Am I covered if moving health insurer during cooling off period?

I'm wondering if someone can tell me what the situation is with health insurance cover during the 14 day cooling off period. I've left it late to re-arrange my healthcare for 2 adults and 2 babies. My policy with VHI provides bad value and I had intended changing. I was recommended Glo Health Best because both children are under 3. I'm currently on VHI one starter and the children on VHI One plan choice. My partner has not been insured before. For slightly more than the price quoted by VHI I can get the whole family insured with Glo Health.

On the day the policy was due to expire, I ended up in A&E with one of the babies who then had to spend some time in hospital. Needless to say my mind has been elsewhere and I need to get myself sorted quickly. My question is this, regardless of my particular circumstances at present, what is the situation if you need to make a claim during the cooling off period if I now switch provider? Am I covered by VHI or would the policy with Glo Health begin on the expiry date of the last policy. Sorry if I'm sounding convoluted but I find the whole area very confusing.
Thanks.

Hi Marvin77,

Welcome to AAM.
Regarding your query about changing companies within the 14 day cooling off period, whatever company you switch to, the new company will pick up the tab for any hospital stay or treatment, surgery etc, back-dated to renewal date.

If there is any claim relating to the few days before renewal date, VHI will cover those days, upto but NOT including renewal date.

If a person does NOT actually switch to another company and the 14 days goes past, they are automatically renewed on their current plan.

So, regardless of whether a person is admitted to hospital in the first week after renewal, they still have upto day 14 to switch to a different company.

The new company will pay that hospital bill. That's just the way it works.

Regards, Snowyb.

Thanks for that. Your reply was very useful.