Married and covered under your parent's insurance?

Question

Is it true that once you are married, and no longer considered a dependent of your parent's, you will no longer be covered under your parent's health insurance?? If so, how does the insurance company find out? Do you have to notify them?

Answer 1

As long as you don't make any claims, there's no fraud involved.  It's a waste of premium if you are being rated for separately (per dependent instead of per dependent group of children, if you have siblings still covered) and for that reason alone you should report being married.

If this is employer sponsored coverage (obtained through your parents' work) have them report it through HR.

Answer 2

The vast majority (over 99%) of benefit plans that I've seen specify that only unmarried children are eligible as dependents on the policy.

Your parent is required to notify his/her employer that you got married.  If they deliberately attempt to deceive their employer by leaving you on, they would risk getting in trouble at work - possibly getting fined and/or having to pay back your medical expenses...or even worse, your parent could lose his/her job.

Its really not that hard for either the insurer or your parent's employer to find out that you got married - somewhere along the line, it will come out, and then there will be trouble.  Even if they don't find out for awhile after your wedding, they can (and likely will) retroactively cancel you back to the date of your marriage.  This means that they will take back all payments they made to doctors/hospitals on your behalf going back to the date of your wedding.  Leaving you liable for the full charges and with some very angry medical providers on your hands.

Since you will have been retroactively terminated, there will be nothing you can do to get backdated insurance coverage.  You'll be stuck with all the bills, possibly have to pay back any premiums your parents' employer paid on your behalf, and if you have developed any medical conditions during the time of your cancellation, you may not even be able to find a new insurance policy that will take you.  (Unless you get group benefits through your own or your husband's employer, of course.)

You are *much* better off just having your parents report your marriage right away.  Not doing so would be insurance fraud, and even if you think you're getting away with it, it will come back to haunt you eventually.  The problems that will come up for you if you get caught a year later are much worse than just dealing with it responsibly now.  

If you're mature enough to get married, then you should be mature enough to handle all the responsibilities that come with it...including no longer being an eligible dependent of your parents.

Answer 3

yes. its time to grow up.

Answer 4

A married person is probably not covered under the parent's policy. Why not just call up the insurance company and ask the question?

And if you don't tell them, and then they find out, they may not cover an accident.

Nobody here is going to give you good advice by telling you to cover up something like that.

Answer 5

When you get married, your coverage should terminate the same date of marriage. If you dont tell them and claims are filled on that contract IF they find out your were married, they will request the money back from all of the doctors they paid.