Individuals’ changing lifestyles often convince them to purchase a health insurance plan. The best health insurance policy provides financial assistance during unanticipated medical situations.
Depending on individual needs, different medical policies are available, such as individual health insurance, maternity insurance, and more.
However, if an individual is not happy after purchasing an online medical policy, they can discontinue or cancel the health insurance plan.
According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, if the policyholder is not happy with the terms and conditions or coverage, they can cancel it within a specified time frame. This time period is called a review period or free look period.
In this blog, we will explore all about the health insurance policy free look period.
What is the Health Insurance Free Look Period?
The review period or free look-up period is the time given by an insurance company during which policyholders can terminate the purchased health insurance plan without obligation or penalties. A free look-up period for a health insurance plan may vary from insurance provider to provider, but the general timing ranges between 15 and 30 days.
The provision introduced by the IRDAI allows consumers to decide if the health insurance plan they bought is worth it or not. Many times, after purchasing a health insurance policy, customers are not satisfied with the coverage, medical insurance premium, or policy condition. In that case, the free look period gives them the flexibility to cancel plans.
Key Highlight of Free Look Period in Medical Policy
The free look period highlights are listed below.
Time to Re-evaluate Plan: The free look period gives policyholders enough time to review the health insurance plan after purchase. At the time of re-evaluating, if the policyholder is not happy with the plan coverage or condition, they can initiate the policy cancellation or discontinuation. Policyholders generally have 15 to 30 days to review the plan.
Cancellation Request: After the evaluation, if a policyholder wants to cancel the online medical policy, they need to send a cancellation request to the insurance provider either online or offline.
Submission of Details: After initiating the cancellation request, policyholders need to submit the essential details about the purchased plan, such as the date of purchase policy, the reason for cancellation and more.
Documentation for Policy Cancellation: After that, policyholders need to submit all the relevant documents to the insurance provider for the policy cancellation. These documents can be premium receipts, policy documents, etc.
Refund: Once the documentation is done, the insurance company will verify the free look period and other things before initiating the refund. Once everything is checked, the insurance company will deduct some amount, such as medical test fees, stamp duty charges and more and then refund the amount to the policyholder.
Step By Step Procedure to Use Free Look Period
If a policyholder is not satisfied with the health insurance online plan, then they need to follow the below steps to cancel the policy.
Step 1: Contact the insurance provider online and offline and initiate a cancellation process of the purchased plan.
Step 2: Policyholders need to submit a written request for cancellation specifying the reason for cancellation. They also need to fill out other details of their health insurance policy.
Step 3: Individuals also need to submit all the required documents. The insurance company will also contact the TPA that was involved at the time of the policy purchase.
Step 4: The insurance company will review the request and verify the document and policy terms, and after that, they will cancel the plan and initiate the refund process.
Thing to Remember While Cancelling Health Insurance Plan in Free Look Period
Individuals need to remember a few pointers while cancelling the health insurance policy in the free look period.
The insurance provider may ask for a valid policy cancellation reason, so the policyholder must have one while filing a cancellation request.
Under the plan, the full premium amount is not refunded. In some cases, insurance companies deduct the pre-health check-up charges, stamp charges, and other fees while refunding the amount.
The free look period for health insurance plans may vary from company to company. Some insurance companies offer a 15-day free look period, while some only offer it with the purchase of a 3-year plan. It is important to check the policy document for the exact details about the free look period.
The free look period is only applicable on the purchase of a new health insurance policy, not on policy renewals.
Conclusion
The free look period or review period is a great initiative initiated by the IRDAI to curb unfair practices by insurance company representatives. It gives policyholders time to evaluate the purchased medical policy, and if they are not happy with the plan, they can cancel it without obligation.