In a letter to Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, UCAN raised concerns about the policies and practices of a life insurance company and the Insurance department’s handling of UCAN’s complaint about the policies. To date UCAN has not received response to the letter. We know the Commissioner is busy running for Governor, but we would appreciate a response as to why our request to the Department was met with the response “there is nothing we can do.”

UCAN sought out keyman life insurance for our Executive Director Michael Shames. In seeking out that insurance, UCAN received annual premium rate quotes from various Insurance companies. Based on those quotes, UCAN choose ING to provide the life insurance. Like most insurance companies ING made receiving that quoted premium contingent upon the results of a physical exam.

However, when Michael’s test results were submitted ING decided his cholesterol level wasn’t up to par and offered an annual premium at a rate double the initial quote. The problem with this determination is that Michael’s doctor said his health was excellent and that it was good “HDL” cholesterol that was raising his total cholesterol to a level unsatisfactory to ING. The medical field recommends high HDL Cholesterol for individuals to reduce the chance of heart disease and other ailments. Michael’s doctor also pointed out that had Michael fasted before his cholesterol test, as is typically recommended, his overall cholesterol level likely would be lower. The insurance company forgot to mention that important testing tidbit when requesting results however.

UCAN disturbed by this perceived punishment for Michael’s good health, fought this determination and following the submission of a new cholesterol test, ING agreed to offer the quoted insurance rate. UCAN, however, is still concerned about this practice because it is essentially convincing healthy individuals to negatively affect their health in order to obtain more affordable coverage.

Thus we need to hear from consumers. Has your insurance company tried to double or triple your premium rate based on slight variances in your cholesterol level? Have you sought assistance from the California Department of Insurance in dealing with insurance companies only to be told that the Department will not be able to help you? Post your comments below and together we can try and hold both the Department and insurance companies accountable for illogical practices and policies.