What is Health Insurance? How Does It Work?

Health Insurance is a type of insurance that safeguards you and your family against medical expenses that arise due to an accident, illness or critical disease. Most health insurance policies come with benefits like cashless treatment, coverage for pre and post-hospitalisation expenses, ambulance cover, etc.

To understand the working of health insurance, let's take a look at an example. Vivek decides to invest in a health insurance plan. After 6 months, he feels ill and needs hospitalization. As the first step, he can get admitted to the nearest network hospital associated with his insurance company. He just needs to show the health card and submit a pre-hospitalization form. Once approved, the insurance company will look after his treatment expenses.

If Vivek is unable to locate a network hospital near him, he can opt for the reimbursement process. Here, he can pay all the treatment expenses by himself and collect all the documents. Later, Vivek needs to submit the required documents to his insurance company. The company will verify them and reimburse the amount as per its TnC's.

Why is Health Insurance Important?

Today, quality health care treatment is expensive and is getting costlier every year. As per the economic survey report of 2018-2019 by the Government of India, medical inflation in the country stood at 7.14% which was twice the CPI for the same period. A decent hospital has the potential to sweep away your savings in a few days, and most of the time, a situation arises where one can't even afford good hospitals or doctors due to costs. In such situations, having a health insurance plan can prove to be a saviour. You can invest your entire energy in the recovery from illness, instead of worrying about the hospital bills.

Moreover, the cashless facility offered in network hospitals is a real great feature as you don't need to worry about arranging the money. The bills are directly settled by your insurer to the hospital. You can approach any of the network hospitals, which has a tie-up with your insurance provider to avail cashless facility. In case you could not get admitted in a network hospital due to any reason, you can pay the bills and later get it re-imbursed from the insurance provider. Apart from the medical coverage, health insurance offers tax benefits on premiums paid under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Let's understand the importance of having health insurance through an example.

There were two friends- Vinay and Aman. In the beginning of 2020, Vinay decided to buy a health insurance policy and even told Aman to buy one for him and his family. However, Aman denied the idea and thought it was a waste of money.

In the mid of 2020, the outbreak of Coronavirus affected many people, and Vinay and Aman were one of them. They both lost their jobs and had to get hospitalized for the treatment.

Thanks to health insurance bought by Vinay, his insurance company paid for all the expenses, whereas Aman had to pay from his pocket, draining all his savings in the end. Moreover, since Aman did not have a medical insurance, he opted for a cheaper hospital. This also resulted into him taking much more time to recover compared to Vinay.

Therefore, to secure your family and finances at a time of medical emergency, you need to have health insurance.

Top Health Insurance Plans in India

On the basis of lowest premiums for a coverage of Rs. 5 Lakhs, we have mentioned a few of the top plans available in India. You can check the complete list of best health insurance plans, and then choose accordingly.

**Last Updated on 08-03-2021

Health Insurance Premium

Health insurance prices depends on the number of members you want to cover in a single policy, the age of the eldest member,sum assured and the type and features of the plan you choose. To get an approximation of prices, we have compiled plans of top 6 health insurance providers for various age groups and sum assured in the following table. This will give you an idea of how much a plan of 5 lac or 10 lac sum assured will likely cost per annum for a person aged 26, 36, 46 and 56. So if you are 30 years old, you can approximate the premium by taking an average of 26 and 36. For exact premium and plans offered by various companies you can calculate premium using the form at the top of this page. Usually takes less than 30 seconds.

**Last Updated on 08-03-2021

For better understanding, we have also compiled a few plans from some of the providers for a 30 year old person with a coverage of 10 lacs for himself, his wife (aged 28) and two children (10 & 5 years old). As you can see the premium varies significantly across companies and plans. This is due to various factors like plan features, companies claim experience, etc.

**Last Updated on 08-03-2021

Types of Health Insurance Plans

There are various types of health insurance plans available in the market. We have categorized the plans into 4 broad buckets:-

What Are The Benefits Of Health Insurance?

Health insurance plans come with numerous benefits and offer comprehensive coverage to you and your family. We have listed a few crucial benefits below that will help you understand health insurance in a better manner.

Cashless Treatment

A policyholder can avail of required treatment in any network hospital (registered with his insurance provider) without paying the treatment expenses (up to the sum insured limit). How? The company pays on his behalf and allows him to focus on his treatment.

