The modern lifestyle has become sedentary and cases of diseases are rising making it crucial to buy health insurance. Health insurance provides much-needed financial security in times of medical emergency. The health insurance coverage pays the medical bills and treatment costs when the policyholder needs them. The insured gets the reimbursement in case of illness or injury. Having health insurance is even more important for the sole breadwinner of the family to safeguard financial security in the future. However, it is advisable to get all your family members insured.
Reasons to Buy a Health Insurance Policy
The importance of buying health insurance is undeniable. Medical treatments can eat up your savings, therefore, health insurance can be an asset. Various reasons to have a health insurance policy are as follows.
- Protects Your Savings: Having health insurance protects your savings in times of emergency. Health problems can come anytime and for their quality treatments, you need to spend a lot. With health coverage, the majority of the treatment cost is covered.
- Various Coverage Included: With a health insurance policy, not only the hospitalisation cost is covered but it also covers various other medical costs. These include consultation charges, ambulance costs, diagnostics, operation theatre charges, room rent, daycare, vaccination and much more.
- Cashless Treatments: Insured can get medical treatment at the network hospital without the hassle of paying bills as the insurer directly settles the bill with the hospital. This way, you can get quality treatment without much stress.
- The Family is also Covered: You can buy a family floater plan with which the benefits of the individual plan are clubbed together. You can include yourself, your spouse, children and parents in this plan at a reasonable premium and get additional coverage.
- Lifestyle Changes: In this digital world, people can do their work while sitting which has decreased their physical activities. This is the reason people are more prone to lifestyle-related diseases like cardiac arrest, diabetes, hypertension, etc. Lazy habits, lousy eating, stress, quality of food, increasing pollution, work schedule, etc. are some reasons for increased risk of developing health problems.
- Tax Benefits: According to section 80D of the Income Tax Act, the insured can claim tax deductions against the payment made for health insurance.
Benefits of Buying Health Insurance Plans
There are various advantages to buying the health insurance policy.
- Hospitalisation Benefits: You can get hospitalisation benefits covering the expenses for the treatments like:
- In-Patient Treatment- The cost of a hospital stay for more than 24 hours including ICU charges, medicines, cost of specialist, room rent, etc.
- Domiciliary Treatment: It covers the treatment cost which is taken at home under medical supervision.
- Ambulance Cover: It covers the cost of an ambulance used in times of emergency.
- Pre and post-hospitalisation Cost: It covers the expenses incurred before and after hospitalisation for a specific number of days.
- Alternative Treatments: Many insurers cover the treatment cost of alternative treatment such as homoeopathy, physiotherapy, etc.
- Convalescence Benefits: This is the recovery benefit which the insured gets to recover from the loss of income or savings due to his hospitalisation.
- Expenses of Organ Transplant: Many policies cover the costs of organ transplants required by the insured.
- Dental Treatment: The insured can avail of the coverage on the expanses of dental treatments taken once every few years. The cost of dental treatments is usually high, therefore, it is beneficial to have the policy.
- Free Health Check-ups: The insured can avail of the benefits of cashless check-ups in the network hospitals.
Types of Health Insurance Plans
- Individual Health Insurance: It covers the medical and hospital expenses of the insured. The premium of the policy is determined by the age of the insured.
- Family Floater Plan: This plan covers the entire family for multiple diseases under a single plan. It offers a fixed sum insured which can be availed by all the members of the family.
- Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plan: This policy offers coverage for illness during old age to people over 60 years of age.
- Surgery and Critical Illness Insurance Plan: This policy can be beneficial if the insurer wants coverage for the treatment of critical illnesses including kidney failure, paralysis or cancer.
- Maternity Health Insurance Plan: This policy covers the cost of pre and post-natal care, delivery and expenses of the newborn up to a certain age.
- Personal Accident Health Insurance: This plan covers the cost of hospitalisation due to accidents. Premium is based upon the amount of cover taken.
The Right Age to Buy a Health Insurance Policy
Many people debate the right time to buy health insurance policies, however, there is no right age for that. It is beneficial to buy a policy at an early age as the premium for the same will be comparatively lesser. As age increases, the associated health-related risks also increase. The premium of the policy depends upon the age, medical history and age of the insured. Therefore, buying the insurance policy at an early age will help you save the premiums you will pay with extra benefits.
Points to Remember Before Buying Health Insurance
- Evaluate your needs: Before buying the policy, it is advisable to understand your requirements and needs.
- Research and value your options: After understanding your needs, narrow down your search and choose from the available options.
- Compare the benefits: It is important to comprehend all the features of the insurance company before taking the decision. Make sure to evaluate the sum assured, premiums, claim settlement ratio etc before you decide to finalise the policy.
Conclusion
The medical field is witnessing advancement in technology making it easier to cure ailments and diseases which were once considered incurable. However, with the advancements, the cost of treatments has been increasing exponentially, making it difficult to afford middle-class families. Having health insurance will make you prepared for any emergency without worrying about expenses. This will give you access to affordable and best medical treatments.
