With COVID-19 recurring intermittently, it only makes sense to buy health insurance to protect against incurring steep medical costs. Nonetheless, if you were diagnosed with COVID-19 recently and are still recovering, you may not be able to buy health insurance immediately. This is due to something called the cooling-off period in health insurance. Read ahead to know more!
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“Cooling-off period” can have multiple meanings based on the health insurance provider you choose. Usually, it is the duration you may take to recover after suffering certain illnesses. During this period, approval for buying health insurance is usually avoided by insurers until you make full recovery. So, once you become fit, you will be eligible to buy health insurance for yourself. The cooling-off period usually spans from around 15 to 90 days depending on the terms of the policy. You can check with the insurer to find out the exact duration.
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The cooling-off period is an important enough feature in health insurance. It refers to the basic time of some days immediately after purchasing a health insurance policy during which one cannot make any claim. This timeline differs from insurer to insurer and is usually 15-30 days.
This keeps people from buying insurance only at the time they need immediate treatment, then making a claim right away. This would ensure that insurance is used for what it is intended for—unexpected events, not planned expenditures.
It gives you time to go through the policy terms and conditions properly. If one realises that this is not the type of policy he or she wants, then they can cancel within the given period of time and get the money back less some administrative costs. Fairness: The cooling-off period ensures that both the insurer and the policyholder are bound by a fair agreement, avoiding situations in which insurance might be taken advantage of.
It is crucial for an insurer to check if the customer is in good health. Thus, the cooling-off period allows insurers to make a more accurate judgement of a customer’s health condition. During this period your insurer may require you to undergo a medical check-up and produce a negative report (a report showing negative results for a health condition or disease). Some insurers may also require your medical history for the past six months or one year. Based on these assessments, the insurer will decide whether to approve the insurance policy purchase immediately or postpone it further.
The cooling off period in health insurance is a critical time frame that insurers use to assess the health risk of potential policyholders who have recently recovered from an illness. This cooling period limit is established to ensure that individuals are in stable health before they are covered, helping to mitigate the risk of immediate and costly medical claims. As a result, the health insurance cooling off period directly influences health insurance premiums. If the insurer perceives a lower risk of future claims after the cooling-off period, the policyholder may benefit from more favourable premium rates. Conversely, if the risk remains high post-cooling-off period, this could reflect in higher premiums. Essentially, the insurance cooling-off period acts as a protective measure for both the insurer and the insured, effectively balancing risk and premium costs.
No, the cooling-off period is different from the waiting period. The cooling-off period usually refers to a 15 to 90 day period after catching an illness. During this period health insurance cannot be bought. So, the cooling-off period applies only before buying a health plan.
On the other hand, the waiting period refers to a 15 to 60 day period after buying a health insurance policy, during which the insured cannot raise any claims. So, unlike the cooling-off period, the waiting period is applicable only after buying health insurance.
The alternate usage of the term “waiting period” is to indicate the duration you may have to wait to receive coverage for a particular disease. However, some insurance companies may refer to the ‘initial waiting period’ or ‘free-look period’ as cooling off period as well.
Learn more about waiting period in health insurance
No, if your insurer needs you to complete the cooling period in insurance then you cannot skip it. Nonetheless, you can avoid it by buying a health insurance policy while you are still in good health, before you incur any illness. That is why we recommend that you purchase a health insurance policy as early as possible. That way, you do not need to panic if you come down with an illness. Doing so eliminates the entire need to face potential care delays from any standard insurer cooling-off periods. It also reduces the chances of coverage changes due to health status shifts.
Having that vital safety net already solidly in place means you avoid stressful moments later on if health issues emerge unexpectedly. No one envisions themselves requiring significant medical intervention, but circumstances can change fast, with detrimental results if insurance access gets disrupted due to policy switches. Investing in protection proactively brings permanence and security that cannot be replicated in any other fashion down the line. So get covered and breathe easy, knowing care comes without restrictions if needed.
There was a lot of panic due to the lack of adequate information regarding the disease during the initial COVID-19 waves in India. Thus, there were a lot of restrictions imposed on the public. Unfortunately, it was the same case with health insurance as well.
During that time, the cooling-off period for COVID-19 usually spanned from 15 days to 90 days or sometimes even up to six months. Fortunately, the number of days has gradually decreased since then. Now, the cooling-off period has been reduced to around 7 days.
The definition of cooling-off period may vary from insurer to insurer. As mentioned previously, the cooling-off period usually refers to the time of recovery after incurring a disease. During this period, you will not be able to buy health insurance. Sometimes, the initial 30 to 90 day waiting period is also interchangeably referred to as cooling-off period.
Alternatively, the cooling-off period could also refer to the 15 to 30 day period after the commencement of a health plan. During this time, the insured can choose to discontinue the plan without any repercussions and receive a full refund. Thus, it is important to learn the insurer-specific meaning of the term before purchasing a policy.
There is no cooling-off period under ACKO Health Insurance Policy. You can avail of coverage from day 1 itself and focus on getting better. You can leave the burden of paying for medical bills to us. Nonetheless, ACKO does have a free look period aka “cooling-off period” (as discussed in the previous sub-heading). During this time you can discontinue an ACKO health plan and receive a full refund. The free look period usually spans for around 15 days.
Managing your health during the cooling-off period, when you're recovering from an illness but aren't yet eligible for health insurance, is crucial. Here's how to navigate this time effectively:
Health insurance helps us to cope with the financial repercussions of illnesses like COVID-19. With the anticipation of more pandemics and other diseases brewing up, it only makes sense to buy health insurance in advance. Alternatively, if you do not buy health insurance soon, you may not be able to buy it once you incur a disease. Hence, we recommend that you buy it as soon as possible.
The following are some of the frequently asked questions regarding the cooling-off period in health insurance.
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Reviewed by Rupinderjit Singh 
Acko Technology & Services Private Limited
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