Things to keep in mind while buying Health Insurance

Covid-19 is going to get summed up shortly. The pandemic has impacted a lot of things like food habits, income and lifestyle including the thinking pattern of individuals. Everyone today has understood the importance of good health. A lot of people have started exercising, changed their food habits and have become more health-conscious in general. This is a welcome change.

We all know that merely managing good health will not suffice the requirement of today's lifestyle. In spite of our endless efforts, it is quite possible that we come across an illness or an accident, without any warning. So just focussing on managing physical health would be a blunder for us. We need to manage our financial health as well.

Fortunately, another important thing that has been impacted is the pattern of expenditure for a middle-class family. We see that people are now giving more importance to the nature and quality of their spending. There is more emphasis now on personal lines of expenses and specifically on insurance and healthcare expenditure.

Everyone today understands that financial well-being is now an important requirement to cope with any kind of medical emergency. The cost of medical expenditure is increasing day by day at a rate higher than the inflation numbers we all get to see. This is because the medical expenditure is a culmination of all kinds of expenses including medicines, hospitalisation, new treatments, room rents, doctor fees, and so on. So covering our health is an inevitable aspect that draws our attention towards managing our investments as well. Keeping some funds aside for medical emergencies is just the starting point. We ought to have a reliable plan to manage our medical expenditure.

Increasing numbers of health insurance premiums are a direct indicator of an awareness created in society towards healthcare management. But merely buying health insurance with low coverage again would create trouble in the time of emergency. So before buying health insurance we need to undergo an analysis regarding the health insurance plan that we are going to buy. Just buying health insurance is not enough, we need to be aware of all the details and total coverage.

There are a number of factors that we need to keep in mind while we make a decision of buying health insurance.

Let's see some of the important ones.

Amount of coverage or sum assured

We need to check the amount of coverage at the time of buying health insurance. A low amount of coverage /sum insured will surely create problems at the time of need. In this case, even if we have health insurance, it will be just for namesake. So we should buy sufficient sum assured. Depending on your city category (metro /non-metro), a sum insured of Rs.5 lakhs should be the bare minimum you should aim for.

Inclusions and exclusions of the plan

You should be aware of what is covered and what are the exclusions. You should go through the list of exclusions and waiting period diseases before buying health insurance. Please ensure that you are comfortable with the terms as per your needs and risk nature.

Age, gender and medical conditions of the family

There might be some special situations or pre-existing history when it comes to medical conditions. For e.g., if you are an old aged woman or suffering from any lifestyle disease like diabetes or hypertension, then you are more likely to have medical problems in the near future. You should buy health insurance considering these facts.

Capping and Co-payment conditions

This is an important factor that needs to be checked before buying health insurance. This refers to the disease-wise sub-limits and the amount that you are going to share in case of claims. Sometimes, these conditions are overlooked and we may end up with additional expenses over the premium of our health insurance policy.

List of cashless hospitals available

A list of network hospitals may also play a vital role in case of a long hospital stay. If the company does not have sufficient network hospitals in your area, you may need to incur the medical cost first to pay the hospital bill.

Period of pre-post hospitalization

This refers to medical expenses incurred before and after the admission to the hospital. It is helpful in case the treatment is going to last for a longer period like physiotherapy in case of some accidents. This may not be a deal breaker, but a longer period is good to have.

Premium discounts and no claim bonus

Discounts and bonuses are an integral part of health insurance. Nowadays, insurers offer policies with discounts if we opt to pay for more than one year or if we take individual covers of all family members in a single policy. No claim bonus is an advantage of your good health, where you get benefit if you do not make any claims against the policy in the previous year(s). The insurers are now offering fixed NCB as well as more discounts nowadays to their clients.

Recharge or restore facility

Due to the variety of diseases and advanced medical treatment, the cost of treatment sometimes goes beyond our expectations. This feature of Recharge or Restore helps you in case you consume whole or part of your sum assured in a single claim. This benefit will restore or recharge the full sum assured in case of your first claim in a policy year. Some companies now offer unlimited recharge options also. So we should carefully read and understand these features while buying health insurance.

Coverage of advanced medical treatment and daycare procedures

Everybody wants to go for advanced medical treatment and medical innovations are a continuous process. So we should consider the coverage of modern medical treatment when buying a health insurance policy.

Health check-ups and wellness benefits

Some health insurance policies offer the benefit of an annual health check-up. Wellness benefit is the revolutionary feature introduced with health insurance policy. This feature motivates us to exercise or walk more in our routine life and thereby offers attractive discounts on the completion of targeted physical activities. The physical activities in such cases are monitored by the fitness apps in the market. Again, a good thing to have.

Availability of any add on coverages

We should check out for any affordable additional coverages/ riders available with an additional premium. It could be useful to have comprehensive coverage at the time of claim. For example: Lock the clock through ReAssure 2.0 Health Insurance from Niva Bupa is a good rider to reduce the premium paid as the Health insurance premium which normally increases every year does not until first claim.

Conclusion

Buying a health insurance policy is an important decision. The choice of the insurer, the product /policy, the coverage, the features and add-ons, etc matters a lot. Understanding the product and matching it with your needs before buying will ensure that you have little to worry about during claims.

Of all the above points, it is important to have a good advisor who could support you in times of need/claim. The Advisor's connect will help you ensure that due attention is received in complicated claims which could be quite stressful.