If I make a Claim on my Health Insurance what Effect does this have on Next Year’s Premiums?

If you have health insurance in place you are probably going to want to know what effect making a claim will have on your premiums. Many people are reluctant to make claims as they are worried about their premiums increasing.

One thing you should be aware of is that there may be some restrictions on the amount that you can claim for certain types of health care, on your policy. There may also be restrictions on the type of health care that you are covered for. You’ll need to check all of this information before you get care from your physician so that you’re not faced with any big surprises afterwards.

So what actually happens when you make a claim?

Making a claim on your health insurance is quite a simple process. You will have already registered your insurance policy with your physician so your application process actually starts as soon as you make an appointment. Once you have received the medical care you pay whatever your co-pay amount is and your physician sends the details to your insurer to check whether the care provided is covered. If it is then the insurer will pay the balance of the cost; if it isn’t you will have to pay the balance yourself.

Once you’ve made the claim will your insurance premiums go up?

There are some insurance providers who reward policy holders who don’t claim by giving them preferential rates on their premiums, but this won’t necessarily be the case. This is something that you will need to discuss with your insurance provider when you take out the policy. It’s also worth noting that health insurance premiums may still increase even if you don’t make a claim.

Much like any individual insurance policy, health insurance premium rates are dictated by the amount of claims as a whole. This means that the premiums you pay don’t just depend on what claims you make but also on the claims made by other people insured under the scheme.

This isn’t the only reason why your premiums may increase. Insurers have to cover their costs and these costs increase as medical charges increase. As technology improves, and physicians make use of improved medications, so the charges for this medical care increase and this increase is passed on to the insurance providers.

They in turn pass this increase on to clients via increased premiums. So how often will you see an increase in the amount of your health insurance premiums? Providers are only permitted to make one increase in the rate of premiums per year, so you won’t be at the receiving end of increases every couple of months.

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You can see that you shouldn’t be reluctant to make a claim against your health insurance; you have a policy in the first place so that you can be protected when you need healthcare. Your premiums are likely to increase even if you don’t claim, based on all the external factors present.