does it hurt or help to let your insurance company know what you are doing when you apply for temporary insurance for the trail?
greenie
Quick insurance question
system
#2
I don’t know Greenie; I can’t imagine why they would care; but who knows what goes on in the mind of the underwriters. Once I applied for & got insur. for something; got approved locally but then the national underwriters turned me down; so you never know. Here’s a couple of ideas; if they help,great; if not let them go.
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Have someone else call your insur co. & ask if they can get temp. insurance for a long hiking trek in, say CA. Kind of a dry run.See what the answer is.
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Don’t tell them all the details or particulars-- ie.tell them that you are taking a long camping trip vs. hiking the AT.
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Call other companies to see if they will offer it; again as kind of a “dry run” to see what you might be up against before you spring it on your company.
Generally, I think honesty is the best policy; & usually follow this idea. But sometimes too much honesty will bite you in the behind!
Good luck.
leah
system
#4
Don’t you have health insurance anyway? If you do why worry ,if you don’t just get some and then cancel when you get back
do not do not tell them you are hiking your rate will go thru the roof. Or get on someone elses plan as a extra
john
system
#5
well, i do have insurance through my current employer. it’s horrible. i won’t be trying to keep it (especially since i won’t be returning to this job) i will look into someone adding me… but that might be tricky. i’m a single “independent” gal. my question had alterior motives which don’t matter anymore. (why i would tell them) so thanks for the responses!
greenie
system
#6
A lot of folks who currently have employer health insurance convert their policy to COBRA (your legal right to do so). But the cost is HIGH (perhaps triple your current premium). The idea is to use the COBRA insurance only until you finish the trail - then drop it. That also implies getting another job (and insurance) soon thereafter.
This is only my perspective, but it seems that most hikers haven’t had to use their insurance during their hike. Or, that their deductibles are something like $1,000 - and too expensive to use for “smaller medical needs.”
JAWS
system
#8
Fortis, Golden Rule and a couple other companies have affordable temporary health care plans. They are usually available for 1,2,3,6 and 12 month time frames for people between jobs. Much lower than COBRA–only use COBRA if you have a health condiction that would prevent you to qualify with another company, such as a prior heart condiction, etc.
There is NO question about hiking the trail and if there was
THAT would not have ANY bearing on a policy being issued or a HIGHER rate being charged. That is a complete wife’s tale!
Just do a google search for temporary health plans. These plans have 250, 500 & 1000 dollar deductables. You just want to cover catastrophe health risks, so keep the deductable high to lower the premiums charged to you.
Happy
system
#9
thanks for all the input. i actually asked the “how” and what questions a few months ago… i was more concerned w/ what i could tell them… (i was actually going to see if they would “donate” a few months as apart of the fundraiser i’m doing for eckerd youth alternatives for the hike) but thank you anyway, all the info is great!
greenie