So… you have been all wrapped up in work, entertaining your kids during the school holidays, watching the tennis on the sly and still keeping the missus happy that you completely forgot about keeping enough Randelas in the bank so that your debit orders can run come month end? Oops!

Luckily it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.  All you need to do is pay-up (and quickly).

Most medical aid and insurance providers have a protocol in place when it comes to collecting reprieved payments. Some wait until 15 days after the first debit order bounced to attempt another debit order, while others take the missed payment off with the next payment (resulting in double debiting your monthly premium the following month).

Either way, it’s best that they get their money as soon as possible. Particularly when you consider that, much like car and home insurance, medical aid payments are made in advance. This means that when they debit your account on the 1st August, for argument’s sake, it results in you being covered for August.

What happens if I only miss one month’s payment?

If you miss one month’s payment, you still have a chance to correct matters. Just ensure that you have enough money in your account to cover the payment for the next 30-odd days. If your medical aid doesn’t run another debit order, give them a call and find out what’s up.

Woops, I missed two months, now what?

Generally your medical aid will place your policy on hold for the first two months of non-payment.  This means that they will not pay any of your medical claims until you have settled the outstanding amount with them. But, thankfully, once you pay the one or two months’ late payment, everything will be hunky dory with your medical aid paying claims as normal.

And three?

When it comes to the third month of missing payments, the game changes a bit… After three months of non-payment your medical aid will suspend your medical plan. This means that you will have to go through the whole schlep of re-applying for your medical plan should you need coverage after missing your third consecutive month’s payment.

The moral of the story, it seems, is not to wait three months before you do something about your medical aid situation.  If you are short on cash, it may be better just to temporarily downgrade your medical plan (perhaps to a hospital plan) until you can get your head above water again. Otherwise, there’s always the option of taking out a small instant cash loan here to use as bridging capital, should you find yourself in a pinch and needing one or two month’s payments.