When you buy health insurance for your family, you obviously want a plan that best suits your needs. It makes sense to buy a plan that you can afford, but one which also gives you the sort of comprehensive coverage that helps when you actually need it; so you need to make minimal out-of-pocket expenditure. So how can you compare health insurance rates and choose the best health insurance plan for your requirements?
Compare Private and Nationalized Service Providers
Now that health insurance in India is well established, most health insurance companies offer various high-quality health insurance products to suit all requirements. Many offer a wide range of health insurance plans. While private companies may have streamlined buying processes and offer good customer service, nationalized companies may be perceived as being more reliable and trustworthy.
Read Online Reviews
One of the best ways to compare health insurance rates is to read online reviews. This will help you learn about the company, about the relative ease of purchase, documentation, and claims process. You can check what people say about the range of products, and premium payable vis-à-vis policy features, and terms. Find out about the customer services on offer: are the personnel knowledgeable, responsive when it comes to making claims, and quick to resolve issues? Are there any consumer complaints filed against the company; if so do these relate to deficiency of service, hospital network, or the type of health insurance plans offered?
Compare Claim Ratios
A health insurance company’s quality and reliability is also determined by the claim ratio: the claim settlement ratio, claim repudiation ratio, and the claim pending ratio. This tells how efficiently and willingly an insurance company settles claims that policyholders make. A good claim ratio means that the company resolves a large proportion of claims made and that there is a greater likelihood of the company honoring your claim when the time comes. The IRDA publishes claims ratio figures of various insurance providers. Comparing these figures will also help you narrow down the best health insurance plans.
Compare Coverage
The terms of each health insurance policy will obviously differ widely. While some policies are for individuals, others cater to families and larger groups such as the employees of companies. Compare basic health insurance plans, comprehensive plans, and family floater policies to decide what is best for you. You can also opt for a basic plan and then customize it with a few chosen riders such as critical care, maternity care, day care procedures etc.
Compare Premiums
The best health insurance plan is neither the cheapest one nor the most expensive one. It is the one that offers the best coverage for every rupee of premium you pay. Ideally, you should compare premiums charged by various policies with the extent of coverage and the features to see which policy offers you the best deal.
Compare Terms, Exclusions and Inclusions
A savvy policy buyer will not only compare health insurance rates, but also read the fine print of the policy to check the inclusions and exclusions. Inclusions are diseases and medical eventualities that the company will pay for; exclusions are those instances that the company will not pay for. It is best to read the actual policy document and its annexure/addendum in its entirety before purchasing the policy.
Get Quotes
You can visit the websites of several insurance companies, fill out your particulars and details and request a quote or a callback. You can then collate and make a list of the quotes received and make a choice.
Use a Comparison Website
It can be arduous and time-consuming to visit several different company websites and then compare quotes. It is more convenient to use a comparison website like RenewBuy that helps you not only compare various policies but also helps with the purchase process. You can choose the type of policy, amount of coverage, and number of individuals to be insured and get instant quotes while also comparing the benefits on offer in all the plans.
Whether you decide to compare health insurance rates yourself or use the services of an Aggregator site, make an informed and wise choice to buy the best health insurance plan.