Urgent Please advise

sassy_one

Hi

Can anyone advise me regards health insurance terms and conditions.

Will Bupa/AXA allow me to start a health insurance policy for a medical condition suspected but not yet diagnosed?

I have had a sight test and have high pressure in one eye, have not been informed YET it is Glaucoma, therefore could I start a policy now should it be confirmed once checked at Hospital?

Please advise as soon as possible

huckster

I don't think so. Because you know about the possibility of there being a problem, the Insurers just won't cover it or anything connected.

If you purchased a policy and did not declare, when you came to claim, they would contact the optician you are registered with and the problem would be found.

benjaminM

You maybe able to start a policy however I would imagine that the condition you are referring to will either be excluded or subject to terms. If you are awaiting results of a test or consultation the insurance companies will usually write to your gp and await their response before they go on cover.

Cautious_Investor_3

sassy-one wrote: »

Hi

I have had a sight test and have high pressure in one eye, have not been informed YET it is Glaucoma, therefore could I start a policy now should it be confirmed once checked at Hospital?

Please advise as soon as possible

Hi

There will be a number of questions you have to answer when applying for the plan, at least one of the questions will lead to you needing to 'own' up to the test you have had and the results.

If you give an accurate answer it is highly likely the insurer will exclude your eye and associated conditions.

If you do not own up to the test and the result, even though Glaucoma has not been confirmed, you are running the very serious risk of the plan not paying out due to non disclosure.

By all means try and apply giving full and frank details of the tests you have had but I cannot see the insurer not imposing exclusions.

You may just have to accept that you cannot get cover for your eye condition, on one hand I suppose it's a lesson to take insurance out when we are healthy (not very helpful i know!).

The Cautious Investor

sophievenusdoom

It will either go one of two ways as explained in the replies above. They will either defer your policy til the tests have completed, or they will exclude disease or disorder of the eye. Either way, you MUST be honest on your application; you wouldn't want to risk them not paying out!

Brize

To the OP:

I assume that you're talking about private medical insurance, given that you mentioned Bupa and AXA PPP. If so, the advice proferred so far has pretty much all been wide of the mark.

First, it's not necessarily the case that a medical insurer won't cover a pre-existing condition or anything connected with it in perpetuity, as was implied.

Second, a medical insurer is unlikely to write to your GP requesting further information at the application stage. With medical insurance, this is usually only done at the point of claim.

Third, it is not always necessary to make a full medical declaration when enrolling on a medical insurance plan, although it is sometimes advisable.

Fourth, a medical insurer will not defer cover.

Now, to address your question, no medical insurer will provide immediate cover for a condition known to be pre-existing. If someone enrolled on a plan and tried to claim almost immediately, the insurer would investigate thoroughly and very quickly establish if the insured was aware of the condition prior to joining.

There exists what is known as a 'moratorium', which is now a common method of underwriting for medical insurance policies. This allows for pre-existing conditions to regain eligibility for benefit, subject to a qualifying period and, invariably, some additional criteria. The wording of the moratorium clause depends on the insurer.

You should seek advice from a specialist adviser as to whether a moratorium might be suitable for your circumstances—you can search for someone local at the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries' website.

AXA_PPP_Healthcare_representative

Hi

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, or have symptoms of a medical condition before you buy a policy, medical insurers in general will not cover you for treatment of that condition.

This is because medical insurance is designed to cover claims for expenses incurred as a result of unexpected events that arise after your policy begins. In a sense, it’s like buying car insurance – if you had a car crash but didn’t have insurance, you couldn’t buy a policy after the accident and legitimately claim for the repair work.

Don’t forget though, even if you do have a pre-existing condition it could still be worthwhile buying PMI because you will still be covered for treatment of other unrelated conditions.