Every family requires health insurance plans, particularly if the rising medical inflation and skyrocketing costs are taken into consideration. Giving your family sufficient coverage is always the need of the hour when it comes to dealing with these situations in the future. Here are a few things worth noting whenever you get down to choosing a health insurance policy.
What to Check While Evaluating Health Insurance Plans?
Here are a few crucial aspects you should not miss while checking health insurance plans.
- Health Coverage—Do not neglect your coverage while selecting any policy. Check the terms and conditions for the same, including care after and before hospitalisation, medicines, ambulance travel, treatments, doctor’s fees, criticalillness, terminal illness, outpatient care, and more. Go for higher coverage to safeguard your family from multiple scenarios in the future.
- Type of Plan- You can cover each family member in one policy with a family floater plan. This makes them an affordable and highly convenient option by all means. However, take the age of your family members and their present health condition into account while choosing the policy. These policies are especially beneficial for younger families that have dependents. You can choose individual health insurance policies for family members, although it may be more expensive.
- The Sum Assured- The sum assured will determine your financial securityin any emergency. Evaluate potential future medical costs and inflation rates before choosing this amount.
- Co-Payment Clauses- Look for co-payment clauses,if any. This means you will have to bear a certain percentage on your own out of the total hospital bill. Some policies may require certain out-of-pocket expenses. Check this very carefully.
- Hospital Network- Select an insurance company with a large hospital network. Thiswill give you more choices. Check the ones in your location and whether they are convenient for you. Also, review how many hospitals in their network offer cashless facility. The provision helps avoid cash burden on the patient’s family during emergencies.
- Premium Amount- Compare premiums for your chosen coverage and sum assured, before choosing the one that is the best fit for your financial circumstances.
- Lifetime Renewability- Ideally, choose a plan witha lifetime renewability option to ensure continuous coverage with age and frequent medical care requirements. Verify things like age limits for renewals, additional premium loading, etc.
- Company Credibility- Select an insurer that has a higher claim settlement ratio. You will find this information on the IRDAI site. Look at testimonials and overall credibility in the industry. Also,check the claim submission process.
- Extra Benefits- Go for riders in insurance plans that enable extra advantages such as maternity and dental coverage, wellness initiatives, and more.
Conclusion
Compare multiple health insurance plans before coming to a final decision. Ensure you understand all the terms and conditions and inclusions/exclusions before signing on the dotted line.
