Made easier indeed. Please do read on and do be patient with me. Read thoroughly so that you don't miss the finer details, if you can call it that.
After Gibran's birth we'd been looking into general medical insurance (not the savings kind for education and whatnot)..just general medical coverage for hospitalisation, sicknesses and yada yada. After meeting up with several insurance agents....
Prudential - the guy came over when Gib was a few weeks old and went on and on about their savings and educational stuff and after a few days' pondering when we then decided to go for the general medical coverage, the guy suddenly did not seem keen enough to service us anymore. Too busy it seems, whatever the reasons are, due to lack of interest on his behalf, we'd foregone Prudential.
ING, initial meeting with Agent#1 - recommended by husband's colleague. They met at a mamak, discussed the general medical thingy, and the guy said okay, once we confirm with him, he'll come by with necessary papers. Called a few times after that...agent already busy with other sideline jobs and gave us another agent's phone number.
We then decided to meet another ING agent as recommended by my father's nephew, who has glowing things to say about ING. So just so happened we met up with Mr. F, the ING agent (he's a retiree, doing ING insurance) and signed up right away coz we knew what we wanted already.
Ok, truth be told, I know nothing about the details of this insurance stuff because so blarrdy pening, so I told husband I'll leave it to him. Husband's a thorough guy. He does his research and then makes a decision. Halloooooo.. he's a freakin lecturer yeah, for God's sake. Anyways, signed up for the ING insurance "as a family" and gave our credit card details and all lah. Of course we were veryyyy honest about our medical histories coz we want to do everything honest and straight, okayss?!
About 10 days later, letter came from ING stating husband's policy has gone through. He got his medical card (or whatever you call it lah) and they charged the credit card for his policy already.
First confusion arised on my behalf. Erm... thought we applied as a family? Doesn't that mean we get approved (or disapproved) together as a family.. not individually..? Strange.
Look, our only experience with buying insurance was when we were living in Melbourne and things were realllyyyyy straight forward enough. Family deal means family deal over there. He husband I wife. The medical card had both our names on it.
Then a few days ago Mr. F called. Then we were told;
They are not going to cover my spine.
Ok, so we've thought about this beforehand, trust me. What about if we pay extra to have it covered? No problems, extra charges are not a problem and we understand that the spine might present a liability to the company. But there's more to it.
They want your wife to do a medical report for her spine in HUKM where she had surgery done, at your own cost, but they will not cover her spine.
What?? Where's the logic in this??
Call me what you want, I'm gonna compare, I don't care. I'm not even Australian and my medical policy there covers my spine because it's been 6 years since the surgery and there has been "an uneventful recovery" (as my surgeon puts it; meaning, recovery was fine, no funny funny events).
And now you want me to go to HUKM, get a medical report, give it to ING, and for what...? And they still won't cover my spine (future spine-related injuries) and I'd still be paying full price for the policy...?
Something doesn't sound fair, right?
If I go and have the medical report done at MY own cost, then if ING considers my situation and charges us a hefty premium in order to cover my spine....or a compromise coming close to that... makes sense right?
Blarrdy company already passed husband's policy and charged him. And we were given the impression that the policies will either be accepted, or rejected, TOGETHER. Now husband's money is already in their hands, yeah?
Mr. F heroically says ok, I'll go talk to them, see if they can come to a compromise.
Like we are BEGGING them to PAY hefty sums for their useless insurance policies now? Who's whose client?
Look, spine is a major thing yeah. My condition is considered "common" by spinal surgeon. About 12% or so of the world's population has my condition, named "Scoliosis" (Ok the statistics might be a bit off, but close to that number lah). In developed countries it is common practice for schoolkids to be checked for this condition.
But yes, I do not make light of the situation. If ING does not want to cover any scoliosis-related conditions in the future, no worries. But to NOT cover the whole spine.. bit much there. This means whiplash, accidents and such, pelvic problems, muscles tear on the back area, slip disk.. bla bla. Plentyyy of stuff.
