Vaccination means protection from infectious and preventable diseases. If you want to understand why it’s crucial, here it goes: in 1798, the invention of the smallpox vaccine helped successfully eradicate the disease from the world. Doctors administer vaccines to fight polio, hepatitis B transmitted by mothers, and childhood TB right at birth. We continue to receive immunisation shots until we turn 16 and when we are older, with influenza or pneumonia vaccinations. But with the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, people across age groups have started realising the importance of vaccination. While everyone rushed to book a slot to get jabbed, the next question was if health insurance covers immunisation. Many insurers provide vaccination coverage besides hospitalisation due to COVID, but some policies cover other immunisations. Read on to find out more.
Health Insurance Plans That Cover Vaccines
Many health insurance policies in India provide maternity coverage, which also covers the baby’s immunisations for up to a year to prevent conditions and complications that may require hospitalisation and even cause death. These typically include such as:
- Chickenpox
- Measles
- Mumps
- Seizures or loss of hearing
- Losing a leg or an arm
- Brain damage
The provision of vaccination varies depending on the insurer and plans; thus, fully understand the conditions before buying health insurance.
Besides vaccines for children, policies also cover immunisations for adults with vaccination for animal bites, rabies, hepatitis, and others. Compare health insurance plans under different companies to buy the best one. Some of the most reliable ones include:
Aditya Birla Active Assure Diamond Plan
Aditya Birla Activ Assure Diamond Plan provides a vaccine cover of up to INR 10,000 for children under 18 for policies with an insured total of INR 1 crore or more. It includes basic coverage for other related costs, from health checkups to comprehensive hospital care. You can also avail of different health insurance benefits, including a no-claim bonus (NCB), e-opinion, critical illness coverage, domestic or international emergency help, etc.
Royal Sundaram Family Plus Health Insurance Plan
This Royal Sundaram health insurance policy includes comprehensive coverage, including vaccination coverage, at a reasonable premium rate. Vaccination coverage under the plan is available for up to INR 10,000 for a newborn baby in the first year. It’s ideal for large families as a single policy accommodates up to 19 relationships. It covers medical care expenses for critical illnesses and pays for immunisation costs.
Tata AIG MediCare
Vaccination coverage is one of Tata AIG MediCare’s distinctive aspects. With this policy, your vaccine coverage has a separate limit, so it won’t reduce your base sum insured. One of its additional benefits is that it does not impact your cumulative bonus. Given the significance of immunisation, Tata AIG MediCare provides vaccination coverage as a standard benefit rather than an add-on. The plan covers rabies and typhoid vaccinations as soon as you get health insurance, while the coverage for HPV and Hepatitis B vaccinations begins after two years of uninterrupted coverage. So, it would help to buy a policy as soon as possible. Other advantages of the plan include bariatric surgery, maternity cover, and global coverage for medical care received outside of India.
IFFCO Tokio Family Health Protector Policy
You can also choose IFFCO Tokio’s Family Health Protector Policy to get paid for immunisation costs. This policy covers vaccination charges and the entire family under a single plan. It also pays for health checkups, enabling you to protect yourself and your child from the financial burden of a medical emergency. Family Health Protector Policy also covers hospitalisation costs for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy) and other alternative therapies. Another benefit of this plan is that one can easily add new family members. It’s much easier than acquiring a brand-new individual plan and doesn’t require as many procedures.
Care Health Insurance’s Care Plan
Care Health Insurance’s comprehensive family health insurance policy offers coverage up to a specified amount for vaccination expenses. It pays for vaccines that the National Immunisation Schedule (NIS) suggests for protection against preventable diseases such as dptheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis. Since this is also a standard health insurance plan, it covers other related medical expenses.
Conclusion
By immunising your child against many diseases appropriately, you may ensure they live a healthy life. Children are more prone to infections since their immune systems are weaker. Thus, it’s essential to vaccinate and safeguard them against fatal infectious diseases or conditions that may cause paralysis or loss of limbs. A health insurance plan with vaccination coverage is especially beneficial in these tough COVID-19 times. Most policies that provide coverage for COVID will also pay for vaccination against it. However, it would be best to opt for a plan that also includes coverage for other vaccinations, such as HPV or Hepatitis B.
