How to Buy a Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan Smartly?

Manotosh (30-years-old) lives in Kolkata with his wife Paromita (27-years-old). Though they both are working in private companies, they still didn’t purchase comprehensive health insurance policies as they thought they were young, dynamic, and didn’t have any pre-existing diseases. But Paromita was infected with the COVID-19 virus during its second peak, and she developed some breathing complications after some days. So Paromita shifted to a multi-specialty hospital in Kolkata, where she got the best treatment for her covid. But at the time of discharge, both Manotosh and Paromita were shocked to see the bill of Rs. 3 lakh for her hospitalization and treatment. Since the couple doesn’t have any comprehensive health care policy, they paid the entire amount from their pockets. At that time, they realized that they should purchase a holistic health insurance policy that would safeguard them against various baleful diseases like the COVID-19 and act as a financial cushion to their savings.

After this deadly pandemic, many people realized the significance and value of health insurance policies in their lives. As a result, there was a notable rise in the adoption of health insurance policies over the last year. According to the General Insurance Council report, the health insurance market has grabbed a share of 29.5%, with an astonishing growth rate of 13.3% till March 2021.

Though this sudden upward trend will abate shortly once the pandemic is over, people will still prioritize health insurance policies. But customers should not rush to purchase unsuitable plans with insufficient cover. Instead, everyone should make an informed decision and must buy the best health insurance policy for the family.

A comprehensive health insurance policy offers policyholders with extensive coverage and acts as a financial bolster under any healthcare emergency. In addition, a comprehensive health policy offers coverage for outpatient and inpatient treatments, including doctor’s consultations, medical tests, hospital expenses, and so on.

Important elements that must be discovered in Comprehensive Health Insurance

Purchasing an insurance plan could be the best decision of your life. Always purchase a health policy as early as possible because once you grow older, you will become susceptible to various diseases. This eventually enhances your premium amount. Certain things should be ascertained once you decide to purchase a health insurance plan.

• Analyze coverage options: These days, the markets are crammed with different insurance schemes that come with various benefits. But each plan also has its limitations. Before making any commitment, a customer should understand what is covered and what isn’t. If you want to purchase any specific disease-related policy, you also can’t ignore the existence of other diseases that may increase your financial burden in the future.
• Hospital Network: Health insurance companies are tied up with network hospitals where the policyholder can get the best treatment on a cashless basis. So, a policy buyer should understand which nearby hospitals are partnered with his/her insurance company and are offering cashless treatment under an emergency.
• Claim settlement ratio: Claim settlement ratio is another pivotal parameter that you should enquire about before making any commitment. The policy purchaser should have a clear idea about the average time taken by the insurer to settle claims (both cashless or reimbursement).  
• Compare plans: before investing a single penny, every buyer should compare various plans provided by different insurance companies. Only this way they will be able to select the best-suited plan.
• Room rent restrictions or any other pre-conditions: every policy buyer should understand all pre-conditions or clauses that may affect services. For example, the buyer must know if there is any cap on the room rent or a sub-limit on policy offerings.
• Select the policy that meets your requirement: As a customer, once you are aware of your requirement, you must choose the policy that resonates with your needs. Once you know, your selected policy will be able to meet the individual and family’s needs, and then only you can take the next step.

Individual Health Plan: Individual health insurance plans are designed based on an individual’s needs. A customer should purchase this type of plan after evaluating his/her requirements. For example, old-age individuals may need a health insurance plan that would be quite different from a youngster’s plan. Individual plans can be purchased in the name of each beneficiary with a different premium requirement.

Family floater plan: These types of plans like Religare Health insurance family floater cover all your family members without enhancing your premium amount. Your parents, spouse, and children can be covered under these floater plans.

Critical illness plans: The costs of critical illness treatments are expensive and will burn your pocket. Critical illness disease plans offer long-term financial assistance to customers as they will get a fixed amount once he/she is diagnosed with any of the listed critical diseases.

COVID-19 insurance plans: Many Indian insurance companies are offering standard indemnity policy plans to cover COVID-19 treatment expenditures. Policies like Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak will only cover corona treatment if the policyholder tests positive for the COVID-19.

Top-up plans: If your hospitalization expenses surpass a certain limit, you can opt for ‘Top-up Plans’. While purchasing insurance policies, always make an informed decision. Suppose you think any particular disease can enhance your future cost. In that case, you must opt for comprehensive policies because you can utilize these policies in the case of any unforeseen diseases or conditions.

These are certain parameters that you should consider while purchasing a comprehensive health insurance plan. You can easily find health insurance top 10 in India through the internet and purchase the most suitable plan that will give you and your family the highest protection against any illness.