When it comes to health, we all want to be healthy but illnesses and accidents come unannounced. Health Insurance is said to be the most important tool in your financial portfolio. It is an investment that you should make to safeguard yourself from the financial burden arising due to high healthcare costs. Every member of your family, irrespective of age, requires a health insurance cover to meet the unforeseen medical emergencies anytime in future.
There are a variety of health insurance plans available in India offered by many insurance providers. Each plan has distinct features and benefits and promises to be better than the other. Now the question is, how do you choose the right one for yourself?
How to Find the Right Health Insurance Plan?
Finding the right health insurance plan is an easy process if you know the tricks of the trade. All you have to do is check your insurance needs and consider the following tips:
- Look for the Right Coverage Benefits- You should look for a health insurance plan that secures you against a wide range of medical costs which you might incur in emergencies. If you are buying a plan for your family, you should ensure that the policy meets the needs of each family member. The right health plan should have the coverage benefits which would be suitable for you. For instance, if you are planning a child, your health plan should have maternity health insurance cover. So, assess your coverage needs and then look for plans which fulfil such needs.
- Choose the Right Sum Insured- When you buy a health plan, remember to buy it for your future. The medical expenses are increasing and a heart surgery which cost INR 5 Lakh today might cost INR 10 Lakhs in future. Healthcare expenses are increasing rapidly. You should ensure that your health insurance plan has an optimal amount of sum insured to meet all possible medical emergencies. Look for plans which increase your cover every claim-free year so that the coverage increases without affecting the premium.
- Keep it Affordable- While it is important to buy a health insurance plan which suits your needs, it is also important to ensure that it suits your pocket. Buying a health plan with high sum insured will lead to higher premiums. Sustaining such high premiums might prove to be a problem in future. So, ensure that your plan is affordable so that you can enjoy lifelong coverage without taxing your pockets. If a high sum insured is not affordable, opt for top-up and super top-up plans to increase the coverage in an affordable manner.
- Check the Waiting Period- All health insurance policies offer coverage for pre-existing illnesses or diseases after a waiting period of 2 to 4 years. The waiting period to cover pre-existing ailments, maternity expenses and certain specific treatment varies from plan to plan. You should check the waiting period of health plans and choose one with a low waiting period especially if you or a family member has a pre-existing condition.
- Prefer Family Floater Health Plans Over Individual Health Insurance Plans- Individual health insurance plans are good only for those who do not have dependents or family to support. If you are planning to buy a health plan for the members of your family, buying a family floater plan will make more sense. Family floater health insurance plans offer maximum benefits at an affordable price.
- Network Hospitals- Network hospitals are those hospitals with which the insurance company has a tie-up to provide you with the facility of cashless treatment. The process of reimbursement of the medical cost is long and takes time. It is, therefore, necessary to check whether the health insurance plan includes your preferred hospitals or not. Always prefer a health insurance plan of an insurance provider which has a wide network of hospitals all over the country for easy cashless claims.
- Compare Health Plans Online- Comparison helps you to choose the right health plan with the right premium. You can compare the health insurance plans online to buy a health plan that suits your needs at the most affordable premium.
- High Claim Settlement Ratio- Claim settlement ratio means the ratio of the number of claims settled by the health insurance company against the total claims received by it. Higher claim settlement ratio indicates higher chances of getting your claims settled by the insurance provider. You should, therefore, opt for a health insurance provider with a high claim settlement ratio.
- Add-ons or Riders- You can add optional riders to your health insurance plan to enjoy wider coverage benefits. Riders are optional covers which can be added both at the time of buying a health plan or at the time of renewing it. Insurance companies offer various riders to serve various insurance needs of their customers. These include critical illness rider, personal accident rider, hospital cash benefit rider, etc. Keeping in mind your future insurance needs, you can add one or more riders with your health plan at affordable premiums and make the plan comprehensive.
- Room-rent Limit- Room rent limit restricts the coverage offered by a health plan. If the plan has a room rent limit, your room rent should be within the limit to get complete coverage. If the rent is higher than the prescribed limit, your overall inpatient hospitalisation claim is reduced. This incurs out of pocket expenses which is not favourable. So, opt for plans which do not have a room rent limit for a comprehensive scope of coverage.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, health insurance is one of the most financial planning tools considering the spike in the occurrence of health problems and increasing healthcare costs. So, you should invest in the right health insurance plan for complete coverage. Comparison of various health insurance plans will help you select the right one. You should remember only premium comparison is not the right parameter while choosing a health plan. It is also important for you to choose the right insurer. Keep in mind the above tips while buying a health insurance plan and you will surely have the right one.
