Health Insurance Break in healthcare cover - Is the break period chargeable with the next policy?

A

AndroidMan

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I was with one provider and had a policy from (for example):

01/01/2022 - 31/12/2022, 1 year cover with supplier A

I had changed bank account and Supplier A was not able to take any money for the "automatic" renewal for 2023.
I was just being lazy and in Feb thought I should get cover sorted.

I got (for exqmple):

01/02/2023 - 30/01/2024, 1 year cover with supplier B

I now have supplier B telling me I need to pay the extra month where there was no cover.
Is this acceptable / normal practice?

I did not require cover at that time fortunately and guaranteed that if I did, they would have told me I dont have cover.
Not sure what the normal practice is here and if I should just refuse to pay.
 
Last edited:
AndroidMan said:
I got (for exqmple):

01/02/2023 - 29/02/2024, 1 year cover with supplier B

I now have supplier B telling me I need to pay the extra month where there was no cover.
Click to expand...
What extra month?
You mean for January 2023?
I can't see how they can require you to pay for that.
What is their explanation for needing you to pay for this?
 
Yes, thats correct. When I purchased the 2nd year, it was for 12 months (annual cover) until end of Feb 24.
They are now asking that I pay for the missing month.
The email is not clear on whether it will still be 12 months or 13 or even if the 12 month period steps back a month.
I will call them but looking to see if this is normal.

Isnt it similar to having a non insured car on the driveway for a period of time?

Thankfully I did not have a claim in the missing month and I suppose I would have been grateful if they did keep me covered, but the time has passed now and wondering should I pay or not for something I didnt even need.

Its around €150
 
AndroidMan said:
Yes, thats correct. When I purchased the 2nd year, it was for 12 months (annual cover) until end of Feb 24.
They are now asking that I pay for the missing month.
Click to expand...
What missing month?
Your cover with B is 13 months - 01/02/2023 - 29/02/2024.
 
But you still haven't clarified what "missing" month they're telling you that you have to pay for or what their reason is for this.

If it's January 2023 and you only took cover out from February 2023 for the following 12 months then I can't see how they can insist that you retrospectively pay for January as well.
 
AndroidMan said:
Its exactly that.
Click to expand...
Doesn't make any sense to me.
How can they charge for a month when you were not covered?
What's their reasoning for asserting that you should pay for this month?
Who exactly is insisting on this? The health insurance company (which one) or a broker?
Are you sure that you haven't misunderstood something?
What exactly did they say about this matter?
 
jpd said:
If you had a break, does that not mean that you will have to go through waiting period
Click to expand...
Only if it's more than 13 weeks.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about all aspects of health insurance.
www.hia.ie www.hia.ie

What happens if I have a break in cover of more than 13 weeks?​

If you have a break in health insurance cover of more than 13 weeks, you may have to serve new customer waiting periods again. If you are aged 35 or above, a Lifetime Community Rating loading may also be added to the cost of your policy.
Click to expand...
 
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