4 Key Aspects to know About the Pre-Policy Medical Check-up
Insurance is a cover against risk. The cover is given for the premiums paid by the insured person for his chosen plan, and the rate of premium is affected by the factors like age, gender, medical condition, etc., which are the indicators of risk. People with higher risk have to pay higher premiums because their chances of claim are more than people with lower risk. A medical check-up report is also a risk indicating tool for the insurance companies before they grant you the insurance policy.
Let us touch base on the 4 key aspects of the pre-policy medical check-up.
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1. Necessity to Undergo a Medical Check-up Before Buying Insurance
Nowadays, many insurance companies offer policies that require “no medical check-up,” highlighted in their special feature of the policy which is a center of attraction for the potential. The rate of premium in policies with the “no medical check-up” feature is based upon your disclosure and if any misleading statement is found, your claim will be rejected.
The misleading health-related disclosure is not always intentional, but sometimes it happens because you might not be aware of your own medical condition due to the irregularity of health check-ups.
Example: A person suffering from high/low blood pressure may not know about it, or a borderline case of diabetes may not be known to a person until he gets a medical test done. Because of this, he will not mention his accurate medical health status while disclosing the fact in the proposal form.
Such non-disclosures later at the stage of the claim can result in a rejection which could be the worst nightmare for an insured person. If one goes through medical screening, his chances of claim rejection are reduced as no misleading fact about health conditions is mentioned in the proposal form. Post medical check-up it is the onus of the insurance company to assess the risk accordingly basis the medical report of the customer and make a decision accordingly.
2. Benefits of getting a Pre-Policy Medical Checkup
A medical test makes you eligible for opting for policies with higher coverage amounts because policies with higher coverage amounts come with a compulsory health test clause. Some people go for low coverage policies because it requires no health check-up which eventually results in no benefit when required. To escape the medical screening route, the customer tends to buy a lower life cover amount than actually required leading to underinsurance.
Other than high coverage, a medical test helps you to know your current health condition. You might be suffering from a serious health problem, and you don’t know about it. A medical test helps you to diagnose and screen any ailment or medical condition in the body for which you can take a due course of action to cure such condition at an early stage.
You may not worry about the rejection of your insurance policy because you can find the appropriate coverage for a particular medical condition by paying an extra premium as per the risk assessment guidelines of the insurance company. Also, you can go for the right treatment with the relief of being already insured against it.
3. Types of Pre-Policy Medical Check-ups
The types and the number of medical tests will vary as per the age, and the amount of sum assured opted under an insurance plan. At times, people are afraid of medical checkups because they think they will be painful and very difficult to undergo but it’s just a myth. These tests involve a normal physical examination and some common tests. To make yourself more comfortable with the medical tests, many insurance companies provide the facility to undergo the tests at your home and at your convenience. Pre-policy medical tests are very easy and routine check-up tests.
Some of the pre-policy medical tests are ECG, Fasting Blood Sugar, Urine Test, Complete blood count (CBC), Lipid Profile test, Blood serum test, etc.
4. Cost of the Pre-Policy Medical Tests
As per the regulator IRDAI, at least 50% of the expense of the pre-policy medical tests is paid by the insurance company in the case of non-life insurance plans like health plans, where the proposal is accepted. However, most insurance companies bear the complete or major portion of the expense of medical check-ups to scrutinize the risk in the proposal thoroughly on medical parameters. Some companies make the reimbursement for the medical check-up expenses once the proposal is converted into policy.
You should not hesitate from getting the medical check-up and should undergo the pre-policy medical screening without any cost or rejection worries which will help you to get the appropriate life cover. You can also get the medical test done at the insurance company’s impaneled diagnostic centers to avail discounts on the actual cost.
Conclusion
It is imperative and beneficial to go for a medical check-up before getting an insurance policy. It will not only safeguard you from the risk of claim rejection on the grounds of an undisclosed health condition rather the medical check-up will make you aware of any health condition you are suffering from and take corrective actions. It is advisable to go for a medical check-up to be on the safer side and reap the benefits of insurance by paying the specified premium towards your policy.
Mam can I buy term insurance from canara HSBC OBC insurance company. Is the compan claim ratio is good
Thank you for the informative article. I am 30 years old and planning on getting a family floater along with my wife who is 25 years old. She has recently been diagnosed with high TSH levels during a pregnancy test and is under medications for the same. So while planning on taking an insurance policy i wanted to ensure i know regarding any pre-existing diseases to safeguard us from claim rejection. However when i checked with an Insurance company they said they do not require us to do any pre-policy test considering our age. But i feel it would be more confident taking a policy knowing all the exisiting diseases we have and then disclose the facts to ensure we get all the claims accepted in future. Kindly suggest what is to be done in such a circumstance. Should i undergo a list of tests at my own expenses before taking any policy?
Also do you recommend any Health Insurance company based on your wide experience in the industry?
Very nice article please keep up the good work. The suggestion and tests you mention in your blog are relevant. It helps many people to get the right information. I had written a blog gastro and liver problems please have a look at that at suggest some more ideas to us. Thanks and keep sharing.