Not renewed your health insurance policy? The nine benefits you can lose.

Finance and medicine. Health insurance concept.

You might be preoccupied and the renewal of your health insurance policy could be on the back of your mind. But do you know you can lose all your continuity benefits if you don’t renew your policy on time.

Here is a lowdown on nine

benefits you can lose if you forget to renew your health insurance policy on time:

Claim Settlement

Insurers generally give a 15-30 day grace for payment of the premium. This helps to keep the health benefits intact.  But a claim arising during the grace period may not be settled by the insurance company.

No-Claim Bonus

For every claim-free year, the insurance company gives a no-claim bonus in the form of higher sum insured. The sum insured increases by 5% for every claim-free year up to a maximum of 50%. No benefit of no-claim bonus will accrue if the policy lapses.  

Pre-Existing Condition

Your health insurance policy does not cover pre-existing ailments until 24-48 months of continuous coverage.

Lifelong Renewability

Basic comprehensive policies offer lifelong renewability. But if you are a senior citizen, then the new senior citizen policy might cover you only up to 75-80 years.

Time Exclusions

For certain ailments such as diabetes and hypertension, there is generally a waiting period of two years. If you miss the renewal date, you need to finish the waiting period again.

Portability

You cannot port an expired policy. This is because for porting you need to apply at least 45 days policy expiry.

Waiting Period

Normally, benefits can be claimed only after a policy has been in force for 30 days. Generally, there is a waiting period of 30 days after the policy is issued before a claim is accepted. If the policy lapses, the clause of the waiting period kicks in.

Age Restrictions

Insurance companies usually shy away from offering cover to senior citizens. Companies may charge higher premium for a pre-existing disease.

Medical Tests

A medical test may be required for a new policy, which, if the premium was paid on time,  could have been avoided.

Missing the health insurance payment date can prove costly. So, mark the due date on your calendar and pay the premium on time.