There is no such thing as "too much" when considering the security of your family. You put forth every effort, from seeing that your children receive the best education possible to taking good care of your ageing parents and supportive spouse. It is imperative never to accept anything less than the best for your family's safety. A family health insurance policy stands out from the competition despite the wide range of insurance options available.
Health insurance plans that cover the entire family are known as family health insurance plans. Unlike individual plans, the family health insurance plan covers every family member with a single premium. According to this, you are not required to pay different premiums for each person, regardless of age. The family health insurance will easily take care of the following expenses when needed-
1. In-patient Hospitalization Costs: These are the expenses associated with being hospitalised for at least 24 continuous hours.
2. Pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization Costs: These are the costs incurred before and following hospitalization. Examples include x-rays, doctor visits, and other similar expenses.
3. Day Care: Costs associated with day care procedures are those that don't call for a minimum 24-hour hospital stay. For instance, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and balloon sinuplasty.
4. Road Ambulance Costs: These are the prices incurred when transporting a patient by ambulance on the road to the closest hospital.
5. Organ Donation Costs: Family health insurance plans frequently cover costs associated with being an organ donor.
6. Daily Cash Allowance: The policyholder will receive a daily hospital cash allowance to pay for incidentals throughout their hospital stay.
7. Coverage for Mental Illness: Most family health insurance policies offer coverage for mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety.
8. Maternity Coverage: Most family health insurance plans include maternity coverage, which pays for pregnancy and new parenthood costs.
Health insurance ensures all members stay protected under a common umbrella cover, but this gets even more fruitful when you are ready to welcome a new member soon. There are also specially curated maternity plans for expecting parents to cover the pre- and post-stages of maternity expenses.
What Exactly is Maternity Insurance?
Maternity insurance is an underappreciated type of insurance that people frequently overlook. Still, if carefully considered, it can significantly assist soon-to-be parents in managing a sizable portion of their finances during the journey. Maternity insurance covers all costs related to childbirth up to a predetermined amount.
Maternity insurance is offered as both a standalone policy and a benefit or add-on rider with general health insurance for individual and family floater plans. This insurance covers all maternity-related costs, including labour and delivery (both caesarean and natural deliveries) and other medical expenses like nursing care, lodging, doctor visits, anaesthesiologist fees, and surgeon fees. Additionally, the maternity benefit pays for any necessary medically necessary abortions or treatment for pregnancy-related complications.
Additionally, it covers costs up to 90 days after delivery related to the mother's fertility issues, vaccination costs, and hospitalization fees for the newborn due to any medical complications. You can choose this add-on benefit for the first or second time you become a parent. But how to decide on one among many such available maternity policy plans?
Points to Consider
To find one that works for you, it may take time to compare all the maternity insurance options. Include pre- and post-hospitalization costs, pre- and postnatal costs, delivery and in-patient hospitalization, vaccination coverage, and newborn coverage in your maternity plan as some of the crucial factors that should guide your decision when choosing the best plan. Here is a list of a few of the good maternity insurance options in India (in no particular order) that can relieve your financial worries and ease your journey-
1. Aditya Birla Activ Health Platinum - a comprehensive health insurance strategy that provides complete financial protection from medical expenses
2. Bajaj Allianz Health Guard - a three-variant plan with a sum insured amount of up to INR 1 crore
3. Care Joy- a plan offering newborn cover and a 100% increase in sum insured as a non-claim bonus.
4. Chola Healthline Plan- an ideal choice if you're looking for protection for you, your spouse, and your kids with the possibility of lifelong renewability
5. SBI Arogya Supreme - A comprehensive health insurance programme with eight optional coverage options and a 15% increase in the cumulative bonus for each year without a claim
Exclusions of Maternity Plans
1. In-vitro fertilization
2. Ectopic conception
3. Costs associated with treatment for preterm labour
4. Costs for vitamins, tonics, or other related supplements
5. Late pregnancies in women over 45
Conclusion
Apart from checking the terms and exclusions, another question to consider is when to purchase maternity insurance. Although you can get a maternity plan at the time of pregnancy, you cannot claim the benefits immediately. Depending on the company, maternity plans have a good waiting period of 9-24 months. In addition, because pregnancy is regarded as a pre-existing disease category, most insurers don't offer maternity insurance plans at the time of pregnancy.
A maternity insurance policy has a lower premium than a standard health plan. Since a dedicated maternity plan covers only maternity-related expenses, the premium remains lower compared to a standard plan covering a wide range of conditions. Therefore, it is advised to conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the various plans offered by multiple insurance providers when one decides to purchase such coverage. It is critical to keep in mind that maternity insurance costs rise with age. Additionally, maternity insurance policies are worthwhile investments given the rising pregnancy-related costs.
Keeping the mentioned points in mind and considering the soaring expenses, opting for a health insurance policy and maternity health insurance is an ideally suggested combination for expecting parents.
