Dealing with Pre-Existing Conditions in Health Insurance
If you are thinking about taking out or changing health insurance, the term “pre-existing conditions” may come to the fore. But what exactly are pre-existing conditions and how do they affect your insurance decision?
What are pre-existing conditions?
A pre-existing condition is, as the name suggests, a condition that existed before taking out health insurance. These could be chronic diseases such as diabetes, lupus, or various types of cancer. But also mental illnesses, such as depression, are included.
How do pre-existing conditions affect your insurance?
Pre-existing conditions are not relevant for the mandatory basic insurance. In this case, the health insurance companies must accept all policyholders regardless of their state of health and insure them in accordance with KVG coverage requirements.
However, the situation is different with supplementary health insurance, which offers benefits that go beyond basic insurance – be it preferential hospital treatment or special therapies. With these supplementary insurances, pre-existing conditions are very important.
During the application process for supplementary insurance, interested parties usually have to fill out a health questionnaire. The health insurance companies use this information to get a picture of the current state of health of the interested person. If a relevant pre-existing condition is identified, the health insurance company can:
- Possibly exclude a cost contribution for certain pre-existing conditions.
- In some cases, even completely reject insurance cover.
An important note: The health questionnaire must always be completed fully and truthfully. Otherwise, you risk the health insurance company refusing to cover the costs in the event of a claim.
Our tip
The sooner you take out supplementary health insurance, the better! Ideally, as long as there are no pre-existing conditions. But with the large number of offers, the decision-making process can be complicated.
This is where simply comes in: As your insurance partner, we support you in finding supplementary health insurance that meets your needs. For example, KPT offers exciting supplementary insurance for outpatient services, hospital stays or specifically for children.
Let us work together to find the best solution for your health and safety.
VAG simply 