Insurance is an integral part of all our lives. Having insurance is necessary or recommended for everything from home ownership to driving a vehicle to traveling abroad and so much more. At least three out of four American adults currently hold some form of life insurance. Health insurance coverage for all or part of 2020 was 91.4% for US, as well.

Anyone who has had experience with an insurance claim understands that the process for an insurance claim goes through several hands and can be tedious. Wisedocs aim is to support those individuals across insurance carriers, medical evaluators, and lawyer who process and review medical insurance claims to move the process faster and benefit the end claimant as well as the overall claims ecosystem. Wisedocs works within the health insurance sector to process and review medical records as it pertains to claims.

Many people are left wondering - what is the different between life and health insurance? Below, we explore the difference between life and health insurance and also how Wisedocs ties into the claims process for medical records.

What is life insurance?

Life insurance is a contract between an insurer and a policyholder. These policies guarantee that insurers pay out to the named beneficiaries when the insured individual dies. Policyholders must first consider whether they need temporary or permanent life insurance.

Temporary Insurance or Term Life Insurance lasts for a specified number of years. The three main options are decreasing term, convertible term, and renewable term, and balance between affordability and long-term financial strength.

Permanent Insurance remains intact for the policyholder’s life unless they end payments or surrender the policy. Policyholders can choose between whole life insurance or universal life insurance. The main difference between the two is that universal life insurance allows adjustment of flexible premiums over time, and permanent terms tend to be more expensive and accumulate over time.

Money from these policies is often used to cover the funeral costs and any other outstanding payments the deceased owes. However, before the payment is made, the insurance company must go through several steps to verify the claim, including medical record processing and verification.

What is health insurance?

Like life insurance, health insurance is a contract between an insurer and a policyholder. However, health insurance companies can be more challenging to navigate due to the competitive aspect of the industry. Coverage, pricing, and availability vary between states and sometimes even counties. 

For roughly half of Americans, health insurance is partially covered by their employers, with the cost becoming tax-deductible. However, self-employed individuals, freelancers, and gig workers must buy insurance directly from the companies. In 2010, The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, came to fruition to support taxpayers with lower incomes. A national database, HealthCare.gov, was created to provide standard plans from private insurers in their area. Doctors submit a health insurance claim to the company after the individual has undergone a medical procedure or service. These documents are detailed invoices that break down what the policyholder is being billed for and must be completed for the medical professionals to get paid.

How does Wisedocs support with medical record reviews for claims?

Wisedocs focuses on supporting insurance companies, legal firms, and independent medical evaluators in processing and organizing medical records documents related to health claims. Claims may come from places such as workers' compensation, accidents, or other incidents that have impacted the health of the claimant. From clinician notes to medical records and briefs, Wisedocs’ intuitive platform automatically generates a medical chronology within hours. When processing claims, companies are familiar with the challeges of searching through, organizing, and pulling summaries from files that are often hundreds or thousands of pages for one claim. Wisedocs' platform will streamline your document workflow and cut the hours wasted on deduplication. Get in touch with our team to learn how Wisedocs can support your medical record review process for claims.