You will probably have to switch health insurance providers at least once in your life, and perhaps more often than that due to relocation to another state, becoming self-employed, losing parental dependency, losing your spouse's coverage, or for many other reasons.

Your main concern, if you are fairly certain that you'll find another insurer, is to avoid any gap in coverage: any period, no matter how brief, during which you have no coverage.

Obviously, you want to arrange for a new insurer while you're still covered. Almost always, you will have a grace period before your existing coverage ends. Use that time to shop around for the best policy you can afford. Compare each prospective policy to your current coverage, in terms of what's covered and what you'll pay. Write this information down and keep adding to it as you visit different insurers. Consider rates, deductibles, and co-payments.

Usually, you'll want to find a health insurance policy that will include your primary healthcare provider--so be sure that your doctor is in your insurer's network, unless you don't mind changing doctors, which can become an inconvenience.

If you lose a job under which health insurance was provided, you're entitled to COBRA, which will extend your employer's coverage (or most of it) for up to 18 months.

It could happen that an unavoidable lapse in coverage will occur, between the time your old policy expires and your new one starts. In that case, buy gap insurance. A gap policy will usually not be as comprehensive as a regular policy, but it may be better than having no coverage at all.