Making all sorts of investments to secure our future is a sensible thing to do. Investing in property, mutual funds, or PPF gives us a sense of security of having something to fall back on when a medical emergency arises. More often than not, we mean a medical emergency. But then, there’s a straightforward solution for that — health insurance. Just like one gets motor insurance to financially protect themselves from damages to the vehicle or personal accidents, health insurance plans serve the same purpose for our health. If you haven’t considered getting one, you must. However, if you have tried but your proposal was rejected for some reason, you can still be ready for unexpected events. Read on how.
Why Do You Need Health Insurance?
Health insurance coverage offers a safety net to cope with unexpected medical expenses and increasing lifestyle diseases. A robust health insurance plan ensures you do not compromise on treatment or your finances to address diseases. Treatment costs are also increasing with advancements in medical facilities and equipment. A policy can cover medical expenses, and in case of unexpected major illnesses or accidents, it financially safeguards you and your family. Also, you are more likely to receive routine and preventive care.
When Does an Insurer Reject a Proposal?
Before underwriting a policy, an insurer will verify if you have any pre-existing diseases, family history of ailments, hazardous occupation, and unhealthy lifestyle and habits such as smoking, drinking or consuming tobacco. All the above conditions put you in the high-risk category as these increase your likelihood of having a medical emergency. Since giving you a policy makes it a risky proposition for the company, they either increase the premium amount, reduce the coverage or even reject the proposal. Furthermore, health insurance companies often reject the proposals of organ donors, cancer survivors and people with a cardiac history, as these conditions raise the chances of a medical emergency.
Create a Health Corpus if You Cannot Get Health Insurance
Even if someone’s proposal does get rejected, there are ways you can make yourself financially secure in facing uncertainties with stress-free.
Rely on Group Health Plan
When you get a policy from your employer, it will mostly cover pre-existing diseases as well. So, sign up for the corporate health insurance policy, even if you need to pay a portion of the premium or the entire amount. Also, if the policy offers a top-up plan, do go for it, as you can continue to use it even after you leave your current workplace. Another option after leaving the organisation would be making use of health insurance portability to turn your plan from corporate to retail. This feature is especially beneficial for cancer survivors or someone with lifestyle diseases. However, do remember that portability and continuing the policy will be the insurer’s choice, and they may reject it, too.
Invest in Personal Accident Policy
As your income and not your health status is the deciding factor in an accident policy, it would make sense to get a plan. Even if it does not cover health per se, you will have coverage against accidents or disabilities resulting from mishaps.
Buy a Family Floater Plan
Even if an insurer rejects your proposal, you must not evade buying family floater health insurance. It would help to keep the rest of your family secure, and you can keep the savings aside for your medical needs in future.
Create a Health Corpus
Not just those without health insurance, everyone should generally create a healthcare corpus or a special medical repository to rely on. This is because one doesn’t know the severity of an ailment or the length of the treatment one could face. Your corpus should include:
- Liquid funds
- Fixed deposits at the bank
- Short-term bond funds
These will fetch you a decent interest amount and save money for emergencies. Even if you do not get hefty returns, keep money aside in funds that will be easily accessible even at short notice. Ensure that you keep a part of your income in reserve every month. A sweep-in account with an auto-debit service that will deposit an amount might be a good practice. Usually, these accounts also give good returns.
Start Investing Early
If you do not fall in the high-risk category, try to get a health insurance policy as soon as you can — especially if you have a moderate-risk profile. A provider may accept the application if your health status is good despite a bad lifestyle. Getting a policy early on will come in handy later, as most plans have lifetime renewability.
The earlier you start saving money for emergencies, the more finances you will have to afford good-quality and timely medical care when needed. This will also ensure that even after the treatment, you will still have money for your and your family’s future.
Conclusion
Health insurance has become a necessity in the age of inflating medical expenses. While some are yet to understand its importance and ignore buying a policy, there are others for whom the insurer does not provide coverage for various reasons. Usually, companies reject proposal forms from applicants with dangerous professions, an existing ailment, a bad lifestyle and a family history of diseases. But, such people can look at group insurance, invest in family floater and personal accident plans, and create a healthcare corpus with fixed deposits and other regular investments for emergencies.
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