I have often wondered what was going to happen the next time I applied for health or life insurance, and I just found out. I had a life insurance policy with a fixed monthly rate in place guaranteed for 10 years before I agreed to the genetic testing that came back positive for PKD. The policy was just up for renewal this year and I was required to release my medical records in addition to participating in a medical exam.
Even though the exam showed that my kidneys were functioning well within normal my insurance premium was still increased by 400% above the rate I was originally quoted based on my age, nonsmoker, etc. Yes, that 400%
The insurance broker even went on to say that “I would be surprised” at what they can pull up on a national database that shows my medical history for things discussed or tested even if they came back negative. While this information is supposed to be protected as confidential between a doctor and patient, you are required to sign a medical release when applying for a premium. It is bad enough that they increase your risk factor for things that “could” be a problem even though they are not at the moment, but I was very disturbed that I was also being “dinged” for asking about things that came back negative.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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