Most insurance companies in the United States belong to the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), which operates an exchange of health information of underwriting significance used by its member insurance companies to assess risk for life and health insurance coverage.
The information contained in a typical MIB record is limited to short descriptions of specific medical conditions which might impact an applicant’s health or longevity. The information is obtained with the applicant’s consent and is used to help protect insurers against errors, omissions and misstatements in the health statements taken on an application for insurance coverage. Insurance companies must use MIB information as an alert only; the information is not determinative and must be verified. A decision on whether to issue or rate health or life insurance to you cannot be based solely on information in a Medical Information Bureau report.
The Medical Information Bureau is subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and as such, must provide access to your record annually at no cost, should you have such a record. For information on how to access information that MIB may have about you, access MIB’s website. MIB’s member health insurers members are subject to HIPAA compliance, and accordingly MIB complies with HIPAA privacy and security regulations as a “Business Associate.”
For further information about the MIB, and to review and correct any misinformation that Medical Information Bureau may have about you, visit the MIB’s website.