A matter of trust: powers of attorney for information on health insurance
Do you want to be represented by a person of trust in matters related to your health insurance? Then you need a power of attorney. The form for download and details of what you need to do are provided here.
Data protection: CONCORDIA will not pass your data onto others
Your insurance data is subject to strict data protection requirements. CONCORDIA is not allowed to pass it onto others – even to people close to you privately. An exception applies to spouses and registered partners, who can also obtain certain information without a power of attorney. It is also prohibited for others to make changes to your insurance contract in your name. CONCORDIA (and every other health insurer) has these rules in place in order to protect your personal rights. However, you can give someone a power of attorney in order to protect yourself if need be.
Power of attorney: when someone else represents you
A power of attorney is a legal agreement. If you are not able to arrange matters related to your health insurance yourself for some reason, you can authorise another person to do so and have them represent you. This agreement therefore always covers two people: the insured person and a person of their trust. Legally, these individuals are known as the principal and the authorised representative.
The authorised representative: information and legal actions
You decide yourself what the authorised representative can do when they are representing you. You can choose, for example, whether they should only receive verbal or written information and documents from the health insurer, or whether they can take legal actions. This means that you are relinquishing certain rights. Such actions include, for example, notices of termination and change notifications – such as changes to your address or disbursement account or contract amendments. The authorised representative would then be able to terminate your basic or supplementary insurance.
Our tip
We advise you to think carefully about which legal actions the authorised representative is permitted to take. If necessary, you can also add this information to the form. Choose a person you are close to and can trust. After all, they will be able to view not just your premium invoice but also your medical history. You can give the person clear orders or tell them what they are not allowed to do. Be aware that your person of trust could also take decisions that you do not agree with.
Planning: when a power of attorney makes sense
For most insured people, the first thing that comes to mind is the age-related power of attorney. However, age does not always have to be the reason. If you are planning to have an operation or spend time at a rehabilitation clinic, for example, you might also benefit from giving someone else a power of attorney so that they can temporarily take care of matters related to your health insurance.
How to issue a power of attorney
Powers of attorney do not have to follow any particular form. They are valid regardless of whether they are written down or granted verbally. At CONCORDIA, we play it safe and keep a written record of all powers of attorney. You can download the relevant form here or get one from your CONCORDIA agency.
- Fill in the form. At CONCORDIA, we take data protection very seriously. For that reason, it is essential that you enclose a copy of your official ID so that we can be sure that the power of attorney really was issued by you.
- Send the completed and signed form and the copy of your official ID by post or e-mail them as scans to your responsible CONCORDIA agency.
- If you change your mind, or the circumstances require an update, you can cancel a power of attorney at any time without having to give your reasons for doing so.
Info
InfoYou can also have all correspondence sent via your person of trust. If you do this, however, it will not be possible for you to maintain your account in the myCONCORDIA customer portal. For data protection reasons, the principal’s login details lapse in this scenario. You can re-register for myCONCORDIA as soon as you resume receiving correspondence yourself.