You may have heard the phrase, ‘Health is wealth’ many times but have you really understood the depth of this line? There are 2 aspects to this – one, a healthy mind and body, keep you active and allows you to work better and get more. Secondly, if you are not in good health, then treatment of health issues can be expensive and erode your savings. In both ways, health is directly related to wealth.
With health being so important it makes a lot of sense to secure it so that your savings can be safeguarded. What you need is health insurance.
It is also necessary to find a health insurance plan that fits your needs and that of your family. How much coverage is enough, what are the must-have features, there are many questions that must be answered before you make a choice.
What we bring for you here is a list of factors that you must consider before the purchase of a health insurance plan, we’ll also discuss how each factor can impact your purchase.
- Make Sure the Coverage Is Right
The coverage offered by a health insurance policy means the maximum amount of costs that will be covered for your medical expenses. To be able to make sure the coverage is enough, you must first take into consideration your age, the medical history of your family, inflation, and your lifestyle. These aspects can fairly give you an estimate of the coverage that you may need if you require hospitalization for some reason. Choosing a plan that gives you the desired coverage is the best choice. However, it is equally important to find out what is included in the coverage. You must check out some key parameters like hospitalization costs, pre, and post-hospitalization, daycare treatments, and critical illnesses covered. If there is a plan that satisfies most of these then it would be advisable to pick this plan.
- Pocket-friendly Premium
Another very important factor is the premium that you need to pay for health coverage. The premium should comfortably fit your budget. Whether you choose a plan for yourself or to cover your family, make sure to go through the finer details of the product. Know what you are covered against, go through the exclusions, compare plans, and be sure that the premium is within your budget. Do remember that most health insurance plans have a specific tenure and need to be renewed. So, as you age, your premium will increase. You must give a thought to this aspect as well before you buy. One tip would be to go in for a multi-year policy to enjoy advantages and good value.
- Individual and Family Floater Policies – Choose What Works Best for You
For a breadwinner of the family, health insurance is a must-have given the fact that a lot of lives depend on them. However, it is equally important to get family members covered so that the burden of medical expenses is not shouldered by just one person, thereby digging into savings. Based on the number of dependents that you have in the family, you should choose wisely about buying a policy just for yourself or for family members as well.
To give you an example, let’s say you are single and have dependent parents, then it would make more sense to buy a plan that covers them too so that in the event that anyone of you is hospitalized, the expenses don’t burden the rest of the family. Or, let’s say you have an individual policy and post your marriage, you may want to have a health insurance plan for your spouse. So depending on the stage, you are in life, think through before you choose a policy for yourself or a flexible family floater health insurance where you can add members and extend the coverage. Also do keep in mind that premiums will vary and you must have a view about the same.
Checking the coverages also needs to be keenly checked. For example, if you purchase a family floater to cover your parents who are 50+, it makes sense to check if AYUSH (alternative medical therapies like Ayurveda, Homeopathy, etc.) are included or if domiciliary expenses are covered in case home treatment is required.
- Do Check Network Hospitals Around You
One of the advantages of health insurance is the option of having cashless treatment. In this type of claim, the medical expenses are directly settled between the insurance company and the hospital without the policyholder having to make any payments from their pocket. However, to be able to avail cashless treatment claim, it is essential to be hospitalized at a network hospital. Hence it is important to have a clear idea of the network hospitals in the vicinity so that in case of hospitalization, the network hospital is conveniently located and also lets you avail of the cashless treatment benefit.
In a nutshell, make sure to analyze the health insurance product well before making a choice. You can download and visit the Bajaj Finserv where you have access to plans from some of the leading insurers in India. You can choose, compare, and make an informed buying decision, all under one roof, and that too anywhere, anytime.
