How Late Can You Be With Your COBRA Payment Before Termination?

 I am employed and have been on medical leave since December 2006. I was notified by letter that I owed $824 to catch my insurance premiums up. I sent this to my employer and then received a letter that I had been cancelled April 30, 2007. I called and they told me to send a premium of $396. I mailed it the following day, but they say they did not receive it and now I can’t qualify for COBRA because I was termated for non-payment. Today is June 5,2007.

A payment should be accepted by the employer or their third-party administrator if it was received in a timely manner. A payment is considered “timely” if it is made within 30 days from the due date.

A common law “mailbox rule” can also apply to the timeliness of your payments. So, as long as the payment was mailed by the due date and the postmark can prove that it is considered timely. Regardless of whether the payment was delayed by the post office, or even their inter-office mail is slow, the premium must be accepted.