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she's a victim because she got caught in a lie. Had she told the truth, she would have paid more, but she'd have coverage.
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Well said, Opie.
Every day people turn away our offers of insurance. Just last night a couple living in a $1million home with 2 expensive vehicles in the driveway turned away my offer to insure their family of 5 for $500-700/month (depending on which options they wanted). The man said he'd 'take his chances.' They were in their late 30s.
About a month ago, another man told me to call him back in 2 weeks, because he was 'too busy.' When I called him, he was on the way to the hospital for triple bypass surgery. True story! He was kicking himself.
Every day I get calls from people practically begging me to sell them health insurance. I can always tell, when they seem so eager, that they've just been diagnosed with diabetes or cancer. Now, suddenly, they want the insurance company to pay their bills for them.
Folks, that's not the purpose of insurance. Insurance companies are not obligated to pay YOUR medical bills! You don't go get insurance when you know you already have an illness. That makes no sense. Why is it THEIR job to pay YOUR bills?
Rather, the purpose of insurance is to SHARE THE RISK.
If you ALREADY have an illness, it's no longer a question of risk, but of CERTAINTY. You already HAVE the illness, so it's no longer a RISK that you MIGHT get the illness.
Insurance companies need to know your past medical history so they can calculate YOUR particular risk factors. Certain lifestyle practices, like smoking, and certain physical characteristics, like obesity and high blood pressure, are known to increase risk. So those folks will pay more than someone who is lean, fit, and has low cholesterol and normal blood pressure.
Why should the fit person pay as much as the fat person? That wouldn't be fair. That would be like expecting someone with a clean driving record to pay more for car insurance, to make up for the person with lots of tickets and accidents.
Sure, sometimes illnesses and accidents strike with no warning, but generally a LOT of the illnesses could be minimized or even avoided if people would change their mentality about health; quit being victims and start eating better and exercising. There are a lot of things people can do to decrease their risk of illness. And, get a good, basic health insurance policy with a reputable company (one who won't drop you or raise your rates after you get an illness) when you are HEALTHY. Get the insurance when you are healthy, when the cost is lower, so you don't end up on risk pool later if you get sick.