Pretty sure that’s what TriPolar and I have been saying all along.
That’s part of what you have been saying. You have also claimed that you can stop paying in the middle of a policy. While this is true to the extent that some policies allow it, they are under no obligation to and many do not. You are preaching it as gospel when in fact you have no idea what the OP’s policy term is.
I’m not calling you a liar. I’m saying you are wrong. I have no doubt that you genuinely believe the things you are saying. However, your vast experience of being an insurance customer notwithstanding, that doesn’t make them true. It also doesn’t make any of them relevant. As I have already pointed out, the OP already has a policy in effect. You are talking about buying new insurance, which is not the same thing.
The OP says that the next premium payment covers the period Jan-Mar 2015. That’s new coverage. There is no insurance that you pay over time, on an installment plan.
As far as your accusations go:
That sounds a bit different than saying you’re wrong.
Other than whole life, health, dental, auto, liability…
No, you pay the pro rata portion of the periodic coverage that you have elected with the provider. Monthly, quarterly, semi annually, annually. Still not an installment payment plan like a debt.
I recently changed carriers for my homeowners insurance. Every single company I got a quote from (out of 4, but still …) asked if I had ever had a policy cancelled for nonpayment. Presumably, if I had answered “yes,” they would have charged me more or declined to offer me insurance.
The OP asked about dental, not homeowners insurance, but it still amounts to having a policy cancelled for nonpayment.
One thing the OP ought to do, is document his every attempt to contact his insurer, and the outcome of each attempt. If they are as unresponsive as he states, and he can document his attempts, that should be useful if he is ever called upon to prove something.
Well, I’ve told my old health insurer that I’ve dropped them (I have new insurance through my employer) but they continue to bill me regardless. I don’t know if they’ve got the message but I don’t feel like calling them again. Once was enough.
It’s one thing to have an enforceable contract; it’s another to actually go and enforce it. I don’t doubt that it is common practice for insurance companies to not bother go and collect unpaid premiums; they simply leave it with a cancellation of coverage, and that’s it. That is, however, not the same thing as not having an enforceable claim for premium payment in the first place.
You pay the pro rata portion of each period of coverage, but that does not mean each period concludes a new contract between you and the insurance company. There is one contract, which is concluded when you get the policy; it’s not like a debt, but it is rather like a lease where you pay each period’s rent on the basis of a previously concluded contract. The terms of the contract include an obligation on you to make periodic payments and an obligation on the insurer to indemnify you for events covered by the insurance policy. The contract also entitles the insurer to cancel coverage in case of nonpayment of premiums, but that does not mean there is no enforceable claim of the insurer to periodical premium payments.
Whatever the outcome will be, the OP wants to terminate his contract. If the telephone service is that bad, I would too - even if just to switch to a better provider. In any case he should simply send them a letter, by recorded delivery possibly, stating that he wishes to terminate and will not be paying any more premiums. I have no doubt that this will elicit a response.
In fact, unless this company is so fat and stupid that it doesn’t care, they should respond by offering an alternative to try to tempt him back.
Here in the UK, most insurance is on an annual contract. If you opt to pay monthly then that is an instalment plan and cancelling mid year will usually result in an early termination charge. I have never heard that this would affect anyone’s credit rating.
Feel free to provide an example of any insurance policy other than term life that is renewable on a monthly basis.
As far as I’ve ever known, medical insurance is always on a “month-to-month” basis, sort of similar to the way apartment rental can be month-to-month. Other types of insurance commonly require payment once or twice a year, unless there is an explicit monthly payment plan. Medical typically is paid monthly, AFAIK.
The policy is typically an annual document, in the sense that the company issues a new one each year, often with changes in the terms. But customers can cancel at any time. I don’t know if different companies have various requirements about formal procedures. (What paperwork is needed to cancel? How much advance notice? Or just quit paying the monthly premiums.) Whereas an apartment tenant normally has to give a 30-day notice to cancel, I don’t know that medical insurance policies require even that. At least, not the policies I’ve dealt with.
There can be exceptions; for example, Obamacare (and Medicare, I think) and corporate policies for their employees, which members can join at any time but thereafter can only quit or alter during annual “open enrollment periods” or certain other clearly specified times (like if you move away or leave the company).
ETA: Correction: Employees or prospective Obamacare/Medicare members can’t just join at any time either. Those are subject to “open enrollment periods” too.
To answer the OP’s question, it depends on your policy terms. There are 2 possible outcomes of not paying the next premium:
a) Non renewal - If the old policy is expiring and the next payment renews the policy for a new term, not paying the premium will have no effect beyond not renewing the policy.
b) Cancelled for Non Payment - If the policy is, for example, for an annual term but billed quarterly and you chose not to pay at any time during the policy “in force” period then you will be cancelled for non payment. This is seen as a bad thing in the industry and, depending on the insurance company, may prevent you from getting coverage for some period of time.
Examples: If this is a 3 month policy that renews for another 3 months upon timely payment (unlikely), then it’s just a non-renewal, if it’s an annual policy billed quarterly and is expiring before the next payment is due it’s also a non-renewal. If the current policy in force dates go beyond the next premium due date and you don’t make the payment, then you will be cancelled for non payment.
An awful lot depends on your policy and how it is written.
Yes, the other arguments about credit scores and debt obligations aside, do this. Write a letter stating when you want your coverage to end, sign and date it, and keep a copy. Once you’ve sent that letter cancelling your policy, your obligation is over, and you are free from the onus of having insurance cancelled for non-payment.
No payment, no contract.
I am quite positive that a contract does not cease to be a contract simply because one party fails to fulfil an obligation.
A contract only exists when parties exchange consideration. Since an insurance company would never pay a claim on a lapsed policy, consideration has not been exchanged, and there is no contract.
Good discussion, thanks for comments–
It is an annual policy, payments made quarterly, first payment for 2015 due 01/01/2015.
I’ll play it safe and send certified-mail letter, which they’ll recv by Wed-12/31/2014.
No, a contract exists when both parties promise each other consideration. The actual exchange of the consideration is not essential for the conclusion of a contract, and in most cases doesn’t take place until quite some time after the contract has been made.