Illinois Health Insurance Plan - After the Application

A lot of people are confused about what happens after they fill out an application trying to obtain an Illinois health insurance plan. After the carrier receives the application it goes to the underwriting department. The underwriting department goes over the application to access the risk they would have if they accepted you. Each carrier is a little different, some carriers rate up for certain health conditions and others do not. Some carriers either accept you the way you are or decline to make an offer. So let’s say for example you have high blood pressure which is controlled by medication and this particular carrier does rate up 25% for this condition. The underwriting department will make you an acceptance offer with a 25% rate increase on your initial premium. You now have the right to except this rate up or decline it. If you decline it, they would of course not offer coverage.

In another circumstance you might have a condition that would have a rider or exclusion. What this means is the company would offer you coverage but not cover that condition for a specified time period. Again you do not have to accept the rider and you can certainly decline the policy if you choose to. Depending on the condition you might also want to make a counter offer. You could ask the carrier to accept the condition and you would be willing to take a rate up of premium instead. Then the carrier will have to decide to accept your offer or not and at what rate up. Believe me they will let you know. How important is it to you to have this condition covered? Most people have no idea the amount of haggling that can sometimes go on with a health insurance policy. That is why it is very important to have a good agent, someone who knows the ins and outs and can help you through the process. To get the best possible deal, you have to be willing to play let’s make a deal with the insurance carrier.

So after you have been approved and you receive the policy please take the time to look it over. Double check the application was filled out correctly and that all of your medical conditions and medications are listed. If it is incorrect let the insurance company know of the mistake in writing. This will save you a lot of hassle later on. After checking the application for accuracy, go over the exclusions and limitations of the policy making sure there is nothing there that you disagree with.

By law, you have 10 days to look over the application. If you see something you didn’t know about or you changed your mind for any reason, just fax or mail a letter to the company cancelling the policy and they are required to reimburse the premium you sent in with the application.

Randy Gillespie is the owner of Focus Insurance Group, specializing in Illinois Health Insurance.