Roger pushed back from the table, buttoned his jacket, and adjusted his hat. He was ready to storm out of my office. His wife, Sonya (both names changed), hadn’t moved, so he just stood there, scowling and shuffling his feet.
“I just won’t have any insurance,” he said.
“You get a little money and they want to take it away from you,” Sonya added. “We’ll go without insurance.”
They were really mad. I didn’t say a thing as they harrumphed their way past my secretary. I just listened to them bitch.
Door closed? Are they in the hall?
It’s Not My Fault! Seriously, it is not my fault. I am honestly tired of listening to people who blame everyone and everything for their screw-ups. Yelling at the insurance agent doesn’t replace personal responsibility. I can’t solve everyone’s problems. I can’t solve anything without cooperation.
The refusal of this couple to accept responsibility for their actions was typical of the people who have visited this month. Roger took a buyout four years ago at age 53. Instead of using his new found wealth as security, as an investment, or as the seed money to open a business, Roger retired. He hasn’t worked a day in four years. Sonya continued to work at a factory, which provided their health insurance, right up till her non-work related injury.
They are two fifty-seven year olds that either can not or will not work. He thinks that it is my fault that his health insurance, the same coverage I have, will cost him $350 per month due to his pre-existing conditions. Shame on Dave Cunix and Medical Mutual. Roger deserves free insurance.
No, he doesn’t.
While I am ranting, let’s talk about honesty. Rates and insurability are determined by underwriting. The insurance company evaluates the risk. I try to get as much info as possible, up front, to provide realistic quotes and to match the prospect with the right company. Even if the client “forgets” to tell me something, the insurer will find out. This usually results in the client’s policy being declined and me being embarrassed and aggravated.
I called Monday to push on the underwriter. I had been told that the doctor had mailed Mrs. Carter’s medical records last week. Can we get her issued? My contact at the Home Office told me that they were sifting through over 350 pages of information. Option 1 is that he was exaggerating. Option 2 is that there were undisclosed conditions. Your guess?
The underwriter, herself, called me Wednesday morning. The case had to be declined. Mrs. Carter had neglected to tell me about five other medical conditions. FIVE. How do you forget five conditions? Why would someone believe that they were going to trick a multi-billion dollar corporation?
Hours of research, follow-up, and meetings – all wasted. Mr. and Mrs. Carter will come in next week. Like others before them, they will rail about the system, the insurers, and a former employer. They would never believe that their actions, their planning, and their honesty were contributing factors.
The inability of these people to qualify for insurance causes me immeasurable stress and eats me up inside. Their inability to get insurance doesn’t bother enough to tell me the truth and to work with, as opposed to against, the system.
Personal Responsibility. Honesty. Ok, I’m done ranting. We will now return you to our regularly scheduled blog.
By the way, pertinent details have been changed to make the subjects of this piece unrecognizable to you, their families, or even the business people they aggravate.
