To Be Insured … Or Not to Be

I don’t have any statistics on it, but if the amount of solicitations I receive is any indication, the insurance business is hot. I’m not talking about car insurance, which is, in itself, an unending drain on the finances of any New Jersey driver, but, rather, the piles of solicitations that come with any sort of credit line. Get a credit card, and you will be inundated with Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance. Belong to any organization, and there will be mailings in your name about Term Life Insurance. There is even insurance to pay for what other insurance doesn’t. With so many companies involved with this, and so many variations available, I’m convinced that somewhere, someone at the top of this Insure Everything pyramid is taking home money by the truckload.

Recently, I found myself suddenly thinking that one of these offers actually sounded like a good idea. I was refinancing some incredibly high debt and was offered a plan that would pay the loan if I became either temporarily or permanently disabled. With almost a half century of mortality bearing down on me, I thought, this sounds good. So I signed for it. Premiums were added to my monthly loan payments. I thought that was the end of it.

Now, two months later, I get a letter from the company providing the insurance, responding to the fact that I had truthfully listed some health conditions I have on the application form. Not only were they asking for essays from me on how these conditions affect me and what treatments I use, but they also wanted a list of every doctor visit and/or hospitalization I have had, with complete explains of why, FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS. I’ve heard of life insurance companies demanding physicals and the like before they insure a person’s life, but never have I heard of this kind of detailed request for insuring someone’s debt. It seems excessive and invasive.

Maybe its standard practice and part of the routine of reaching the 5-0 milestone. Well, I’m not having any part of it. Recent privacy laws about medical records were enacted for a reason. Not being able to go to my doctors, the insurance company now wants ME to go to my doctors and get my records. No where in their letter do they make any assurances about my privacy or how this information will be used or stored. If I don’t respond, the insurance will be revoked. It just makes me feel creepy, the same feeling I get when I sit at my computer in the office and know that someone else has been using it in my absence without telling me. I don’t know what they have been doing, or why, and it takes quite a while for the feeling of invasion to go away.

It’s bad enough that every credit-granting entity in the world has access to my financial records. They aren’t getting my medical records. They can keep their insurance.