Pre-Existing Health Conditions Insurance | Five Conditions Affect Your Insurance

Insurance

Pre-existing health conditions can be huge, expensive roadblocks for those seeking adequate health insurance coverage. After all, medical costs in Singapore will only rise as we age, and health insurance is one of the key pillars of financial protection that everyone, regardless of age or profession, should have. Continue reading to learn why you should get health insurance when you’re young and what your options are. In this blog, we talk about pre-existing health conditions insurance.  

What exactly is a pre-existing health condition?

Pre-existing conditions, according to the Life Insurance Association of Singapore, can vary from policy to policy, but they include any illness or disability that you have — or have had — at the time you sign up for the health insurance policy. It is very common for insurers to deny coverage for pre-existing medical conditions or other related conditions. Even if you are able to obtain a health insurance policy, you are unlikely to be reimbursed for any or all care-related claims due to your pre-existing condition (s).

Pre-Existing Health Conditions Insurance

Pre-existing medical conditions that affect your insurance eligibility

Obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea may increase your risk of stroke, irregular heartbeats such as atrial fibrillation, heart attacks, and heart failure in addition to raising your risk of high blood pressure. Although sleep apnea can be managed with CPAP machines and lifestyle changes, if you are looking to purchase health insurance policies after being diagnosed, this health condition will affect your insurability.

Cancer

Did you know that cancer is the leading cause of death in Singapore, outranking all other diseases? It is common for insurers to deny cancer coverage if the individual has a history of cancer. This is especially true for those who have had a recurrence of the illness after recovering from a previous bout. However, there are insurance plans that allow cancer survivors to protect themselves against recurrence.

Clinically confirmed depression

While insurers are increasingly offering mental health insurance plans to help defray the costs of diagnosing and treating mental illnesses, clinically diagnosed depression makes one uninsurable for the most part. A long-term mental health condition frequently necessitates ongoing treatment and care. Insurers are unlikely to extend coverage to those with clinically diagnosed depression, or even those who have had the condition for a specified period of time (which could be years!) before enrolling in a new health insurance plan. As unfortunate and difficult as it may be, victims of depression have a higher proclivity for self-harm. Furthermore, the medications used to treat depression may cause long-term health problems.

Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic health condition in which the body develops insulin resistance; it is caused by a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, with obesity being the leading cause of this health disease. Type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, is an auto-immune condition in which the body produces little to no insulin.

Diabetes can cause a variety of health complications, including blindness, arterial disease, nerve damage, kidney failure, foot disease, and cardiovascular issues such as heart attack, stroke, and angina. High blood sugar levels can also cause complications in multiple organs. It’s no surprise that if you have diabetes as a pre-existing condition, your insurer may refuse to cover it.

Asthma

Asthma is one of the pre-existing conditions that can affect your ability to obtain insurance. According to research, people who have active asthma are at a significantly higher risk of developing chronic lung diseases later in life. In comparison to adults without asthma, asthmatics are 17X more likely to be diagnosed with emphysema and 10X more likely to develop chronic bronchitis symptoms. Severe asthma can result in respiratory failure and death.

What about asthma in children? If insurers choose to extend coverage to you, they may impose a premium loading. However, it doesn’t hurt to ask your insurance agent for support — some insurers may agree to waive the premium!

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