Health insurance is an indispensable investment. It is one of the most important insurance policies that one should invest in, as there is a rising inflation in medical costs. Moreover, lifestyle diseases are affecting 75% of the population. So, getting health insurance at an early stage is what helps in case of unexpected medical emergencies.There are several health insurance companies in the market that come with different insurance plans. Hence, in order to choose the best health insurance plan in India one has to consider several factors like benefits, network hospitals, claim settlement ratio, copay etc.
Read: Top health insurance companies in India
Here is how you can choose best health plan in India
1. Make sure it's affordable
First and foremost it is important to buy a health insurance plan that suits your budget and matches your needs. Affordability is an important factor to consider while purchasing health insurance.
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A great way to begin is to buy a health cover which offers reasonable coverage at affordable premiums. With time, you can upgrade your plan and increase coverage with the increase in income, family size, and requirements.
2. Choose the coverage
If you have more members in your family say dependent parents, spouse and children it is advisable to sign up for family floater plans rather than a Individual health insurance plan. Choose the best health plan that protects you against a wide range of illnesses and offers benefits like pre and post hospitalization, daycare expenses, road ambulance expense, etc. Also, opt for a plan considering other factors such as your family members’ medical history.
Source: Bajaj Allianz
3. Choose your sum insured
In the current scenario, the medical treatment costs are constantly rising . Hence, go for an insurance plan that is best for you if you happen to cross ways with disease or illness. Always prefer a plan that offers you with maximum coverage and maximum sum insured. For instance, a basic organ transplantation procedure may cost you around 6 lakhs. For a normal working class, this amount is quite huge. So, make sure your sum insured meets the unforeseen medical emergencies.
4. Check waiting period for pre-existing diseases
Each insurance plan comes with its own set of terms and conditions on waiting period pre-existing diseases.If you suffer from any disease or illness before the policy purchase, then the time required to cover the claim made to cover the treatment is called waiting period.Opt for the plan that has a lesser waiting period for pre-existing diseases. It can range from 1 year to 4 years. A mediclaim policy has a lesser waiting period but it does not provide comprehensive coverage as a health insuranceAlso read:Difference between a mediclaim policy and health insurance
5. Check for policy renewal age limit
Before you purchase a health plan, make sure to check for the number of years the plan will cover you. For example, whether it offers you limited renewability or not. Because, policy renewal is an important factor when selecting a health insurance policy.Some plans have a maximum age limit of 65 years for policy renewal. On the other hand, there are other policies that come with lifetime policy renewal limits. Hence, choose those health plans based on yours and your family’s medical history.
6. Claim settlement ratio
Claim settlement ratio is an important factor to consider before opting for any health insurance plan from an insurer. Claim settlement ratio is the number of claims settled by the insurance company over the total number of claims received by them. Higher the claim ratio, higher is the chance of your claim not getting rejected without a valid reason. Hence, always opt for health plans from the insurer who has a high claim settlement ratio.
7. Claim settlement process
After the claim settlement ratio, the next important factor is the claim settlement process. Many insurance companies have an in-house claim settlement department within them to settle the claims raised. Whereas many other insurance providers get the help of Third Party Administrators (TPA) to settle the claims.Choose that plan where the claim settlement process is smooth and make sure you get the plan that has both cashless and reimbursement claim settlement.Also read: Role of TPA in health insurance
8. Customer reviews
Source: Social media week
While purchasing a health insurance plan, always check customer experience and the reviews. There can be mixed reviews which highlight the pros and cons of the insurer and its service. This can help you make an informed decision and choose that plan which works best for you.Also read: Compare two health insurance plans
Summary
Source: Canara HSBC
Investing in a health insurance plan is always a wise decision, owing to the current rate of medical inflation costs and increase in hospitalizations due to lifestyle diseases. However, there are plenty of insurance providers in the market with a ton of insurance plans, so one has to choose a plan that suits them and their family. Always make sure you check for the benefits and coverage to purchase the best health insurance policy for you and your family.
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