Is it legal to start paying a premium for group health insurance a month before it kicks in?
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at
1:34 pm
I sustained a foot injury last week but actual coverage starts August 1. In other words, I am paying for insurance coverage but I am not deriving the benefit.
Tagged with: august 1 • benefit • foot injury • insurance • insurance coverage
Filed under: Group Health Insurance
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Legal and common.
See, it’s not your policy – it’s your employer’s policy. On August 1st when the coverage starts, they have to pay the insurance company in full, for the month, for you. So they take the money out of your check in July, so they have it, when the time comes to PAY for it.
But the insurance company itself, hasn’t actually been PAID yet for you. So you did not PAY for the coverage – you set the money aside to pay for it. Not the same thing at all.
Your premiums are probably paid in advance. If your injury was on-the-job, WC applies.
Yes, it’s pretty common because the company owes the insurance company in July for coverage that starts in August. It would be odd for them to pay the premium and deduct it. If they owe it then why wouldn’t you?
No big deal though because you would just make the claim on your current insurance. That would be the plan you planned on keeping until your new coverage went into effect on August 1st.
You always pay insurance in advance for whatever it is, a home, a car, belongings, health. When you pay insurance, you sometimes have a waiting period. If yours is only 30 days that is very good.