Sumit bought a health insurance policy in November 2014 and was very much satisfied with his decision. He knew that buying the policy online would be very easy and cost-effective, and that’s why he opted for the same. During these two years of health insurance policy, Sumit didn’t go through any hassle, whether it was cashless treatment or reimbursement of the claim. Renew health insurance policy, is a must for everyone
He was enjoying the benefits of a health insurance policy, but the real problem started when he missed the date of renewal of his policy and after some time, his health insurance policy was canceled. He lost all the benefits of his previous health insurance policy and was left with no other option than to buy a new health insurance policy at high rates.
So to avoid such loss, even after buying a health insurance policy, we will look at the renewal of your health insurance policy at a glance through this article.
Table Content
Losses You Suffer if You Miss to Renew Health Insurance Policy
High Rate of Premium
One of the main benefits which you lose while buying a new health insurance policy due to the lapse of your previous policy is the low premium amount that you were paying in your previous health insurance policy. The Premium amount in the health insurance policy depends upon the age of the buyer. The policy which you bought at the age of 24 years will charge you a premium according to your age (24 years in this case) at the time of buying the policy and you will enjoy the same amount of premium for a longer period of time. While if your same policy lapses at the age of 26 years, then the new health insurance company will charge you a higher amount of premium than the previous one as your current age while buying the policy would be 26 years.
Loss of Cover for Pre-Existing Disease
Covering for the pre-existing disease is one of the biggest advantages of health insurance policies, but if you miss renewing your policy, you can lose that special cover also. If you have made a claim on your health insurance policy and miss renewing it, then your new health insurance policy will consider your claim of previous policy as pre-existing disease, which will not be covered.
New Waiting Periods
Before buying a health insurance policy, everyone advises you to opt for a policy with a minimum waiting period and that’s necessary because a longer waiting period can keep you away from making claim, even after buying the health insurance policy. And one of the advantages of your current health insurance policy is the completion of the waiting period, but if you buy a new health insurance policy, then the new waiting period of the health insurance policy will be applicable to you and you will have to wait again for availing benefits from the policy.
Loss of Cumulative Bonus and Other Benefits
With the passage of time, your health insurance policy starts giving you different benefits like a no-claim bonus ranging from 5% to 50% of sum insured increase, free medical check for claim-free years, etc. This also allows you to increase your sum insured without paying any extra premium, but when you go for buying a new health insurance policy, all your benefits of the previous policy get canceled and none of them are transferred to your new policy.
Things to Know Before Renewing Your Policy
Change in Health Condition: Any change in the health condition during the previous year should be well informed to your insurer before the renewal of the policy. It will allow you to get proper coverage for your changed health condition and will eliminate the chances of rejection of your claim.
Upgradation and Portability of Policy: You can upgrade your amount of coverage at the time of renewal of your health insurance policy or you can also buy a top plan through which you can avail extra coverage amount within a threshold limit. If you are not satisfied with your current insurer then you have the option of porting your current health insurance to another insurer without losing the previous benefits.
Addition and Removal of a Family Member: Needs changes according to time and circumstances, and the insurer knows it well. That’s why they give you the option to add or remove family members who are covered under your health insurance policy at the time of renewal.
Grace Period: Even if you miss the date of renewal, your policy won’t get canceled immediately. You are given a grace period of fifteen days after the date of renewal and if you renew your health insurance policy during the grace period, then your health insurance will still be valid with continuing benefits.
No Claim Between the Period of Expiry and Renewal: You can make no claim between the period of expiry of the policy and its renewal.
Can a Health Insurance Company Deny a Renewal?
According to the rules of IRDAI, all the health insurance policies in India should offer lifetime renewability and an insurer cannot cancel the renewal of a health insurance policy on the arbitrary ground and if they do so, they will have to provide a valid reason (like a medical condition which cannot be covered) in writing.
It is always better to keep a reminder on the date of renewal of your health insurance policy to avoid any hassle and to continue the benefits of your current health insurance policy. Lapse of policy can snatch many benefits from you, so keep the renewal date in mind, follow the quick and easy steps of renewal and enjoy the continuation benefits.
Conclusion
One thing which is obvious is that in today’s time health policy has become very important for the people and in recent years the importance of health policy has increased to a great extent but some things which we should never forget are these. Never forget to renew after buying a health policy because the punishment for this mistake can be very costly for you. Usually, the insurance company keeps reminding you but it is important to be cautious.