Short Term Health Insurance
Short term health insurance is a unique type of insurance that is designed specifically to be a stop-gap. As the name suggests it is a temporary form of health insurance that typically runs for a less than six months, although some insurance providers will allow a twelve month plan if required.
There are several reasons why you may need a temporary health insurance plan. For example you may be between jobs and your employee health insurance from your last job no longer covers you. Similarly you may have just been appointed a new job but need to wait the required time period before you can buy into the group coverage on offer.
Short term health insurance is also a popular choice for recent college graduates who are hoping to secure employment within the following year. This type of health insurance plan is ideal for anyone who is temporarily without a policy, but who doesn’t want to buy a traditional long term plan because they can get cheaper group coverage in the near future.
Most policies are designed to provide the insured with coverage against accidents and illnesses rather than everything a comprehensive policy covers. This means that things like dental, vision, immunizations, physicals and preventative treatments aren’t covered. In addition, pre-existing conditions that have been diagnosed or treated within the previous 3-5 years are rarely covered either, so short term health insurance plans are very basic.
There are two main ways to pay for a short term health insurance policy.
- As a single upfront payment – the cost is generally lower if you can make a single payment. However, you need to know exactly how long you want the policy to run for. You also don’t have the option to cancel the policy if you find you no longer need it before it is due to end.
- On a monthly basis – if you don’t know how long you will need coverage for then paying monthly is a better option. Overall the policy costs a bit more but you can cancel at any time (with 30 days notice).
For cheap short term health insurance it is often beneficial to pay a single payment up front for a six month policy. Then if you find you need to lengthen the period of coverage you can always begin a new policy or simply extend the one you have on a month to month basis.