Purchasing a health insurance plan for you and your family is probably one of the most difficult decisions, but most people today purchase it for the sake of tax benefits. Undoubtedly, health insurance plans provide the best tax benefits. However, they also work as a boon when you or any of your family members encounter a health issue that requires hospitalization or major treatment.
In such situations, if your health insurance plan does not provide comprehensive coverage and cover the required treatment, then every premium that you have paid becomes useless. Therefore, it is always necessary to choose a health insurance policy like the Religare Health Insurance plan very carefully and by considering various health aspects of yourself and your family (only if it is a family floater health plan).
To waive off all the worries of purchasing the most suitable and useful insurance plan, here are a few factors you must consider before buying a health insurance policy:
Factor 1: Choose the Required ‘Sum Assured’: It is advised to choose the right sum assured by keeping the current cost of medical treatment in mind. If you are the one who lives in the small city of India, then the sum assured ranging from Rs.3 Lakh to Rs.5 Lakh would be sufficient for you. On the other hand, the costs of medical facilities are comparatively higher in metropolitan cities of India. Thus, if you are among those who live in the metro city, then the sum assured or health insurance cover of your policy must fall somewhere between Rs.5 Lakh to Rs.10 Lakh. However, if you are not satisfied with your health insurance provider in terms of ‘Sum Assured’, then you can post your policy from one insurer to the other as well. Apart from this, it is always good to keep on increasing the sum assured of your health insurance policy so that you can cope with the medical inflation easily.
Factor 2: Take an Individual Health Insurance Policy despite being covered in a Corporate Health Plan: Most of you think that having corporate or group health insurance plan is enough, but this is not true. You only benefit from the group health insurance provided by your employer for as long as you work in the organization. Once you move on or retire, you would no longer be able to avail the benefits of such plans. Moreover, group health insurance plans or corporate plans do not provide comprehensive cover. The benefits covered by them are very limited. Therefore, it is always advisable to have a separate individual health insurance policy.
Factor 3: Select a Plan that Provides Lifetime Renewability: Old age is the time when health insurance is required the most. For this reason, you should opt for a plan that provides lifetime renewability.
Factor 4: Purchase a Health Insurance Plan before You Turn 40: Purchase a health insurance plan as early as possible - probably in your late 30s or early 40s. This is because, at the early stages of your life, you are less likely to make any claim. This gives you benefits like ‘No Claim Bonus’, which is added to your overall coverage for every claim-free year.
Factor 5: Never Purchase a Plan that Offers Claim Loading: A critical illness that requires long-term treatment, then with the option of claim loading in your plan, the premiums will keep on increasing. The increasing premiums may become unaffordable for you. Thus, never fall into the trap of claim loading.
Factor 6: Never Hide Information in Your Application Form: If you have some pre-existing disease, mention that in your application form. Today, most of the health insurance plans provide coverage for pre-existing illnesses with 3 to 5 years of the waiting period.
Factor 7: Opt for a Plan that Provides Restore Limit:Restore limit acts as a top-up in case you utilize your sum assured before completion of the policy term. Moreover, it acts as a support in case of critical illness. For example, if you have sum assured of Rs.5 Lakh and you have opted for a restore limit of Rs.5 Lakh, then you have a total of Rs.10 Lakh to manage critical illness at no extra cost.
Factor 8: Consider Waiting Period: Waiting period is a time period after which the policy coverage starts. Moreover, all the health insurance plans have a waiting period for pre-existing illnesses. It is therefore recommended that you see the waiting period of various health insurance policies before settling for one.
Apart from these, there are a few additional things that you must keep in mind before finalizing a plan. It is recommended to make a list of your preferred hospitals and crosscheck whether they come in your health insurance provider’s network hospital list.
By following the above factors, you for sure will be able to figure out the most suitable health insurance plan for you and your family. There are a few good health insurance providers; Religare Health Insurance Plan is one of the most preferred among them.Factors to Consider Before Purchasing a Health Insurance Plan
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