"Devil in the Details" - Health Insurance & That Good Ol' Fine Print.

04/08/15 - So, what does one do the day after being diagnosed with cancer?  While I can't speak for anyone else, I can sure tell you what I did!  Needing to *do* something...anything to keep busy & stay productive, I dove right into my sea of insurance providers, spending the equivalent of more than an entire work shift digging into all my various insurances - mortgage, credit line, critical illness & short-term income protection!  Between calling around every number under the sun to filling out what seemed like countless pages of claim forms, I started just after 8am (right after calling into work) & finally had enough around 4:30pm!  Thankfully, I'd already compiled a list before leaving on my trip, so at least that was ready & waiting at my fingertips.  I recommend everyone do the same, regardless of whether or not you currently have health issues, because it'll make life a lot easier for your loved ones, should something ever happen to you & they need to make a claim either for you or themselves.

What I discovered sure was an eye opener!  Queue in that "Devil in the Details"!  Now, we all know insurance companies have restrictions & exclusions, right?  Well, did you know that credit insurance providers have a list of cancers they will NOT cover?!?!  I sure didn't, though I can't say I'm really all that surprised.  Annoyed, yes, but surprised?  No!  Ironically, I actually hope I am not covered, because in my case, being covered will mean that my cancer has spread, while being declined will mean that it hasn't and, of course, a much better prognosis on my part!  So, while It'd be amazing to be mortgage free, I can think of better ways to do it, thank you very much!  :)

Still, while the restrictions & exclusions are disappointing, the super logical part of me actually understands where they're coming from.  With the high rates of cancer, they'd either go bankrupt or have to charge even higher premiums if they paid out to those with non-spreading cancers.  BUT...  They recommended that I apply anyway, just to ensure I've covered all the bases, even if the news from this latest batch of tests turns out to be good, relatively speaking.

So, here goes nothin'!  <insert cheering squad>  "Come on decline!  Yaaay decline!!!"...At least where the credit insurance is concerned, that is.  I'm still hoping the critical illness insurance will come through, to help with costs of any drugs not covered under provincial healthcare, and there shouldn't be any issue with the short-term income protection coverage through work, thankfully.  As for long-term income protection, while I do have coverage, hopefully it won't be necessary!

*EDIT (01/04/16)* It turned out that you don't have to have metastasis or be at death's door to be approved for an insurance claim.  The legalese of the fine print makes it sound that way, but in the end, for me, at least, that wasn't the case!  So, even if you don't think your claim will be approved, APPLY anyway!  There is a time limit in most insurance policies (within 90 days of diagnosis in my case) where you have to apply, and I took so long to submit mine because I didn't think there was any point, that I nearly missed that deadline!  Fortunately, for me, I submitted just in the nick of time, and it's made a very stressful situation a lot easier to cope with!

*[NOTE: Post title inspired by the Placebo song "Devil in the Details" off their "Battle for the Sun" album.]

Timing Is Money: The Insurance Question...

03/03/15 - Tonight I went through my work's insurance plans with a fine tooth comb like never before. I'm wondering if they consider the "start of coverage" 90-day pre-existing condition restriction to mean the start of the CURRENT coverage year or the ORIGINAL start two years ago when they redid our benefits program & as long as you haven't changed your current level of coverage (which I haven't)... Really hoping they mean two years ago & not the start of the new plan-year, because if it's the latter, I'll be totally screwed if my evil twin turns out to be super evil & forces me to have to make a critical illness claim. I'll call tomorrow morning to find out.

*[NOTE: Post title inspired by the Placebo song "Time Is Money", which can be found on their "B3" EP.]

03/09/15 - After three days of calling back & forth & my work's HR people misdirecting me to the wrong insurance provider (we have several insurance providers depending on the type of insurance provided), I *finally* got clarification from my work's critical illness insurance provider!  Good news!  :)  As long as I do NOT change my current coverage level, I'll be covered should I need to make a claim, as they consider the "start date" to be when the new plan originally started this level of coverage two years ago, not the start of the current year.  Had I increased my level of coverage, however, it would've been a different story.  I figured this would be the case, but with all the fine print of insurance policies, it's a relief to know I'll be able to rely on my coverage if needed.

*[NOTE: Post title inspired by the Placebo song "Time Is Money", which can be found on their "B3" EP.]