Health Insurance Doesn'T Renew Yearly Contract Because Of Condition Found During The Year

[Soboringtochooseaname]

Hello,

I wonder if i is legal for an Health Insurance company to tell me 3 days before the end of the yearly contract thatthey don't accept my business for the next year ?

And I had to call them to know that, because they didn't even write me !

They denied me the right to be covered by their company anymore because during the year hospital found a condition that might need a surgery during the next years (but don't know when).

So what can I do now ?

I wonder if another health insurance company will know that the first company didn't renew because of a sickness ?

And if I can find an insurance what will happen when I will claim for a surgery this year or next year ?

Thanks for your help.

[theblether]

On your first point I can't answer for the provisions in your policy.

On the second point the insurers work on the basis of Uberrima Fides, which means "utmost good faith". If you do not notify your new insurer of your newly developed condition you can guarantee that you will void any claims in any way related to that condition, and in most cases, you will void your entire policy, even if your claim is unrelated.

I strongly advise full declaration.

Edited March 1, 2012 by theblether

[Soboringtochooseaname]

Thank you.

I have no problem liying to insurance company, I did it all my life and have never been caught, just be smart :-)

What I don't know is if in Thailand they respect the rules or cheat as they do it concerning many other topics, I mean, how could the insurance company know that I had this condition if I just go to a new hospital and pretend to discover it ? Insurance companies are not allowed to share these info in the real world, but here.... ?

Thanks again.

[wamberal]

Thank goodness for universal health care - and properly regulated private insurance if you need it. One major reason that we live in Oz now, instead of the third world.

[nocturn]

Thank you.

I have no problem liying to insurance company, I did it all my life and have never been caught, just be smart :-)

What I don't know is if in Thailand they respect the rules or cheat as they do it concerning many other topics, I mean, how could the insurance company know that I had this condition if I just go to a new hospital and pretend to discover it ? Insurance companies are not allowed to share these info in the real world, but here.... ?

Thanks again.

why should your insurer respect the rules if you dont?

[doggie888888]

whilst you only "found" this condition recently, perhaps it's one of those "pre-existing" conditions that the insurance company reserves the right to not cover for that. however, i always thought that other ailments unrelated to the pre-existing conditon should still be covered.

i am sure all of us are dying to know which helath insurance company...so PM me with the name, so that I can avoid it like the plague !

[exeter]

Insurance companies are not there for your benefit, they will take your money all the time and then look for reasons not to pay out, especially the older you get, you did not say your age, but really when you get past the 60 mark your risk is rising rapidly and any excuse to dump you now you are a bad risk will be taken.

[mikecwm]

Anyone out there "Self Insuring"? - Putting what an expensive health insurance premium would cost in Thailand - maybe $3000 a year, into a bank account and letting it accumulate over the years so there will be money there when it's needed.

And of course hoping like hell that it's not needed for the first 10 years or so.

My problem with health insurance is that we healthy 65 year-olds are paying premiums to cover the unhealthy ones who need treatment. Not to mention the companies and shareholders profits.

So how about some feedback on "Self Insuring".

[Jingthing]

Anyone out there "Self Insuring"? - Putting what an expensive health insurance premium would cost in Thailand - maybe $3000 a year, into a bank account and letting it accumulate over the years so there will be money there when it's needed.

And of course hoping like hell that it's not needed for the first 10 years or so.

My problem with health insurance is that we healthy 65 year-olds are paying premiums to cover the unhealthy ones who need treatment. Not to mention the companies and shareholders profits.

So how about some feedback on "Self Insuring".

Not going to help much if you need millions of baht. Which sadly ... happens and not rarely.

[tonydabbs]

On your first point I can't answer for the provisions in your policy.

On the second point the insurers work on the basis of Uberrima Fides, which means "utmost good faith". If you do not notify your new insurer of your newly developed condition you can guarantee that you will void any claims in any way related to that condition, and in most cases, you will void your entire policy, even if your claim is unrelated.

I strongly advise full declaration.

I agree. Regarding the provisions of the policy, it doesn't matter who the insurance company is. All Thai-based health insurers have up to 2 years to find and exclude pre-existing conditions (or refuse to renew your policy). After that, they have to cover the pre-existing condition they didn't discover, unless, of course, you are guilty of blatant fraud against the insurance company. By refusing to renew your coverage they were protecting themselves, within the time frame legally allotted to them, from having to pay a future claim. They must have been quite concered, because normally they would just exclued that medical problem and let you continue with the coverage.

