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Everything you need to know about renewing your health insurance plan
Just like any type of insurance, medical insurance is usually signed for a fixed term of one year with the possibility of renewing your health insurance. This allows you to extend coverage for another year without having to re-qualify for coverage.
Most insurers offer a lifetime renewal option, but some policies are signed on a yearly renewable basis up to a certain age, and there are some that may reject your renewal, leaving you with no medical cover. It’s good to know what type of guarantee your policy has and see if it’s time for a change, as not all products were created equal.
The difference between guaranteed lifetime renewal policies and the ones without a lifetime guarantee.
The lifetime renewal guarantee means that if you get diagnosed with a serious illness or chronic medical condition during the policy term, your health insurance company can’t refuse the renewal of your policy or leave you with no coverage. Such guarantees can save you hefty amounts of money in the case you develop any chronic conditions. Some of the pre-existing conditions that could lead to your policy not being renewed (in the event you don’t have a lifetime guarantee) are arthritis, asthma, cancer, diabetes and some viral diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV / AIDS.
When and how can I renew my policy?
The renewal date of your insurance policy is based on the date your policy took effect. Usually, an international medical policy is signed for the period of one year. In most cases, your insurer or broker will send you an e-mail or notify you in another way about your policy’s upcoming end date. You can also opt-in for the auto-renewal option, and when the time comes, you will be sent a confirmation letter outlining the continuing coverage.
Can I make a change before renewing my health insurance?
Yes! Now’s the right moment to make changes and to contact your insurance advisor to help you with this. Pacific Prime Singapore sends renewal notification at least one month before a plan’s renewal date to give you enough time to review your options.
A few things to consider during the pre-renewal period:
Policy scope
Take time to look back on the past year and seriously consider if renewing your health insurance is the right option. Some of the premium benefits you pay for may be found not useful at all. For example, you may have never filed a claim for a particular benefit, or the number of claims under a particular benefit may have been way lower than the annual limit, so you may want to cut benefits from your plan. You may also notice that certain doctors and clinics are not in your network, and you may want to add them up to your plan.
Changes in circumstances
Let’s hope not, but if you have developed a chronic disease, it’s safer to stick to your current plan, as changing an insurer with a pre-existing condition may turn out to be costly. There are other considerations, too, of course. Have you started a new sport that may cause injuries? Are you traveling more this year?
Another thing to consider is adding or removing a maternity package, and to remember that for maternity coverage, a waiting period of 12 months or more usually applies.
Overall satisfaction from the service
Your plan might sound amazing on paper, but in reality, handling claims takes a long time, and some related procedures can seem quite complicated to policyholders. It may possibly be time for a change after all, and in that case, you’ll have to go through the process of finding a new insurer all over again.
Why did my insurance renewal price go up?
The insurance industry is as much connected to the global economy as any other business. Therefore, your premiums may change during at renewal time. In the last few years, Singapore’s medical insurance inflation rate of 11.18% was considerably higher than the global rate of 9.2%, as insurers had to raise rates to keep up with medical costs, as well as other factors.
If you are interested in the topic and eager to discover the key inflation factors and figures, you can download our free International Private Medical Insurance Inflation report here.
How can Pacific Prime help in renewing your health insurance plan?
When buying and renewing an international medical insurance policy, it is important to plan long-term and protect yourself from unnecessary future expenses. Having a dedicated insurance advisor definitely comes in handy, especially if you choose Pacific Prime as your broker. Why?
- We have over 18 years of experience in the international medical insurance industry and served over 100,000 clients worldwide.
- We have a dedicated renewal team that will help you negotiate the terms and benefits you want.
- We advise you on what additional benefits you’ll need depending on your future plans or changing medical requirements, and help to negotiate the best rates with your current or new insurance provider.
- We do it all for you free of cost.
Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding your renewal, as well as for individual and group international medical plan quotations.
Jantra curates and reports on the results of Pacific Prime’s monthly newsletters, as well as manages Pacific Prime’s Deputy Global CEO’s LinkedIn posts. Complemented by her background in business writing, Jantra’s passion for health, insurance, and employee benefits helps her create engaging content - no matter how complex the subject is.
Growing up as a third-culture kid has given her a multicultural perspective that helps her relate to expats and their families while 8 years of working remotely have given her unique insight into hybrid work arrangements and enthusiasm for employee benefits.
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