5 frequently asked questions about health insurance With the rising medical costs and vulnerability towards several diseases, no one can afford to live without a proper health insurance policy. It is one of the most essential types of insurance one should opt. Well, this article enlists some of the frequently asked questions about health insurance. Just take a look-
Why You Need Health Insurance? When you have a better health insurance plan, you unlock to better health care facilities. Whatsoever plan you choose not only gives you a better shot at getting fit, but it also decreases the chances of your future health complications. Why we are saying this because a sudden hospitalization, accident or any surgery can really cost you lakhs of rupees. So, better health insurance plans protect you and your hard earned money and take care of all kind of medical expenses. In addition to this, there are some insurance companies who provide modern-day health insurance plans which have a provision for preventive care. This simply means that you get access to free health-checks, vaccination, OPD consultation, etc. Well, hope you got enough reasons why you need health insurance. Is health insurance policy portable? Well, the answer to this question is yes. Definitely, if you do not want to continue with your existing health insurance policy, you can switch to another insurer. Regulatory authority allows an insurer to port or switch health insurance policy without any loss of the waiting period, and no claim bonus. But, an
insurer has to keep in mind that a proper communication approach needs to be maintained with the new insurer regarding porting. You have to connect with the new insurer at least 45 days prior to your policy expires. If in case, you are not able to do so, you can ask your existing insurer to provide you a cover for the intermediate period by paying a proportionate premium. Usually, an insurer agrees for a limited period of extension, and in the meanwhile, you can look for affordable policies online. So, basically, with more or the same features, you can hunt for a dozen health policies online. Purchasing a Family floater plan a good option? Well, it depends! Family floater plans are a good option to save on your premium costs, and especially if you are a young couple. Let’s say if you are at an age of 32, and your spouse is at 30, then a separate health insurance plans for both of you for sum insured 5 lakh each would cost you around INR 10,000. But, as mentioned above, that both of you are young, the full sum insured under the two different policies may not be used. Instead of this, opt for a family floater plan for INR 5 Lakh. Through this way, you and your spouse individually or together can claim for up to INR 5 lakh. If you head for a family floater plan with the same amount, even the premium would be comparatively low.
What is health insurance top-up? Many times medical expenses overshoot the insurance cover of a policyholder. There comes the role of top-up health insurance plan. Today, with the increasing medical expenses, it is better to opt for top-up or to take an additional cover. Let’s say you have already taken a standard health insurance plan of INR 5 Lakh. Let’s say for an instance, when you are hospitalized, you check that the overall hospital bill shoots or has been crossed above the claim amount. At that time of medical exigency, you can ask your insurer for a top-up plan. So, overall it makes sense when you really want to increase the cover without paying too much on premium. With this, you can save on your regular health insurance policy too like one for general claims, while using the top-up plan to cater to that one-time high-cost hospital charges.
How to choose a good health insurance company? Well, everyone tells you about the good insurance plans, but in addition to this, how to choose a good health insurance company holds equal importance. The answer to this frequently asked question lies in the claim acceptance ratio. Yes, one must definitely check at the claim acceptance ratio of an insurance company when it comes to choosing good health insurance companies. A bad claim acceptance ratio or lower claim acceptance may highlight the unwillingness of the particular insurance companies. Hence, one must consider getting insured with a company who has a better claim acceptance ratio. We hope that we are able to answer some of the frequently asked questions successfully. Have a healthy life; after all, good health is wealth.