Travel Insurance Pre-existing medical conditions

To understand pre-existing medical conditions you must read the
definition that the insurance company uses within the policy that
you've purchased or plan to purchase.

To paraphrase someone; pre-existing medical conditions aren't what you
think they are, it's what the insurance company defines them to be.
So you must read the definition to fully understand what they mean.

In most cases they will exclude any medical condition that you or a
family member (whether or not they are traveling with you - trip
cancellation coverage) have received care or treatment or have had
symptoms that would cause a reasonable person to seek care and/or
treatment during a period immediately preceding the day you buy the
insurance. The look back period varies by plan from 60 days to 180
days. Most plans provide an exemption to this exclusion if you are
taking a prescribed drug for a controlled condition and the condition
and medication haven't changed during the look back period.

So if you buy a plan that doesn't provide a "waiver of pre-exisitng
medical conditions" or if you don't qualify for the waiver than any
loss that is caused by a pre-existing medical condition, as defined by
the policy, will be excluded from coverage.

"john" wrote in message
...
To understand pre-existing medical conditions you must read the
definition that the insurance company uses within the policy that
you've purchased or plan to purchase.

To paraphrase someone; pre-existing medical conditions aren't what you
think they are, it's what the insurance company defines them to be.
So you must read the definition to fully understand what they mean.

In most cases they will exclude any medical condition that you or a
family member (whether or not they are traveling with you - trip
cancellation coverage) have received care or treatment or have had
symptoms that would cause a reasonable person to seek care and/or
treatment during a period immediately preceding the day you buy the
insurance. The look back period varies by plan from 60 days to 180
days. Most plans provide an exemption to this exclusion if you are
taking a prescribed drug for a controlled condition and the condition
and medication haven't changed during the look back period.

So if you buy a plan that doesn't provide a "waiver of pre-exisitng
medical conditions" or if you don't qualify for the waiver than any
loss that is caused by a pre-existing medical condition, as defined by
the policy, will be excluded from coverage.

Hi John,

We used to use the term "underwrite at time of loss", referring to companies
that try to find an excuse to deny a claim. Underwriting is the evaluation
of risk compared to premium and is the process by which insurance companies
accept or reject applicants. There are companies who lure you with cheap
prices and then fight to refuse payment of your claim. Beware! Be
suspicious of a very cheap policy. Check out the company with whom you are
dealing. I hope this saves someone from a problem.

Harry Cooper

On Feb 20, 12:47*pm, "Seehorse Video" wrote:
"john" wrote in message

...





To understand pre-existing medical conditions you must read the
definition that the insurance company uses within the policy that
you've purchased or plan to purchase.

To paraphrase someone; pre-existing medical conditions aren't what you
think they are, it's what the insurance company defines them to be.
So you must read the definition to fully understand what they mean.

In most cases they will exclude any medical condition that you or a
family member (whether or not they are traveling with you - trip
cancellation coverage) have received care or treatment or have had
symptoms that would cause a reasonable person to seek care and/or
treatment during a period immediately preceding the day you buy the
insurance. *The look back period varies by plan from 60 days to 180
days. *Most plans provide an exemption to this exclusion if you are
taking a prescribed drug for a controlled condition and the condition
and medication haven't changed during the look back period.

So if you buy a plan that doesn't provide a "waiver of pre-existing
medical conditions" or if you don't qualify for the waiver than any
loss that is caused by a pre-existing medical condition, as defined by
the policy, will be excluded from coverage.

Hi John,

We used to use the term "underwrite at time of loss", referring to companies
that try to find an excuse to deny a claim. *Underwriting is the evaluation
of risk compared to premium and is the process by which insurance companies
accept or reject applicants. *There are companies who lure you with cheap
prices and then fight to refuse payment of your claim. *Beware! *Be
suspicious of a very cheap policy. *Check out the company with whom you are
dealing. *I hope this saves someone from a problem.

Harry Cooper- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Travel insurance plans are "non-underwritten" policies meaning that
the individual risks are not reviewed by an underwriter at the time of
application but rather the policy is issued without change or
modification however, they are not all risk plans and they have
limitations, conditions, and exclusions. The underwriting process
actually begins at the time the travel insurance plan is designed and
priced by the insurance company. The risk is modified by conditions
and limitations or removed by exclusions. Those conditions,
limitations, and exclusions are then applied at the time of a claim.
In theory, the burden is on the insurance company to say what they
mean since the contract is written by them and is not negotiable and
in the event of an ambiguity the client should prevail - in theory.

I agree that a traveler should check out the company. There is always
a reason why a policy is cheaper, especially if it's significant.

On Feb 22, 1:03*pm, "John Sisker" wrote:
To Whom It May Concern:

We received this information and/or press release from the
trades/SmartBrief/CNN Travel and thought it may be of interest to this
newsgroup as well.

John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID: 714.536.3850)www.shiptoshorecruise.com/www.tinplatedesign.com
Facebook/Twitter/Blog/Flickr/MyPage

My travel insurance claim was turned down because of a pre-existing medical
condition. What now?

Ah, the old pre-existing condition loophole! Most travel insurance companies
have a clause in their contracts that says if you had a condition before
your trip, and it caused a cancellation, they won't pay your claim. It's
sneaky and unfair, because a claims adjuster doesn't have to be particularly
insightful to find something in your past medical history to give the
insurance company an excuse to turn down your claim. But don't lose hope. On
appeal, more than 90 percent of travel insurance denials are overturned in
your favor. So it pays to ask an insurance company again.

