I fired a client today.
Well, to be more precise, I refused to help a potential client commit insurance fraud. The lady in question has had auto and home insurance with us, and inquired about health insurance. She was referred to me (d'uh), and I proceeded to ask her the usual litany of questions (height and weight, smoker or non, medications, etc). She claimed to be in good health, and I started to fire up the quoting engines.
My first set of numbers met with some surprise, until I realized that she was really looking for a short term medical plan. These plans are convenient, because they require minimal underwriting and are designed to be issued quickly. They are also of limited benefit, since they don't cover any pre-existing conditions.
Pre-ex; aye, thar's the rub!
Turns out, she had a specific gastro-intestinal condition in the recent past, and was also due for a specific medical procedure in the near future. She has not had health insurance for quite some time (well past the "magic 63 days," which would not have helped her, anyway), but she wanted the coverage so that XYZ Mutual would pay the lion's share of the upcoming procedure.
When I explained to her how pre-ex works, she immediately replied that she was fine, and had no health problems. I was understandably (and uncharacteristically) silent for a moment, and then explained that whether I knew that not to be the case wasn't really at issue here; what was important is that she knew that. As I explained to her, if I sold her the plan, at least one of two things would occur come claim time: the policy would be rescinded, and/or she would face charges of insurance fraud. She was non-plussed.
At that point, it became clear that I could not sell her a policy. Still, she was a client of the agency, to which I also owe a duty. That I would not sell her a policy was not at issue, but how I handled it may have been. I put her on hold for a moment, and went in to briefly discuss what I was about to do with the agency principal. Of course, I knew that he would have no problem with my decision, but I did owe it to him to put him in the loop. Once that was accomplished, I headed back to the phone.
I explained that I could not [ed: don't you mean would not?] sell her a policy, but that I could get her the numbers for HMO's in the area (these plans often have open enrollment periods for folks in exactly this lady's position). She wasn't interested, and we concluded our conversation.
Fortunately, this kind of thing doesn't happen to me very often (I like to believe that it's because most people are basically honest, but then I've also been told that I've led a sheltered life), but I did know exactly how to handle it. It's very simple really: always do the right thing. It's not because I'm particularly devout or arrogant enough to think that this makes me "better" than others; it's just that it makes life a lot easier if I don't have to keep track of lies (even with my Palm Pilot, that would be an arduous task).
Do I feel "good" about this? Not really: I hate to tell folks that I can't help them. In this case, though, she was the one who created that dilemna: I can usually help honest folks find at least some kind of cover.
As they say, all's well that ends.
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