Sorry Moisheh but that is true. Just as you have said the insurance companies owe their Alliance to the stockholders not to the customer. It is their driven duty to protect the stockholder from financial loss, not protect the customer. You where exactly correct in your statement about people being denied a claim because they had answered they had not been tested for a given health issue. The way things are worded in the 16 page application the customer with be filling out will be something along this line;
Have you ever been tested, treated or diagnosed for; Cancer, High Blood Pressure, Kidney Disease, Diabetes or Heart Arrhythmia? Please check all that apply.
Did you check NO??????
NO? You have NEVER had a doctor or nurse take your blood pressure? What do you THINK they are testing for “HIGH BLOOD PRESURE”. PSA tests, mammograms, listening through a stethoscope, Urine Samples or taking blood samples are ALL tests. Positive or negative is not the question. It is have you ever had a TEST and you answer NO have just given your traveler insurance company a way out of your claim.
This is from CBC Marketplace and it is very informative. It deals with mortgage insurances but the exact same rules apply for traveler insurance. It will open your eyes.
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/in_denial/
Watch the Video!!!!!!!
If you think you live in a corruption free environment.......then I guess welcome to the real world. It aint so smooth out there afterall! I will take my chance south of the border! I love it - I dont expect much and I am never disappointed
Russ Black
011-521-638-113-4591 Cell Phone
Puerto Penasco, Sonora
Every insurance company's provisions, exclusions, and rates are regulated by political entities in every state of the union and every province in Canada and while I realize that on occasion errors are made, claims improperly denied, for the most part insurance companies honor the terms of the contract they make with the customer. I saw far more claims paid that could/should have been denied than claims denied that should have paid during my many years in the business.
I also saw many customers who believed that their personal behavior, driving habits, mistakes, errors in judgment, and recklessness should be overlooked because they were "just like everyone else most of the time".
Insurance companies must make a profit, not just for stockholders but to stay in business and if you have ever been a customer with bad health or bad driving record of a company that went out of business you will understand how important staying in business is for the companies and their customers. Typically insurance companies spend 95-98% of the premiums paid in claims annually--investment income from the premiums paid before that money is paid out is where insurance company "profit" comes from. Investment income has been difficult for a decade and thus we have seen a real contraction of coverages and massive increases in premiums. Currently federal mandates are also playing havoc with insurance premiums and demands to insure those with "pre-existing conditions" is the worst--no insurance company can charge enough premium to cover most of these unfortunate individuals and expecting normally healthy insureds to cover that risk is simply immoral--a punishing tax on the average insured.
For every horror story involving an outrage perpetrated by an insurance company there are tens of thousands of stories of the product operating as designed.
A friend of ours was recently hospialized in PV (he was later airlifted back to Canada) and while he was there the patient advocate mentioned that the RBC Travel Medical Insurance is the best for paying up front with little hassle....might be worth checking into.
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