Key takeaways: What happens when I renew my health insurance? Can I change insurer instead?

Health insurance policies usually renew every 12 months. If you’re happy to go ahead with the renewal, it’s usually quite straightforward, but if you decide to change insurer, your new cover may not be the same as you have with your current insurer, and you’ll need to check your new policy carefully, especially how it covers any conditions you already have.  

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What happens when I renew my health insurance? Can I change insurer instead?

When your health insurance is due for renewal, it makes sense to review it, especially if the price or your needs have changed. However, if you change insurer, your cover may not continue in the same way as it did with your old insurer.

Health insurance renews every 12 months. If you’re happy to renew your current plan, it’s generally straightforward to carry on your cover. Depending on your insurer, and the plan you're on, you may be able to change some of your options when you renew.

Health insurance can be set up to renew automatically. It’s worth checking this, as you can choose not to renew automatically if you prefer. However, be aware that if your insurance ends, you may lose any cover for existing medical conditions, and you may not be able to put this back in place if you later start your insurance again.

If you decide to change your health insurance provider, it may not be as straightforward as changing your car or home insurance, and there are a few things to think about before you make the change. Whatever you decide to do, it’s a good idea to make sure your health insurance meets your needs.

Find out more in our guide: Can I change my health insurance between providers?

How does renewing health insurance work?

Health insurance plans renew every 12 months. The renewal process is usually straightforward, and with some insurers you may be able to renew automatically or online.

The renewal process will vary between health insurers, but they’ll contact you a few weeks before your renewal date and tell you what your cover will cost for the next 12 months. They’ll give you some policy documents to look over, and tell you about any changes to your cover this year, so you can check what you’re signing up for. You then decide if you want to go ahead with the renewal.

If you want to go ahead, check whether your health insurance is set to automatically renew. If it is, you don’t need to do anything, but you may want to check when your insurer will collect your annual payment if you're an annual payer or when your first direct debit will be taken if you pay monthly. If your plan isn’t set to renew automatically, you’ll need to contact your insurer to pay for your plan.

If you have questions or want to change something, you’ll need to contact your insurer. With some insurers, you can do this using your online account, although they may insist on talking to you to make sure you understand the implications of any changes. 

If you don’t want to renew, and your plan is set to renew automatically, then you'll need to contact your insurer to let them know before you cancel any paymnet. If your plan isn't set to renew automatically you don't need to do anything. If your decision is based on the price, your insurer may be able to make some suggestions to help lower the cost of your premium.  

You can find out more about this in our guide: Why do prices go up?

Will my premium go up at renewal?

Health insurance premiums tend to go up each year, no matter which insurer you’re with.

However, there may be ways you can lower the cost of your insurance. For example, depending on how your plan is set up, you may be able to:

  • Increase your excess – this will reduce your premiums, but if you make a claim, you’ll have to pay more.
  • Change how often you pay – Most health insurers, including AXA Health, give you a 5% discount if you pay yearly instead of monthly. 
  • Review your options – some health insurers may allow you to change other options on your health insurance to lower your price.

Read more about this in our guide: Why do prices go up?

Will my health insurance renew automatically? 

This will depend on your insurer. Some health insurers will automatically renew your cover unless you tell them you don’t want to renew. You can ask your insurer not to automatically renew your cover at any time.

What should I consider before renewing my health insurance?

It’s always a good idea to shop around to make sure you’re still getting the best value for your needs. But with health insurance, it’s really important to compare cover as well as prices. It’s also important to check how your new insurer will cover any existing conditions that you already have symptoms of. 

This table covers some of the considerations before changing your health insurer.  You can read about this in more detail in our guide: Can I change my health insurance between providers?

 

Staying with your current insurer

Switching to a new insurer

Continuity of cover

Your cover will continue seamlessly.

You’ll have to plan to make sure there’s no gap in your cover.

Continuity of treatment

You can continue any treatment your current insurer has authorised.

You might not be covered for ongoing treatment, and you might not be covered to use the same hospitals and specialists as your current insurer.

Your new insurer might have different limits on how much you can claim for a particular condition or treatment.

New conditions that start after your plan started

So long as you’re out of any initial period where cover for existing conditions is limited (a moratorium), you’ll usually be able to claim for any condition that your plan covers. 

Check the rules for your plan carefully.

A new insurer might not cover any condition you had symptoms of before you joined them, even if you’ve not seen a doctor about the symptoms. Or you may have to wait until you’ve been trouble-free from the condition for a set number of years before the new health insurer will cover it. 

You can find out more about existing conditions in our guide: Existing conditions.

Price

The cost of health insurance often goes up at renewal, no matter which insurer you’re with. When looking at what other insurers charge, make sure you’re comparing like with like. 

You might be able to save money by changing insurer, but check the new insurer covers everything you need, and that you’re happy with how they cover any existing conditions.

No claims discount

If you have a no claims discount with your current insurer, it will continue increasing if you haven’t claimed. This could reduce the cost of your premiums.

You won't be able to transfer your no claims discount when you switch to a new insurer, so you will need to start again.

Choice of specialists and hospitals you can use

If you’re not happy with the choice of specialists and hospitals you can use, check with your insurer to see if this is something you can change. Alternatively, a new insurer might offer different options.

You may not be able to use the same specialists and hospitals as your current insurer, so make sure you’re happy with what the new insurer offers before switching.

What happens if I don’t want to renew my health insurance?

If your plan is set up to renew automatically, you’ll need to let your insurer know that you don’t want to renew. However, it’s a good idea to check with your insurer anyway, as they may be able to offer other options that might make your insurance cheaper or better suited to your needs. If your plan is not set to renew automatically, you don't need to do anything.

If you’re starting a new plan with a new insurer, make sure your new plan starts as soon as your current plan ends so there are no gaps in your cover.

If you change your mind after renewing after your plan, you can cancel it within 14 days (your ‘cooling off period’). You usually won’t need to pay anything if you cancel at this time, so long as you haven’t made a claim during this period. If you cancel after 14 days, you may have to pay a cancellation charge.

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