Why we could not claim immediately after buying health insurance, we must be fooled. Many people face this situation, however, one of the first reasons why we could not claim the medical fee from the health or critical illness insurance is “the waiting period”. This is the condition that is indicated in general health insurance and critical illness insurance. Many buyers have not noticed and understood those conditions before making a decision. Then the question arises, why is the waiting period needed? What is the waiting period? Is this a make-up condition provided by the insurance company? Here is the answer.

Why is “The waiting period” necessary?

The reason why the waiting period is needed is it is necessary to prevent the company risk which includes those who know their illness, but they do not want to cure but buying insurance first in order to avoid payment. If the company does not have a waiting period, people will wait to be sick first then buying insurance later. This is unfair for the insurance company. So, the waiting period is the time extension for the company themselves to evaluate and verify the customer's intention. Each company has different terms and conditions. 
 

What is “The waiting period”?

New insurance buyers may be confused about the meaning of “the waiting period”. Let’s understand that the waiting period is the period that insurance buyers cannot claim the medical fee or any compensation within those indicated time frames which may vary as 30-, 60-, 90- or 120-days regarding terms and conditions.

Why is the waiting period different for each insurance type?

The waiting period or the un-coverage period depends on the severity of each disease, incubation period, or before-showing-symptoms period. For general health insurance, buffet insurance, and income-compensated insurance usually have a waiting period of 30 days since the first effective day. For any chronic disease with a long recovery and high expense such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke. 90 days is the waiting period since the first effective day for the critical illness. Details about coverage of diseases and the waiting period are based on the terms and conditions of those insurance companies. These can be acquired from the insurance booklet or insurance staff or the bank agency. 

In case sickness happens while in the waiting period, what should I do?
 

The insurance company does not allow any claim while sickness happens in the waiting period. You may cancel the coverage or the insurance contract. However, it is better to hold insurance and no disease found during the waiting period in order to get coverage in the future. 

Death during the waiting period
 

The critical illness insurance covers all death happening, including causes from critical illness. The insured person who dies during the waiting period, the insurance company will review his/her medical record. If the record does not show any critical illness issue, then the insurance company will pay some insurance cost to that person, but it does not include the critical illness benefit. However, any record of the critical illness shows before buying insurance, the insurance company will return only the premium. 

These are the reasons why the insurance needs the waiting period and there are rules and conditions to reduce the damage or unfairness which affect the insurance company. However, the customers who comply with all rules and conditions, no need to worry because the insurance certainly covers illness regarding the plan. So, it is fair for both insured people and the company. The company is just waiting to confirm if you are sick before buying the insurance or not. 

So, before buying any insurance, you should prior study all details and conditions in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Nonetheless, buying health insurance and critical illness insurance is needed these days as the medical fee is extremely high and also, we do not know what the future holds. So, owning insurance is better than nothing.


If you are interested in buying health insurance or critical illness insurance, click -Here- or at any SCB branch.