Nowadays you can easily quote, compare and apply for the low cost health insurance policy and When setting up a health insurance policy, part of the process is to complete a health insurance application form. This will ask for a range of personal details, part of which will be about your health – both current and past. The Underwriter (who is the person that assesses the health insurance application) will use this information to determine the final cost of your health insurance.

Often the Underwriter will review the initial information provided and require further details to complete their assessment. In this case, they might contact you for more detail or write to your Doctor. This could be for your full medical notes, or just to get some specific information about a particular issue.

This can take significant time, particularly if the Underwriter needs to write to your Doctor (as Doctors can take time to respond). This will delay your health insurance application, meaning that it takes longer for you to be fully protected by your health insurance plan.

For this reason, giving full information on the application form is important. We will look briefly at the type of information the Underwriter usually needs to complete their assessment. First, the health insurance Underwriter will be interested in the type of health issue that you have had and the location. For example if you have had a back problem specifying the part of the back that was affected (upper, middle, lower) is helpful. They will also be interested in when the issue occurred and whether it is ongoing, as this can impact on your health insurance. So clearly specifying dates and making it clear that resolved issues are no longer a problem is important. New Zealand health insurance underwriter will also be interested in any medications that were needed to treat the issue. Including details of these will help to create a clearer picture, which enables the Underwriter to complete their assessment of your health insurance application as quickly as possible.

Finally, your health insurance policy document will also outline the exclusions that are on your policy. All insurance policies will usually have some exclusions (either temporary or permanent) and being familiar with these is vital as it ensures you fully understand what your policy will and won’t cover and the conditions under which you are able to make a claim. 

Once you have reviewed your policy document it’s important to keep it in a safe place. If you ever lose it you will be able to get a replacement one from your life insurance company, however this can lead to delays and costs in some cases – so it is best to keep it somewhere you are able to access it in the future.

For more information visit : http://www.lifedirect.co.nz/