Tips for Changing Health Insurance

Are you thinking of switching health insurance? Whether you are paying too much for your health insurance, looking for better cover, unhappy with the service provided or you are leaving your company’s health insurance scheme, you are within your rights to move to another health insurance company.

One way of doing this is to simply start a new plan with a new provider, with no consideration of your old policy. However, this means that certain conditions that are covered by your existing policy may not be covered by the new one.

There is however another way to move between insurance providers, often referred to as switching health insurance. This involves transferring all or part of the old terms and conditions to the new policy. Find out more about switching health insurance.

To make switching easier for you, here are our top 10 tips for switching health insurance:

1. Review your health cover and what’s important to you

Before switching your health insurance policy, it is important to look back at the way you have used your health insurance plan previously. Identifying the benefits you have used the most or not at all will help you better understand what’s important for you. Your personal circumstances might have also changed since the start of your current policy and you might want to add or remove certain benefits from your new policy.

2. Don’t choose your health insurance cover solely on price

More expensive health insurance plans are not necessarily better, and conversely, don’t just go for the cheapest health insurance plan, as it might not provide the cover you need. When comparing prices, it’s very important to also compare the cover provided including benefits, exclusions, limits and excesses.

3. Shop around at renewal to find the best price

It is normal for health insurance premiums to go up at renewal. Usually, premiums go up due to your age, medical inflation, insurance premium tax, or because of the claims you made. Different insurers have different rules about how much and how often your premium increases so it’s always worth shopping around in case there are better deals available.

4. Read the policy documents when switching health insurance

When choosing the new policy to switch to, don’t just rely on the product’s webpage or sale brochure for information. Instead, ask to get access to the policy documents where the insurance product is described in more detail. This will also help you get a clearer idea of how the policy works.

5. Ask for continuation of cover from your new provider

When switching your health insurance plan, it’s important to ask the new insurance company if they can offer you a continuation of cover from your previous provider with the same underwriting terms. This means there will not be any break in cover and your underwriting terms should mirror the underwriting from your previous insurer subject to completion of a medical declaration.

Are you thinking of switching?

Whatever your health insurance requirements, UK Health Insurance is here to offer you reliable and free independent advice. We can help you with all aspects mentioned in this guide and do all the hard work for you to ensure the process for switching your health insurance is smooth and hassle-free.

6. Read customer reviews before switching health insurance

Before switching to a new health insurance company that you are not familiar with, it could be useful to check some of the reviews left by existing customers on independent reviews websites such as feefo.com and trustpilot.com. However, customer reviews in the insurance sector can be very subjective and sometimes misleading, so always check the company’s response to a review (if any), to get a more balanced opinion.

7. Switch health insurance at renewal

One of the best times to switch health insurance is close to your renewal date. This means that the two health insurance contracts are not overlapping, and you are up-to-date with the premium payments. If you choose to switch during your insurance term, your current health insurance company might charge you specific fees.

8. Have your existing health insurance certificate on hand

When you’re ready to switch, your new health insurance company might ask you for your existing health insurance certificate. This will help with the switch process and help you continue with the same underwriting, if relevant. If you can’t find your insurance certificate, contact your existing provider and they will be able to send you a copy.

9. Review all options when moving from a group scheme to an individual plan

If you are leaving a work health insurance scheme, switching to a personal plan with the same health insurance company is usually very straightforward. But it’s always best to check if there are other, more appropriate options for you with other insurance companies too.

10. Use an expert health insurance broker to help you switch

The health insurance market can be very complicated and comparing all options by yourself can be tricky. An independent health insurance broker can give you expert and trustworthy advice and help you step by step with the transfer.

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