Page 306 - Ebook health insurance IC27

The Insurance Times
Over 71% of Americans under age 65 have medical insurance.

Definition
Insurance is the most important and effective way of transferring risk, from individuals
to risk carriers (or so-called insurers). It is broadly defined to include arrangements that
provide benefits for losses and/or services via the insurers.

In light of this concept, medical (or so-called health or sickness) insurance may be
defined as:

"An insurance that pays the cost of medical, surgical and hospital expenses related
to medical treatments of sudden, single episode, fairly short-term and curable
illnesses or injuries (commonly known as acute conditions)".

Or,

"An insurance that protects an insured against financial loss resulting from medical
treatments."

Or, others (especially in the US) define it as:

"A policy that pays for health care services required for treating illness or injury
or maintaining health."

Medical insurance is designed to provide compensation for costs of medical treatments
for acute conditions such as appendicitis, acute phases of illnesses and other eligible
conditions such as maternity, dental, etc. Acute phases of an illness are characterized by
a single episode of fairly short duration. For example, a person who suffers from migraine

310 Guide for Health Insurance