Enrollment Period - Health Insurance Definition
The Enrollment Period is the time
during which you are allowed to enroll in a group
health insurance plan. As a rule, there are specific
times when others may join the group or may change
their existing coverage. Those times vary depending
on the insurance, the Broker and other factors,
but in general are as follows.
- On the date of permanent hire. Though there
may be a waiting period, there is typically
about a week during which time the employee
may look over the health insurance benefits
being offered and decide whether to enroll.
- On the anniversary date of hire. If you plan
to make a change, add or drop coverage, be sure
to talk to your insurance representative ahead
of time so that you don’t miss the opportunity.
- When you have life-altering changes. Life-altering
changes include the birth of a child, marriage,
divorce and death of a spouse. In general, this
is any time that you can argue that you must
make a change in your policy - either adding
coverage or dropping coverage - because of a
particular event.
Remember that in some cases, the group health
insurance coverage you sign up for is virtually
written in stone until the next open enrollment
period. That also means that you can’t drop
insurance unless there’s a life-altering
change. |
