You may feel fine, but medical professionals advise that regular check-ups are necessary even for the healthiest among us.

“Prevention’s better than cure,” says general practitioner Dr. Marli Ellis, and check-ups can give you a heads up that something is wrong and could potentially nip some problems in the bud.

Ellis says it’s a good idea to get initial check-ups to establish a baseline and depending on the findings, determine how frequently you need to go back for the next examination or screening.

“A lot depends on family history,” she says, adding that if there is a strong family tendency towards diabetes, heart disease or certain kinds of cancers, then an individual should ensure they get checked more regularly than people without that family history.

Recent debates over at what age women should begin getting mammograms to screen for breast cancer may have led to some confusion in the United States, but recommendations in Cayman are that women should have mammograms every two years from the age of 40.

“With all regular medical check-ups, it is a good idea to get a baseline check done. For example, checking cholesterol, if there is a history of high cholesterol in your family, it’s a good idea to get that check done much earlier than for someone with no significant family history of it. Then, depending on your results, your doctor would determine if you need to get checked on a yearly basis,” Ellis says.

While doctors, medical agencies and organisations can give general guidelines as to how often one should get checked for a variety of illnesses and conditions, it’s basically down to the individual and his and her health and fitness level.

But getting screened for a plethora of diseases on a regular basis can be expensive. Not all screenings and check-ups are covered by insurance - it varies from one insurance company to the next and from one policy to the next.

CINICO’s public relations manager and senior insurance administrator Mark Frye says the insurance company, which covers Cayman’s civil servants, indigents and seafarers, will pay for any check-up a doctor recommends. “If you go to a primary care physician and say ‘I have a feeling about my health’ and the primary care physician says ‘Let me do some tests’, you’ll be covered. If it’s recommended by a doctor, we will pay for it,” Frye says.

Before undergoing a battery of checks, check with your insurance provider beforehand to make sure that these examinations and screening are covered by your premium.