Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with insurance and coverage

Car Insurance Coverage

Elsie — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:18:31 -0800

What car insurance coverage to I need for a brand-new car? We're haven't had a car for a couple years while living out of the US, but now we are relocating to an area (MA--small town) where we will need one. It's probably going to be a RAV or CRV. We're in our early sixties, have had spotless driving records for decades, never filed a claim, hope not to drive more than 8000 miles a year, and will take $1000 deductible.

In most things, such as insurance, we usually choose at the most conservative end of the spectrum--say 85% of the maximum coverage the insurance company would like everyone to buy. With every contract full of consumer traps these days, what levels of liability, collision, etc. should we buy to have peace of mind?

New insurance and pre-existing conditions?

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:40:40 -0800

Pre-existing condition and new health insurance, what do I need to know? I suffer from depression. I was diagnosed in late 2005 and received treatment through the beginning of 2006, covered by the insurance plan from my full-time employer at the time.

Since leaving that job in early 2007, my coverage has been spotty and sporadic, using short term plans just so I wouldn't be totally bankrupted if I got cancer or something. I haven't been covered for the entirety of that time, however... there were gaps of varying lengths between renewals, the longest was probably two or three months. I don't get coverage through my current employer.

I recently signed up for a full-fledged plan, and it starts soon. I disclosed my original depression diagnosis, but what I didn't disclose is that I've been experiencing a pretty severe relapse on and off in recent months. The application didn't ask for that info in explicit terms, but it did ask how I would categorize my mental state over the last few months, and I responded with something to the effect of "mildly depressed" (it was multiple-choice). Any of these may have been the wrong things to do, but they're done already so that's not my question. In my defense, at the time I filled in the application I was actually doing okayish so "mildly depressed" seemed like a reasonable average.

Now I have a letter from the insurance company reminding me that there's a nine-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions, including conditions for which "a prudent layperson would have sought treatment" within six months before coverage. Obviously my original diagnosis falls outside that limitation... my relapse does not, but there's no documented evidence of it other than possibly the response I gave on the application.

So here's my question. If I want to seek treatment for my depression and get it covered under this plan, what should I know? For example, is it going to throw up red flags if make an appointment with a therapist within the first week of coverage? Does it matter that I had short-term coverage during most of this time, but opted not to use it? Or am I overanalyzing the situation entirely?

Thanks.

InsuranceFilter: What exactly makes a medication fall into the maintenance medication category in the eyes of insurance companies?

lrkuperman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:17:38 -0800

InsuranceFilter: What exactly makes a medication fall into the maintenance medication category in the eyes of insurance companies? Is it the fact that the doctor writes the prescription and allows for refills? Would getting a new prescription with no refills every month circumvent the whole maintenance medication designation? My husband and I have medical insurance and prescription insurance through his employer. For the past 6 years, the companies have been easy to deal with and we've always had great coverage with lots of options. Just recently (within the past 2 months) the prescription insurance - Express Scripts - struck some kind of deal with my husbands employer and now they are making it mandatory that we use their mail-order pharmacy for any medication that they consider to be routine/maintenance medication. I have no desire to use any mail-order service for my medications and I am resentful of the fact that this is being forced down my throat. I feel that there is something fishy about the fact that they are not even allowing a choice of mail-order pharmacies, but instead are mandating that we use theirs OR pay 100% out of pocket for our medications... Also then we face the possibility that the company will sell detailed claims data on prescribing and dispensing history which drug companies often use to target sales efforts. I don't want someone selling my medical information!!! They infer that fact themselves on their own website:

"Business Associates: We arrange to provide some services through contracts with business associates. On occasion, we may disclose your medical information to business associates acting on our behalf. If any medical information is disclosed, we will protect your information from further use and disclosure using confidentiality agreements."

So I guess my question comes down to this - what exactly makes a medication fall into the maintenance medication category? Is it the fact that the doctor writes the prescription and allows for refills? Would getting a new prescription with no refills every month circumvent the whole maintenance medication designation?

I really want to find a way to beat them at their own rules and would appreciate all insight, suggestions or guidance that any of you may have to offer!

