Many people buy more than one health insurance plan. But is this really needed? Well, there are some advantages and disadvantages of having more than one health insurance plan. You need to evaluate the merits and weigh them against the demerits to understand whether or not you really need to invest in multiple health insurance plans. But what are these merits and demerits? Take a look at this article to know more.
Benefits of Buying Multiple Health Insurance Plans
Listed below are some of the main benefits you get when you have more than one medical insurance policy with you:
- Higher Coverage
The biggest and the most obvious benefit is that you get higher coverage. When you have multiple health insurance plans, including the top up plans and the super top up plans, your coverage limit increases. This helps you to provide a truly wholesome and all-round medical insurance cover for not just yourself, but for every single member of your family. If you have a single health plan, the coverage may not be enough if you have a large family and many claims need to be made throughout the family health insurance policy period.
Pro Tip: Always remember to mention your previous health insurance details before opting for another one. Also, you can always increase your coverage at the time of renewal if you wish to.
- Lower Risk of Claim Rejection
When you have a single health insurance policy, you have to depend on that plan alone for all the claims and reimbursements. If for some reason the claim is rejected, you will have nothing to fall back upon. In that case, you will have to pay the money out of your own pocket.
However, when you have multiple health plans, you can get a claim from a secondary policy if you face rejection on the first plan. This is another very handy benefit you get when you have multiple health insurance plans with you.
- Different Types of Covers
Then, you can diversify your health insurance portfolio by buying more than one health insurance plan. You can buy a regular family floater health plan for yourself and your entire family. If you particularly need a special cover, like a cancer cover or a diabetes cover, you can get another plan for that disease to ensure you do not use up the entire coverage of the floater policy if there is a need. This will keep you and your loved ones protected in a wholesome manner.
Pro Tip: This is possibly one of the most important reasons to opt for multiple plans. You could have an indemnity, super top up and fixed benefit plans in your health insurance portfolio, with each plan playing its own part.
- Critical Illness Cover
It is highly advisable for you to get a critical illness health insurance cover. A critical illness plan pays a lump sum amount of money if you are diagnosed with any of the listed critical illnesses. This is an important cover to have as these days, illnesses such as cancer and stroke are common. You need to have sufficient health insurance. Some family floater health plans offer cover against critical illnesses, so check your plan to see whether or not the cover is already there. If not, it would be a good idea to get a critical illness plan along with the regular health insurance plan you already have.
Keeping these points in mind, it can be said that multiple health plans do provide many benefits to the policyholder.
Disadvantages of Buying Multiple Health Insurance Plans
While there are some good advantages, there are some disadvantages associated with purchasing multiple health insurance plans too. They are:
- More Expensive
It is very obvious that you will have to pay multiple premiums if you have multiple health plans. This will lead to a higher overall spend under your health insurance overhead so you have to be mindful of the additional financial strain that may fall upon you.
Pro Tip: So, the smarter option to increase your health insurance coverage is to opt for a super top up plan with a deductible up to your base health plan coverage. For example, if you have an indemnity base plan of INR 10 lakhs, you can opt for a super top up plan for INR 30 lakhs with a deductible of INR 10 lakhs. So, your base plan would provide coverage from INR 1 to INR 10 lakhs and your super top up would provide coverage from INR 10,00,001 to INR 40 lakhs.
- Multiple Premiums
Since you have to pay multiple premiums on the multiple health insurance plans, you will have to remember all the different due dates with care. If you pay one premium and forget about the other, your health insurance cover may lapse.
Pro Tip: The smarter option is to apply for an increase in coverage in your existing health plan. Alternately do an ECS or a standing instruction for the premium deduction on your credit card. That way, you will never miss your renewal premium and your policy would never get lapsed!
- Complex Claim Process
When you have a single health insurance plan, making a claim on it is a simple process. You simply need to inform the insurer and the hospital and the cashless health insurance claim is taken care of. However, if you have more than one policy to claim for, the process takes a long time and more effort on your part.
Pro Tip: However, it is quite a simple process to file either 2 cashless, one cashless and one reimbursement or 2 reimbursement claims. It is actually the same work with double the paperwork. The easiest way out is to opt for a higher coverage from the same plan or opt for another plan type from the same insurer. That way, you need to do the paperwork only once.
These are some disadvantages to having multiple health insurance policies. You need to assess them and see whether or not buying more than one policy will work for you.
The Bottom Line
Health insurance needs are not the same for every individual or family. While some may need multiple health plans, others may find a single cover sufficient. You need to evaluate the needs and requirements that you have and then, after analysing all the points mentioned above, decide where or not it is required for you to buy multiple health insurance plans. Do your research, understand your needs and then get the ideal cover.
