Health Insurance
Health insurance covers cost of an insured individual's medical and surgical expenses. Subject to the terms of insurance coverage, either the insured pays costs out-of-pocket and is subsequently reimbursed or the insurance company reimburses costs directly.
What is Health Insurance?
Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that covers the cost of an insured individual's medical and surgical expenses. Depending on the type of health insurance coverage, either the insured pays costs out-of-pocket and is then reimbursed, or the insurer makes payments directly to the provider.
Why You Should Buy Health Insurance?
Increase in the Incidence of Lifestyle-Related Illnesses
Life expectancy has increased. Thanks to advancement in medicines, the average man is likely to live for around 84 years by 2040. And so has stress due to sedentary lifestyle.This has also given rise to the early onset of chronic diseases like cancer, lung conditions and stroke, claiming younger lives. Health insurance mitigates the financial risk that may befall a person irrespective of age.
Health Insurance Coverage is more than Just Hospitalization
Most/Many health insurance plans give coverage for day care procedures and OPD, other than the treatments that involve serious hospitalization. There are also health plans that cover vector borne diseases like dengue.
Increase in Out-of-Pocket Expenses
with the healthcare industry in India witnessing double-digit inflation, it is getting extremely expensive to treat ../common ailments in India. As a result, this has put a dent in an individual’s pocket. Buying health insurance can double up as your emergency financial fund while preparing you for the troubled times.
Your Group Health Cover may not be Sufficient
A group health plan may or may not cover all your family members. The sum insured limit in a group plan is also less, which may not be enough to meet all the medical expenses incurred.And then as you’ll grow older, you might need frequent medical attention. Before that you may not want to put yourself at the risk of being under-insured.
Important Factors to Consider For Health Insurance
Buy health insurance when young and healthy
It should accommodate all your family members and their lifestyle needs. It should also consider inflation and your liabilities like EMIs, loans, etc.
Take advantage of the waiting period
Health risks increase with growing age.Younger you are, lesser will be the amount of premium- An individual’s age is the major deciding factor for the calculation of health insurance premium.
Choose a policy with no sub-limits
Nearly all health insurance policies has a waiting period for 2-3 years for certain pre-existing diseases.When you buy a health insurance cover early in life, you can easily take advantage of the waiting period rather than serving it at a later stage when your health risks may have increased substantially.
Choose adequate sum insured
When you opt for a health insurance plan, you should be sure that the plan has no disease specific or expenditure specific sub-limit. In few cases, you may find such plans to be expensive but they will help you to evade greater financial risks as well as provide you with the freedom to opt for efficient medical treatment, that too at the best health care provider. A policy with no sub-limits will help you avoid unpleasant situations at the time of claims.