Insurance for baby with known health problems?

nicolejoy

nicolejoy

Registered User
Up until now, my family has always just relied on my husband's work medical insurance over here, not even bothering to look into other options etc. I don't even really know where to start over here in looking for insurance.

My daughter has a "preexisting condition" - she was born with a congenital disease. We have many appointments for her - six different specialties altogether (and she will need more later as she grows up). At the moment we've just been going public and paying out of pocket but I was wondering what kind of premiums we'd be looking at if we wanted her to be fully covered. If it was reasonable, we may have more options in terms of getting at least some of her appointments in the private sector. I know it must be expensive though, I just don't have any idea of HOW expensive...

Where would I even begin to start calling around for quotes for this kind of thing? Anyone been in this situation before?
 
Nic... I'm not sure about HK.
But, FYI for when you're home: Our insurance in Australia (by GMHBA) covered pre-existing conditions after a year's membership. This was back in 2006 though. So I don't know if that still stands.
 
Nicole,

I have a friend who suffers with his kidneys a lot (will need a transplant eventually). When he was looking for insurance he contacted the kidney disease research foundation support group (in the UK) and they provided a list of insurance companies that would give him a reasonable quote and cover the pre-existing condition. He also got travel insurance the same way.
Are there any support groups you could contact to see if they offer the same information here or anywhere in Asia?

Good luck.
 
I would call an insurance broker like Kwiksure to see if they can help as they deal with a variety of insurance companies. Good luck. I have loved reading your blog btw it is truly an inspiration. You are all incredibly courageous and facing your challenges with such spirit and joy. All the best for a happy Christmas and a great 2011.
 
I called Kwiksure today and got a few ideas. Trying to work out whether it's "worth it" or not. Because of course, just the cost of medical insurance is more than the cost of what we're paying in the public system at the moment. But I know that in the future, we may need to purchase things like walking frames or wheelchairs etc... and it'd be nice to have insurance for those big purchases. And if we cover the whole family, we can have the option of private hospitals for things that the rest of us need, like if we have another child in the future. In some ways good insurance is more of a luxury than a necessity - and it's so hard to know what costs we will have and what is "worth it" and what is not...
 
I think you need to read the small print incredibly thoroughly before you do take a policy to work out whether you'll actually get value for money in terms of limits, exclusions etc. They are so canny at making sure they collect max premium for min payout!
 
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