Health Insurance Why is my work-place health insurance company asking me about my wife’s health insurance carrier? Why do I have to provide this and other personal information just to sign her up? By Penny Gusner Penny Gusner Penny is an expert on insurance procedures, rates, policies and claims. She has extensive knowledge of all major insurance lines -- auto, homeowners, life and health insurance. She has been answering consumers’ questions as an analyst for more than 15 years and has been featured in numerous major media outlets, including the Washington Post and Kiplinger’s. | Posted on April 29, 2015 Why you should trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing honest and reliable information so that you can make the best financial decisions for you and your family. All of our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. We maintain strict editorial independence from insurance companies to maintain editorial integrity, so our recommendations are unbiased and are based on a comprehensive list of criteria. Several reasons could be behind your health insurance company’s request for information. The first is to prove she is your wife. The company may permit spouses as dependents on the plan, but not girlfriends. Other personal information is likely used to make sure your wife isn’t confused with another person of the same name. Next, your health insurance company needs to know if your wife has her own health insurance plan. When there are two health insurance policies in place, one serves as the primary plan and the other serves as the secondary plan. The carriers need to know about other coverage so they can coordinate benefits. If your wife were covered by two health insurance policies, her own policy would be her primary insurance provider and your health insurance plan would be secondary coverage. It doesn’t always make sense to carry two health insurance plans. See “Primary vs. secondary coverage when you have two health plans” to learn more. Penny GusnerContributor . .Penny is an expert on insurance procedures, rates, policies and claims. She has extensive knowledge of all major insurance lines -- auto, homeowners, life and health insurance. She has been answering consumers’ questions as an analyst for more than 15 years and has been featured in numerous major media outlets, including the Washington Post and Kiplinger’s. Related Articles Can my parents kick me off their health insurance By Shivani Gite How to add a spouse to your health insurance plan By Huma Naeem Does my deductible start over if I change jobs? By Shivani Gite When does health insurance start at a new job? By Shivani Gite Can I drop my spouse from my health insurance at any time? By Nupur Gambhir When does health insurance expire after leaving your job? By Casey Bond