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What is a qualifying event?

Usually, the annual open enrollment period each spring is the only time you can make changes to most of your insurance plans, such as health, dental and vision. However, you can make changes if you experience some major life events, such as:

  • Marriage or divorce
  • Birth or adoption
  • Gain or loss of coverage

These are known as qualifying events. With any qualifying event, you have 30 days from the date of the event to change your coverage and submit any necessary documentation. Any changes will be effective as of the date of your qualifying event. If you need a Certificate of Coverage, which outlines the full details of your insurance plan, please call our HR Benefits office at 859-257-9519, option 3.

These qualifying events are the only times you may make changes to your insurance plans and coverage levels.

However, at any time you can:

  • Update your life insurance or retirement savings beneficiaries
  • Decrease your optional life insurance coverage
  • Start, stop or change your Health Savings Account contributions
  • Start, stop or change voluntary retirement savings contributions

TIAA

website: www.tiaa.org/uk

phone: 1-800-842-2776

Fidelity

website: www.fidelity.com/uk

phone: 1-800-343-0860

You may cancel or decrease life insurance at any time during the year, but you may only begin or increase life insurance outside of open enrollment with a qualifying event.

Qualifying events to add a dependent

Marriage

  • If you are adding a new spouse, we will need a copy of your marriage certificate and a new health enrollment form.
  • You can change the beneficiaries of your benefits at any time through Employee Self Service in myUK, or by completing a life insurance beneficiaries form.
  • If you would like to add life insurance for a spouse, you may submit a new life insurance enrollment form. 
  • If you would like to change your name after getting married, please submit a name change form and submit it, along with a copy of your new Social Security card, to your area's business office. They will then forward your form to Human Resources. If your name is changed in our SAP system, it will automatically be updated with all vendors except for your retirement carriers, and you will receive new insurance cards.

Birth or adoption

  • If you are adding a newborn to your insurance, we will need a copy of the birth certificate (we will accept the footprints from the hospital) and a new health enrollment form.
  • You can change the beneficiaries of your benefits at any time through Employee Self Service in myUK, or by completing a life insurance beneficiaries form.
  • If you would like to add life insurance for a dependent, you may submit a new life insurance enrollment form.

​Loss of coverage

  • If you are adding a dependent who has lost other insurance coverage, we will need a Certificate of Coverage. This is a statement on company letterhead stating the beginning and ending dates of the coverage, as well as who was covered on the plans, along with a new health enrollment form.
  • If you would like to add life insurance for a dependent, you may submit a new life insurance enrollment form. 
  • You must provide documentation to verify the relationship to any added dependents. Please see below for required documentation.
Dependent Relationship Documentation Required
Biological child Copy of birth certificate
Adopted child Copy of adoption papers and birth certificate
Guardianship Copy of court guardianship papers and birth certificate
Spouse Copy of marriage certificate and front page of tax return (financial information may be blacked out)
Sponsored dependent Two pieces of documentation, one from a year prior and one current to show one year of common residency of a copy of the driver's license issued prior to one year.

Qualifying events to drop a dependent

Death

  • If you are removing a dependent due to a death, please provide a copy of the death certificate and a new health enrollment form.
  • You can change the beneficiaries of your benefits at any time through Employee Self Service in myUK, or by completing a life insurance beneficiaries form.
  • If you have life insurance for the dependent, you will also submit a new life insurance enrollment form to end that coverage. If you have another dependent covered by life insurance, you can keep the plan to cover the dependent.

Divorce

  • If you are removing a spouse due to divorce, we will need a copy of your final divorce decree a new health enrollment form.
  • You can change the beneficiaries of your benefits at any time through Employee Self Service in myUK, or by completing a life insurance beneficiaries form.
  • If you need to drop Dependent Life Spouse you may do so by submitting a new Life Insurance Enrollment Form.
  • If you would like to cancel life insurance for a spouse, you may submit a new life insurance enrollment form. 
  • If you would like to change your name after getting married, please submit a name change form and submit it, along with a copy of your new Social Security card, to your area's business office. They will then forward your form to Human Resources. If your name is changed in our SAP system, it will automatically be updated with all vendors except for your retirement carriers, and you will receive new insurance cards.

Gain of coverage

  • If you are removing a dependent who has gained other insurance coverage, we will need a Certificate of Coverage. This is a statement on company letterhead stating the beginning and ending dates of the coverage, as well as who was covered on the plans, along with a new health enrollment form.

Dependent reaches age 26

  • If your dependent is turning age 26, HR Benefits will automatically remove them from your plan.

Benefits

Our team can help you through the process of changing your benefits if you've experienced a qualifying event.

Contact our office

Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(859) 257-9519
benefits@uky.edu