Back
Medical costs are rising day by day. For an individual, especially one who has not saved much money, arranging for funds at the last moment can be a difficult task. Thus, one way to secure you and your family against all sorts of health-related emergencies is by taking a health insurance policy.
Health insurance policy is basically a type of insurance policy that covers the medical and surgical expenses of a policyholder. T his policy can be purchased online with absolute ease and without any paper work and hassles.
Though buying a health insurance is a tough choice, there are a few things you need to consider before choosing a health insurance policy. Here are some of them –
- Lifetime renewability: Buy a health insurance plan that offers lifetime renewability. Your aim is to have a health cover at an older age when you are more prone to ailments or diseases. Thus, this protection is possible only if you get a lifetime renewability.
- Select your health plan wisely: You need to have an individual health insurance plan even if your company offers you a corporate group health cover. Because, once you will leave your job or retire from the company, there are high chances that your corporate cover will cease and the company may choose to withdraw all the benefits or decide to leave other family members out of the coverage.
- Provide relevant details in your form: Never hide any information in your application form while buying a plan online. In case you have any illness, then please make sure that you mention it.
- Make an early purchase: Buy health insurance plan as early as possible in life. This is because you are likely to make no or few claims in the early stages of your life, thus you will get the benefit of no-claim bonus every claim-free year.
- Choose to go with well-known insurance broker: Always purchase a health insurance plan through a reputed insurance broker who has an ability to help you with the claims. Remember, if you have a heart attack or meet with an accident, you won’t be in a position to fight with your insurer if your claim gets rejected without proper justification. Therefore, ensure that you buy your health plan via a trusted insurance broker.
- Network hospitals: For your convenience and better treatment, you must take a look at the list of network hospitals provided by the insurance company and then choose an insurer that has tie ups with well-known hospitals which are situated in the vicinity of your place. One must always check for cashless network hospitals with the insurer. As during hospitalization or medical emergency, network hospitals offer cashless option, which means insurance company settles the medical bills directly with the hospital. Thus, go for an insurance company that has a large number of network hospitals and has over 5,000 hospitals in its network.
- Claim process: The simpler the claim process, the faster the settlement of claims. As it’s better for the policyholder. This is one of the major factors that one should look for while buying an insurance policy.
- Sub-limits: One more area where you must have a close look at are sub limits. These are basically coverage-wise limits placed by insurance companies on the overall sum assured. Some of the common sub limits are maternity charges, room rent, outpatient treatment, ambulance charges, etc. Besides, some insurance companies also provide discounts for choosing sub-limit options.
- Add-on covers: No agent will offer you as many options as the internet can, thus it’s good to look for options online. All you need to do is to browse through the personal experiences that are shared by insured on different insurance portals. This will help you find the right policy.
- AYUSH treatment: AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and homeopathy. Popularity of this treatment is increasing day by day not just in India, but abroad as well. AYUSH treatment is covered by almost all insurance companies. Thus, you must have a look for the same, whether your insurance company covers this treatment or not. In addition to this, do not forget to check for the applicable sub limits, if any.
- Health and wellness benefits: Remember, prevention is better than cure, thus you must choose a product that has tie ups with branded as well as reliable health and wellness centers. Moreover, see if it offers services at discounted prices. These value added services can include specialist consultation with follow up sessions, telephonic or doctors’ consultation, second opinion, etc. So, it’s advisable to research a bit and choose a health product that offers a wide range of standard value added services.
- OPD coverage: Some health insurance plans offer outpatient treatment, which do not require 24-hour hospitalization. This coverage is generally for dental treatment, consultation, diagnostic tests, etc. Thus, you must have a closer look about the terms and availability of the OPD coverage.
- Other significant features and coverages: Other important features that you may look into while buying a health plan is vaccination charges for post bite treatment, health check-ups, restore benefits, maternity coverage, global coverage, etc.
A health insurance plan can be your best friend during times of medical emergencies. So, consider these above mentioned pointers before buying one. Besides, purchasing health insurance policies online is both easy and convenient. In the current insurance space, several big players such as Royal Sundaram offers comprehensive health insurance packages that is Arogya Sanjeevani Policy with a range of benefits to take care of you and your family needs.
Other Related Articles: