What happens when an insurance company decides to non-renew your policy?

Should there be legitimate reason for your health insurance company to non-renew your policy, you will be left without medical insurance.

"Usually, depending on the state, any individual insurance company cannot cancel your policy unless you did not pay your premium," informs Cindy J. Holtzman, Director of Operations at Medical Billing Advocates of America (MBAA). "You need to find out the reason why, possibly appeal their decision and contact your State Insurance Commissioners' Office. Also try calling your insurance agent, if available, for additional assistance."


Start by calling your health insurance company. This can be a stressful phone call waiting through the automated voice service until you can either get the information on your account (which isn't likely you find out the reason for the cancellation through the automated system) or talk to a real person who can either inform you of that reason or direct you to someone who can. If that reason is anything other than the health insurance company is going out of business or you haven't paid your premium, most likely you have reason to contact your State Insurance Commissioner. You can issue a complaint through them and they will help resolve your situation. Start by calling your State Insurance Commissioner, which you can find that number by calling information, looking it up in a phone book, or looking for it online. Sometimes there may be a website available provided by your State Insurance Commissioner which will have the phone number to call and other useful information on how to get help with your problem. When calling be sure to have all of your medical insurance information in front of you and paper and pen to jot down some notes. It's best to keep everything as organized as possible to facilitate your claim quickly and efficiently. Your State Insurance Commissioner should be able to direct you on what to do from there. They may have you fill out an official complaint form, which if they have a website it can be downloaded from there. The phone call may be all that is needed for them to start the complaint process. Often they may need copies of your medical insurance information in order to prove the case. They will guide you through the complaint process. It is their job to rectify this problem.

Should there be legitimate reason for your health insurance company to non-renew your policy, you will be left without medical insurance. It will then be up to you to find new medical insurance, which yes, is a difficult and intimidating search but a very necessary one. To be without medical insurance is like setting yourself up for certain financial ruin, especially if you already have medical conditions in need of treatment, whether your own or of your family. If you obtain medical insurance through your employer, there may be help through your work. If the insurance company didn't renew any of the employee's insurance policies, then the employer is apt to find a new health insurance company to provide medical insurance for their employees. If only you, or a few of the employees were affected, you may still be able to find help by talking with the person at work that is in charge of managing the medical insurance for the employees. They may know of an alternative insurance company that would accept you, or maybe even just recommend where to start your search. Either way, it's best to begin by seeking advice from a knowledgeable source.


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