Pre & Post Hospitalization Expenses

The expenses before hospitalization and after discharge from the hospital (up to a specific period) are covered by health insurance, provided the treatment agrees with the terms and conditions of the chosen policy

Tax Benefits

Health insurance premiums provide tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. If you are below the age of 60 years, you can get an exemption of up to Rs. 25,000 per year, and if your age is above 60 years, then the benefit increases up to Rs. 50,000.

Daily Hospital Cash

It provides daily cash (to a certain limit) to take care of the additional expenses incurred in hospital like food, traveling to and forth, etc. For example, Star Comprehensive plan provides up to Rs.2500 hospital cash for a maximum of 7 days per occurrence & up to 120 days per policy period.

No Claim Bonus (NCB)

NCB is a discount that you will receive from the insurer for every claimless year. It helps to reduce the payable premium (by a certain percentage) at the time of renewing the policy.

Free Health Check-Ups

To motivate the policyholders towards a healthy lifestyle, many insurance companies provide free medical check-ups. Depending on the company and the type of policy, you will be eligible for the same.

Domiciliary Hospitalization

In case you are unable to get treatment at a hospital due to the unavailability of a bed or if the doctor advises medical treatment at home, insurance companies are liable to look after its expenses.

Lifetime Renewability

These days, several health insurance plans are offering a feature of ‘Lifetime Renewability'. With this, one can ensure that his policy can be renewed lifelong without any age limit or other restrictions.

AYUSH Treatment

As per IRDAI's guidelines, insurance companies are liable to cover Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) treatments availed by the policyholder, provided the treatment happens at a government-approved hospital accredited by the Quality Council of India of National Accreditation Board.

Restoration of Sum Insured

Under this feature, you don't have to worry once your sum insured is exhausted. Most of the health insurance plans come with sum insured restoration bnefit, which restores the sum insured as per the policy's TnCs.

Coverage for Coronavirus

Your standard health insurance offers coverage against Coronavirus. The insurance will pay off in-patient and outpatient expenses incurred during the treatment of COVID-19.

Additional Benefits Of Having A Health Insurance

To extend your coverage, you can add additional benefits by paying additional premiums at the time of purchase of a new policy or renewal of your existing policy.

Some of the add-ons offered by health insurance companies are listed below:-

1. Maternity Cover

   It is specially designed for those policyholders who are planning to start their family. After a certain waiting period (varies from insurer to insurer), one can get coverage for pre and post-natal care, child deliveries, and vaccination expenses of the newborn babies.

2. Hospital Cash

   The insurer provides coverage against the additional cash expenses that may incur during the hospitalisation such as transport costs, attendant costs, and others. The amount and time period varies from one health plan to another.

3. Personal Accident Cover

   One can ensure a cover against uncertainties such as accidental deaths, permanent partial disablement or permanent total disablement. Your insurance policy will pay you a certain amount depending upon the nature of the incident.

What Are The Exclusions of Health Insurance Policies?

Health plans are indeed comprehensive in their scope of coverage. However, some things are excluded from them. However, these exclusions vary from company to company. Below are some of the common exclusions that aren't covered under health insurance-

Pre-existing Illnesses (before the waiting period): At the time of purchase, you need to disclose if you have any pre-existing illnesses like Diabetes, Depression, etc. These declared illnesses are excluded for a certain period, which is also called the ‘Waiting Period'. This may range from 2 to 4 years depending upon the insurer.After the waiting period, all illnesses are covered.

Self-inflicted injuries: A self-inflicted injury is where a policyholder deliberately tries to harm themselves. These type of expenses are not covered by most of the health insurance companies.

Injuries caused due to alcohol or drug abuse: Injuries caused by an overdose of drugs or alcohol are not covered under the health insurance plans.

Cosmetic treatments: Generally, cosmetic treatments to enhance the body parts are not covered. However, in some instances like an accident causing disfigurement of body parts, is liable to get coverage under the policy. This varies from one insurer to another.

**To know all the exclusions of your plan, refer to the product brochure or directly get in touch with your respective insurer.

Does Health Insurance Cover Coronavirus?

Yes, your standard health insurance will offer coverage against COVID-19. The insurance will pay off in-patient and outpatient expenses incurred during the treatment of COVID-19.

