Tips Choose the Best Health Insurance Policy

10Oct

Having a health insurance policy is one of the essential steps while planning personal finances. We all know that a health plan takes care of the medical expenses, but often we go wrong in making the choice of a policy. So, here are some tips and tricks to select the best suitable health insurance for family.

If you are ready to take your first step towards the world of health insurance, note that it is important to expand your knowledge level before taking a decision.

First and foremost, learn that the health insurance sector in India is laden with unnumbered health insurance companies and countless health insurance policies. At first, looking for a health insurance policy doesn’t come across as easy. However, with complete awareness of health insurance terms and things to look for in an ideal plan, you can undoubtedly end up making a perfect choice

A health insurance policy offers medical compensation by providing maximum coverage to your loved ones at the time of need. It keeps your savings intact. With the availability of different health insurance plans for family, it can get confusing to pick the right one, so here are some tips and tricks to select the best suitable health insurance for your loved ones.

Ever since the pandemic started, several people realized how pivotal it is to cover their loved ones under a health insurance scheme. The pandemic is just an eye-opener. Purchasing health insurance for family is even more necessitated due to the rising healthcare costs and other medical services.

Even now, most of you may ignore buying one until a medical emergency strikes and drains all the hard-earned savings.

Look for flexibility of addition

If you’re purchasing a family floater plan, make sure your insurer offers the flexibility to add new members. In case, the eldest member of the family passes away, the rest of the family members can continue with the existing health insurance policy.

Check for the waiting period

A family floater health insurance plan usually covers pre-existing medical illnesses, maternity benefits and others once the waiting period is complete. While buying a policy, check for the waiting period. Usually, every health insurer specifies a waiting period that ranges from 2 to 4 years. During this time, if any person is hospitalised, there is no insurance coverage provided. You can also cancel a policy in case you wish to. It is best to choose a policy that has the minimum waiting period.

Check for lifetime renewability

This is an essential feature of family insurance plans. Often, we forget to renew the policy on time and it gets lapsed. With this, you also lose a cumulative bonus. Once lapsed, you will have to again begin the search of the best policy. Therefore, you should choose a health insurance policy which comes with lifetime renewability benefit.

Check for room rent limit

Choose a policy where there is a higher room rent so that you do not have to pay extra money on it. You can have access to a private room or a shared room, depending on the type of plan you choose.

You can use the tips mentioned above to enhance your coverage benefits when buying health insurance for your family. You would be able to make an informed decision. Moreover, you would not need to run from pillar to post at the time of claim.

Look for the right coverage:

Analyze your specific medical requirements before starting your search for the right health insurance policy coverage. When exploring your options, look for a plan that covers you against a wide range of medical issues and offers a vast array of benefits.

Prime benefits offered by insurers usually include inpatient hospitalization, pre and post hospitalization, day care procedure coverage, domiciliary hospitalization, organ donor expenses, ambulance cover, maternity cover, newborn baby expenses, and many more.

Pre-existing diseases

Do not forget to take a look at the waiting period for pre-existing diseases. In most circumstances, insurers do not provide coverage against pre-existing diseases until a certain duration. The standard duration of such waiting period ranges between 2-4 years. Look for a policy where this waiting period is less.

Caps

Insurance policies usually have caps on certain aspects of hospitalization. For example, health plans usually have caps on the room rent for a day. It is recommended to find a policy that has a much higher cap on the room rent or no upper limit. This will ensure that you do not end up paying money from your own pockets.

Co-pay

Health insurance plans do not come cheap. But there are a few conditions or criteria with the help of which you can reduce the premiums. If there is an option, opt for deductibles and co-pay. Should you opt for these two components, you will have to pay for them while you make a claim. But at the same time, they will help you save considerably on the premiums.

Long Term Plan

Another smart way to save money on health insurance premiums is to opt for long term plans. The premiums of long-term plans are less expensive as compared to the plans that are for a year or so. By opting for a plan of 2 or 3 years as tenure, you can save money on premiums as well as get adequate coverage for a longer duration.

If you want to make the most out of your HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN, you can compare the different policies on offer. This will help you save on premium while picking the plan with the best coverage as well.

Even if you do, you will run out of savings in no time. Hence, a health insurance plan is a must. But with so many insurance companies and different types of policies in the market, it can get a bit confusing. Here are a few tips that will help you pick the RIGHT HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY.

Earlier the better

If you are pondering over getting a health plan, get it at the earliest. Most of the health insurance plans have waiting periods and they get expensive as you age. If you pick a plan at the earliest, you can get the waiting period out of the equation and get adequate coverage without paying a lot of money as a premium.

Increase in cover

You must look for policies that have options to increase the policy cover at regular intervals. This will ensure that you are never left behind when it comes to dealing with medical expenses, as they increase constantly. Estimates show that medical inflation is at 12-14%. Thus, a policy where you can increase the cover will be very handy.