Texas health insurance carriers set the due date for premiums typically on the first day of each renewal period. Some policies will renew on any other given day of the month prior to the 29th. Renewal dates cannot be assigned on the 29th, 30th or the 31st because these dates do not occur in every month of the year. For the policy holder to maintain coverage, the premium payment must be made on or before that established date every month or quarter, depending on the billing mode of that particular policy. However, policy holders are allowed a grace period, or an extension of time past the actual due date, in order to make the premium payment without a lapse in coverage. If the premium is not received on the renewal date, the insurance carrier will not terminate the policy but will accept the premium if submitted within the grace period.

The grace period is typically the 30 days following the policy’s renewal date. There is no penalty or additional fee charged on late payments made as long as they are received during the grace period. Once the grace period has ended, payments will no longer be accepted, and the policy holder’s coverage will lapse. If the premium is set up with an automatic bank draft, the 30-day grace period is not a factor because the payment is automatically withdrawn on the due date.

Claims that are filed during the grace period will either be held pending premium payment or returned by the carrier to the provider since coverage is not considered active. When a claim is returned to the provider, the insured member will be contacted to provide proof of coverage or to pay the claim without benefit of the negotiated PPO rate. Once the required premium payment has been made, claims can be resubmitted to the carrier and the claims will be processed according to the outline of coverage.

When replacing an existing Texas health insurance policy, the grace period can be especially useful. A policy holder should never cancel a current policy before examining and accepting an insurance carrier’s offer for the new coverage. While reviewing the new offer of coverage, the policy holder can take advantage of the 30-day grace period by delaying the premium payment on the current policy.

If the individual determines that the new coverage is acceptable, that premium payment can be made to activate coverage, and the current policy will automatically terminate at the end of the grace period. Otherwise, the policy holder can reject the new policy offer and maintain the current policy without any lapse in coverage simply by making the premium payment before the end of the 30-day grace period.

Not only does the grace period protect consumers from potentially losing coverage due to a minor bill payment oversight, but it also provides additional time that may be required for dealing with any unexpected financial shortfalls. To further ensure the health insurance coverage is continued, the Texas health insurance agent should always be notified of situations where payment will be made during the grace period. The agent can keep the carrier informed and also verify that the premium payment is applied correctly.

Texas Jarvis is a licensed Texas health insurance agent with extensive experience regarding Individual Texas health insurance plans . Texas health insurance quote

Tim Jarvis is a licensed Texas health insurance agent with vast knowledge of the Individual health insurance market in Texas. More Texas health insurance information can be found at http://www.texasplans.com

Author Bio: Texas Jarvis is a licensed Texas health insurance agent with extensive experience regarding Individual Texas health insurance plans . Texas health insurance quote

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