But is the coverage under standard health insurance enough? The answer is ‘No'.

Majorly, the two issues faced by the patients while getting treated were:

• The cost of consumables (gloves, face masks, etc.) was not covered in standard health insurance policy and in the case of coronavirus treatment, the cost of PPE kits was adding a big burden on policyholders.
• The treatment cost was very high and was exceeding the health insurance cover.

As this fatal virus is spreading across the globe and the expenses related to the treatment and testing increases, you may need more than standard health insurance by your side.

Therefore, if you want a complete scope of coverage against Coronavirus, you can invest in Corona specific health insurance plans launched by insurance providers. These two plans are specifically designed to cover COVID related claims and offer complete coverage.

Let's find out more about them.

1. Corona Kavach

   Corona Kavach is an indemnity oriented policy, which covers all the expenses incurred due to COVID hospitalisation, and is designed to safeguard you and your loved ones from COVID-19.

   This policy aims at covering hospitalization, pre-post hospitalization, home care treatment expenses, and AYUSH treatment in case the policyholder is tested positive for COVID-19.

   Apart from covering hospitalization expenses, the policy also covers anaesthesia, blood, oxygen, operation theatre charges, surgical appliances, ventilator charges, medicines and drugs, costs towards diagnostics, diagnostic imaging modalities, PPE Kit, gloves, mask and other similar expenses.

   Eligibility

   Product type	Individual/family
   Waiting period	15 days
   Sum insured	Rs. 50 Thousand to 5 Lakhs
   Policy tenure	3.5 months, 6.5 months & 9.5 months
   Entry age	18 years to 65 years

   **Last Updated on 08-03-2021

2. Corona Rakshak

   Corona Rakshak is an affordable health insurance policy that offers lump sum benefit to the policyholder if diagnosed with COVID-19. The plan offers 100% sum insured if the diagnosis confirms the presence of COVID-19 & requires minimum continuous hospitalization for 72 hours.

   Eligibility

   Product type	Individual
   Waiting period	15 days
   Sum insured	Rs. 50 Thousand to 2.5 Lakhs
   Policy tenure	3.5 months, 6.5 months & 9.5 months
   Entry age	18 years to 65 years

   **Last Updated on 08-03-2021

   To avail complete coverage, you can opt for any of the two plans and cover yourself and your family against this deadly virus. With low premiums, these policies can act as your saviour if COVID-19 hits you.

How To Choose an Ideal Health Insurance Plan?

Health needs vary from person to person, and what may be best for one may not suit the other. However, to meet your ever-changing requirements, you need to be vigilant while selecting your ideal health plan.

At PolicyX.com, we have listed down a few steps that may help you to choose a perfect health plan for yourself and your family.

What Is Arogya Sanjeevani Plan? Why Is It Called A Standard Health Plan?

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) directed all insurers to launch the Arogya Sanjeevani Health Insurance Policy by April 1, 2020. The main objective of this plan is to make health insurance more accessible, affordable, and less confusing for policy buyers.

IRDAI has now allowed all general and standalone health insurers to offer Arogya Sanjeevani Policy as a group insurance product as well.

Although the plan offers similar features and benefits that are offered by most insurers in thier existing plans, this standard plan lays down the bare minimum benefits that the insurer must offer in these plans. This is to protect policyholders from adverse clauses and surprises at the time of claim.

Key Features/Benefits

• Pre & Post Hospitalization Cover: The plan provides coverage against pre and post-hospitalization expenses associated with any medical treatment caused by an illness/injury.
• No Health Checkup: To invest in this plan, there is no need for any medical screening up to the age of 45 years.
• COVID-19 Cover: It also offers coverage against coronavirus treatment.
• AYUSH Benefit: It offers coverage against hospitalization expenses incurred on getting alternate treatments such as Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha, etc.
• Free Look Period: Free look period of 15 days is only applicable at the inception of the policy and not on renewals or at the time of porting/migration.
• Lifelong Renewability: The plan comes out with the lifelong renewability option.
• ICU/ICCU Charges: The plan pays up to 5% of charges (up to Rs.10000/day) for the treatment taken in the ICU/ICCU. The coverage is based on the total sum insured.

