Watch Out For Waiting Periods

There are many technicalities when it comes to insurance. From terms like “proximate cause” and “subrogation” through to concepts including “insurable interest,” there are a number of principles which will ultimately impact the enjoyment you receive from an insurance policy.

However, for most policyholder, these insurance concepts have their no bearing on the utilization of their policy. Whether it is car insurance, or professional insurance, the policyholder pays their premium and receives coverage from the insurer that they will have assistance and compensation against any protected loss they experience.

For most average policyholders, the only fundamental consideration that will affect their ability to fully utilize a plan is going to be the existence of a waiting period.

What is an Insurance Waiting Period?

Waiting periods, in insurance, are the length of time you must have been enrolled on a policy before being able to claim for a specific benefit.

This sounds simple enough, but in practice a waiting period can be a major impediment to receiving coverage under an insurance plan. For example, the most commonly encountered waiting period in Hong Kong insurance pertains to maternity coverage under a health insurance policy.

Maternity Waiting Periods

Under most Hong Kong and International Health Insurance policies maternity coverage is attached to a waiting period.

Following the definition given above, a policyholder wishing to obtain maternity coverage under their health insurance policy must be enrolled on their plan for a specific length of time. This is normally 12 months from the start of the insurance plan. As such, a policyholder would need to have completed at least one policy renewal in order to receive coverage for the costs of their maternity care.

There is an immediate cause for consideration when understanding that the minimum waiting period for maternity coverage is usually in the region of 12 months from the start of the policy. As a pregnancy lasts 9 months, a pregnant person is not normally able to take out a maternity insurance policy after becoming pregnant and receive coverage for that pregnancy under the insurance.

Managing Insurance Waiting Periods

If an insurance benefit is attached to a waiting period, then the only way to manage the waiting period is to wait.

A waiting period must be completed in order to receive coverage under the insurance benefit it is attached to. In the case of maternity insurance, a policyholder must wait until they have completed the waiting period before their health insurance plan will cover the costs of delivering the baby.

Because of this, managing a waiting period involves extensive planning. There is no other way around this road block.

Hong Kong Insurance Advice

If you would like to learn more about insurance in Hong Kong, or how waiting periods will impact your policy, please Contact Us today to discuss your needs with an expert insurance broker. You can also request a free quotation, comparing any of the insurance products we offer, by completing the short form on this page.

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