Disability/Critical Illness Insurance. Any pointers ?
Hello,
To make it short, recently I have being diagnosed with uveitis. It is a type of inflammatory disease that affects the eyes and with time, you can loose vision, get cataracts, glaucoma and other fun things.
I work in the film industry and my eyes are my work horse.
Also, looking for the cause of the uveitis they found I might have Ankylosis Spondilitis and/or MS. There is no diagnosis for these two yet though. Running some tests in the next months.
I am looking for insurance that could supplement my income in case I am unable to work due to the condition I have been diagnosed with or the ones I might get a diagnosed with in the months to come.
Couple questions :
- If I have no diagnosis for MS of Ankylosis Spondilitis yet, am I required to mention it if they ask me about my medical history ? I mean, as of now, I do not have any of these two conditions and I feel better than ever. No doctor will write a note saying I have these conditions now. I feel like I should get insurance before I get a diagnosis. Is this insurance fraud ?
- My current employer does offer critical illness/disability insurance but I suspect this is linked to my contract (and up to two years after it ends I think). I believe I should still contract individual insurance though. Does this reasoning make sense ?
- I believe some insurance can assure a supplemental income until retirement in case disability is for life ? Is this right ? What should I be looking for in this type of insurance ?
Thank you for any advice and insight you can provide !
Some context :
- 31M
- Living in QC
- Take home is 3500$ monthly.
- No debt except mortgage
Posted Jul 3, 2018, 4:57 PM UTC
Long term disability underwriting is tough.
My expectation is that you'll be declined for any type of long term disability insurance that would provide coverage other than for disability due to accidental reasons (so nothing that'll do what you are asking).
Further, you have outstanding tests. That's a decline right there, I don't know of any company that would touch you with outstanding tests. Yes they'll ask. it's as simple as 'do you have any outstanding tests or investigations'.
That's my opinion. If it was me, I wouldn't do the whole application and medical exam when it's pretty clearly a decline. Still, might not hurt to have your broker send an email to an underwriter to confirm that it's a hard decline though.
>My current employer does offer critical illness/disability insurance but I suspect this is linked to my contract
Check with your HR department, and get a copy of the policy booklet. I've seen some long term disability that will allow you to convert/exchange it from group workplace coverage to individual coverage - if you have this option then you must make sure you take advantage of it. I don't believe you're going to get LTD any other way.
Wow, thanks for the thorough reply. Even though I did expect it, I won't lie, it's not good news or fun to read...
I just got my insurance booklet from HR and it seems our insurance is pretty good. I am insured up to 3355 $/month and this can be until I am 65. They do not cover for conditions I have received treatment for before being insured. It's a no go if I go blind due to my eyes issue. If I am diagnosed with MS and have issues in the future due to that, I am good though.
It now seems I should try to stay with this employer as long as I can because if I change I will not be covered for MS anymore.
I will definitively talk to HR about the conversion to individual coverage. I hope that is an option. Is it usually "no questions asked" ?
Thanks again for the very valuable information.
All the best.
Yes. the feature is called 'conversion'. And the primary benefit is exchanging group to individual coverage with no questions asked.
I just wrote an email to the main HR office to see if this is an option.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge !
Careful, they might think you are jumping ship!