Not renewing dental insurance

Factual Questions
41

I’m going to bump this thread for some additional opinions rather than start a new one. I called my dental insurer 6 weeks ago to cancel my coverage and pay off any remaining balance I had. I ignored the next bill I got (for March coverage), thinking maybe the bill was printed prior to my call. I got another bill (for April, plus past-due for March) so I called again and they have no record of me cancelling the policy. Before anyone asks, they have a record of my call, they have a record of my payment, the confirmation number that I wrote down at the time and assumed was for cancelling was just the confirmation number for my payment… So I documented as much as I could, short of recording the call.

The CSR told me that even though I was “voluntarily disenrolling,” they were going to mark me down as being cancelled for non-payment. The alternative, I assume, is to send them a check for $200 for insurance that I haven’t been using.

I see opinions are mixed on whether or not this is a bad thing. I already have coverage through another company, and I don’t plan on going back to this company anytime soon. They didn’t press me for money, but the stigma of being cancelled for non-payment feels a bit like being blackmailed into paying $200 for their incompetence. I don’t want to pay; should I?

42

It’s only a stigma if it shows up on your credit report. If it does, contest it with the credit reporting agencies. Supply the information you have, and they will probably take it off.

43

IMHO (which is where your question belongs), having the insurance company mark you down as being cancelled for non-payment is almost certainly going to result in a black mark on your credit report. It’s up to you whether you care about that.

44

Perhaps not only that. I know that for homeowners insurance a “cancel for non pay” on your record has a high chance of increasing your risk rating which, in turn, causes higher premiums and the possibility of becoming non-insurable - even if you try to go with another company. It would not surprise me at all to learn that health/dental insurers have a similar database.