When completing your application for new health insurance coverage you will be asked to provide information pertaining to your last active health plan. You may also be asked to include information on other medical insurance if you have been insured by more than one company over the past 18 months. The reason that the insurance company wants this information is so that they can provide proper credit toward any pre-eisting medical condition eclusionary period. Most states require that your insurance company recognize creditable coverage for pre-eisting medical condition eclusionary periods. The insurance company may also offer guaranteed issue plans to persons that are HIPAA eligible. If you have had continuous prior medical insurance coverage for at least 18 months, and the most recent coverage was under a group health plan, you may be eligible for guaranteed issue coverage. This may prove important if the insurance company with whom you are applying declines your application based on your health status. They will not automatically place you on their HIPAA coverage because the premiums will be higher and they will contact you to inform you of your options. Because your prior health insurance may qualify you for other health plan options, it is important to provide as much information as you can about your prior coverage. Make sure to include the address and phone number of your prior insurance company, the policy number and the type of coverage that you had (individual, short-term, student, group, Medicaid, etc). The new insurance company may also use information about your prior health insurance company for investigative purposes. That insurance company may report claims to the Medical Information Bureau, which would be easy to cross-reference for your new insurance company.