Don’t we all have some pre-existing condition?  To quote from an unknown author, “No one is perfect…that’s why pencils have erasers.“

So what is a pre-existing condition?  Imagine you contact your car insurance agent on a Monday morning to tell him you want to take out car insurance to pay car repairs. The car is now in the garage being fixed because of a small accident you had over the weekend.  Your agent tells you that he would be glad to sign you up for insurance to cover all future accidents–after the vehicle is totally fixed and drivable.  Even car insurance companies look at pre-existing conditions as a huge concern.  Why?  Simply put–we all “follow the money.”  If insurance companies would cover all pre-existing conditions, then we would not purchase car insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or any other type of insurance until we “needed it.”  By the time of our accident, it is too late to purchase insurance.  

Here are two great definitions of insurance: 

(1) “A contract whereby an insurer promises to pay the insured a sum of money or some other benefit upon the happening of one or more uncertain events in exchange for the payment of a premium. There must be uncertainty as to whether the relevant event(s) may happen at all or, if they will occur (e.g., death) as to their timing.” (2) “A system to protect persons, groups, or businesses against the risks of financial loss by transferring the risks to a large group who agree to share the financial losses in exchange for premium payments.”

So who classifies whether or not we have a pre-existing condition?   Easy–medical doctors!  Every time your medical doctor writes information on our medical chart–that becomes “gospel,” and only that doctor or another doctor can change it.  So it is vital to get copies of all your medical information when you visit your doctor.  You need to read over them and filed away for future needs.   If you have taken prescriptions for medical issues, than those medical issues can also be classified as pre-existing conditions.

Additional thoughts on how to keep pre-existing issues at a minimum when purchasing health insurance:  

(1) Buy group insurance through your employer, because most of the time pre-existing conditions are not an issue; hence group insurance is more expensive. 
(2) Purchase a strong “top of the line” individual insurance plan.  Good insurance companies will have solid plans where you will not need to be changing every year or so for another plan.  It is important to stick with one insurance plan for five to six years, and then research other options to see if you can find a better plan for a lower premium.
(3) As an insurance agent/broker, www.gninsurance.com, we hope that our government will eradicate pre-existing conditions on all individual and group health insurance plans.  Yes, we realize the premiums will increase a bit because of this; but if we force everyone to have health insurance, than it can help keep health insurance premiums lower.   The more people insured means the risk is shared across the board– which helps keep the premiums lower. 

So the good news is that we have choices to choose from which will fit our individual needs.  So to keep pre-existing insurance issues at bay, purchase a good solid insurance plan before medical problems happen to you. 

 Doug Gulleson loves to scuba dive overseas and makes sure he always takes his Amex card AND international travel insurance policy. Visit Good Neighbor Insurance at www.overseashealthinsurance.com/short-term.asp  for your next overseas trip health coverage and get a FREE quote or call one of our agents at 480-633-9500.