subject: Medicare Supplemental Insurance - Can My Medigap Company Drop Me? [print this page] This is a question that comes up frequently among people who have held Medicare Supplemental Insurance for a long time. In the early 1990s and before, some aspects of Medigap insurance were not yet standardized. Some elements would occasionally change, and it was difficult to ensure that a policyholder always had the correct information. For example, there were once fourteen or more different kinds of Medigap insurance. As time has gone on, several have been eliminated, but they may still be held by those who had them at the time when they were phased out. Issues like this were common.
The same category of policyholders -- those who have had Medicare Supplemental Insurance for many years -- occasionally run into difficulties with companies that want to drop them. However, the vast majority of new Medigap policies are "guaranteed renewable." That means that your Medigap insurance company simply cannot drop you unless there are extraordinary reasons in play. If you first purchased your Medigap insurance policy after 1992, it falls under the protection of this "guaranteed renewable" clause. However, that does not mean that it is completely impossible for you to lose your Medigap coverage in other situations. Here's more information. The most common way that someone might find their Medicare supplemental insurance revoked is if they stop paying their monthly premium. It should come as no surprise that non-payment allows a company to release you from your Medigap policy, and this may lead to collection action. If you're having trouble paying for your policy, you can seek assistance through your state government or local humanitarian organizations. You can also negotiate for lower payments with the insurance company itself. Beyond this, policies are usually revoked only if the applicant has been dishonest on the original application. This is also fairly rare.
The last situation in which you can lose your Medicare Supplemental Insurance is when your insurance agency goes bankrupt. Quite simply, a bankrupt or insolvent agency is not able to maintain its obligations in regards to your insurance policy -- or any other. Although this is the least likely possibility, it does happen from time to time. In many cases, a struggling agency will be purchased by another, larger agency that will be able to continue your insurance with no problem. If this is not the case, though, you will have to switch agencies before your current company closes its doors.
by: vewiser
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