Sign Up for Auto Pay
Being canceled for non payment can leave you uninsured until the next open enrollment. Automating the premium removes that risk.
Sign Up for Auto Pay
We recommend that every one of our clients set up some form of automatic payment for their premium. This is the step that protects everything else.
Historically the single biggest problem we deal with is a client being canceled for non payment, sometimes over one missed month.
What is at stake
-
Under current individual market rules, if you are canceled you generally cannot buy a new individual policy until the next annual open enrollment, for coverage starting the following January.
-
Being canceled in the spring can therefore mean going uninsured for the rest of the year.
-
Short term policies that used to bridge a gap like that are no longer available in California.
How to set it up
-
Call the service number on the back of your insurance card and ask to enroll in automatic payment.
-
You can use a checking account, or a credit card if you want the travel miles.
-
You can usually also set it up yourself once you have a login on the insurance company website, which is the next step on this path.
-
Check the first statement after you set it up, to confirm the draft actually went through.
If you would rather not automate a bank draft
Some people dislike letting an institution draw from their bank account. Our view is that health premiums and retirement contributions are the two worth making an exception for, because automating them removes the risk entirely.
If you truly will not automate it, put a recurring reminder on your calendar for a few days before the due date every month, and treat it as unmissable.
Questions About Your Premium?
We can tell you what you owe, when it is due, and how to automate it. There is no charge for the help.