How to switch health insurers without losing cover

Key rules

• Order: Cancel the old policy only after the new one is active.
• Waiting periods: A new insurer means a new contract, so waiting periods normally restart unless it agrees in writing to recognise your earlier cover.
• Questionnaire: Answer the new health questionnaire truthfully; the insurer can accept, exclude or decline.
• Notice: Give written notice to the old insurer at least one month before the renewal date, in a way that proves it arrived.

The safe order: new policy first, then cancel

Cancel the old policy only after the new one is active. Until then, keep paying and keep using the old cover. A short overlap of a few days to one month is normal. At most it costs one extra month's premium, and Spanish law does not forbid holding two policies.

Expect waiting periods to start again

A new policy with a different insurer is a new contract, so waiting periods (carencias) normally start again unless the new insurer agrees in writing to recognise your earlier cover. Emergencies and accidents usually have no waiting period. Hospitalisation, surgery and childbirth are the benefits most likely to be affected, so plan around them. Company group policies often have no carencias.

Ask about seniority recognition

No rule forces an insurer to credit your time with the old one. Some do, often as a promotion or on request. Before you apply, ask the new insurer:

• Will it recognise your earlier cover?
• What proof does it need?
• Does the recognition cover every benefit?

Insurers usually want proof of continuous cover with a comparable private policy, with no gap or a very short one. Credit normally applies only to benefits your old policy had. Newer or extended benefits still have waiting periods. Get the answer in writing before you cancel anything.

The health questionnaire may restart

The new insurer will normally ask you to complete a new health questionnaire (cuestionario de salud). Answer it truthfully, because the law requires it. The insurer can then accept you, accept you with exclusions or a higher premium, delay cover, or decline.

Anything diagnosed or treated under your old policy counts as pre-existing. Serious or chronic conditions are the ones most often excluded or refused. Minor, resolved conditions are often accepted. Decisions vary by insurer.

Cancel the old policy correctly

Annual policies renew automatically. To stop that, send your written notice in a way that proves it arrived, such as burofax, registered letter or the insurer's own channel. Check your renewal date first, and the one-month deadline is set out in the page on ending or not renewing a policy. Send the notice once the new start date is confirmed in writing.

Use the planner, documents list and checklist below to keep the steps in order.

Choosing between options

Should you switch now or wait for a better moment?

• Switch with seniority recognised in writing: The new insurer agrees in writing to credit your earlier cover and you can show continuous cover with a comparable policy.

• Switch and accept new waiting periods: You are healthy, do not need hospitalisation or surgery soon, and can plan around waits starting again.

• Stay with your current insurer: You have a chronic or serious condition that a new insurer might exclude or refuse, or you need treatment soon.

Switch only after the new policy is active and the new insurer has confirmed in writing what it will recognise; otherwise stay put.

Plan a safe switch with notice dates, overlap and new waiting periods

Switching without a gap

• Find your renewal date and read the carencias clause of the new policy: before you start

• Ask the new insurer in writing whether it will recognise your earlier cover, and what proof it needs: before you apply and before you cancel anything

• Apply and answer the new health questionnaire truthfully: several weeks before your renewal date, as approval can take up to a couple of weeks

• Get the start date of the new policy confirmed in writing: once the insurer accepts you; cover usually starts within a few days to two weeks of applying

• Send your written non-renewal notice to the old insurer by a means that proves it arrived, such as burofax or registered letter: at least one month before the renewal date

• Start the new policy before the old one ends, with a short overlap: a few days to one month before the old policy ends; this costs one extra month's premium at most

• Keep using the old policy until it ends: until 24:00 on the last day of the policy period, which is the renewal date

• Plan around the new waiting periods for hospitalisation, surgery and childbirth: from the start date of the new policy, unless recognition was agreed in writing

• If the new insurer declines you or adds exclusions, let the old policy renew or look at another insurer: before the notice deadline, so you are never without cover

Documents you need

• Certificate of cover from your old insurer, showing you have had continuous cover with a comparable private policy

• Your last premium receipts from the old policy, as proof of continuous cover

• Written confirmation from the new insurer that it recognises your earlier cover

• Written non-renewal notice to the old insurer, sent by burofax, registered letter or the insurer's own channel so you can prove it arrived

• Completed health questionnaire (declaración de salud) for the new policy, answered truthfully

Checklist

• Confirm the new policy is active before you cancel the old one

• Ask the new insurer whether it recognises your seniority, and get the answer in writing

• Check the new policy's waiting periods for each benefit you rely on, since they may start again

• Answer the new health questionnaire truthfully, knowing the insurer may accept, exclude or decline

• Keep both policies running for a short overlap of a few days to one month

Warning that switching can reset waiting periods and exclusions

What can reset when you switch

• Waiting periods usually start again: A new policy with a different insurer is a new contract, so waiting periods normally start again unless the new insurer agrees in writing to recognise your earlier cover. Hospitalisation and surgery usually wait 6 months, childbirth and maternity 8 to 10 months, and advanced diagnostics or high-cost treatment 6 to 12 months. Assisted reproduction can wait 12 months or more. Ask the new insurer for written recognition of your earlier cover before you cancel the old policy. Expect to show proof of continuous cover, such as a certificate or recent premium receipts. Credit usually covers only benefits your old policy had.

• A new health questionnaire can bring exclusions: The new insurer will ask you to fill in a health questionnaire. Anything diagnosed or treated under your old policy counts as pre-existing. The insurer may exclude it, add a surcharge, delay cover or decline you. Serious or chronic conditions are the most often excluded. Answer truthfully, because wrong answers can cause problems with claims later. Wait for the insurer's acceptance in writing before you send your notice to the old insurer.

• Emergencies are usually covered, follow-up care may not be: Emergencies and accidents normally have no waiting period. Some insurers exclude accidents that happened before the policy, or apply waits to follow-up care such as a hospital stay after the emergency. Check the emergency and accident wording in the general conditions of the new policy.

Frequently asked questions

Will the new insurer cover a condition I was treated for under my old policy?

Not always: the new insurer treats a condition you were diagnosed with or treated for under your old policy as pre-existing, so it may exclude it, add a premium loading, delay cover or decline you. Chronic or serious conditions such as cancer or heart disease are the most often excluded or refused.

Do I need a new health questionnaire for a company group policy?

Usually no, because group policies often skip the health questionnaire and often have no waiting periods. This applies to collective or company policies, not individual ones. Individual policies normally ask for a new questionnaire, which you must answer truthfully.

What proof of my old cover will the new insurer want?

It will typically want proof of continuous cover with a comparable private policy, such as a certificate of cover or your last premium receipts. A gap of no more than a very short one is usually accepted.

Will waiting periods apply to emergencies on the new policy?

Usually no, because emergencies and accidents normally have no waiting period even on a new policy.