Health Insurance Policy Cancellation
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Health Insurance Policy Cancellation Online
Health insurance is one of the most important insurances that everyone needs to purchase, especially in the situation of the global pandemic, as it protects you and your family from different types of ailments and diseases to keep you physically healthy, financially sound, and mentally strong. As health insurance policies are of massive importance, it is equally important for you to know the nook and corner of your policy, the term, and the conditions that come along with it.
Usually, the policyholders do not cancel health insurance policies. But, if any situation arrives when you need to cancel it, you are required to go through a certain process. It is true that you can cancel your health policy at any time, any moment, without having any waiting period, but that needs certain pre and post-cancellation procedures as per the rules and norms of the insurance company. Certainly, you will get some refund amount but the deductibles totally depend on when you are canceling the policy. To know about the cancellation process of your existing health insurance policy, have a look at the below mentions.
Cancellation Within Free Look Period
The free look period is the time frame when you can easily cancel your policy without much hassle if you are not satisfied with the terms and conditions and the benefits of your health policy. This period usually runs between 15 days to 30 days from the inception of the policy, depending on the insurer. Generally, for the offline policies the free look period is of 30 days whereas, for the online policies, it is of 15 days. If you cancel your policy within the free look period, you have the chance to get back up to 100% of the premium amount. But remember, certain charges will be deducted from your refund value.
What Are Deductions of Return Amount?
Though you are eligible to get back up to 100% of the premium value if you cancel your health plan within the free look period, you need to bear some expenses as these fall under the category of deduction. Have a look at the different types of deductions below.
- The prorated risk premium for the number of days the insured person has enjoyed the covers of the policy.
- If you have undergone a pre-policy medical check-up and if your insurance company has borne the cost, that amount will be deducted.
- Stamp duty and administration charges.
- Any other charges as dictated in the policy wordings.
Cancellation After Free Look Period
Once the free look period is over, you are not eligible to receive the 100% of the premiums that you have paid for the policy at the time of inception. Though, still after that, you are allowed to cancel your health insurance plan. Then in such a case, what happens to your policy and the refund value – to know about this, have a look at the below mentions.
- Within 1 month – If you cancel your policy within 1 month of the completion of the free look period, you are entitled to receive up to 75% of the total premiums paid for the policy.
- Within 3 months – You are eligible to receive only up to 50% of the premiums paid by you if you were to cancel the policy within 3 months after the completion of the free look period.
- Within 6 months – If you decide to cancel your health plan within 6 months after the completion of the free look period, the insurance company will only refund you up to 25% of the premiums.
- After 6 months – Once your policy has crossed the duration of 6 months from the date of completion of the free look period, the insurer is not liable to pay you any refund for the cancellation of your policy.
Steps of Cancellation of a Health Insurance Policy Online
The general steps that involve the cancellation procedure for your health plan are as follows.
- Intimate the insurer – As soon as you decide to cancel your policy, get in touch with your insurer, especially the support department, and submit your request for cancellation.
- Submit Your Request in Writing – After the intimation, you are needed to submit your cancellation request either online (via mail) or offline. Here, you need to attach the policy documents and state the reason for the cancellation.
- Insurer’s Take on This – After receiving your cancellation request, generally, the insurer tries to come up with potential solutions or alternatives to meet your needs.
- Initiation of The Process – If you still want to cancel your policy, the cancellation process will be initiated on the behalf of the insurer.
- Deduction and Refund – As per the rules of the insurance policy and the terms and conditions of the company, certain charges will be deducted from your refund value and after that, you will receive the refund value in your registered bank account.
- Notification of The Refund – Once the entire cancellation process is done successfully. You will receive the notification about the same either via email or/and message or through a letter.
When Do You Need To Cancel Your Health Insurance Policy?
Though a health insurance plan plays a pivotal role in our lives in a positive way, still after that, it becomes necessary to cancel your already bought health plan. To know when exactly you need to cancel your health plan, keep an eye on the below mentions.
- Insufficient coverage – This can easily happen when you thought that your health insurance plan would offer you a sack full of benefits, but it actually does not. Rather, it cannot fulfill your requirements. In that case, continuing with that policy would not be wise.
- Unsatisfactory terms and conditions – While purchasing the policy, many policy-seekers do not thoroughly go through the terms and conditions of the company and this may pose a huge problem in the future. Once you feel that the rules and regulations of the insurer are too staunch for you, you may cancel your policy.
- Found a better plan – If you have already bought a health plan for an insurer, but later you have found a better policy with greater coverage than the existing one, you really should go for the latter as you cannot take risks for your health.
- A pre-existing health plan with similar benefits – If you already have a health plan but still after that, you have bought another in search of greater benefits and wider coverage, but now you have found that the latter is similar to the previous one, there is no such good reason to keep both the policies and bear the expenses.
- Financial problem – Life is very uncertain and where it takes you that is unfathomable. So, it is highly possible that your financial condition has gone down and you can no longer bear the expenses to continue your health policy. In that case, you may get rid of it as it is creating anxiety rather than peace.
- Hidden costs – It might be possible that your health insurance policy has some discrepancies and hidden costs that you are not intimidated by at the time of inception. This can create a real problem for you in the future. In that case, you may cancel your policy.
Factors To Keep in Mind Before Cancelling Health Insurance Policy
Before taking the decision of cancelling your health insurance policy, you need to keep in mind the following factors.
- Refund value – When you are canceling the policy – it is an important factor as your refund amount totally depends on that as stated before. If you are canceling it within 6 months or after 6 months after the completion of the free look period, you are going to get minimum or no refund value for that. In that case, it will not be beneficial for you.
- Portability – Many health insurance companies offer the facility to port your existing policy to a different insurer. If you can find a similar policy with almost similar benefits and coverage, at a lower premium rate, you can request your insurer to port the policy, if the facility is available.
- The number of dependents – If you are a family person that means if you have a spouse, dependent children, or dependent parents, it is highly essential to keep the health insurance plan to keep you and your family protected. If you or any member of your family has any medical history, it would be absolutely advisable to think twice before canceling the policy.
- The cancellation reasons – It has to be remembered that you may need to produce valid reasons to cancel your policy that can satisfy your insurer. Such reasons might be the unfortunate demise of the insured person. The financial crisis, misleading of the agent, etc.
- Back up health plan – If you already have a health insurance plan that can provide you adequate coverage, only then consider getting rid of the new health insurance plan. Otherwise, try not to compromise with your health and family’s wellbeing.
- Financial safety – The inflation rate is high, and so are the medical expenses and other related costs. And under this situation, not having a health insurance plan might be proved to be dangerous. If you are sure enough that you can combat the sky-rocketing expenses, only then consider the decision of canceling your health plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
It totally depends on you. If you feel that the extra benefits are very important for you, you can keep the newer policy. But if you feel that those are not vital for you, you can cancel it as well.
No, they are not. Grace period is offered to the insured person at the end of the policy term to renew the plan. The duration of the grace period is usually 30 days. Whereas, the free look period is the time frame, that you are given to envisage the policy, and if found unsatisfactory, you can cancel the policy having to be eligible to receive up to 100% of the premiums paid. The free look period is offered at the inception of the policy and it is usually of 15days or 20 days.
Yes, you can. In fact, you can cancel any type of health insurance plan following the terms and conditions of the company.
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