The enhanced susceptibility to ailments irrespective of age and the skyrocketing costs of the medical treatment facilities are going hand in hand. A week of hospitalisation is enough to wipe off your savings. Health insurance is regarded as the wisest and the most effective tool to manage such contingencies, acting as a shield to protect your finances. Plenty of renowned health insurance companies are operating in India, offering several attractive deals. You need to keep certain crucial factors in mind while buying health insurance from a health insurance company in India.
The medical inflation in India is close to 14% on an annual basis, and in order to protect your family from the rising expenses of medical treatment and hospitalisation, you need to have high health insurance coverage when you choose the best health insurance company in India. This is necessary to reduce the burden of your out-of-pocket expenses.
The necessity of buying health insurance
If you are a permanent salaried employee of any authentic organisation, chances are likely that the company will ensure health coverage for you, extending up to your immediate family. However, once you leave that organisation, that coverage is automatically discontinued. But your health is unaware of such facts and may cause trouble needing immediate medical attention. To cope with such unfavorable conditions, it is best and wise to maintain a befitting health insurance policy from the best health insurance company in India.
But, before making your choice, you need to exercise certain tips and tactics to make your choice the best. We have carefully enlisted the top eight tips that may help you in the process:
- Coverage check:
This is the primary factor to check while choosing any health plan. Always seek a plan that offers several ailments, transportation costs, pre-and-post-hospitalization charges, daycare treatment, and certain special illnesses, which are hereditary are you are prone to them.
In case you are planning on purchasing a family floater plan, ensure that the plan covers all the relevant needs of all the members included.
- Cost Comparison: Depending on the coverage scope, you may now narrow down your choices that suit your needs. Compare different plans of different companies to understand the scenario well and grab the best deal. This research and homework will take you a long way.
- Network hospital coverage: Different insurance companies maintain tie-ups with varying network hospitals that ensure complete care without any delay. Ensure that your plan includes your preferred network of healthcare facilities and doctors, and their network is vast. This ensures a smoother claim settlement procedure. The best health insurance company in India would have the highest network of hospitals as a tie-up for cashless treatment.
- Seek lifetime renewability: Considering the healthcare cost inflation and the rising premium rates, it is wise to seek a plan that offers lifetime renewability. This ensures that you and your family remain under secured coverage in future times too.
- Evaluation of claim settlement ratio: This ensures the number of claims and the number of claims settled by the concerned company. The higher the claim settlement ratio, the better the company is considered to be. This increases the possibility of getting your claims settled during emergencies. The highest claim settlement ratio is often considered to be the best health insurance company in India.
- Co-payment clause: Some insurance providers require the policyholder to pay a certain percentage of the hospitalization amount or any other costs of treatment as co-payment, especially for senior citizens. You must first ensure the percentage of this co-payment share, as it might land you up in disaster during medical contingencies, shelling out a significant portion of your savings. This will practically turn the actual purpose of maintaining health insurance in vain.
- Verification of the waiting period for pre-existing ailments: Before purchasing a health plan, first, ensure the types of pre-existing ailments that you are currently suffering from. Verify if your chosen plan offers coverage for these ailments. Every health plan comes with a specific waiting period for pre-existing ailments. So, it’s best to choose a plan with minimal waiting periods for fast usage.
- Exclusions: All health plans come with a list of exclusions, i.e., factors that do not come under the purview of the plan coverage. It is best to clarify all doubts related to these factors beforehand to avoid any misunderstanding during claim settlement.
Conclusion
This is a comprehensive guide to exercise and handy tips while buying health insurance plans from the best health insurance company in India. This ensured better planning and better management.
FAQs
- Will my health insurance plan cover me abroad?
Most health plans operate across India. However, few plans offer international coverage. You must clarify these factors before purchasing the best health insurance company in India.
- Can I avail of an Indian health plan if I am a foreign native but residing in India?
Yes, you may buy a health plan even if you are a foreign native but residing in India. However, the coverage of the plan will remain limited to India only unless it allows international coverage.
