The Devil In The Details

You’ve probably heard that pre-existing conditions can affect your life insurance cover, and this is definitely true. How can they affect your cover? Depending on the condition and your insurance provider, it can cause your premiums to go up, or it can actually preclude you from coverage by certain providers. So, what is a pre-existing condition, and how do the companies determine what it means?

What Is A Pre-Existing Condition?

The most basic definition of a pre-existing condition is any condition for which you are currently or have been treated by a specialist, prior to your application for insurance. A death which is caused by the condition could cause your claim being held or declined. Different insurance providers will look at different conditions in different ways, and it’s very important that you know what your condition is and how your provider works with that condition.

The major difference is in how the company will treat a condition, and when or if they consider it successfully treated. Once they consider it treated, they require no more tests or consults with your doctor and/or specialists.

You’ll find providers who use a total pre-existing exclusion. These companies don’t care what has been done about your condition – if you have any condition on their list, you will be excluded from coverage even if it’s been 30 years since your last treatment and every doctor considers you cured and fully recovered.

Others are much more lenient. You can find providers who will consider the pre-existing conditions successfully treated and cover you if your treatments and consults have ended anytime in the last five years, two years or even six months.

What Should I Do?

Take a woman with breast cancer for example. She found out 20 years ago that she had breast cancer and she started all of her treatments. 12 years ago, her doctors cleared her, saying the treatments had gone well but that they would need to check occasionally to be sure. 7 years ago, she went to her final checkup. The doctor did the exam and concluded that her condition was cured and that treatment had been totally successful.

That woman is still going to pay very close attention to each individual provider’s definition of a pre-existing condition to ensure that she’ll be covered when she’s shopping for her life insurance. This same general rule will apply to anyone who’s had a pre-existing condition. Ever.

Should I Declare My Condition?

If you’re in the market for life insurance, it’s best to disclose any pre-existing conditions or other things they may ask about up front. Other things you need to be honest about include any dangerous hobbies that your insurance company want to know about or a dangerous job. In the event of your death, any of these things could cause problems with your claim, particularly if you’re dishonest about them. Sure, you won’t have to deal with them as the reason there’s even a claim is because you’re dead, but you don’t want your family being raked over the coals because you omitted an important piece of information, would you?