How to check whether you have adequate health insurance cover during COVID-19?
A healthy lifestyle is given utmost importance especially after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility of infection even among individuals who are in good health has raised the fear amidst others as well. It is reported that the sale of new health insurance policies has increased in the past year. The reason can easily be attributed to the panic created by the Coronavirus. With the danger of pandemic far from over, now is the right time to look for an affordable health insurance policy if you don’t have one or if you are reviewing your existing plan, ensure it is the right health insurance for COVID-19.
Sagar is a mechanical engineer working with one of the top aircraft manufacturers in India. He lives with his wife, 2 kids, and parents in Mumbai. Though everyone in the family was only at home, Sagar and his wife were infected with COVID-19, for which they were admitted to the hospital for 15 days. Even after recovering, the post-recovery process was strict with regular medicines and follow-up tests. Sagar had an active health insurance policy for Rs 10 lakhs which helped him foot the hospitalization and the treatment bills of Rs 5 lakhs. While the family was slowly moving to normalcy, Sagar’s parents were diagnosed with the virus. Since they were senior citizens, their recovery was also slow, leading to increased hospital bills. After 1 month of hospitalization, his parents were able to recover fully, but the expenses reached Rs 7 lakhs. Sagar’s health insurance included his parents as well, but since Rs 5 lakhs was used already for his treatment, he could claim only up to Rs 5 lakhs towards his parents’ treatment costs. So, he arranged the balance of 2 lakhs through other means.
If Sagar had taken a health insurance policy with a higher cover or a COVID-19 insurance, he could have easily managed all the COVID-19 expenses for his family. As he didn’t expect all the family members to fall sick at the same time, handling the finances while taking care of his parents and kids during the pandemic was emotionally exhausting.
A wide range of health insurance plans is available in the market, with each offering its own set of features and benefits. But it is essential to opt for a plan with adequate coverage to provide coverage for all included members.
5 Helpful tips to choose the right health insurance policy during COVID-19
Here are some helpful tips to ensure you have enough coverage to withstand any unforeseen health complications.
- Is your health insurance comprehensive?
- Choose the Right Insurer
- Can you customize your health cover?
- Pay attention to premium outgo
- Buy COVID-19 related health covers
1. Is your health insurance comprehensive?
Understand your exact need for buying a health insurance policy before diving into the details. If you are an individual, look for the best individual health insurance plan or married and have dependents, then opt for the best family health insurance policy in India that provides optimum coverage for everyone in the family.
The most common mistake that many individuals make while choosing the family health policy is choosing a plan without thinking about the coverage amount and ending up with a less cover. If the coverage amount in family health plan is low, the possibility of all members getting equal coverage during an emergency is very low. This will lead you to pay for the medical costs from your pocket and push you into debt in case of shortage of funds. Hence, make sure the plan you select provides enough features to cover everyone in the family equally in a single premium while not compromising on the benefits is essential.
2. Choose the Right Insurer
Health insurance in India is still in the nascent stage with low penetration among the public, but there are many health insurance companies. So, before you select the policy, make sure to research the company, their offerings, plans, features, benefits, illustrations, etc., so you are completely convinced of the product. One must also consider the insurer’s claim settlement ratio (CSR) as it gives an idea of their performance and the trust of other policyholders. With all the above details available on the internet, you may quickly check if a particular insurer is trustworthy or not within a few clicks.
3. Can you customize your health cover?
If you have already availed of a family floater health insurance plan, it is essential to update your plan frequently to protect your family’s health. For instance, if you were recently blessed with a second child, you need to be concerned about the baby’s health from the very next day of birth. Also, with the advent of lifestyle-related diseases, keeping your family floater updated with proper sum assured is required to account for all the health-related future expenses. Added to this, you may also choose a few necessary addons or riders that will ensure your family is more secured at an affordable cost.
4. Pay attention to premium outgo
You might want to choose the best health insurance policy, but managing life expenses will become tough if there is no flexibility in premium payments. While you settle for an optimal cover, it is not necessary to spend more on the premiums. Since term insurance provides coverage for deaths, focussing on buying an all-around health insurance policy is essential to get benefits from both products without compromising on the coverage amount.
5. Buy COVID-19 related health covers
Do you feel your current health policy is good but still want to protect yourself from Coronavirus with a more comprehensive cover? Then, consider buying the Coronavirus-specific policies. They are specifically created to help those looking to safeguard against the rising treatment costs or those affected due to loss of job or income. For example, Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak are India’s two best health insurance policies targeted towards covid infected people that offer a reasonable sum insured if the policyholder gets infected with the virus and requires more than 72 hours hospitalization.
To possess a health insurance policy with less cover is equivalent to having no coverage. Therefore, before buying the next health cover to safeguard from COVID-19 like pandemics, make sure to assess the requirements and needs of your family so no one is left behind at the time of need. Suppose you have not taken a suitable health cover or corona health insurance for your family members. In that case, it is time to do it, as leaving your family members uncovered exposes them to significant health risks and also affects your peace of mind.