Today our Mr. F called and said they've decided not to cover my spine for sure, AND also Gibran's lungs.
They won't cover Gibran's lungs.
Are their panel doctors really that dumb?
Two different paeds from very different schools of thoughts and generations have told us that there is nothing wrong with Gibran's lungs. The infection he had when he was born was because of a mucus plug that got into his lungs when he was in the womb.
Imagine this situation; you get an infection on the skin of your palm, and the insurance company says.. "Look mister, your hands are no good. We can't cover them in your policy". That's the same concept, according to the paed.
And the bronchiolitis is an after-effect of a bad flu/cough he got, and it is NOT something he CANNOT recover from. Children between 4-6 months are most susceptible to the condition, and most of them will fully recover with the right care and medication. It is NOT a condition that will guarantee to lead to Asthma or severe respiratory problems.
Bottom line is, we're willing to pay a hefty premium. If they won't cover scoliosis, fine, but do not say that ALL spinal related symptoms will not be covered. If they won't cover bronchiolitis and asthma, fine, but how can you not cover the lungs (what if the lungs get hurt in car accident? touchwood la!).
The truth is ING is just out to bang us for extra bucks, for less coverage. Charge us the same, cover a lot less. They're finding excuses to cover as little as possible.
We've decided to cancel our policies with them. Better to invest money in the right places and gain high returns, keep that for future uses, including illnesses.. rather than pay rm2500 per year for something that covers only about 50% of my body and 80% of Gibran's.
Again I pray to God for good health...
15 comments:
Oh man, that's horrible. You're right.... if the company thinks that your spine and Gibran will be at a higher risk, they should charge a higher premium! After all, you guys are willing to pay for it. :(
Insurance companies are so confusing. Only after I started working at the auto insurance company where I am did I understand my own insurance contract for my own car.
Your idea to put aside money for medical emergencies is certainly a good one.
WTF?!! Nonsense!! But yeah, insurance companies kat Malaysia ni are not as straight-forward.
We took up the Prudential something something insurance (like you, I left it to the hubs to decide what's best) the moment Irfan was born. When he got the salmonella scare (when he was about 2 months) and was admitted to SJMC (which cost a bomb and a half!) we wanted to use the insurance lah. BUT unfortunately, there is a time frame of 30/60 days (or something like that) from the time we signed up for us to be able to claim from them. Ok, I get the logiclah, you don't want people yang dah ada masalah, then sign up and then straightaway claim. But for crying out loud, it was salmonella!! You think I simply would want my son to get infected? Rubbish I tell you!
We made a big hoo-haa, but in the end, we (read Irwan) forked out the massive bill. But so far, alhamdulillah, nothing else lah.
Oh, we're covered as a family by Allianz (BMW's insurance). Maybe you can check them out? What about AIA? My parents use them. And they've been pretty much straight-forward.
shaggy; it is too confusing for my likings :((( higher premium was what we were willing to pay but these ppl just want to escape liability whenever possible la.. :(
nadia; nasib baik we're fortunate enough to be able to pay our medical bills without any problems, kan?! Poor irfan...shudder shudder..salmonella no joke! He must've looked soo kesian. I soooo sakit hati la. We're definitely looking into other insurance companies. Hopefully we'll find one that will cover us despite their complex terms and conditions and whatnot!
Keep up the good work.
Horrible.
My unfortunate ING story:
My mom passed away July 2008. Changed the house policy to "in the estate of." Thought I was covered as the broker (Canada Brokerlink) asked no further questions.
The house just flooded due to a quick shut off valve solder joint completely giving up. Found within 24 hours as we are always over cleaning and checking on the house. ING will not cover it because "no one was living there." As executor they knew she died and no one was there. They and the broker were negligent in not informing me about this "clause" of convenience. I am now left with a destroyed house, and, the thought of having to pursue legal action. Do not insure with ING. Be warned.
Thanks for the info. I was about to sign up with ING Health Insurance and after reading your blog I am now hesitate to invest my money with these insurance companies in Malaysia!
babyboon.blogspot.com; You saved my day again.
