Life insurance policies contain various clauses that protect the rights of beneficiaries and the insured. Perhaps the best-known is the incontestable clause, which provides that if a policy has been in force for two years the insurer may not afterward refuse to pay the proceeds or cancel the contract for any reason except nonpayment of premiums. Thus, if the insured made a material misrepresentation when the policy was originally obtained, and this misrepresentation is not discovered until after the contestable period, beneficiaries may still receive the value of the policy so long as the premiums are maintained. Another protective clause is the suicide clause, which states that after a given period, usually two years, the insurer may not deny liability for subsequent suicide of the insured. If suicide occurs within the period, the insurer tenders to the beneficiary only the premiums that have been paid. If the age of the insured was misstated when the policy was taken out, the misstatement-of-age clause provides that the amount payable is the amount of insurance that would have been purchased for the premium had the correct age been stated. Many life insurance policies, known as participating policies, return dividends to the insured. The dividends, which may amount to 20 percent of the premiums, may be accumulated in cash left with the insurer at interest, used to buy additional life insurance, used to reduce premium payments, or used to pay up the contract sooner than would otherwise have been possible.
The insured may, at a nominal charge, attach to the contract a waiver-of-premium rider under which premium payments will be waived in the event of total and permanent disability before the age of 60. Under the disability income rider, should the insured become totally and permanently disabled, a monthly income will be paid. Under the double indemnity rider, if death occurs through accident, the insurance payable is double the face amount.
In many countries health insurance has become a governmental institution. In some, doctors and other professional staff are employed, directly or indirectly, by a government agency on a full-time or part-time salaried basis, and health facilities are owned or operated by the government. This has been the practice in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden, Turkey, and the countries of eastern Europe. In other countries the government pays for medical care provided by private physicians; these countries include Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. In some countries private health insurance programs exist along with, or as part of, the government program. Various combinations of programs are possible, and it is difficult to summarize all the arrangements that actually exist.
Former U.S. president Harry S. Truman (right) looking on as U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Medicare bill at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, July 30, 1965.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum/NARA
The United States provides government-run medical services in veteransâ hospitals and mental hospitals, and it also has a governmental health insurance program for citizens age 65 and over (Medicare) under the Social Security Act amendments of 1965, but most health insurance in the United States still consists of private programs. Much private health insurance in the United States is operated on a group basis, generally through groups of employees whose payments may be subsidized by their employer. The following is a description of the principles of private health insurance. Government medical services are discussed in the article social security: government welfare programs.
The major types of health insurance coverage are hospitalization, surgical, regular medical, major medical, disability income, dental, and long-term care. Health insurance contracts are not highly standardized. The policy provisions discussed below should be considered as typical, not universal or invariant.
Hospitalization insurance indemnifies for room and board in the hospital, laboratory fees, use of special facilities, nursing care, and certain medicines and supplies. The contracts contain specific limitations on coverage, such as a maximum number of days in the hospital and maximum allowances for room and board. Surgical expense insurance covers the surgeonâs charge for given operations or medical procedures, usually up to a maximum for each type of operation. Regular medical insurance contracts indemnify the insured for expenses such as physiciansâ home or office visits, medicines, and other medical expenses. Major medical contracts are distinguished from other health insurance policies by offering coverage without many specific limitations; usually there is only a maximum per person, a deductible amount, and a percentage deductible, called coinsurance, under which the insured usually pays 20 percent of each medical bill above the deductible amount. Disability income coverage provides periodic payments when the insured is unable to work as a result of accident or illness. There is normally a waiting period before the payments begin. Definitions of disability vary considerably. A strict definition of disability requires that one be unable to perform each and every duty of oneâs regular occupation for a given period, say two years, and thereafter be unable to perform the duties of any occupation for which one is reasonably fitted by training or experience. More liberal definitions of disability require only the inability to perform the duties of oneâs usual occupation.
Dental insurance, usually sold on a group plan and sponsored by an employer, covers such dental services as fillings, crowns, extractions, bridgework, and dentures. Most policies contain relatively low annual limits of coverage, such as $2,500, as well as deductibles and coinsurance provisions. Some policies limit benefits to a percentage of the cost of services.
Long-term care insurance (LTC) has been developed to cover expenses associated with old age, such as care in nursing homes and home care visits. LTC insurance, though relatively new, is already attracting strong interest because of the rapid growth of the elderly population in the United States. Policies specify a maximum limit per day plus an overall maximum benefit amount, with the result that the insurance typically covers the expenses of a maximum of four or five years in a nursing home. A common provision is a 20-day waiting period before benefits begin. Some policies exclude certain conditions such as Alzheimerâs disease and do not cover custodial care. For an additional premium, some LTC policies offer an inflation provision, which increases the daily benefit by some percentage, such as 5 percent a year.
