Looking for the Best Health Insurance Policy? Read This

Healthcare and medical expenses can be financially stressful, be it for oneself or family that is dependent on them. With the additional margins of inflation that persist in medicine and hospitalization costs alongside the rise in various lifestyle-oriented diseases; one has to find the best health insurance policy in India and their ideal version of a health insurance coverage plan that can navigate the expenses and high costs of treatment while safeguarding themselves from exhausting one’s future savings towards treatments.

A health insurance plan is an insurance instrument that covers the medical expenditure incurred during hospitalization, and costs incurred after the patient is discharged as well. It is a standard policy is structured and offered in many policy types by insurance providers according to age groups and family needs. On due health insurance comparison, one may find the best health insurance policy from a range of plans offered by providers such as an individual health plan, a family plan, senior citizen coverage and even critical illness health insurance plans and more. 

The most important factor for most potential policy holders while purchasing health insurance plans is the extent of coverage; one that stands for most medical costs and conditions with little to no exclusions and sub-limits. Hence it is vital that a potential policyholder goes through the policy literature thoroughly and understand the intricacies of each plan and which factors and features to look out for. Let us look at the factors that can help one determine the best health insurance policy:

1. Coverage Benefits:

The reimbursements that are processed to the policyholder by the insurance providers has to be adequate to cover the expensive procedures along with post-care for the policyholder. Hence one should go for the best health insurance policy which has a minimum 10 lac sum assured since medical costs have inflation margins that increase exponentially.

Before selecting health insurance plans one should determine the scope of coverage they may require in the long term. The policy which usually have coverage benefits such as covering hospitalization, critical illness and maternity and more can have certain capping and coverage exceptions which should be carefully looked while investing.

2. Cashless Hospitalization:

In cashless claims and hospitalization, after the insured sends a claim request to the insurance provider with the help of the partner hospital; the insurance provider settles all bills and expenses directly with the hospital. The important thing to note here is that the cashless facility can only be availed by the insured at a partner hospital (these are listed by the provider at the time of policy purchase).

3. High Settlement Ratio:

Since there is an abundance of insurance providers in India who offer health insurance and coverage; one should do their independent comparisons and credential analysis about the providers and how prompt they are with claim settlements. A settlement ratio at or over 80% is the best choice for those needing recurrent claims.

4. Room Sub Limits:

Some health insurance plans state that a percentage of room rent incurred during the course of hospitalization may have to be borne by the policyholder. Hence prior to buying the best health insurance plans one should check the sub-limits the insurer may have stipulated in terms of room costs and ICU charges. One should go for the best health insurance policy which has minimal or no sub-limits within its coverage terms.

5. Renewal Age:

Renewal age is the stated age when a policyholder will be able to renew their policy. Insurance investments are usually done to protect oneself from financial distress caused by medical expenses, hence it one should purchase health insurance plans that last well into and beyond retirement and old age the tendency to recurring hospital visits and ailments increases with age. With the best health insurance plans in India one should keep their policies updated and renewed so as to avoid any distress caused by sudden illness or accidents.

6. Pre-Existing Diseases:

In the situation a policyholder has a pre-existing disease, a standard health insurance plans may not provide coverage from the moment the plan tenure commences. There may a waiting period of a few years before they are liable to raising a claim, therefore one should look through the policy literature and make sure their illness is covered from the moment the tenure begins.

7. Waiting Period:

The time period one has to wait before lodging a claim with the insurance provider is called waiting period. These vary from provider to provider. For example,

There are two types of waiting periods stipulated within a critical illness policy. The first waiting period under a health insurance plan is that the insured can make a claim request after 90 days have elapsed from the date of purchase of the critical illness insurance. The second waiting period entails that after the insured person is diagnosed with a critical illness they need to survive for a period of 30 days in order to make claim request. 

The process of looking for the best health insurance plans in India can be streamlined by duly researching the insurance solutions available to invest in and putting a thorough check with all term, conditions, and exclusions that an insurance plan may have and compare those with their needs.