How Life Events Can Affect Your Health Insurance Coverage

Life is full of changes, and many of these changes can significantly impact your health insurance coverage. These changes, known as qualifying life events, allow you to make adjustments to your health insurance outside the standard open enrollment periods.

What Are Qualifying Life Events?

Qualifying life events include major life milestones such as getting married, having a baby or losing existing health coverage. These events trigger a special enrollment period, during which you can enroll in or modify your health insurance plan. This flexibility can help adapt your coverage to your evolving needs.

Types of Qualifying Life Events

The following are common qualifying life events:

• Family changes—Events like marriage, divorce or the birth of a child are common qualifying life events. For instance, getting married might mean adding your spouse to your health plan, while having a baby requires adding your new child to your coverage. Conversely, divorce might necessitate removing a former spouse from your plan.

• Loss of coverage—Losing health insurance due to job loss, aging out of a parent’s plan or losing eligibility for government programs may also qualify as life events. These situations typically allow you to seek new coverage options to help you remain protected.

• Changes in residence—Moving to a new location can affect your health insurance if your current plan doesn’t cover your new area. This typically includes relocating to a different ZIP code or county.

• Income changes—Significant changes in income can impact the type of coverage you qualify for. For example, a substantial increase or decrease in income might make you eligible for different plans or subsidies.

Other qualifying life events include gaining U.S. citizenship, leaving incarceration or changes in employment status. Each of these events can open a special enrollment period, allowing you to adjust your health insurance to fit your new circumstances.

Learn More

For health insurance near you, contact Sweet Insurance Agency.

This blog is intended for informational and educational use only. It is not exhaustive and should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact your insurance professional for further information.