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The waiting period is a predetermined time period wherein an insured individual has to wait before receiving all or part of the benefits of their health insurance coverage. It is important to be aware that during this waiting time, you typically cannot make any claims against your policy. This waiting time may be applicable to all of your coverage or just a few health issues, depending on the insurer.
Waiting period in health insurance refers to the time that starts from the day of commencement of your insurance policy and during this time you can not file any health claims. Waiting period is pre-decided by the insurance policy and different health conditions are covered after different waiting periods. For example, some conditions like maternity are covered after 1 to 3 years after the starting of the policy whereas, some are covered just after 1 month. Each insurance provider has different waiting periods set by them, so, make sure to read the policy documents carefully to understand what is covered when by your policy.
There are several types of waiting periods in health insurance plans. Read below to explore more about these.
Let us understand this with an example, Suppose Mr A, has a family history of diabetes. He bought health insurance to cover the cost of Diabetes if he happens to suffer from it in the future. The company offers him a waiting period of 2 years. This means that he will get the benefits from the coverage after two years from the date of purchase of the policy. Even if he is diagnosed with diabetes in these 2 years, he will not be able to avail the advantage related to the policy.
Waiting periods serve an important purpose in the overall management of healthcare costs and the provision of coverage for all insured individuals. Here are some of the reasons why waiting periods are important in health insurance:
There is no insurance company that provides plans without any waiting period. However, the policyholder still gets the option to decrease the waiting period duration. There are many plans with a waiver benefit or riders, that can reduce the time span of the initial waiting period in health insurance. Here are the names of the plan that have the waiting period waiver and riders:
Care classic with Instant Cover |
Care Supreme With Instant Cover |
Niva Bupa Reassure With Disease Management Rider |
Star Health Comprehensive Plan With Buy Back Rider |
Care With Reduction In PED |
Aditya Birla With Chronic Management |
The waiting period is a predetermined time period wherein an insured individual has to wait before receiving all or part of the benefits of their health insurance coverage. It is essential to be aware that during this waiting time, you typically cannot make any claims against your policy. The waiting period differs from one health insurance plan to another.
If an insured individual is diagnosed with an ailment during the policy period, the claim will cover it, However, the condition will be applied wherein the initial waiting period has to end before they can file a claim.
There are multiple risks involved when an insurer designs health insurance for the benefit of the customer but they are misused by some. To avoid unethical practices by certain individuals waiting periods are implemented under various health insurance plans.
Yes, a lower waiting period translates to access to health insurance policy coverage in a lesser amount of time. For example, if policy A has a 48 months waiting period for pre-existing diseases and policy B has 24 month waiting period then the user can avail coverage against pre-existing diseases earlier through policy B than from Policy A.
Every health insurance policy has a different waiting period for certain illnesses and conditions, insurance buyers must thoroughly understand the terms and conditions of a health insurance policy before purchasing one to understand if their existing conditions are covered or not.
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Naval Goel is the CEO & founder of PolicyX.com. Naval has an expertise in the insurance sector and has professional experience of more than a decade in the Industry and has worked in companies like AIG, New York doing valuation of insurance subsidiaries. He is also an Associate Member of the Indian Institute of Insurance, Pune. He has been authorized by IRDAI to act as a Principal Officer of PolicyX.com Insurance Web Aggregator.
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