I recently applied for health insurance. Today, I got a response about my application from the insurance company. Quite unexpectedly, I have been approved for the health insurance plan. This leaves me with many unanswered questions. What, exactly, does the premium cost?
At this moment, I am very confused. I originally applied for this health insurance plan over the phone. The insurance representative told me that I could not be approved for this health plan because my allergies counted as a pre-existing condition. She actually went and spoke with an underwriter before she told me I could not be approved, just to make sure.
I wanted written proof from the insurer that stated that I was denied health insurance due to a pre-existing condition. I was told that the only way to get that would be to apply for the same health insurance plan online. The representative said that if I put in all the information about my allergies that I told her on the phone that there was no doubt in her mind that I would be denied for this health plan.
Therefore, I was quite surprised today to find out that I have now, officially, been approved for the health insurance plan that I applied for online. I put in all the information about my allergies that I told the insurance rep, (and more). My best guess is that perhaps a different underwriter had a different opinion about approving me than the first one did.
This leaves me with many questions. The biggest question is one you can probably guess. How much does the premium cost? The approval letter did not include this vital piece of information. The letter tells me that the effective date of coverage starts today, March 15, 2012. It says that I should be receiving a Certificate Booklet in the mail soon. The letter also says this ominous statement:
“Please review the premium amount as there may have been a change as a result of underwriting or any changes that you may have requested”.
I tried contacting the insurer today by phone, but that didn’t help. I was notified about the approval by email, which arrived at 4:27 in the afternoon, Pacific Standard Time. The insurance company is in Central Standard time, and they close at 4:00 in the afternoon. So, that means the email I got was sent two hours after they had closed for the night.
There is absolutely no way for me to know what, exactly, this policy covers until the Certificate Booklet arrives. The pamphlet I was reading over was published in 2010, so there is the potential that some or all of the information on it has changed.
When I filled out the online application, I was required to give the insurance company my bank account information. The application process requires people to give the insurer permission to start doing automatic monthly billing. Right now, I am absolutely terrified that the insurer has attempted to pull money that I may not have out of my checking account to pay for a premium that I have not been told the cost of.
Image by Pierre Rattini on Flickr