What Is The Grace Period In Health Insurance Plans

As a policyholder, you are liable to pay a specific premium amount each year to keep the health insurance plan active. In order to smoothly handle your finances and monthly budget, it is necessary to know the exact premium payable for a health insurance plan. You can easily do it using a health insurance premium calculator.

In case you miss the date of premium payment, insurers provide a grace period within which the amount should be paid. Follow this guide to know more about the grace period for health insurance plans.

What does a grace period in health insurance plans mean?

As mentioned earlier, you need to pay a specific amount as a premium for a health insurance policy. In case you miss it, there is a due date within which the amount should be paid. If you do not pay the premium within the specified date, the insurance might lapse.

Most of the reputed insurance providers have a grace period policy that allows you to pay the premium even after the due date. This grace period usually lasts up to 15 to 30 days from the due date. You need to make the necessary payment for the medical insurance policy within this time period.

Note that some insurers can also impose a penalty fee even if you are making the premium payment during the grace period. However, both the charges and terms and conditions vary from one insurer to another. This is why it is advisable to go through policy terms before availing health insurance plans.

Renewing health insurance plan within a grace period

In case you have missed your due date of the insurance premium payment, you can revive the policy by clearing the unpaid premium amount along with penalty charges and interest. You can use a health insurance premium calculator to evaluate the amount you are liable to pay. However, if you fail to do that within the grace period, the policy automatically expires, and you end up losing the coverage benefits.

In such a scenario, you need to renew the health insurance policy to be able to use the benefits it offers. Here are the steps you can follow to do that:

Step 1:

Go to the online portal of your insurance provider and use your credentials to log in to your account. Note that you can also use the offline method to renew your medical insurance policy. In that case, you will have to get in touch with the insurance agents.

Step 2:

You will find an option to renew the policy. Click on it and make the payment using any online payment mode.

Note that certain insurance companies might not allow you to renew the policy if it is expired. As an alternate option, you can opt for a different insurance provider and switch to another health insurance.

You can find multiple health insurance plans to cover your health problems from insurance aggregators online. You get to pick from numerous insurance plans that can perfectly suit your requirements and maintain your financial health. These policies come with hassle-free claim settlement, high CSR, and other beneficial features.

Please note that a grace period is different from a waiting period for health insurance plans. The waiting period or qualifying period is the time for which you need to wait to avail the coverage benefits of a medical insurance plan.

Make sure to evaluate your premium liability using a health insurance premium calculator even before availing the policy. This way, you will be able to plan your finances and maintain them better.