Buying a health insurance policy can be tricky. There are different types of health cover plans available in the market that make this task more difficult. Like all things, you must, therefore, evaluate multiple medical insurance plans carefully. And weigh their pros and cons before choosing one that is perfect for you. Here are some things that you should know before getting health insurance policies in India:
Types of insurances
Family health cover, family floater, and individual health coverage plans are the most basic types of medical insurance plans in India. If you live in a nuclear family, get a family floater plan with enough coverage for your spouse and kids.
Senior citizens policy & parents health insurance
Including parents in the family floater insurance plan might not always be a wise decision. It is because the coverage offered by the family floater insurance can be inadequate with respect to the growing health concerns of your ageing parents. Senior citizen health care plans are specially curated and include the features that may be necessary to cover the health risks of elders. It is recommended that you get a dedicated parent’s health insurance plan that covers both parents simultaneously. The option of enrolling a single parent in this policy is also available.
Group Health Insurance
A group health cover plan is another type of medical insurance usually provided by companies to their employees. If you have already covered under this plan, you may still want to get other medical insurance plans for yourself and your family.
The benefit of group insurance plans is that they provide health care benefits and coverage from the first day. While an individual health plan will demand a short waiting period, in a group policy you can avail of all benefits right from the get-go.
Critical illness policy
A critical illness insurance India is a health insurance plan that protects you from a heart attack, cancer, organ transplant surgery, tuberculosis, and other severe illnesses. This type of health insurance policy is recommended for individuals above 60 as age is one of the major factors for such critical illnesses. If certain medical conditions run in your family bloodline, you would want to secure yourself from the financial burden that they might arise in the future. If some of these conditions fall in the severe category, search the critical illness plans that provide coverage against them.
Top-up health insurance & other add-ons
Top-up insurance plans extend the coverage and other add-on plans extend the benefits of your existing plan. For example, a personal accident cover can be included as a rider to include the coverage for accidents. It also includes a hefty compensation when the policyholder sustains a disability or a fatal injury due to an accident.
While it is necessary to understand the difference between various health insurance types, you must also know certain things before buying any type of health insurance for yourself or your family members. Some of these things are explained below:
Age Cap
Some health cover plans come with an age cap. It means that you cannot buy these plans if your age is above the set limit. That being said, there are some plans, like senior citizen insurance, that don’t come with an age limit. You would need to pay a higher premium for renewing these plans after a certain age.
High coverage
For getting a high sum insured, you need to pay a higher premium. Also, you can extend the coverage by accumulating NCB points. For that, you need to avoid making any claims during the policy term. It is observed that most insurers offer up to a 50% hike in coverage amount if the policyholder does not raise a single claim through the policy term. NCB points can also be redeemed to decrease the policy premium.
Online application & renewals
Most insurance providers these days allow you to get health insurance policies online. The facility of online policy renewal is also offered by most insurers. Some of them even allow online policy renewal without any pre-medical tests or check-ups.
Room rent cap
Purchasing a health care policy with a room rent cap means that you are ok with paying the additional charges that exceed the room rent limit set by the insurer. Apart from the room rent, sum limits can also be applicable on the consultation fees or certain diagnostic tests. You can also get a medical insurance policy that doesn’t come with a room rent cap.
Cashless service
Most insurance providers offer a cashless service. This service allows you to carry out a treatment without paying upfront as in the case of the reimbursement claim process. However, it is observed that the hospitals that provide their facility are found mostly in cities as compared to the rural areas. Therefore, check whether there are enough hospitals nearby the area where you live.
For checking the health insurance policies of the top health insurance companies in India, check the Bajaj Finserv website.
