Navigating Health Insurance After Job Loss Without Losing Coverage
Published January 30, 2026
Losing your employment is a very tough situation that can leave you shaken emotionally, especially if it was an unexpected event. On a more practical note, it also means that you have a lot of choices to make, especially when it comes to your finances. You might have to re-evaluate your spending until you find a new job. When it comes to health insurance after job loss, you have fewer choices that don’t include discontinuing your coverage altogether. Here’s your health insurance guide after losing your employment.
What if I can’t pay for my health insurance?
Firstly, if you were made redundant and you have redundancy insurance, contact your insurer to find out whether it covers your health insurance premiums.
Next, regardless of the circumstances, if you’re struggling to pay premiums due to losing your job, you don’t have to cancel your health insurance policy, you can pause it. Insurers allow you to suspend your policy due to financial hardship or unemployment for 2 months or up to 2 years (the length of time will depend on your insurer and policy). To suspend your policy, contact your insurer to explain that you’ve lost your job and ask about the process for a policy suspension.
Keep in mind that suspending your policy does affect your eligibility for the Medicare Levy Surcharge but won’t affect your Lifetime Health Cover. You can have a gap of up to 1,094 days without Hospital Cover and your Lifetime Health Cover Loading will not be reset.
What if I have a corporate health insurance policy?
If you have a corporate health insurance policy, which means your cover is arranged through your employer, that particular policy, premium and benefits may no longer be available. With that said, insurers don’t like losing customers, so it’s a good idea to contact the insurer and ask what they can offer you, perhaps you’ll be offered a different type of cover at a similar price.
If you’ve been made redundant, it’s worth asking whether your health insurance can be incorporated into your redundancy package. Your employer may agree to let you keep existing corporate health insurance schemes for a certain amount of time, such as 6 months after severing employment, for example.
What if I downgrade my policy?
If it takes some time to find a new job, but you do not want to end your health insurance coverage, you could cut your expenses by searching for a cheaper health insurance policy. To find a cheaper health insurance policy that suits your requirements, you can visit Utility Market and search for a new policy or compare your policy with others. It searches all policies and all insurers, without any commercial agenda, and helps you compare policies easily, including corporate policies.
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