How to Choose the Best Health Insurance Policy?

Ultimate Guide to Choose the Best Health Insurance Policy

Summary:

With medical treatment getting more and more costly, choosing the best health insurance in Indiacan grant you access to essential medical services and benefits while minimising your overhead expenses. Over the last year, medical cost inflation has increased from6-7% to 15%(source taken by PWC). To add to the woes our lifestyle is further adding to our medical conditions. To protect their financial prospects and savings, everyone is leaning toward purchasing a good health insurance policy that will protect them from exorbitant medical bills and expenses. Considering the factors mentioned in this article, you can choose an affordable health insurance policy that meets all your medical needs.

You’ll be amazed to know that according to a survey conducted in 2021, out of India’s population of a whopping 38 billion,approximately 30% of India’s(Source:economictimes.indiatimes) population does not have health insurance coverage. A health insurance policy covers an individual’s medical and surgical care costs. The insurance either reimburses the medical expenses associated with the treatment or pays the hospital directly for the medical charges. In addition to assisting you in coping with medical inflation, a comprehensive and high-quality health insurance policy safeguards your money, combats insufficient insurance coverage, and shields your family from a sense of worry.

Factors to Keep in Mind While Choosing a Health Insurance Policy

There are some factors one should consider when choosing a health insurance policy. With the help of the information given below, you can be sure to pick the best health insurance in India.

1. Choose a Sufficient Amount of Coverage: With medical inflation soaring high continually, the price of high-quality healthcare is constantly growing. And so are the ailments. Your health insurance policy should provide coverage against a wide range of medical conditions. In addition, it should also cover other expenses related to pre and post-hospitalisation, diagnostic tests, medicine bills, and likewise.
2. High Claim-Settlement Ratio Insurance Policies: The number of claims the insurer settles over the total number of claims it gets during a specific period is known as the claim-to-settlement ratio. People buying a health insurance policy with a high claim-to-settlement ratio enjoy the assurance that the insurer won’t deny the claim unless and until there is a strong and valid reason for doing so.
3. Protecting and Securing the Family’s Health: If you’re a family person, it can be time-consuming to buy health insurance for each individual separately. Family floater health insurance policies provide coverage to everyone in the family and thus keep them protected against any medical emergency. Family floater plans also come with lower premium payment requirements and ensure you have adequate insurance coverage to maintain the health of your family members.
4. Choose an Insured Sum as Per Future Requirements:The sum to be insured should be carefully chosen, considering the concerned person’s age. You might not require an enormous insured amount right now if you’re young. However, as you become older and your body gets exposed to lifestyle, ageing, and other ailments, the price for such medical bills will continue to multiply and increase. Also, if you’re getting married soon, your health insurance policy should cover your future spouse as well.
5. Critical Illness Cover: Critical illness cover is an add-on that can be your life saviour if you or any of your family members covered under the health insurance policy ends up with a serious or life-threatening medical condition. The medical expense of treating the condition could be high and your base health insurance may not be sufficient. Or the plan may not cover the critical illness. To avoid running out of funds during such a crisis situation, it is best recommended to purchase a critical illness cover.
6. Check the Inclusions and Exclusions: Every health insurance policy features a specific outline specifying the list of treatments not covered by the policy. Consider all the policy exclusions before selecting the one that best meets your medical needs. It is extremely important to read the policy outline thoroughly before signing the contract and paying the premium for it. You should check if your medical needs and requirements are well included in the policy or not.
7. Maximum Age Renewal: Due to the body’s natural ageing and degradation, we will inevitably have medical problems as we age. Thus, getting the best health insurance in India, which comes with the option of renewal in old age, is always advisable rather than getting a brand-new health insurance policy at that time.
8. Number of Network Hospitals: It is always beneficial to choose a health insurance policy from an insurer that has many hospitals in its insurance network. This will enable you to use the cashless treatment facility at these medical facilities. Having health insurance with a relatively small network of hospitals is sometimes redundant from a budgetary standpoint.
9. Pre-Existing Medical Conditions: Most health insurance policies have a set waiting period (between 2 – 4 years) for medical conditions that are already receiving treatment. These are called pre-existing diseases. Subsequently, it is only obvious that these people might need major treatment for their illnesses. Hence, people must consider this and choose a health insurance policy with the shortest waiting period to be covered as fast as possible against such pre-existing illnesses.
10. Sub-limits policies: Nowadays, multiple health insurance plans include sub-limits that include per-day room rental prices in the event of hospitalisation and rates for other medical facilities. For sub-limits on more complex medical facilities, insurance seekers should look at policies with the highest slabs of the insured amount.

In order to choose the best health insurance in India, one has to be diligent in the aforementioned aspects. A robust health insurance policy allows you to safeguard yourself and your loved ones from medical emergencies while ensuring that your finances are not depleted. With the market piled up with so many insurance options, make sure to research well, compare plans online and pick the one that best suits your needs. Also, don’t forget to consider the above factors when choosing a health insurance plan which covers everything you need while also having the lowest premium rate. So, compliment your health with a lucrative health insurance plan today and make sure to live your life in the most stress-free manner.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.