It is not rare for employees, especially freshers, to be ignorant about their financial decisions. In such a situation, it is often the employer who provides the employee with a certain degree of financial protection, like providing their employees with health insurance. However, that does not necessarily mean that you will get the best coverage and the most convenient insurance plan, so it is necessary to put your own research into action.
What Can You Expect from Your Employer in Terms of Health Insurance?
Figures show that many rely on health insurance provided by their employers for their insurance coverage. Technically, it is a wonderful thing for employers to go the extra mile for their employees and provide them with financial coverage. It is a fairly common practice for firms and companies to provide their employees with insurance plans because it also results in tax write-offs and the like for the company concerned.
But as an employee, you have to keep in mind that this will come along with heavyweight additional like premiums, deductibles, and copays. This holds especially true if your employment scenario involves a big firm that gives its employees multiple health insurance options to choose from.
Buying health insurance plans independently gives you more flexibility to choose a health insurance plan that will work on your terms and will be more suited to your situation, without any mediation from a big firm.
How Can You Get More Out of Your Health Insurance?
You can get a lot more from your health insurance than just financial coverage in case of a medical emergency or mishap. For example, some health insurance plans out there might double up as added financial security options, by giving you more discounts, added medical insurance coverage over your regular health insurance plan, and even tax benefits!
Health insurance also comes with an easy interface that does not include any major company middlemen. It means clearer communication between you and your insurance provider, and a better understanding of the terms and conditions of the health insurance plan. Your company might offer you a health insurance policy that calls for a low premium, but if you completely gloss over any fine print, there might be problems in the future.
What Kind of Dual Benefits are We Talking About?
In this context, you should definitely look at health insurance plans that offer more than your regular health insurance plan that comes from your employers. This is why you should consider a top-up health insurance plan, which will essentially cover a number of eventualities. The chief attraction of this is that you get the dual benefit of medical expense coverage as well as tax benefits. Top-up plans help especially when your medical expenses go beyond the insurance amount you are entitled to as a part of the terms of the health insurance policy.
What is a Top-up Plan?
Say you already have a health insurance plan. However, in the case of a sudden medical emergency, the amount of money you immediately need exceeds the sum insured. In this case, a top-up plan will be exactly what you need.
In that case, a top-up plan can provide you with additional medical insurance coverage, and cover the excess amount that you need, on a claim basis. In India, there are two different types of health insurance with top-up plans. You can take your pick out of the top-up insurance plan, or the super top-up insurance plan.
A Top-up Health Insurance Plan
A top-up health insurance plan lets you avail medical insurance coverage over and above the base amount of the health insurance plan, on a claim basis. This means that the required amount has to be greater than the base insurance amount for the claim to actually go through.
A Super Top-up Health Insurance Plan
On the other hand, a super top-up health insurance plan functions in terms of aggregate claims, which means that you can file for multiple claims according to your immediate need for resources.
Why Should You Consider a Top-up Plan?
The primary benefit of a top-up health insurance plan is that it offers holistic health insurance and medical emergency coverage without any extravagant premium.
- A top-up plan can prove to be an important organ of your health insurance plan because there are added advantages and discounts that most top-up health insurance plans will provide.
- You also don’t have to worry about the sufficiency of your existing health insurance plan in the face of a medical calamity. In any case, you can rest assured that you can find the resources you need on a claim basis.
- The top-up health insurance plan will also let you take your time to figure out the health insurance claim amount you need without having to make hurried decisions on the easiest quick fix for your resource shortage.
- You can technically write off the part of your income that you use to pay your health insurance premium. That way, the amount of income tax you have to pay goes down. Premium payments that go toward top-up and super top-up health insurance can also be exempted from your taxable income amount, under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Final Take
Considering all positions, you can rest assured that going for a top-up health insurance plan can objectively be a smart decision. The health insurance benefits will allow you plenty of accommodation for any potential mishaps. Relying on the health insurance your employer provides for you might not be the best option for your interests. This is why you should consider other options and do your fair share of research before you buy a health insurance plan of any kind.
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