Avoiding rescission is vital to sustaining individual health insurance. Rescission occurs when an insurance company denies or cancels a person's policy. Rescission is not only frustrating but can also have serious repercussions when applying for insurance in the future. Once a policy is rescinded, it is nearly impossible to get approved for another policy, even with another insurance company. Understanding rescission by researching health insurance tips will help avoid rescission and provide security in an individual health insurance policy.

The most common reason for rescission is lying on the insurance application. This includes concealing or misrepresenting material information. Information is considered material if it will affect the insurer's decision to either issue the policy or place restrictions on the policy. For example, including information about a common cold is not material, but excluding information about past tobacco use is material because it can affect mortality. When determining if information is material or not, you should ask whether the information affect mortality or long term health. If the answer is yes, then that information should be included on your individual health insurance application.

The inclusion of material information is important in both warranty and representation. Warranty is information in the health insurance application that you guarantee to be true. If it is proven false, the insurer may cancel the policy. Representation refers to information conveyed in the application that affects the formation of the policy. Again, if your representation is found to be untrue, then the policy may be canceled. This happens most often when material information is not included.

It is the burden of the insurer to ask the clearest questions possible on the insurance application. While ambiguous questions might cause courts to side with the insured, one of the most important of the health insurance tips is to ask for clarification if any question appears vague. This will help avoid future confusion and frustration if a policy is rescinded.

An essential health insurance tip is to always be aware of the contestable period of a policy. The contestable period is the timeline beginning when the policy is signed and extending to when the insurer can rescind the policy, typically two years. During this time, it is especially important to provide the insurer with any information you might have forgotten to include in the original application.

The imperative health insurance tip to remember when applying for individual health insurance is to be as truthful as possible. Relate all material information including information about medications, pre-existing health conditions and genetic conditions. If you forget to include something, contact your insurance company to clear up the matter as soon as possible. Being truthful is the best way to avoid rescission.