Eligibility

**Last Updated on 08-03-2021

Can I Change my Health Insurance Policy? (Health Insurance Portability)

Nowadays, many health insurance companies are offering a feature of portability. In simple terms, it means that you can switch from your existing provider to another one or from one plan to another (within the same insurer) if you are not satisfied with it. And the best part is that you don't have to lose the continuity benefits (like the waiting period). We have written a comprehensive article on the pros & cons of health insurance portability that might help you decide whether to go for it or not.

Why Choose PolicyX.com?

PolicyX.com is a one-stop-shop for all your insurance-related needs. It is the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) certified web insurance aggregator company (License Number: IRDA/WBA 17/14).

You can compare health insurance plans from top insurance companies with us, and buy the best plan as per your needs. Our systems and teams are well-equipped to help you with the buying procedure (from starting till the end). Let us look at the following key highlights about PolicyX.com:

• PolicyX.com offers a free comparison service with unbiased quotes.
• Allows a person to compare health insurance plans from over 15 companies within 30 seconds. You can buy the best medical insurance policy according to your needs in 5 minutes.
• By providing basic information, we will search for the most suitable health plans for you and offer relevant quotes based on features, cost, riders, exclusions, benefits, and much more.
• Most health plans are available online and you can get your policy instantly by making an online payment.
• We help you with your documentation, medical tests if required, policy issuance and claim assistance. Our customer service executives are available 24x7 to help clarify your doubts and most importantly help you at the time of claim.
• You pay the same premium as if you were to directly buy from insurance company. In other words, we don't charge from our customers for our services.

Buying Process

Documents Required For Buying

Following is the list of documents needed to buy health insurance:

• Proof of Age: PAN Card, Driving License, Passport, Voter ID, etc.
• Photo Identity Proof: Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Driving License, Passport, Voter's ID, etc.
• Proof of Address: Ration Card, Bank A/C Statement, Electricity Bill, Passport, Voter's ID, Telephone Bill, etc.
• Proof of Income: Employer's Certificate, Salary Slip, Form 16, etc.
• Medical Checkup: If asked by the insurance company.
• Photo Proof: Passport size photograph of the policyholder.
• If needed, the company may ask or other documents.

Health Insurance Claim Settlement Process

The most important part of an insurance policy is the claim settlement process. Some insurance companies offer a direct claim settlement process, while others take the help of TPAs (Third Party Administrators) for claim settlement. The claim settlement process takes place in two forms, which is mentioned below. These are general steps and may change from one insurance company to another.

Cashless Claim

You can avail of cashless treatment facility only in the network hospitals of the insurance company. Stick to the below-listed steps for the same.

• Inform the insurer/TPA (for planned treatment- before 48 to 72 hours of hospitalisation, as per insurer's timeline) through a call or email. For emergency treatment, inform within 24 hours of hospitalisation.
• Show the health card (provided by your insurer) along with the identity proof at the hospital.
• The hospital will examine the identity of the policyholder and submit the pre-authorization form to the insurer/TPA.
• The insurer/TPA will check all the documents and share their approval (if everything is ok).
• After the treatment is done, the insurer will settle the treatment bills of the hospital.
• There are likely to be exclusions i.e., expenses that the TPA/insurer won't pay. Such expenses must be settled by the patient/family directly at the hospital.

Reimbursement Claim

The insurer can avail of the treatment in a hospital and pay the bills. Once that is done, (s)he can file for reimbursement via the below steps.

• Inform the insurance company about your hospitalization as per your insurer's timeline.
• Keep all your documents ready with the hospital bills.
• Submit the documents along with the claim form.
• The insurance company will check all the submitted documents.
• After the completion of all formalities, the claim is settled as per the terms and conditions of the policy. The amount will be transferred into the claimant's bank account.

Note- If the insurance company doesn't respond through any mode of communication, contact PolicyX.com. Call at our toll-free number 1800-4200-269 or write an email to helpdesk@policyx.com. We will help and guide you to settle your claims without facing any troubles.

Documents Required For Claim Settlement

Below is the list of documents you need to submit for filing a health insurance claim:

• Duly-filled claim form.
• Medical certificate that is issued by the doctor and authorised by the hospital along with an attached diagnosis report.
• ID proof of the claimant.
• Prescription and cash invoice from pharmacy/hospital.
• FIR (In case of an accident).

*The insurance company may ask for other documents (if required).