Increased willingness from international private medical insurance (IPMI) providers to cover pre-existing conditions has been hailed as one of the most significant recent changes in the market by a specialist broker.
Andrew Wilson, CEO of April Medibroker, explained the measure was allowing far more clients to consider taking out IPMI plans and undertake their international moves with confidence.
Speaking at the COVER IPMI Breakfast Briefing, Wilson said the previous two options of a moratorium or medical history underwriting, often lead to clients feeling unsure about what they were covered for, or resulted in ‘potentially draconian exclusions that put clients off taking the cover.'
"Many times I've seen people's dreams and ambitions dashed because of their health history.
"For many its been a case of: don't take out the cover; risk the exclusions by self funding in hope that none of the pre-existing conditions will cost you; or try to find a provider that will give a fair assessment of medical history with premium loading," he added.
But, Wilson continued, providers are now considering pre-existing exclusions with an open mind and are willing to add loadings onto the premium, rather than excluding it and related conditions al together.
"It's allowing us to give a real choice of options to cover, no longer just partial cover or no cover, now we can offer full cover," he said.
"Lots of people prefer loading the premium because if they are having to self fund health coverage abroad it can get nasty. It provides peace of mind."
Wilson also used examples of the increasing numbers of people around the world who are facing conditions such as diabetes, asthma or living with allergies who would otherwise be unable to obtain IMPI cover, and suggested it could also increase the attraction of the product to people over 50.
It is this age group who are usually considered most likely to have pre-existing medical conditions, but produced between 30-40% of enquires at April Medibroker.
