What Should You Do If Your Health Insurance Policy Expires?

A health insurance policy has a set duration. This tenure typically lasts for one year. However, what should one do if a health insurance policy expires? Plans for health insurance are now available for extended periods of time. There are some plans that you can get by paying the two-year or three-year premium all at once for a continuous period of two or three years. These long-term plans not only do away with the headache of yearly renewals, but they also reduce the premium cost because longer durations come with premium discounts. The policy must be renewed when its term expires, even in the case of long-term health plans. Your health insurance policy expires if you don’t renew it in a timely manner.

Now that we know what to do when a health insurance coverage expires, let’s look at how the policyholder is impacted.

What Exactly Is a Health Insurance Policy Lapse?
The health insurance coverage would expire if it was not renewed before the deadline. The end of the policy’s term signifies the end of health insurance protection. The available coverage under the plan expires if the health insurance policy fails. The insurance company does not pay anything in the event of a claim under a lapsed policy because the coverage has ended.

How Should I Respond If a Health Insurance Policy Expires?
In order to renew your health insurance plan with the same coverage features if it has expired, you need pay the renewal premium as soon as possible.

Grace Period Renewal: Health insurance plans have a grace period. Following the expiration of the insurance, this window permits the payment of the renewal premium. The majority of health insurance plans provide a 30-day grace period. You can reinstate the insurance if you pay the renewal premium during the grace period after the policy has expired. Such a policy that was renewed during the grace period would be subject to the continuity benefits of a shorter waiting time and a no-claims bonus.

Observations Regarding the Grace Period: Although a grace period is provided for renewing a lapsed health insurance policy, during that time, coverage is not permitted. Even though the policy is in the grace period, the firm would not pay any benefits in the event of a claim.

Why it’s best to prevent a Lapse? Always renew your health insurance policy before it expires. The following are reasons why a slip-up should be avoided:

No Coverage in the interim period: There is no health insurance coverage in a lapsed policy. Given the high medical costs, these expenses could burn a hole in your pockets.

Portability: A lapse prohibits your ability to port to a different company. If you want to change your health plan because of any service issue or better coverage features or any other reason, you lose the ability if the health insurance policy lapses. The request of porting should be made 45 to 60 days before the policy expiry date and not after the expiry of the policy period.

Renewal Benefits: If the policy is not renewed during the grace period, you lose the renewal benefits of your existing health insurance plan.

Waiting Period: In case of a lapse, you lose the continuity benefits of the waiting period on pre-existing diseases. The reduced waiting period on pre-existing illnesses and other treatments. You would, then, have to buy a fresh health insurance policy with a fresh waiting period from two to four years or as defined by the underwriter.

Limited Scope of New Policy: If you are a senior citizen, you might find new health plans to have a limited scope of coverage than your lapsed health insurance plan. Even for others, your new ailment might not be covered under pre-existing clause, which would have otherwise been so, in your previous plan.

Lifelong Renew ability: Moreover, lifelong coverage is allowed only if the policy is renewed without a break. If the policy is not renewed within the grace period, you might not find a health insurance plan for your age.

No Claim Bonus: Even the accumulated no claim bonus for not claiming in the previous years would be lost if the policy is not renewed on time.

How to Renew/Revive Lapsed Health Insurance Policy?
However, if your health plan has not been renewed and has lapsed beyond the grace period, all you need to do is buy a fresh plan. Since the same cannot be renewed now, you can either continue the same plan with your earlier insurance company by simply paying the premium and undergoing a pre-medical check-up, if the lapse is more than 6 months or compare and then buy a fresh health insurance plan for yourself which suits your needs the best.

Small steps to ensure that you do not lapse your Health Insurance Plan next time

1. Update your email id and phone number accurately with the insurer and update the same in case of a change, so that you do not miss renewal calls, emails, etc.

2. Additionally, you can set up a standing instruction on your account, credit card, etc. to ensure that the renewal is performed automatically even if you are busy, abroad, or unable to make a payment during the grace period. You won’t ever have to miss a renewal again!

There is no justification for failing to make a renewal payment now that technology is on our side. With just a press of a button, it may be accomplished easily using internet banking, phone banking, mobile banking, etc.