Insurance Cancels Allergy Drug Coverage

morallybass — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:42:19 -0800

My insurance company (Blue Cross/Shield MA) is dropping all prescription drug benefits for allergy drugs in favor of over-the-counter medicine like Claritin. I have serious allergies and take Alegra 180. What can I do? My insurance company (Blue Cross/Shield MA) is dropping all prescription drug benefits for allergy drugs in favor of over-the-counter medicine like Claritin. The rationale being that all allergy symptoms can be treated by this class of drug.

I have very serious allergies and take Alegra 180. I've tried Claritin, Zyrtec, and a variety of other drugs and finally settled on the serious prescription allergy drug I have been on for the last 5 years.

What can I do now that my insurance seems to be revoking all coverage?

Who owns my wrecked Blazer?

mithiirym — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:59:49 -0800

My car was crashed into and it's not worth repairing. Who gets the metal that used to be a Blazer: me or the bank I was making payments to? Somebody crashed into my Blazer a few days ago and rendered it useless and beyond feasible repair (i.e., not worth fixing). I still had a few thousand dollars left to pay on it to the financial bank place who will most likely directly get the check from the other guy's insurance thus paying off what I owed them. So who gets the hunk of useless Blazer sitting in a warehouse? My name is on the title and everything, so would the car be my property if the bank is getting paid off anyway? I could sell it to a junk place for a couple hundred or more so I'll at least get something out of this mess.

And another question for anyone experienced in insurance-type stuff: providing they had adequate coverage, should their insurance company also reimburse me for the car as well? From what I've been reading about online, it seems that I will be screwed from this whole mess. The other driver was completely at fault, and their insurance is paying for my car (to my bank, to pay off what I owe); but that leaves me without a car to drive! I only had collision coverage, and the accident wasn't my fault. I'll be speaking with a lawyer about suing for damages and losing my only method of transporting myself and my kids, but maybe one of knows something about this stuff.

Risks of forgoing health insurance?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:14:28 -0800

Risks of forgoing health insurance when one has limited assets? I am in my final semester of graduate school. Students at my school are supposed to purchase the school's health insurance for $1,000/semester. The coverage is poor--extremely limited coverage with high copays. So far I have paid for coverage but haven't used it once. I am also lucky enough to meet the income requirements for state-sponsored (free) health care. (In my state you are eligible for this care even if you already have insurance.) I have to see the doctors at a specific hospital and so far the care has been excellent.

My tuition bills are already huge and I'm eager to cut corners wherever possible. I don't have any assets other than retirement savings in a Roth IRA from before I went back to school. Since the (bad) school coverage is so expensive, and I have (great) coverage that is free, I am considering forgoing the paid coverage. Technically, however, the state wants people with free care to purchase insurance (although they are able to retain the free care…go figure?!).

What are the risks of not purchasing the school health insurance? For example, I'm not sure what would happen if I were to suffer a serious injury and be brought to a hospital other than the one where I receive my care or worse, out of state (the risk is low since I don’t go out of state often). If something like this happened I would be protected by the fact that I have no real assets that could be seized to pay for medical bills, right? Or am I missing something?

Although it might be ethically “wrong” to not purchase the insurance my state wants residents to, both education and health care are insanely expensive and I’m just trying my best to get by without owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the end. I also paid my fair share of taxes when I was working so I don't feel too bad about having free coverage now while my income is so low. Thank you.

I feel the earth move under my feet...

cior — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:42:45 -0800

Homeowner insurance through Farmer's Insurance Group -- is this a Very Bad Idea? My TIC partners and I took a meeting with a Farmers Insurance Group rep last night to discuss coverage for our 6-unit building in San Francisco. Seemed like a nice guy, offered the type of coverage we wanted for the price range we were looking for. It seemed like everyone was in agreement and we'd be settling the details and buying the policy later this week.

This morning I sat down at my computer, typed in Farmers Insurance Group and found the traditional This Company Sucks website. In contrast, they seem to have a great relationship with the press or very cunning PR folks. Everyone's got a beef with something, but considering the stakes I don't know quite how to process this information.

a) Is FIG truly known to be sucky by everyone but me?

b) What can be said about their recent record in paying claims, especially in California? Does anyone have personal experience to relate?

c) Is this something worth steering the HOA to another insurance provider over?