I made the mistake of being honest - I told my agent I get migraine sometimes but overall healthy and seldom get sick.
GE came back with "Not covered from neck upwards"
Grrr much
I am also cheated by this Fxkin company. I wanted to upgd my existing medical plan but now i realize i was cheated to sign a complete new total life policy. I did called to cancel my policy the next morning after i signed the policy because i feel uncomfortable and would like to think it over, the agent said not to worry he aldy submit but will cancel for me. He didnt cancel my plan and he accuse me for not going back to sign the cancellation form which i wasnt inform. I did made a big mistake by paying the first premium because my parents help me pay upfront as i work abroad, but now they are refusing to fully refund. I am now tied up with two policies and i really cant afford such amount. So dont be surprised those agent drove luxurious cars, they are big Liars. Lesson to learn, never pay via credit card, be it installment or whatever, forget about the points you are going to earn, this is a loophole that you will lose more if the money is not in your hand anymore.
hi . i want to ask.
did u buy or found any other insurance company that wants to cover ur spine & ur husband lungs finally?
this is nondisclosure by the agent during the meet up..sigh...
Hello,
I would like to say, after reading all your experience ..i can certainly said that u guys haven't met withe the right ING guy. I have a good experience with them. It is actually depend on how the agent service u. Updating and explaining about the terms and condition is their responsibility.That is why they have the policy book given to the insured persons. My advice is, make sure u take from the right agent and before signing up, make sure u understand all the terms and conditions. If u do not satisfied, dont sign up.
Be cautious and your life will bw precious.
Thank u
i'm ok jer with ING Medical Card.Already used 2 times in Pantai and SJMC.Totally convenient.like MAZ said,you have met the wrong guy.it is the person fault.not the insurance itself.however,is there any insurance policy in Msia cover your family current sickness?just curious only..
i pray may your family getting better in the future..
Be it insurance ABC company or XYZ company, lesson be learned. Its very important to know how insurances work, don't blindly rely on others, e.g. Insurance agents & so on. Agents may get commission out of us for at least 6 yrs out of us. To earn the income they will sweet talk us to purchase. No onsurance company wants to be in the losing party, especially when large groups are covered.
Everybody out there is juz there to get ur money whether its the doctor, insurance agent or whatever they do. End of the day money is always not enough.
As a consumer we have the rights to choose wisely and to ensure we are not in the losing party. If possible be knowledgable on all areas. Hence, human tend to learn from mistakes. We tend only to cry over spilled milk, no point.
But even sad to learn ppl still ignorant on certain things.
I just "kena" from ING!! It is my company insurance so i got no right to choose other.
I will have minor surgery and before i visit the specialist i read through all conditions in my company intranet and i called to ING to verify few things. One of it is on the "Cashless" benefit where insured can just discharge without paying using own money. I even told ING which hospital and what treatment i probably needed...The call centre form ING say, as long as you are in-patient in this panel hospital you are entitled! After the confirmation, i proceed with the consultation and i was diagnosed that i need some minor surgery... since i have got confirmation from ING, I proceed with the necessary procedure.... doc told me to present the admission letter on my operation day, but i am a very careful person, i rmb i read the intranet portal stated that i should apply my GL 24 hours before surgery. Without waiting for the day to come, i called to ING to apply for GL earlier...
Then only they said this doctor is not in their "panel doc list"!! Harlo... how am i gonna know the GL approval is determine by the doc list also, instead of panel hospital list?? As normal people we usually check whether the hospital is panel hospital or not, right? The GL dept even blaim me back, that i didnt inform the call centre guy which doc i visit!! What kind of customer service they have??! i even more geram and insist for exceptional 'cos i am not going to bear the consequences of being mislead! After transfering the calls to "n"th person and repeating my story for "n"th times, the conclusion is, i still got to pay by myself then only claim...
My point here is not whether i can pay first or not, my point is they do not have basic professionalism on advicing client and such an important T&C should have told upfront at their obligation!! Lousy ING!!
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