Reasons You Can Change Your Health Insurance Plans

A good health insurance plan should serve us well for as long as we need it. However, there are times when we are required to change our health insurance or prefer to do so. Let us look at some of these scenarios.

Change in Health Insurance Plans Due to Compulsion

Here are some cases when we are forced to look for another insurance company.

1. Change of Employer or Employment Status

When the employer primarily provides health insurance, a job change could lead to a change in healthcare providers and benefits. Also, if there is a change in employment status – a job loss, for example, – a healthcare provider's change becomes almost inevitable.

2. Changed Life Stage Requirements

Healthcare plans are offered on a varying basis like individual or family floaters and come with varying renewability options. In those cases where life-long renewability is not permitted, or joint insurance options are limited, we might be compelled to move to a new insurance company. Examples of such cases could be stepping into senior years or getting married, or planning a family.

3. Insurance Company Discontinuing Product

There are cases when insurance companies are compelled to discontinue a product offering. While, in most cases, the insurance company would offer to migrate to a comparable plan, there could be cases when there is no available alternative.

4. Insurance Company Going Out of Business

In rare cases, when the insurance company is going out of business, there is little choice but to opt for a different provider.

Also read:Importance of Health Insurance Cover During COVID-19

Change in Health Insurance Policy By Choice

In recent times, due to increased transparency in portability features, many people choose to switch insurance companies primarily for better product or service offering

1. Availability of Better Product

The Healthcare industry is continuously upgrading its offerings to keep up with lifestyle changes and advancements in medical treatments and technologies. Whereas some insurance companies are quick to adapt and pass on these benefits to customers, others might fall behind. Savvy customers stand to gain by switching to a better product, which is often the primary motivation.

Some factors that motivate customers to switch are:

• Higher coverage at a similar or lower cost of a premium
• Life-long renewability
• Greater coverage for family members
• Better renewal benefits
• Better overall benefits
• Coverage for modern and alternative treatments

2. Better Service Offered

The other reason that prompts customers to switch is the availability of better services.
Customers would look for a different provider when they are not satisfied or are expecting some of the following:

• Enhanced service offerings like the convenience of digital transactions
• Faster and hassle-free claim settlements
• Better claim approval rate and settlement ratio of the insurance company
• Wider coverage network
• Better overall customer experience

Conclusion

There are times when we are lucky to have found a good health insurance plan in all respects and continues to evolve to meet the demand of changing times. However, nowadays, there is a better provider or a better plan that makes us take note and think of considering the options available in the market. With some research, we stand to gain, often quite substantially. It is worthwhile to spend that time, at least once a year during renewal, and make the most of available healthcare plans.

You may also like to read: Importance of Health Insurance Plans

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.