Understanding Short Term Health Insurance

If you have recently left college you may find that you are no longer covered under your parent's health insurance policy and will need to find cover until you get a job and fall within your employer's healthcare plan. Similarly, if you have just started a new job, you may find that your employer requires you to work for a few weeks or months before becoming eligible to join his healthcare scheme. These are just two of the many reasons that lead to a need for interim health insurance coverage.

So what exactly is interim health insurance coverage?

Well, as its name suggests, it is health insurance coverage with provides health cover for a short period of time to give you the opportunity to maintain cover while moving from one permanent health insurance plan to another. Coverage is normally issued for anything from one month to one year, although many companies today restrict policies to a maximum period of six months. In most cases insurers also understand that it is not always easy to know exactly how long you will need temporary cover for and so are often flexible in allowing you to extend cover past the original expiry date if necessary.

Interim health insurance plans normally provide similar cover to that seen on permanent policies but there are some very important differences.

Plans are normally strictly indemnity plans and will not cover you for preventative treatments, such as check-ups, and will also exclude dental and optical coverage. Pre-existing medical conditions and work-related illness or injury are also usually excluded.

Your interim health insurance policy will generally cover you for emergency medical care, prescription drugs, hospital and intensive care treatment, laboratory and x-ray work, ambulance care and, in some cases, in-home medical care.

So, how do you go about getting interim health insurance coverage?

Your first step should be to decide how many weeks or months you need the coverage for and when you want it to start. You then need to find yourself an agent who specializes in interim health insurance.

Study any policies offered carefully and pay close attention to the exclusion clauses and don't be afraid to ask questions about any concerns you may have. Review the application and make sure that all of your personal information is correct before you sign anything. Also, remember to keep a copy of all the paperwork for your own files.

The cost of an interim health insurance plan will vary according to the type of coverage that you select. You can however keep the cost down by choosing to have a high deductible added to the policy (the sum of money which you must pay towards your healthcare before the policy kicks in) with a 50/50 co-insurance option (the split in payment of each bill after the deductible has been met between your insurer and yourself) rather than the more common 80/20 ratio.

Also, don't forget that there are some extras that you may want to consider, depending on your personal circumstances. For example, with the high cost of prescription medicines, you may be better off buying the coverage rather than leaving it off.

The most important thing is to remember to read through any interim health insurance policy carefully and to make sure you are being offered the coverage that want and which you will be paying for.