Health Insurance: Cheaper Before Age 50?

[Marvo]

Hi all,

I'm approaching 50 and have decided to go for health insurance of some kind. Could someone please tell me if I would be better off premium-wise if I start cover at the age of 49, or would it be the same if I left it 8 months until I was 50 yrs old? To phrase it another way... are ongoing (e.g. for post 50, 60, 70 yrs old) premiums cheaper, the younger you are when you first take out the policy? I'm considering BUPA but am aware of forum members getting good deals from other providers. Any advice welcome.

Thanks.

[FBN]

Moved to Insurance forum for better cover.

[ThaivisaInsurance]

Moved to Insurance forum for better cover.

'Premium wise' yes you would be better starting at 49 (the break point is normally 50) but on the renewal date (after you turn 50) you will obviously be in the next premium bracket.

For quotations from any of the insurance companies please go Here - Thai Visa Brokers.

[madmitch]

One little money-saing tip: commence your policy as close to your next birthday as possible, preferably the day before. This effectively gives you up to a year in the lower premium bracket.

[junkofdavid2]

You have a lower premium at lower age, but that doesn't necessarily stop/slow your premiums from going up as you do age and/or make claims.

The advantage of insuring early, however, is that you essentially "lock in" your insurance company before certain diseases/conditions kick in.

In contrast, if you insure late and you already have lots of pre-existing conditions, such conditions won't be covered and it'll be too late for you.

*(Note however, that while this is true in practice, it isn't necessarily so legally; as the fine print of insurance companies allows them to "cancel" your policy for "any" reason, with advance notice. If they start finding it "not beneficial" to continue covering your expensive conditions which they should cover because you insured with them when it was not yet existing, they 'could' in theory take advantage of the "cancel" clause and site another or 'any' reason.).

[junkofdavid2]

One little money-saing tip: commence your policy as close to your next birthday as possible, preferably the day before. This effectively gives you up to a year in the lower premium bracket.

A less risky (okay, maybe slightly more expensive) tip: Insure ASAP coz if you get sick anytime between now and your next birthday, it will be considered "pre-existing" and you might NEVER again be able to be insured for it... ever.

[Marvo]

Thanks for the tips guys. Just curious now about how they define "existing" conditions and how far back into your doctor's medical records they dig.

[junkofdavid2]

Thanks for the tips guys. Just curious now about how they define "existing" conditions and how far back into your doctor's medical records they dig.

"pre existing" is anything "during or prior to" your first 180 days of coverage... which is vague. "Prior to" could mean you had it right before being covered (even if you're already cured on the day you were covered), and it could mean 50 years ago.

I applied for Axa health here via Thaivisa Health Insurance and dutifully tried to itemize everything that ever happened to me ever since childhood until today, and they didn't want to cover ANYTHING RELATED TO STOMACH... seemingly because I listed down a 2-day bout of gastroenteritis as a child and even dutifully listed down diarrhea very occasionally (don't we all? especially living in Thailand?).

Complete baloney... by this system, they alienate the "good" faithful and honest (and probably healthier customers) and instead take the less honest customers who probably will have even more expenses for the company in the future.

I took my business somewhere else... now insured by a U.S. company for 5 Million USD; and it costs me about the same as Axa's 1 million baht or so. Have a big deductible though... 1,000 USD but I can easily afford that.

Axa has a good car insurance call center service by the way; but no comment about their health insurance.

[ThaivisaInsurance]

Thanks for the tips guys. Just curious now about how they define "existing" conditions and how far back into your doctor's medical records they dig.

Pre-existing Conditions : Unfortunately(?) different companies set different underwriting criteria so nobody can say for sure. The only way to find out is to complete the application form and ask for a proposal – you are under no obligation to accept if you are not happy.

Checking Records : Again different companies vary but in all cases do not hide anything as all one is doing is deluding oneself.

[junkofdavid2]

I suggest you DON'T hide anything at all about your past.

