Accidents and illnesses can lead to severe restrictions in everyday life. Regardless of age, gender or profession, everyone is at risk of falling ill. Everyday situations such as driving or playing sports can provoke accidents. In some cases, the resulting discomfort is so severe that workers can no longer pursue their careers. If they are expected to be unable to work for at least the next six months, they are classified as occupationally disabled. But how to efficiently compensate for the resulting loss of income? The statutory disability pension, which employees usually receive, is often not enough to satisfactorily compensate for financial problems. It is advisable to take out private occupational disability insurance, as a monthly pension is paid to the insured person in the event of a benefit claim. This is higher than the payments of the statutory pension for reduced earning capacity and thus helps to cushion the loss of income due to occupational disability.
However, before interested parties can take out occupational disability insurance, the insurance companies check the individual occupational disability risk. For this purpose, among other things, a health check is carried out and the interested party is asked about his or her leisure activities. By answering these questions, the insurance company will get a picture of whether the prospect has a potentially increased risk of becoming unable to work. Certain pre-existing conditions, such as allergies, do not usually have a major impact on policy terms, while conditions such as cancer often result in a claim being rejected. Hobbies such as climbing, parachute jumping or diving lead to a potentially increased risk of occupational disability. Here's how insurance companies evaluate pre-existing conditions such as pneumonia when a policy is issued.
Diagnosis of pneumonia
In winter, significantly more people fall ill with pneumonia than in the warmer months. In most cases, the cause of the illness is a cold or flu that has not been adequately treated. In addition, infections or inhalation of toxic fumes or smoke can lead to pneumonia. For young, healthy people without pre-existing conditions, pneumonia is usually harmless. Symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, fever and a general feeling of illness usually disappear within a few days after medical treatment. In order to cure pneumonia, affected patients are often prescribed antibiotics and have to take it easy.
While pneumonia that is recognized and treated in time is usually only associated with a few days of bed rest for younger people, the disease can become life-threatening for older and sicker people. People with heart or lung disease or an immune deficiency are especially at risk. The lack of oxygen, which can be triggered by the inflammation, can lead to life-threatening situations, as the affected patient is already weakened by existing pre-existing conditions. Children and infants are also at risk because their immune systems are not yet fully developed. Another danger lies in carrying off pneumonia. If the inflammation is not treated in time, the heart can be affected. Affected people can develop heart weaknesses and parts of the lungs can die off. A timely and cause-oriented treatment is therefore essential.
In this graph, it is clear that it is mainly older people who die as a result of a disease of the respiratory system. While the number of fatalities in the age category below 20 years and between 20 to 40 years is close to zero, the number of victims increases significantly with increasing age.
BU conclusion despite pneumonia
The insurance companies check the health status of the interested party before concluding the contract. Whether pneumonia is included thereby negatively into the contract design, depends on different factors. The decisive factor is, above all, when the pneumonia occurred and whether it has healed without secondary diseases. If the disease is so far in the past that it no longer falls within the period of the health check, it does not have to be declared to the insurance company and accordingly does not influence the contract conditions.
If pneumonia falls within the queried period, it must be indicated in the health check, as well as all necessary medical examinations and treatments. If the disease has healed without consequences, it will also not lead to risk surcharges or exclusion clauses. The situation is different if the pneumonia had a particularly severe course or even triggered secondary diseases. If the heart or other organs were damaged by the pneumonia, the conclusion of the occupational disability insurance will not be possible to the normal assumption. Depending on the severity of the secondary diseases, risk surcharges or exclusion clauses are established. If the pneumonia has caused severe heart disease such as heart failure, the application for occupational disability insurance may also be rejected.
If affected individuals suffer from pneumonia on a regular basis, whether due to a weakened immune system or an unhealthy work environment and direct contact with smoke or fumes, insurance companies will impose restrictions, regardless of possible secondary illnesses. The risk that in the future pneumonia will lead to disability is significantly increased.
Anonymized preliminary risk inquiries and special promotions
As shown above, obtaining disability insurance despite pneumonia often depends on the individual's medical condition, and it is difficult to generalize about insurers' assessments. In order to obtain an initial assessment before concluding a contract, it is advisable to create anonymous preliminary risk inquiries. These represent an anonymized application, which does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the applicant's personal data. These preliminary inquiries can be made, for example, by an insurance broker. The insurance company sends the insurance broker a quote specifically tailored to the preliminary inquiry about the possible terms of a potential contract. In the event of a denial, the applicant cannot be included in the special risk file. This way, the conclusion of a contract with another insurer is not made more difficult and the interested party can choose the offer that provides the most attractive conditions.
Another way to make the conclusion of a contract more attractive are special promotions. The insurances offer different special promotions, which are limited in time and mostly tailored to special target groups. By reducing the number of health questions, possible illnesses may not have to be specified and thus cannot influence the conclusion of the contract. For example, pneumonia could be concealed from the insurance company without the claimant facing any consequences in the event of a claim.
We support you free of charge in the preparation of your anonymized preliminary risk inquiries and accompany you until the conclusion of your occupational disability insurance policy.