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Good Neighbor Travel Insurance Blog

What is a Pre-Existing Condition and Will My Health Insurance Cover It?

September 23, 2009 By : Doug Gulleson

Would an insurance company consider a roller skating accident when you were 3 years old a
pre-existing condition?

Probably not. But you never know.

A pre-existing condition is:  Any injury or sickness that manifested itself prior to the effective date of insurance coverage – regardless of whether you received medical attention for it or not.

A lot of us are perplexed because health insurance companies won’t cover pre-existing conditions. Companies know that if they cover all pre-existing conditions they won’t be in business long. Insuring a person with a pre-existing condition is like insuring a burning building.  Of course no one wants to be compared to a burning building, but we get the picture. You insure a burning building, you are losing money; you insure a person with serious pre-existing conditions, you are losing money.

What you need to know is that different companies put a time limit on what is considered a pre-existing condition. Sometimes a condition can go back to your childhood. One insurance company gives a five-year look-back as the time span for determining a pre-existing condition. Others state time limits at 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, 60 months, etc.

Lesson:  check with your insurance company on their time limits.

Call Good Neighbor Insurance for your international health and travel insurance  needs.

Doug Gulleson

Search Results

Long term care information – 2012

January 11, 2012

Long term care (LTC) is coverage that provides home health care, adult day care, and nursing home coverage for individuals 65 onwards or someone who has a chronic or disabling condition that needs constant supervision.  This benefit package helps provide for the cost of long term care beyond a predetermined period. LTC is not health […]

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Getting health insurance for specific needs not covered by standard plans

February 8, 2010

Standard insurance plans may not suit your unique needs, but with creative problem solving you will never need to be in a situation where you are not covered.

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Individual Kidnap and Ransom international insurance option

May 22, 2017

Individual Kidnap and Ransom international insurance option provided by Good Neighbor Insurance – Good Neighbor Insurance wants to highlight to our clients the importance of Kidnap and Ransom international insurance especially in volatile countries such as Venezuela and Turkey. Below is a part of an article from one of our international insurance carriers (Hiscox) that […]

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Health insurance for Workers in War Zones

February 2, 2010

Ongoing threats against Americans living and working in war zones raises the question about health and travel insurance. This post explains the benefits and exclusions of insurance for war situations.

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Self-funded health insurance and ACA-compliance

March 7, 2014

Self-funded health plans will become more popular under the new PPACA laws according to past President of the Society of Professional Benefits Administrators and others Regulations, uncertainty, increased costs and constriction (meaning less choice in the market) will all cause more companies to consider and ultimately choose to self-insure in the future under the new […]

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The Affordable Care act - Should it be repealed and replaced?

Waivers and Riders – What are those?

September 23, 2009

I’ve been thinking about “waivers” and “riders” and how that might affect a young woman with a busted knee when she tries to buy health insurance. What are her options?

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