What is the Medical Information Bureau?

The MIB was formed some 95 years ago by a group of physicians representing a number of insurance companies whose claims experience were being adversely affected by very questionable (fraudulent) claims. It became clear that they were being selected against (i.e., anti-selection) resulting in the cost of insurance being driven upward (and dividends downward) for its honest policy holders. To protect themselves against this practice, they agreed to share information about prospective clients. This assured them that significant information one insurer was aware of was available to other insurers the client might choose to apply to for coverage. This information serves to alert other member companies of certain medical, driving, and avocational histories which might impact the basis on which an insurer offers coverage to a prospective proposed insured. Today, the MIB has approximately 612 member companies made up entirely of Life, Health, and Disability Insurance Companies.

The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is a computer database which contains medical and some non-medical information (such as avocation interests) pertaining to individuals who have applied for insurance coverage. The major function of the MIB is to provide an information exchange among member insurance companies to prevent loss due to fraud or omission. MIB reports are submitted only by member insurance companies and are available only to member insurance companies with the written authorization of the person to whom the information pertains. Physicians are not a direct source of information to the MIB.

What it does…

MIB’s principal function is to provide for the exchange of underwriting information among it’s members. This function involves the collection, maintenance, and dissemination of information to its members. This is done in a coded fashion to protect the privacy of the prospective proposed insured. This can accelerate the consideration of the application and reduce the cost of processing; and all of this is accomplished without compromising the confidentiality of the information. A member company has the responsibility of providing the MIB with information which is then input into the database. Developed from their underwriting file, and based on guidelines of what constitutes reportable data provided by the MIB, member companies are required to report to the MIB a brief, coded résumé of conditions and findings which may be “significant to the proposed insured’s health or longevity.” The MIB also requires member companies to input information of a positive (good) nature, such as negative tests and current normal findings where previous abnormal findings had been coded.

Click Here to Request Your MIB Consumer File

For more information about MIB visit their website: www.mib.com

Medical Information Websites

A list of third-party websites where you can find detailed information about medical impairments, terminology, testing and prescriptions.

Milliman IntelliScript – RXCheck
Provides access to your prescription history.
https://www.rxhistories.com/for-consumers/#request

WebMD

The leading source of trustworthy medical and health information
http://www.webmd.com

RXList
Browse generic and brand name drugs with complete medication information.
http://www.rxlist.com/drugs/alpha_a.htm

Medicine Net
Relevant and reliable information on common diseases and conditions.
http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm

Lab Tests Online
Lab test references and guides to the clinical lab tests that your clients may have had or need to take.
http://labtestsonline.org/index.html

Medi Lexicon
Search through a database of over 200,000 medical acronyms and abbreviations.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalabbreviations.php