Can your health insurance be canceled because of your age?
One of the reasons why some people decide not to get medical insurance is because they have read or been told that after reaching a certain age, their policy will be canceled automatically, and they will have to absorb medical expenses on their own. That makes a policy not attractive as it is precisely in our adulthood when we most need insurance that can give us the peace of mind of receiving quality medical care
If all health insurance policies expired when we got older, it wouldn’t make sense to buy one as it would be much better to save that money to use later.
Another myth is that if you have a lot of claims the company may decide to terminate the coverage. If that were true, it wouldn’t be a good thing either, would it?
Fortunately, our group of health insurance experts at Guardian Insurance MX have put together reliable information regarding this matter, so grab a pen and a notebook because you’re going to want to take notes:
Policies canceled at a certain age
Out of the hundreds of health insurance providers on the market, you will find companies that don’t cancel a policy if you reach a certain age, while others do cancel them
What determines if your policy will be terminated in the future due to your age? That is up to the insurance company you do business with and your age at the time of buying a policy. For example:
- Some companies will guarantee the renewal of your policy provided you buy it at the age of 59 or younger; but if you get your policy at 60+ years old, the company has the right to simply not renew it once you turn the age limit stipulated in the contract of the policy
- Other companies will have a guaranteed renewal provided, regardless of your age. Of course, you must sign up within their age limit for new applicants, but once you are a client of that insurance company, you can be 100 years old and still keep your insurance active
The best way to know whether the policy you plan on buying will renew your policy or cancel it is by asking your insurance agent that question, and if possible, to have them show where in the general conditions (AKA fine print) the company states the renewal criteria of your policy renewal
Regardless of the type of company you choose to get, we do encourage you to buy insurance while you are still healthy or when you don’t have too many or severe preexisting conditions. This way you avoid having a policy issued with restrictions. You can learn more about the best time to get insurance.
Policies canceled due to a high percentage of claims
Another misconception caused by so much misinformation out there, is that a company can cancel someone’s policy due to a high percentage of claims. That statement is not accurate, because companies are required, by law, to continue with the payment of claims as much as the client needs it and up to the limit contracted in the policy.
In fact, most of the general conditions of insurance companies have a clause that says more or less the following:
“Guaranteed Annual Renewals:
At the end of the term of the insurance stipulated in this contract, the Policy will be understood as renewed for a new period of equal duration, on the understanding that the payment of the corresponding premium must be made for the period that begins on the date of its expiration or within the Grace Period.
No individual Insured shall be penalized individually with the cancellation or modification of this Policy, based solely on an unfavorable history of claims.”
Valid reasons for a company to cancel a policy:
There are some valid reasons why companies can cancel a policy, for example:
- The client did not make the payment on time
- The policy has already exhausted all its benefits for its client
- The insured omitted important information at the time of contracting the insurance and the company decided to terminate the policy
Other policies that can be canceled after a certain age are those of travel insurance with medical coverage (known as Travel Medical Insurance), which are often confused with health insurance policies. If you want to know more about the difference between the two, read the following article Health Insurance vs Travel Medical Insurance: Do You Know the Difference.
Now that you know that a major medical expenses policy can stay by your side for life, you can request an easy online quote customized to your needs.
