A short term health insurance policy works like an “indemnity ” plan which generally gives you the freedom to go to any doctor or specialist you like.

Surgery, hospital care, emergency services, diagnostic tests, prescription drugs, follow-up office visits, and even limited mental health care are included under most short term health policies, except some don’t cover pre-existing conditions.

Because affordable, short term health coverage does not typically pay for routine preventative care such as physical exams, immunizations, and PAP tests. A good thing to remember with short term health coverage is that it doesn’t pay unless you’ve actually had a defined illness or injury for the first time during the policy period of coverage.

Like most individual health insurance policies, short term health insurance excludes pre-existing conditions. The “look-back ” period for these conditions can vary by state, but the most common rule for short term policies is that providers might exclude coverage for conditions or symptoms known to exist within the last three to five years.

While many short term policies are now renewable for up to 36 months, keep in mind that some insurers will refuse to issue you a second or third policy if you had any claims under your previous short term policy. Others might offer you another policy, but they will treat any injuries or illnesses that occurred during your previous short term policy as pre-existing conditions and will not cover treatment because they are pre-existing. So you will need to be ok with this before applying.

Most reputable companies and agents offer a 30-day guarantee period of satisfaction and will refund 100% of your premium within this time frame should you decide that you do not want the short term health insurance. To get your money back during this window, however, you must not have filed any claims.

One of the major appeals of a short term policy is its low premiums. The reason the premiums are so low is because the policies do not pay for any pre-existing conditions. The short term health insurers have established, then, pools of healthy people and families, each of whom will only need the coverage for a short period of time. Given the low risk characteristics of this group, it is because of this that the cost of insurance remains low for everybody precisely because so few people will have claims.

Premiums for each plan will vary by company and your geographic zip code. Many short term plans will allow you to pay your all of your premiums up front, or on a monthly basis. Some companies give discounts when you choose the single payment method.