Waiting periods: what they are and which ones your policy has
A waiting period — periodo de carencia in Spanish — is the time between the start of the policy and the day a particular benefit can be used. It is not hidden anywhere: it is in the conditions, benefit by benefit. Here is what can be used from day one, what has to wait, and what happens to those periods if you are coming from another company.
- General practice, emergencies and dental care: from day one
- If you switch company, waiting periods usually fall away
- We tell you the periods before you sign, not afterwards
What a waiting period is
Health insurance is taken out before you need it. So that this can stay possible — and so that everyone's premium does not depend on the people who join the week before their operation — some benefits have a set time from joining before they can be used. That is the waiting period. It runs from the start date shown on your policy, not from the day you book the appointment.
- It does not apply to everything: some benefits can be used from day one.
- Each benefit has its own period, and it is written into the conditions.
- Once a period is over it does not come back. It happens once, at the start.
A waiting period and a pre-existing condition are not the same thing, and they are worth keeping apart. A waiting period is a set time, the same for everybody. A pre-existing condition is an illness you already had when you took the policy out: that is declared in the health questionnaire and settled when the policy is issued, not with a calendar. Which is why the questionnaire is filled in with us, sitting down, and not in a form on the internet.
What waits and what does not
From day one
- General practice and nursing
- Emergencies, at a centre and at home
- Dental care
- Travel assistance outside Spain
- The digital services: video consultations and your health card on the phone
With a period
- Specialists. Some specialities can be used straight away, others have a period. It depends on the speciality; the list is in your policy.
- Diagnostic tests. Up to six months.
- Procedures, treatments and prostheses. Up to six months.
- Hospital admission. Six months, except in a life-threatening emergency.
- Rehabilitation and ambulance. The period varies depending on the option.
- Pregnancy, one month. Childbirth, ten months. Two different periods, and this is the point that surprises people most: antenatal care comes in earlier than the birth itself.
Depending on the option taken out. The exact periods, the limits and the exclusions are set out in your policy conditions; we mark them for you before you sign.
A life-threatening emergency means exactly what it sounds like: if you are admitted because your life is at risk, the hospital waiting period does not apply. Nobody should have to check a calendar in an ambulance.
If you are coming from another company
This is the point fewest people know about, and the one that saves the most money and time. If you already have health cover with another company and you switch to Allianz, waiting periods usually fall away. You do not start again from zero.
What is needed
- The previous policy, still in force — not one that lapsed last year.
- The last receipt paid.
With those two documents we handle it for you. Without them it cannot be applied, and the periods then run as they would on a new policy. Bring them to us before you cancel the other policy, not afterwards. The notice deadlines and the rest of the process are on changing insurance company.
What keeps its period
- Pregnancy and childbirth, with their periods of one month and ten months.
- Lithotripsy — breaking up stones with shock waves — which keeps its six months.
On a company policy for your staff we confirm it case by case, in writing, before you sign. That is the honest answer: we know the rule for the individual policy, and on a group scheme we would rather confirm it for you than assume it. Health cover for employees, from two employees upwards.
Newborn babies join with no waiting period if the birth was covered by the policy and you register them with us within the first ten days. Ten days go by very fast with a baby at home: send us a message from the hospital room and we will take it from there.
Not only in health cover
The word carencia turns up in other policies too, and it does not always mean the same thing. Two cases where there really is a period and it is worth knowing beforehand:
- Payment protection on life cover for a mortgage or a loan. This is the optional cover that pays the instalment while you are signed off sick. It has a waiting period of six months. And it covers medical leave, not unemployment — we always say so up front, because it is the most common misunderstanding. You can read about it on life cover for your mortgage or loan.
- Income protection for the self-employed, which pays a daily benefit when you cannot work. For illness it has a waiting period of sixty days. It does not have a page of its own yet; if you are autónomo and it interests you, ask us and we will go through it.
With car, home or business cover, what you will normally meet is not a waiting period but something else: excesses, limits per claim and exclusions. If your policy does contain a period, it is in the conditions and we point it out before you sign.
Good to know
- If the requirement sheet from your consulate or immigration office says "sin carencias", tell us before you sign: we check it with Allianz for your case and give you the answer in writing. We explain it on health cover for a visa and residency.
- Letting the policy lapse and coming back months later is a new policy, with everything that follows from that. If you are thinking about cancelling, talk to us first and not afterwards: there is nearly always a better way out than cancelling.
- A waiting period is not a trick in the small print. What is small print is that nobody reads it to you. We read it to you, in English, Spanish or German, and we tell you which month each thing comes in.
- The health questionnaire is filled in with us, one per insured person. We never ask about anyone's health on this website.
- After you sign we remain your office: changes, receipts, questions and claims. We have been an exclusive Allianz agency in Adeje since 1998.
Frequently asked questions
Can a waiting period be applied to me in an emergency?
Emergencies, at a centre and at home, can be used from day one. And if the hospital admission is a life-threatening emergency, the hospital waiting period does not apply.
I am coming from another company. Do I lose the periods I have already served?
Normally not: with the previous policy in force and the last receipt paid, waiting periods usually fall away. Pregnancy, childbirth and lithotripsy keep their periods. Bring us those two documents and we will confirm it in writing before you sign.
Is a waiting period the same as a pre-existing condition?
No. A waiting period is a set time from joining, the same for everyone. A pre-existing condition is something you already had when you took out the policy; it is declared in the health questionnaire and settled when the policy is issued. Mixing the two up is where almost every disappointment starts.
My consulate sheet says "no waiting periods". What now?
Tell us before you sign. We check it with Allianz for your specific case and give you the answer in writing. We would rather tell you before you pay than at the counter.
We are thinking about having a child. When do we need to take the policy out?
As early as you can. Antenatal care has a one-month period and the birth has ten. The exact periods for your option are in the conditions and we go through them with you: with an approximate date in hand you can see straight away whether it works or not.
And our baby, once it is born?
The baby joins with no waiting period if the birth was covered and you tell us within the first ten days. A WhatsApp message is enough for us to start.
Where do I see the periods on my own policy?
In the general and particular conditions you are given when you take the policy out. If you cannot find them, come by the office or write to us: we will send them and mark the lines that matter to you.
For guidance only. The waiting periods, cover and exact limits are those set out in your policy and in the Allianz information note (nota informativa), and they can vary depending on the option taken out.