Factors to Consider Before Buying Health Insurance

There are several different types of health insurance and term insurance products that are designed to help you maintain your financial security and that of your family/dependant members. You can buy them as a stand-alone product, or with add-ons bundled together.

Let’s say if someone has heart disease or stroke, medical insurance can help. The insured person is more likely to get the best possible treatment and live a longer and healthier life, as the medical bills are taken care of (up to specified limits). Which otherwise can be difficult to pay from one’s savings.

Enrolling into adequate health insurance not only saves one from getting stuck with large medical bills, but it also gives access to the care one needs to manage or improve health.

So, where you can buy the best health insurance plan? Well, it isn’t as difficult as it appears! You can easily compare online different health insurance policies and picks the best for yourself and your loved ones.

But before you jump guns and start looking out for some of the best health insurance plans in India; it makes sense to get acquainted with some of the important factors that you can consider to pick the most beneficial one:

Things to Consider Before Buying Health Insurance

⦁Entry Age Criteria

It’s important to buy a health plan for the long run. Look for a policy that offers coverage till 65 years (Atleast) and can add your family members and allows for subsequent renewals.

So, if you want to enjoy and give your family protection with health insurance, then you can go for a plan that offers lifetime renewal and check the minimum and maximum age limit in case it is not providing the same.

⦁Insurance Premium

The premium for an individual health insurance plan in comparison to a family floater policy will always be lower. It is mainly because all the members are covered under a single sum assured. However, if you want individual coverage you can pay a little more premium.  And if you buy add-on covers the premium will be again on a higher side.

And it may not work to buy the lowest premium health insurance plan, as it would mean compromising on the benefits and coverage. So, make sure that you make an informed decision and choose the one that meets most of your requirements.

⦁    Pre-Existing Illnesses

Almost every health insurance policy has a pr-existing illness clause. So, if you are suffering from any health condition like blood pressure, its related illnesses will only be covered after the completion of a waiting period like 2 years, 3 years or 4 years depending on the plan that you have purchased.

Make sure, that the plan includes those ailments that you may have and continue to cover in the long run or at least for a few years of the policy. Check policy wordings and health insurance benefits for the same.

⦁    Sum Assured

The policy coverage amount that you receive at the time of claim is equal to the amount of sum assured. The health insurance will compensate for the medical expenses incurred up to the sum assured amount.

So, higher the sum assured the more will be the policy coverage benefits. Therefore, it will be sensible to opt for a higher sum assured option for yourself and your loved ones when buying a health plan.

⦁Individual Plan vs. Family Floater Plan

The coverage provided in an individual plan will be more than the coverage you will receive from a family floater plan.

Moreover, an individual health plan would be a more viable option from a cost-versus-benefit outlook. But if you have dependent members you can go for a family floater policy as well.

⦁    Network Hospitals

Another important factor that you need to consider the number of panel hospitals. For instance, Reliance health insurance provides cashless hospitalization in more than 4000 hospitals across India.

So, when you buy a health plan make sure that opt for an insurer that off offers cashless claim treatment options in the empanelled hospitals in case of emergency hospitalization.

⦁Critical Illness Cover

It can be a stressful time for anyone, if any, of the family members is diagnosed with critical illnesses like cancer, tumor, or stroke.

To save yourself and your family from financial turmoil, taking up a critical illness plan, which covers such conditions can be a sensible choice. You can look at a plan that offers coverage of at least 25 lakhs considering today’s medical inflation.

⦁Renewability Factor

So, every insurer allows policy renewal up to a specific age or till a lifetime. And if you have your parents insured in your health plan then it is sensible to go for lifetime policy renewal age.  It may differ from one insurance provider to another. Therefore, it is advisable to compare health insurance plans from different insurers before you buy one.

Here’ a Quick Recap of Points to Note Before Buying a Medical Insurance Plan?

Generally, you should look out for the following health insurance benefits:

⦁   Check health insurance benefits and features such as hospitalization cover, the sum assured, age criterion, treatment cover, and add-on cover, among others

⦁    List of registered network hospitals in your vicinity

⦁    Post-hospitalization expenses if covered or not

⦁    All pre-existing illnesses and the waiting period clause

⦁Do not go for a health plan just for lesser premium, as it may not be of any use in the future. Look for a policy that offers maximum coverage from the diseases including life-threatening diseases for which the treatment can cost a bomb.

Over to You!

There is no one fit-to-all policy, but you would need to analyze what is required and what is avoidable. Moreover, with the online purchase options, the comparison of insurance products have been made much simpler as you can choose the benefits, provide all the details of the insured members, pay the premium and get the policy in your inbox.