When considering a new health insurance policy, it is best to keep your current policy in effect until your new insurance carrier has accepted you. Dropping your current coverage before obtaining a new health insurance policy can be risky for many reasons.

If you lose your employment and have had your health insurance through your place of employment, consider COBRA. This will allow you to maintain coverage under your former insurance until you are able to obtain a new health insurance policy. This is especially important if you are in the middle of any type of treatment or pregnancy. If you have a lapse in coverage of more than 62 days, any new health insurance policy that you may acquire will likely not cover your pre-existing conditions. This can be very costly for you.

When you apply for a new health insurance policy, be prepared to give a complete health history. This can be a daunting project, but it needs to be as accurate as possible. The carrier will verify the information you provide and may call and ask for more details about various items. Realize that it may take a couple months for a new policy to go into effect if you are accepted.

It is also important to note that you may be accepted with a new carrier but with exclusions to the coverage. This may occur even if you are currently insured with a regular policy or through COBRA. Law requires that you cannot be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions if you obtain insurance within 62 days, but it does not preclude carriers from excluding coverage for specific conditions as part of their accepting to cover you.

If you have had a lapse in coverage of more than 62 days, you may be denied coverage or pre-existing conditions may be given an extended waiting period before the new policy will pay anything towards treatment for those conditions. This waiting period is typically three, six or twelve months. If you are eligible for COBRA, you typically have 62 days to decide if you will use it. If you choose to continue your current coverage through COBRA, you will have to pay for the entire time from the date of termination to the current month in order to continue coverage. It is best to elect COBRA and then begin immediately to find a new health insurance policy.

In conclusion, a lapse in coverage of greater than 62 days can make obtaining insurance more difficult for you. If you have any preexisting conditions, the new health insurance policy will likely not pay anything towards those conditions for an extended waiting period, or not at all.