Buying Health Insurance? Check for these 7 Important Points
Whether it is a doctor carrying out an operation or a pilot taking off, checklists are essential. It makes sure that they follow the correct procedure. You can also make a checklist before buying health insurance.
In this current situation, adequate health insurance cover has become the need of the hour. However, buying health insurance is the most challenging decision in financial planning. We have come up with a checklist to make it easier for you to buy health insurance.
Here’s Your Health Insurance Checklist
What’s your number one requirement?
Today, several health insurance plans are available to cater to different needs. Insurers offer some health insurance plans to individuals with pre-existing illnesses, such as diabetics, while they build some plans for cancer patients. So, figure out your top requirement from health insurance. Suppose you are looking to start a family. In that case, an insurance policy that provides maternity cover will be a better fit. Talk with your partner to identify your number one requirement from the health insurance plan.
Decide your sum assured limit
The sum assured is the total amount that you can avail against your expenses. As a general rule of thumb, your sum assured should be at least 6 times your salary. So, if your monthly salary is Rs.1 lakh, the total sum assured of your health insurance policy should not be less than Rs.6 lakh.
The cost of medical treatments increases at a fast rate. So, it may be wise to consider the future price of treatments and opt for a health insurance plan that provides a higher limit.
Check who you want to cover in the plan along with their health status
The next item that you need to check off your list is deciding who you want to cover in the plan. To do that, you need to take their current health conditions into account. It is essential to include the family members who rely on you. Don’t forget to include your elderly parents.
Should you get individual cover or family floater?
When buying health insurance, you have the option to select an individual plan or get a family floater plan. Family floater plans are affordable and insure your family members within one policy. However, suppose you have family members who are above 50 years or are suffering from some ailment. In that case, an individual plan can be a better option. It is because frequent claims by a single person may exhaust the limit leaving no health coverage for other members.
Check out the features like room rent, ICU charges and at-home hospitalisation
Room rent is one of the crucial things that you need to check while getting an insurance plan. Opt for a policy that offers room rent for a private room or doesn’t have any cap on room rent. Some insurance policies offer 1% of the total sum assured as daily room rent.
ICU charges are covered up to 5% of the sum insured with a maximum of Rs.10, 000 per day.
In this current situation, look for a plan that includes ‘Hospitalisation at Home’ or ‘Domiciliary Treatments’. Insurers offer the facility to people who require hospitalisation but hospitals could not take them in due to lack of beds.
Look out for any sublimit/co-pay
Most insurance policies have sub-limits and co-pay. Insurance companies may put a cap on certain expenses and surgeries. You can check for words like “limits”, “co-pay” or “deductible” in the insurance policy. Compare these deductibles and buy an insurance plan only if you are okay with the exceptions.
Check out the network hospitals in your area
Cashless hospitalisation facility is a boon for individuals. Here, the hospital bills are settled with the insurance company. Hospitals that have a tie-up with insurers offer cashless hospitalisation. So, check their network hospitals in your area.
Conclusion
Buying a health insurance policy is no child’s play. You need to consider a lot of features. Here we have included the top seven things that you have to look out for. A good advisor can help you navigate it and get an ideal policy for yourself.
