Poll of the Day > Does excluding pre-existing conditions on health insurance have a time limit?

(+) Yeah! (+)

So if you have a condition youre not aware and take out an insurance policy, then go to the doctor like the next day and doctor says you have a condition - would the insurer still class the condition as pre-existing because it started so soon after the policy?

Whats the timescale? Or is every insurer different?

I wouldnt think so but hopefully someone with first hand knowledge answers.

Insurers may try to list it as such just so they have an excuse not to pay out . . . unless you're somewhere other than the US.

Would depend on the wording of the contract.

Since insurance is regulated by state in the US it is hard to make a blanket statement, but generally speaking pre-existing looks for a diagnosis for a fixed period of time prior to the coverage and won't cover those services for a fixed period of time after the coverage was issued.

My mom recently got Medicare supplement coverage and for that they wouldn't cover anything she was diagnosed with three months prior to coverage being issued for three months after it was issued.

It varies by policy. Usually it will be spelled out. Life insurance is often the same way, and you won't see a payout (at least not the full value) if you die before a certain amount of time has elapsed since signing.