Health insurance is a cover that protects you from the medical expenses caused by illness, accidents or injuries. It is a type of indemnity bond in which the insurer commits to bear all costs incurred due to hospitalization, OPD charges, medical examination, doctor’s fees, medicines and any other bills concerning the insured. ... A growing number of people are considering health insurance. According to the National Family Health Survey conducted for the fiscal year 2021, around 41 per cent of people are covered under health insurance or at least one person from each family has bought a health plan.
A contract between an insurer and a policyholder in which the insurer provides medical coverage to the insured up to the sum insured maximum is known as health insurance or medical insurance. There are a variety of health plan features accessible, such as pre- and post-hospitalization coverage, medical check-ups, room rent coverage, cashless facility, and so on.
Health insurance is a cover that protects you from the medical expenses caused by illness, accidents or injuries. It is a type of indemnity bond in which the insurer commits to bear all costs incurred due to hospitalization, OPD charges, medical examination, doctor’s fees, medicines and any other bills concerning the insured according to the terms and conditions of the policy. A growing number of people are considering health insurance these days as the costs of treatments are on an all time high mode. According to the National Family Health Survey conducted for the fiscal year 2021, around 41 per cent of people are covered under health insurance or at least one person from each family has bought a health plan. Let us go through the significance of health insurance:
With a hectic lifestyle and pollution surrounding us, diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, and respiratory disorders are increasing day by day. Every second person has some or other health issue. The negligence starts with following a sedentary lifestyle, taking too much stress, unhealthy eating habits, gadget addiction and undisciplined lives. While you can take precautionary steps and keep a check on your health status, you can opt for buying a health insurance policy wherein all the health checkups, necessary tests can be covered, helping you to worry a little less about your finances.
You can consider buying a healthcare plan which includes all of your family members. From your aged parents to young children, everyone can be included in one single plan. You can make sure all of them get first-class treatment by buying the correct insurance plan.
Any health issue can crop up at any moment and if you have a health insurance plan that covers it, half of your stress and tension goes away as you don't have to think about draining your financial resources. With some of the insurance providers giving cashless transactions facilities, there is no need to spend even a penny.
If you buy an insurance plan at an early age, you can reap benefits for a longer period of time. When you are young and have better health, the premium amount is low as compared to when you take it in your late 30s. Also, extensive coverage will be offered while you are still young.
There are different types of health insurance policies available. Before choosing which is suitable for you, one should know about all the key features about them:
As the name suggests, this type of plan is for a single person. It covers almost everything from pre-hospitalisation to post-care, medical examinations, medicines, etc till the time the insured limit has reached. This plan is generally taken by earning youngsters who are unmarried. The premium is decided according to the age and medical history of the person getting insured. Also, if you get married you can include your family and even children by just paying some extra amount of premium. But for existing illnesses, you can get a claim only after 2-3 years.
It is also popularly called the Family floater plan. Under this policy, each and every member of your family is covered with only one member paying. From spouse to elders and children, each one of them is being taken care of through a single plan. If a situation arises where two members are getting treatment, then you can reap the benefits for both of them till the limit is reached. Just try to avoid adding members who are above the age of 60 as they are more prone to getting ill and the premium will also be impacted accordingly.
This is a very elaborated plan which offers a sizable amount for life-threatening diseases. There is no need of getting hospitalized for getting the claim. The diagnosis done through the proper procedure is enough to get the claim. The underlying factor is that an amount is decided beforehand irrespective of the charges incurred due to admission to the hospital or the medical tests. A list of diseases is included in this plan:
This type is outlined for people above the age of 65 years. This plan is specifically for all those who are insuring their parents or grandparents. Just like every other health plan, it covers hospitalization expenses and post-treatment bills also. The cherry on the top is that it offers expenses incurred due to Domiciliary Hospitalization and Psychiatric issues. The upper age limit to get covered under this policy is 70 years. The only disadvantage is that the premium is on the higher side due to the age factor.
An individual can buy such a plan if he wants a higher sum assured than the one offered in the regular policy. There is a particular clause associated with this policy known as Deductible Clause. You have to pay a fixed amount no matter what the amount of the claim is. Also, there is a Super Top-up plan but only kicks in when the regular policy is exhausted.
This is an innovative type of health insurance plan. Once a person is admitted to a hospital, the expenses that incur on a daily basis are not fixed. In that case, Hospital Daily cash is beneficial. The individual gets a daily cash benefit of Rs500 to Rs10,000 depending upon the situation and as per the coverage amount selected at the time of insurance. Other add-ons include Parental accommodation and a wellness coach.
The cases of road accidents are increasing day by day so this plan is specifically dedicated to covering injuries caused due to road accidents. It is very stressful to bear the treatment costs induced due to an accident. Sometimes, people also lose their lives. It is better to cover yourself under this policy as it provides a lump sum amount to the family of the victim.
Nobody gets notified before an accident or a diagnosed disease. Sometimes you have to be admitted to a hospital to get treated. If you have bought a Mediclaim policy, it ensures compensation for all your hospitalization expenses caused due to an accident or an illness. The cover includes surgery costs, room rent, doctor’s charges, etc. Different categories are available such as group mediclaim, individual mediclaim and even overseas medical insurance.
This type of health insurance is gaining momentum these days. Many medium and large-scale organizations are offering this insurance policy to their employees. This policy is bought by the employer for the benefit of its employees. The premium is comparatively lower as it takes a large number of people to save them from draining their financial resources.
People are prone to viral infections. One such disease is Covid-19. The treatment is an expensive one which can drag you down to the ground. To make it easier for people, few insurance providers are giving disease-specific coverage. A few of the diseases covered in these policies are Dengue, chikungunya, Zika virus, Covid, etc.
As you can see there are so many different types of plans when you want to buy a health insurance plan. There are so many companies offering such plans. The rising costs of medical services have made it mandatory for each one of us to buy health insurance for ourselves and our family members.