Today’s day and age have brought many lifestyle changes. The urbanization of cities has led to a fast-paced life. While the world has evolved for the better, it has also led to several health issues.
Apart from the pandemic times we all have been dealing with, chronic diseases have also become a usual affair in the population. Even the young generation is dealing with diabetes and hypertension. And that is why one cannot deny the importance of having good health insurance plans for family.
We all are aware of the hospital bills and medical expenses and how they can drain all your financial savings. The skyrocketing health care expenses today can only be handled by the best medical insurance.
However, one can also not deny that a million options are available in the market that all appear to be inviting. So how do you get to choose the best health insurance plan that suits your needs? That is why it becomes necessary to know the plans and their advantages.
Among various health benefits packages, there can be excessive information that can lead to confusion. Some of them cover hospitalization expenses up to the set limit, while some may pay a fixed amount for specified diseases, instead of providing incurred hospitalization expenses.
Let us understand the six main aspects that you should keep in mind while choosing to invest in health insurance plans for you and your loved ones.
#1: Need-
This is a crucial aspect before considering a health insurance policy. It would help if you were specific about the requirements that you have for your family. Once you have the idea, you can figure out the type of plans that can provide you with the benefits you seek.
To know what you need, you can consider the number of family members to be covered, their age, and health history, along with the current health condition. Keeping these in perspective, you can choose a family health insurance policy or an individual health insurance policy. For instance, a newly married couple's requirements will differ from a couple living with old parents, or youngsters may want to have an individual plan. Hence, keep your needs in mind before selecting the plan.
#2: Affordability-
Another critical factor that should be kept in mind is the cost-effectiveness of the plan. When you choose a plan according to the requirements, you have certain shortlisted features. And some of the plans that have all these benefits may cost you a high premium that can burden your pocket. Thus, it is always better to sort out the requirements and buy a plan that gives you benefits and for which you can pay in the future.
#3: Required Sum Insured-
Consider the number of family members, their age, health history, pre-existing diseases, and your family's current health status to decide on the insured sum. Also, keep in mind the inflation rate over the years as the medical expenses get high with every passing season.
#4: Claim Settlement-
This is another vital factor to invest your money in a good health care policy. As mentioned before, there are a hundred companies that are providing health benefits to citizens now.
With so many new policies, claim settlement becomes an important aspect to know about the policy's effectiveness. This tells you about the reliability of the company.
If the company possesses a high claim settlement ratio, it depicts the high chances that the company will be there for you in difficult times. Claims can be either made through reimbursement or via cashless mode. In the reimbursement process, the company pays the insured person later while in the cashless mode, the company or the third-party administrator pays the insured person immediately when they get hospitalized.
This is another aspect to take care of while choosing the plan as it might not always be feasible to shell out a lot of money for treatment.
👉 What Does A Claim Settlement Ratio?
It is the number of claims paid against the number of claims filed - the higher the ratio, the better for the insurer. (Source: cleartax)
#5: Inclusions and Exclusions-
This applies to every policy that comes with a plethora of terms and conditions. One must check the inclusions and exclusions about the policy carefully. Exclusions are the conditions that not covered under the policies, and the insurer holds no liability to pay for the expenses. Hence it is important to verify and understand the exclusions listed under every health insurance plan before paying for any.
#6: Bonuses and Discounts-
The health insurance companies provide many bonuses and discounts to the insured person. Considering these wisely can help the plan become much cheaper and attractive.
Some companies provide discounts if you buy cover for more than one person is included under the same plan. You can even avail of discounts if you pay for two or three-year policy terms. Another exciting offer impressive is the No Claim Bonus which the policyholder gets eligible for if he did not make any claim in the last year. Through this, the policyholder’s sum insured gets increased for every claim-free year up to a specific limit.
Hence wise planning and analysis are the ultimate need before investing your hard-earned money in any policy. These six aspects will help you in figuring out the best policy that suits your needs.
For more info, connect with the Renewbuy expert advisor.