I don't want to be Chicken Little, but we do live in San Francisco and earthquakes are on everyone's mind.

Corporate Do-Gooder!

thinkpiece — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 07:13:29 -0800

How can I help my fellow employees get the most out of their benefits program via efficient, lively, multi-platform communications? I'm in a terrific new Communications job in the very progressive HR department of a global business information company. My initial mandate is to improve Benefits communications which are currently complex, and myriad.

I have a wide-open opportunity to shape how a large employee population accesses healthcare and financial planning information -- and acts on it to get the most they can from their benefits program -- from a company that really wants to do the right thing.

I'm interested in any and all ideas, from program gripes or praise to content to delivery, that would keep your eyes from glazing over everytime you heard from HR about Benefits! Creativity, technology and simplicity (or at least, pitch-ability for budget allocation) will be extremely appreciated.

Insurance Pre-Existing Condition Woes

kmtiszen — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:41:19 -0800

My insurance provider wants me to fill out a pre-existing condition questionnaire! Help! After not being insured for about 18 months, I've finally started a job that offers me health insurance. Unfortunately, I have a chronic pre-existing condition (colitis) that requires regular medical care... including a colonoscopy every couple of years. Overjoyed with the possibility of not having to pay in full, first thing I do once I'm covered is run and get a colonoscopy.

But along comes a bill for $930 and a pre-existing condition questionnaire. My question is--is there anything I can do to get them to cover me? I'm in over my head here. I have a couple thousand dollars worth of bills that they're refusing to cover unless I return this questionnaire. But I know once I do, they'll probably refuse to cover me anyway. My only hope is you, hive mind, to help me do this an intelligently as possible.

I think my only glimmer of hope is that the GI that was treating me before being insured has completely quit his practice and has absconded with all my medical records. Nobody, myself and even his old hospital, knows where to find him or how to contact him. Would it be a bad idea to just leave him off the questionnaire entirely?

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I'm currently located in NYC.

Thanks for your help in advance!

is legal insurance a good idea or is it not worth the money?

krautland — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:21:17 -0800

is legal insurance a good idea or is it not worth the money? this is a question about legal insurance plans. you might have seen them around, aragdirect.com offers what they call comprehensive coverage, so does hyatt legal plans and a few others. but are they worth the $400 annually (or $35 per month)?

let's face it, we do live in a litigation happy country. I myself would be happy to retain council every time I felt wronged (I am especially thinking of all the cable and phone companies in this world) but retaining council involves considerable cost and effort, which is why I never do. I feel it's only a matter of time until someone swipes my photos off flickr or sues me because of something in my blog and I would like to be prepared to respond without having to come up with ten grand out of nowhere in no time. having just dealt with id-theft myself, the idea of having someone on standby is even more intriguing. but do these plans work or are they another empty promise?

Insurance Woes

outsider — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:38:08 -0800

Insurancefilter What is the cheapest / most effective way to approach getting health / dental insurance on your own? Let me start by saying that I am a 25 year old male and dont know much about health insurance. Every job I have had since I left my parents coverage has had only one health insurance option, so I always went with that. I recently quit my job and lost my insurance benefits all together. I am working a new job for around 9 months that does not provide health insurance, and I dont know where to look to start finding coverage on my own. What would be the most effective / cheapest way to get this short term coverage on my own?

How much car insurance do I need?

electroboy — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 11:59:56 -0800

What kind/ how much car insurance do I need for a 1996 Honda Accord with 175k miles? I'm considering dropping the collision/comprehensive coverage. My driving record is far from spotless. I've had one recent accident in Septemeber that was my fault, and another probably 4 years ago, so my rates are fairly high. The car is paid off and is in decent condition, but I think if I was in a fairly serious accident that was my fault, I would probably replace it.

We need insurance for our non-profit organization.

F Mackenzie — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 20:26:19 -0800

Does anyone have experience with non-profit liability insurance policies? We're looking at a general liability policy for our small non-profit, plus liability coverage for individual board members.