The Present Day Necessity of Health Insurance Plans

The fast paced way of life has put our health on the back burner, leading to an increased risk of illnesses. While the healthcare industry is getting better in terms of quality of care available, the cost the treatments have also increased significantly. Even a small illness can lead to huge spending on your part. A good way to be prepared for any such medical emergency is to get a health insurance plan. A good health insurance plan in India will usually include a host of benefits, covering expenses such as the doctor’s fee, ambulance charges, pre- and post-hospitalization charges, cashless service among others. For making the right selection, it is highly advisable that you compare the health insurance plans available in India, and choose the one that suits your needs and requirements the best. The best health insurance plan for you will depend on various factors, like the kind of coverage you want, and how much premium you can afford to pay.

Before you decide on a Health insurance plan for yourself, it is better to get acquainted with the various types of health insurance plans you can choose from. Here is a list of different health insurances plans in India: -

● Hospitalization Plans - These health plans cover the cost of hospital stay and medical expenses of the insured person. Depending on the insurance provider, these policies may also offer other additional benefits such as Ambulance charges, pre- and post-hospitalization charges, and domiciliary benefits if the patient cannot be moved to the hospital.

● Family Health Insurance Plans - As is evident, such health insurance plans cover the whole family. In most cases, this insurance type covers a family of 2 adults with 2 children, and provides the same benefits as the hospitalization plans.

● Critical Illness - Critical Illness Plans pay you a lump sum amount on the diagnoses of a critical illness that is covered under the plan. The illnesses that such plans cover will be specified before the purchase of the health insurance. Critical Illnesses are ‘low frequency but high in severity’ illnesses, whose cost of treatment is higher than compared to regular medical problems.

● Hospital Daily Cash Benefits Plans - As the name suggests, this health policy will pay out a definite sum daily for the period of hospitalization. The sum will remain fixed irrespective of the actual charges the policy holder will be incurring.

● Individual Health Insurance Plan - These plans cover only an individual against various illnesses. Usually, it will have numerous add-on features. To select the best individual health insurance plans, be smart, and compare from a host of health plans that are on offer.

● Tax Benefits - A health insurance plan can help you save up to ₹35,000 in taxes. Under section 80D of the Income Tax Act, the premium paid for family, children and parents is exempt.

● Health Check-ups - Most health plans cover the expenses of health check-ups. Many times, the insurer may arrange a free health checkup for you before you buy the policy.

● Cashless Transactions - Cashless health insurance plans allow you to go completely cashless, as you need not pay anything out of your own pocket, with the insurer taking care of all the expenses.

● Day Care Treatments - Health insurance plans in India now cover expenses for treatments that require a hospital stay that lasts less than 24 hours. Such treatments are called day care treatments, and many insurers cover them under their health policies.

● Top-Ups - Many a times you may feel that the current health insurance cover is not adequate for you and your family. In such cases, you can go for a Top-Up, which lets you upgrade your current health cover.

● Domiciliary Hospitalization – Sometimes, it so happens that a patient fails to get a bed at the hospital or is too ill to be moved to the hospital. In such cases, the doctor may approve the treatment of the patient at his/her home itself. This is known as domiciliary hospitalization, and many health insurance plans in India cover it.

● Reinstatement of Sum Insured - Health insurance plans now allow for refill of the sum insured if it gets exhausted before the expiry of the term period of the policy. So, instead of leaving you high and dry when your sum insured is expired, the insurer sticks with you till the expiry of the health insurance plan.

With there being a number of good health insurance plans in India, choosing the right one becomes difficult. That is why it is always advisable to compare the health insurance plans and decide on the one that fulfills the requirements you seek in a good health plan. Here are some more points to ponder on when deciding on the best health plan for yourself: -

● Claim Ratio - The time taken and the number of claims approved by the insurer should be a key consideration when deciding on a health insurance plan. A higher claim ratio coupled with a fast rate of claim settlement points towards a good track record of the insurer in terms of claim settlement.

● Day-Care Procedures - Many health insurance plans do not provide coverage for day-care procedures. Most health plans require a hospitalization for a period of more than 24 hours to make a medical claim. As healthcare has benefited immensely from the advancement in technology, many medical procedures now require a shorter duration of hospital stay. So, it is better to choose from among the health insurance plans that cover day-care procedures.

● Insurer’s Network of Hospitals - It is always better to check the number of hospitals that are in your insurer’s network since the cashless facility is available only in the network hospitals.

● No Claim Bonus - In case you have not lodged any claims, you will be eligible for a no claim bonus/discount, which is offered by many health insurance providers. This will usually result in the sum insured getting increased, or the premium getting decreased, and in some cases, both.

● Lifetime Renewal - Most health policies have an upper age limit for renewal, but a policy with lifetime renewal has no such limit. This is quite an important factor if you plan to cover the elderly in your health insurance plan.

Keeping in mind these benefits and points, you’ll be in a better position to make an apt choice. This is where we at Insurance Inbox excel, providing consumer-centric information and a comprehensive comparison of the different health insurance options available, so that you are well-informed to choose the besthealth insurance plan in Indiato meet your health needs.