Source:
* CNN Travel
* By Christopher Elliott
* Tribune Media Services
* February 22, 2010

Yes, I've read this before and I think it's slightly overstated. It
implies that any pre-existing condition, regardless of when you've had
it, can be used to deny a claim which is incorrect. There is always a
"look back period" that limits the insurance company's review. In
most plans with trip cancellation coverage, it is limited to the past
60 to 180 days, depending on the plan, from the day you purchase the
coverage. So at worst the most the insurance company can look at is
the past 6 months. And also I doubt if 90 percent of claim denials
are overturned on appeal. It gives the impression that insurance
companies intentionally try to avoid claims by intentionally denying
valid claims. Mistakes do happen and it is worthwhile to have a claim
denial reviewed and if a mistake was made they will correct it. If
not there are other alternatives. I wrote a blog on this sometime ago
that some might find helpful: http://www.quotewright.com/weblog/when-claims-go-bad/

On 2/23/10 1:31 PM, in article
, "john"
wrote:

On Feb 22, 1:03*pm, "John Sisker" wrote:
To Whom It May Concern:

We received this information and/or press release from the
trades/SmartBrief/CNN Travel and thought it may be of interest to this
newsgroup as well.


Source:
* CNN Travel
* By Christopher Elliott
* Tribune Media Services
* February 22, 2010

Yes, I've read this before and I think it's slightly overstated.

Further, though Sisker attributes the story to CNN, the link will lead you
to MSNBC. Just like when you book a Crystal suite with him, you may get an
inside cabin on a Norwegian ship. You see, he likes to keep things easy and
a ship is a ship, isn't it?

On Feb 23, 6:31*am, john wrote:
On Feb 22, 1:03*pm, "John Sisker" wrote:





To Whom It May Concern:

We received this information and/or press release from the
trades/SmartBrief/CNN Travel and thought it may be of interest to this
newsgroup as well.

John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID: 714.536.3850)www.shiptoshorecruise.com/www.tinplatedesign.com
Facebook/Twitter/Blog/Flickr/MyPage

My travel insurance claim was turned down because of a pre-existing medical
condition. What now?

Ah, the old pre-existing condition loophole! Most travel insurance companies
have a clause in their contracts that says if you had a condition before
your trip, and it caused a cancellation, they won't pay your claim. It's
sneaky and unfair, because a claims adjuster doesn't have to be particularly
insightful to find something in your past medical history to give the
insurance company an excuse to turn down your claim. But don't lose hope. On
appeal, more than 90 percent of travel insurance denials are overturned in
your favor. So it pays to ask an insurance company again.

Source:
* CNN Travel
* By Christopher Elliott
* Tribune Media Services
* February 22, 2010

Yes, I've read this before and I think it's slightly overstated. *It
implies that any pre-existing condition, regardless of when you've had
it, can be used to deny a claim which is incorrect. *There is always a
"look back period" that limits the insurance company's review. * In
most plans with trip cancellation coverage, it is limited to the past
60 to 180 days, depending on the plan, from the day you purchase the
coverage. *So at worst the most the insurance company can look at is
the past 6 months. *And also I doubt if 90 percent of claim denials
are overturned on appeal. *It gives the impression that insurance
companies intentionally try to avoid claims by intentionally denying
valid claims. *Mistakes do happen and it is worthwhile to have a claim
denial reviewed and if a mistake was made they will correct it. *If
not there are other alternatives. *I wrote a blog on this sometime ago
that some might find helpful: *http://www.quotewright.com/weblog/when-claims-go-bad/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi, John from QuoteWright,

It's good to hear someone else questioned that 90% figure. I don't
think so! Your "how to appeal" advice is great.

There are a lot of helpful articles about travel insurance on your
website. I like the one that explains pre-existing conditions.
http://www.quotewright.com/weblog/pr...standing-them/

The concluding paragraph is 'on point' to the discussion we've been
having he

"Most “packaged” travel insurance plans offer a “waiver of pre-
existing conditions” as an inducement to buy the insurance early.
Since the vast majority of trip cancellation claims are caused by the
accident, illness, or death of a family member and a large portion of
those claims could be traced to what would be considered a pre-
existing medical condition than it makes sense to buy a plan with this
feature."

Thanks for contributing.

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

On 2/24/2010 1:28 AM, John Sisker wrote:

As for someone claiming that my
link did not point to CNN Travel... what link? There was no link
provided, just the original story, and the source references.

Your reference WAS CNN. And it was, of course, erroneous. This is what
you wrote:

"My travel insurance claim was turned down because of a pre-existing
medical condition. What now?

Ah, the old pre-existing condition loophole! ...

Source:
* CNN Travel
* By Christopher Elliott
* Tribune Media Services
* February 22, 2010"

But this is where Elliott wrote "the original story":

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34707059/ns/travel-tips/

MSNBC, not CNN. You're mixing things up, as usual.

The really interesting question is: will insurance protect the consumer
against the mistakes of a dyslectic, confused prefab home salesman
posing as a travel agent but having no clue about "fiduciary duty"?