Your One Stop Resource for Saving Money.
Information on health insurance and credit score - The Bills.com Blog
Bills.com Blog > Insurance Questions > Health Insurance and Credit Score
Information on health insurance and credit score
Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007
Question: I have bad credit, and I am considering bankruptcy. I am in desperate need of health insurance. Are there any insurance companies that consider people with bad credit, besides COBRA?? I've already been denied by BCBS and Humana due to "underwriting" reasons. Thank you!
Answer: To my knowledge, health insurance companies do not generally consider an applicant's credit score when making underwriting decisions, so I would be surprised if your credit problems are causing your insurance applications to be rejected. It is true that some types of insurance, namely auto, homeowner's, and renter's insurance, do consider an applicant's credit rating when deciding whether or not to insure the individual. While one's credit score does not directly affect the amount of risk associated with any given insurance policy, insurers statistical studies have shown that people with low credit scores are more likely to file auto and homeowner's insurance claims. However, no correlation seems to exist between one's credit score and one's likelihood of filing medical claims with a health insurance provider, as insurance companies do not routinely use credit scores in making decisions regarding the issuance of health insurance policies.It
is possible that the denial of your insurance applications may be completely unrelated to your credit problems. In fact, I would suggest that the more likely scenario is that your applications are being denied due to some medical condition that the insurance company thinks will cause expensive claims if it were to approve you for insurance. Something as seemingly innocuous and easily treatable as borderline high blood pressure can often result in the denial of insurance applications. In fact, any pre-existing condition could prevent you from obtaining health insurance, no matter how small the medical issue may seem to you. However, there are some insurance providers who will insure people with pre-existing conditions, though the insurance premiums charged by these companies
tend to be significantly higher than those charged by other insurers.
If you have no medical condition that you think could have led to your insurance application being denied, I encourage you to ask the company that denied you; some states' laws require insurance providers to disclose the reason they denied any insurance application. This information could make finding a suitable insurance policy much easier in the future.
If you would like to learn more about health insurance, I encourage you to visit the website of the National Institutes of Health . In addition, Bills.com offers an online guide to health insurance.
I wish you the best of luck in finding an insurance policy that meets your needs, and hope that the information I have provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
If you have no medical condition that you think could have led to your insurance application being denied, I encourage you to ask the company that denied you; some states' laws require insurance providers to disclose the reason they denied any insurance application. This information could make finding a suitable insurance policy much easier in the future.
If you would like to learn more about health insurance, I encourage you to visit the website of the National Institutes of Health . In addition, Bills.com offers an online guide to health insurance.
I wish you the best of luck in finding an insurance policy that meets your needs, and hope that the information I have provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
Your comments
Bill has answered thousands of money-related questions from readers on debt consolidation and settlement, home mortgage, credit reports and scores, auto and other loans, insurance, and others.
If you have a money question that has not been answered previously Ask Bill your question and be better informed.
Now get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
Information provided by Bills.com is for general informational purposes only and is not be
construed as legal, financial, bankruptcy, tax or other professional advice. Should you
require more detailed information or specific professional advice tailored to your situation you
should consult an attorney, financial planner or tax advisor.
While we believe all information provided by Bills.com to be accurate as of the date of its posting, we cannot ensure its accuracy. Use of this site and any information contained on or provided through this site is provided without any representations, warranties or guarantees. Bills.com is not responsible or liable for any decisions or actions anyone may take based on the information provided. Please see Terms of Use.
While we believe all information provided by Bills.com to be accurate as of the date of its posting, we cannot ensure its accuracy. Use of this site and any information contained on or provided through this site is provided without any representations, warranties or guarantees. Bills.com is not responsible or liable for any decisions or actions anyone may take based on the information provided. Please see Terms of Use.
© 2006 - 2010Bills.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.