Health Insurance Policy-Be Aware

Health is  wealth. We all know that it is the most precious asset for all of us. In this time of  pandemic, we need to be double conscious about our health conditions. Imagine a situation where one of us get infected and require hospitalisation. It will surely affect our financial condition and will erode our hard earned money.

In such situations, to protect from the high cost of treatment, everyone should opt for a health insurance.

Currently, many insurers, both public and private sectors are offering health insurances. There are few things , which are very important that one should be aware while buying a health insurance plan. Health insurance policies cover expenses related to hospitalisation or for treatment of illness identified under day care treatment.

Many friends  have told  me that they have  purchased health insurance and are  paying premium regularly but with no benefit. My answer to that is ; the benefit of taking health insurance comes  when you fall ill and requires a hospitalisation. As long as we stay healthy, we may not be  directly benefitted from holding  a health policy, but being free of disease is also a benefit. Isn’t it? In short, health policy works similar to a vehicle insurance policy.

So naturally the next question will be – Then when should one  buy a health insurance? Well ,the answer is that , one should take health insurance when he is healthy. The earlier the better is the rule, as many companies demand a health checkup after certain age. If variations are noticed during health checkup, they can either reject the policy or ask for a higher premium. The premium paid is eligible for claiming income tax benefit under Sec 80D

While taking a health insurance, the policy is not effective from the date of buying, it varies according to the situation. Usually in all cases except accidents, it has a waiting period of 30 days . Similarly in case of  specific diseases like cataract, there is a waiting period of 2 complete years. As for diseases which are existing on the date of purchase, there is  a waiting period of 4 years. It is also important that you inform any existing illness while taking  policy, to avoid rejection of claims in the future.

Regarding premium be aware that , health insurance premium is not fixed throughout the life, but is based on the age of your entry, just  like life insurance. But on the contrary, it  has fixed age slabs. So when you move from one age slab to the next, your premium will  increase.

One can also take a health insurance policy to cover the entire family, which is known as family floater. By this, the entire sum insured can be utilised by any one member or by all the members of the family.

Lastly one should ensure that he gets the full benefit of the sum insured. Make sure  that there is no sub limits or copayment specified in the policy. Sub limits denote the maximum amount that will be paid against a particulate item in case of claim. For example,  limits for room rent or for ICU charges payable per day. Sub limit also exists in the form of maximum amount payable to one member in  family floater scheme. Similarly some policies specifies co pay, which means you have to pay a particular percentage of every bill throughout the policy life.

There are few more important points to be aware of, while selecting  the health policy of your choice, which will  be dealt with in my forthcoming articles.

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