They might not dig deep, or might not even dig at all for your application.

BUT... when it comes to paying a big claim for an expensive disease you get, they WILL dig VERY deep for sure (anything to escape paying the big claim).

And when they discover that you didn't declare something in the past (EVEN IF it's not related to your current disease/big claim), they can use that to dismiss your claim and you won't be covered AT ALL.

[thaiericsweden]

You must be perfectly honest and disclose everything required in the insurance application.

Hiding medical information is not to your benefit. If the insurance company finds out, they can either cancel your policy or deny paying claims.

All Insurance Companies abide by similar rules regarding Pre-Existing Conditions.

Any claim as a result of a Pre-Existing Condition will not be covered.

This applies even if you did not know about the Pre-Existing Condition and have never received treatment for this Pre-Existing Condition.

Some insurance companies allow a 2 year grace period for pre-existing conditions if they issue moratorium-type policies.

If in the first 2 years of the policy, you do not have a claim, take medication or need to see a doctor for that condition, you can ask the insurance company to cover it.

Not all conditions are covered by these policies, list below:

Diabetes.

Hypertension (raised blood pressure).

Hyperlipidemia (raised cholesterol levels).

Ischemic heart disease.

Cancer.

Thyroid disease.

Auto-immune disorders.

Arthritis.

Other than Accidents, claims that occur in the first year of Insurance are always suspect.

All Health Insurance companies are very cautious in paying for claims that occur in the first year because of the risk of being related to a Pre-Existing Condition.

Therefore, it is in your best interests to have a Full Medical Checkup at a reputable hospital just before starting your health insurance policy.

This Medical Checkup provides you with documented proof of your medical condition at the start of the Insurance Policy.

It is the most important document that will help you dispute an insurance company's decision to deny paying a claim because it is related to a Pre-Existing Condition.

At your age, I strongly advise you to have a medical check-up ASAP.

Below, are my notes on medical check-ups:

1. Any applicant aged 40 or more should agree to a voluntary medical check-up.

2. Applicants under the age of 40 do not need to take a check-up, but it is always recommended.

3. Check-up results do not have to be sent to the insurance company or broker. The customer keeps the results and only refers to them if there is a claim dispute.

4. Check-ups can be done at any hospital.

5. Check-ups are a valuable tool in helping the customer when there is a dispute in a claim with the insurance company in the first year of the policy.

a. Hypothetical situation. The customer is treated by a doctor that makes a mistake in diagnosis of the customer's medical condition.

b. If the doctor mistakenly declares the medical condition is pre-dating the start-date of the policy, the insurance company has to deny payment of the claim based on the medical information provided.

c. If the customer has the results of a medical check-up (taken at the start of the policy) and these results dispute the mistaken diagnosis of the treating doctor, the customer has a good chance the insurance company will agree to a second doctor's diagnosis to review the claim and pay.

6. The positive benefits of a check-up far outweigh the negative aspects. Annual check-ups are a part of normal healthy life. Early detection of a medical condition is always to the benefit of that person.

7. Avoiding medical check-ups will not help the customer. Check-up or no check-up; if the customer has a pre-existing medical condition, even if there is no medical record at a hospital, the insurance company has to rely on the results of the treating doctor to state when this condition was present. You are relying on the treating doctor to asses you condition. The treating doctor has to make an educated guess to when this condition first manifested itself. The doctor can easily make a mistake. A medical check-up eliminates the chance of a mistake.

8. It is next to impossible for a claim to be paid because of a combination of mistakes;

a. The customer was honestly and completely unaware of this pre-existing condition.

b. The treating doctor misdiagnoses when the medical condition first manifested itself.

c. The consulting doctor of the insurance company concurs with the misdiagnosis of the treating doctor.

d. Brokers that do not recommend medical check-ups to customers are misleading the customer into thinking a hidden (hidden from the broker and insurance company) pre-existing condition will be covered by insurance in the future.