Real time Insuranceinclusion
Montag, 15. März 2010
Samstag, 13. März 2010
Donnerstag, 11. März 2010
US Senate goes for disability insurance
The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) championed by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, is a significant program that supporters say is long overdue and it will help disabled and elderly stay in their homes and out of institutional care therefore, saving billions of dollars in Medicaid health insurance program.
Montag, 8. März 2010
Donnerstag, 4. März 2010
Mittwoch, 3. März 2010
Dienstag, 2. März 2010
Case of discrimination in the insurance industry
A disabled person since his birth had a car accident, after which he had spasms at the neck. Doctors said that the spasms resulted from the disability and not from the accident. Doctors said these would not affect the capability to work ("only 10%").
In 2002, he started a job and applied for incapacity insurance. The applicant informed the insurance about his disability and the accident, but the insurance was refused "only" because of his disability, on the basis of risk diagnosis list, and not on the basis of statistics. This proves discrimination of disabled people
When he started working, the spasms got stronger and he became invalid after 1 year because of the spasms at the neck.
In 2003, he therefore applied – after demand of his health insurance - for social insurance pension in Germany. The social insurance sent him to an expert who (also) said that the spasms on the neck were caused by the disability and that he would be unable to work until the age of 65. The social insurance confirmed a pension.
In 2004, he went to a neurologist and this medical was the first who confirmed that the spasms at the neck were linked to the car accident –
(correct diagnosis: Torticollis spasmodicus caused by whiplash injury. A torticollis spasmodicus is known at insurances as a disease which causes many incapacities with degrees higher than 50%)
and not to the disability. He then received – many years after the accident – for the first time a treatment with Botox and spasms left within hours. Because of this treatment the person was able to work again, but he had the following disadvantages before:
a) haven't got the real compensation for the damage resulting out of his accident, as the medicals linked the spasms to his disability (he had before the accident) and undersigned therefore 2 (discriminatory) settlement agreement (lost because of that more than 500.000 Euro in work income and not paid compensation by his insurance for accidents)
b) can't get income protection insurance ("Berufsunfaehigkeitsversicherung") because of (all) insurance beaviour to refuse people with disabilities generally only on the ground of risk diagnosis list (lost because of that around 40.000 Euro; compensation for incapacity)
c) Did not receive for many years the right treatment, as the medicals thought, that the spasms were not linked to the accident, so that he ran because of that into incapacity, what also means that he was in physical and psychological pain for many years.
Today (only in Germany), according to §22 of the German General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz)[1], the insurance company would have to carry the burden of proving that the spasms result from the disability and not from the accident. (turn of burden of proof; "Beweislastumkehr"):
"Wenn im Streitfall die eine Partei Indizien beweist, die eine Benachteiligung wegen eines in § 1 genannten Grundes vermuten lassen, trägt die andere Partei die Beweislast dafür, dass kein Verstoß gegen die Bestimmungen zum Schutz vor Benachteiligung vorgelegen hat."
And today (only in Germany), according to §20 II 2 AGG the insurance is obliged to insure any person with a disability and exemptions could be made only if
„Eine unterschiedliche Behandlung wegen des Geschlechts ist im Falle des § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 bei den Prämien oder Leistungen nur zulässig, wenn dessen Berücksichtigung bei einer auf relevanten und genauen versicherungsmathematischen und statistischen Daten beruhenden Risikobewertung ein bestimmender Faktor ist. Kosten im Zusammenhang mit Schwangerschaft und Mutterschaft dürfen auf keinen Fall zu unterschiedlichen Prämien oder Leistungen führen. Eine unterschiedliche Behandlung wegen der Religion, einer Behinderung, des Alters oder der sexuellen Identität ist im Falle des § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 nur zulässig, wenn diese auf anerkannten Prinzipien risikoadäquater Kalkulation beruht, insbesondere auf einer versicherungsmathematisch ermittelten Risikobewertung unter Heranziehung statistischer Erhebungen."
Publicly available statistics are published by the German statutory pension insurance scheme on average age at which people go in pension for list of disabilities (ICD 10).[2] On this basis, it would be possible for the insurance industry to calculate premiums also for people with disability and to include these (higher) premiums into the general premium ("Versichertengemeinschaft").
The person introduced in 2006 different petitions all 3 disadvantages a., b., c. he had on the ground of his disability after his (additional) accident into the European Parliament. All petitions remain open.
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