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Features of Health Insurance You Must Know in 2024
How come you know your life will be stable a few years from now? Nobody on this earth can predict it. But the action that you must take now is to secure your mental peace. Thanks to the phrase we’ve all grown up hearing, "Prevention is better than cure". Now the question is, how can you do that? Buy a health insurance policy that serves your medical requirements and saves you money when it’s a tough time for you and your loved ones.
There might be 1000s of reasons on the internet about why you should buy a health insurance policy. But before buying a policy you should know your requirements or why you need health insurance. There are different plans for various requirements of each individual and their life challenges. Some of us may require individual insurance that covers only a person’s medical needs. A few of us may either require a family floater plan for our family, diabetic insurance or maybe maternity coverage health insurance, so and so. Many of us are also covered under group mediclaim insurance offered by our employers, associations, etc.
A health insurance company provides every kind of facilitation you require, but there must be some criteria for choosing an ideal health policy for everyone. This article discusses the features that health insurance unfolds for you which will give you a clear picture of the checklist before buying it.
Why do you need health insurance in India?
There are multiple reasons why you should buy health insurance, some of them are:
Financial stress is inevitable
No matter how hard you try, there will be situations when your health complexities will be mentally harassing. In such situations having a health policy could work wonders for you by providing you optimum financial support & peace of mind.Medicare costs are rising
In an era of inflation, tackling the medical expenses is a daunting task in itself. From hospital expenses to post-surgical needs, good health insurance can cover it all for you.Critical illness is at its peak
Situation of today’s hotch-potch lifestyle, people have become more prone to critical illnesses like cancer, stroke, trauma, etc that can cost your lifetime savings to cure. Multiple plans across the Indian insurance market will save you from these distresses.Protection for your loved ones
Insurance for your medical requirements won’t only save you but your family members as well. There are many family floaters health plans in India that you can choose for extended coverage for you and your loved ones.Track your health & wellness
Having a health policy can inspire you to keep a record of your health and wellness regularly. You can also go through multiple diagnoses to know about any health issues in advance and take preventive measures for those particular health concerns.
Important features of health insurance
These are some of the prominent features that almost every health insurance offer. You should choose a health insurance plan that provides absolute transparency in case of the below-mentioned features:-
Pre-existing disease waiting period
Several health insurance companies have a waiting period of 2 months to 2 years for pre-existing diseases in general. However, choosing a minimum waiting period plan can relieve you from future mishaps.Cashless facilitation in networking hospitals
Health insurance companies have a wide network of registered hospitals that provide advanced cashless medical treatment to policyholders.Daycare procedures
Surgical treatments such as cataracts which take less than 24 hours to operate are also covered in a health insurance policy, saving you lots of money.Pre & post-hospitalization
Health plans take care of your treatment costs which include services such as doctor’s consultation, drugs and medication, diagnosis or any lab tests, etc.Sub-limits
Room rent capping is another salient feature of health policy. You must check your requirement for room rent which is 1-2% of your policy’s total sum insured. If your treatment involves higher room rent, you might need to pay some percentage of the total bill in the form of a sub-limit.Co-payment clause
Some policies may have a clause for co-payment which requires some percentage (say, 20-30%) of the total medical expenses to be paid by the policyholder. You must know your policy’s clauses for co-pay.Automatic restoration benefits
Once the sum insured by your health insurance policy gets exhausted, the insurer refills or adds more sum insured value over it. It helps you get continued medical support whenever needed.Preventive health check-ups
The health insurance policy provides you with regular health check-up benefits that help diagnose any disease or ailment in advance. You can get as many medical tests done as you require up to your sum insured.Family coverage benefits
It provides medical support to each member of your family whom you’ve covered under a family floater health insurance.Flexibility to add multiple riders
Adding riders for accidental disability, critical illness, death benefit, etc could be a game changer for unpredictable tough situations that may arise in future.High sum insured for better coverage
Choose health insurance with an adequate sum insured as it’ll provide you with extended health support without even worrying about running out of money.Maternity or other benefits
Several health insurance policies cover maternity care, newborn care, or pre-existing conditions. However, it comes with a definite waiting period that the policyholder needs to serve before getting any coverage benefit.Cumulative bonus & tax benefits
If you don’t raise a claim during the policy year, you get a no-claim bonus/discount on your premiums on the next policy renewal.Exclusions of specific medical conditions
Health policy has some pre-mentioned criteria of exclusions which means you are not eligible to avail the coverage benefits in such conditions. Some of the major exclusions are death or disability while participating in an adventure, suicide, breach of law, and so on.
The final word
This is a human tendency, that we don’t care much about our health till something like an epidemic or a critical health situation strikes that impacts our normal lives. In such situations where you are clueless about how to tackle medical emergencies and health complexities, a health insurance policy comes to your rescue. Certain times are so unpredictable that you might not have any financial backup, therefore having health insurance on your back proves to be a blessing in disguise.
This is high time to secure yourself and your loved ones with optimum health coverage benefits. Now’s the right time for you to know the features of medical insurance even before buying it.
To learn in detail about the features of a health plan, reach out to our expert policy advisors at PolicyX.
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What are the features of health insurance: FAQs
1. Do I need health insurance?
Amid all the uncertainties of life, you should secure the peace of your mind in case of a medical emergency. Having a health insurance policy means providing you with a safety net against medical odds and financial stress arising due to it.
2. Should I buy separate health insurance for each member of my family?
Buying a family floater health insurance with a sufficient sum insured (say 1 or 2 crores) can work well for each member of your family. However, if you are searching for more coverage benefits for everyone in the family, you can also buy separate health plans.
3. Which insurance companies offer the best coverage for health plans?
Some of the insurance companies that offer the best coverage with their health plans are:- NivaBupa health insurance Care health insurance Star health insurance Aditya Birla& 039;s health insurance Manipal Cigna health insurance
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Written By: Simran Nirala
Lives In: Delhi, NCR Expertise: Health & Term Insurance Simran has an experience of 4 years in content writing. She transitioned from hospitality and digital marketing to the insurance industry after her emerging interest in how vast insurance is. With her ability to write complex insurance concepts in a simple, relatable manner, she keeps her audience hooked and solves their doubts smoothly.
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