If you’re switching from one private health insurance company to another, you’ll need to take care to avoid a lapse in your coverage. Coverage lapses will make it much more difficult to buy health insurance in the future and can negatively affect your rates–even if you only lose coverage for a short period of time while you’re waiting for your new policy to start. A lapse of more than 13 weeks can make it difficult to find good insurance at a reasonable rate, as health insurance providers will treat you as though you’ve never had coverage.
Luckily, health insurance companies have policies in place that make it easy to switch without facing this type of lapse in coverage. In most instances, you’ll simply have to settle on a date for your new coverage to begin. Your new health insurance provider will contact your old provider for you to cancel your plan and prevent a lapse in coverage. They’ll make sure that your new policy starts right after your old policy ends, and in most situations, you won’t have to do anything else.
If your new health insurance company doesn’t provide this service, you should cancel your old health insurance policy on the day that the new policy begins. Make sure that both insurance companies are aware of the change in advance and get written confirmation of both the new policy’s starting date and the old policy’s cancellation date.
It’s important to know that if you’re improving your coverage by switching from one health insurance policy to another, your new coverage may not immediately take effect. You’ll likely have to serve a waiting period of up to two years if you’re under 65 and up to five years if you’re over 65 for the new benefits. However, the benefits that you’d had under your old policy will still apply during this waiting period–the waiting period will only be for specific treatments.
Ask your new health insurance provider for details on waiting periods before you decide to switch. It’s important to make sure that you understand how your new policy will operate and that you take the necessary steps to avoid a costly misunderstanding or a lapse in your health insurance coverage.