[exeter]

Anyone out there "Self Insuring"? - Putting what an expensive health insurance premium would cost in Thailand - maybe $3000 a year, into a bank account and letting it accumulate over the years so there will be money there when it's needed.

And of course hoping like hell that it's not needed for the first 10 years or so.

My problem with health insurance is that we healthy 65 year-olds are paying premiums to cover the unhealthy ones who need treatment. Not to mention the companies and shareholders profits.

So how about some feedback on "Self Insuring".

I am with you on this, I dont trust insurance companies to play fair, well what I think is fair, so I would be thinking along the self insurance way. At the moment I can get travel Insurance for long stay for about £260 but it will go up annually and before long it will cease altogether, so in the interveneing time I will stash the cash and hope for the best when the travel insurance is not available/ to costly.

[exeter]

Have a look at allclear insurance.com based in Romford, UK there is no age barrier and they specialize in pre existing conditions.

[tonydabbs]

Have a look at allclear insurance.com based in Romford, UK there is no age barrier and they specialize in pre existing conditions.

That is travel insurance. They will only cover you for up to one year. If you leave out mentioning a condition, though, they can cancel your coverage; just like any insurer.

But there are other renewable for life (or to age 75, at least) health insurers that will cover pre-existing conditions up to a fixed limit per year or for a fixed lifetime amount.

[cooked]

Anyone out there "Self Insuring"? - Putting what an expensive health insurance premium would cost in Thailand - maybe $3000 a year, into a bank account and letting it accumulate over the years so there will be money there when it's needed.

And of course hoping like hell that it's not needed for the first 10 years or so.

My problem with health insurance is that we healthy 65 year-olds are paying premiums to cover the unhealthy ones who need treatment. Not to mention the companies and shareholders profits.

So how about some feedback on "Self Insuring".

I am with you on this, I dont trust insurance companies to play fair, well what I think is fair, so I would be thinking along the self insurance way. At the moment I can get travel Insurance for long stay for about £260 but it will go up annually and before long it will cease altogether, so in the interveneing time I will stash the cash and hope for the best when the travel insurance is not available/ to costly.

There are other threads about this on Thaivisa. Basically you are paying for peace of mind and as you can never know when changes in company policy (= suspicions that you might start to cost money) will get you dumped when you most need it thereby definitely not leading to peace of mind.

This is a big worry for most people after a certain age (55 - 60) and you find yourself being obliged to decide between paying high premiums (around ฿12 000.- a month for a reputable insurance in my case) and self insurance, which is what I will be going for. I can imagine worse fates than dying at home with my wife looking after me than being stuck alone in an anonymous hospital. However, I personally have a repatriation insurance back to my country (Switzerland) where I would receive medical treatment from the first day.

I took a long time deciding and I think it takes a lot of serious research as well as some soul searching (easy to say 'ok so I die in Thailand, my wife will look after me' - what happens if you get a condition that seriously reduces the quality of your life?). Everybody has different options.

[meand]

Anyone out there "Self Insuring"? - Putting what an expensive health insurance premium would cost in Thailand - maybe $3000 a year, into a bank account and letting it accumulate over the years so there will be money there when it's needed.

And of course hoping like hell that it's not needed for the first 10 years or so.

My problem with health insurance is that we healthy 65 year-olds are paying premiums to cover the unhealthy ones who need treatment. Not to mention the companies and shareholders profits.

So how about some feedback on "Self Insuring".

I'm with you but I just put it in gold. Now, I don't know if I can put a gold bar in my mouth if I have a triple bypass, but i'm hoping it will work out. I absolutely loathe insurance -- a capitalist created trojan horse manufactured to make the most possible money. Take insurance out of any system and what you have is an overall huge decrease in the amount paid for care as there are no dam_n insurance agents and profit margins to pay for anymore.

Another system here would just to be use a credit card as your insurance policy.

[madmitch]

OP, is there anything you are not telling us? Was the condition that the insurer has based its non-renewal on pre-existing and undeclared?

If the condition was a new one, occurring for the first time during the policy period, then your insurer should not be in a position to decline a renewal. How long have you been insured with this company?

Finally, don't try to be clever and hide things from insurance companies, as you mentioned in your subsequent post. It may not be Europe or the USA but the insureres here are not stupid.

Edited June 10, 2012 by madmitch