I accepted an offer for what I would call a competitor company (hmmm, not 100% sure as it's more industry oriented). Once I announce it to my manager, would I lose my coverage (health) the same day or is there some grace period for the transition? What about the weekend in between the two jobs, if there is some kind of an accident?
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I had a similar issue when I left, this is what I recall from last year. The coverage will depend on what day you leave, if you leave the last day of the month you will have no coverage, otherwise I believe you will have coverage through the pay period. I left the first and was covered through the 15th (again IIRC).
You have 60 days to do Cobra so you can wait on that if you have a waiting period for coverage (e.g. 30 days) and only apply if you need to.
As I recall, you can actually sign up for COBRA retroactively, if needed. So if your last day at IBM is Friday, and you start the new job even 2 weeks later, but something happens in the interim, you can go back and sign up for COBRA to cover you. I think that's good for a month.
If you leave the last day of the month you have nothing other than COBRA. The twice monthly deductions during the month pay for that month of coverage.
I lost my the day after my last day. I gave 2 weeks notice and lost them following my completion. Most likely your first day at new company you will sign up so you should always be covered, unless you are taking time off in between.