You will know the significance of purchasing a health insurance policy to afford the best healthcare facilities for yourself and your family and its crucial role in your financial well-being. An equally important, if not more important, aspect is to renew your health insurance policy within the timelines given by your health insurance company. Renewing your healthcare insurance policy ensures you continue enjoying all the benefits. This is particularly significant in the case of health insurance plans for the family, as you may otherwise be jeopardising their health.

A healthcare insurance policy is usually valid for one year. Some companies offer the opportunity to purchase coverage for two or three years together. Whatever policy term you may have chosen to purchase needs to be renewed by paying the premium to keep the health coverage active.

Why Should You Renew Your Health Insurance Policy Within Time?

You may consider the following reasons to renew your healthcare insurance policy in time:

1. Continuity of No Claim Bonus (NCB):
   No claim bonus, better known as NCB in insurance, is a bonus your health insurance company offers as a reward for not raising claims. The quantum of such bonus differs for each health insurance company but is usually 5 – 10 per cent of your sum insured and is normally capped at 50 per cent. By renewing your health insurance policy in time, you retain the higher coverage you are entitled to. Please read about the vital importance of a no-claim bonus in health insurance to understand the significance of timely renewal.

2. Continuity of Coverage:
   This is the most important reason to renew your health insurance policy in time. You continue to receive the coverage, which is the reason for you purchasing health insurance in the first place. Not only do you enjoy the benefits of availing of the best healthcare facilities in case of hospitalisation or a medical emergency, but you ensure that your well-planned financial savings plan does not go off track due to the exorbitant and rapidly increasing price of medical treatment. Once your policy has expired, it no longer covers you for any expenses related to hospitalisation, and you will need to meet all such expenses with your resources.

3. Continuity of Waiting Period Benefits:
   All health insurance policies come with an initial waiting period of 30 days and have pre-defined waiting periods for pre-existing conditions and diseases upto 36 months. Renewing your health insurance policy in time ensures that you continue to reap the benefits of having already gone through this waiting period. If you forget to renew your policy for whatever reason, when you buy a new health insurance policy, you will have to go through all these waiting periods again.

4. Continuity of Accumulated Bonus:
   Apart from the no-claim bonus in health insurance, health insurance companies also often offer a cumulative bonus, which may go as high as 500 per cent of your original basic sum insured amount over a period of time. These are like loyalty bonuses offered when you renew your policy. Certain policies allow this accumulated bonus not to be taken away even if you file a claim. Renewing in time ensures that you continue to enjoy the benefits of such bonus amounts on your sum insured.

5. Difficulty in Getting New Policy and Pricier Premiums:
   Once you fail to renew your existing health insurance policy, it expires, and you cannot enjoy the coverage it used to offer you and your family. You must apply for a new policy to get covered by health insurance. As you are now older and may now be suffering from pre-existing diseases from the point of view of the insurance company you are applying for a new policy, you may, in extreme circumstances, be denied coverage by a health insurance policy depending on the present condition of your health. Even if you successfully get a new health insurance policy, the premium amount will be higher for comparative coverage as you are older. 

Pro Tip: If you have to buy a new health insurance policy, consider purchasing affordable health protection plans to obtain a slightly lower sum insured and more affordable premiums.

Note: As per rules set by IRDAI, all health insurance companies offer a grace period between 15 and 30 days after the premium payment due date. Please note that this grace period is offered to ensure that your health insurance policy does not expire and you do not lose all your accumulated benefits. No claims will be payable in the grace period once your premium due date is over.

Conclusion

Renewing your health insurance policy within the due date is vital to you. Please note that although your health insurance company will send you several reminders using multiple channels to remind you of your due date and to pay, it is ultimately solely your responsibility to keep track of your premium due date and to pay on time.