The time it takes for your personal health insurance application to be approved depends on the type of coverage and/or the availability of the necessary documents such as doctors’ reports. Most insurance companies would try to finish the review process and approve your application within 30 days. Sometimes, when all the required documents are complete, it only takes 15 days. Otherwise, approval will take as long as three to si weeks and/or five months. If you want to get immediate personal health insurance coverage, you can buy a short-term insurance plan first. Some online personal health insurance companies offer online approval of short-term health insurance applications. You can get short-term insurance coverage usually on the same day that you have applied. You can do this while waiting for the approval of your personal health insurance application. You can cancel your short-term plan once your regular plan is approved. Replacing your short-term insurance plan will be easy to do with the help of your insurance company. You can always return your regular plan for refund if you prefer your short-term plan as you go along. Short-term insurance does not have health care networks, so you can go to your preferred doctor, pharmacy or hospital. A short-term insurance plan is normally rewritten annually to avoid epiration. This coverage is usually offered at a price lower than the regular insurance plan. For immediate health insurance coverage, you can ask the help of online insurance companies to assist you in getting a short-term insurance plan. If you are willing to wait for the approval of a personal health insurance plan, you could ask the help of these insurance companies to evaluate your application. -- June 11, 2009 @ 4:51 pm