I have a pre-existing condition, can I still be insured?

Getting a life, critical illness or medical insurance plan is harder if you have a pre-existing condition. It’s not impossible, but it does depend on the nature and severity of the precondition. A person with mild diabetes might still be accepted for life, critical illness or medical insurance, but a cancer patient, even after remission, can find it very difficult to get one.

If you have a pre-existing condition, you should at least try to get the basic insurance coverage of life, critical illness and medical insurance. But be prepared for some extra conditions:

• Your pre-existing condition, and any related follow-on conditions, might be completely excluded from your coverage.

• There might be a waiting period e.g. 24 months where you cannot make a claim based on your pre-existing condition.

• A “loading” on your premiums might be added to compensate the insurance company for your higher medical risk profile resulting in higher premium.

• During your application, you are likely to be required to produce medical reports of your pre-existing condition and/or do a medical check-up.

What should you do if you have a pre-existing condition?

• Try out Fi Life’s online questionnaire for life and medical policies, to see if the severity or nature of your pre-existing condition can still pass our underwriting requirements (note that for our AXA medical policies, there’s also the ability to upload your medical reports for consideration).

• Feel free to contact other insurance companies and their agents for a plan that might be able to cover your pre-existing condition, even it it means accepting some exclusions.

• Be prepared to produce medical reports or do a fresh medical check up at the request of the insurance company.

• If you are employed, enroll in your company’s Group plan, which might cover your medical expenses even if you have a pre-existing condition.

• Whilst waiting for decisions, at least get a personal accident plan that covers your medical and other expenses due to accidents. A personal accident plan usually does not exclude pre-existing conditions.

Assist your family and friends

Because of your pre-existing condition, your coverage will be more limited. But please use your personal experience to counsel family and friends to take out important life, critical illness and medical insurance policies before they get struck by a medical condition that will impact their ability to get insurance in the future. If you purchased any policy from this site (including our medical plans which are underwritten by AXA General Insurance) before getting struck by a medical condition, you generally can still continue to renew your policies and get coverage for the condition without any exclusions.

If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter below!

	For articles on how to improve your financial wellness, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Yours truly,
Harvin Sidhu