. The potential cost of someone having to pay their own medical bills following a heart attack is astronomical. In more costly countries even the ambulance alone can be much as $1,500.00, with a heart bypass being as much as $140,000.00.
The only way of getting a pre-existing medical condition covered previously, was through a moratorium plan. This means that an insurer will accept someone immediately, without asking for any medical history but excluding any cover for pre-existing conditions. Then after a period of 2 years, providing no medication has been taken, no medical advice sought and no symptoms suffered in relation to the conditions, they will then become eligible for coverage.
Whilst this may be fine for older non-current conditions, anything that requires ongoing medications or check-ups will never become eligible for cover. High blood pressure is a very common condition which we see a lot. From a clients point of view their blood pressure is now normal as they take medication to bring it under control. Unfortunately, this is not how insurers view things. Even a cured condition which requires no medication, but maybe requires an annual check up just to make sure everything is still OK, would never become eligible for coverage. Clients need to be aware of this, as they will receive a certificate of insurance, not listing any specific exclusions, so may not realise there are any, until they come to claim by which point it’s too late.
The industry as a whole has always had this same tunnel vision approach. However, who is the safer risk – someone with diagnosed blood pressure who now has this under control with medication or someone with undiagnosed high blood pressure, unaware, but all the time putting more strain on their heart? With the demand from customers growing, the insurers needed to take action.
We have already seen conditions like high blood pressure/cholesterol, diabetes, previous cancers, allergies, asthma etc covered. There may be an additional premium percentage added by the insurers for this. This loading can sometimes be reviewed in the future, with a view to reducing or removing it. There is nothing stopping a customer applying to more than one insurer to see who offers the better terms.
Through experience, we know which insurers may decline cover for certain conditions and would therefore not waste the customers time by applying to them. We are also sometimes able to get percentages reduced in certain circumstances. This is where the help of a broker becomes invaluable. We are here to work with our customers to find the best plan for their needs.
We are not paid by commission, so we have absolutely no benefit of recommending one plan over another. Therefore we can truly work on behalf of our customers. Erika Glew
International Sales Adviser April Medibroker is a fully independent international medical, health and expat insurance broker offering a free quote and advice service across the Internet.
Our service is available to people of any nationality, anywhere, living or working in another country (expatriates). International health insurance cover is offered for Europe, Worldwide excluding the USA and Worldwide including the USA.
April Medibroker works on the basis of a choice of international medical insurance plans, and gives you Best Advice on both benefits and premiums as well as area of cover needed.
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 296 6140 or visit medibroker.com, for your FREE Quote
Our quotes and advice are without charge.
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