Medical Insurance Denial

Insurers apparently require new policy applicants older than 74 to undergo physical exams. Does anyone have or know of experience where PM patients were rejected or subject to higher than normal premiums?

thx, Dan

2 Comments

Premiums v Risk

by IAN MC - 2014-12-02 01:12:41

Selwyn Your figures for complications after having a PM are interesting and cannot be denied BUT I've never been convinced that insurance premiums are directly related to risk.

I have a friend who is an actuary and he lectures to the insurance industry on risk. He tells me that older drivers are a classic example where their premiums are loaded way out of proportion to their risks of being involved in a road accident. The increases in premium are based on i) prejudice and ii ) a policy of extracting as much cash as possible from their customers.

It is interesting that having an untreated bradycardia is a far greater risk than having a pacemaker and how many untreated bradycardias are there ? Not having a PM is a health risk factor for so many people. If insurance companies made everybody have an ECG we would see lots of people having their premiums increased !

I must have been lucky but I got travel insurance with no problem whatsoever after having a PM ( from the Nationwide )

Cheers

Ian

Higher premiums

by Selwyn - 2014-12-02 12:12:22

Of course having a PM results in a higher premium. It is a health risk factor. It would be crazy for insurers not to be aware of this.

If you are curious I direct you to
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/1/88

The rate of acute complications of pacemaker insertion is 4-5% and mostly related to operator experience.
The incidence of late complications of permanent pacemakers has been reported as 2.7%.

I have certainly been rejected for travel insurance. On the fifth application I was finally insured- at a slightly increased premium!

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